I am really honored to introduce you to the fantastique Author of multiple great series, including The Morganville Vampires, The Weather Warden series and the latest, Outcast Season.
In the honor of the recent Fade Out release (November 3rd, 2009), Rachel generously accepted my interview request =)
Oh, I'm sure there are loads of people (outside of grottos!) who haven't heard of the series, and that's perfectly fine! I'm delighted to explain.
When bright sixteen-year-old Claire is sent to Morganville's Texas Prairie University, she expects a lot of things -- homesickness, hard course loads, loneliness. But it's much worse than that. Claire's introduction to Morganville comes at the hands of the local Mean Girls, and gets worse from there, because Morganville isn't just any isolated town. It's owned and run by vampires. And now that Claire knows, she's a permanent resident, along with her new friends Shane, Eve and Michael, who allow her into their misfit group for protection. Someone in Morganville has plans for Claire, though, and all her new friends have secrets. Intro to Morganville is a pass/fail class ... and if you fail, you die.
In this Era of Vampire Romance, where innocent young women fall for the oh so gorgeous and forbidden vampire male, how did the idea of vampires holding humans as hostages in a secluded town came to you?
To be honest, I didn't want to do what everybody else was doing, and I'm always more of an action/adventure writer. While there's romance in the books, the vampires aren't necessarily the ones involved in it ... my vampires are more unpredictable than that. While they can be charming and friendly and compelling, they can just as easily be deadly.
The idea itself came from a combination of a couple of ideas -- a tiger preserve and the Mafia. The vampires of my world are a lot like tigers -- deadly, beautiful, and not necessarily safe even when they're playing nice. The Mafia component came from my idea of how traditional vampires would relate to humans, at their most polite and civil -- still more like nobility demanding services than friends, and "you won't like us when we're angry." So the humans pay tribute to them -- in work, in money, and in taxes collected by the Bloodmobile.
If you had to pick you favorite character from the series who would it be and why?
I have a fantastic time with all the characters, but I think Shane has got the most layers, and that's always extra fun, from a writing perspective.
Rachel Caine isn't the name your parents chose for you. How did you chose your pen name?
I started out writing under my maiden name (Roxanne Longstreet), but my books didn't exactly burn up the bestseller lists ... so after a while, I changed my name to Roxanne Conrad (my married name) to try to restart my career, but again, those books weren't quite hitting right, either. Rachel Caine came about because I needed a third try, and the initials are the same -- "Rachel" is the name of a very good friend of mine from college, and "Caine" just sounded cool. :)
Now off to some fun and random questions!
What's your favorite season/weather? (not very subtle reference to weather warden series lol)
I'd have to say that fall is my favorite time of the year. I wish we had more of a fall season here in Texas; it's mostly a couple of days jammed in between blazing summer and winter. But I do enjoy it.
Although I admit I love a great thunderstorm. Tornados, not so much. But lightning and thunder are fantastic.
How did you end up with 2 iguanas as pets?
My husband is an avid herpetologist -- he's always liked reptiles, particularly lizards. I didn't have any experience of them when we got married, but I quickly fell in love with them, especially the iguanas. They're very smart, and wonderful pets. Mine are more than 15 years old now!
A bit morbid, but if you had to choose, what would be written on your grave mark?
STILL BUSY WRITING.
What would you consider the most silliest thing you ever did?
I'll give you the second silliest, because the first silliest thing is too silly. I once attended a fantastic Come as Your Favorite Classical Music Composition Party, as one of the three Fountains of Rome. (Our dates were the Pines of Rome.) I wore a gigantic fountain ON MY HEAD. Now that is silly.
Thanks you very much for your time Rachel! It was a pleasure to meet you =)
Thank YOU for the opportunity!
Lucky you, Rachel very generously offered a copy of the NEW 2-in-1 edition of Morganville Vampires #1 and #2 - GLASS HOUSES and THE DEAD GIRLS’ DANCE.
Isn't it gorgeous?
So this is your opportunity to start the great Morganville Vampires Series, don't miss it!
Giveaway Rules:
- contest is INTERNATIONAL, Ty Rachel!
- You MUST be a follower (click the button on the right if you are not already).
- You MUST fill the form bellow.
- Contest Ends January 1st, 2010.
You can earn extra entries by promoting the giveaway, you will also get 5 extra entries for everyone you refer, and the refered will get 2 extra entries =)
