Author Interview & Contest with Carrie Vaughn

This month my author guests all have a story in the anthology 'Those Who Fight Monsters'. From all of the stories in the book there was one that really stood out for me. Carrie Vaughn's "Defining Shadows" was my favourite story (shhh don't tell the other authors) in the collection and I couldn't resist asking the writer to be a guest here again on Amberkatze's Book Blog.

I love Carrie's books and her Kitty series is one of my favourite must buy and must reads. I hope you enjoy the interview about her short story in Those Who Fight Monsters, what Kitty is up to and what else Carrie is up to writing wise.

Oh and Carrie is giving away a book! Make sure you enter the contest for your chance to win!

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Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you here as a guest! You have a short story inside the new anthology Those Who Fight Monsters. Can you tell us a little about it?

Carrie - Thanks for inviting me! "Defining Shadows" is about one of the secondary characters from my Kitty series, Detective Jessi Hardin, investigating a very strange case. She's called in when half a body -- a set of legs, essentially -- is discovered standing upright. She guesses that this isn't an ordinary case, but the answers she eventually finds are even more bizarre than she anticipated.

Amber - So how did you pick what to write for the anthology? Was it hard coming up with something or was the story all ready filed away ready for something like this?

Carrie - I've been wanting to write a story about Detective Hardin working on a case for a long time, so this -- an anthology about detectives and the supernatural -- was the perfect opportunity. I've also been wanting to write about the manananggal, the Filipino creature at the center of the crime, ever since I heard about them from a Filipina friend of mine. So I put both ideas together.

Amber - When you write a short story does the publisher set you limits or do you just write and hope the piece is long/short enough?

Carrie - The anthology guidelines usually have limits. Some anthologies want shorter stories, some will let me write longer stories. I try to pick an idea that will fit within those limits before I even start writing.

Amber - How do anthologies really work? Do you the authors get together and have a chat and a few drinks? Discuss your story ideas? Or is it all emails and no contact with anyone else?

Carrie - In almost every case there's an editor (Justin Gustainis in this case) who comes up with the theme of the anthology, or has a group of writers that he or she wants to work with. The editor will bring the idea to a publisher and recruit writers. The writers rarely have contact with each other -- it's all done through the editor. Usually the editor is looking for a good variety of stories, that still fit within a theme (although a theme can be as loose as "Year's Best Science Fiction"), so the authors involved don't really need to work with each other. It's up to the editor to decide that the stories all fit and are the best they can be. (One exception is a shared-world anthology, like the work I do on Wild Cards. In those cases, the stories are interconnected, so the writers have to work with each other to get the facts and characters straight.)

Amber - Have you read all the stories in Those Who Fight Monsters? Did you have any favourites?

Carrie - I haven't read any of them yet! (except my own, of course) That's tough thing about being in an anthology like this -- I've seen the table of contents, I know the other authors involved, but I won't see the finished product until I get my own author copy. I'll be reading it for the first time along with everyone else!

Amber - I really like the story and it was quite possibly my favourite in the book. Will the story turn into a series?

Carrie - I don't know that it will turn into a series about Detective Hardin, but she's definitely an ongoing character in the series and I'll definitely be writing more about her. In fact, if you liked this story you'll want to check out my novella, "Long Time Waiting," in Kitty's Greatest Hits, coming out in August this year. There's some overlap between
the two stories.

Amber - You have a few books due out this year. Give us the low down tell us all about them!

Carrie - Steel is my young adult novel about time travel, swordfighting, and pirates, due out in March. After the Golden Age is my superhero novel -- about the daughter of the city's greatest heroes, who works as an accountant -- due out in April. The next Kitty novel, Kitty's Big Trouble, will be out in June. Kitty has adventures in San Francisco's Chinatown.
Kitty's Greatest Hits, a collection of many of the short stories I've written about Kitty and her world, will be out in August.

Amber - I am still hoping for a sequel to Voices of Dragons. Will there be one?

Carrie - I hope so! Unfortunately, it's not on the schedule just yet, so I may have to wait a little while before I get to it.

Amber - How is Kitty doing? Is she getting old and tired yet or will we be seeing a lot more of her in the future? Are you working on any other projects?

Carrie - Kitty's not done yet. The ninth novel will be out this summer, and I've just finished the tenth. I have at least a couple more planned after that. I'm always working on other projects -- I like writing adventure-oriented young adult books and I have more like that planned. I always have more ideas than I can possibly work on at once, so I'm keeping busy.

Amber - What made you want to be a writer? Were there any books or authors that had an influence on you?

Carrie - I always loved reading, and I always wrote down things -- I was a great daydreamer, and was always spinning stories in my mind. By the time I got to high school I realized I could really do this as a career, and since I wasn't any good at sports or music, writing was the one thing I could do. So I went for it. Ray Bradbury and Robin McKinley were great influences.
Bradbury for his use of language, for teaching me that words matter; and McKinley for her amazing characters who I wanted to be friends with. I wanted to be able to do that.

Amber - Is there any genre you have not tried writing that you would like to?

Carrie - Space opera/planetary science fiction. It's a genre I love reading, and I've written a few short stories in it, but I would love to write a novel in that genre.

Amber - Could you write a book together with another author? If yes, which author would you like to work with and why?

Carrie - I'm not sure I could. I know lots of other people who've collaborated, and I'd love to try it if it's an author I like, and we had a really good idea. But I'm also kind of a control freak, so it might be tough. On the other hand, I've written for the Wild Cards series, which are shared-world books so there I'm often working with several other writers to make sure our stories fit together. But my pieces for those are usually shorter than novel length.

Amber - What other paranormal creatures would you want to write about besides the ones you've already written about? Is there any you just don't like, and would never use in your books?

Carrie - There are so many…I haven't done much with the creatures of Greek mythology -- sphinxes, Cyclopes, sirens, hydras and the like, and I think I would like to. I'm really not fond of the shambling brain eating type zombies that seem to be all the craze right now.

Amber - What are you listening, reading and watching lately? Any recommendations?

Carrie - I've been reading a lot of non-fiction for research. Right now I'm reading a book on women pilots in World War II in Britain, called Spitfire Women. I've also been reading MLN Hanover's urban fantasy series -- it's good. The most recent book is Vicious Grace.

Amber - If you could visit any famous person, alive or dead, who would you visit? and why?

Carrie - Queen Elizabeth (the first) is who I usually list for these. She as amazing, centuries ahead of her time. The things she did -- rule on her own, turn England into a world power -- should have been impossible, but she did it.

Amber - Thank you so much for popping by! I hope you come visit again soon!








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Contest Time

Carrie has a new YA novel out this week called Steel and she has a copy to give away! Thanks Carrie!

How To Enter

What are you reading and what do you want to be reading?


No answer = No Entry


Earn more entries for each link you place about this contest on the net. You can post on Facebook, Twitter & MySpace but make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries! However please do not make individual postings for each entry. Please post all your entries in one post.

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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.

Make sure you post your links here so I can confirm your entries.

Keep the contests going by using the Bookdepository.com and Amazon.com links/Banners below and around the site!





The contest will stay open until Sunday 20th of March 2011 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.



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Who are Those Who Fight Monsters?

Danny Hendrickson - from Laura Anne Gilman's Cosa Nostradamus series.
Kate Connor - from Julie Kenner’s Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series.
John Taylor - from Simon R. Green’s Nightside series.
Jill Kismet - from Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet series.
Jessi Hardin - from Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series.
Quincey Morris - from Justin Gustainis’ Morris/Chastain Investigations series.
Marla Mason - from T. A. Pratt's Marla Mason series.
Tony Foster - from Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows series.
Dawn Madison - from Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series.
Pete Caldecott - from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London series.
Tony Giodone - from C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s Tales of the Sazi series.
Jezebel - from Jackie Kessler’s Hell on Earth series.
Piers Knight - from C. J. Henderson’s Brooklyn Knight series.
Cassiel - from Rachel Caine’s Outcast Season series.


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