My name is Izzy and I interview book characters.  Many people say I’m a character, myself.  *Snort*.  That’s nice of them.  I’m hoping Rebecca lets me interview a bunch of her characters–I can’t wait to be in the same room with all of the Kayrs brothers.  MEOW.

So, I had so much fun interviewing Talen last week, I thought I’d try to get Cara to sit down with me.  Cara is a plant biologist, single mother, and wife of vampire Talen.  We met at a new coffee shop in town…as I’ve been banned from the one where I met Talen.  TOTALLY his fault.  Cara was five minutes early, and is quite pretty.  For some reason, I expected her to be scientifically nerdy, but she has curly brown hair and huge blue eyes.

ME:  So.  Congratulations on your recent marriage.

CARA:  Thank you.  It was quite the whirlwind…but I think things have calmed down a bit.  I mean, we’re still searching for a cure to the virus that attacks vampire mates, and I’m still sick…but the treatments are going well so far.

Okay.  I was happy to have an interviewee who actually talks.  Talen was difficult, to say the least.

ME:  I interviewed your husband a week ago—

CARA:  Yeah, sorry about that.  I heard Talen attacked some guy going for a cell phone.  (She snorted.)  Being the head of Realm security makes him twitchy, to say the least.

ME:  I was a bit surprised you agreed to meet for an interview. 

Okay…I was surprised Talen agreed.  But there didn’t seem to be a smooth way to say that.  Well, until Cara threw back her head and laughed.

Cara:  I didn’t tell Talen I was coming.

Oh crap.  Something told me to get a move on there.

ME:  I’d like to discuss the virus created by Kurjans to attack vampire mates and bring them back to human genetics.

Cara:  Yes, it’s quite interesting, genetically speaking.  What the virus does is—

At this point, the door slammed open.  I knew.  I knew without turning around who stood in the doorway.  But you know what I did anyway?  Yep.  I turned my head.  In fact, the entire coffee shop turned in unison to see a six and a half feet, packed hard, pissed-off vampire staring at Cara with golden eyes shot through with metallic green.

ME:  Ug.

A portly gentleman near the doorway dropped his coffee, splashing up his khaki pants.  He shoved his glasses up his nose, backing carefully away.  For the first time I noticed two hulking men on either side of the door.  Vampires?  Ah.  Cara had brought some protection.  Smart woman.

Cara:  Well, isn’t this sweet.  Talen showed up for the interview.

Holy freaking crap.  Sweet???  My heart pretty much stopped beating as he stalked toward us and stopped next to Cara.

Talen:  Hello, mate.  Forget to tell me something?

I should mention here that Cara rolled her eyes. 

Cara:  Now Talen, come on.  Didn’t you read that goodreads review of FATED by that twenty-year old living across the world?  She was quite upset you don’t use my name more…that you call me ‘mate’.   Like you can’t remember my name.

Talen:  I don’t give a holy fu—, er heck, what that woman thinks, mate.  For the record, not only do I know your name, I usually know exactly where you are.  Unlike today.

Cara:  I brought backup.  Your brother, Jase, is by the door.

We all looked.  Jase is hot.  I know, how unprofessional.  But hey, he’s seriously hot—thick brown hair, copper colored eyes—body tight and ripped.  And when Talen sent him a deadly look, I swear Jase flipped him the bird.  It was vampire quick, but I caught it. 

Then things got interesting.  Talen sighed and dropped into the chair next to Cara, his hand reaching for hers.  No wonder Cara wasn’t afraid of the soldier.  He was kinda…sweet.

TALEN:  Okay – let’s get this over with so I can beat the crap out of my younger brother.

CARA:  Leave Jase alone.  He’s going off by himself to fight the demons soon…and something tells me things are going to get tough.  Really tough.

ME:  Uh, well…about Jase.  Does he have a mate?

TALEN:  No.

CARA:  Maybe.  Rebecca has someone in mind for him…I think the woman may make an appearance in HUNTED.  Well, if Rebecca’s critique partner, Sayde Grace, has her way.  Sayde is convinced this woman would be perfect for Jase.

Then, well…remember the guy with the spilled coffee?  Turned out he was a shifter…a bad one…and he made a move on Jase. Jase took him down rather easily, and the guy’s three companions jumped in.  As did Talen.

Tables went flying, coffee drenched the floor, and let’s just say that the windows shattered from bodies flying through.  There’s another darn coffee shop I won’t get to visit again.

Talk to you soon!

 

My name is Izzy and I interview book characters.  Many people say I’m a character, myself.  *Snort*.  That’s nice of them.  I’m hoping Rebecca lets me interview a bunch of her characters–I can’t wait to be in the same room with all of the Kayrs brothers.  MEOW.

So, I’ve been wanted to interview Talen for a while now…he’s kind of tough to reach.  He’s the hero in FATED and has a lot going on right now.  Yet, he finally agreed to meet with me.  We sat in a nice coffee shop and he more than dwarfed the iron backed chair he dropped in to.  For those of you who haven’t met him yet, he’s about six and a half feet tall, packed hard, with black hair and golden eyes.  Here’s the transcript of the interview, with a couple of my thoughts thrown in:

ME:  So.  Congratulations on your recent marriage.

TALEN:  Thank you.

ME:  How’s it going so far?

TALEN:  Fine.

Okay.  At this point, you’d think I’d be getting concerned about Talen opening up enough to get a full interview.  Not.  My concern was that he kept eyeing the door and a large guy next to it.  I hoped the vampire (yeah, Talen’s a vampire) never looked at me like that.

ME:  Thank you for agreeing to this interview.

TALEN:  Sure.  The king…ah…ordered me to agree.

Yeah.  Dage owed me one. 

ME:  So, let’s start with your job.  What do you do?

TALEN:  Whatever I need to do.

My sigh made him smile.  He cleared his throat. 

TALEN:  I’m the strategic leader for the Realm—meaning I plan our defense.  As well as our offense.  In fact, I’d prefer to strike first.

ME:  Which is why Dage sent you to rescue Cara and her daughter Janie from the evil Kurjans.  As a first strike.

TALEN:  Dage or fate—who knows.  But I ended up in the right place at the right time—to collect my mate.

ME:  Speaking of whom…you’ve faced from criticism regarding your, er, rather alpha tendencies.  With Cara, I mean.

TALEN:  I don’t know what you mean.

ME:  You’ve been accused of being over the top—too possessive, too demanding, too dominant.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. 

TALEN:  I’m a pushover when it comes to Cara.  I’d do anything for her.

ME:  Except let her go.

TALEN:  Go where?

I shook my head.  This was going nowhere.  Plus, the woman did choose of her own free will to stay with him.  Couldn’t blame her. 

ME:  How goes the fight against the Kurjans?

TALEN:  Well.  We’ve taken out several of their research facilities—where they have been creating the virus that takes our mates down to human form.  We also think the virus might turn a shifter into a werewolf, which is a pure killing machine.

Wow.  That was a lot of words for the vampire to say. 

ME:  Up until this point, werewolves have just been human converts?

TALEN:  Yes.  And they only live for about a year.  A shifter werewolf would be dangerous and live much longer.

ME:  So what’s your plan?

A deadly light entered his eyes. 

TALEN:  To end them.  For good.

Then, well…the guy at the door made a move.  Talen was on him before I could pause in writing.  He tackled the guy…who was just reaching for his cell phone.  Darn vampires…so edgy.  Anyway, that was the end of the interview.  Hope to see you again soon!

So, I received my first one-star customer review the other day.  Reviews are popping up on book seller sites as well as reader sites.  On this particular site, I have eleven reviews.  Ten people loved FATED and gave it either four or five stars – mostly five.  One person hated it with the passion of a hundred suns.

They tell you not to read the customer reviews.  People get ticked over prices, over covers, over stuff the writer has no control over…and then rant about it in a review.

I read the review.  It was hilarious.  She hated the book.  Not the cover, or the price or anything like that…the actual book.  She took great pleasure in deleting FATED for all time from her e-reader.  The review made me laugh.  I mean that sincerely and not with sarcasm.  While this woman went into great detail about how much she hated the book, she was kind of…well, funny.  Great sense of humor.  And the things she disliked were the very things other people loved.

I’m tempted to send her CLAIMED when it comes out just to see if she hates it as much.  I’m not going to, of course.  You don’t send free books to people who hate your writing.  That’s just dumb.  But, I am curious.

There’s an expression in this business that I dislike.  “Nobody likes hearing your baby is ugly.”  Here’s the thing.  I have two babies and if someone calls them ugly, we’re heading outside.  This is my book.  Not my baby.  Some people aren’t going to like it.  I’ve always known that.  But I truly didn’t expect to enjoy the scathing remarks. 

I guess if I had a bunch of one-starred reviews, I wouldn’t be so tickled.  Or maybe if the attack was on me and not the actual book, I’d be upset.  But this gal kept to the story and explained her position, using some pretty good humor.

Everyone says writers need a thick skin.  I don’t have one.  Really.  I’m rather sensitive.  But I am able to put things into perspective.  One person’s opinion is only that.  An opinion.  The other people who’ve left reviews so far love the book.  I love it.  My agent, my editor and my critique partner love it.  Publisher’s Weekly recommended it.  Yet, this woman with her sense of humor didn’t.  That’s okay.

Perspective is crucial in this business.  If your first form rejection from an agent destroys you…then find another creative outlet.  Because that’s only the beginning.  I find that a sense of humor helps as well.  See the humor.  We need it.

“We should not see print and electronic literature as in competition, but rather in conversation. The more voices that join in, the richer the dialogue is likely to be.”
–N. Katherine Hayles

Today Fated is now available in electronic format…Kindle, Nook, Sony and the rest.   I am so excited about this…having not found out until last month that e-book was a possibility.  There seems to be a great debate going on whether or not e-books will completely replace print books.

I don’t think so.

Keep in mind, this is just my opinion.  But I like the feel, smell, idea of a print book as well as being able to browse in a book store.  Yeah, Borders just filed for bankruptcy protection.  But that’s to reorganize (like GM) not disappear.  And Barnes and Noble seems to be doing well.  I do think that the e-book market will continue to build.  In fact, a couple of my favorite authors are in e-format only.  You can bet I buy their books.

I like a book on a plane…especially during take-off.  To escape the idea of take-off actually.  And I can’t turn on my Kindle until we level off.  So yeah, I’m happy to have a print book.

My print book collection will continue to grow.  As will my e-book collection.  And I don’t think I’m alone here.

BTW – N. Katherine Hayles is a literary critic and professor at Duke.

The launching party at the Gourmet Way was wonderful and I so appreciate everyone who came by and bought a book!  I thought I’d write a quick run-down about FATED’s release day…in outline form since I’m trying to get organized.

• Got up, sent kids off to school and jumped on the internet.  Friends already tweeting about my release day on Twitter—friends rock.
• Return ‘happy release day’ emails to both Cynthia Eden and Jillian Chantal.  Very happy to be sharing a release day with these two.
• Run down to Hastings.  Find book.  Try not to cry.  Take several pictures, ignoring the odd looks from other people.  One elderly lady finally asked what I was doing.  Said… “That’s my book.”
• Drove to Borders, hoping but not expecting to find book on shelf.  Not there.  (Borders filed for bankruptcy last week…lots of books not there.)
• Drive away, get phone call from sister who just had surgery on her lower leg…sister needs a latte.
• Take sister a latte.  Sit and listen as she calls the Spokane Valley Barnes and Noble, using a high voice with slight accent asking about my book.  Don’t know why sister is using the accent, but it’s hilarious.  Then high-five sister when she finds out that not only is FATED there, it’s on the front table.  BTW, sister’s name is Debbie.
• Swing by Gourmet Way.  Everything is in order and I’m just in the way.  Do happy hop and take off.
• Grab a sandwich from a deli—carbs don’t count on release day.
• Go home, get on internet.  Lots of best wishes.  Brandie calls, has a surprise, lasts about thirty seconds before she reveals she bought some really cool cookies with FATED on them.  Am impressed Brans lasted half a minute.  Am also thankful Brandie has arranged launching party.  Brandie rocks.
• Look outside; realize it’s starting to snow.  Think…crap.  Roads will be bad and nobody will come to launching.
• Get text from critique partner Sayde Grace that says…”relax.”  Am happy crit partner knows me so well.
• Go and get ready.  Hate outfit I thought I’d wear.  Try on sixteen other outfits.  Finally put the first one back on.  Husband comes home, says ‘great outfit…but you have lipstick on your teeth’.
• Wipe off teeth.  Head to Gourmet Way.  Nearly sigh at the pretty flowers from family and nuns.  Notice Deb’s eyes dilated from the pain meds from her surgery…prop her next to table.  Notice she is drinking white wine too…figure she’ll be fine.
• My folks show up with big smiles. My folks are the best.  Husband and kids arrive…son wants to know when the paparazzi are showing up.
• Friend Bonnie Paulson shows up with a cool mat for people to sign.  Bonnie rocks.
• Sister Stephanie shows up with camera…she’s ready to roll.
• The doors open.  Spend three solid hours signing book.  Lots of family show up from the Silver Valley and all around.  The Hintz girls bring goodies and Aunt Lisa brings gorgeous flowers.  Lots of friends from town, as well as people I’ve never met walk through the door.  My entire town rocks.

 So, that’s my debut launching day in a nutshell.  It was a truly wonderful day and I’m so grateful for everyone who shared it with me-both online and in real time.