This week my guest on Amberkatze's Book Blog is author Jeannie Holmes. Her debut novel, Blood Law, was an amazing read and I highly recommend it to all you Paranormal Urban Fantasy lovers! Put it on your wish list or try your luck in this weeks contest. You could win a copy!
Did you win something in the Halloween weekend contests? Some of the prizes have been claimed but there are still a few winners that I haven't heard from! Remember I don't chase down the winners! You have to come back and check if you won! Take a look and make sure you aren't missing out on some loot!
Last week I had quite a few author guests over for Halloween and therefore there was also quite a few contests. On top of that the Monthly Giveaway made an appearance and I have to say I am not surprised about which book won :)
However now it is time to announce who won! There are going to be some very happy people out there today :) Here goes!
Author HP Mallory was here and she was very kindly offering two of her books to two winners. The first winner to contact me to claim the prize can choose which book they would like (either To Kill A Warlock or Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble) and the winner who isn't as fast gets what is left over ;) Trick or Treat?
So here are the two winners! Congrats to -
Buddyt!!
&
Kathy!!
Next up was author Rachel Caine and I decided to offer up one of her books! Winners choice! That means the winner can pick the book they are missing or get the newest release. So who is the lucky winner? Congrats to -
Stephmartin71!!!
Keep reading to find out how to claim your prize!
Last but not least was author Maria Lima. The lovely author was very kindly giving away a copy of BLOOD HEAT or winner's choice of the BLOOD LINES books. So who is the winner? Well done -
Barbara E!!
However we still have two winners! The Monthly Giveaway had a Trick or Treat twist in October. The Trick or Treat Twist - I will pick two winners this month. The first winner to contact me gets a copy of the winning book. The second winner to contact me gets a copy of the book that gets the least votes!
So the first person to contact me gets a copy of Alpha and the second person gets a copy of Blood Lines. Who won? The email addresses beginning with -
deidre_durance!!
&
forceofstars!!
Thanks to everyone who entered the contests! Also a huge thank you to all the authors who took part in the Halloween weekend special and offered up prizes!
If you didn't win this time then keep trying! There are always more contests!
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How to claim your prize!
Please contact me via email - Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot eu within the next 7 days to claim your prize. Your claim will go quicker if you send me your address.
If you won a contest where you can choose your prize, then please make sure you state in your email which book you would like. This will help things go alot quicker!
If you email me and don't get a reply within 48 hours please post on the blog letting me know. Some email gets eaten by my spam filter. If a prize isn't claimed after 7 days I will, if the author agrees, pick another winner.
Please also note that I can not be held responsible for prizes that come direct from authors. I will check with them for you if you haven't received your prize but I can not hunt down your mail! Any prizes that come from myself could come from a 3rd party eg. Amazon or Bookdepository. If I am sending a prize myself please be aware that it could take a few weeks to reach you as it is coming from Europe.
Never miss out on a new Author Event, Contest or Book Review! Subscribe Now!
Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming! Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)
Also did you read - A Void City Halloween - Part 5 By J.F. Lewis? The story is exclusive to Amberkatze's Book Blog! You can find the links to the other parts of the story in the post!
And...I was contacted by a fellow blogger who has got together with another site to host a month long tribute to author Jennifer Rardin. As most of you already know the lovely author passed away in September and it shocked the whole Paranormal Genre.
Please click the button below to visit the events which includes author interviews and giveaways.
Last up is author Maria Lima. I love the blood lines series and Book 4, Blood Heat, just released last week! I was lucky enough to get an early copy and loved it! What can I say? The series just keeps getting better and better!
Enjoy the interview and enter the contest!
Anyway, I hope you all have a Happy Halloween! I am off to party! Enjoy the last author interview for this weekend! Have a spooky time and don't forget to enter all the contests! You have till November 7th!
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Amber - Welcome back to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to haveyou here as a guest again! Book four in your Blood Lines series iscoming out soon! What can we expect from Blood Heat?
Maria - Keira returns to Texas in Blood Heat to take up her mantle as Heir, co-ruling with Adam. Should be cake, right? Instead, there's trouble. A couple's gone missing from a nearby werewolf pack, and there are signs that this isn't just an average missing person situation.
Amber - Keira has seen a lot of action since the series started. How do you decide what to throw at her in each book?
Maria - Most of the time, I think about what the "ideal" next step would be in her life. In BLOOD HEAT, it was settling down in a routine as Heir; settling down with Adam. Then I try to figure out what would make the most impact. In BLOOD KIN, it was the revelation about her heritage, about Adam's heritage. In BLOOD HEAT, it's the fact that this quiet country location isn't as safe as it should be. Add that to natural issues, like a record-making heat wave and drought, and you have chaos.
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?
Maria - Each character name is carefully chosen. In many cases, the name speaks to me for one reason or another. Adam Walker - because he the first real love of Keira's life, and Walker because he is a nightwalker, a vampire. Keira is a name I looked at for a long time. It's Gaelic for "dark" - meaning dark haired. I also thought it sounded strong (the K sound) and was unusual. (Of course, when I first started writing this series in earnest, Keira Knightley was all of 15 years old and no one had heard of her). Tucker was named as a shout out to a character in Buffy - the boy who raised hellhounds. Niko - well, his nickname was after a friend's dog! But his "real" name, Nicholas, is from the Greek, meaning "victory of the people" - Niko has had many personal victories since his origin.
Amber - It has been just over a year since the last book in the series, Blood Kin, was released. How long does it take for you to write a full novel? Do some get finished faster than others?
Maria - Pretty much a full year. I do a LOT of mental "writing" - that's thinking about the story arc, where the next book is going to take my characters; how they are going to move forward, get challenged. Then I think about whole picture. What's happening around them in the community, in the state, at home with the Kelly clan? I always try to put in some sort of real world situation or issue--for example, in BLOOD BARGAIN it was missing teens (who ran away because of discrimination). In MATTERS, it was illegal immigrant workers. BLOOD HEAT will showcase something very prevalent in the area, though I don't want to give anything away, so I won't be specific! There's usually a couple of months of R&D and then I start the actual writing of the prose, which takes about 4-5 months.
Amber - What kind of research have you done for your books? Anything interesting or is the research boring?
Maria - LOVE research. Because the Internet is such a wondrous collection of information (and yes, some it so wrong), I'm able to do a lot of my reading online. There's a great Web site, The Handbook of Texas Online, run by the Texas Historical Association that provides me with tons of great data. For this latest book, I was able to research weather patterns, Texas high school football, and so much more. I often rent or buy documentaries or find information in online articles from reputable magazines. I also subscribe to Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Research is so much fun, that I end up with tons of notes and ideas for other plots. I keep those in a "plot bunny" file.
Amber - How is the future for the series looking? Will there be more books?
Maria - I'm currrently working on book 5, BLOOD SACRIFICE that is due out next fall. At this point, this is the last contracted book in the series.
Amber - What else have you been working on? Do you have any other projects you would like to tell us about?
Maria - It's been a busy year - especially in the first half. I've done 2 essays for the SmartPop books series - one for A TASTE OF TRUE BLOOD and the other for FILLED WITH GLEE. I've also done an essay for the upcoming (2011) book: WHEDONISTAS from Mad Norwegian Press. I love getting to write about genre television! Nothing else specifically in the pipeline (at least, that I can talk about!) but I'm considering a couple of other projects that have been burning a hole in my brain. I don't like not having something to work on...not that it's been a problem this year!
Amber - I am sure that being an author has its ups and downs. What experiences have you had so far?
Maria - The very best: getting to go to Comic-Con this year (on my own dime!) and meeting the wonderful folks from Simon & Schuster, plus getting to hang out with one of my all time favorite authors, Tanya Huff. She's one of the main authors that I consider an influence. It was reading her first Vicky Nelson book that gave me the "aha" moment.
The down side: deadlines, deadlines and more deadlines. Luckily, I changed my schedule at my regular job, so I only work 4 days a week. This allows me 2 full days to concentrate on the writing. Sundays are my day of rest and relaxation.
Amber - How much say do you have in the book publishing process? Eg. Do you get to pick the covers for your books?
Maria - Not even! Mostly, I get a sneak peek at the cover when it's near to being done. My editor gets an earlier peek and luckily, has a little bit of say. I've been very lucky so far and had brilliant covers for the Blood Lines series!
Amber - What was the last book you read? and the last film you watched? Any recommendations for Amberkatze's Book Blog readers for when they are not reading? :)
Maria - Last book: Seanan McGuire's AN ARTIFICIAL NIGHT, the 3rd in the Toby Daye series. I normally don't read much fiction when I'm in the midst of writing, but I couldn't wait to read this one. It's brilliant!! The last movie, hmm. Probably State of Play - the British Miniseries. I'm WOEFULLY behind on movies. Even though I have Netflix and can stream, I'm mostly watching documentaries these days.
Amber - Alot of authors have 'soundtracks' for their books. Is there any music influenced your books?
Maria - Yes, absolutely. Though I don't have a specific song list for the books, I love the old Child Ballads for atmosphere when I'm writing anything about the Faery Courts. Texas singer/songwriters: Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Tish Hinojosa. Anything that's got good folk/country roots with a little dollop of rock works for me. Recently, I was typing like mad listening to the Glee soundtrack--which totally doesn't fit the pattern.
Amber - There are alot of online sites taking up peoples time lately. Are you on Facebook or any other sites? Do you think the sites are useful or do they just take up too much of your time?
Maria - I'm utterly hooked. I'm on Facebook & Twitter, but I don't play any Facebook games. I use both as mini-micro blogs and ways to put out information. Since I have a day job that sometimes involves me looking at both sites (I write documentation, work on procedures, etc. for a Web firm), it's really easy to catch up on both sites during my work day. If I'm writing--actually typing out the book, I don't really go there that much.
Amber - If you could have superhero powers would kind would you pick? Or would you be a villain? :)
Maria - I'd love to be able to stop time around me, like Hiro in Heroes. That way, maybe I could get a lot more done!
Amber - Thank you for being a guest on Amberkatze's Book Blog! Feel free to come by again sometime!
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Contest Time
Maria is very kindly giving away a copy of BLOOD HEAT or winner's choice of the BLOOD LINES books.
How To Enter
What are you dressing up as this Halloween? Or what would you like to dress up as? ;)
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.
Advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog on your site and get an extra entry for this and every other contest!
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 links/Banners below and around the site!
The contest will stay open until Sunday 7th of November 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.
Halloween weekend here on Amberkatze's Book Blog is busy! Not only have authors Tate Hallaway, J.F. Lewis, Rachel Caine, HP Mallory and Laura Anne Gilman stopped by but there is still another interview and contest with Maria Lima to come!
However it is the end of the month. So that means it is time for the Monthly Giveaway! And to celebrate Halloween. There is a little Trick and Treat Twist this month!
Here is how it works!
Just go to the poll and vote for the book you want to win or the one you think deserves to win! Remember! You may not actually win the book.
The Trick or Treat Twist - I will pick two winners this month. The first winner to contact me gets a copy of the winning book. The second winner to contact me gets a copy of the book that gets the least votes!
Here is a little info about each book on offer. Just click on the book title and author to see my review -
Well in the sidebar <--- there is this poll. You vote for the book you would most like to win. I pick a name from the subscibers list and that person wins the book with the most votes. So you may not even win the book you voted for! This month (October only) there is a special Trick and Treat version! Two winners will be picked and the winner that contacts me first wins the winning book while the second winner will win the book with the least votes.
To subscribe to Amberkatze's Book Blog all you have to do is use the box in the sidebar <--- or at the bottom of this post. Everyone who is already subscribed will be entered in the contest as well as new subscribers. If you have not confirmed your email address then you will not be added to the draw!!! The poll will stay open for votes until Sunday 7th of November 4pm (all times are in Central European Time). The winner will be announced later than day.
For more chances to win -
Post about this giveaway somewhere on the internet eg. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter etc. Make sure you post the link here so I can confirm your extra entry.
Email your friends about this giveaway. Make sure you add my email address so I also get a copy and can confirm your entry. Amberkatzes_Book_Blog@gmx.eu
Use the Bookdepository or Amazon links/banners to keep the prizes coming! Oh and advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog wherever you can ;)
Halloween isn't over yet so that means there is still time for a couple more author guests and contests!
Next up is an author that, I hope, needs no introduction! Rachel Caine is one of the big names in the Paranormal Urban Fantasy genre and if you haven't read any of her books then you should be ashamed of yourself ;)
I hope you enjoy the interview and also take the time to enter the contest! Oh and keep tuned! There is still more Halloween fun to come!
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Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you here as a guest! The Morganville Vampire Series is still going strong! Ghost Town is nearly here and I can't wait. What can we expect from the new installment?
Rachel - Lots of twists and turns, for sure ... and lots of romance and scares and heartache, too. I really wanted to explore the whole idea of how people would react if parts of their memories began to disappear ... would you still be the same person? Would you still fall in love? And how do you survive when you no longer know who your friends and enemies are?
Amber - Ghost Town is book #9 in the series and #10, Bite Club, is due out in the Spring. Where is the series going? Will there be more? Do you see an end in sight?
Rachel - Well, right now, we have a contract for 12 books in total, so we'll have to see if (a) everybody is still interested in reading them at that point, and (b) if I still have more stories to tell! But there will be at least 12. I can promise that much.
Amber - How did the series come about? Did you always want to write a Young Adult Vampire series?
Rachel - I didn't! In fact, I didn't intend to write YA at all. I'd done vampire stories early in my career, in the early 1990s, and I didn't really think I had anything new to say about that ... but when I was given the opportunity, I did keep thinking about vampire stories, because those were some of the first things that really got me interested in reading and writing at a young age. Once I figured out that the story was really about this mysterious town, and all of the hidden agendas, it made sense to go ahead with it!
Amber - The Morganville series has had some amazing covers so far. Do you have a favourite?
Rachel - So many choices! I still love the US cover for FEAST OF FOOLS because, hey, look, a guy on the cover! And he's awfully cute, too. It's a lovely thing in design terms, too. But I love the new compilation covers for the 2-in-1 editions, and I love the green cover of GHOST TOWN, too. Argh!
Amber - There has been a lot of paranormal books made into films or TV Series. Would you like to see the Morganville Vampires on screen? Who could you see playing Claire, Shane, Michael and Eve?
Rachel - I'd love to see it come to the screen, but honestly, as to casting, I have no clue. I think it would probably be better to look for unknowns in the parts, although an awful lot of people are rallying for Alex Pettyfer, which is cool ... and if I could have David Tennant for Myrnin, I would be a happy, happy person.
Amber - The Weather Warden series is sadly over. Do you miss Joanne? Will we ever see her again?
Rachel - I do miss her, but we had some good, crazy, tough times together. And yes, we'll see her again, but I'm letting her have a happily ever after, for now. :)
Amber - So the Weather Wardens have earned a break after all that Earth saving. However the Djinn are still around. How is the Outcast series doing?
Rachel - It's doing very well! I've still got two more books coming in that series ... UNSEEN is already turned in and in production, so I just have UNBROKEN, the last in the series to write. Cassiel's been a heck of an interesting challenge, she's so different from my other characters.
Amber - Will we be seeing more of Cassiel and the other Djinn?
Rachel - Almost certainly, but probably not for a while. I'm going to move on to another series in August 2011 with the release of WORKING STIFF.
Amber - You are a busy bee but I know you have a lot of fans! I feel kind of cheeky asking but are you working on anything else? I know your readers can't get enough :)
Rachel - Aha, see, I already teased it, didn't I? Yes, a new series called The Revivalists, and the first novel is called WORKING STIFF. It's about a young woman in her first job as a funeral director who discovers that her bosses are reviving the dead down in the basement ... for profit.
Amber - How long on average does it take you to write a book? Do you have a process you follow? or do you just start at page one and see what happens?
Rachel - It takes about two months, generally. I always write from outlines, these days, which means of course that I have to stop and write the outlines at some point prior to starting the book. I usually write two or three outlines in a burst, so that I have them in reserve. But I try to leave plenty of room for improvisation, too.
Amber - How do you decide what to throw at your characters in each book?
Rachel - I think a lot of that comes from the characters themselves. In any given situation, a character will react according to their nature ... and sometimes, that drives the plot. For instance (and this is not a character I've written) ... what if you had a moment of decision and you could run out into traffic and save a child from getting kit by a car ... but you don't? How does that affect the rest of your life? In this situation, I can see the parents hating you, blaming you ... and maybe that drives the story. So you go from there.
Amber - How do you pick the names for your characters? Do they have any special meanings?
Rachel - They used to, when I was just starting, but now it's more a matter of what are good, solid names that don't start with the same letters, and preferably aren't too close to names I've already used before!
Amber - What have you been reading and watching lately? Do you have any recommendations for us?
Rachel - I love The Vampire Diaries. I'm a huge fan of the BBC series Being Human as well. Warehouse 13 is a personal obsession, as is Fringe!
Amber - If you were a superhero, what powers would you want? Or would you be a villain?
Rachel - I would definitely have the power to bend time. Because then I could get my deadlines met without ever asking for an extension. But I'd probably end up a villain, yeah. :)
Amber - Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! I hope you will come back to visit again another time!
Rachel - Thanks, Amber, it's been great! Happy Halloween!
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Contest Time
I am offering up a Rachel Caine book! Winners choice! That means you can pick the book you are missing or get the newest release (includes the omnibus books but excludes the anthologies. Winners choice must be available on Bookdepository or Amazon).
How To Enter
What is your favourite spooky movie to watch on Halloween?
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.
Advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog on your site and get an extra entry for this and every other contest!
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 links/Banners below and around the site!
The contest will stay open until Sunday 7th of November 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.
Happy Halloween!!! The weekend continues here on Amberkatze's Book Blog with another author guest!!
Laura Anne Gilman is well known for her Retrievers series but she also pens The Vineart War and Paranormal Scene Investigations.
Get to know the author and her books and maybe even order yourself a copy or fill up your wishlist!
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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 my readers a little about your Retriever and PSI series?
Laura Anne- Retrievers is the series title for the books featuring Wren Valere, who is a thief who uses magic to do her job, and her business partner/lover Sergei Didier. They're very much caper novels, in that Wren is hired for one job, but there's always more going on than she knows, and things tend to get out of control pretty fast, as it will when magic and New Yorkers are involved. There are six books in that series, with each one having an individual plot, but also building on what happened before. Paranormal Scene Investigations came out of the Retrievers books, in that the characters introduced there -- Bonnie Torres and her co-workers, a private firm
Amber - The Retrievers have been around for a while. Is that series done and dusted or will there be more to come?
Laura Anne- The wonderful thing about that series is that it's open-ended: the first story arc, covering Wren and Sergei's involvement in that particular period of Cosa History, is done, but their relationship goes on -- and we will, in fact, see Wren appear periodically in the PSI series, as their storylines cross over. As to there being another specifically Wren and Sergei novel to come -- If I said "absolutely not," the very next day I'd wake up with the perfect story to tell. But for now, I'm telling Bonnie's story.
Amber - I was lucky enough to read Hard Magic and I loved it. Will there be more books in that series?
Laura Anne- Absolutely -- the second book, PACK OF LIES, is already written, and scheduled for early 2011, and there are two more under contract. After that -- well, I'm not done with the Cosa Nostradamus universe, so like Wren, Bonnie could appear anywhere.
Amber - You have two new releases coming up. 'Flesh and Fire' and 'Weight of Stone' come out within weeks of each other. What is this new series about?
Laura Anne- FLESH AND FIRE is actually the mass market reprint of last year's hardcover, while WEIGHT OF STONE is book 2 of three books, overall (the third book will be out in 2012). The overall title of the trilogy is THE VINEART WAR, and it's an epic fantasy based very loosely on a 14th Century where an entirely different religious, political and magical system has formed, where magic is based in wine. The main character, Jerzy, is born into a very traditional world of Vinearts, or vine-mages, but comes of age in a world that's being torn apart by an unknown enemy, and has to adapt to a new world order, to save what he can of the old. In many ways, although it has the feel of "traditional" high fantasy, it's deeply influenced by the much more modern global fears...
FLESH AND FIRE was not only Library Journal's "best books of the year" list, but a Nebula nominee for best SF/F of the year. I was, needless to say, thrilled.
Amber - How did you come up with the idea for your books? Is it usually a long process or does it just come to you?
Laura Anne- The idea is the easy part! No writer ever lacks for ideas -- they drop into your brain at a rather disconcerting rate, born off something you see or hear or wonder about. It's discovering if they're actually viable as more than an idea -- if there's actually enough story there to support a book, if the characters are interesting, if they're going to grow or learn in the course of the story, if something catches fire out of the idea and drives you to a need-to-know-what-happens -- that is the hard part. That's the actual writing part. For me, the writing is both structured and organic: I have to sit down at my desk or my laptop every day, and say "okay, time to work now," but the brain never stops chewing over it, until the story is done. So in that regard, it's a long process -- it takes me anywhere form 6-12 months to get a book into proper shape, depending on how complicated the plot becomes.
Amber - Your books have a lot of danger and action in them. How do you decide what to throw at your characters in each book?
Laura Anne- That totally depends on how the plot grows. Danger is a way of forcing a character to deal with issues quickly, with a lot of drama, so it's very useful in storytelling. The story drives the action, but the character's REaction is what develops the story. That said, I try to match the action to the character; what worked for Wren, a thief, isn't the same sort of thing that, for example, Jerzy (the hero of The Vineart War) would face.
Amber - How do you pick the names for your characters? Do they have any special meanings?
Laura Anne - Names are chosen within the framework of the world around them: if you have a modern setting, naming someone "Fred" would make sense -- "G'rbzzzt wouldn't, unless they were from a culture where that was a common name. For example, in THE VINEART WAR, each character's name tells you what part of the world they're from: Jerzy (pronounced "yehr-zee") was born in a very different land than his friend Ao, or the princeling Kainam. In the same way, Wren Valere (Retrievers) has a different background than Bonita Torres (PSI). It all has to be internally consistent. But I've never picked a name because it has a specific meaning, no. Usually, by the time I've found their voice, the proper name comes to me.
Amber - What kind of research have you done for your books? Anything interesting or is the research boring?
Laura Anne- There's no such thing as boring research. Which just proves I'm a geek, I suppose. I've done everything from read books on Edison and Tesla (for the electrical-based magic in the Cosa Nostradamus) to spend two weeks in Burgundy to get a real feel for the land there, for The Vineart War. And, of course, when creating a wine-based magical system...well, drinking wine is research!
Amber - How much say do you have in the book publishing process? Eg. Do you get to pick the cover?
Laura Anne- *laughs* The writer controls what is put BETWEEN the covers. The text is ours. That's about it. The cover -- the artwork, the copy -- that's all designed by specially trained people: the copywriter and the art director, who chooses an artist and tells them what kind of 'look' they want. I've gotten a say in what I'd like, but it's just one voice, and not the most important one. Fortunately I've had great people doing really wonderful work at both Luna and Pocket. The covers might not always look what I would have imagined, but they've been striking and 'jump' off the shelves, which is exactly what you want.
Amber - What are the good times and bad times of being an author?
Laura Anne- They're two sides of the same coin: when the writing is going well, you feel amazing. When the writing is going slow/poorly... you feel like hell.
Amber - What is next? Are you working on any other projects you would like to tell us about?
Laura Anne- What's up next for now is more PSI novels, and then a spin-off series featuring Danny, the half-faun PI who appears in earlier books. Poor Danny. I'm about to make his life...Interesting. I'm also working on a new, rather different project called DRAGON VIRUS, which is darker, more SFnal, and should see print in Spring 2011. After that -- well, the one thing about being a writer is that you never know where your next project will lead you. Like I said earlier, the idea is the easy part.
Amber - There are a lot of online sites taking up peoples time lately. Are you on Facebook or any other sites? Do you think the sites are useful or do they just take up too much of your time?
Laura Anne- I think social networking can eat your available hours, if you're not careful -- but so can anything else, including television and sleeping! I'm on Facebook, Livejournal and Twitter, because I find that each one of those services suits a different need, but I limit how much time I spend on them (I use a software program that simply won't let me log on when I'm supposed to be working). I'm also a big fan of getting out of the office and writing longhand. Changing format makes me look at material differently, changing or shaking things up if I'm getting stale or writing into a rut.
Amber - What are you listening and watching lately? Is there any music or other media that influences your writing?
Laura Anne- I watch a lot of non-fiction television(as opposed to 'reality') tv. Mythbusters is an addiction, and so are the various nature and science shows -- I listen while I'm doing something else, and just let the ideas sink into my brain. You never know when or where something will come back and become part of a story! I'm also a huge fan of Leverage, because I love a well-written caper, and Justified (a new show staring Timothy Oliphant as a US Marshal) and Castle, because, well, great actors, and writers who are willing to write outside the cliché -- the relationship between Castle and his daughter is just wonderful, and very real. Other than that, I don't watch much television.
Music... I'm eclectic in my tastes, but I tend to write in silence most of the time; living in NYC you get a lot of ambient city noise that becomes a surprisingly soothing backdrop, like working in a tropical forest. Music, by contrast, is intrusive, and asks me to focus on IT rather than the words. Also, I tend to listen to music that makes me want to dance, and it's tough to boogie and type at the same time...
Amber - If you could be any paranormal creature, what would you be and why?
Laura Anne- a griffin. Something with wings, and yet catlike at the same time... that's about my idea of perfection.
Amber - Thanks for visiting Amberkatze's Book Blog! I hope you will stop by again!
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If you would like to buy one of Laura's books then please use the links below, above or around the site. More sales equals more contests on Amberkatze's Book Blog
I welcomed the Void into my life back when I got Staked. Later I got Revamped and things were even better in the Void. Now I am waiting for Crossed to come and pull me into the Void even more. However until then, this Halloween only, there is just a little taste of the Void going around.
Make sure you read the first parts of the story (links below) to get the full effect of the Void. Enjoy the amazing J.F. Lewis and make sure you wish list his books or put them in your basket. Other Void addicts should make sure to add Crossed to their pre-order lists.
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Even vampires can enjoy Halloween. They may be out for blood instead of candy, but it's still Halloween. Amber has been nice enough to offer up an entry on her blog for my wacky Halloween experiment, a serialized story set in the Void City universe and posted with minimal editing as I write it. I suppose you could read this installment out of order, but then you'd miss some of the fun.
Go trick or treat, but... not for candy. Here’s where the goodies are:
I've just split my eighth pumpkin when I see a lightning bolt hit a giant frick'n bat. I know it must be Greta even before I feel her pain. A sire is linked to all his offspring and I'm linked to Greta more closely than most. I feel her pain like a migraine spike behind my eyes and for the first time tonight, I'm not just put out, I'm furious. I turn in the air, trying to see where it came from, but the Great Pumpkin wannabes are swarming me- which is a good thing for the kids I'm trying to save, but pretty lousy for visibility.
When the hell did their number spike again? I swear there must be a two dozen of the damn things now.
"Greta?" I shout as I swat another pumpkin aside.
Greta’s flaming bat form thunks into the pavement below me, but between the waves of nefarious gourds and the pyrotechnics being generated,, I can't see well enough to tell if she's regenerating. At least when I'm uber vamped, I'm hard to burn. I'm not a bad flyer, but I work better when I'm smaller, dealing with wingbeat cycles as a bat rather than massive sweeping flaps of giant ubervamp leathery wings. The uber vamp flies more like a raven than a bat. I prefer bats.
The sound of pumpkins surrendering their structural integrity is all around me. Each wing flap takes out at least one or two and their innards are beginning to coat my wings, arms, and torso. Where the hell are they all coming from?
"Greta?" I shout her named again, focusing my hearing on the sound of her voice. Instead, behind the thrum of the dance music from the surrounding clubs and amused cries of the onlookers, I hear Talbot say the words "Sexy Big Bird" and Captain Stacey talking to someone from the Mage Guild, asking them to get down here. Then I realize I don't hear screams. Flaming Pumpkins are falling from the sky and hitting cars and occasionally people, but they aren't panicking, running, or taking cover. The Veil of Scrythax wouldn't stop that it. If a person is in danger, the ward doesn't hide the danger... it makes the danger seem mundane, but people still know to run. The people below are still trying to party, and they aren't helping the ones who get hurt.
"Great, now I'm dealing with some bippity boppity butt fuck." I call Greta's name a third time and then I stop flapping.
Note to self: The ground is frick'n hard.
If I'd hit it in my human form, I'd have broken bones, but as the uber vamp, I'm just brought to my knees atop a medium-sized crater. Out the corner of my eye, I see a green candle floating through the air, but I'm focused on Greta. I find her next to a pumpkin splattered Prius and quickly slash my wrist with my long black talons. The blood that comes out looks normal, but when I put it to the lips of "Bat Greta" her healing accelerates so quickly for a moment, I suspect her of faking the severity of her injury so I'd have to come to her rescue. Surely she wouldn't do something like that... Nah.
"He was on the roof!" Greta says. She's naked, my blood dripping from her lips, and she's drawing the attention of the crowd. Fine. They want to play with my daughter? They want to ogle her? Not okay with me.
"Talbot," I yell. "Time Out!"
"Time out!" he shouts back.
I point to the drunks in their various costumes, realize some of the people are staring at my equipment more than hers, and say two words that will bring a smile to my daughter's lips. "Get dressed."
She spies her costume a little ways away, covered in pumpkin gore. "But they're all gooey."
"Take your pick," I say still pointing at the people.
I see the implication set in even as the swarm of pumpkins hits me from above.
"Your clothes," Greta says in her best Schwarzenegger impression, "Give them to me. Now!"
I hear "Ring of Fire" playing on Fang's radio before I hear his engine. He's got it right, the pumpkin's have given up on getting close and are bathing me with fire from all directions. It's all I can see or feel. Wave after wave of heat and light and...
"Eric!" Tabitha is shouting to be heard over the whooshing sounds of pumpkins breathing jets of flame. "Magbidion says he's on his way, but it may be a little while."
"Well, call him back and light a fire under his ass or I'm going to rip one of the green candles out of one of these damn pumpkins and shove it right up his ass just as..." like one of those damn police procedurals on television, images pop into my head between words, a green candle with a little flame on top, "soon..." the flame going out,"as..." a smashed pumpkin on the ground, "he..." a green candle flying through the air, "gets here.” Green candles. "Shit!"
I fly straight up, grabbing blindly for a pumpkin, but when I smash it, I feel around inside. For a split second, I'm free of the waves of fire and sure enough, the candle in my hand is green, just like the one I've seen in every smashed pumpkin. Just like the one I spotted flying through the air. The pumpkins aren't magic... but the fricking candles are. You probably picked up on that already, but you'll have to pardon me. I've been embalmed. You go get embalmed and then we'll see how well you add up the clues under fire.
Great. Now that I have a green candle, what should I do with the stupid thing? With my luck, breaking would just... to test the theory, I break the candle in half and watch as the wax goes melty and each of the two pieces, bubbles up, expanding into two full-sized candles. "Shazbot!" Then then pumpkin swarm is on me again, but this time I have... well, I wouldn't call it a plan... an idea maybe. A hope?
I spread my wings, using the heat from the flames to rise higher and faster until I've pulled away and I can't help but think how much more fun this would be to watch on television than it is to actually live through. An anime would be good. Studio Pierrot maybe? Flapping in ernest, I dive. This works in movies all the time. Fang is heading toward me. Tabitha seems to realize I'm actually headed for them at the last minute.
"Fang! Sit!" I shout the command as I throw the two candles I'm holding at the ground in front of him. Technically Fang is a part of me, so it's no surprise that he's figured out what I'm doing. His rear bumper hits the ground with the shriek of metal on asphalt and a horde of evil jack-o-lanterns in hot pursuit slam into his undercarriage as Fang's front wheels rise into the air. Twisting my body like a pole-vaulter trying to clear a hurdle, I try to go up and over... and fail, clipping the front fender and in effect managing to hit myself with my own damn car.
He doesn't get all of them, but more than half the flying orange bastards slam into the metal undercarriage of my classic Mustang, flatten, and vanish, sinking into the metal with same sort of flesh-peeling-off-on-hot-plastic sound Fang emits when he eats people. My shoulder aches and I can feel the bones trying to pull themselves back into shape.
The last dozen or so jack-o-lanterns seem angry. They rise, mouths gaping wider, preparing to vomit fiery death on my Mustang and on my fiancé, who is still riding in the front seat. Greta comes out of nowhere and I can't help but think how much better she is at pulling off the whole Slave Leia thing than that fat thrall outside the Demon Heart. The fire extinguisher is a truly inspired touch.
Foam and fury rule the day as Greta, Tabitha, and I rush in amongst the sputtering nightmare pumpkins and hurl them under my patiently "sitting" car.
"Too bad the damn magician probably got..." and then I hear clapping, "away."
Tabitha, Greta, and I turn in unison. And there he is, dressed in hobo chic, hands blazing with lambent purple light and eyes ablaze with madness: the mage. He smiles, exposing stained teeth, and spewing rancid breath that I can smell from where I'm standing because it's tinged with blood. "Trick," he says, "or Treat."
Fangs switches songs to Stroke 9's "Kick Some Ass". Like the singer in the song, I totally want to kick some. Unlike the singer, I'm really not a sensitive artist.
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To be concluded on Halloween over on writethefantastic.blogspot.com in "A Void City Halloween - Part 6" in which there might even be at least one Sexy Big Bird. See you there. :)
If you would like to buy one of the Void books then please use the links above, below or around the site. More sales via Amazon or Bookdepository equals more contests on Amberkatze's Book Blog
This week my guest on Amberkatze's Book Blog is author Jeannie Holmes. Her debut novel, Blood Law, was an amazing read and I highly recommend it to all you Paranormal Urban Fantasy lovers! Put it on your wish list or try your luck in this weeks contest. You could win a copy!
