Interview: Author, Jeaniene Frost & a Giveaway!

Today, I am especially delighted to be interviewing Jeaniene Frost, an author who is very near and dear to the hearts of almost all of the Book Lovers and countless other fans around the world! The others just haven't read her books yet, but I hear they have ordered some already. They couldn't be surrounded by *squeeing* fan-girls anymore without finding out why some of us feel faint at the mere mention of of Ms. Frost's name. I'm sure that the endless conversations about The Night Huntress series also had them feeling a tad left out. 


What makes today's interview that much more special is that today is Release Day for Ms. Frost's brand new book,  First Drop of Crimson , the first book in her new spin-off series from the popular Night Huntress Series (often referred to as the Cat & Bones Series).

And now, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to a Rock-Star of the Bookish-Set,  Jeaniene Frost!!!!

The Geeky Book Lover: First Drop of Crimson is the first book in your spin-off series from The Night Huntress World. It's set in the same world as the stories about Cat and Bones. Why did you start a spin-off rather than a new series?

Jeaniene Frost: I’d had Spade and Denise’s story in my head for a couple years (plus stories featuring other side characters in the Night Huntress series), so I was very excited to get the chance to shine the spotlight on these characters with spin-off novels. As for why these books aren’t the beginning of their own series, some stories are better told in one book versus several. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a series junkie, but for these particular stories, writing them as stand-alones did better justice to the characters.

TGBL: Why did you choose Denise for the first book? Or did you pick Spade and he just ran into her arms, so to speak?

Jeaniene Frost: Since I’d written the first three Night Huntress books before I even tried to get published, I knew what would happen with Randy (Denise’s first husband) way in advance. But, I didn’t expect Denise to hook up with anyone soon afterward. Then when I wrote the first scenes with Spade and Denise, sparks just flew. I kept sneaking in scenes with Spade and Denise that later ended getting cut from the Cat and Bones books because they didn’t fit the plot, but their story kept growing in my mind. It wasn’t a case of deciding to write Spade or Denise first, then fixing one up with the other; the idea to do a book came after writing scenes featuring both of them, when I realized their chemistry was similar to what I’d felt writing Cat and Bones.

TGBL: Did you feel drawn to Denise's story for some particular reason?

Jeaniene Frost: As I mentioned above, it was a mutual draw for both her and Spade. Once I’d written scenes with the two of them, there was never any question in my mind that Denise and Spade would end up together, which was a mild surprise to me at the time. I hadn’t planned that when I first realized Randy would meet an early end. Still, I’ve learned that when I feel a very strong pull toward particular characters and can’t get them out of my head, it’s best not to fight it and instead, just write it J.

TBGL: Was it difficult for you to write in Denise's Point of View after all those books written out of Cat's perspective? These two are so different and I was positively surprised to really feel this difference through the whole book.

Jeaniene Frost: I knew Denise was very different from Cat so Denise’s “voice” came out pretty clearly as her own instead of just being a Cat Jr. Denise has a totally different background than Cat; she came from a loving family, didn’t grow up feeling like a freak or being forced to hide who she was, etc. Up until she met Cat, Denise had what you’d call a normal life. So digging into Denise’s character allowed the differences in her point of view to come across naturally, because there are a lot of variances in how Denise thinks/sees the world as compared to Cat. And there should be. Experiences mold us into who we are, and Cat and Denise have had very different life experiences. 

TGBL: Was Spade's background story always set in your mind? Or did it change as you started writing First Drop of Crimson?

Jeaniene Frost: Some things about Spade’s background were set long before I wrote First Drop of Crimson. And some things, he surprised me with while writing. Take, for instance, why he was sent to the penal colonies in the 1700’s. Before I started FDOC, I thought I knew why, and I was close. But by the time I wrote the scene where Spade tells Denise about it, a key point had changed and it made much more sense considering everything else I knew about Spade by then.

TGBL: One thing I found highly interesting in this book is the focus on the prejudices each species has about the other. Denise thinks all vampires are monsters and Spade thinks humans are too fragile to be of any importance. Why did you choose this conflict?

Jeaniene Frost: I didn’t choose it so much as it came pre-packaged along with their characters. Because of their pasts, Denise and Spade’s emotional conflicts over the opposite species was a driving factor in a lot of their actions/thinking. And it ran deeper than simple prejudice. For example, Denise doesn’t really think all vampires are monsters, but because of her experience first finding out about vampires when one tried to kill her, then knowing her best friend went out all the time hunting murdering vampires & ghouls, then having her husband torn to pieces because of a vampire war, Denise believed the vampire world was just too violent. Plus, Denise had a lot of guilt over her husband’s death, let alone recurring PTSD whenever she was around vampires. So her aversion to vampires at the start of First Drop of Crimson wasn’t so much prejudice as an inability to cope with all she’d been through.

Spade’s issue with humans had a similarly painful cause; his former human fiancé was murdered by humans, something that would never have happened had she been a vampire. Plus, as a centuries-old vampire, Spade had seen dozens of generations of humans being born and dying. So to him, a human life span would seem as short as a person contemplating the lifespan of a hamster, to be blunt. Therefore, it was easier for Spade to emotionally distance himself from humans rather than continually feel the same sort of pain he’d felt when his fiancé died. In essence, he held humans at arms-length not out of a true scorn for humanity, but out of a self-defense mechanism to keep from getting hurt.

TGBL: In First Drop of Crimson you introduce us to a new supernatural species- demons. Why did your decision fall on demons and not for example Fae?

Jeaniene Frost: I didn’t want to add a completely new species to the Night Huntress universe that had no basis in the worldbuilding I’d already established. If all of a sudden, faeries (or werewolves, goblins, etc) popped up in the stories, readers would have every reason to question how that could be possible without Cat, Bones, or someone else mentioning them before. But the creation of vampires and ghouls in my books were centered on the Biblical story of Cain - with a fictional twist - and everyone knows demons are frequently mentioned in the Bible. So expanding the Night Huntress universe to include demons didn’t seem like a violation of the previously-established supernatural system. Adding another species with no previous roots in the NH universe mythology would give readers good reason to take me to task, though.

TGBL: I was wondering while reading your book: How did you come up with the demon’s name "Raum"? In German that means room and I'm curious to know if there is any deep meaning behind it or if you just choose it because of the sound? And if it's the sound, how do you pronounce it?

Jeaniene Frost: My critique partner helped me come up with the name. I was chatting with her one day about how I wanted a name for my villain that had a base in demonology. She read me a list of demon names along with each demon’s specific powers. In demon mythology, Raum was a powerful demon who was reputedly a shapeshifter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raum), so that worked perfectly for my villain in First Drop. I’m sure people who know German will get a giggle out of its translation, but it wasn’t chosen as a joke about rooms, heh.

TGBL. Now that we finally meet the demons, will we perhaps find a few alpha werewolves in the next book?

Jeaniene Frost: No, because as I explained in my reply to question #7, werewolves as a separate species wouldn’t mesh with the established worldbuilding in the novels. Still, with vampires, ghouls, ghosts, black magic, demons, wraiths, and the occasional zombies, there are lots of paranormal creatures to keep my characters on their toes.

TGBL: The next book in this series will be about Mencheres. I'm curious about the heroine you will choose for him. This girl has to live up to a more than 2000 year old vampire. Who is she? Can you tell us a bit about her?

Jeaniene Frost: Her name is Kira and she’s a private investigator. When I first wrote the outline for Mencheres and Kira’s book, I thought I had Kira’s character pegged. Then when it was time to write the book, I was having the hardest time. It was like pulling teeth to get words on the page. Finally it hit me – I had Kira’s motivation all wrong. Her personality was the opposite of what I’d tried to force onto her. Once I fixed that and really keyed into her character, the words flew onto the page. Just like Denise is different from Cat, Kira is very much her own person, and yes, she’s more than a match even for a vampire like Mencheres. 

TGBL: Do you have any plans to write any books in a different universe or even sub-genre?

Jeaniene Frost: I’d love to. I have tons of story ideas, some related to the Night Huntress universe, but some in completely different worlds. Some ideas are based in the adult market, but I also have ideas for young adult novels. Pretty much the only thing all my ideas have in common is that they have a paranormal base. *wink* I don’t think I could write “normal” if my life depended on it.

TGBL: Can you tell us on what you are working right now?

             

Jeaniene Frost: I’m writing Cat and Bones’s fifth book, untitled as of now. So far this story has hit the ground running, which I take as a good sign. Readers have a lot of questions after Destined For an Early Grave, and this book tackles those while also having some surprises in store. After all, it’s no fun if something unexpected doesn’t rear its head to throw Cat and Bones a curve ball, right?

              
TGBL: What will be the next book to be released?

Jeaniene Frost: Eternal Kiss of Darkness, Mencheres and Kira’s book, releases July 27^th. After that, Cat and Bones’s fifth book will release sometime in early 2011 (don’t have an exact date yet). 

TGBL: Thanks, Jeaniene for coming over and answering our questions.

Jeaniene Frost: Thanks so much for having me! I appreciate it.

Jeaniene will be here the whole day to answer your questions and in honor of her visit to Book Lovers Inc and in celebration of the release start of her new series - (Release Day is TODAY! 02/09/2010) Book Lovers Inc is giving away a copy of First Drop of Crimson to one lucky commenter!

To Enter:

There are 3 options.

1. Ask Jeaniene a question.
or 
2. Tell us about your favorite character, book or scene from one of Jeanine's books.
or 
3. Comment on something we discussed in the interview.


Leave a way for us to contact you in the comments, either an email address or twitter account. 

Giveaway Ends on Valentine's Day - Sunday, February 14, 2010.