Thursday, February 24, 2011

Interview with Author, Denise Verrico


Denise Verrico is an author of urban fantasy. Her newest work Twilight of the Gods, Book Two of the Immortyl revolution is available from L&L Dreamspell.

How did you come up with the title?
It’s an allusion to the Norse idea of the Ragnorak. In Norse mythology, Loki is the “mischief maker” and is foretold to bring on the Ragnorak.

What is Twilight of the Gods about?
In book one, Cara Mia, vampires Mia Disantini and Kurt Eisen have done the unthinkable and rebelled against their elder, Brovik, who was funding research on vampire immortality. In addition, the lovers have stolen data that proves that Immortyls are mere biological mutations of human beings. In their culture, to even suggest this is punishable by death.
Mia and Kurt’s motivation is to find a cure for their condition, a rival elder, Gaius, is trying to harness the power of immortality for profit. Kurt builds a force among bands of cast-off teenaged and child vampires called sewer rats to battle Gaius. They give Kurt the nickname Loki. This soon inspires a worldwide revolutionary movement.

Meanwhile, Mia, his strong and independent partner, dislikes being shunted into the background in the “man’s world” of Immortyl politics. To add insult to injury for her, Kurt has formed a romantic attachment to Arturo, an Immortyl who saved his life. She is forced to make a difficult choice for the good of the revolution and her relationship to Kurt.

What books have most influenced your life most?
In my genre, I have to give credit to Anne Rice. I love her dark romanticism. I’m not against books like Twilight, but I do prefer a darker vampire. My next biggest influence would have to be historical fiction authors Mary Renault and Robert Graves. I love the accessible first person narratives in books like The Persian Boy and I Claudius. Court intrigue and politics fascinate me. I also loved Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I’d have to say that my next book in the series, My Fearful Symmetry, owes a lot to Renault’s The Persian Boy. Renault’s book is told from the POV of Bogoas the companion to Alexander The Great. The tone of Renault’s writing is very conversational. I like that all of this history is happening around the characters, but that personal stories are so accessible.

I loved the idea of writing about a male courtesan, only mine is a vampire and he’s a temple artist in service to the Goddess Kali. His name is Cedric MacKinnon. He’s a nineteen-year-old Scot. Cedric is funny and irreverent; a modern teenager who wants more than anything to be a rock star, but life has dumped him at the bottom of the heap. A chance encounter with a mysterious Indian gentleman leads him to the chief elder’s court and lands him in the middle of a hotbed of political intrigue. I really wanted a character that sees Kurt’s revolution from the inside of the ruling class, but I didn’t want that POV entirely opposed to the idea. Cedric sees and experiences terrible things and does a lot of growing as a character. In a nutshell, the book is about a boy who becomes a vampire and fights to become a man.


What are your current projects?
I’m working on the fourth Immortyl Revolution novel, Ratopia, and a magic-based urban fantasy with a variety of paranormal characters.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I find it hard to do things fast. I don’t know how some authors can get books done so quickly. The research and world building takes time, and I work a full time job. I come from the theatre and dialogue is easy for me. Usually, I write it first. The trick is in balancing how much narrative detail is needed against the dialogue arc of the scene. That’s where the art comes into the craft, and that is where those extra pairs of eyes from writer’s groups come in handy.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Join a critique group if you haven’t. My groups help me so much. Also, strive to be original. Even though I like Anne Rice, I knew I wanted to write something very different. With the glut of vampire books out there, one of the most gratifying things I hear in reviews is that my books are very unique in the genre.



Blurb

Twilight of the Gods, Book Two of the Immortyl Revolution

Narrowly escaping the implosion of Genpath laboratories, vampires Mia Disantini and Kurt Eisen are on the run from Gaius Lupus their rival in the Forbidden Science. When Kurt is captured by their enemy and rescued with the aid of feral vampire kids known as sewer rats, Mia witnesses first hand the charismatic spell her lover casts over these would-be revolutionaries. Setting up base in Manhattan, Kurt builds his forces to face off with Gaius, while independent-minded Mia navigates the minefield of sewer rat politics, which she finds very much a man’s world. The lovers’ deep bond is put to the test by both the beautiful Arturo and Kurt’s followers, who see Mia as standing between them and their beloved “Loki.” Matters are further complicated when the chief elder, Kalidasa, arrives from India to investigate rumors of heresy and revolution. With the threat of war with Gaius drawing ever closer, Mia ands Kurt prepare to meet the biggest challenge of their lives.

Excerpt
Twilight of the Gods, Book Two of the Immortyl Revolution

Virginia 2001

“Mee-ya? Darling, it’s past nine.”

The kerosene lamp beside the old four-poster bed sputtered. My eyes opened on Kurt’s in the flickering light. Paul Newman in his prime on a really good day couldn’t compete with those big blues. “Hello, gorgeous.”

He chuckled and eased his slender body over mine, lips searching my throat for the landmarks, while something warm, hard, and smooth begged for entrance below.

“I dreamed about Ethan.”

He paused in his delicious pursuit to scowl. “Again?”

“I still chose you.”

A smile fluttered over his alarmingly pale mouth. “I must go out tonight to meet Carol.” He gestured to a plastic bag filled with red liquid sitting in a bath of warm water. “Only a pint left.”

“You take it. I had two last night.” I stroked the warmth poised to enter me. “Amazed you still manage. Better wait.” His lower lip pouted. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He pulled away sighing and sat up, stretching and running his fingers through tangled golden curls, a marble angel with a single blemish, inky and obscene on his left forearm, a vestige of his captivity long ago in Dachau. He lifted the plastic bag out of the basin and inserted a straw, drinking it down. The white linen napkin he used to wipe his mouth came away smeared with red. “I’ll take the bike.”

“I’d feel better if you took the car.”

Brushing damp hair back from my eyes, he kissed me. “The wind feels like freedom.” He pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Despite the late August temperatures of Northern Virginia, it was necessary for him to conceal the tattoo. People might not take too kindly to what looked to be a boy in his late teens making an apparent mockery of others’ misery. Unfortunately for Kurt the misery was all too real and personal. I rolled over on the huge bed, sheets sticking to my skin. “We really need an air-conditioner.”

Kurt frowned as he buttoned his shirt. “We been through this—no electricity—no noise.”

“I’m tired of tepid baths. I’m dying for a hot shower. Jesus, even Ethan believed in hot running water.”

“Darling, no one must know we’re camping out here. I don’t like it, either. Hopefully, it won’t be much longer. Carol says she has a meeting with the Justice Department next week about a safe house.”

“Yeah, real safe—level four maximum security.”

“We simply won’t agree to it. We’ll figure out something.” He lifted my chin to kiss me.

His lips were chilly. He needed lots more than the pint he’d just consumed. “Back in half an hour.”

“Be careful. Take a gun.”

He patted a slight bulge under his shirt in the vicinity of his hip. “Don’t worry.”

Kurt left the room. Moments later, gravel crunched as he walked Ethan’s motorcycle down the long drive and through the gate to the road. The bike growled and then buzzed into the distance. I worried about Kurt out there where our enemies might be lying in wait. Where did he get off becoming so annoyingly male and protective on me? He wasn’t trained to fight. He was small and slight and against a bigger, stronger vampire he was no match. I was a better shot than he, and I’d already saved his life once.

Friday, February 18, 2011

The Rise of the Novella--cream to the top?

The novella has been around for centuries, yet until recent years has been shunned by many print publishers as not quite good enough,mostly because of length. After all, the novella is really too short to publish in print by itself, and publishers didn't believe anyone would buy a collection from an unknown author. So, rarely would you see a bundled set of novellas which wasn't tied to already established and/or rising star authors the publisher was pushing, those who had a series that most likely would be associated with the shorter stories.

Then there was the whole discussion regarding length. What length was a novella? Did it have to be, as purists defined it, between 17,500 and 40,000 words? Or could it be, say 12,000 to 45,000 words? Where were the minimums and maximums?

Thankfully, as the digital age has expanded in its glory, these obstacles have been removed. Though print publishers still hold steadfast to their old model, digital and indie publishers are embracing the new shorter form of fiction. It doesn't matter the length of the story, really, for on an ereader one won't know where one page starts and another begins. Word count is only a nebulous indication of length.

Much more important, I believe, are the content and quality of the writing. One author, Cheryl Anne Gardner, on her shared blog, POD People (http://podpeep.blogspot.com/2009/06/thoughts-on-craft-cannegardner_11.html ) wrote about theme and thesis being critical to the novella, saying, Theme is the subject, and the thesis is the particular philosophy being argued with regard to the subject. Novellas tend to focus on a single suspenseful event, situation, or conflict. She goes on to mention that these should be expressed early in the novella, preferably in the first chapter.


In writing my recent work, Millicent, 13,000-words (short story or novella? You be the judge), the main character of this work and villainess in the first book of my science fiction series, The Cash Chronicles , is introduced as a seven-year old abused child who seeks security. Throughout the work you see the theme of security. However, the thesis unfolds as this: when does the need for secutiy cross over to the desire for power?

I feel fortunate to be able to publish such a work at this time and would love to hear about other folks' short works and their plans for digital publication.

Millicent will be released in mid-March as a digital work on Kindle and in other formats on Smashwords. The Cash Chronicles will debut with Frozen Assets, Book 1, in April.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Winner of the Drawing!

I arbitrarily assigned numbers to all commenters and had a friend choose a number. And the winner of the drawing, drum roll please, is:

Karina!

Congratulations! I see you mentioned Craigs' Legacy as your book of choice. Please get in touch so I can make that happen. Send the e-mail to Daryn@DarynCross.com

To everyone else, thanks so much for commenting and being interested in my works and the other wonderful fiction titles. I hope you'll consider choosing one or more to read. Come back! This isn't my first and won't be my last drawing for a free download read.

Daryn aka Bobbye

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine's Day Blog Hop

Once Upon a Twilight
This is a Valentine's Day Blog Hop hosted by Good Choice Reading and Once Upon a Twilight. The purpose is for all you readers out there to have the opportunity to get some good reads you may not otherwise know about. Here are a couple for you to consider.

First choice is Paramour by Margaret Ethridge. It is her deput novel. Here is the cover and an excerpt from a review at BookingIt, www.BookingIt.net:


Paramour is that story prolific readers search for that only happens once every now and then. Ms. Ethridge made something completely magical and I feel thrilled and humbled to read something as great as this story. Frank, Cam and Brad’s story sang to me in such a way that I lost myself for awhile in the imaginary world and characters of Paramour. I laughed with them, I cried with them, and my stomach flip-flopped with them because I understood these characters in so much depth that I felt they were real.

Simply put: Paramour blows the roof off the house! I believe this new author is someone to watch. She’s going to make waves, especially if she can continually produce stories like Paramour.

Read. This. Book!


In the mood for romantic suspense? Get three books in one and enter for a chance to win a Kindle 3 Wi-Fi ereader and other goodies (more info at http://www.lldreamspell.com/Contests.htm) Specially priced now at AllRomance Ebooks.


I also included my two Valentine's releases. You may have a download of either one you wish if you enter the drawing by leaving a comment and win. Good luck!

www.BlackOpalBooks.com




www.TurquoiseMorningPress.com, on sale for a week (see coupons): http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs006/1102610362441/archive/1104512082161.html


Sunday, February 13, 2011

Historical Romance Buffs, What About Sci-Fi?


I have a lot of friends who read historical romance. So do I, though I have to say that most are time travels these days. Whether it be Timeless, that just came out from Alexandra Monir last month or The Time Traveler's Wife, a popular YA, or even one of mine, Craigs' Legacy, co-written with Linda Campbell as Terry Campbell (just out for Valentine's Day). All of these, like the traditional historical, give us a taste of something we yearn for, the glamour of an era gone by or the excitement of experiencing life as different than we know it. It got me to thinking.

Why do historical romance readers seldom seem to try reading a science fiction novel? Okay some do, like Moi and others who have eclectic tastes. But, I've heard many of my friends say, "Science fiction just isn't my cup of tea." Now, I've always been that way about vampire novels, just couldn't understand a woman getting excited about a man drawing her blood (I sure hate to give a sample at the doctor's office *big grins*). That beings said, I ran across a book just a week to ten days ago called Eden's Hell by Dawné Dominique and loved it. So my motto is "Never say never."

I am now in the process of writing a series of technically classified science fiction novels, all with some romance. The first is really a time travel and also a cyberpunk, in that the hero and heroine wake up from being cryogenically frozen in the year 2145 and the world of the future is a dystopian one with a lot of high technology. But the hero and heroine are from 1918. How they got there is part of the book. The way they speak and act is from a time gone by. The villainess, who was also cryoed and then cloned, is from the same time period as our travelers.

I thought to myself, wouldn't it be interesting if I did a long short story, bordering on short novella, a $.99 special on Kindle, and other formats,that showed how she got to be so vile? All of it would be historical, yet it shows the obvious:
Listen up historical readers! the future will be history one day.They're connected. What you love is the glamour of a different time. So, for crying out loud, try a science fiction novel. It may be what your future will look like.


An ebook slated for debut in late March by Daryn Cross.