The Dark Side: Larissa Ione

The Dark Side aims to shed light on that deep, dark, mysterious side of an author, a face that she rarely, if ever, shows to the public. What secret is she hiding behind that enigmatic smile on her official photo (if any)? what juicy tidbit is she keeping from the world? What are some of the things that she liked, things we would never know, because it's not part of her bio?

Today, we have with us LARISSA IONE, author of SIN UNDONE, who regaled us in a previous post with some fun facts about her book and an exclusive excerpt.

Remember, think dark, dark, dark...

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
Wow...there are so many! I'll just go with my most recent, which happened this August while at my class reunion. I actually fell on the dance floor and broke my arm. These people haven't seen me in 25 years, and I manage to fall and break myself. Yep...nothing has changed...

Do you believe in ghosts and supernatural phenomenon? Have you ever had a close encounter? Do tell us about it.
I do believe. I've had several experiences with supernatural phenomenon, but the one that sticks with me most is meeting my spirit guide. See, when I was six, I lost a tooth, put it under my pillow, and expected to find money under the pillow the next morning, which was Easter. I woke up, rolled over, and in the morning sun, I saw a woman in a white dress standing by my bed. I thought it was the tooth fairy. Well, I blinked, and when I opened my eyes again, the beautiful blond woman was gone. (As a side note, instead of money, my parents left me a chocolate Easter bunny.)

Fast forward twenty-five years. I went to listen to the psychic Sylvia Brown speak. She was there with her son, who is also psychic, and I happened to run into him in the hotel hall. We chatted, and I asked him the name of my spirit guide. He told me it was Veronica...but I could call her Ronnie. Then, he smiled and said, "You've met her." I was like, um...okay. He said, "You were a child. You woke up one morning and saw her. She has blond hair, blue eyes, and she was wearing a white dress. You thought she was the tooth fairy. Oh, and it was Easter morning."

Yeah...if I wasn't a believer before, that pretty much did it!

Please share one deep, dark secret from your childhood/young adulthood.
This isn't really a secret as much as it is just...weird...but when I was around 5 years old, my mom put me down for a nap, and when I woke up, my memory was gone. I remembered nothing about the days/years leading up to my waking up. I still don't remember.

What did you learn from the dark time/s you’ve experienced?
That as bad as things might be at the moment, time eventually makes things better. Life can be hard, but I've learned that I'm a lot tougher than think.

What television series featuring dark themes did you enjoy the most? Why?
I love Angel. It's dark, but punctuated with moments of lightness that keep it from being too depressing. I love the atmosphere, the serious issues, the way happy endings are never easy, just like in real life.

Lightning Round.

white or dark chocolate : Ugh...neither! Gimme milk chocolate!
milk or coffee: Coffee!
night or day : Night
coke or 7-up : Coke. 7-Up takes like sickness and death...it was what my mom always gave me when I was ill. I still drink it, but only when I'm sick.
New York cheesecake or black forest cake : Tough one. I love cheesecake but I'm picky about it. Would rather have the black forest cake than most cheesecake.
vampire or werewolf : Vampire
football game or candlelit dinner : candlelit dinner
ebook or print : print
spring or autumn : autumn
sweet or salty : salty
kitten or puppy : kitten
cook or take-out : take-out

Larissa Ione's SIN UNDONE is now available at Book Depository (print). This title is also included in the list of giveaways for our ongoing contest.

Larissa Ione's other titles:

Pleasure Unbound  (41% off at Book Depository!)
Tempting the Fire