Interview with Donna Steele

Where are you from?

 North Carolina – was rural, now urban but still NC!

Tell us your latest news? 

– The 2^nd book of The Melting trilogy – The Progression - will be released on October 10

When and why did you begin writing?

 – I’ve always written, since I was a little girl, just had these stories in my head and didn’t want to forget them, so I wrote them down. No one ever read anything I wrote until about 15 years ago.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

 – When I posted my first fanfic on-line for The X-Files (you didn’t say a good writer!) and someone read it, liked it and wrote me. Scared me to death, but I did it again.

What inspired you to write your first book?

 – I’ve always been aware that we treat the planet as though we have another one to go to when we crap this one up – hence Rth Rising.

How did you come up with the title of your book or series?

 – I’d rather pull out a fingernail. Sometimes the title comes easily, but usually I struggle. For The Melting Series, of course I thought about the glaciers so it was kind of fun.

Quickly, give us the title and genre of your book and a 30-word or less tagline: The Melting, Book 2 – The Progression – this started out as scifi and is morphing into paranormal.

“Civilization is gone and Meg Adams is in charge, whether she wants to be or not. Jim Stephens has forced his way in. Can this rag-tag group survive?”

Who is your intended audience and why should they read your book? 

– Women, all women, and people who love the planet.

 Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular image/artwork?  

The cover art comes from my publisher, Rebel Ink Press with little hints from us writers. I think they do an incredible job!

Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

 – Meg, another woman who didn’t realize how strong she was until she was tested – like so many women I know.

Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series: - Only two degrees rise in median temperature is helping the growth of the bacteria in lakes that are becoming fatal, only a couple of degrees rise is fueling the droughts and mega storms that have risen this year. It’s a precious planet and we should treat it as such.

 What other books are similar to your own? 

 What makes them alike?  A lot of writers love to dig into pandemics, clear out the population and see what springs forth from a new type of civilization – the possibilities are endless.

Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?

 Not unique, but I love to do counted cross stitch – takes minimal talent (you have to know how to count to 10) but can make lovely designs.

How can we contact you or find out more about your books? 

Please stop by www.steelestories.com to see the upcoming news, my blog and snippets from all of my books.

What can we expect from you in the future?  

After the trilogy is finished, there might be some short stories about these characters, because I’ve become so close to them. I’m also working on a time-travel novel and something with a little alien/human romance.

Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published? 

Write the book, get it down, then be sure to clean it up – spell check helps, but always, always before you send it off, read it OUT LOUD to yourself – slowly and with inflection/accent/whatever because you’ll always catch one more thing.

 Is there anything else you’d like to say?  

Thanks for having me here and for promoting reading – it’s the best way to learn and quite often the least painful!

And now, before you go, how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us:

        Jim was surprised to see her standing at the end of the canned vegetable aisle. He looked at the surplus of cans and turned to her smiling. The smile faded as he realized she was trembling.

        "Meg?"

        She didn't seem to hear him.

        "Meg!" He moved closer, was she speaking? Yes, a low murmur and he leaned in to hear her, because she wasn’t speaking to him.

        "It's not enough. They expect me to look after them. I have to be strong. I have to get everyone through."

        "Meg? Baby, I'm here. Everything's going to be okay."

        "Over twenty people, that's ten cans a meal! There's not enough. I can't be responsible for all of them. I can't keep them safe. I can't keep them all safe."

        Jim understood that statement if not her fear, so that's what he addressed. "No, it won't be ten cans a meal. We can stretch it with rice, pasta. Meg, can you hear me?"

        She couldn't, he wasn't sure she knew he was standing there. Her trembling became shaking. He couldn't make her hear him. He took her into his arms then, and without hesitation took her lips with his own. For an instant she froze, then she was kissing him in return and he was holding her close. He felt her hands fist into his shirt and pulled her tighter against him. He'd known she felt responsible for everyone, but he hadn't realized how it was affecting her. The dark circles under her eyes some mornings made more sense.

        "I've got you. You're safe. I'm going to keep you safe. I'm going to look after you."

        She buried her face in his shirt and he leaned down, kissing her hair, rocking her.

        It was long moments before she began to get control. When she did, she tried to push herself away, but he held on for another minute. "You okay?"

        She wouldn't meet his eyes, so he tucked a finger under her chin and brought her face up to his. She was even a beautiful crier. He leaned down and took her lips again.               

        He let her pull away after the kiss and watched her. "I'm sorry," she said.

        "Shouldn't I be the one apologizing? I took advantage."