Thursday Thirteen - Thirteen things about Carolan Ivey

Be ready to be spooked and have your timbers shivered - here are 13 things about Beyond The Veil author Carolan Ivey :

1 - Tell us a little bit about yourself and your life? I'm a born Tarheel living in "exile" in the Buckeye state with my husband, kids, and 2 highly opinionated dachshunds. Actually I've lived in Ohio most of my life and it's been good to me. But I never let anyone forget I'm a NC native.

2 - When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? I've been writing since I was old enough to pick up a pencil, but it never occurred to me to try to make a living at it until I was in college. I switched majors to combine my love of the natural world with my ability to write, and ended up with a degree in Natural Resources/Communications.

3 - Do you write everyday? Any routines or rituals? Actually I am a working writer and editor, so I have to write everyday or I don't get paid. :) I left a journalism job 15 years ago to do technical writing - pretty dry stuff, but it pays better. Right now I have two clients, writing web content for a multi-media company based in San Antonio, and web-based training materials for a company in Toledo. The great thing is I can do this work from home. I hate commuting. My routine these days: Bed to coffee pot, coffee pot to La-Z-Boy, boot up laptop, get to work. Shower is optional. :) Somewhere around noon the kids start complaining about the smell, so yeah, eventually I get cleaned up. When I get an idea for a book, I usually write some kind of loose outline or synopsis first, just to see if the idea has enough "legs" for 300 pages of manuscript. But after that it's all seat of the pants. I rare stick to the outline.

4 - How would you describe the genre in which you do most of your writing? My stories end up crossing genres - fantasy, paranormal, historical, contemporary, time travel. If I were a bookseller it would be hard to know which shelf to put it on.

5 - What are the challenges of writing paranormal romance? Making it believable enough so that the readers can lose themselves in the story and not get tripped up by huge lapses in logic. :)

6 - Who would you say has influenced you the most? It would be more like a "what", and that would be a couple of things. I spent my formative years sitting on the darkened front porch of my grandparents' farm house, telling and retelling the tales, legends and ghost stories of North Carolina, of which there are hundreds! Also, I grew up with a chronic illness so I read early, and voraciously.

7 - What would you say is the biggest challenge that you face as a writer? Time management! I'm a tiny bit ADD, which means I can be easily distracted or, if I'm bored, I "check out" and start daydreaming. On the other hand, I can easily get hyper-focused when I'm working on a story, and get so lost in it that I forget important things like doctor appointments. That's why I love my laptop because I can set it up to beep at me when I have to be somewhere!

8 - What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer? Winning the Independent Publishers of America Award (Ippie) for best romance for my paranromal, "Beaudry's Ghost" (which is about to be re-released by Samhain Publishing, sometime early in '08.

9 - Once the deadlines are all met and the manuscript is delivered, what do you do to relax and give yourself a break? Cruzan rum. ;D (Ember takes a break to mix up mojitos.)

10 - What will your next book be about? WILDISH THINGS is another novella that will be released in both eBook and in paperback in Samhain Publishing's anniversary anthology LOVE & LORE on Nov. 1.
Here's the blurb: One man. One woman. One Harley. And one dangerously horny goddess. Ireland may never recover.
A year after a horrendous accident, wildlife artist Beith Molloy journeys to Ireland to get her career back on track. And maybe recover her missing spirit of adventure.
A twist of fate lands her with sexy, bad-boy tour guide Kellan O'Neill, who whisks her away on his Harley to the wild and mysterious Burren. Like the Burren, Kel is not what he seems on the surface. His impulsive plan to kidnap Beith – all in fun, of course – and entice her into a casual summer fling starts to go awry when her wounded spirit touches his heart.
Things go even more sideways once they set foot on the Burren. What awaits them there is the Cailleach, an ancient, nearly forgotten goddess who’s bored, lonely, and more than a little horny.
When Beith and Kel begin their dance of seduction, the Cailleach sees her chance to use their desire to release her pent-up lust. There’s just one problem. Legend has it that once the Hag’s lust is aroused, men die.

11 - How much time do you devote to promoting your books? Well, I'm kinda addicted to blogging right now. They're fun to do and popular among readers, so I'd say right now I spend most of my promo time blogging. This will change once my paperbacks start hitting the shelves. Right now in the blog world I can be found:
http://www.carolanivey.blogspot.com/ (almost daily)
http://www.paranormalauthors.blogspot.com/ (alternating Saturdays and the occasional Sunday)
http://www.fantasyandenchantment.blogspot.com/ (alternating Saturdays)
http://www.ladiesoftheclub.blogspot.com/ (once a month)
www.samhainpublishing.com/blog (about once a quarter)

12 - Now for the most important question - what do you believe makes a book sexy? It's the character development, hands-down. If you don't make me fall in love with those characters, the book isn't sexy to me. 99 percent of sex is in the brain!

13 - What is your latest book about? Available now is ABHAINN'S KISS (http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-gloaming-abhainns-kiss), a Celtic romantic fantasy, but I hesistate to call it a straight fantasy because the story crosses back and forth between the real world and the Fae world. Here's the blurb:Avalon reborn…
Hidden away on a misty island off the Irish coast all her life, Abhainn has no idea she is the last of her Faery race—until a troll tries to kill her.Her peaceful world shattered, she has only days to fulfill her destiny.
She must defy a curse that dooms her to hide from the sun, and take her rightful place in the Great Circle on the Isle of Avalon. Only Abhainn can restore the balance of Dark and Light, and heal the rift between humans and Fae. That’s a tall order for a one fragile Faery.
Michael Craig is on a quest of his own, one grounded in cold, hard reality. Fairy tales? They’re for children and dreamers. But when he rescues Abhainn from certain death with an accidental kiss, he finds himself thrown into a very different reality. One he’s reluctant to accept, even as it unfolds before his eyes. Only one thing holds him there—Abhainn will die without him.
Abhainn’s life depends on Michael’s kiss, his sword arm…and his ability to believe.
This is available in eBook now, and you can preorder the anthology in which it's included, IN THE GLOAMING, on Amazon right now. It'll be released 2/08.

Bonus - What kind of chocolate do you like, how much of it do you eat every day, and where can I send the 5-lb. box you demanded for doing this interview? (I want Carolan to negotiate my contracts for me! EC) Dark chocolate. The darker the better. Send it express, please. :D


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