A Christmas With… Nancy Gideon

I’d like to welcome Nancy Gideon once again! This time to celebrate the release of Hunter of Shadows, released on November 29th, 2011. Make sure you pay attention Moonlight fans because Nancy reveal some very interesting tidbits about the next book!

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1- Hunter of Shadows is the latest installment in the By Moonlight series (release Nov. 29th), how will it differ from the previous books in the series?

Though Hunter of Shadows continues the plot threads from the earlier books and is set in the BY MOONLIGHT world, it features a new hero and heroine, so it’s the perfect time for someone who hasn’t read the previous books to jump in.  I LOVE Silas and Nica! He’s a Shifter undercover NOPD detective briefly introduced in Bound by Moonlight who is in New Orleans pursuing his own agenda—to restore his family to its rightful place within the Shifter clans. I particularly enjoyed writing the scenes with him and his sister Brigit.  Nica is a cool-headed assassin directed by an unknown hand to lie in wait until the name of her target is revealed. But the longer she waits, the more she becomes attached to those around her—one of whom she’s been sent to kill.  She’s a kick-butt heroine . . . and then some. Both characters are driven by strong purposes that somehow get tangled up in the fiery attraction they feel for one another.

2- Why did you decide to set the story in New Orleans when you first started?

I adore New Orleans.  It’s a paranormal author’s dream come true as a setting with its multi-culturally engrained superstitions, old-meets-new surroundings, and amazingly spooky atmosphere. While the business district is like any major city, once you step into the Quarter, you’re in a whole different world with its look, its feel, the sounds, the smells.  It becomes its own character, living and breathing on the pages of my books.  I had such fun exploring all the nooks and crannies during each of my visits to add flavor and depth to the BY MOONLIGHT series by taking an air boat ride out into the bayou, going to a Cajun Life history museum, taking haunted history tours through the Quarter and the Garden District, visiting the plantation homes, immersing myself in the customs, the music, the history . . . and the food!  It’s an endlessly fascinating and fiercely resilient place.  I’d visited before and after Katrina and was awed by how the city has managed to recover. NOLA is my number one destination pick when I travel.

3- Could you give us the top 3 reasons readers should pick up Hunter of Shadows? (time to shamelessly brag ^^)

#3  Publishers Weekly, our industry’s most respected and exclusive publication, gave Hunter of Shadows a great review, saying, “Gideon introduces complex new characters to launch a second series set in a New Orleans inhabited by secretive shape-shifters. Sparks fly immediately. Vivid writing, intriguing plot twists, and a satisfying ending will keep readers coming back to Gideon’s magical NOLA.”

#2 Max and Cee Cee are in it! They’re strong secondary characters and their storyline gets advanced and developed during the course of the book.  So Max Minions breathe easy. You’ll get your fix.

#1 Once you start reading, I guar-on-tee you won’t be able to put it down (or will do so with great reluctance!). The pace is set in the first few pages and will carry you along on a rollercoaster E-ticket ride of gritty in-your-face action, eye-popping surprises, heart tugging moments interspersed with sharp humor, and a pot-boiling amount of sexual tension and, well, sex!

4- Do you have any juicy tidbits to share about the next novel, Seeker of Shadows?

My editor made no bones about burly dock foreman/Shifter nightclub owner, and Max Savoie’s best friend, Jacques LaRoche being her favorite character, so I’ve been sprinkling bits and pieces throughout the preceding books to tantalize readers about his mysterious past . . . a past he doesn’t remember. A huge new area of the Shifter BY MOONLIGHT world is revealed when that past comes back to haunt him with the arrival of Chosen geneticist Suzanna Duchamps in New Orleans. New enemies surface and cautious alliances are formed in one of my favorite action sequences ever! Okay, enough teasing. Seeker of Shadows will be out June 26, 2012 and you won’t regret the wait.

Now onto some Christmas-y questions:

5- What's a typical Christmas like in the Gideon family?

I’m a Christmas-aholic.  I thrive on everything Christmas from the Reason for the Season to the corny TV specials. I haven’t missed a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer since the night it premiered! I decorate top to bottom with the things I’ve collected over the years—music boxes, my Friendly Village set of dishes, Santa Clauses, yearly ornaments I purchased for my sons as they were growing up, and mainly nutcrackers. I’d have a tree in every room if I could (and sometimes I do!).  I start going through my favorite music the day after Thanksgiving and I have enough to take me through New Year’s Day when I reluctantly pack it all up again.  I love the gift buying experience. It’s the only time of year I actually enjoy the crowds at the mall.

I usually end up putting out the spread (I love to entertain and cook!) but getting everyone together isn’t always easy since we’re divided up with our own expanding families.  For the past few years, I’ve gone from the typical sit down to a buffet on Christmas night, open to family and my son’s friends, who do a fabulous job on cleaning up those leftovers! The day doesn’t matter as much as the occasion.

6- How is it different from when you were a kid?

We had no family close by so it was just my mom and dad, me and my two older sisters. We didn’t have the means for all those excessive gifts found under trees these days, but we made up for it with our traditions of cutting down the tree, stuffing into the car with my dad on Christmas Eve to drive around and look at the lights and Christmas Card Lane while “Santa” arrived. Because my dad worked nights, Santa stopped early at our house so we could open our gifts on Christmas Eve. Instead of sitting in front of the TV (which was a black and white portable that got only two stations with its rabbit ears!), we went sledding and caroling with the neighbor kids and always made a point of stopping at the park downtown to walk under the candy cane arches and visit the crèche.  Simple things that created traditions I still keep going with my children and my four-year-old grandson (who hopefully won’t be terrified of my four foot nutcracker this year!)

7- What's your best Christmas memory?

When I was about six or seven, we went to my dad’s brother’s farm for the only extended family Christmas I can remember.  The farm was a wonderful place to explore when you’re a kid and the snowy drive over was filled with anticipation.  They had a huge real tree, a crackly wood stove, and gifts for everyone (I got an aluminum kitchen set!).  While the adults were playing cards as it got dark, my middle sister and I along with a couple of cousins decided it was too cold for the barn cats to be outside . . . so we rounded them up and brought them into the screened-in porch.  Imagine several dozen feral cats and their kittens climbing screens and you can envision the less than pleased expressions on our parents’ faces when they opened the door to see what we were doing.

8- What could we offer Silas MacCreedy for Christmas to make him swoon?

*Spoiler Alert!* I think he has everything he wants by the end of Seeker of Shadows.

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If it got you curious, here’s a bit more about Hunter of Shadows

NANCY GIDEON RETURNS TO HER STEAMY NEW ORLEANS PRETERNATURAL WORLD WITH AN IRRESISTIBLE NEW SHAPE-SHIFTER ROMANCE.

The secrets he knows about her could get him killed.

Transferring to the New Orleans Police Department, Detective Silas MacCreedy has a hidden agenda: to secure his clan’s place once again in the Shifter hierarchy. What he didn’t count on was stumbling upon a sexy assassin who could shred his best intentions and lead him into a dangerous dance that threatens to engage his heart.

But the ones he doesn’t know . . .

Monica Fraser knows just how to make a man beg—for his life. But she has no clue how to fight her attraction to the fiercely intense detective who seems determined to get in her way, both professionally and intimately.

. . . could kill them both.

When emotional attachments to the past and an unexpected glimpse of a different future have her questioning her deadly purpose, Nica must discover the truth about her secret abilities in order to free herself from the forces that control her. But that freedom comes with a price—trusting those she’s been ordered to eliminate.

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

 

Nancy would like to offer one of you an original By Moonlight holiday charm bracelet

Open to US & Canada only

Giveaway Ends January 4th, 2012.

All you have to do is fill the Rafflecopter form below.

The only mandatory entry is to provide your name and email addy =)

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With over 50 sales to her credit since her first publication in 1987, Portage, Michigan author Nancy Gideon’s writing career is as versatile as the romance market, itself.  Her books encompass genres from historicals and regencies to contemporary suspense and the paranormal. Her works have been published overseas in Romanian, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Danish, German, Icelandic and Chinese, among other languages.

The mother of two grown sons, one married and proud producer of her grandson and the other shanghaied into being her assistant, she also works full time for the law firm, Redmond, Redmond & Yokom.

While the pace is often hectic, Gideon, a Gemini, enjoys tackling diverse projects.  One month it’s researching the gritty existence of 1880’s Texas Rangers only to jump to modern themes of intrigue and possibly a legal thriller or two.  Then, it’s back to the shadowy netherworld of shape shifters, vampires and movie serial killers.  When not working on her latest plot twist before sunrise or arranging medical depositions, she enjoys indulging in Netflix, hosting her critique group, and feeding a variety of wildlife on her fourth-floor balcony including a yearly family of raccoons.  And, of course, reading.

You can visit Nancy Here

More of Nancy Gideon‘s books:

Posted by Tynga at 06:20

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Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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