Izzy’s Insights – Interview with Character Dage Kayrs…Take 2

on January 26, 2012

 

Sergej Khakimullin
Shutterstock

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 tried interviewing the king once before, and his brothers showed up to cause havoc.  Talen is particularly tiresome when it comes to interviews…who knows why.  But Dage agreed to meet me again and this time we met at a very quaint coffee shop that’s off the grid.  The coffee is spectacular and there’s free WiFi, so even if our meeting got cut short, I was happy.  For those of you who haven’t met Dage yet, he’s about six and a half feet tall, packed hard, with black hair and incredible silver eyes.  Frankly, it shows he trusts us that he’s not hiding the odd color.  Here’s the transcript of the interview, with a couple of my thoughts thrown in:

ME:  So.  Thank you for trying this again.  I’m sorry about last time.

DAGE:  That certainly wasn’t your fault.  Sometimes my brothers are a handful.

If that wasn’t the understatement of the millennium, I don’t know what was.  But I nodded and gave him my most professional smile.  He smiled back…not fooled a bit.

ME:  So, I wanted to talk to you about Max’s mission – I believe he left the other day.

DAGE:  Interesting.  Why do you believe that?

Okay.  Vampires can be kind of scary and this one scarier than most.  Even though his tone stayed calm and no expression crossed his face, an odd tension made the air around us kind of heavy.  The king probably didn’t like his information getting out.

ME:  My sources are pretty good.  And this interview won’t run until Max has finished his mission (but about a month before TEMPTED, Max’s story, comes out—don’t tell the king), so there’s no reason not to talk about it.

DAGE:  Hmmm.  Okay.  We’ll discuss Max and then we’ll discuss your sources in my organization.  Basically, there’s a woman named Sarah Pringle who has created a blog and website about the Kurjans.  They’re after her, and we need to get to her before they do. 

(The Kurjans are the bad guys–pasty faced bad vampires afraid of the sun.  Unlike the good vampires).

ME:  You’re going to let her keep the website up?

DAGE:  No.  Jase already took it down and posted information about her writing a good book.  The website has been taken care of.  Now we just need to get her records from the insane asylum because I’m sure she told them all about the Kurjans.  We can’t have that information out there.

A bit of concern had me sitting back in my chair.  What exactly were the vampires going to do to poor possibly-crazy Sarah Pringle?

ME:  I find it odd you sent Max.  I mean, he’s Janie’s bodyguard now.  What did he used to be?

DAGE:  Max has always been part of the family…serving as my bodyguard as well as one of my best hunters.  The guy is a Russian bloodhound when it comes to hunting.

ME:  Ah…okay.

To be honest, I’ve met Max.  The guy isn’t just a hunter. 

ME:  But why Max?  Many of your people are scouts, including Conn.  Why send Max?

DAGE:  Let’s just say I think Max is the right guy for the job.

A really cute twinkle entered the king’s eye at this point and for a second, I could just stare.  Then I shook it off and got back to business, reminding myself that I was a professional and the guy had a mate.  I mean, really.

ME:  Are you matchmaking, king?

DAGE:  I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.

At this point, a barista sauntered up to give the king a free muffin.  I mean, seriously.  It’s a coffee shop.  You order at the counter and take your own food to your table.  Okay, I’m not just irritated that she didn’t bring me a muffin.  I’m irritated on Emma’s behalf.  Dage politely thanked the woman, keeping his attention on me.  She returned to the counter, her butt swaying the whole time.

ME:  I bet that happens a lot to you.

DAGE:  What happens to me?

Man, guys are clueless.  Even immortal deadly ones.

ME:  Forget it.  So, I have to know, does Max get a happy ending?

The peace was too good to last.  I should’ve started with the main question.  Guess who showed up?  NOPE!  It wasn’t Talen.  Jase, the youngest brother, hustled inside, his brown hair ruffled and eyes flashing.

DAGE:  What’s happened?

JASE:  Something’s going on with the witches…Conn is leaving now.  We have to go.

Darn it.  My source in the Realm hadn’t reported anything about the witches.  I mean, we all knew Conn was heading to Ireland to collect his witch soon (and I fully expect she’s not going to allow any sort of collection), but I hadn’t known it would be this quickly.

DAGE:  Izzy, I appreciate your time, but I need to get going.

The darn barista, who had somehow lost a couple buttons on her shirt, hustled over, her gaze on Jase.  So, yeah.  The guy is seriously hot.  But I mean, come on.

ME:  I’d like to talk about Conn and his mission to Ireland.

Dage flashed a smile as he stood to join Jase. 

DAGE:  I’ll arrange for an interview with Conn when he gets back.  You’ll enjoy meeting him.  And we’ll discuss your sources in the Realm next time.

Okay, it was kind of a threat.  Then, well…the coffee chick made a move.  Not a kill ya type of move.  But an almost genuine trip to basically land in Jase’s arms.  They got all tangled up, and he ended up just picking her up.  The woman beamed.  Then she pouted really pretty when he put her down with a smile and whispered something in her ear.  The Kayrs men left.  I took a look at the flushed waitress.

ME:  What did he say?

NEARLY TOPLESS WAITRESS:  He said he’d be back next week

Excellent.  So will I.  🙂

Max gets a love…

on July 21, 2011

I’ve been a bit quiet lately…under deadline.  This is what happened:  When I was in New York, I talked to Caitlin about maybe writing an e-book novella for the Dark Protector series to be released between HUNTED (book 3) and book 4.  Now, we haven’t negotiated for books 4-6 yet, so I was being optimistic.  Early August is when we start talking the next deal.

Well…Caitlin talked to Megan, who liked the idea of a novella and would like to publish it in April, the month before HUNTED is released.  This is very exciting…but…Megan needs the novella by the end of August.  So, after several emails back and forth with Caitlin, I decided the novella should be about Max, who is Janie’s bodyguard.  He is in both FATED and CLAIMED, so seemed like a good choice.

Max is actually a rather funny guy, originally from Russia.  Yeah, who knew?  His love, Sarah Pringle, is a teacher who, ah, just escaped from a mental institution.  Really. 

Anyway, this is why I’ve been away from the blog a bit.  I’ll do better.  🙂

Countdown to RWA conference–Part III – The Nuances of Pitching Your Book

on June 20, 2011

Pitch with finesse, not a hammer…

There are many good sites that give direction about pitching to editors and agents at a conference.  So I wanted to approach the situation from a different direction. 

1)      First and foremost, remember that…AGENTS AND EDITORS ARE PEOPLE, TOO.

Yeah, I said it.  And I’d even go as far as to say they’re a lot like writers.  We all love books and chose this industry because of the good stories.  Many people who enjoy getting lost in books are kind of…shy.  So keep in mind, the agent/editor you’re pitching to might also be a little nervous.

Don’t sit down and instantly barrage them with your story.  Pretend you’re meeting them for the first time (which you probably are), and act accordingly.  Say…  “It’s nice to meet you.”  Ask them how the conference is going for them. Ask them the best part of the conference…or if they had been to any good workshops yet.

2)      Try not to go all fan-girl (or fan-boy) on them.

Remember the kinda-shy part?  Well, if you start gushing about how great they are…they’ll probably get uncomfortable.  HOWEVER, you know who they love?  Their AUTHORS—and their BOOKS.  Tell them how much you enjoyed AUTHOR x’s last book and how surprised you were by who the bad guy turned out to be.  The agent/editor will warm up…and hey…you have something in common.  You both loved the book.  (Caveat – don’t tell them you loved it if you didn’t.  Honesty counts.)

3)      Have confidence in your book—and do your research

Yeah, you’ll be nervous. That’s okay.  But you need to have confidence in your book.  Don’t apologize for pitching it.  When the time comes, and it usually does with the agent saying, “So…tell me about your book.”  Start with your pitch…and let them know right off the bat what kind of book it is.  IE.  “I’ve written an 85,000 word dark paranormal that I think will fit in the Brava line.”  That way they know where to put it.

4)       Tell them about the characters, plot, and twists…but more importantly…how is it different???

So you’ve written a vampire book for Brava.  Yeah.  There are tons of vampire books out there…so what makes yours different?  In my case, it was the science involved…the fact that vamps and shifters are just different species on earth…much like humans.  Then a genetic virus was created…

So while you’ve shown what type of line the book should belong to…how does yours stand out?

5)       Remember that you love your book!

This is fun.  You’re discussing your book – those characters you adore—with someone else who also loves books.  Enjoy yourself—when the agent/editor asks you a question, dive in.  Get philosophical about the black moment.  Gush about the hero.  Admire the heroine.  Smile…and have fun.

I Kill People in Books

on March 21, 2011

I kill people in books.  It’s true.  The lady who cuts me off for a parking spot, the bat-sh*t crazy chick who yells at me in a bar…even the lady at the post office who growls at my many packages.  They die.  And hard.

One of the most cathartic things to do is work out your demons via writing.  Of course, you often end up passing emails to your critique partner titled, “Best place to bury a dead body,” or “Do you think I could snap a neck with a stapler?”  In the name of research, of course.  Other fun notes we pass back and forth: 

  • Does the human body really bend that way?
  • I don’t think a man would really call that “Tonto.”
  • Your heroine already fell off the bed – there’s no way he can reach her now.
  • I think the grave should be deeper.
  • I’m not sure they’d eat his liver first.

So, one of the many fun things about being a writer is that you can talk pretty much about anything.  In one of my works in progress, my heroine stumbles upon a marijuana growing farm.  Well, my husband was using my laptop and went to ‘favorites’ for our bank’s URL.

He finished banking and asked, “Why do you have the ‘hydroponic marijuana guide’ listed as a favorite?”  My answer:  “So I wouldn’t forget the name.”  What’s cool is that he nodded, because that made perfect sense to him.  He lives with a writer.

Win a Kindle 3 at this St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop!

on March 16, 2011

So, welcome to the St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop!  Make sure you leave a comment at the end for a chance to win the Kindle 3–as well as a bunch of books, including FATED.  This time, the organizers of the blog sent out a list of words and a challenge for us to incorporate them in our stories.  I’ve made the important words green for easy counting.  🙂

The Mark of the Leprechaun

Why is it green?”  Emily asked, leaning forward from her comfortable chair to peer at Jordan’s nipple.  He’d stormed inside, interrupting what should’ve been a relaxing afternoon by the fire.

He let out a low growl.  “The damn leprechaun marked me with a shamrock shape.  Last night at the tavern.  When I find that little monster, I’ll take my leather boot to his head.”

“Okay.  We can figure this out.  Don’t get your knickers in a bunch.”  Her mind spun.  Green.  Not the green marking.

 The smile he flashed was all teeth.  Pure, pissed off vampire.  “I don’t wear knickers.”

No.  He didn’t.  The damn man went commando, actually.  “Okay.  Let’s keep calm here.”  She tugged on her earlobe, forgetting once again about the nervous habit.  “So.  We need to leave Dublin and ride out to the Blarney StoneLegend has it if you kiss the stone, you won’t turn entirely green.”  Probably.  A green vampire.  Interesting.  She just couldn’t tell people she was in love with a green vampire.  They had to fix this.

“I’m not kissing the Blarney Stone.”  Jordan reached for the sidetable to pour a whiskey.  He downed it in one gulp.  His tongue darted out to lick his lips and she fought a groan.  Sexy.  Even facing certain greenhood, the vamp was sexy.

“Yes you are.”  She leapt to her feet, dislodging the book from her lap.  Damn him.  She knew what he planned.  “You can’t seriously think to outsmart a leprechaun.”

“Don’t need to outsmart him.”  Jordan glanced at the fireplace“I hid his pot of goldIf he wants it back, he’ll remove the marking.”

Emily chewed her fingernail“If you make him mad, he’ll never take away the marking.”

“You don’t cuddle a leprechaun, sweetheart.  You take his gold and kick his ass.”

She stood.  “I took the pot of gold out from behind the fireplace and hid it.”

The air shifted.  Jordan’s golden eyes flashed.  “Excuse me?”

 Fire flashed down to her toes and her breath caught.  She struggled to concentrate.  “You took the gold because he sent me that pretty silk scarf with the large shamrock on it.  You were being silly.  So I planned to give him back his pot of gold.”  Honestly.  A vampire jealous of a leprechaun.

“Is that a fact?”  Jordan’s voice lowered to a rumble that echoed along her skin.  “Well then.  We’ll take him his gold, he can remove this marking and then I’ll make good use of the silk scarf.”

She smiled.  Now that was a plan.

Here are the words and point values:

love 1
smile 1
kiss 1
tongue 1
cuddle 2
nipple 2
earlobe 2
fingernail 2
green 3
fireplace 3
book 3
whiskey 3
ride 4
Dublin 4
shamrock 4
knickers 4
silk scarf 5
leather boot 5
Pot of Gold 5
Blarney Stone 5
“Why is it green?” 10