Today is a
very special post! I am interviewing
Rachel Morgan, in celebration of the release of her new book TRAITOR, the 3rd
installation in the Creepy Hollow Series.
I’ve read all of her books and I love the characters and the world that
she has created.
So, welcome
to Rachel! How did you come up with the idea for the Creepy Hollow series?
Honestly? (This is embarrassing)
I actually cannot remember where the very first spark of an idea came from! I
think the thought process may have gone something like this (over several
months):
1 – I want to try out
epublishing.
2 – Perhaps I should epublish
some SHORT stories. Those should be pretty easy to fit into my writing schedule
in between writing whole novels* and it’ll be the perfect way to try out
epublishing.
3 – Creepy Hollow. Whoa, where
did that come from? What an awesome name! I wonder if anyone else has used it...
4 – A SERIES. A series of
short-ish interlinked stories. That would be cool.
5 – The series will be called
Creepy Hollow! And it will be about a group of faeries whose job it is to
protect humans from all dangerous fae!
*Boy, was I
wrong! Writing these stories has not been quick and easy, nor have they been
slotted in between “whole novel” writing. They’ve taken up all my writing time
since I began the first one!
Which character speaks the loudest, to you?
Do any of them clamor to be heard over the others?
Well, it would definitely be Violet, since I’m in her
head all the time, seeing everything through her eyes and hearing all her
(occasionally freaked out) thoughts. After Violet, I think I’d say Ryn. I seem
to know a lot more about his life story than some of the other characters, so
he must speak pretty loudly to me!
If there was a Starbucks in Creepy Hollow,
what sort of Starbuck’s coffee would your character, Violet order?
Confession time: I don’t drink coffee! So I don’t
actually really know what kinds of coffees are out there! (That probably seems
like an alien concept to most coffee drinkers...) So I Googled Starbucks and explored their menu.
But after scouring all the coffees, I realized why none of them jumped out at
me screaming, Take me to your Violet!
Vi is a girl after my own heart: She is a HOT CHOCOLATE girl! And it must be
dark hot chocolate, not white. Like the kind of dark that’s almost bitter it’s
so dark.
Speaking of dark, what is your deepest,
darkest secret? Well… that is a little
personal… Which do you like better chocolate or vanilla?
It depends what we’re talking about! If it’s ice cream,
then chocolate. If it’s cake/cupcake, then vanilla. If it’s actual chocolate,
then definitely chocolate-chocolate rather than white chocolate!
What is your favorite part of the Creepy
Hollow series?
You haven’t read it yet ;-) Hehehe! My favorite parts are
coming up in book 4 (and possibly book 5). I’ve been looking forward to writing
this one for a long time. I’ve got parts of it down – now I just need to finish
it in time for July!
What is the best writing advice that you’ve
received?
BICHOK – Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard.
Seriously. Sometimes you just have to MAKE yourself do
it!
Who is your favorite author and why?
Are you really going to make me pick ONE?! Okay, then I’m
going to have to go with Cassandra Clare. Epic urban fantasy author! Not only
does she write brilliantly well, she also tells the most captivating,
imaginative, heart wrenching, just-plain-awesome stories, with three
dimensional characters I become completely invested in and twists I never see
coming!
And the most important question, would you
date Nate? (If you weren’t engaged, lol)
If I weren’t engaged, yes, I probably would :-)
Thank you
Rachel! Now you all get to read a little
excerpt from the newest book in the series, TRAITOR!
The *** is where I removed a few words that would be
“spoilery” for people who haven’t read the first two stories.
Setting the scene: Violet has just finished a training
maneuver and is busy binding up her wounds when Ryn comes along...
“Didn’t your father teach you it’s rude to
eavesdrop?”
I freeze for a second, then continue winding the
bandage around my arm. “Didn’t your mother teach you it’s rude not to wear
clothes in public?”
“What, you mean this?” Ryn points to his naked
chest. “I’ll have you know there are at least ten females in this hall who find
my lack of clothing highly attractive.”
“Well, fortunately for both of us, I’m not one of
them.” I tuck the end of the bandage beneath the folds and stand. I don’t like
Ryn towering over me. “What do you want?”
Ryn stares at me with the gaze of a melath
serpent about to strike. “I want to know why you were listening in on my
conversation earlier.” Dammit, how does
he know that? “Could it possibly be because of that little rule-breaking
secret of yours I’m still hanging onto? The suspense must be killing you.”
“The only thing killing me right now is the
stench of your hypocrisy.”
“Hypocrisy? Why, because I was also Underground?”
He laughs. “I hate to break it to you, Pixie Sticks, but hanging out
Underground isn’t on quite the same level as blatantly disobeying one of the
Guild’s major Laws. I’m pretty sure the Council will see it the same way.”
I step closer to him, making sure to invade his
personal space. “You can tell whoever you want, Ryn. I’ll be the one laughing when you
realize the joke’s on you.” I imagine Ryn’s embarrassment after going to the
Council to report my ‘Law-breaking’, only to find out ***. It gives me a great
sense of satisfaction.
Ryn leans
forward, the same way he did when telling Aria to mind her own business.
“Whatever game you’re playing, you’re going to lose,” he whispers. “And I’ll be
right there to rub your nose in it when it happens.”
“Great. Well, at least I have something to look
forward to.” I cross my arms. “Now why don’t you go parade your lack of dignity
somewhere else?”
The Creepy Hollow Series
Author Links
Thank you for letting me host you Rachel and congratulations on your new book!
