1. In the series Vamped, Gina is a total fashionista. If you suddenly became a vampire, would you make sure you were at least a stylish one?
Oh, I would absolutely take vampirism as a mandate to express my inner goth. Right now, I keep it a little on the inside, but I kind of love skull motifs, gothic crosses, Celtic and tribal designs. 2. If you could pick another paranormal character (from the books of one of our fabulous Crossroads tour participants), who do you think Gina would like to “make-over” the most? Probably Will Killian from Stacey Kade’s excellent The Ghost and the Goth. His co-main character Alona describes him as,"total loser material, skin so pale he practically glowed, and shaggy black hair that hung down in front of his creepy blue eyes. Seriously, they were so pale, they were almost white. And hello, he acted like such a freak, always wearing headphones and pulling the hood of his sweatshirt up, even inside the building." Gina, my heroine would say, “Didn’t anyone ever tell him that the Unabomber look was out? As if it was ever in. I’d totally scrap the hoodies and get him into a nice graphic tee and a pair of jeans strategically ripped, not just battered by wear and tear. You can say “Bite Me” to the world so much more effectively with a message tee or some stylized skulls. They tend to freak out the powers that be, but really, fashion is all about getting noticed.”
3. Can you share with us some tips to being a fashionable vampire?
I’ll let my heroine tell it like it is, as she always does! Paraphrased from Gina’s Rules for Surviving Your Senior Prom: #1. On the off chance that the fanged and fabulous are fact rather than fiction, it’s always a good idea to have a death plan. It’s kinda like an emergency plan, but, you know, for death. For example, make sure there’s absolutely nothing in your closet you wouldn’t be caught dead in, because it’s a flippin’ guarantee that’s what they’ll dress you in for the viewing. You also may want to leave some kind of instructions behind about not being buried for four days—at which point you’re either risen or beyond caring—because digging yourself out of the ground, not to mention prying open the damned coffin, is hell on your manicure. #2. Blood is never fashion forward. Chances are as a newly risen vamp, you’re going to be a bit indelicate in your feeding, so you may want to eat first, shop later. #3. Here’s where it gets dicey. Vamps have no reflection. Yeah, don’t even get me started. No way at all to fix your hair and make-up. Who wants to go through eternity a total shlub? I mean, what a cosmic joke, right? My recommendation: turn your own stylist, start an entourage, whatever it takes.
4. Can you tell us the scoop on Vamped book 2, ReVamped? What is in the future for this series?
In ReVamped, Gina and her boyfriend Bobby are sent undercover to infiltrate a New York high school where some seriously weird stuff is going down. Worse than that, Gina’s new super-secret identity is as goth-girl Geneva Belfry. No color palette to speak of. More chains than a bike rack. And don't even get her started on the shoes. At least she won’t be too worried about blood spatter when kicking the butt of her newest nemesis, who’s decided that the high school makes a perfect playground. The next book in the series will be Fangtastic. I don’t have a publication date yet, but in it, the real vamps and the lifestylers meet, issues between the Feds and the fangs come to a head, and Gina and Bobby have to decide which side they’re on. Fangtabulous will come after that. I’m still plotting this one out and have a trip planned this fall to sink into the setting! 5. What other fashionable stories do you have planned for us readers? I have werewolf and vampire short stories out in Esther Friesner’s Strip-Mauled and Fangs for the Mammaries anthologies. Next summer, Samhain will also be bringing out my urban fantasy, tentatively titled Bad Blood. It’s for the adult market, and a bit racier than Vamped or ReVamped, but the same kind of fun and fantasy. Tori Karacis, my fledgling private eye with about the strangest family conceivable, is not nearly as fashionable as Gina. In fact, her idea of couture is all black with a splash of color… easy to mix and match, no fuss, no muss. Black pantsuits, running suits, business suits… you get the picture. In LA that makes her a fashion rebel.
Vamped by Lucienne Diver Publisher: Flux (May 1st, 2009) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 340 pages Series: Vamped, book #1 Gina Covello's Perks and Pitfalls of Vamp Life 1. Hello?! Eternal youth and beauty!
2. Free. Designer. Clothes.
3. My hot new boyfriend Bobby went from chess dud to vamp stud.
4. No reflection! First order of business: turn my own stylist to stop the downward spiral from chic to eek.
5. Vampire vixen Mellisande has taken an interest in my boyfriend, and is now transforming the entire high school into her own personal vampire army. If anyone's going to start their own undead entourage it should be me.
I guess I'll just have to save everyone from fashion disasters and other fates worse than death.
1. What has been the most surprising thing to happen in your writing career over the past year?
I’m surprised and so thrilled every time I get fan mail. The fact that someone would take the time to write and let me know how much they’ve enjoyed the books means I’ve made a connection, and that’s a priceless thing.
2. When did you first start writing?
I started writing when I was around eleven. I’m pretty sure I used every cliché in the world, but at least I got them out of my system! My teacher was tremendously encouraging, and I blame, er… credit… him for the fact that I have voices in my head to this day <g>.
3. What is one of your favorite lines from Fangtabulous?
Hmm, I don’t know whether I can pick a favorite, but here’s a small taste:
Second note to self: never buzz someone into an apartment building without knowing exactly who they are. They might be some fearsome, fanged creatures of the night up to no good. Not in our case, of course, but you never knew when someone might bust into your place to feng shui your furniture or rearrange your internal organs. Caution was just common sense.
4. If you were going out for Halloween this year, what would you go as?
I was toying with Black Widow e from The Avengers. I’ve always wanted to rock a catsuit. Plus, you just don’t get much cooler. I mean, she’s smart, gorgeous and deadly. My kind of gal!
Even though I don’t get to trick-or-treat this year, I do get to dress up for my cousin’s Halloween-themed wedding. I’m going to be a pirate queen Win Some. I’ve tried to convince my husband to go as my pirate king Lose Some, but for some reason he’s balking.
Fangtabulous by Lucienne Diver Publisher: Flux (January 8th, 2013) Reading Level: Yo ung A dult Paperback: 288 pages S eries: Vamped, #4 Can a fanged fashionista take out a deadly Salem spirit?
Being on the lam from the Feds and the vampire council with no money is not as glamorous as it sounds, especially when I, Gina Covello, fashion queen of the undead, am forced to abandon my wardrobe. Salem, Massachusetts, seems like a great place to hide our supernatural gang. But who knew the city would be crawling with ghosts? The nasty spirit of George Corwin, infamous sheriff from the witch trial days, is on a killing spree. It's up to us to take down the breath-stealing phantom-without blowing our cover.
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HOW THE TOUR WORKS Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page: http://judithgraves.com/events/the-crossroads-tour/crossroads-2012/ and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour. Answers are to be emailed to judithgraves @ ymail dot com by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN. The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE and 13 free EBOOKS!
This year we have 23 authors that I'll be featuring over 7 days and each day you'll have a chance to enter to win! There's also a scavenger hunt going on, so be sure to check out The Crossroads Tour Post to see what questions will be asked, what blog you'll be able to find the answer on and enter to win! Today I am featuring P.J. Hoover, Lucienne Diver, Carrie Harris, and Patrice Lyle. Be sure to check out the rafflecopter giveaway, too!
1. Solstice is your first YA novel. What is the biggest thing you learned by writing YA and what was the hardest part of the journey?
The list of things I learned while writing YA could fill an entire blog post, but I’ll stick with this one. Make your characters relatable. The characters in your story should be people that your reader can relate to. It’s as simple as that. The more the reader can relate to the characters, the more they will be able to see bits and pieces of themselves in those same characters. And the more they see of themselves in those characters, the more real the story will feel. Hardest part of the journey? Developing patience because everything takes so long. When I finally develop it, I’ll let you know.
2. For those who don’t know, can you tell us a little about the world we jump into in Solstice?
Sure! Solstice is a mash-up of dystopia and mythology, two of my favorite genres. It’s set in Austin, TX in the future when global warming is destroying the earth. For the main character, Piper, this is her world until, on her 18th birthday, she opens a mysterious present and all of a sudden this parallel world of mythology starts to explode around her. Her best friend almost dies. Piper has to travel to the Underworld to save her. And there are lots of Greek gods.
1. Of all the characters you have written, which one has been the most challenging for you to
write?
Challenging, hmm. The main character in the super secret project I’ve just sent off to my agent. It’s dark, angsty and suspenseful, not paranormal at all… a departure for me. The main character is going through some really serious stuff. If you’ve read my Vamped and Latter-Day Olympians series, you’ll know that I write very tongue-in-cheek. There’s a lot of suspense, but it’s tempered with humor. But this novel called for a serious approach, and getting that voice down, writing a character who doesn’t take things in stride but is buffeted by the deep darkness of what’s going on around her, was very challenging.
2. You have contributed to a few anthologies. Do you find those easier, or harder, to write than a full length novel?
Infinitely harder! All of my short stories want to be novels, so to condense a storyline into a smaller space and still make it rich and satisfying… that’s a talent all its own. My Vamped series actually started as a short story called “Unlife Style,” but it didn’t stay that way. The first short story I ever had published, “The Problem with Piskies,” didn’t become a novel series, but it did get a sequel, “Imaginary Fiend” in the Strip-Mauled anthology published by Baen Books.
1. In Demon Derby, Casey is into Roller Derby. Have you ever tried that?
I WISH! I do own roller skates, and I have secret (or not so much now that I told you publicly) aspirations to skate at some point. But a few years ago, I was taking a wilderness rescue course and learning to save people who fall off cliffs, and I fell off the cliff. Rolled, mostly, but the end result is the same. I just finished a second round of physical therapy on my knee and hip, and I’m slowly but surely trying to build up my endurance. I have a few friends who skate, and they’re good at motivating me. If by “motivating,” you mean constantly giving me friendly crap about it. Which I find really funny. I think the best friends are the ones who can give you a hard time and make it hilarious. Is it just me?
2. What are 5 words you would use to describe Michael? Inhuman, awkward, lovable, determined, and HOT.
1. Can you give us a little teaser from your upcoming book?
The Case of the Invisible Witch is the first book in the Poison Ivy Charm School Series, about a young teen witch who runs a private investigation business. It’s like a paranormal Nancy Drew!
Tulip Bonnaire has only 72 hours to figure out her latest case, or her classmate, Missy, will never be seen again. Literally. When Missy shows up in Tulip’s dorm room around midnight, she’s invisible. As in not even x-ray vision could spot her. The mean triplets who call themselves The Belles have cast an invisibility spell on poor Missy. But if Tulip can’t break the spell in 72 hours, Missy will remain invisible forever.It’s a case Tulip can’t resist — between her mom’s annoying new boyfriend and her own secret crush at school, Tulip understands how much it stinks to feel invisible. Luckily for Tulip, her two best friends and her cute, techy guy friend help dig up clues on a case that turns out to be her freakiest one ever.
2. Tell us 5 words you’d use to describe your main characters in the book?
Tulip Bonaire, the main character in The Case of the Invisible Witch, can be described as: 1) Witch PI – Tulip has to be an awesome Witch PI to keep earning her $20 retainer fee, or her discounted retainer of a cup of hot chocolate with tons of whipped cream. 2) Loyal – Tulip is loyal to her best witch friends, Soili and Alexandria, as well as her best warlock friend, Dexter. She throws pizza and root beer float parties after every case they solve. 3) Bug-lover – Tulip loves Monk the Third, her pet praying mantis. She always keeps fruit flies on hand for him. 4) Inquisitive – Tulip loves a good mystery, and the freakier the better! 5) Polite – Tulip goes to a school for polite witches and warlocks, and has to abide by “Queen Withania’s Rules of Refinement.” Tulip thinks the rules are stodgy and lame, but she does her best to follow them.
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