Interview & Giveaway with Aleatha Romig

The Consequences Series is phenomenal. The psychological game that this author plays will completely scramble your emotions, your heart and your head. So when Aleatha Romig agreed to an interview, we were beyond honored and maybe a little intimidated. Holly and Thessa are huge fans of the series and proceeded to ask Ms. Romig questions that they know fans of the series want answers to, especially those pertaining to Tony and the series’ final book, Convicted. So without further adieu, we welcome Aleatha Romig!

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T: This is one of the most intense stories we’ve ever read. How did you come up with the concept?

A: I let my stories write themselves. I imagined the opening scene, saw this woman in the room, knew her injuries and couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I wanted to know how she got there, why she was there, and what would happen to her. 

So, I started writing – truthfully without the thought of publishing.  It was just for fun! But, as the story came together, I liked it and wanted to share.  I wasn’t expecting the response I’ve received – truly amazing!

T & H: A lot of readers are severely torn on how they feel about Tony, can you tell us a little about how Tony came to you?

A: Just like the story, he developed. Tony is a combination of many characters and a few people I know.  Since CONSEQUENCES doesn’t have many of Tony’s POV’s, while I wrote it, I didn’t know what he was thinking... but I knew his actions and how they affected Claire!

T: How hard was it to write his character?

A: OKay, I know this makes me sound like a terrible person, but writing Tony’s character isn’t hard at all, it’s FUN! Now that I’ve written some of his POV’s it’s almost addicting! Being in that man’s head is GREAT! The last POV of his I wrote for Goodreads was with him drunk... that was AMAZING! He’s so raw and intense – I LOVE it!

H: Did you intend for him to become a hero we actually loved?

A: No and Yes – the original readers of CONSEQUENCES (my mom and sister-in-law) HATED him! I understand, he does some terrible things and I didn’t try to sugarcoat them.  That said, I also tried to make him sexy, with just a small window of possibility.  When readers started to tell me that they “saw” that possibility and loved him, despite his faults, I was happy!

T: How you do YOU personally feel about him?

I love him! That doesn’t mean I don’t think he deserves CONSEQUENCES for the things he’s done.  I LOVE him and Claire because they’re my “firsts”. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget them, even as I move on to other projects.

T & H: Tony’s character continuously jumps between the lines of love and hate. How were you able to continuously walk this line? Were you concerned about criticism regarding the physical abuse?

A: I don’t know how I walk that line. I think I did it with honesty – I never tried to “pretend” he was a good guy. Hating him is acceptable! I also showed enough “good” and w/ TRUTH “vulnerability” that people who want to, can love him without shame.

H: You glossed over, for lack of a better word, the extreme of the violence as well as the sex – neither were graphic is what I mean – was this on purpose so that people focused more on the story as it unfolded?

A: Yes, as a “psychological thriller” CONSEQUENCES was meant to be more about Claire’s psychological experience – how she coped, how she survived. It was never meant to be erotic.  Instead of spelling everything out, I gave my readers license to use their experience and imagination to fill in the blanks.  I KNOW some people have assumed Claire experienced more severe consequences than I originally intended.

H: Seeing as how I just finished learning the TRUTH, which was Amazing BTW,  - Are you seriously going to make me, I mean us all, wait a year for Convicted?

A: Yes. I promise I’m not being mean. My books are very detailed and complicated. I didn’t plan on writing a trilogy.  The story is quite involved, and I’m still writing.  I have a reputation to maintain, and I want each book of my series to be better than the one before.  I could have “popped” out CONVICTED, but it wouldn’t have been right.  Now, after much deliberation... it’s right!

H & T: Do you know how their story ends, or is it still unfolding for you? What can we expect in the final book?

A: I do now! Just like Truth, which I started about ten times (I have over 60 thousand words in a file labeled “Truth – deleted”) Convicted has had many starts. None of them were right.  I didn’t feel good about it – then one day, without warning, it came to me! Since then, I can’t stop typing! That’s how I know I’ve got it!

T: After reading the end of Truth, can you give us a hint as to who was with Claire on that island? We have our theories, but perhaps you’ll give us a little clue…

A: Sure, why not, I mean suspense doesn’t play a role in my books.  So here goes... the person on the island with Claire is ... someone you’ve met in either Consequences or Truth!  There, I feel so much better getting that off my chest! The whole world knows... whew!

T: Any plans after you write and release Convicted?

A: Yes, I have many ideas.  I’m pretty excited about one in particular.  I’d love to write more series; however, I think I want them to be two book series instead of three.  We’ll see how it goes, but I’d love to be able to produce both books within twelve months.  I think knowing it’s a series and where it will end when I start, will be helpful!

Quick Fun Questions

What are you reading right now? 

I’m reading the ARC of A TASTE OF ME by: Sorcha Grace.... I’ll just say, when it comes out, remember I said, yummy!

Top 5 favorite books/series

Gone With the Wind, JR. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlene Harris, most things by Greg Isles – great psychological thrillers, and recent find – The Dark Duet - CJ. Roberts!

If you were to play your iPod right now, what song would be playing next? 

This is going to make me seem very old. I don’t have an iPod...

Thank you so much for taking the time and talking with us today.

Thank you so much for having me on your blog! Thank you for reading and telling others about my Consequences Series!!  I hope you’ll all be on board when Convicted comes out!

We cannot begin to express how your stories have torn us up, in a good way of course. We cannot wait for Convicted. Best wishes, always!  

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