Header Menu

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Author Interview & Contest with Molly Harper

Author Molly Harper joins me again this week on Amberkatze's Book Blog! Molly stopped by a while back when her first book in the 'Nice Girls Don't...' series came out. Now book three in the series is about to be releasesd and I am eagerly awaiting my email from Amazon to say it is on the way ;)

So sit back and enjoy the interview and make sure you enter the contest at the end! Maybe you will be lucky and win a copy of Molly's new release!

----------------------

Amber - Welcome back to Amberkatze's Book Blog! Thank you for joining us again. I have really been enjoying your 'Nice Girls Don't..' series but just incase some of my readers haven't had the pleasure...maybe you can start things off by telling us a little about the books so far? The newest edition to the series, NICE GIRLS DON'T LIVE FOREVER, is due out any day now. What can we expect from the third book?


Molly -In the first two books, new vampire Jane Jameson was struggling to adapt to her new lifestyle. She's found a job she loves, new friends, and a source for her bottled blood. In the third book, Nice Girls Don't Live Forever, she's forced to confront some long-simmering issues with her boyfriend/sire, Gabriel. The seductive, anonymous notes that await Gabriel at each stop of their vacation, coupled with his evasive behavior over the past few months, finally push Jane onto the next flight home to Half Moon Hollow - alone, upset, and unsure whether Gabriel just ended their relationship without actually telling her.

Now the children's-librarian-turned-vampire is reviving with plenty of Faux Type O, some TLC from her colorful friends and family, and her plans for a Brave New Jane. Step One: Get her newly-renovated occult bookstore off the ground. Step Two: Support her best friend, Zeb, and his werewolf bride as they prepare for the impending birth of their baby . . . or litter. Step Three: Figure out who's been sending her threatening letters, and how her hostile pen pal is tied to Gabriel. Because for this nice girl, surviving a broken heart is becoming a matter of life and undeath.

Amber - Will there be more books in the series? How long would you like to see things continue for Jane? Do you see an end in sight?

Molly - Right now, there are three books contracted in the series. I could see going for a few books. I know this will sound weird, but I think the characters will let me know when it's time to end things... Or you know, if I start writing a book where the entire cast of characters gets sent to jail together, that's when it will be time to cut things off.

Amber - One of the things that made your first book, NICE GIRLS DON'T HAVE FANGS, stand out was the quotes form the 'Guide for the Newly Undead'. Then in the second book, NICE GIRLS DON'T DATE DEAD MEN, you had quotes from 'Mating Rituals and Love Customs of the Were'. What book are the quotes from this time around? and where did the idea come from to use quotes like this at the beginning of each chapter?

Molly - Thanks! I knew there was going to be a guidebook for Jane because that's what she would need to survive. She's a book person, that's what she responds to. And when I started to think of the events of each chapter, I thought of the quotes from the guidebook that would apply to those situations. The quotes were better than any chapter title I could come up with and I thought it would be a fun way to introduce the reader to Jane's world.

The third book features quotes from a vampire self-help book on love called "Love Bites: A Female Vampire's Guide to Less Destructive Relationships." Jane starts reading it after she and Gabriel run into problems. (To put it mildly.)

Amber - You mentioned before that you would write a full version of 'Guide for the Newly Undead' if there was enough interest. Any progress on that? Would you do the same for 'Mating Rituals and Love Customs of the Were'?

Molly - I've been focused on finishing the vampire novels and some other projects, so I haven't started on a full version of the guide. And if there was interest in "Mating Rituals" I would expand on that, too.

Amber - How do you pick the names of your characters? Are they just names you like, people you know or do they have some other meaning?

Molly- I try to give my characters significant names. I wanted Jane to be an everygirl. She's a plain Jane. She's a little shy and a lot neurotic. And I knew I wanted her to have an alliterative name like the comic book heroes: Peter Parker, Lois Lane, Clark Kent. And I used Jameson because it allowed Dick Cheney to make a joke on their first meeting that said a lot about his personality and sort of set the tone for their whole relationship. This is a family blog, I probably shouldn't go into it here.

Gabriel is Jane's savior, so I wanted to name him after an archangel. For some reason, it just struck me as funny to have a vampire named Dick Cheney. Zeb is my sister's middle name. Jettie Belle was a many-times great relative on my mom's side whom I'm said to resemble.

Amber - Are you working on any other projects you would like to tell us about?

Molly - I have a non-paranormal romance, AND ONE LAST THING, being released by Pocket Books in August 2010. It's about a woman named Lacey, who finds out her husband, Mike, is cheating on her. She uses his business mailing list to send a mass e-mail to his friends, family and clients, announcing his infidelity in stunning, technicolor detail. This is not well-received by said friends, neighbors and clients, and Lacey is exiled to a family cabin by a lake. She meets her new neighbor, Monroe, a grumpy crime writer with an unfortunate buttock-related nickname and a strange aversion to recent divorcees. Random nudity and romantic hijinks ensue.

I also have an as-yet untitled werewolf project that was just picked up by Pocket. The release date has not been determined yet, but I'm really excited about it. And the "Mating Rituals" notes were a huge help!

Amber - Werewolf or vampire? Both appear in your books but who do you prefer? Team Jacob or Team Edward? ;)

Molly - Well, before I saw New Moon, I was completely on Team Edward, but now... Yowsa. Holy Six-Pack Abs, Batman. Obviously, I see the appeal of both werewolves and vampires. And now that I've written about werewolves as romantic interests, I have to say it's pretty sexy to write about a man who overcome by his animal instincts in wanting a woman's body, not her blood. But vampires will always have that sexy, cool mysterious thing going for them. They're the bad boys of the underworld. I'm torn between the two teams. Isn't this how wars start?

Amber - What was the best book you read and best film you saw in 2009?

Molly - My favorite movie for this year is a British comedy called RUN FAT BOY RUN. It stars Simon Pegg, from HOT FUZZ, which is another awesome movie. Pegg plays an unreliable guy who agrees to compete in the Nike River Run to try to get his life back in order. It's profane and quirky and hilarious. A close second would be DEATH AT A FUNERAL, another great British comedy. I don't know why I like dry English humor, I just do.

I've been reading a lot of young adult books this year. My mom teaches eighth grade English and I've spent a little time trying to find alternatives for her students who want to read my books. I found Beth Fantaskey, who has written a wonderful age-appropriate vampire book called JESSICA'S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE. It's funny and snarky and compelling. Beth has another book coming out in May called JEKEL LOVES HYDE, a darker, sexy update on the classic Stevenson tale.

Amber - I am pretty sure writing books is hard work! How do you relax?

Molly - I have a day job and I write every night, so really, the only time I'm not working is when my family travels or we declare Family Movie Night. (You haven't lived until a one-year-old and five-year-old plant themselves in your bed and the five-year-old proclaims that you WILL watch Barbie and the Nutcracker for the twelfth time this year. AND you will be making popcorn. Or else.)

Also, I really love spending time with my husband, David. We've been together since high school and he's the only person on the planet that can put up with me for more than a few hours. We just got back from a trip to New York, where we saw Phantom of the Opera and ate a ridiculous amount of food from vendor carts. Mmmm. Falafel.

Amber - Thank you for being a guest again on Amberkatze's Book Blog! Good luck with the new release and make sure you stop by again!

Molly -Thanks for having me!


------------------------

Contest Time!!

Molly is giving away a signed copy of the third book, NICE GIRLS DON'T LIVE FOREVER, plus bookmarks (open internationally!)

All you have to do to enter is tell us what you will be doing to celebrate New Years!

No Answer = No entry!

Earn another entry for each place you link this contest on the net. You can post of Facebook, Twitter & MySpace but 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.

Keep the contests going by using the Amazon links below and around the site!





The contest will stay open until Sunday 3rd of January 2010 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.

Good Luck!

63 comments:

cait045 said...

I am celebrating my New Years in Dublin, Ireland with my whole extended family. 14 of us are flying over to drink with the Irish!!!

elaing8 said...

Great interview.I'm looking forward tot he third book.
I won't be doing anything for New Year's this year.Just staying home.

tweeted https://twitter.com/elaing8/status/7095781706

Tynga said...

Please count me in! I haev the first book, still need to get my hands on the second one tough.

At new year I'll be having a party with my bf's family. I can't wait to see my nieces and give them their presents =P

Thanks for stopping by Molly!
Happy holidays to both of you =)

TyngaUf(a)gmail.com

Sheere said...

I'm going to celebrate this New Years with my family, I'll choke with the grapes, gain a few pounds, the usually... =)

https://twitter.com/Sheeredry/status/7097703448


sheere.dry@gmail.com

Robyn @ Robolobolyn's Universe said...

This New Year's my parents are ditching my sis and I to go hang out with their old people friends. So the sis and I decided to rent movies and hang out. Probably pig out on leftover Christmas cookies and popcorn and such.

Robyn :)
roblolobolyn03(at)gmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

My parents offered to babysit on New Years, so it'll be the first time in about 4 years get to go out. We'll be going to a bar with my best friend and her husband. The other option was to stay home with my husband and read while he played video games. I was completely okay with that too.

Ladytink_534 said...

I think my husband's aunt is having a party so we'll probably go to that on New Years.

Ladytink_534(at)yahoo(dot)com

Van Pham said...

I will be celebrating news year at home with my family...probably just have dinner and watch a movie.

littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(dot)com

MrsMixx said...

Great Interview! I'm a big fan of Molly's books, they are in my top reads from 2009

I spend New year's Eve with the same friends every year, we only see each other as a group at this occasion. They all live all over France.
This year we're having a Hollywood Theme Party. We'll have to get movie costume and we'll be playing silly movie related games. We'll be eating Tartiflette (a very heavy and delicious French meal). I'm very excited about this year's New Year's Eve.

Abigail said...

New Years will be a party with some of my favorite people.

I linked this on the Contests & Giveaways section on my sidebar
http://allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com/

and I will posted this on my Win on Wed post


allthingsurbanfantasy[at]gmail[dot]com

Barbara E. said...

I haven't had a chance to pick up any of Molly's books yet, but I'm definitely going to as soon as I can.
I'm going to celebrate New Year's this year the same as I have for quite a few years now. Stay home and watch the festivities on television and listen to the neighbors shooting off their fireworks all night.

Unknown said...

Hi :)
Thank you for the interview with Molly Harper & thank you to Molly for sharing here. I enjoyed learning more about her and her writing.
:)
I'm going to watching New Year's Eve Times Square Ball Drop on TV at home.
My son is visiting me until January Second.
:)
Happy Holidays,
RKCharron

Llehn said...

I'll be throwing a dinner party for some of my closest friends :D

Anonymous said...

For New Year's, I'll be spending time with my dad and uncle...drinking, watching Three Stooges and playing Tripoley

Aimee said...

I'll be staying home on New Year's Eve. That's all.

gevin13{at}gmail{dot}com

wanda f said...

No celebration for me Ill be working 3 pm till 11 pm then home to bed .please enter me I have the first two books and loved them cant wait to read this one

buddyt said...

We usually have a pretty quiet New Years eve after all the Christmas celebrations.

Most of the family gets together and we watch one of the countdowns on the TV. It can change from year to year, depending which one sounds most interesting.

Carol

buddytho {at} gmail DOT com

booklover0226 said...

I'm going out to dinner and drinks with some friends at a restaurant.

Thanks and Happy New Year to All.

Tracey D
booklover0226 AT gmail DOT com

Sara said...

Great interview! I totally agree with Molly - I was Team Edward in Twilight but after watching New Moon...TEAM JACOB!

ON New Year's my family and I are going over to my friends' family to celebrate :)

sosarora_11(at)hotmail(dot)com

tetewa said...

Going to a friends house to play Wi and also some cards!

Sweet Vernal Zephyr said...

We have a very nice hotel suite rented for New Years and are going to have friends over to celebrate in style!

I've added your blog to my Holiday Contest Bar blog post as well.

Miranda
mdwartistry at yahoo dot com

Erica G said...

I have a 18 month old and am 36 weeks pregnant. We will be staying at home this year!

egreca (at) hotmail {dot} com

Spav said...

For New Year's I'll have dinner with my father and then I'm going to a party with some friends.

Tweet: http://twitter.com/Sparima/status/7127529736


spav05@gmail.com

Beleth said...

I'll spend new years with my family since we are almost never all of us together!
I tweeted the contest: http://twitter.com/beleth22/status/7127645092

Thank you!

battyaboutbats at gmail.com

Curling up by the Fire said...

I will be spending New Year's at home with my family as we spent Christmas travelling and visiting the in-laws and parents and grandparents. Around 11:30, all of the neighbours go outside and gather around and we celebrate the countdown together. It's a lot of fun, if a little cold.

Anonymous said...

I am staying home with my family to celebrate the new year. Trying to get my mom to babysit so that me and the hubby can go out for a bit. :)

lovestoread0708 (at)yahoo.com

Simply Stacie said...

I plan to spend a quiet night in with my man watching movies.

simplystacieblog at gmail dot com

Ina said...

Hi Molly!
Love your post - thanks for being here today.
I'm going to have dinner with my family and after that we will watch the fireworks...
greetings, Ina

Sue Brandes said...

Just going to watch some tv as I have to work on New Years Day. Nice post. Thanks for coming.

Roxy said...

Great interview!

I sadly won't be doing much for New Years. Probably sitting at home and watching movies with my man.

Deana H. said...

I will be celebrating New Year's with my friends at a "Vegas Night" fundraiser for my school.

Vickie said...

Molly: I love the covers of your books! Now to get to the content. I like the premise of the main character being a librarian and needing a guidebook. I think I would be the same way should that happen in my life. *grin*

For New Year's Eve will be mellow this year. I was just thinking that, back in the day, I used to see in New Year's Eve on the new decades with some flair (or at least flair-y to me). Saw in 1990 in Edinburgh, Scotland and 2000 in Las Vegas.
This seeing in the decade will be quiet, maybe play some Wii games with Lady K and DH...we'll see how late we can stay up....sigh....at least there's eggnog and Makers Mark.

Unknown said...

Watching the ball drop with my angels, and a glass of wine!

Unknown said...

I just subscribed via email
kristinia at lovingheartmommy dot com

Dawn M. said...

For New Year's Eve I'll be staying home and watching everybody else celebrate on tv. However, on New Year's Day I'll be getting together with extended family for a late Christmas. :0)

Thanks!
librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

For new years eve I will be spending time with my with my best friend of ten years who is now also my boyfriend and hoping to ring in the new year right!!

Eva S said...

I'll be celebrating at home with family and friends.

Thanks for the great giveaway!

eva.silkka at gmail.com

Unknown said...

I am celebrating New Years with my family back home here in Manila!!

We first make a small feast [new years is a big thing for us], we open all the lights [symbolic], and we light a few sparklers outside the house whilst watching all the fireworks from our neighbors!

Then we stuff our pockets and wallets with money [symbolic as well -- means that hopefully we would be lucky with money for the next year], and we eat and have fun!

its one big party!

rubs.escalona [at] gmail.com

rem said...

I'll spend new years with my family and then I'm going to a party with my friens

I tweeted the contest: http://twitter.com/rem_pdg/status/7157270676

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

I'm gonna be taking it easy for the New Years. I'll be hanging out with my family and hopefully my boyfriend while the ball drops =)

I hope everyone has a great Holiday!

mishtakes AT gmail DOT com

Valeen said...

I'll be celebrating the New Year at my mom's house surrounded by my crazy, fun family! I can hardly wait!

heatwave16 said...

We are going out to a late dinner with a few friends at a restaurant that is owned by other friends. Should be a great time.

throuthehaze said...

I will probably just celebrate at home this year with my family.

justpeachy36 said...

justpeachy36@yahoo.com

For New Years Eve, I'm going to spend the evening with my "honey" and drink virgin, Pina Colada's lol...

Please enter me in the giveaway.

heatwave16 said...

My honey and I are going out to dinner at our friend's restaurant to ring in the New Year!!!

Posted at twitter:
http://twitter.com/Heatwave316/status/7219551653

heatwave96@hotmail.com

Carmen R said...

I can't wait to read NICE GIRLS DON'T LIVE FOREVER. I have fallen in love with this series.

For new years I will hanging with some fellow book lovers having drinks while watching true blood.Should be a pretty laid back night and I'm looking forward to it.

hdtermite (at) yahoo (dot) com

Jackie said...

New Years will be spent at home away from all the bad weather and watching the ball drop on Telly...

Happy New Year to you Amber and thanks Molly for giving us the chance to win, nice informative interview for someone who has not read the books yet(me)....

Jackie B Central Texas
jacabur2008[AT]gmail[DOT]com

Kris said...

I will be celebrating New Years playing games (specifically Dominoes, Monopoly and Rummy) with my family. Also hope to finish "Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men" so that I can use my shiny B&N gift card to get the next book in the series!
I live in BG, KY and saw yesterday that you will be at the 2010 SOKY BOOKFEST. I will see you then!

Anonymous said...

I'll celebrate New Year's by reading the rest of "Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs." (Dopey but true! I'm on page 180.) I'll probably eat out with my book so I don't have to wash dishes!

Anonymous said...

I'll celebrate New Year's by reading the rest of "Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs." (Dopey but true! I'm on page 180.) I'll probably eat out with my book so I don't have to wash dishes!

octopedingenue AT gmail dot com

Unknown said...

right now, babysitting my granchild, argh, i use to be a party hard type gal and now im babysitting, and the kid dont even like me

SiNn said...

I loved the interview! count me in for me it willbe and was a ueit night at home with my family a few horror flicks and later on a good dinner

mariska said...

it was a surprise that my sister and her husband came to my house last night. we talked and shared everything till 12.30 am :)

a new year with my sister and my family. nothing can beat that feeling !

i haven't had any of your book, please count me in !

uniquas at ymail dot com

Tina said...

I just purchase the first book in this series. I'm very excited to start it.

I had a quiet New Years. It's hard staying up late when my little ones wake up before the sun rises.

tinaigne[at]yahoo[dot]com

Calliope said...

I so love the Jane series and can't wait to read NICE GIRLS DON'T LIVE FOREVER.

For New Year's we did the usual family hang-out watching movies, playing board games and eating hors d'oeuvres. It's simple, but I love it. Oh, and I finished reading Nicole Peeler's TEMPEST RISING.

ParaJunkee said...

I celebrated New Years at my mommas house and kept my little girl up until 1 in the morning. SHe loved it. - Parajunkee

Alwayzme said...

I celebrated my new years with some real good friends. We ate some great food and played a real fun game. I sent an email to you because I sent an email to tons of friends. My links are as follows:
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/alwayzme06
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/just_gonna_b_me
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alwayzme?ref=profile

Unknown said...

I celebrated New Year's with a pizza, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie, and then watched the ball drop. It was a nice, relaxed evening at home!

rocket_kay at hotmail dot com

donnas said...

I spent this years at home watching on TV.

Linked on sidebar - http://donnasbloghome.blogspot.com/

FrankSandy said...

I spent New Year's reading. walkerd@primus.ca

dsandyboy said...

I spent New Year's watching the festivities on TV.

dsandyboy@gmail.com

Jeanne Stein said...

Love you--love your books, Molly! And Amber, you are the best.

Jeanne

tenshinohanran said...

I stayed at home and made a triumvirate with my mother and sister.