Darkest Power Trilogy Interview with Kelley Armstrong

Dear Reader,

The Darkest Powers has been one of my favorite series and I've given away many copies already. But now that the beginning trilogy for Kelley Armstrong's new addition to her Otherworld universe is complete, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to giveaway the set in celebration of the recent release of  book 3, The Reckoning. Check out the new website that now features the next trilogy Darkness Rising's first book, The Gathering.

An absolute MUST read is Kelley's latest online short story, Divided. It tells the story of what happened to Derek and Simon when they were separated from Chloe between books 1 & 2. It's told from Derek's perspective (woohoo!!) and it sheds some light on his feelings. So far there are 4 chapters posted and they are great! The picture below makes me think of Derek & co. on the run, but mostly of Derek.

If you've never read the series, here's the cliff's notes summary on the trilogy:

-My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl — someone normal. Now my life has changed and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. I'm a living science experiment — not only can I see ghosts, but I can raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you would want to have. Ever.

I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon and we have to find someone who can help us gain our freedom back before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

IB Teen Talks with her hero, Kelley Armstrong:

 IBT:  When did Derek know that he had romantic feelings for Chloe? Was it when she first helped him through that first "almost change" at Lyle House, before? Please, inquiring minds NEED to know the details.

 KA:  Well, let’s just say that he had feelings for her long before he realized he did. He wouldn’t have actually acknowledged it, even to himself, until they were alone together in The Awakening.

 IBT:  Did he even dare hope for Chloe to return his feelings, or was he all about hoping for his brother to be happy no matter what?

 KA:  He expected she’d end up with Simon, and he was telling himself he was okay with that. Simon genuinely liked her, and Derek figured he didn’t have a shot, so better for them to be happy together.

 IBT:  In the Reckoning, when Chloe is taken to a cemetery for some "training", was Margaret already sowing the seeds of Chloe's demise? Or did she genuinely refuse to see Chloe's real power until it was literally right in front of her?

 KA:  A mix of both. She didn’t think Chloe was as powerful as she claimed—being able to raise the dead. But she was hoping Chloe would cause some trouble, to convince the others that the kids were dangerous and needed to be sent back. What happened, though, was bigger than she expected. She wouldn’t have risked exposure on that scale.

 IBT:  What are your key ingredients to a good story?

 KA:  I'm afraid you won't get any profound answers from me on this. To me, the most important components are the two major ones--plot and character. I want an interesting story that's fast-paced and has enough twists to keep it unpredictable. Even more importantly, though, it needs to have fully-formed characters. As a reader, if I don't care about the characters, then it doesn't matter how exciting the story is because I don't particularly care what happens to them!

 IBT:  Do you plan to ever reveal Derek's biological family, or are they ultimately not important to the story you have in mind?

 KA:  If the subject comes up—say, I have a story idea for an encounter with another Cain—then I’ll use it, but I lean toward option 2: ultimately, not critical to the story. In that way, Derek is like a certain werewolf in my adult series—his family is the family he has now, and he has little interest in his biological one.

 IBT:  Which of the character's voices came easiest to you?

 KA:  Probably Chloe--I gave her a few things in common with me so it'd be easy to write about her. We both love movies. We both like to write. We both stutter. The rest, though, is completely Chloe!

 IBT:  What is your favorite type of "hero"?

 KA:  I like my heroes with a little angst and internal conflict.

 IBT:  How do you keep all of your ideas organized? How do you decide which ones will make it on the pages of your novel?

 KA:  My process is constantly evolving. Being published means having a schedule, so it's become very important to learn what methods work best for me. I've discovered I work best from an outline. My finished novel never completely follows the outline though. Better ideas arise during the first draft and I follow them wherever they lead. The first draft is a very intense process for me, and during that time, I'm rarely without my notebook. When the first draft is done, I ease back into a more relaxed editing mode.

 IBT:  As an author how do you respond to those who think that censorship is a necessary evil?

 KA:  On an individual or family level, I have no problem it. Parents should know the content of books that their children are reading, and decide what they’re ready for and what they aren’t. Likewise, if an individual is bothered by content (such as profanity) he/she should be able to get that information for books and choose accordingly. If they censor their own reading or children’s reading on topics such as sexual orientation or religious values, that’s their choice. But they should not be able to force their choices on others by restricting the material available in libraries etc.

I live in a small town that doesn’t have a lot of diversity. If I decide I want to introduce my children to a concept such as homosexual parenting, and I want to do it through fiction, only to discover that my library has removed such material because other parents have decided my kids shouldn’t be exposed to it? Um, no. No one has the right to make that choice for my kids, no more than I have the right to make choices for theirs.

 IBT:  When writing your YA series, do you find that you censor yourself knowing that what you are writing is intended primarily for a younger audience?

 KA:  Slightly. My first narrator, Chloe, was very sheltered, never dated, just-turned-15. So, being true to that character, things like drugs, alcohol and sex aren’t issues in her life yet. Even her use of profanity would be minimal. The others teens, though, would swear. In that case, I made a conscious decision to minimize it (using “He cursed” etc instead) because it seemed that if everything else was so tame, and the narrator herself wouldn’t use profanity, there was no reason to take the book out of the hands of younger readers by adding it. With the next trilogy, it’s an older and more mature heroine, so there’s a step up in “content.” Not a huge leap, but a step. Again, that was true to the character.

 IBT:  I have to ask, if you could have dinner with any three people(living, imaginary, or dead), who would they be and why?

 KA:  I’m never good at these questions! Let’s see… I’ll do one of each. Living? Stephen King, because he’s my writing idol. Imaginary? Sherlock Holmes, because I think he’d make a great dinner companion. Dead? Oscar Wilde, because he’s not only one of my favourite writers but would also make a good dining companion. There. A very…interesting dinner party.

 IBT:  And finally, at the request of several of my teens here at the library we all
want to make a plea that one day Derek meets the Pack, we are all foaming at
the mouth for scenes with Clay and Derek! And we also hope that that Chloe
will get to meet Jamie Vegas. There, my teens and I have said our piece.

 KA:  It would be cool, but it’s not likely to happen anytime soon. I always say that the problem with having the two groups meet is that the adults would swoop in and solve all the kids’ problems…and I wouldn’t have a teen series anymore!

Thanks Kelley!!

Winners of this contest will receive:

• The Darkest Powers Trilogy!
• And the coolest necklace that made me think immediately of the one that Chloe wears in the series. I thought the changing color in the crystal mirrored the changing color of her necklace.

To Enter:

• Post a comment on this post with contact information.

• For One Extra Entry: Add contest to your blog, twitter, or other site.

• For One Extra Entry: you an add yourself as a Follower of this blog! (Followers automatically get the extra entry.)

This contest is now closed! Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter.This contest is open to all, including international readers!

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce!

05/04/10

Sisters Red

by Jackson Pearce
---------------------------
     Scarlett never believed in the Fenris—werewolves drawn to the delectable charms of young girls. That all changed when in one swift attack, a Fenris murdered her grandmother and left Scarlett half-blind and horrifically scarred. Only her younger sister, Rosie, escaped unharmed as Scarlett shielded her from the Fenris’s jaws.

      Now eighteen, Scarlett’s life’s mission is to destroy the Fenris and save other girls from her fate—a mission she’s grown to love, despite herself. Armed with red cloaks and hatchets, Scarlett, Rosie, and a young woodsman, Silas, move to the city in search of answers—and vengeance. If they can find a Potential Fenris, tainted by the pack but not yet consumed by it, they can unlock the mystery that transforms them- but better yet, use him as bait.

      But unlike Scarlett, Rosie doesn't feel the thrill of the hunt in her blood. Longing for a life away from heavy responsibility and something sweeter than steel determination, Rosie finds herself drawn to Silas. More and more often, they find themselves abandoning the search for the Potential, stealing kisses, sharing secrets.

      When Scarlett discovers the romance blossoming in her midst, she abandons her sister to the woodsman, certain that her own heart has no room for love, not when it's filled with her mission, her purpose. Still, the bond between Scarlett and Rosie is too deep to truly sever, and when Scarlett discovers a way to bring her sister back to her side for good- even if it means destroying Rosie’s happiness—she is forced to make a decision that will change the course of both their lives.

      A modernization of Little Red Riding Hood, SISTERS RED is told in alternating viewpoints of Scarlett and Rosie as the sisters struggle to find the Potential, destroy the Fenris, and unwind their own tangle of romantic complexities and the deeply rooted bond between them. SISTERS RED is the first in an exciting new series of fairy tale retellings.----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Stunning; the cleverness of the mythology is equaled only by the heartstopping action. The characters become real-life friends that you never want to let go." -Carrie Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Captivate.

We talk with Jackson Pearce...
IBT: If you could bring any one character to life who would it be?

JP: Hm, that’s tough. I love all my characters, so I don’t know that there’s one more than the others I’d like to bring to life! But probably Jinn—cause he can grant my wishes :)


IBT: What are your key ingredients to a good story?

JP: To me, characters who develop into even greater characters are the key ingredient to any story. Characters are the element of a story most likely to stick with me after I’ve closed to book, and if they’re well developed, complicated characters, they stay with me for ages afterway.


IBT: What is your favorite type of hero?

JP: One who has to sacrifice. I can’t stand stories where the heroes make it to the end without having to give in and give up something important to them.


IBT:  I love reading about strong, angry, and tough female characters. Scarlett
seems to be an especially tough cookie, yet her vulnerability is just as
evident. I also love to read about compassionate characters with a lust for
life and that is very much what Rosie seems to be. How was it writing two
such different sisters with such a strong family bond? Where did the
inspiration for each personality come from?

JP: I really enjoyed writing Scarlett and Rosie because their strengths and weaknesses are so wildly different. Scarlett has devoted her life to becoming physically strong and fierce, but she’s emotionally desperate and weak. Rosie thinks she’s nowhere near as strong as Scarlett, when in reality she’s the one strong enough to break out of the mold her life has become. That said, the one thing they have in common is their devotion and love for one another. I loved being able to jump between such different characters.
As far as the inspiration for each personality, it’s hard to say. Both of them are so shaped by the first Fenris attack that their personalities really grew on their own after writing that scene.


IBT: Each author has their own take on werewolves, how close are the Fenris to
them? How difficult/easy was it creating your own mythology with the Fenris?

JP: I avoided other werewolf related movies and books while writing SISTERS RED, because I was afraid they would mess with my mythology. For my Fenris, I started with the original Red Riding Hood story— wolves driven by sex/lust/evil—and then built them up from there.


IBT: Where is this story set since Sisters Red is based on a fairy tale, did you
build your own world?

JP: SISTERS RED is set in Atlanta, Georgia, and the vast majority of places in the book actually exist in the city. Ellison, Georgia, where Scarlett and Rosie are from, is based on Madison, Georgia.


IBT: What has been the strangest source of inspiration for you?

JP: The idea for a historical novel I’m currently playing with popped up after watching an episode of Antiques Road Show!


IBT: How do you keep all of your ideas organized? How do you decide which ones
will make it on the pages of your novel?

JP: I write down every idea I get, no matter how certain I am I won’t forget it—because I usually do, in fact, forget them if I don’t write them down. Sometimes an idea takes years to develop, and sometimes an idea fizzles out. Either way, I wait until an idea starts to really speak to me, then start outlining/writing.


IBT: As an author how do you respond to those who think that censorship is a
necessary evil?

JP: It isn’t—and I’m confused by people who still think, in this day and age, that censorship can be a good thing. It’s funny because pro-censorship people would be LIVID to find out they’re being censored, yet won’t hesitate to censor someone else. The one doing the censoring is always so foolishly convinced he/she knows best…


IBT: Writing YA, do you find that you censor yourself knowing that what you are
writing is intended primarily for a younger audience?

JP:It’s funny you mention this, because I was talking with several other authors about it just last night. I can say with total confidence that I’ve never censored myself because I’m writing for young adults, because, since my characters are young adults and THEY can handle whatever situation/language I’m throwing at them, why wouldn’t real live young adults be able to handle it?


IBT: I have to ask, if you could have dinner with any three people (living,
imaginary, or dead), who would they be?

JP: Mark Twain, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison :)

Winners of this contest will receive:

• A copy of Sisters Red.
• And the cutest little tea cup that made me think immediately of this book!

To Enter:

• Post a comment on this post with contact information.

• For One Extra Entry: Add contest to your blog, twitter, or other site.

• For One Extra Entry: you an add yourself as a Follower of this blog! (Followers automatically get the extra entry.)

Contest has now closed! This contest is open to all, including international readers!