Interview with Shannon Dermott and More

Today, I have another awesome interview for you all.  Shannon Dermott, independent author of Beg for Mercy, has been so kind to answer my questions. Beg for Mercy is a young adult paranormal romance that’s perfect for a Spooktacular October. I guarantee you will eat this book up like candy!

Author Interview with Shannon Dermott

Can you tell us a little more about your book Beg for Mercy? What was your inspiration for this paranormal romance?

Without giving too much away, Beg for Mercy is a story about a girl, Mercy Moore, who would like nothing more than to be normal and have a normal relationship.  But that is impossible if any boy she may kiss, she just might kill.  Mercy’s troubles won’t end there.  Along the way, deaths are occurring all around her.  Due to the nature of the deaths, the supernatural community begins to throw suspicion her way.  But is she a villain or a potential victim.  Have no fear though this story doesn’t contain a love triangle.

As for my inspiration, I’d written a couple of books before this one.  But with the rise of paranormal romance and dystopian novels, I pushed those books aside.  I wanted my debut novel to be something different.  I sought to find a paranormal entity not done in the young adult genre.  I came up with a succubus.  But for obvious reasons, I didn’t think a succubus was totally appropriate.  Instead, I went with a Cambion.  If you are not familiar with the term, it means part human, part succubus or incubus.  I thought it would be an interesting journey to see how a teenage girl would handle the succubus demon inside her and remain true to her own values.

Mercy is the main character in Beg for Mercy.  What is she like and who/what is your inspiration for her character?

Mercy is an average teenage girl except she is a Cambion.  Like the average teenage girl, Mercy wants to have a normal relationship with a boy until she finds out what she is and realizes that is impossible.  But in life, sometimes you get thrown curve balls.  Mercy is put into a position where all the choices given to her seem impossible.

After learning what she was two years prior, Mercy has kept a lot of her feelings to herself.  She simply tries to avoid confrontation or the attention from boys, because she can’t date.  When things begin to change in her life she finds out she’s a bit shy and maybe a little self conscious. However, her darker half would like nothing more than to exert her influence.

Can you tell us about some of the other characters? Any favorites?

Again it’s hard to mention them all without giving so much away.  So I will mention a few.  Maggie is Mercy feisty best friend, who will inadvertently put Mercy in problematic situations because of her ignorance as to what Mercy is.  Paul is Mercy’s other best friend and the boy she nearly killed with her first kiss.  Flynn is the hottest guy in school who seems hell bent on embarrassing her.  There are others, but I won’t mention to leave some mystery.
As for favorites, I don’t have any.  I like all the guys that surround Mercy in varying ways.  None are perfect.

Do you have an interesting/akward first kiss story?

Unfortunately, no.  My life was never as interesting as Mercy’s was.

Do you have any other books you are working on? If so, what are they about?

I’m about halfway complete with Waiting for Mercy, the second in the series.  And I hate to admit I am way behind on my deadlines.  Sadly, this is because of my own passion of reading.
I do have another series that I will be releasing soon.  It’s one of the books I wrote before Beg for Mercy.  The title is Remember.  The summary of the story is as follows.

Sixteen year old Charlize Daniels didn’t crave the limelight and relished being ignored that until she finds herself being hunted. With no memory of how she ended up lost near her home, it was an angel face boy with an uncanny ability to disappear who saved her. Her obsession with the supernatural, one she developed after her father’s unnatural death had her hoping her rescuer was her guardian angel. But little did she know, that couldn’t be further from the truth. With a new resolve gained after her brush with death, she no longer wanted live in the shadows. But her biggest obstacle will be to survive being hunted. Her only hope might be to remember the truth.

Readers will find that this is a very different story than Beg for Mercy with different challenges.

Is there anything else you would like to say to readers or fans?

I would like to thank all the readers and fans.  One never knows if a project you love will be well received and so far it seems as though readers like it as much as I do.  I am grateful to each and every one of them.  I appreciate all the reviews given and try to use feedback to make things better where I can.  Not everyone will like Beg for Mercy and I respect that.

Thank you for your time and opportunity Readinista to be featured on your blog.  It takes a considerable amount of time and effort on your part to read and maintain your blog.  I’m sure your followers appreciate all your hard work as much as I do.

 

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