Welcome these special authors and please enjoy this stop in the #DarkTour!
We’re Laurie London, author of the Sweetblood series, and Erin Kellison, author of the Shadow series. To celebrate the releases of our e-novellas, Hidden By Blood by Laurie and Shadow Touch by Erin, we thought it’d be fun to ask each other questions and give away a lot of swag, so stay tuned.
Regarding the series as a whole, one of the things I thought about was whether there could be other causes for the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder that just a lack of UV light. I blamed the weather for my tiredness, but what if it was because I didn’t know I’d lost blood because of a vampire?
I set myself a certain amount of words or pages I need to write each day and week. I don’t do other things until I’ve made my goal.
I definitely wouldn’t want to know about the existence of vampires. Ignorance is bliss. If I were a sweetblood, I’m still not sure I’d want to know either, because I’d always worry. However, I would want to be well versed in self-defense techniques and carry a silver blade.
Probably Brenna from Hidden By Blood. She’s cautious and doesn’t like to take risks.
Yes. Finn! He’s bolder and has a much naughtier streak than I had expected given that he’s a human caught up in the vampire world. But he is the perfect match for Brenna. He caused her to step out of her comfort zone and got her to change.
When I start dreaming of my characters and story, that’s when they come alive for me on the page. Until then, everything feels flat and the writing is more difficult.
And now, it’s Erin’s turn on the hot seat:
1.How did you come up with the idea for your Shadow series and for Shadow Touch, in particular?
I was scared of the dark when I was a kid, so shaking-in-my-bedsheets scared that I used to watch the deepest of the shadows carefully just in case something was lurking within them. (If you look at something long enough, I swear you will see it move.) After a while, I wondered if shadows were permeable, if there might be something—a mysterious world maybe?—on just the other side. That world became my Twilight.
As for Shadow Touch, as I was writing the first two books in the series, I started thinking about the shadows that are attached to people. And I wondered what would happen if a shadow had a mind of its own. And I wondered what aspects of personality would be manifested in the dark half. Ellie Russo and her shadow were born.
I stew a while until the story idea and main characters are kicking around in my brain, ready to go. Before I begin writing, I have some general idea of a scene or two up ahead that I am writing toward. And then I work straight through. Snacks are key. My critique partners read as I write, as does my husband, who also has to endure semi-incoherent ramblings as new ideas come.
I would want to know. I always want to know. (Or I make worse things up.)
Tough question, and for kinda hard reasons. It would have to be a secondary character named Zoe. She and her Shadow-gifted (and very sick) sister make appearances in all three books. But during the writing of my second book, Shadow Fall, and the third, Shadowman, my own sister had a serious health scare. (She’s doing great now, btw.) But I put a lot of my concern and feeling from that time into Zoe.
5.Did anything surprise you when you were writing Shadow Touch?
At the outset, I concentrated on my main characters, Ellie and Cam, but during the writing, I fell in love with the character of Laurence. I knew the moment he got out of the car that I would be writing more of him. And I will. He’s alive in my mind and will be making future appearances. I don’t know what’s to become of him, but I’m excited to find out.
6.Do you have any writing quirks?
No real writing quirks. But I am scared of the webcam in my laptop, especially since someone threatened to turn it on remotely. It’s like an evil Cyclops eye looking at me. Now I have a band-aid covering it. So unless someone has super powers, they can’t see me through it anymore. And they’d need some hard-core telekinesis to remove the band-aid remotely. J Paranoid? A little.
Amazon ($.99): http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Touch-ebook/dp/B004NEW59S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306214552&sr=8-1
If you had the chance to ask your favorite author a question, what would it be?
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what do you love the most about your fans???
susperia(at)hotamail(dot)com
My question tht I would ask would be: what is the most difficult thing about creating your world?
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I would probably ask what the strangest/weirdest thing a fan has either asked or said to them was. I like quirky questions, lol.
GFC follower: June M.
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
How did you come up with the story and how hard was it to write?
We’re only allowed one?? Thats hard. Let me think…How do you stay inspired to keep writing? Thank you!
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How awesome are you! If I could ask only one question it would be would you like to come for dinner and discussion. Yea I know I’m kind of cheating – but its like the potato chip one is never enough and wouldn’t it be fun to just sit down and relax and be human and get to know a new friend? Thank you for sharing today and for the opportunity to win this generous giveaway.
dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com
Erin, I really think your Shadow series has the coolest concept! I would be freaked out if my shadow were alive…shudder…
Laurie, Finn is my fave hero of yours so far 🙂 Super sexy and can hold his own with Dom!
What is the best part of being an author and what is the worst part? Please enter me in contest. [email protected]
Hi Ladies!! My question would be…What inspires you, either in writing or life in general. The DarkTour is almost over 🙁 It’s been fun!!
miranda.grissomATgmailDOTcom
These are some great questions to ask your favorite authors. Let’s see…I love hearing about their writing process and what their offices look like. Whenever I go to book signings, I always ask these questions.
LOL HighlandHussy (Laurie), you just like the roadie talk. 😉 I love Finn, too.
Miranda, so glad you’ve been having fun following us on DarkTour. It’s been such a blast doing it with Erin!
Thank you, everyone! I’m going to write these questions down and the next time I go to a book signing, I’m going to ask some of them.
I went to a Charlaine Harris booksigning when she drew a smaller crowd (before TrueBlood came out). I got to ask her 5 or 6 questions. It was great!
If you could meet any fictional character, who would you meet and why?
Please count me in!
Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com
I’d ask her if she would hire me as her assistant!!
I want to know what inspired her and gave her the drive to follow the story from an idea to a published book.
jennlovesed14 at gmail
BTW thought I’d mention the stuff in dark blue is a little difficult to read.
I got to see Sherrilyn Kenyon last month, and instead of being super cool and smooth, and asking a few questions, I squeed and went fangirl on her. So, alas, I didn’t ask any questions. sigh. I had some good ones planned too 😉
How do you take a story in your mind and flesh it out into a story that all of us can experience so fully?
Pati [email protected]
Wow, great giveaway ladies!
My question would be…if your characters could enter and live in another author’s world, whose fellow author’s world would you pick and why?
Annie @ Under the Covers
alltherhage AT gmail DOT com
There are so many questions but the one that comes to mind…that I would never ask in person =)..is do you ever dream or fantasize about your characters that you right? I know us readers do…lol Writers can make them so real. Please count me in for this awesome contest. Great giveaway!
Tanyaw1224(at)yahoo(dot)com
Nice giveaway:):)
Thank you
elliott2668(at)yahoo(dot)com
do you ever find yourself thinking like your characters when doing normal, mundane activities, like grocery shopping and such?
loved the interview!
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Thank you so much for the post and the chance to win :9 If I had a chance to ask a question, it wold be that how the author come to the story. I always wonder about the origin of the vampire novels 😛
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I would ask her to tell me as much as she could about her next book.
marlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com
What did you do when you first found out your book was getting published?
bacchus76 at myself dot com
Winner is Danielle Gorman.
Contest is closed.