Claire Davon can’t remember a time when writing wasn’t part of her life. Growing up, she used to write stories with her friends. As a teenager she started out reading fantasy and science fiction, but her diet quickly changed to romance and happily-ever-after’s. A native of Massachusetts and cold weather, she left all that behind to move to the sun and fun of California, but has always lived no more than twenty miles from the ocean.
In college she studied acting with a minor in creative writing. In hindsight she should have flipped course studies. Before she was published, she sold books on eBay and discovered some of her favorite authors by sampling the goods, which was the perfect solution. Claire has many book-irons in the fire, most notably her urban fantasy series, The Elementals’ Challenge series, but writes contemporary and shifter romances as well as.
While she’s not a movie mogul or actor, she does work in the film industry with her office firmly situated in the 90210 district of Hollywood. Prone to break out into song, she is quick on feet and just as quick with snappy dialogue. In addition to writing she does animal rescue, reads, and goes to movies. She loves to hear from fans, so feel free to drop her a line.
Jann: Today we are talking with multi-genre author Claire Davon.
Jann: Tell us about the world you have created for the Elementals’ Challenge.
Claire: This is a paranormal/fantasy world that overlays our human world. Humans cannot see the paranormal or supernatural beings around us, but they are there. In the Elementals’ Challenge series each Elemental (earth, air, fire, water) has an antagonist called a Demonos with similar element powers to the Elemental. Every so often, approximately once a century, both the Elementals and the Demonos become aware of that “Challenge” is coming. They must fight each other. If the Elementals win ALL their battles then humanity is safe. However, if any one of the Elementals lose then they have to fight a final Challenge together and if they lose that then the Demonos are allowed to wreak havoc over humanity. The last time it happened was World War II. They do not expect Challenge again this soon, but as the stories open, the Elementals feel the unmistakable call of Challenge.
Jann: Fire Danger, book one in the Elementals’ Challenge—did you have both Rachel Quinn and Phoenix characters in mind when you started to plot the book?
Claire: Yes I did. Fire Danger started over ten years ago when I had this idea for the Elementals. Phoenix pretty much 
came to mind right away, as did Rachel, but they evolved when I went back to rewrite. In the original draft Rachel was fully human initially and that just didn’t work with how I envisioned the story. I decided that each of the partners of the Elementals should have similar aspects to their powers, so fire to fire, air to air, etcetera. I wanted Rachel to be able to stand alongside a thousand-year-old immortal fire Elemental and hold her own.
Realizing that, as well as finding my way out of a terrible plot hole I had dug for myself, was what enabled me to re-start the series and energize it with my current ideas. The result is as you see!
Jann: Book Two in the series, Air Attack, which came first the characters, Clea and Griffin or the plot?
Claire: Griffin did. He has a minor part in Fire Danger so his character was partly established when I started writing Air Attack. I do that with all the books. Ondine has a small part in Air Attack as well and Masud and Shani (Sphynx) turn up in Water Fall.
Clea was later. I knew I wanted a goddess but I realized when I started getting deeper into writing paranormal and fantasy stories that I didn’t always want to go with traditional pantheons, so the Greeks/Romans/Egyptians were out. I love the pantheons I found, especially the Tuatha dé Danann, to create her backstory and her heritage. So much rich history there I was unaware of! Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Griffin. So handsome, such wonderful wings, so ready to fall in love and he doesn’t know it…hee hee.
It was interesting to research gods that aren’t in the everyday lexicon. In keeping with the idea behind Fire Danger I wanted Clea to have air powers, and she got them from both sides of her god heritage. Each partner is instrumental in helping the Elemental achieve their part of Challenge, which is a piece of the series that weaves throughout all five books. In the end that part of the puzzle will be important.
Jann: Lara’s and Sullivan’s story released in October, book three in the series, titled Water Fall. Books One and Two came out within six months of each other. When did you have the plot for book three?
Claire: Actually, Fire Danger originally came out in June of 2016 when Samhain Publishing released it. Unfortunately, Samhain closed two weeks prior to their March, 2017 release of Air Attack. I got the rights to both books back but redid the cover for Fire Danger and put it back out in May of 2017, and then sent Air Attack through another edit and cover design before releasing it in November of 2017.
Water Fall took an interesting journey. Ten plus years ago all of my Elementals were male but when I went back to the series a few years ago that didn’t sit well with me. Therefore Ondine (and the female half of Sphynx) were born. I love Ondine/Lara because I think she brings the human side to the world of the Elementals. Ten years prior to the start of her story she was an ordinary human and then she suddenly is imbued with the power of the water Elemental when the prior Elemental is killed. In the span of a heartbeat she goes from being a human to being one quarter of some of the most powerful paranormal forces on the planet.
Here’s the really funny part about Water Fall. I wrote the first draft with a different character as the hero. The entire time I’m writing it the shark shifter, Sullivan, kept hammering on my brain. But I was stubborn and stuck with the other character until The End. Then I finished, took a beat and said “yeah…nope. Sullivan is her hero” and re-wrote the entire story with him as the MC.
The plot evolved once I knew her antagonist, the giant Iku-Turso (from a Finnish legend). Think of the Kraken and you have the idea of the Iku-Turso. I wanted to combine Lara’s journey into Ondine with the idea of this implacable underwater beast that is little understood. Add in some Haitian gods and other shifters and Water Fall became something I didn’t expect. But I like where it went!
Jann: July 25, 2018, Book One in your new Universe Chronicles series,Shifting Auras, made its debut. I understand you are working on Book Two. What can you tell us about this new world and the characters? When will book two be available?
Claire: This is such a fun series to write! Part X-Men/Gifted and part romance, the Universe Chronicles imagines a world where there are people with talents such as telekinesis and psychic powers that are loosely grouped into a U.S. agency (Universe) and a former Russian one (Night Stars). Both groups have had an uneasy existence with each other
this entire time, trying to get the upper hand on the other. As the series opens Maya Wingfield, who is an unaffiliated psychic, finds herself in Richmond and into the hands of Universe and handsome telekinetic Ian Sanderson, who is suspicious of her. Universe thinks she may be a Night Stars spy or, worse yet, part of a new group called Whisper that is targeting all talents who are twenty-five years old. The people behind Whisper, and the reason they are interested in people that age, make up the story arc that will go across the series. Each couple has their story but there is an underlying story that goes throughout.
There actually were U.S. and Russia agencies that looked into paranormal phenomenon decades ago. The U.S. agency was the Stargate Project and the Russian one was Blue Stars. The movie The Men Who Stare at Goats was loosely based on the Stargate Project.
Book two takes Ian and Maya’s boss Quillan on his own romantic journey. A Night Stars agent, Jiana Falco saves him from being hit by a car and declares she wants to join Universe. Jiana has an interesting talent where she can see and manipulate shadows. She and Quillan wind up on the run and – well – love and mayhem ensues!
As for when it comes out, my deal with Soul Mate Publishing is on a book by book basis. I am just about ready to query my editor and see if she wants to see it to publish it. Fingers crossed she will!
Jann: Can you share with us what’s on your writing horizon?
Claire: I am always writing something. At the moment I have stories in several different anthologies that should be out by the end of the year. They are as follows:
• The Only One Alive-Transcendent-release date TBA but by the end of the year. This is an odd little psychological story that is a touch horror and a touch weirdness.
• Encounter With a Spring Goddess-Spring’s Blessing-November, 2018. This is a fantasy story about little-known Spring goddess Artio and her encounter with two orphans in the woods.
• Touch of the Silver Dragon-Downstream-release date TBA. This is a lovely dragon story that works off the theme I’ve developed for any dragons I write. In this one a captured dragon and a hopeless, but not helpless, servant girl in China bond together to survive.
• Mother’s Night-Tell-Tale Press. An anti-Christmas story of sorts that weaves in pagan goddesses, St. Nick and a beleaguered Santa Claus. I don’t know the timing on this one.
• Of Water and Fire-Belle Muse Press/Voices of the Deep-this is part of a mermaid/siren box set that will be available for pre-order on November 14th and released November 23rd. This novella is a continuation of a short story I wrote a year and a half ago for a now defunct publisher telling the story of a college-age siren and the descendant of Hephaestus who gets involved with her. In this tale there is another demi-god on campus who wants her to sing for him and will go to any lengths to make that happen. The gods—and the volcanos—of Hawaii are displeased by this.
Next year I have stories in two box sets that I am still working on:
• Souls and Shadows box set-a collection of paranormal stories with magic elements and, of course, romance! I am working on this story but there will be a demi-god and a magical being who is affiliated with Hecate (yep, I went Greek on both of these box sets). This should release mid next year.
• When Darkness Falls box set-I’ve got another demi-god and a gorgon in this one. I think the gorgons were terribly mistreated and very misunderstood. In this book which will be the start of (yet) another series our gorgon and our half banshee/half Greek god are tasked with finding out who is killing gods. This should be out mid next year as well.
If all that isn’t enough, once I finish with edits on Tracking Shadows (Universe Chronicles Book 2) I am going right into edits for Earth Tremors, the fourth Elementals’ Challenge book. I hope to get that out later next year.
If anyone wants to find out more about me you can visit my website at www.clairedavon.com, or if you want to join my Facebook author page that’s https://www.facebook.com/ClaireDavonindieauthor/
Thanks for hosting me!
Jann: Claire thank you so much for taking time to share your world.
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Jill Piscitello is a teacher with a passion for writing and an avid fan of multiple literary genres. Although she divides her reading hours among several books at a time, a lighthearted story offering an escape from the real world can always be found on her nightstand.
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Glynnis Campbell is a USA Today bestselling author of swashbuckling “medieval action-adventure romances,” mostly set in Scotland, with over two dozen books published in six languages.
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Claire Davon can’t remember a time when writing wasn’t part of her life. Growing up, she used to write stories with her friends. As a teenager she started out reading fantasy and science fiction, but her diet quickly changed to romance and happily-ever-after’s. A native of Massachusetts and cold weather, she left all that behind […]
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Claire Davon can’t remember a time when writing wasn’t part of her life. Growing up, she used to write stories with her friends. As a teenager she started out reading fantasy and science fiction, but her diet quickly changed to romance and happily-ever-after’s. A native of Massachusetts and cold weather, she left all that behind […]
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Barb loves reading, writing and animals, not necessarily in that order. She writes contemporary and paranormal stories of love, laughter and magic, and you’re going to know there’ll be a feature creature in there somewhere.
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