Donna Schwartze writes mouthwatering alpha heroes in aggressive pursuit of strong, yet slightly vulnerable heroines. With the exception of walking on a beach, Donna would almost always rather be snuggling on her couch with a fluffy blanket and an even fluffier dog. Her favorite character from her books is Mack (all the alpha, all the tender) from The Trident Trilogy. She’s an avid yogi and plans to still be able to do the splits on her 100th birthday. She’s a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She also holds a Master of Arts from Webster University.
Contact Donna at donnaschwartzeauthor@gmail.com.
For inquiries regarding available film/TV rights, please email Donna at donnaschwartzeauthor@gmail.com.
My books are available on Amazon and free on Kindle Unlimited.
Q & A with Donna
When and why did you start writing?
I’ve been writing all of my adult life—first in journalism school and then in corporate communications. I started writing fiction when we got locked down in early 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. Writing a novel provided a lovely way for me to get lost in another world for a while and forget about all the craziness that was going on in the real world. By August 2020, I had published my first book, Eight Years. Now, I’m hooked on writing fiction!
What was the best advice you received as a new author?
I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron before I started writing. It was inspiring in so many ways. I’m paraphrasing, but one thing she said was to write something you would enjoy reading yourself. The fiction books I love to read are heavy dialogue. As a reader, I get lost in a lot of description. I was worried that my readers wouldn’t like the format, but they love it. The comment I get the most is that my books are a “fast read.” That’s exactly what I wanted. As a reader, I love a book that I can’t put down.
Your books feature very strong female protagonists. Is that important to you?
Definitely. For the genre, I believe in an alpha male. I think it works in fictional romance and certainly adds a lot of steam. But I needed to even out that bravado with an equally strong female character. One of my reviewers of The Trident Trilogy said “Personally, I appreciated the strong female character, who wasn’t afraid to use her sexuality.” That’s exactly how I wanted readers to feel about Millie.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yes, but I’m not sure I realized it. From a very young age, I’ve had stories swirling around in my head. When I was growing up, I didn’t know being a writer was a way to make a living. I was raised to be practical—get a “real” job. I followed that playbook for fifty years, until I finally decided to be impractical. I wrote my first book when I was over 50. It’s really never too late. I plan to be writing well into my golden years.