Today I’d like to welcome Barbara Chioffi, romance/horror author of Angel Mine, Lycan Heart, and Trickery.
Can you give us your quickest description of your books?
I’m all about romance, except for Trickery. The horror trilogy indulged my childhood love of horror comics.
Is your horror writing targeted towards a younger audience, then? Who would you say is your target audience?
Target audience, I’d say 18+ due to the sexy parts, although in my last work, Dark Lycan, the sex was toned down a bit.
What are you working on currently?
Two novellas for anthologies, three poems, and the next in my Mystic Hearts series.
That’s quite a bit all at once! What is your favorite thing to work on and why?
Paranormal romance will always be my favored genre, due to the many possibilities, the twists and turns it can take. Horror is my second choice, thanks to Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and earlier, those horror comics I mentioned. I discovered them when I was ten while going to the corner grocery for my grandmother. If my memory is correct, they were ten cents. She would always ‘tip’ me for making the short trips. My treasured stash of those illustrated ‘comics’ grew with those runs to the store. Several years later, the government decided they were too explicit for young minds, and they banned them. My stash disappeared over the years. I’d love to have them now.
That’s a great story. What is one bit of advice you’d like to share with writers?
Be true to yourself, be honest, and play nice with others. That’s it.
Have there been times in your writing life when you’ve felt like you were changing your writing for others (i.e. NOT being true to yourself)? Why do you think some authors struggle with this?
I write what I love. Writing to please an audience would betray one’s voice. If you can’t embrace your story, there’s no point. There is a tendency to follow the current trend for some, reaching for success, and I wish all those the best of luck.
Who inspires you to write?
My mother…people I’ve known and admired…dreams
Can you give an example of a dream that’s inspired a story?
Since childhood, I’ve dreamed of wolves, first as vicious attackers, and later, in college, as a date at the door, complete with suit, hat, flowers, and candy. In recent years, a large, white wolf appeared in our yard, traveling through the adjacent wetlands on his journey. They’ve appeared in dreams lately, in the form of comforting messengers.
Interesting that wolves have been so recurring over the years. In a perfect world where you could cast your book for a movie, who would you pick for your main characters?
Justin and Jared, twin sons of Robert Flannery from my lycan stories, would be Angel Macho, a male model and software engineer.
Julia, from Lycan Heart, would be Nina Dobrev from Vampire Diaries, and Tara, from Dark Lycan, would be Emma Stone.
Do you picture different actors when you’re writing these characters? Or do those actors just happen to fit best with your idea of that character in your head?
I write my story with certain features in mind… hair, eyes, build, etc. As the character develops, his/her personality takes shape, along with talents and quirks. After these are in place, then I look for one to fit what’s been created. It’s often difficult to find an actor or picture with the ‘look’ I want. For instance, Julia is a sweet, young woman and Tara has a little bit of fire.
Thanks, Barbara, for sharing!
WHERE TO FIND Barbara Chioffi:
Website: www.reveriesfrombarb.blogspot.com
Goodreads: Barbara
Amazon Page: Barbara Chioffi
Facebook: Barb’s Angel Mine
Twitter: @starlite42
Sunshine Somerville 
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