AUTHOR INTERVIEW – DINA SLEIMAN

AUTHOR INTERVIEW – DINA SLEIMAN

Today I am thrilled to be interviewing another one of my editors at WhiteFire Publishing, Dina Sleiman, who is also a prolific author whose lyrical style I fell in love with immediately. Welcome, Dina!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family. 

I love dancing, the beach, and being out in nature in general. I’ve also done a lot of teaching in the various arts, including dance, drama, music, and creative writing. In addition to being a novelist, I am an acquisitions and content editor for WhiteFire Publishing. My husband is an international television producer originally from Lebanon. Christi, my oldest, is an engineering student at Oral Roberts University and active in short-term foreign missions. My son Jonny is a senior in high school, who is on the track team and loves all adrenaline junky type sports. And my youngest, Adam, is in middle school and active in music and gymnastics.

Tell us about your latest book, and how it came about.

Dauntlesss, which will release in March, is book one in the Valiant Hearts Series. Years ago an editor at a conference suggested I try writing YA medieval romance. But it wasn’t until I watched the new BBC version of Robin Hood that a solid idea came to mind. This new twist on the Robin Hood story featured many strong females including villains, a female D’Jaq, and a Marion who was a thief and defender of the poor in her own right. And so my series featuring strong medieval young women in male roles was born. Dauntless has a Robin Hood feel, but future books will highlight other legends and traditions.

Ooh, this sounds intriguing to me. Love the cover! AND our readers need to know that the e-release occurred today, 2/24/15! They can also pre-order the paperbacks here.

Share about your genre and why you write in this style.

Bethany House is calling this series YA adventure/romance. This fits me perfectly. I’ve always written with a younger woman in mind. My target audience is 15-25, although I’m sure women of all ages will enjoy the books. Originally I wrote Dauntless in a traditional romance style, but when Bethany asked me to expand and bring in more of the surrounding history and the adventure element, I was thrilled. Although all of my books include some romance, I don’t like being boxed into the description of a “romance” author. I actually have some concerns about the romance genre creating unrealistic expectations, and I go to great lengths to avoid that in my writing. I want my couples to have healthy, realistic, non-codependent relationships with God at the center.

You and I are on the same track. Although I like to include a romance thread in my books, I  prefer the story not be driven by the romance. And I don’t like being categorized as a “romance” author either.

What inspires you?

Nature and art inspire me, as well as my quiet time with God. When worship and art combine, I find my bliss.

Tell us about your writing process.

My writing process is pretty bare bones. Just me and my laptop, curled up on my bed. I don’t use any special programs, charts, gimmicks, or listen to music. The characters in my head tell me what to write, and I oblige I think as an author/editor I have a great advantage because I really understand story and scene structure.

Dina, I am curled up on my bed at the moment posting your interview. Actually I do much of my writing in my bed as well!

What are your writing goals?

I feel like with the release of Valiant Hearts, I will have actually achieved most of my writing goals. I would love to extend this series to around eight books. Of course every writer dreams of awards and best-seller lists, but I wouldn’t want to say those were goals, because they are really in God’s hands, not mine. At the end of the day, I just want to make enough money to help my kids through college and be obedient to God’s leading. If that takes me in a different direction in the future, I’m open to that.

What do you wish someone had told you about writing?

I wish I had known sooner that it usually takes five to ten years to get published. Around year three of serious writing, I began to feel like a failure, but that wasn’t the case at all. I was actually right on track and moving at a good pace.

Tell us something about yourself that nobody knows.

Hmm…I’m pretty much an open book, but I can give you a random fact from my childhood that few people know. In grade school my friends and I had a “Dinkle” club in my attic based on an imaginary creature I devised. It was purple and fluffy with checkerboard eyes. I don’t think it really did much, though, except hold up little signs with messages.

What hobbies do you enjoy?

I’ve mentioned dance, drama, music, and art. I like hiking and biking. Of course I do a lot of reading and writing, but that is not as recreational anymore. And I watch way too much Netflix.

Where can your readers contact you?

I have a main website at  http://dinasleiman.com, which is linked to a new blog for my Valiant Hearts series, http://valiantheartsseries.blogspot.com/. They can also find me easily on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Not many Dina Sleiman’s out there! I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you so much, Dina, for being with us!

 

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