Love.Life.Read.: Author Interview with Rhenna Morgan, author of Unexpected Eden + a Giveaway

I am THRILLED to have Rhenna Morgan, author of Unexpected Eden stopping by today at Love. Life. Read. to answer a few questions about it and the next book in the series. Be sure to stick around as there is a giveaway too!

About Unexpected Eden:

Most people believe Eden no longer exists. Lexi Merrill’s about to learn they’re wrong. A hard-working bartender with a self-sufficient backbone and a wary nature, she knows pickup lines like a second language. So, when Eryx Shantos barges into her world with too-smooth words and a body to back it up, she locks up her libido and vows to keep her distance.

Eryx has other ideas. As king of the Myren race, Eryx is duty-bound to enforce the laws preventing exposure of their existence to humans. Yet The Fates have led him through his dreams to Lexi, a temptation he doesn’t want to resist. The question is, is she Myren, or human - which makes her forbidden fruit?

When Eryx’s nemesis tags Lexi as his next target, Eryx insists on taking her home where he can keep her safe. Lexi had no idea “home” would mean the one-and-only land of creation…or that she’d trigger a prophecy that could doom her newfound race.

Meet Rhenna Morgan:

Rhenna Morgan writes for the same reason she reads—to escape reality.

Yes, her life rocks—two beautiful little girls, a great husband, a steady job, and the kind of friends that would take you out back if you hurt her. But, like most women, she’s got obligations stacked tight from dusk to dawn. So, when the world gets her down, she slips into something…less realistic.

Romance is a must. So is a steamy romp (or four). Nothing thrills her more than the fantasy of new, exciting worlds, strong, intuitive men, and the sigh of, “Oh if only that could happen to me.”

So, if you’re picking up one of her books, expect portals into alternate realms and men who’ll fight to keep the women they want. Romantic escape for the women who need it.

Interview Time!

LLR: You created a whole new world complete with a set with people with amazing powers. What is your inspiration for Myrens and Eden?

RM: As cliché as it sounds, the idea came about because of recurring dreams—though it took a real life incident to make me remember what I’d been dreaming.

I was scrambling around the kitchen one night, trying to get food together for visiting friends, when I reached out my hand for an item across the room and fully expected it to fly into my open palm.

Aside from being embarrassed because everyone gathered in the kitchen saw me do it, I was floored by just how natural the action felt. I realized the inclination was reflexive because I’d been dreaming about it—along with flying—almost nightly, but had forgotten the dreams until that moment.
It got me thinking…

What if such dreams were a sign of powers untapped? Or a clue to a lost heritage just waiting to be uncovered? One thought led to another and Lexi Merrill’s journey was born.

LLR: I just loved Lexi! She is such a strong female, with and without Eryx. Is she modeled after anyone I your life?

RM: Lexi is 100% unique, straight out of my imagination. Much like her personality in the book, she sauntered right into my head the minute I started writing and bossed me around right up until the end.

Actually, she’s still bossing me and all the other characters in Eden around, albeit in her own unique loving way. While the other books in the series will be about other couples, she’ll remain an important secondary character right up until the end.

LLR: Can you tell us what a typical day in your life is like?

RM: It’s crazy busy. I’m up at 5am for a cup of coffee, a quick check of writing related emails, and social media work. From 7am to 4pm I’m at my day job (with a one hour lunch that’s usually devoted to writing stuff), and then I’m home for family, dinner, working out, and at least two more hours of writing. Definitely not a glamorous life. My goal is to reach a point where I do the writing full time. In the interim, I thank my lucky stars I’ve got such a supportive and understanding family.

LLR: If you could escape away anywhere in the world, where would you go?

RM: For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to do a tour of Europe—Scotland, Ireland, England, Italy, and Greece in particular. For years I’ve read stories based in those locations and would give a lot to be able to see those places first hand.

LLR: Lastly, can you share anything about the second book in the series? When is it due out and who will it be about?

RM: Absolutely! Next up in the series is Galena and Reese’s story and it’s called Healing Eden. If you’ve read Unexpected Eden, you know the two of them are headed for an uphill struggle because Galena is Eryx’s sister and Reese is fighting alongside Eryx’s worst enemy. Not exactly the best set up for a happily ever after. It’s due out winter of 2015.

Here’s the teaser:

No good can grow in the shadow of secrets.

A reluctant warrior in a rebellion he abhors, Reese Theron has buckled beneath blackmail to keep the circumstances of his birth on lockdown. He’s lost everything that counts—the right to fight for his king, the trust of his best friend, and any hope for a family of his own. Death seems preferable, until Galena Shantos meets him at his fateful crossroads and saves his life.

Galena’s loyalty to her brother, the king, is absolute. Healing his warriors on the sidelines of war, she’s witnessed too many rebellion atrocities to be swayed for mercy. Yet something about Reese blurs the lines of allegiance, the call to her heart raw and primitive.

When Reese ends up a prisoner of war, he’s visited by a mysterious being of another race and learns he’s the linchpin in a battle between good and evil. The lovers will face choices—Galena between family loyalty and championing Reese’s cause, and Reese between keeping his shameful secret, and saving all races by leading the darkest of his kind to redemption—starting with his own confession.

LLR: Thank you so much Ms. Morgan for taking the time to answer my questions for you! I loved Unexpected Eden and I cannot wait for Galena and Reese's story.