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Thursday, April 05, 2012

PAF: Interview with C.C. Hunter + giveaway!

Paranormal April Fools

Today's post is all the lovely C.C. Hunter and about her upcoming release TAKEN AT DUSK. I'm so pleased that C.C. was available to take part in Paranormal April Fools' and chat about her work.

Read on to learn all about TAKEN AT DUSK, the third Shadow Falls novel, which will be on bookshelves in just five short days!

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Hi, C.C., and welcome to the blog. We’re so glad you’re able to participate!

Thank you so much for inviting me. I love chatting about Kylie and all her friends.

TAKEN AT DUSK is the third book in your Shadow Falls series. Has the series surprised you in any way or has it developed the way you planned?

Nothing ever goes exactly the way I plan when I write a book. It must be a curse, or something. Characters are always misbehaving, which leads to a plot twist that I didn’t expect. Of course, I can’t complain, though—most of the time it’s those twists that really brings the book alive.

Will Kylie finally find out what she is in TAKEN AT DUSK?

Oh, yes!! And believe it or not, I didn’t know what she was until I was working on the third book. Poor Kylie, it’s not easy for her to accept her identity, either. I’m working on Whispers at Moonrise, book four in the Shadow Falls series, right now and she’s still having hard time accepting it.

Since your books are set at Shadow Falls camp, I have to ask: do you have a camp story you can share with us?

You mean, like staying awake until the wee hours in the morning and then trekking across the campgrounds to the boys' cabin and putting shaving cream all over their cabin doors? Or stealing a kiss from one of the male campers, the same one who tipped over my canoe just to get my attention? Nope, I wouldn’t have any stories like that. LOL.

If you had to pick theme songs for your main characters, what would they be and why?

Hmm . . . good question. I've never really thought about it, to be honest. Here's the truth: some writers love to listen to music when they write because it inspires them, and so they will play music that becomes the book's soundtrack. I think that is a smart idea for them because they start to associate the music with the book, and it keeps their imagination fired. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me if the song has lyrics. I'm dyslexic, which means writing is a bit harder for me. Sometimes I use the wrong word, or transpose letters in a word, so I try to limit my distractions when I write. If I'm listening to music with lyrics, I know I'll get distracted.

Now, all that said, if Kylie had a theme song, it would probably be Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten. It's a beautiful song about a person starting on a personal journey of self-discovery. She doesn't know where the journey will take her because her future is still unwritten, but that's okay because she's the one who will shape her own destiny.

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

I think that song really fits Kylie and her journey of self-discovery. Each new gift she discovers she has, tells her a bit more about her heritage. But Kylie knows that whatever she may discover about herself, her destiny is her own.

And now that I think about it, that could be the theme song for everyone at Shadow Falls.

Can we expect more Shadow Falls stories in the near future?

Well, we’re looking at five books total for the series. And I gotta tell you, it will be a sad day when I have to say goodbye to the characters. As crazy as it sounds, I really do start feeling as if they are real people. I mean, I spend so much time focused on their life and what’s happening to them, that it’s hard to say goodbye. But I know it's coming . . . and it will be exciting to start a new series.

And now I have a couple April Fools’-related questions:

To prank or not to prank?

Definitely to prank! I come from a long line of pranksters. And it doesn’t even have to be April Fool’s Day for me to pull a prank. Recently, my husband went shopping for some clothes and he came back bragging about what a great deal he got. I had my friend call up and pretend she was from the store and told him they had added up his purchase wrong and he needed to come back to the store and pay another $50. Then, she accused him of practically stealing from them. He believed it was really the store and got so annoyed that he hung up on her. I had to come clean. Of course, he swore he had figured it out. My friend and I are still laughing about it.

If you were going to prank one of your characters, which one would you choose and why?

Perry. He’s a prankster himself and it’s about time someone turned the tables. Remember how thrilled he was when he changed into the unicorn in front of Kylie the first time? However, now that I think about it, Kylie kind of does trick him with something in Taken at Dusk. Poor Perry. It’s hard not to like him.

Thanks for visiting, C.C.! We’re looking forward to TAKEN AT DUSK.

And thanks so much for having me here for Paranormal April Fools. I had a blast!

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Don't you just love C.C.'s song choice?

Want to know more about TAKEN AT DUSK? Here you go!

C.C. Hunter Taken at Dusk Step into Shadow Falls, a camp for teens with supernatural powers. Here friendship thrives, love takes you by surprise, and our hearts possess the greatest magic of all.

Kylie Galen wants the truth so badly she can taste it. The truth about who her real family is, the truth about which boy she’s meant to be with—and the truth about what her emerging powers mean. But she’s about to discover that some secrets can change your life forever…and not always for the better.

Just when she and Lucas are finally getting close, she learns that his pack has forbidden them from being together. Was it a mistake to pick him over Derek? And it’s not just romance troubling Kylie. An amnesia-stricken ghost is haunting her, delivering the frightful warning, someone lives and someone dies. As Kylie races to unravel the mystery and protect those she loves, she finally unlocks the truth about her supernatural identity, which is far different—and more astonishing—than she ever imagined.

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

Click on the cover to find out more about the first two books in the series:

C.C. Hunter Born at Midnight C.C. Hunter Awake at Dawn

You can also check out TURNED AT DARK, a free e-novella set in the Shadow Falls world:

C.C. Hunter Turned at Dark

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giveaway

St. Martin's Press is generously offering two (2) copies of TAKEN AT DUSK to a couple lucky readers!

To enter the giveaway, fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

US only

Ends Sunday, April 15, 2012
(like all of our Paranormal April Fools’ giveaways)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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C.C. HunterC.C. Hunter grew up in Alabama, where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and regularly rescued potential princes, in the form of Alabama bullfrogs, from her brothers. Today, she's still fascinated with lightning bugs, mostly wears shoes, but has turned her focus to rescuing mammals. She now lives in Texas with her four rescued cats, one dog, and a prince of a husband, who for the record, is so not a frog. When she's not writing, she's reading, spending time with her family, or is shooting things-with a camera, not a gun.

C.C. Hunter is a pseudonym. Her real name is Christie Craig and she also writes humorous romantic suspense romance novels for Grand Central.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Jenn

Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.

31 People left their mark' :

  1. I don't have any camp stories that I can remember, but I LOVE this series. What a fun interview...smiles!

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  2. I think my best camp story was when I went to horseback riding camp with my cousin. One of the nights a group of us slept in a teepee, and someone found a scorpion either IN the teepee or NEAR the teepee. In any case, all of us spent the whole night telling stories about hill country critters and were totally tired the next day. Still had fun though!

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  3. I don't have any camp stories but I've been enjoying this series.

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  4. We went camping in the high country and had a bear take out our s'mores supply. It would not be that bad, but our food was right next to our tent. I thought we were going to die. I guess this bear was just into chocolate and marshmallows. Thank you for the giveaway.

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  5. My favorite camping trip was when we had a family reunion up in Woodland Park. There was about 30 of us there. Lots of fun. I love this series. Thanks for the chance.

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  6. Thanks for a great post and giveaway! I have heard wonderful things about this book and I can't wait to try it :)

    Ummm... I don't camp. I refuse... I like sleeping under a roof with 4 walls and indoor plumbing. Maybe this is a result of the disastrous camping trip I took w/ my youth group when I was 16. We set our tents up in a valley, which of course flooded when it thunder stormed all 3 nights and we ended up having to sleep on the school bus. Bleh!! That and I'm mosquito crack and I ended up looking like I have the plague. So... no camping for me :)

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  7. Well I never really went to camp, except for a week in 6th grade! What I remember the most is that our gym teacher, who was also our cabin inspector in the mornings, making sure our beds are made and everything's picked up, hid rubber snakes throughout our cabin!

    Soon it became a game to find them all, so we could each have our own little pet! I found mine in our closet near the light bulb! Then one morning we set it on the pillow during inspection and I think he patted it on the head or something!

    And he even did it to another of our teachers, so one night she had the cooks "prepare" one of the rubber dudes on a plate and he cut it up and he may have actually ate a bite! It's been like 10 years since that time so I can't totally remember if he ate it or just put it in his mouth!

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  8. I wish I had a kick ass camp story but, I never got the opportunity to go. *sigh*

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  9. I swam all the way to the island in the middle of the giant lake when I was at camp. Definitely a feat at such a young age :D

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  10. I don't have any camping stories to share unfortunately. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  11. Haha, once my friends and I had a pepper* eating contest :D It was fun to see everyone dashing for the water.

    *pepper is a spicy vegetable that looks like this: http://bit.ly/I56rLc

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  12. I've never gone camping.

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  13. The only camp I ever went to only had one overnight event. When we were all gathered around the fire they told us a ghost story and then of course the ghost appeared nearby. It was pretty good fun.

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  14. I have never gone camping. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  15. Christina Kit.6 April 2012 at 05:18

    I don't have any camp stories, but I'd have loved to have gone:)

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  16. Thanks for the great interview ladies, I enjoyed it. The books are still on my wishlist, however, one day I will read the whole series :)

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  17. I have never gone camping but I have been to camp, like as a kid. I don't have any good stories because I was allergic to something and my legs got a rash that kept getting worse everyday so I couldn't do anything.

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  18. One time, at girl scout camp, it was night. We were all sleeping, my troop, and suddenly, we hear a scream. A cabin over from mine, the girls were screaming "Snake! Snake!" we found out later it was just a branch. It was hilarious. :D

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  19. I didn't get to go to camp. I really dont have any stories. Tore923@aol.com

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  20. We usually took the boat to one of the many islands here in Florida and beached it for a weekend camp-out! Now that I think about it its been awhile since we've did that. So beautiful and peaceful it was. I'm dying to read this series! It's been in my wish-list for longer than I care to admit. There's just so many awesome series now. Thank you for the chance to win!!
    DeAnna Schultz

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  21. I never went to camp! :( Although, I did go a Girl Scouts overnight trip once. My best friend and I got into a fight that somehow turned physical and we ended up having to wash dishes after dinner, lol.

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  22. I went to 4h camp many times but I don't really remember much well except the mosquitoes. Yeah they sucked.

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  23. I love this series and soo want to read the next book!!!

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  24. I never went to camp but i love the series.

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  25. I don't have any camp stories. :( I never went to summer camp.

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  26. Sorry, I never went to camp that I can remember. Thank you for the giveaway!

    - Beckie

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  27. My camp was next to a school se we used their cafeteria for lunch. So my best camp story is getting stuck in the caf when we got rained on. They had games in the storage area behind the stage and me and my friends would always get Candy Land. That was the most fun/competitive game ever. We took winning seriously lol.

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  28. I was camping with my cousin and I heard something in the wee hours of the morning. Not enough to wake me up fully, but enough that I knew that I was thinking it was a bear. Woke up a little later, decided I was dreaming until we found the bear scat nearby that was fresh. :D

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  29. I dont have one. I have never camped. Me and sleeping outdoors do not get along well.

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  30. I took my son to boy scout camp and our bathroom was about 1/2 mile away down a dirt road. They had found 4 poisonous snakes that day. Of course in the middle of the night I had to go so I woke my son up and told him it I didn't come back shortly to wake up our leader and have her come after me. I made it back safely and he was still sitting up with the light on waiting for me. In the morning I asked him if he'd have oke her up if I hadn't come back and he looked at me so seriously and said did you go anywhere mom. He was asleep sitting up with his eyes open. Thanks goodness I didn't need his help.
    scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com

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  31. I went to a YMCA camp for one week each summer when I was a kid and it was a blast! One year we had so much fun (7 friends from home stayed in an 8 bed cabin) that the next year we were split up because other campers were jealous. So we stayed in 2 attached cabins and had just as much fun! We still share stories.

    This camp sounds like fun too! I can't wait to read about it. Thanks for the offer!

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