Good morning Kirsten and welcome to not so sunny kent. As it is raining, I thought we’d take our brunch into the lounge and chat today. I hear that you have a book hot off the press. Tell us a bit about it.
Love: Ann and the Viking is the first title in my new FATE and FANGS: Tales from the Vampire Family series with Muse It Up Publishing. The novellas and vignettes here- Love, Punishment, Struggle, Debauchery, Lust, Humanity, Resurrection- are based in the same universe as my 2008 Eternal Press novel The Vampire Family. This set is hosted by the family’s occult go to guy Professor James-though he isn’t always so reliable and unbiased as he pretends to be. These 7 books are also first hand accounts; some of them are actually earlier material that was excised from the first full length novel because of the viewpoint. As was the case, I wanted this collection to come inbetween The Vampire Family and the next full length sequel so we can slow down and- for better or worse- find out what makes bad boy Mestiphles, goody goody Samantha, and the rest of the divided coven tick. There is a certain uncomfortable intimacy in getting to read the inner most thoughts and feelings of the confused Elizabeth, naughty Victoria, or lovelorn James. I find it amazing to get into the heads of antihero characters and witnessing their m.o.! They’re vampires you know, so there’s a lot of room and most definitely times and places to explore with these characters. Really, is it any easier to break up with someone after 200 years? FATE and FANGS opens with the medieval steamy in Love: Ann and the Viking and continues through Civil War strife in Debauchery and concludes in contemporary melodrama for Humanity and Resurrection. And yes, some of these folks are totally melodramatic predators and proud of it. There’s no glitter glow here, and Muse has been so cool in handling our dirty love, gore, and period-hopping adventure. Whew.
Wow, they all sound fabulous. I have a lot of time for vamps and am especially interested in these confused thoughts of Elizabeth. Lol It looks to me like you have not had time to breath. So what’s next on your writing agenda?
What isn’t on my writing agenda, Margaret? I still do some hometown newspaper work, have been for the last seven years, and I write reviews, film criticisms, and other articles and essays for anything and everything that will have me in print or in the vastness of internetdom. There’s still the bells and whistles yet for the FATE and FANGS follow up, too. Yes more beyond these 7 tales! Currently I call it Requiem for the Vampire Family. But I am slow, or at least slower than the speedy writers today, and it is getting big, maybe into two books. That might be The Vampire Family Forever. I stink at titles! I’m also doing some editing for fellow EPer and neighbor Leigh Wood. She’s more twisted than I am, and I am getting into her Horns of Myleness unicorn kink just a bit too much. I enjoy alternating the work and the material. I don’t tear through a world for both fear of rushing it all on and worry about staying too long on the stale. I like to switch it up, get practice and tools from non fic ways for the genre. Edit sexy medieval smut as Leigh calls it to push my own writely boundaries for ideas. The key is too always be writing something. Not that it is all always good, but getting it out there on the page, gaining experience, and habit. Hopefully it’s all fabulous and positive habits, but c’est la vie.
*Sniggers* medieval smut. I rather like that phrase lol Pick your favourite character from your new release and tell us about them
Ah, I can’t choose! For Love specifically, of course I like my leading man, Eric, the titular Viking obviously. I wrote his introduction to the Welshire vampire world years ago. He’s so strong and yet even considerate in his cutthroat ways. You’d think his vampire woman Ann would be so please with the rough love, yet she is always in Antonio’s shadow. When I first started writing about The Vampire Family, none of this glitter undead baby stuff was going on. I was interested in the actual family dynamics- which are already totally effed up- and how adding immortal darkness and power would shift the teetering balance. Now everybody has a ‘vampire family’. What ever happened to the word ‘coven’? Doesn’t anybody like covens anymore?
Aren’t covens more for witches than vamps? What is the best marketing advice you can offer.
I dare say I’m not that good a marketeer. I know how to promote, where to do it, what and when. Unfortunately, I don’t feel I have the zest or spin angle upon which true salesmen thrive. I don’t like to be pushy. I’m old fashioned. I think a work should speak for itself. Of course today that is no longer the case but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write your manuscript any differently. You should damn well write your book like it is the next big thing, the Great American Novel. I’d much rather read something of greatness then get the used car salesman push. Write your book to the best of your ability. That is the best marketing you can do for it. Granted you do need to consider genre and audience a bit while in the draft, but write for yourself, write to create the best damn literature possible. Don’t get swelled in the head with the promotion with a half finished or half assed manuscript. The best advice is to not let the marketing obsessions of today compromise your writing vision.
I think we could all follow that advice. To jump totally out of subject, being a romance writer I love to hear about a real romance. So, probing gently lol where did you meet your partner?
Is Sears romantic? My husband and I both worked the magic of retail! Romance shouldn’t necessarily peak at the meeting. It should grow in bond, comfort, satisfaction. Wow, I think I’ll just stop there. Too near the danger territory!
Lol spoilsport. Before you go, where can your followers find you
Well, you won’t find me on Twitter. Everyone says it’s the way to go now, and my negativity about it has been called Luddite by some. I just don’t understand the conundrum of busting your butt to write the best dang book possible and then fleetingly trying to catch people’s attention in 140 characters or less. What if Shakespeare could only get one line of a Sonnet out at a time? Ridiculous! I am on Facebook, for better or for worse, and I still have a probably very outdated myspace page! Blogger, goodreads. What dark corner of the internet have I not found yet?
Mmm Maybe Shefari lol I think you have covered the rest.
Blog
http://jsnouff.com/kristin
Love: Ann and the Viking is the first title in my new FATE and FANGS: Tales from the Vampire Family series with Muse It Up Publishing. The novellas and vignettes here- Love, Punishment, Struggle, Debauchery, Lust, Humanity, Resurrection- are based in the same universe as my 2008 Eternal Press novel The Vampire Family. This set is hosted by the family’s occult go to guy Professor James-though he isn’t always so reliable and unbiased as he pretends to be. These 7 books are also first hand accounts; some of them are actually earlier material that was excised from the first full length novel because of the viewpoint. As was the case, I wanted this collection to come inbetween The Vampire Family and the next full length sequel so we can slow down and- for better or worse- find out what makes bad boy Mestiphles, goody goody Samantha, and the rest of the divided coven tick. There is a certain uncomfortable intimacy in getting to read the inner most thoughts and feelings of the confused Elizabeth, naughty Victoria, or lovelorn James. I find it amazing to get into the heads of antihero characters and witnessing their m.o.! They’re vampires you know, so there’s a lot of room and most definitely times and places to explore with these characters. Really, is it any easier to break up with someone after 200 years? FATE and FANGS opens with the medieval steamy in Love: Ann and the Viking and continues through Civil War strife in Debauchery and concludes in contemporary melodrama for Humanity and Resurrection. And yes, some of these folks are totally melodramatic predators and proud of it. There’s no glitter glow here, and Muse has been so cool in handling our dirty love, gore, and period-hopping adventure. Whew.
Wow, they all sound fabulous. I have a lot of time for vamps and am especially interested in these confused thoughts of Elizabeth. Lol It looks to me like you have not had time to breath. So what’s next on your writing agenda?
What isn’t on my writing agenda, Margaret? I still do some hometown newspaper work, have been for the last seven years, and I write reviews, film criticisms, and other articles and essays for anything and everything that will have me in print or in the vastness of internetdom. There’s still the bells and whistles yet for the FATE and FANGS follow up, too. Yes more beyond these 7 tales! Currently I call it Requiem for the Vampire Family. But I am slow, or at least slower than the speedy writers today, and it is getting big, maybe into two books. That might be The Vampire Family Forever. I stink at titles! I’m also doing some editing for fellow EPer and neighbor Leigh Wood. She’s more twisted than I am, and I am getting into her Horns of Myleness unicorn kink just a bit too much. I enjoy alternating the work and the material. I don’t tear through a world for both fear of rushing it all on and worry about staying too long on the stale. I like to switch it up, get practice and tools from non fic ways for the genre. Edit sexy medieval smut as Leigh calls it to push my own writely boundaries for ideas. The key is too always be writing something. Not that it is all always good, but getting it out there on the page, gaining experience, and habit. Hopefully it’s all fabulous and positive habits, but c’est la vie.
*Sniggers* medieval smut. I rather like that phrase lol Pick your favourite character from your new release and tell us about them
Ah, I can’t choose! For Love specifically, of course I like my leading man, Eric, the titular Viking obviously. I wrote his introduction to the Welshire vampire world years ago. He’s so strong and yet even considerate in his cutthroat ways. You’d think his vampire woman Ann would be so please with the rough love, yet she is always in Antonio’s shadow. When I first started writing about The Vampire Family, none of this glitter undead baby stuff was going on. I was interested in the actual family dynamics- which are already totally effed up- and how adding immortal darkness and power would shift the teetering balance. Now everybody has a ‘vampire family’. What ever happened to the word ‘coven’? Doesn’t anybody like covens anymore?
Aren’t covens more for witches than vamps? What is the best marketing advice you can offer.
I dare say I’m not that good a marketeer. I know how to promote, where to do it, what and when. Unfortunately, I don’t feel I have the zest or spin angle upon which true salesmen thrive. I don’t like to be pushy. I’m old fashioned. I think a work should speak for itself. Of course today that is no longer the case but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write your manuscript any differently. You should damn well write your book like it is the next big thing, the Great American Novel. I’d much rather read something of greatness then get the used car salesman push. Write your book to the best of your ability. That is the best marketing you can do for it. Granted you do need to consider genre and audience a bit while in the draft, but write for yourself, write to create the best damn literature possible. Don’t get swelled in the head with the promotion with a half finished or half assed manuscript. The best advice is to not let the marketing obsessions of today compromise your writing vision.
I think we could all follow that advice. To jump totally out of subject, being a romance writer I love to hear about a real romance. So, probing gently lol where did you meet your partner?
Is Sears romantic? My husband and I both worked the magic of retail! Romance shouldn’t necessarily peak at the meeting. It should grow in bond, comfort, satisfaction. Wow, I think I’ll just stop there. Too near the danger territory!
Lol spoilsport. Before you go, where can your followers find you
Well, you won’t find me on Twitter. Everyone says it’s the way to go now, and my negativity about it has been called Luddite by some. I just don’t understand the conundrum of busting your butt to write the best dang book possible and then fleetingly trying to catch people’s attention in 140 characters or less. What if Shakespeare could only get one line of a Sonnet out at a time? Ridiculous! I am on Facebook, for better or for worse, and I still have a probably very outdated myspace page! Blogger, goodreads. What dark corner of the internet have I not found yet?
Mmm Maybe Shefari lol I think you have covered the rest.
Blog
http://jsnouff.com/kristin
Posts
Thanks for having us Margaret!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Kristin - series sounds wonderful. Love those vamps!
ReplyDelete