Author Interview & Contest with Chloe Neill

Just to keep you all on your toes we have another guest this week! Chloe Neill is the author of the Chicagoland Vampires series. Book one, Some Girls Bite, came out earlier this year and book two, Friday Night Bites, is due out on October 6th.

Some Girls Bite really impressed me and I am looking forward to the next in the series and am really happy to have Chloe here as a guest in time to see her next release out in the stores.

So read the interview and enter the contest! Jeanne Stein is still around till Wednesday so make sure you check out both interviews and contests!

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Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you here as a guest! Could you start things off by telling us a little about your Chicagoland Vampire series?

Chloe - Hi, Amber! Thanks for having me. The CV series tells the story of Merit, a graduate student who's made a vampire against her will. She must come to terms with the supernatural in Chicago, and there are some bumps along the road. Luckily, she has a great friend--Mallory--and supportive grandfather to help her along the way.

Chloe - The second book in the series is out soon! Can you tell us a little bit about the story this time around?

Chloe - Absolutely. Friday Night Bites, which will be released on October 6, is the second book in the series. Merit has been a vampire for about two months now, but otherwise FNB picks up where the first book in the series, Some Girls Bite, left off. Merit, who serves as Sentinel for her particular House of vampires, must try to stop a very damaging news story about some unsavory vampire activities. Drama ensues. :)

Amber - How did you come up with the idea for the series? Was it a long process or did it just come to you?

Chloe - I read a lot of urban fantasy and knew I wanted to write about a heroine who was a vampire herself--instead of a woman who has to deal with male vampires. I got an idea for Ethan Sullivan, the head of Merit's House of vampires, and the rest is history.

Amber - What kind of research have you had to do for the books so far? Anything interesting or is research boring?

Chloe - I love research. It's hard for me to avoid checking the Interwebs when I'm trying to write, checking out little tidbits here and there. Some of the things I've researched: the organization of feudal England, Chicago food favorites, the Hyde Park neighborhood, Chicago's gilded age, medieval oaths, and the U of C English Department..

Amber - How many more books will there be in the series? Are you working on any other projects you would like to tell us about?

Chloe - There are four books currently under contract in the CV series, although I have more planned. But that depends on readers! I also have a new series starting next year--the Novels of the Dark Elite. This is a YA series, which begins with FIRESPELL on January 5, 2010. The series tells the story of Lily Parker, a 16 year old who's sent to boarding school in Chicago, and learns that things do, indeed, go bump in the night.

Amber - Have you always wanted to be an author? and why did you pick the paranormal genre?

Chloe - Actually, no. Writing used to scare me. But then I went through a period where I read a lot of books, and I decided it was time to write down my own story. I was a big paranormal fan--I love the drama, the intrigue, the mystery of the supernatural--so it was a natural that I wrote the kind of things that I loved to read.

Amber - Something I have always wondered about is how authors come up with the names for their characters. How do you pick the names you use in your books?

Chloe - I keep a list of names that I like, but mostly I keep searching until the name "picks" the character. A baby name book or a web search for "Irish names" or "Italian names", etc., really helps.

Amber - There are so many online sites eg, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace etc to get in touch with fans. Which sites are you signed up with? Is it hard to keep up with them all? Do you think they are good?

Chloe - I'm on Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Yahoo Groups, Goodreads and Amazon (author profile) and I have my own Web site and blog. Yes, it's definitely hard to keep up with them. But I love being able to connect with fans, and since I can't be everywhere at the same time, it's the best way to do that.

Amber - What is the easiest and hardest part about being an author?

Chloe - The hardest part is definitely keeping up with deadlines--finishing the book, completing the editing process, trying to find time to market, finishing guest blogs on time, etc., etc. I'm not sure there is an easiest part, although it's certainly great to learn that someone really enjoyed something I've read.

Amber - How do you relax? Do you have any hobbies?

Chloe - Exercise, playing with my dog, reading. The usual stuff, although I don't have much time for anything other than writing/editing/marketing right now. Maybe when I'm done with my current deadline. . . .

Amber - Alot of authors have 'soundtracks' for their books. Is there any music that influenced your books?

Chloe - I listened to a lot of Nine Inch Nails and Tool when I wrote Some Girls Bite. I haven't listened to music as much for Friday Night Bites or Twice Bitten, the third book in the series (which I'm currently drafting). But I usually have the television on to the Travel Channel or USA while I write. I like the background noise.

Amber - What books do you enjoy reading? Do you have any favourite authors/series?

Chloe - There are a few paranormal series that I love, including Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series, and the new Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. I'm also really excited for the release of Diana Gabaldon's new book on Tuesday!

Amber - If you could be any paranormal creature, what would you be and why?

Chloe - Oooh, hard question. If I could be in Cadogan House, probably a vampire. :)

Amber - Thank you for visiting Amberkatze's Book Blog! I hope you will come back again someday!

Chloe - Thanks so much for having me!!

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Contest Time!

I am giving away a copy of a Chicagoland Vampires book. The winner will get to choose if they want the first in the series or the new release.

So if you haven't started the series yet or are, like me, eagerly awaiting book two in the series, this is your chance to get a copy!

So to enter the contest all you have to do is say where you would set your vampire book? It doesn't have to be the town you live in but somewhere you think would been a great setting for a vampire series.

No location = No entry!

The usual rules apply!

Earn another entry for each place you link this contest on the net. Make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries!

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

I can offer more prizes if my Amazon Associates account gets more money!! So please make sure you order at Amazon.com through the links around the site and help keep the contest coming!



The contest will stay open until Sunday 27th of September 2009 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.

If you are claiming a prize, have emailed me and have not heard back before the 7 day limit is up then post a comment here on the blog. Your email may get sucked into my spam filter.