May Featured Author: Libby Doyle

Please tell us a little bit about yourself

Have you ever been asked in an interview to describe yourself in one word? Being a writer who loves words, it’s hard for me to choose only one. I’ll offer three: intrepid, high-strung and eclectic.

I say intrepid because I’ve never shied away from an adventure, like when I moved to Japan for three years or trekked alone for days in the Himalayas.

I say high-strung because I’m convinced I’m one of those people psychologists call “highly sensitive.” This has nothing to do with hurt feelings. It means we take in more sensory information than other people. Our neurons fire more. The downside is a lack of serenity. The upside? An active imagination and tons of empathy. Just what a storyteller needs.

I say eclectic because my tastes are all over the map. I idolize the great writer Cormac McCarthy, but I’m just as likely to read Sherrilyn Kenyon. I listen to everything from the Butthole Surfers to Bach. I’m equal parts city and country mouse. I can find something to like about everything (except using impact as a verb, auto-tuned singing and mornings before I’ve had my coffee).

As for how I pay my bills, I’m an attorney. I’m also a former journalist who always dreamed about writing novels. For a long time, I found it too daunting, but law school cured me of that. I worked full time while attending classes at night. It was brutal. I figured if I could do that, I could write a book. Or five.

What were your inspirations for writing or becoming an author?

Everything I’ve ever read went into my brain blender and out poured the Covalent Series. If I had to highlight a few works that inspire me: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Dune by Frank Herbert.

I’ve also been influenced by the work of Joss Whedon, of Buffy the Vampire fame. I love kick-ass female protagonists. Like Whedon, I think humor is an important element in a story.

Nature inspires me more than anything else. Mountains make me dream big.

Tell us about your Book(s)/Series(s).

The Covalent Series is genre-bending. No doubt about it. The backstory is an alternative version of Paradise Lost, but at its core, it’s a love story between a superhuman warrior from another dimension and a badass FBI agent. I’ll let Kirkus Reviews describe it for you “The author’s amalgamation of genres is impressive, mixing romance, erotica, and supernatural elements with an ongoing FBI investigation.”

The above is taken from the review for Book I, The Passion Season, but it applies to the five-part series as a whole. The Pain Season: Book II of the Covalent Series, is available now. I’m working on Book III, The Vengeance Season, due out this autumn.

For excerpt and reviews, visit my website: https://libbydoyle.com

Why did you write these books?

To have fun. To stretch my imagination and to fall in love with my characters. And I did. I’m stupid in love with my male hero, Barakiel. Which helps, given that my female hero, Zan O’Gara, is stupid in love with him, too.

Why should people buy them?

Because they’re good! Well-written and original as hell. In fact, one Amazon reviewer called The Passion Season, “one of a kind.” The Passion Season is also the 2016 Medalist in the Fantasy category of the New Apple Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing.

The Covalent Series has all you need for a ripsnorting good time: soul-shattering sex with a HOT alien warrior, some stylish violence when the warrior confronts his enemies, and a character who can manipulate the properties of matter and energy.

This latter character’s name is Pellus, a being known as a Covalent traveler adept. He navigates rifts in the fabric of existence to travel between dimensions. He can do cool stuff like bend light and shatter metal with his mind. It seems like magic, but it’s really science with a touch of art. Think of the possibilities!

Where can readers find your book(s)?

Here are buy links galore.

The Passion Season: Book I of the Covalent Series
Amazon: goo.gl/Ix0v3V
iBooks: goo.gl/jSQjlE

Barnes & Noble: goo.gl/nQRRo9
Kobo: goo.gl/CvDTgE
CreateSpace eStore (paperback): goo.gl/0Iof8o
Universal Link:books2read.com/u/3JKpag

The Pain Season: Book II of the Covalent Series
Amazon: goo.gl/O3MEfT
iBooks: goo.gl/JQIOHL
Barnes & Noble: goo.gl/sSNpSb
Kobo: goo.gl/AHm51x
CreateSpace eStore
(paperback): goo.gl/zTIyvH
Universal Link: books2read.com/u/3kZWk6
All of these can also be found on my website.