Guest Blogger-Julia Phillips Smith

I'm honored to have Julia Phillips Smith on the blog here today. She's been a long time friend and advocate of all things author. She's been my cheering section for as long as I can remember and now I have the absolute pleasure to cheer for her.

Julia has a book coming out November 11, 2011. A self-pub title involving Vampires and since tomorrow is Halloween it's fitting to interview an author who writes in the genre.

Thanks for coming here, Julia!

Tell us about your upcoming release.

SAINT SANGUINUS is my debut novel which combines vampires with a Welsh Dark Ages historical setting, and a superhero origin story woven throughout for good measure.


What gave you the idea to write SAINT SANGUINUS?

If I go back a little ways, I've been a fan of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Count Saint-Germain series since I read my first taste of them, TEMPTING FATE (original publish date 1982,) when I lived in Toronto in the 90s. All of her books center around the constant need for an eternal being to relocate before the locals realize that the count never ages. The books are filled with all of the hassles of moving house, making arrangements for the house to be left to a faraway nephew in the future - which will be himself in a few generations - and I always loved the practical problems that Saint-Germain had to deal with, which get brushed aside in most vampire tales.

So my own story began with me wondering how it would feel to be a brand new vampire asked to consume the blood of men, when he'd been a man himself only days before.

Rather like the post-accidental-shooting car clean-up scene in Pulp Fiction, I love scenarios that aren't addressed as often.


Is there a sequel planned?

Definitely. In the superhero origin story category, SAINT SANGUINUS sets the stage for my main vampire character, Peredur, who will be called upon to use these new powers in upcoming showdowns. But Peredur isn't the only new vampire to rise from these pages. There's another one who many readers may feel takes them into the POV of a vampire in a way they've never encountered before.

Why Vampires?

I've been a fan of vampires since I was a small kid. I used to try to watch Dark Shadows, a gothic soap opera featuring vampire Barnabas Collins, although my mom would always switch it off. But I know I used to see it somehow.

When I was in junior high, a BBC version of Dracula completely captivated my cousins, my sister and me. It inspired us to write a script for our own vampire movie, for which we scouted locations and rehearsed without having any equipment to shoot it, whatsoever.

Then following high school I was the assistant director for a community theatre production of Dracula here in Halifax, where I got to audition child actors and direct my own transition scene pieces which held the audience's attention away from set changes on the main stage.

Meanwhile, I've been reading vampire tales, watching vampire films and TV series steadily all along.

Can you tell us a bit about your journey writing this piece?

My cousin used to urge me to write a vampire novel when I was working on gritty historical stories. She knew I had a vampire tale inside me, waiting to emerge. But nothing ever really came to me until I first decided to take up the challenge of doing NaNoWriMo.

I just started with that simple premise of going through the mental progression of being a human to being a vampire, and when the virtual starting pistol went off for the writing marathon, Peredur was born.

Also, I've always had a real affinity for the archetype of the Unknown Soldier. Perhaps having my birthday fall on Remembrance Day has something to do with it, I don't know. But just thinking of fallen warriors laying on their last battlefields really wrings my heart into shreds, so I used that as my jumping off point for Peredur and went from there.


What made you decided to pursue self-publication?

Two things. The simple advance of technology making it possible for writers to viably self-publish, along with the eruption in the popularity of e-readers is the greatest reason.

The second reason is my own personality. I'm someone who never watched Friends, but watched Hercules and Xena Warrior Princess religiously. Although people who know I went to film school assure me that Under the Tuscan Sun has gorgeous cinematography, I've still never seen it. But I have watched Bubba Ho-tep in a packed theatre with other cult film enthusiasts. I've always known my writing would never fit into the mold being purchased for the Big Six publishing houses. I had no idea there would ever be such a thing as indie self-publishing, but in retrospect, it's almost as though I've always been waiting for this development. I embrace it with joy.


You did an amazing trailer for this release, how did that come about?

I've always been a big reader, but my first love has definitely been film. I graduated from Ryerson University's film program in 1995 and was more focused on screenwriting and gathering film credits. However, financially I couldn't afford the whole apprenticing stage of gaining those credits. I really needed to keep my day job, so to stay in the telling-stories game, I switched over to novel writing, which turned into a decade-long learning curve. The way to tell screenwriting stories and the way to tell prose fiction stories is radically different.

In the meantime, I worked on several film and TV projects over the years, never losing my passion for my original medium of choice. I have several film projects rumbling around in the old noggin, and I used to say to myself, "I just need to find the right producer."

Meanwhile, who should show up at my writers' group but a woman who has her own production company. At last year's writers' retreat, we really hit it off. She suggested we do the book trailers, and I have to tell you - when she said that, I hadn't realized how much I'd protected my heart over the years from the longing to work in film. Inside my chest I felt the Grinch-heart-grew-three-sizes thing, I was so happy.

So from January of this year Tara MacDonald of Charlie Mac Productions and I did pre-production on the trailers, which we shot in one day at the end of April, and I worked in post-production with Doug Woods of 902 Post to edit the trailers in time for the New York RWA conference, which I attended.

Tara blogs @ http://taramacqueen.com/
Charlie Mac Productions @ http://www.charliemacproductions.com/
Doug Woods @ 902 Post http://www.902post.com/


How much research did you have to do for SAINT SANGUINUS?

Quite a lot. I've always been very picky about authenticity, so personally I want to get it right in my own work. I've been attracted to the time period of Dark Age Britain since I was a girl and read Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy, and I've got a personal library of Arthurian research nonfiction books that I've devoured over the years. Recent discoveries about that time period always loom large on my radar, and I find it thrilling that we've been able to learn so much more about a time that wasn't well understood until the past few decades.

However, the very murkiness of the time period makes it a perfect setting for a vampire tale, as who's to say they weren't roaming the countryside back then? Also, the following witch hunts that swept Europe in the middle ages makes a writer surmise that maybe there was a reason for such fear...


What made you decide November 11th for the release?

Because that falls on Remembrance Day, and because the brotherhood which my vampire joins then acts as a peacekeeping force between humans and vampires, I felt that this particular date held good resonance for the story.

And on this particular Remembrance Day, it will be 11 - 11 - 11. That certainly doesn't happen every day.

Also, November 11th will be my birthday, and for me this is a major milestone present to myself.

Do you have anything else in the works?

I've been writing a dark fantasy series for a while, part of which is posted on Wednesdays on my blog as serialized fiction. I'm seriously in love with that main character. I can't wait to send him off into the world.

I've also got a Victorian convict story, a Scottish gamekeeper story and a Jacobite post-Culloden story in various stages of development.

I've also got a few film projects that I'm looking to pursue, as well. And don't forget the day job.


Where can we find out more about you?

You can visit me at my web site, www.juliaphillipssmith.com or at my blog, A Piece of My Mind. I've been blogging since 2007 and I've made many wonderful friends there over the years.


I'm also on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=550188924


and on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/intent/user?screen_name=apieceofmymind


Now for some fun! What is your favourite colour?


Is this going to come as any surprise? Red and black.


What is your favourite drink?


Prosecco, pinot grigio and Glenfiddich. Oh, I had to stop at one...?


What is your favourite food?


I realize most people wouldn't say this. But rice is my favorite food ever. Especially the way my family does it - cooked in chicken or turkey broth with a little bit of butter, salt & pepper and several large glugs of ketchup. But I'll take stir fry, rice in casseroles, plain old rice just steamed, you name it. Just not rice pudding. I don't want it to be dessert.


Trapped on a desert island what three movies would you take with you? What three books and what three fantasy men?


Movies:

Kate & Leopold with Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan

The Turning Point, mainly for the ballet pieces danced by Mikhail Baryshnikov, but the whole film is marvelous

Gladiator with Russell Crowe


Books:

THE SILVER CHAIR by C S Lewis

DEVILISH by Jo Beverley

BLOOD GAMES by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro


Fantasy Men:


Dean Winchester from Supernatural

Wolverine from X-Men

Horatio Hornblower from the PBS series of the same name

Here are Julia's amazing book trailers:






Blurb:

An elite brotherhood stands between humans and vampires, preventing one side from annihilating the other. Who are called to this service? Only those warriors who curse God with their dying breath.

Welsh warrior Peredur falls to a spear before he can claim Tanwen for his bride. Raging on the battlefield, Peredur utters the curse that seals his fate and leads him to another life. Using the power of a saint whose bone makes up an amulet, Peredur takes on the trials to become a true member of the brethren. Yet his need for the chieftain’s daughter Tanwen still burns.

Tanwen resists her father’s command to take a husband. The only one who understands her sorrow is Cavan, the wise woman’s son. When he promises that he can reunite her with her beloved, she agrees to his terms. But does Tanwen truly understand the depth of the price that must be paid?

Interview with Author Amanda Young

My cat does an interview series at my home blog, but sometimes authors just don't know what to say to a cat! Plus it's not like Meankitty is particularly FRIENDLY. Sometimes I do non-felinious interviews with authors.

Samhain author Amanda Young writes paranormal romance, m/m romance, erotic romance and various combinations of the three.

***

1) If you were captured and tortured by evil book pirates, what would be your authorial equivalent to name, rank and serial number? (IE What is the most general description of your writing focus?)

Amanda Young, smut writer extraordinaire.

2) If the evil book pirates, using some hideous method, forced you to write books that were not paranormal romances, what do you think you would write?

I would write contemporaries. While I enjoy writing about all things that go bump in the night, I also like writing stories in a contemporary setting.

3) Why are you drawn to include speculative elements in your fiction? How do you think it enhances the plots or characters?

Writing paranormal fiction is an adventure of sorts. It enables me to write outside the box, using elements that would be never be allowed in contemporary fiction. Characters can be bigger than life.

4) What paranormal book or movie would you like to be dropped into the middle of, to experience the world if not the entire plot?

I really loved the Underworld series. It would be awesome to step inside any of the three movies. However, I’d definitely want to be a predator instead of the prey. =D

5) If some famous director were going to cast you in the movie version of a speculative or paranormal romance novel (and you had the acting chops to carry it off), which book would it be and what character would you play? (Note: doesn't have to be the hero or heroine...but certainly can be!)

I couldn’t act my way out of a paper bag, but if I could I wouldn’t mind playing Sookie Stackhouse in True blood. Man, is she ever surrounded by gorgeous men. :D

6) Do you have any writing rituals, quirks or requirements, like background music, flavored coffee, meditation--medication!--or what have you?

No, I don’t have any requirements to write. Whether there’s noise or quiet, I’m pretty much good to go (knock on wood). The only thing I need is something to write with (laptop, pen and paper, or what have you) and plenty of caffeine to keep me awake.

7) What were your favorite childhood (as in pre-teen, even) books or movies? Can you spy the seeds of paranormal romance budding even then?

I read a lot of Goosebumps and VC Andrews books as a young teen (like 12-14 or so) before I branched out into romance novels. Before that, I was a bit of a tomboy who hung around outside and climbed trees.

8) Are your books your babies? And do your characters "take over"?

I wouldn’t say my books are babies, but rather that they’re cherished friends which occasionally take over my life. I’ve found that when I try to make them do things they don’t like they’ll revolt, so I generally go with the flow and give them what they want.

9) Marketing and promotional responsibilities (or imagined responsibilities) vary from author to author. What are your favorite things to do to get your name out there beyond sell great books to great publishers? What are your least favorite?

I love running contests and doing chats, anything that gives me an opportunity to talk with readers. On the flip side, public appearances are still a bit of a struggle for me. I always want to throw up a little beforehand. Thankfully, I’m always glad I came by the end of every event.

10) Tell us about some interesting or offbeat research you've done for some of your stories. This is an invitation to infodump!

For my upcoming series, Chicken Ranch, as well as a romantic suspense novel I have coming out later this year with Michelle Cary titled Don’t Look Back, I had to do a ton of research on brothels. Naturally, I turned to what research I could find online regarding the legal brothels in Nevada. There was also a show in HBO, I believe, that inspired a thought or two for what it must be like to sell your body for a paycheck. Although it was all in the name of research, honest *wink*, it was certainly interesting to find out how much money some of those people bring in per client.

***

For Meankitty's interview series you can click here: http://blog.jodywallace.com/search/label/interviews

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to Amanda for being so patient with me.

Jody W.
http://www.jodywallace.com/

Interview: Lee Padgett, Blurb Wizard

Please welcome today’s guest, Lee Padgett. Better known to Samhain Publishing authors as the “Blurb Wizard.” The following is a transcript from an IM interview conducted yesterday. Enjoy!

Carolan: Welcome to Beyond the Veil, Lee! Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to talk to us.

Lee: Thanks for having me!

Carolan: I trust you made it across the moat with a minimum of fuss?

Lee: My heart needed a good jump start, anyway. Thanks for warning me about the Kracken’s feeding time – that economy size bag of Snausages came in handy!

Carolan: Excellent. We try not to lose anybody. Please tell us a little about what you do for Samhain Publishing.

Lee: Well, how about if I give you the elevator speech:

I write and edit blurbs and tagline “hooks” for all of Samhain’s published books. I take the authors’ first stabs at it and massage, plump, pummel, sharpen, smooth, slice, dice and reconstruct them into palm-sized packages designed to entice potential readers into hitting the “buy this book” button.

(For the uninitiated, a “blurb” is what’s on the back of a paperback, or the inside cover flap of a hardback.)

Carolan: Could you explain what I’ve heard you call “microscopic marketing”?

Lee: It’s my job to convince the reader to part with $5.50(ish) for an ebook or $12-$15 for a paperback book in 200 words or less. Actually much less – the tagline has to hook them into reading the blurb first. That’s 20 words or MUCH less. That’s what I term “microscopic marketing”. I don’t know if it’s a term I’ve coined, but it fits what I do for Samhain.

Samhain is unique in that it gives its authors input into their blurb copy. This isn’t always the case. For the big NY houses it’s pretty unheard-of.

Carolan: I know that I, for one, was surprised to learn that blurbs aren’t normally written by the authors themselves.

Lee: Me, too! However, I’ve learned that in fact many authors hate doing it! It amazes me that authors who can leap 90k-word manuscripts in a single bound, collapse into quivering masses of insecurity with it comes to their blurbs. Not all of them, but more than I would have thought!

Carolan. Ahem, we’ll just forget about that little incident surrounding my last blurb, shall we?

Lee: I am a professional and my lips are sealed. Thanks for the chocolate, by the way. Having it delivered by a kilted Highlander was a nice touch.

Carolan: *cough* You’re welcome. Now, where were we?

Lee: Quivering masses…

Carolan: Oh, yes. How did you get started wizarding blurbs for Samhain?

Lee: Funny story, that. It all started when I met Christine Brashear at a bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and we got to talking over a couple of Hurricanes. I mentioned that among the many types of writing I do, I especially enjoy creating sharp, snappy, hooky marketing copy. She smiled, bought me another Hurricane, and I woke up three days later chained to a desk in Samhain’s corporate office.

Carolan: Really?

Lee: Swear to god.

Okay, not really. I mentioned that I enjoy the challenge of writing marketing copy, and her ears perked up. “We could really use a hand with…would you be interested in…” I said sure, I’d give it a try. She was happy with my initial efforts and I’ve been working the blurbs ever since.

Apparently the editors at Samhain were grateful to turn the bulk of the blurbing process over to me. When an editor has 20+ authors, and each blurb could take several rounds of back-and-forth, you can see how it can eat into an editor’s time. And sanity.

Carolan: What’s the general process?

Lee: Sometime during the final stages of manuscript editing, the editor will, ahem, strongly encourage the author to write a first draft of their blurb and tagline. These are passed on to me along with the synopsis for the book, and I take it from there.

Carolan: Why the synopsis?

Lee: It’s difficult to capture the essence of the book, and the author’s unique voice, within the confines of 200 words or less. The author is often too close to the work to see the forest for the trees – IOW, pick out the defining details. More often than not, the synopsis is gold mine of information – tone, time period, location, etc. – anything that makes the book different from the rest. Once in a great while, if I’m just not feelin’ it, I’ll ask for the first chapter or two of the manuscript itself.

Carolan: How do you decide what goes into the blurb?

Lee: Pretty much every romance boils down to: 1) What does the hero want? 2) What does the heroine want? 3) What’s the major conflict? Of course, there’s variations for a gay romance or ménage, but it’s basically the same process. The trick is to package these three questions into a compact, fast-reading blurb that will entice the reader to click the buy button.

Let me just take a second here to insert an opinion: Any author who can’t easily answer these three questions about their book (the classic trapped-in-an-elevator-with-an-editor speech), needs to rethink the book. Not that Samhain authors have any problem with this – that’s why they’re Samhain authors, after all!

Carolan: We aim to please!

Lee: Okay, moving on. Next comes the tagline. I generally do these last, after I have an idea what the book is about and the general tone of the blurb. While I'm working, I jot down key phrases and words that pop into my mind. Taglines are not mini-synopses. These are the one-line hooks that attract the reader to click to read the blurb. Think, “Where’s the beef?”, not “What is the location of my two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun?”

Many authors are pretty good at these, and most of the time all I need to do is tweak them. Punch them up a little bit, trim off a couple extraneous words.

Carolan: Which brings me to a question from one of our BtV authors, Jody Wallace. “How do you balance the need to get the idea across in the shortest possible time (with buzz words or pop culture reference or what have you) with general cliché avoidance?”

Lee: Great question! It gets tough sometimes not to fall into the cliché trap, especially if yours is the fourth or fifth blurb I’ve done that day. Also, after doing, what, over 500 of these for Samhain, the real challenge is not to repeat a tagline!

What I try to do, if I find my brain glomming onto a cliché, is to take it and turn it on its ear. Play with the words and come up with something that sounds kind of familiar, but not quite.

One thing that in my opinion is a cop-out (and makes me crazy when I see it in a romance blurb), is a tagline and/or final line of a blurb that’s phrased as a question. Come on. These are romances. We know “twu wuv” (yes, I read the BtV blog regularly) will win the day. What I want to know is how high is the mountain the H&H have to climb to get there. And if can you make me as a reader want to climb that mountain with them.

Carolan: Sounds like fun!

Lee: It’s not always! What makes my job fun is the authors! I look at this as a collaborative process. There are times when a blurb and/or tagline will fight us every step of the way. When I’m fresh out of ideas and the author is so sick of looking at that damned manuscript she wants to scream!

In those cases it is the brainstorming, the bouncing of random ideas back and forth among me, the editor and the author that invariably leads to that elusive combination of words that makes magic. Some off-the-wall idea from me will spark the author to say, “Hmm, what about…” then the editor to cry, “Yeah! And if we do this…”, and finally I’ll finish with, “Let’s trim this word or substitute that word…” and voila. We have lift-off.

Carolan: Do you ever have to get rough with an author?

Lee: No, I rarely have to break out the stompy boots. LOL The editors, I suspect, bear the brunt the authors’ reactions to my first pass at a blurb. I look at it like this: We have less than ten seconds to capture a reader’s attention, and convince them to spend the next 30-45 seconds of her life finding out what your book is about. Then, if we’re lucky, the next few minutes after that reading the excerpt or first chapter. I figure if we can get the reader that far, we've upped the odds that the reader will buy.

Carolan: [gulp] Ten seconds?

Lee: Ten seconds. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is. Competition out there is brutal. Readers have literally thousands of books to choose from every day, and even a great book won’t get a second look if the first impression isn’t spot on. Look at me as your first reader. If my attention is wandering in the first paragraph of the blurb, that’s a problem I’m going to try to fix for you. :)

Carolan: Any closing thoughts?

Lee: I have the best job in the world. I get to work with some of the best authors and editors in the indie publishing business. I get to take their amazing stories and focus them, with laser precision, into a bite-sized morsel that will leave potential readers hungry for more. The cover is the first crumb in the bread trail; the tagline is the tantalizing aroma; the blurb is the first bite; the excerpt is the appetizer. The reward: The book jumps off the menu and into the reader’s hands or e-reader.

Carolan: Um, that paragraph was riddled with clichés.

Lee: Sue me.

-----

Lee Padgett’s parents knew something was afoot when they discovered their infant daughter’s favorite teething object was a pen. Since that prophetic beginning, she has made her living with words. A bachelor’s degree in natural resources with an emphasis in communications led to a career in journalism, which she left behind in 1991 to switch to freelancing. This versatile writer works all sides of her brain, gleefully tackling everything from technical documentation to marketing copy to web content to fiction and beyond. She will, literally, write just about anything for food.

www.twitter.com/LeePadgett

An Interview with a Princess

Today I'd like to introduce you to the heroine of my upcoming novel, SURVIVAL OF THE FAIREST, due July 15, 2008, from Samhain Publishing. It's a paranormal romance with comic overtones, often due to the antics of the heroine, Princess Talista of the Fairy Clan Serendipity, as she experiences all the delights the human world has to offer...including the delightful hero, Jake Story, a stage magician who has a high tolerance for unique people.

Luckily for Tali.

In Tali's Realm, fairies became dependent upon their magic to handle day to day tasks, and when magic disappeared from the Realm for a period of time, there was much hardship, chaos and starvation. Now, fairies are sent to remote areas of humanspace -- our current world -- to learn to get by without magic. They master the basics of building fires, cooking food, setting up camp, digging latrines, avoiding humans, and so on and so forth.

Tali has absolutely no desire to live in a tent and boil water for drinking, so as soon as her survival training teammates turn their backs, she uses some contraband magic to transport herself to Vegas, where the adventure of her lifetime commences.

Me: Tali, what motivated you break the long-standing rules of your people and hightail it off on your own?

Tali: I didn't make those rules, the Fairy Court did. They're over-protective, secretive, ancient geezers who ignore the fact that our salvation -- you know, if magic disappeared in the Realm again -- would be mingling with humans, not sleeping on the ground and eating nuts and berries in some spirit-forsaken wilderness. I'm so sure the Court wouldn't buy some mansion somewhere, to rest their old fey bones on fancy human beds and drive big cars and eat hamburgers.

Me: In other words, because you disagreed with the rules, that means you weren't under any obligation to obey them? What makes you so special?

Tali: I'm a twosies. Come on, human. You created my world. You know that. All fairies are multiple births but twins are the strongest magically, blah blah blah, my sister and I will be part of the Court some day, blah blah, so yeah, I'm special...whether I want to be or not. I was really looking forward to being normal for two weeks. A normal human tourist in Vegas, baby!

Me: But still. Your little side trip risked your safety and your sister's wellbeing, because if you got killed, considering the psychic connection twin fairies have, she might die, too. Not to mention you endangered the whole fairy Realm when it came right down to it. Some readers might say you were a bit TSTL.

Tali: What is this TSTL? That's not a human word I recognize.

Me: You must have skipped that class.

Tali: Human Studies was the one class I didn't skip. I learned a lot more eavesdropping on the Court than I did in History of Magic. You're making stuff up again, aren't you?

Me: It's kind of my job.

Tali: Seriously, what's TSTL?

Me: It's an acronym that stands for--

Tali: Right, acronym! T...S...T...L. The Sexiest Tali Alive!

Me: No, it stands for--

Tali: Terrific Story They'll Love.

Me: Uh, no. Although they will. It's Too S--

Tali: Too Sexy To... Laugh. No, I laugh all the time. Love. No, I'm quite loveable. Just ask Jake. He's too sexy. Spirit! Did I tell you about the time he--

Me: It's in the book, but it's too late in the plot to reveal. That's considered a spoiler.

Tali: You told them that? Can't a fairy have any privacy?

Me: You were about to tell me in a public interview.

Tali: This is public? Hi, you guys! I love humans! (blows kisses) We should do lunch. I'll be having the chocolate.

Me: Can we get back to the interview? Like I was saying, your behavior wasn't what one expects from a mature romance novel heroine. You might be eighty in fairy years, but in human years one might say you acted like a headstrong teenager.

Tali: I'm mature enough to know not everyone has to act, look, dress and think exactly the same as everyone else. I like excitement, intrigue and researching human technological advancements. My version of survival training was for the future as much as it was for myself. It's not like I had magic past that initial transport spell. I used my surroundings to get by as best as I could, and that's what my training was all about. Survival. Do you really think fairies would be better off in some forest if they lost their magic? Heck to the no!

Me: That sounds good on paper.

Tali: Which is a good thing, because eventually it'll be on paper.

Me: I know researching humans as a future Court member was a small part of your motivation, but--

Tali: Small? It was most of it. Some of it. Enough of it.

Me: Yeah, I'm not convinced. Readers still might label you TSTL because of the way you--

Tali: I've got it. Too Sexy To Languish!

Me: It stands for Too Stupid to Live.

Tali: I am not!

Me: It could have gone south.

Tali: To Mexico? I'd like to go to Mexico.

Me: No, that means it could have gone very badly indeed. It didn't work out quite the way you expected, did it?

Tali: Surprises are the spice of life. They taste like chocolate.

Me: Taking off on your own, in a foreign country--

Tali: I spoke the language, I studied the culture, I had an escape tooth, and I had a lot of money.

Me: Gold coins?

Tali: Like anyone would have thought that paper stuff would be more desirable than gold.

Me: I think you learned that lesson.

Tali: Oh, shut up. And anyway, it was worth it. I met Jake. Ah, Jake. Total hottie. And smart! When the Fairy Court tracked me down, he--

Me: That's a spoiler too. In fact, I think they've had enough for today. Shall we sign off?

Tali: Hey, next time, interview Jake. I'm busy. I've got a Chip and Dale ballet to watch, and he said no way was he going.

****

Thanks for stopping by! You can read an excerpt of Tali and Jake's first meet if you sign up for my newsletter and read the 3rd edition, which I recently released: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jodywallace/ It only comes out once every two months, so don't worry you'll be bombarded by promos and solicitations.

My website can be found at http://www.jodywallace.com and my books at http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/jody-wallace

SURVIVAL OF THE FAIREST--Coming 7/15 from Samhain Publishing
A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH--Available now from Samhain Publishing