June 15 - Top Shelf Books - http://www.the-top-shelf.com/
June 16 - Ron D. Voigts - http://rondvoigts.blogspot.com/
June 17 - Barbara G. Tarn - http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/
June 18- Stephannie Beman - http://stephanniebeman.com/blog/
June 19 - The Williamson Vampires - http://julihoffman.wordpress.com/
June 20 – Lariats and Lavender - http://www.lariatsandlavender.com/
June 21 - I Smell Sheep - ismellsheep.blogspot.com/
June 22- Reena Jacobs - http://reenajacobs.com/
June 23 - Lindsay Downs - http://ajessicasalesnovel.wordpress.com
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A book blurb
tells a lot about a book. Can you tell us something about your book?
Katelina is a human
woman whose fate has become intertwined with Jorick, a dark, enigmatic vampire.
Ashes of Deceit is the fourth book in the Amaranthine series and picks up where
Ties of Blood left off. Katelina and Jorick are supposed to be readying for a
trip to the tropics. Instead, they have to rescue a vampire who’s been captured
by humans. But how could humans have captured a vampire? Meanwhile, Jorick’s
vengeful fledgling, Oren, plans to attack The Guild. Though Jorick refuses to
help him, he and Katelina find themselves drawn into a battle of confused
loyalties. Can they rise from the ashes, or will they be consumed by the
inferno of destruction?
Though there is romance in the series (and sex), I wouldn’t call it a
primarily romance series. Since romance novels sell the best, I might be
shooting myself in the foot with that statement.
Covers are
the first things that get seen when book shopping. Can you tell us about your
cover’s design?
The covers for the
series are kind of a mixed blessing. Normally, a vampire cover is black.
There’s usually a girl or a “hot” guy, a full moon, a cross, etc. Instead, mine
are white with an “anime-style” drawing. Though I’ve gotten some derogatory
comments from PNR fans, I do attract anime/manga fans and readers who say “I
don’t normally read vampire books, but…” I’m also an anime lover and, though I
love vampires, I’m not crazy about most of the modern vampire books. Like a lot
of authors, I started the series for myself, and since those are my
credentials, that’s my target audience. So far the covers seem to be attracting
that audience, despite the dogging they get.
For me the first
few paragraphs tell me if I want to read the book. How does your story open?
From Ashes of Deceit:
Katelina walked out of the truck stop and eyed the dented, ugly
carpet van. It stared back, like a dragon that wanted to swallow her whole. A
blast of winter wind rattled her and she brushed her blonde hair from her face.
She’d been volunteered to drive to Michigan and the Institute of Supernatural
and Unexplained Sciences to help rescue a vampire, while Jorick and his
fledgling, Oren, were going to sleep in wooden boxes in the back.
She wondered if it was legal to transport vampires over a state
border. There should be a law about that, she mused silently. Maybe
there was. The Guild, the vampires’ government, had laws for everything else,
and they used the Executioners to enforce them. As the name implied, there
seemed to be only one penalty for misconduct.
How have you
been marketing your book? What works best for you?
I ran a ten day
contest on my blog, giving away different items every day (t-shirt transfers,
stickers, etc.), that pulled in some blog views, though I can’t say if it
gathered new readers and I am currently in the midst of my first blog tour. I’ve
also made a new facebook author page. The best promotion tools are ones you
enjoy. If you hate doing it, that’s going to show, and that’s why I don’t do
much with Twitter. My main promotions include my blog(s) because I love to blog
and read blogs, and free short stories because they are so fun to write. I have
eight or nine of them on Barnes and Noble and I’ve gotten emails that say “I
enjoyed your short story(s) so I’m going to buy your full length novels now!” I
actually sell as many, if not more, books through B&N as I do Amazon, and
I’m sure it’s the freebies that do it.
What are you
now working on? Can you give us some hints what to expect?
My current projects
are finishing up the Vampire Morsels collection – these are the aforementioned short
stories about some of the side characters in the Amaranthine universe. I am
going to bundle them together and release them as a collection. I am also
working on a novella about Patrick, which is a prequel to the first Amaranthine
novel, and of course the fifth Amaranthine novel, tentatively titled Heart of
the Raven. I hope to the have Vampire Morsels published this summer, Patrick by
early autumn (if not sooner) and the novel finished this winter. (whoo!)
Heart of the Raven
picks up where Ashes of Deceit ends and *should* see Katelina and Jorick travel
to Munich, Germany to see the True Council. After that, they *should* meet
Jorick’s up-to-now-unknown fledgling and *should* run into the treasure hunters,
who will be looking for the heart of the raven (this is an “ancient vampire
artifact”, believed to be Lilith’s heart). I say *should* because the
characters don’t always do what I want them to.
When you are
not writing a book, what do you do for fun?
When I’m not writing, working on the Terrible
Turtle Conspiracy web comic, creating book covers for other authors,
formatting, or playing Sims on facebook, I like to take photos, play Final
Fantasy, watch anime and Dr. Who and splash in rain puddles. Sadly, it doesn’t
rain a lot in southern Missouri, so I don’t get to do that as often as I’d
like. I might try to talk my husband into a kiddie pool.
~~~~~
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
I would pick Ashes of Deceit because I love this series and it the only one I don't already have yet. crystaley73 at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteHi Crystal! Thanks for stopping in and good luck! :D
DeleteMy nick name is puddles... didn't know that about you though or that youu photos have been featured in so many venues. In 3 years when all this writing is complete then what will you do?
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's from putting them up under a CC license. (creative Commons) so that anyone can use them - it;s a great way to get exposure - though I do it because I like to share them :)
DeleteWhen the writing is done then I shall write some more - assuming the apocalypse doesn't take me out first!
Was wondering if you feel that the vampire genre is running its course or if vampires will inhabit all genres in the future?
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question, Rick! I think there will always be vampires in a variety of literature because there are a lot of people who like them, but as far as main stream goes something new will rise up and take its place. Zombies really seemed poised to do that, but they're sort of hanging on the cusp, still waiting for that super "hit". Adult vampire books are already considered a niche genre.
DeleteThanks for commenting!
Nice interview. I learned some things here. Of course, I'm a huge fan of Joleene's works.
ReplyDeleteHey Donna! Great to see you here! Thanks so much for stopping in! :)
Deletewell i llike the book there and if i could win it i would blog on it
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping in desi and good luck! :)
DeleteGreat interview, especially getting a peek at what "should" be happening in the next book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jenn! heh-heh, yeah it's hard to tell if they will do what I tell them to or not. They're all so temperamental.. ;)
DeleteJoleene is the BEST! I have read all her books but the last! My fav is reading the interviews w/ all the characters. I only know a few others that do that and I think its awesome! The book I would pick would be Ashes of Deceit! Thanks Joleene for the the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! So glad to know you enjoy the interviews, I have a lot of fun with those :) And it soothes some of the characters when they get unruly, LOL!
DeleteGood luck!
Cant wait for the next book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alicia! :D
Delete