Good morning! Please welcome guest author Chris Marie Green. Though I will be away for part of the day, please feel free to leave comments for Chris and I will post them as soon as I return. Thank you!
~Kate
What is one of your favorite things about writing?
The freedom to travel anywhere I want to in my mind. It amazes me that I get paid for writing anything from urban fantasy (under my Chris Marie Green name) to new adult/chick lit (also as Chris Marie Green) to pure romance (as Crystal Green)!
When you’re writing, who is more in control, you or your characters?
Ooo, this is a tough one…I’d half to say there’s a real balance because I like to plot pretty thoroughly before I hop into writing the chapters of a book. In that respect, I’m in control. But while I’m writing a book, that’s when the characters take over. During my Vampire Babylon series, there’s one character in particular, Kiko Daniels, who likes to “talk” to me. This sounds weird but I do hear some characters’ voices louder than others, and he’s a good example of that!
Can you write sex scenes at any time or do you have to be “in the mood?”
Any time, anywhere. <G> Sex and love scenes are some of my favorites to write because you can learn so much about your characters during these extremely intimate moments.
What are your favorite research resources?
Travel. Hands down it’s travel because there’s nothing like experiencing what your characters will experience firsthand. For example, while I was brainstorming some of my Vampire Babylon books, I had the good fortune to travel to London. I wanted to set an action/investigative scene in one of the cemeteries, so I went to Highgate and I blocked out the entire sequence. I had such fun writing those books because I had a lot of experience and sensations to draw on.
Do you find it harder to write novels or short stories?
I’m going to say novels, but only because it’s a longer time commitment. However, short stories do require more revision than novels because you usually have only so much of a word count with them, and sometimes you have to weed out all the extras to make that word count. You also want those shorts to pack a lot of punch, and there’s a lot of tightening that’s involved.
Would you tell us about your latest release?
I have a few things that were released at the end of this year—some urban fantasy (the KICKING IT anthology with other authors, plus my own Dawn Madison novellas) and a new adult/chick lit/geek lit book called THE SHE CODE, which is a novel that uses some sketches and comic panels to tell the whole story. But since we’re in the holiday season and IN BAD SPIRITS is a holiday-centric novella, I’ll concentrate on that today!
I decided that I wanted to create new adventures for the monster hunting team from my Vampire Babylon books, so IN BAD SPIRITS (along with its predecessor RAISING THE DARKNESS) reboots the series. The thing is, these books don’t deal with vampires anymore since Dawn Madison and her team took care of all the vampire undergrounds when the print books ended. J Now, it’s all about revenants and ghosts!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—the holiday season. But when a mysterious entity stalks one of the monster hunters on Dawn Madison’s team, she learns that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…
What are you working on now?
I’m writing a new adult romance proposal, so we’ll see where that goes. Then I’ll be starting a Crystal Green romance series called Rough & Tumble. The first book will be out sometime in 2014 with Berkley’s digital first Intermix line.
Do you have an excerpt from your latest release you would like to share?
Absolutely!
(This excerpt from IN BAD SPIRITS is for readers 18 and over.)
Every sunrise, her invisible lover, Costin, came into her, sweeping the dragon to its regular position in her body, away from her soul stain. Since the dragon had been dormant lately, she wasn’t sure just how much of a push she needed, but she didn’t argue.
Costin slid into her slowly, through her skin, making her lean her head back and fall back against the wall.
He filled her, slipping through every cell, twisting in her chest, her belly, between her legs before he traveled to her right side, where the dragon’s blood had taken residence.
Pressure built in her as he suppressed the monster, and she held her breath. She wasn’t even sure she could breathe, anyway, with the way her lungs had gone weightless, empty, her heart choking her.
In a good way, though. Always a good way.
When he came out of her, she was tingling, her legs flimsy, her body on a high.
“Now,” Costin said in her ear, “it is time for you to go.”
“Yeah,” she said lazily. “When I get around to it.”
He laughed, but it wasn’t tinged with mirth. It was teeming with wistfulness.
“Before you leave,” he said, “I must tell you that there is one thing that will help you with these ghosts. Iron. Take the fire poker, a crowbar, something that contains the metal.”
“Will do then, boss.”
Costin backed up, already moving toward the west hall and the bedrooms. “Be safe.”
She knew the exact moment he was gone altogether. The air was missing something—sparks, energy, a life force that excited her whenever he was around…
What three words would the heroine of your story use to describe her love interest?
Spirit, ex-vampire, powerful
Would you give us a sneak peek at one of your upcoming releases?
Definitely! This is from a new series I have out in February, 2014, called Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire. The first book is ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG, and here’s a peek:
A FREE SPIRIT
The second I snapped out of what Amanda Lee called my “residual haunting phase”—a time loop I was clearly stuck in until she yanked me out of it with the psychic mojo in her voice and the sight of the bracelets from my era—I knew just what I was.
Dead.
Deader than a doornail. Deader than a shrunken head. Deader than when video killed the radio star.
Very dead indeed. Actually, I had been living that truth over and over for a long time in that forest, so death didn’t seem like all that big of an issue when I became an intelligent spirit. What actually freaked me out more than anything was the fact that I didn’t remember who my killer was. I guess I’d spent so much time in my non-interactive ghost state that I’d gone a little numb. Or maybe, as Amanda Lee suggested, I had some sort of “fright wall” erected in my brain, and that was the only thing keeping my fragile spirit psyche together.
Amanda Lee thinks my memories will all come back to me, though, just as soon as I’m ready to deal. And, being a total rich-lady do-gooder, she promised to help me figure out my deal. To her, I was a real live…I mean…not-totally-alive mystery.
What are a few of your favorite book covers that have been done for your books?
I love the Vampire Babylon covers for the print series—the model looked a lot like how I pictured Dawn Madison! And Kim Killion of Hot Damn Designs approached my VB novellas with just as much punch and imagination.
What are your favorite genres to read and write?
Horror, urban fantasy, paranormal, new adult, chick lit, historicals, thrillers…yeah, I like to read and write just about everything but computer manuals or the phone book. <G>
Where can we visit you online?
Website www.chrismariegreen.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisMarieGreen
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chrismariegreen
When you’re not writing, what do you like to do?
I love to watch too much TV (favorites include GAME OF THRONES, THE WALKING DEAD, THE GOOD WIFE, TOP CHEF…) and walk/hike.
What is your favorite season?
Fall! It’s a beautiful combination of that lovely chill in the night air, changing colors, Halloween, apple pie, and football. J
What is your favorite comfort food?
Buttered popcorn. Perfect for watching all that TV. <G>
Books by Chris Marie Green:
IN BAD SPIRITS
THE SHE CODE
KICKING IT
ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG
Thank you!!!
Thank you, Chris!
Social
Thank you so much, Kate! Happy holidays. 🙂
Thank you for being here, Chris!
Kate
What a great interview! I loved the teasers for the new books! I’m heading to your website to check out all your great books!!
I’m like you, love to watch too much TV and love to read all genres! A lot of times it depends on my mood… 😉
Merry Christmas!
Hey, Diana! Thanks so much for being here and for checking out my books. Very much appreciated. ; )
Yes–mood has so much to do with what I watch and read, too. I can skip from horror to romance within an hour, LOL.
Merry Chrsitmas!