Publisher: Brookehaven Publishing, 296 Pages (October 30th 2010)
Synopsis: What would you give to be with the one you love?
Would you give it all, including your life?
In a small college town in Northern California, Laney Alexander leads a regular, uneventful life–that is, until the charming and alluring Oliver Knight enters her world. Who is this gorgeous and mysterious stranger? Or, rather, what is he?
As Laney’s sophomore year of college begins, so does an unbelievable adventure–including a love she didn’t know she longed for. She soon learns that Oliver is not ordinary, nor is the rest of his family, including a sister who openly hates her and a brother who will stop at nothing for revenge. As she fights for her life, and Oliver’s love, Laney discovers that the fictional world of vampires isn’t so fictional after all. Nobody is safe, especially Laney, Oliver’s most important priority, and he will stop at nothing to protect her. With her mortality at risk, and a commitment revealed that she, without a doubt, knows she wants, Laney’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn…
I read that you started writing Laney to feed your appetite for your love of a great vampire story. When did you start writing it and how long did it take you to complete the first draft? Was it once you started you couldn’t stop? Or did you have to write it over a longer period of time?
From start to finish, it probably took me about nine months to perfect the story before sending it off to the editor. It took me about another three months to finish it after that. The story came easy to me. It was just a matter of having enough time to sit down and write that was probably what made it take so long to finish.
Can you tell us a bit about your characters? And have the story or characters changed much since you first started writing?
It amazes me how my characters have taken on lives of their own. I was recently going over what I had originally written about them and the story and was surprised at how much things had changed on their own. I have character profiles listed on my website and you can find that here: http://www.brookehavenvampires.com/characters.html
But beware, if you haven’t read Laney yet, there are spoilers.
More and more authors are going the self published route. How has that experience been for you and can you tell us a little about it?
It’s a lot of work and a major learning experience. My husband has helped out a great deal and I am so thankful for that. I get asked so many questions about self-publishing and how I was able to publish Laney that I’m actually working on a post for my website that details the process of how I published. I plan to address all the things that have and haven’t worked for me and what I would and wouldn’t recommend doing if you plan to got the self-publishing route. That should be up in the FAQ’s within the next couple weeks.
Being that your characters within the Brookehaven series are both human and Vampire, is there another mythological creature that you’d someday like to write about?
I would love to, and plan to, write about dragons. I have always been fascinated by those big beautiful and mysterious creatures. Actually, the first story I began writing a few years back revolves around Dragons. Someday I’ll finish that one, but Laney’s story comes first.
Since I haven’t had a chance to read Laney yet (but I will be soon!) as I’m sure some of my readers haven’t either, can you tell us how your Vampires are different from the many others out there?
My vampires even differ from each other. I have purebloods, half vampires and mixed bloods. They are all able to go into the sun and eat real food. The mixed bloods have more dietary restrictions than the others and can only each unprocessed and organic foods, but the others can eat anything. They all drink blood, some more than others, but it doesn’t have to be fresh from the source. My vampires also have heartbeats.
Can you share with us your favorite line or two from Laney?
It’s hard to narrow it down, but here is one of my favorite moments between Laney and Oliver:
“Laney, I need you to understand that there are things I can’t tell you. I wish I could, but I can’t. There is nothing more important to me than you. Please believe me that there is nothing going on with me and Julz. Never has been, never will be.”
I believed him. Despite the fact that in the back of my mind something said not to. I ignored it.
He ran his fingers up and down my spine which caused the sensations to continue. We were quiet for a while, just holding each other.
“Do you want me to leave so you can get some sleep?” he asked.
I lifted my head to look at him. “Are you crazy? I can’t sleep if you leave.”
He chuckled and hugged me tight. “No problem. You’re never getting rid of me.”
“Promise?” I whispered, resting my head against his chest again.
“Nope.”
“No?” My head snapped up; I was surprised and a bit offended.
“Promises are for those who can’t keep them,” he said, quickly kissing me on the lips.
What has been the easiest and hardest part of writing Laney?
The story itself has been the easiest part; it’s the lack of time to write that has been my biggest challenge.
When is the next book in the series out and can you tell us what we should expect from the rest of the series?
The second book in the series, Darkness, will be released sometime this summer. Darkness begins where Laney left off. We’ll get to know some of the other characters a bit more, relationships will be tested, secrets will be revealed and lives will be lost. The synopsis and the book cover will be released soon.
Thanks so much for stopping by today Joann. It was fun, I hope you can drop back in again sometime soon. Thank you for the great interview!
I would like to invite all who have taken the time to read this interview to my website to read the first 3 chapters of Laney http://www.brookehavenvampires.com/ Enjoy! ~ Joann I. Martin Sowles
Find Joann Online:
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Order Laney Online:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this page.
I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to get my hands on Darkness! Joann has kindly offered up a signed copy which is up for grabs on my blog if anyone is interested. http://fadeintofantasy.net
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