The Many Flavors of Horror: An Interview with Nicole LeBoeuf

Horror is a many-flavored genre. From slash and gore to the psychological, from goosebumps to terror,  horror can hit us hard in many places.  My guest today takes horror to the realms of the fantastical with a side order of cold, clammy dread. It’s a heady flavor. Please do check out her linked stories below.   

Bio: Nicole J. LeBoeuf is, in no particular order: a native New Orleanian and urban Cajun; a graduate of Viable Paradise, the University of Washington, and Metairie Park Country Day School; deeply appreciative of fine teas, cooking experiments, and single-malt scotch; a constant spinner of yarn and knitter of socks; an occasional pilot of rented Cessnas; married with two cats. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, and has recently taken up roller derby.

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Dooley: How would you describe your writing?

LeBoeuf: In two words: “Weird stuff.” I love stories that inject an element of the fantastic into the ordinary world. Magic exists, magic ought to exist, and I will damn well make magic exist if the real world isn’t delivering. The fantastic element might be horrific. It might be transcendent. It might be both — that’s when I think it’s the most fantastic of all.

Dooley: Have you any stories available to read for free online?

My most recent online publication is “The Day the Sidewalks Melted” in Ideomancer Volume 9 Issue 1 (February 2010). It’s a very short story about endings, the inevitability of endings, and the gorgeous human drive to deny endings and demand second chances.

Before that, the now-defunct and much-missed Chicago-based publisher Twilight Tales posted my story “Right Door, Wrong Time” to their website. (You can still read it thanks to the Wayback Machine.) They used to run a flash fiction contest at the World Horror Convention every year; this one placed in the 2006 event. I love magic door stories, but I can’t help but think the kids that went to Narnia had it a little easy.

I’ve republished my very first paid sale, “Last Week’s Rhododendron,” to my website. I’m not sure if I’m published enough, or old enough for that matter, to call anything of mine “juvenilia,” but if anything counts, this one does. It’s a satire on the fickleness of trends.

Dooley: What are you working on now?

LaBoeuf: I’ve decided that, after almost a decade of participating in National Novel Writing Month, this will be the year I finally start shopping a novel around. So I’m revising my 2008 effort, Like a Bad Penny, also known as “I swear I’m not ripping off X-Men.” If all goes well, it’ll be a urban fantasy road trip novel featuring sorta-superheroes and the monkey’s paw side of wishes.

Also, because I’m a terrible procrastinator, I’ve got this never-ending backlog of stories that would really like to be finished and sent out to meet the nice people. The ones that will probably reach that point soonest involve 1) yet another magic door, 2) a reluctant Mary Sue who makes fantastic potato salad, 3) an obsessive-compulsive woman who’s haunted by credit card receipts and the angels of a wrathful God. At least, that’s what those three stories involve now. Who knows what they’ll do between the current draft and the finished version.

Dooley: Who are your top three favorite female characters in horror film?

LaBoeuf: That’s a tough one, not least because I don’t watch a lot of horror film. It’s weird — I never considered myself a fan of horror, let alone a writer of it. It took attending World Horror 2002 to realize that “horror” isn’t just schocks-n-guts-n-gore, but rather it’s a mood, it’s a way of apprehending the world, and it’s been working its way into my writing for years. Still, thinking up three horror films I’ve watched, let alone three with awesome female characters, that’s a toughie.

I can think of two for sure. First, Ripley, from the Alien/Aliens movies, with special love for her reprisal of the role in Resurrection because of what that story does to the idea of motherhood. And — you’re going to laugh — Rose Da Silva, the mother character in Silent Hill. She’s so scared, just like I would be in her situation, but she does what she has to do anyway. And, you know, after she does the next scary thing, she’s still scared, because that’s how fear works. Fear doesn’t just magically go away because you faced it. You don’t win by “letting go of fear” — what a horrible, emotionally violent turn of phrase! Like, if I’m scared, it’s my own fault because I didn’t “let go of fear”! — you win by doing what you’ve got to do despite the fear. Which makes Rose so much more personally awesome for me than even the heroines of some vastly superior movies. I mean, even recognizing the hokiness of “Reach into the Toilet of Doom and pull out the McGuffin of Saving Your Daughter!,” damn, she reached in, didn’t she? And then she kept going. I’m not sure I could.

Dooley: What are the last three books you read?

LeBoeuf: Straying From the Path, a gorgeous collection of short stories by Carrie Vaughn. I love Vaughn’s way with a “what if.”

Wildwood, by the writer-and-illustrator husband-wife team Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis. There are lots of stories involving big sisters rescuing baby brothers from a fairyland teeming with talking beasts and fantasy politics, but how many start off in Portland, Oregon? I knew I was in for a treat with Ellis’s fantastic illustrations, but Meloy’s worldbuilding and eye for detail were new pleasures for me. If you can get your hands on a copy, snatch it right up.

Do rereads count? I just reread The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O’Shea.  It’s a little like Narnia with a different religion. Two children are caught up in a struggle between the Gods of old Ireland, and they encounter both ordinary creatures as well as heroes of myth and legend. Each character’s voice is pitch-perfect and a tribute to its folkloric origins. It’s one of the most beautiful books ever. That O’Shea published so little in her lifetime is one of the frank injustices of the world.

Dooley: What’s the best piece of wring advice you’ve ever received?

LeBoeuf: What Neil Gaiman has said to many aspiring authors: something along the lines of, “Write. Finish what you write. Send it out and write something else. It’s that easy, and that difficult.” The first time I heard him say that, I felt let down. No magic bullet. No secret. Just… that? Years later I heard it again, and the self-empowering angle of it clicked for me. It became, “If you want to be a writer, you can be. It’s entirely within your power.”

Dooley: Which writers do you cite as your main influences?

LeBoeuf: Again, Neil Gaiman. His writing does what I want to do with writing: inject weirdness into the world. And his career stands as an example and an inspiration to anyone else who wants to “make a living making things up” — you can’t count on having the sort of lucky breaks he’s had, but if you want to make yourself available for lucky breaks to happen to, you can’t go far wrong with Gaiman as a role model.

I’m a huge fan of Patricia McKillip. Her writing voice, like Peter S. Beagle’s, is lush with poetic detail juxtaposed with mundane observations. Her stories are so often grounded in a domesticity that epic fantasy often neglects. The Riddlemaster of Hed  is a great example of this. The main character is a prince, yes, but in his kingdom that means he’s sort of the head farmer. Within three pages, his sister is dumping sour milk on his head. The first page has the funniest, because most understated, description of a hangover that I’ve ever read.

And I will probably always be trying to ring that perfect note of mythical storytelling that Meredith Ann Pierce hits when she’s at her best.

Dooley: What is your most recent publication?

LeBoeuf: My short story “First Breath” is included in Ellen Datlow‘s recent anthology Blood and Other Cravings (Tor Books, September 2011). The anthology’s theme is vampirism, and how that concept covers a lot more than just your typical bloodsuckers. I’ve just heard that the anthology has been nominated for a Stoker award, as has Kaaron Warren‘s contribution to it, “All You Can Do is Breathe”. That’s fantastic news — that’s fantastic company to be keeping.

Dooley: What do you think has changed most about the writing life in the past fifty years? 

LeBoeuf: I’m not sure I’m qualified to say, seeing as how I’ve only been alive about thirty-six of those years! Certainly the internet has wrought the changes I’m most grateful for: the ease of finding and joining in with science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom communities, the simplicity of finding and submitting to markets online (not to mention the savings on postage!), the boom in the population of online publications while, equally wonderfully, print publications develop online content. And while the gap between author and fan was never truly insurmountable, it’s bridged by blogs and internet communities in a much more omnipresent and immediate way, I think. It’s kind of fantastic that I can go to Twitter and see my close friends and my favorite authors in the same timeline, and sometimes they’re talking to each other. For better or worse, the world has been made smaller. I think mostly it’s for the better.

I blog at NicoleJLeBoeuf.com, and the blog post summaries get automatically broadcast to my Twitter feed and my Facebook wall. Fifteen years ago, by contrast, I was putting excerpts up on a Geocities website which I hoped I could get more people looking at if I pasted a “webring” widget on the front page. Twenty years ago I was scanning misc.writing for submission calls and agonizing over my first email submission. Twenty-five years ago I was sending handwritten copies of short fiction to Cricket Magazine’s monthly contests. The rate of change has accelerated something drastic over my lifetime.

Dooley: Which female horror writers inspire you?

LeBoeuf: The writer who first comes to mind, Kelly Link, is generally not considered “horror,” but one of the things I find most fascinating about her stories is the way she identifies and magnifies small moments — everyday moments, even — of terror. She imbues mundane objects with uncanny echoes. Some of those echoes she doesn’t need to make up at all; they’re already there, in your life, waiting for a skilled storyteller to direct your attention to them. You could call “Pretty Monsters” a werewolf story, and werewolves are certainly classic elements of horror. But that would be doing a disservice to a story that uncovers the very human ways in which her characters are monsters. And while “The Specialist’s Hat” is at surface-level a haunted house story, the eeriness of the surroundings are foils to the eeriness of the way the characters pass points of no return almost without realizing it.

Dooley: What’s up next for Nicole J. LeBoeuf?

LeBoeuf: Roller derby. I’ve joined the Boulder County Bombers and they are wringing more physical effort out of me than I ever thought I possessed. Also, I’m falling down and getting bruised in interesting new ways. I’m not sure I’m any less scared of falling than I was at my first practice, but I’m getting better at trying scary moves despite the fear. It’s no Toilet of Doom, but then again, what is?

Thanks so much for answering my questions, Nicole. Best of luck with all your writing and roller derby endeavors. I’m pulling for Ellen Datlow, Kaaron Warren, you and the rest of your colleagues in bagging that Stoker. Women in Horror for the win!

Interview With Moi and Giveaway of Blue Galaxy

Gosh, sometimes it’s hard to blow one’s own trumpet. I was interviewed by author Claire Gillian and she said such lovely things about me that I’m almost too embarrassed to link to it. Almost. Heh, heh.

If you’re interested in finding out about my writing advice, my inspiration and what resides on my nightstand please do click over. While you’re there have a look through Claire’s blog. She calls herself a “darkly romantic curmudgeon,” which, while true, does not quite prepare you for how damn funny she is.

There is also a giveaway of ‘Blue Galaxy,’ my e-novella from Carina Press. If you’re into  bad girl heroines and the drunken space captains who love them, it just might be your cup of tea.

Celebrating Women in Horror Month: Links of Burning Love

Quite a few of my writing buddies at Absolute Write are writing in celebration of women in horror this month. I thought I’d gather all the links into one place so you can enjoy them as much as I have.

Glitter and Gore is chatting about her horror reading list, why she writes horror and the terrible things she had put her characters through. Check out her post here.

Flying With Broken Wings is planning a series of posts on female horror writers. She’s started with Mira Grant. First post is here. I’ll add links to the other posts

as they become available.

Damien Walters Grintalis has created a list of female horror writers she recommends. See her list here.

The Girl in the Soapdish brings us four fierce female horror writers and their four fierce female leads. Phew. Writing that was hard. Check out these fearsome women here.

Luke Walker chats about his favorite female characters in horror film here.

 

From middle grade to graphic novels, Brittany Maresh has favorite female horror writers in a variety of categories. Something for everyone! Check out the list here.

Write Club is paying homage to women in horror and planning another couple of posts. I’ll update with these links as soon as I have them. The first post is here.

From my horror archives I give you an interview with horror writer, Fiona Dodwell, and a guest post from horror writer, Sara Jayne Townsend, on the strange workings of the horror writer’s mind.

As I come across interesting posts on the topic of Women in Horror I will add the links here. Stay tuned. I still have a few posts of my own to add throughout the month of February.

Celebrating Women in Horror Month: Luke Walker’s Favorite Female Characters

Horror writer, Luke Walker, is a regular visitor to this blog. He’s previously been interviewed by yours truly and has also given us his opinion on the best zombie movies. This time around he’s telling us about his favorite females in horror movies.  

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When Diane asked me if I’d like to come up with a post about women in horror films for her ‘Women In Horror’ month, a couple of films immediately came to mind. Then a couple more came. Within a few minutes, I had a growing list of films that needed trimming down. The funny thing is, you say “horror film” to a lot of people and they don’t tend to think of women in an assertive role. Women are the victims. At most, we can expect them to have the role of the final victim (or Final Girl, if you prefer). Think of older films such as Halloween, Friday 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw and so on. All featured a Final Girl facing off against the male killer. The issue of whether or not this was support for women or simply a way of putting them through hell and then putting them back in their supposed place isn’t an issue I’m discussing here. I’ve just got a list of some great horror films with some great female characters.

Dog Soldiers: Megan – If you haven’t seen this low budget British film from 2002, you’ve missed a treat. It’s the story of a small group of squaddies on a training exercise in the Scottish Highlands who run into…werewolves. Basically, think Night of the Living Dead but with hairier zombies. Anyway, Megan is the sole female character unless you count references to the Sarge’s wife. Without her, it would be a much different film. In any case, I knew I was going to like this film when I saw this trailer for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FINKj6HnQ7E

Martyrs: Anna – This isn’t going to be top of everyone’s list of films to watch simply because it’s an extremely hard watch. You know the scene in the original Texas Chainsaw when Sally is at the dinner table? You know how she screams for what seems like three hours? Pretty horrible, isn’t it? Well, Martyrs goes into similar territory during several scenes. Even without the high levels of gore, this is an uncomfortable film but one I recommend. The basic story concerns two childhood friends, Lucie and Anna. As a child, Lucie went through a hellish experience involving abduction and abuse. A few years later, Lucie tracks down the people she believes were responsible and all hell breaks loose.
As I said, this won’t be for everyone, but my way of thinking has always been that as horrible as films can be, the news is always scarier because that’s real.

Carrie: Carrie (obviously) – an oldie but a classic. Everyone knows the story of this one and everyone knows the big jump scene. OK, it’s as dated as hell (dig Travolta’s hair) and the opening scene is shot like it’s about to turn into a very different film, but this still had to go on my list. The Shining is often voted as one of the best King adaptations.  For me, though, The Shining doesn’t have half of the heart Carrie does. It’s not a perfect film by any means and it’s not as close to the book as it could be, but it does have heart. Anyone who can watch this and not feel sorry for Carrie is a bit of a bastard, frankly.

Dawn/Day of the Dead: Fran & Sarah – While it might appear heretical to mention the second two films in Romero’s ever growing Dead series without mentioning the seminal (snigger) Night, I have a good reason for that. Barbra in Night is a victim from pretty much beginning to end. Understandably, of course, but that doesn’t alter the fact she’s catatonic for about an hour and twenty minutes. Fran and Sarah, on the other hand, will not be victims of either the zombies or the men they’re forced to exist with. Look at Fran in the early scenes of Dawn and compare her to Fran in the second half. She can hold her own in the newsroom, but put her outside in a zombie apocalypse and she needs to be rescued by Peter. Then while the boys are going shopping for stuff they don’t need, she’s learning to fly the helicopter, shoot and generally take care of herself. Then Sarah in Day – this is a woman who will take no crap from anyone even in the face of Captain Rhodes and his insanity. You could argue the world of the dead has made her as emotionally dead as the zombies. Or you could argue she knows what it will take to survive.

The Descent: Sarah – Another film from Neil Marshall (after Dog Soldiers) and one of the best horror films of the last ten years. Sarah and her friends are on an adventure holiday after a horrific event ruined Sarah’s life. They’re going underground to explore a system of caverns under the Appalachian Trail. Of course, it all goes wrong when they discover they’re not alone.
If you’re outside the UK and haven’t seen this, get the British version. There’s a small difference between it and the US release which, in my opinion, changes the film into something much smaller than it is. The point of this film and Sarah’s character comes at a very precise point. Removing that point for the US release…well, let’s just say I know which version I’d rather watch.

So these are my film recommendations. Enjoy.

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Thanks for a great list, Luke. By the way, dear readers, Luke’s no slouch when it comes to interesting female characters in horror. Check out his novel, The Red Girl, from Musa Publishing and his blog, Die Laughing.  

Update from A Busy Little Writer Bee

Ah, February. Thou art so short, but so damn demanding. I’m really packing it in this month. It’s been the kind of month where I have to constantly keep  re-prioritizing my to-do list, which grows lengthier every day.

First up is my conversation with Heather Massey, the bold navigator of The Galaxy Express. We’re a geeky pair, for sure. Here’s a link to our conversation on ‘Sex Scenes and the Male Gaze,’ in which we tear in to Robert Appleton’s ‘Sparks in Cosmic Dust‘ with unseemly gusto. Appleton’s a good sport, by the way, and a hell of a writer. Check him out.

Next I shared the very sad story of how I did a terrible thing and ruined a wonderful writer for myself. Please read about the tragedy here so that you might avoid the same mistake. While you’re at it have a click around on the Contact: Infinite Futures blog. There are some very entertaining authors posting on a regular basis.

I’m just getting ready to start in on edits for Mako’s Bounty, a short science fiction/romance novella soon to be released by Decadent Publishing as part of its 1Night Stand series. I’ve previously shared excerpts from it  here and here. Click the links to meet the two main characters. It was so much fun to write this one.

I should also soon be receiving edits on Blue Nebula, the second in the trilogy that started with Blue Galaxy, published by Carina Press. Here’s an excerpt from Blue Galaxy and here’s an excerpt from Blue Nebula, which continues the story in Blue Galaxy, this time from Sola’s point of view. I’m still writing the third and final installment. It’s tentatively titled Blue Planet and continues the story from Destin’s POV. Here’s an excerpt.

If you are a reader and fan of science fiction romance, please do check out the Science Fiction Romance Brigade Fan Page on Facebook for all the news on new releases, blog tours, giveaways, reviews and interviews with your favorite SFR authors. If you’re writing SFR and would like to connect with other writers of the sub-genre, please use the contact form to let me know. The SFR Brigade needs you!

February is also Women in Horror Month. I have an interesting array of posts planned to celebrate. If you’re a horror fan please do check in on this blog throughout this month. I know you’ll enjoy what I’ll be offering. Incidentally, if there are any horror writers out there who would like to contribute a guest post on the topic or would like me to check out their related post, please use the contact form to connect with me.

Thanks for reading. And now – time to tackle that to-do list from hell!

Interview and Giveaway with Author Aruna Sharan

My final guest this month is the delightful Aruna Sharan, who has  taken on the mammoth task of rewriting The Mahabharata and presenting it to a modern audience, a western audience and a digital audience.

It is available for purchase from Amazon. Undecided? You can read the first chapters here. Still undecided? One reviewer called Sons of Gods “a literary soap opera with a soul that spans the full horizon.” Check out the full review here.

So, with no further ado…

Dooley: You’ve rewritten the Mahabharata. Why?

Sharan: When I first read an English condensation of Mahabharata in 1974 I was completely swept away—such a magnificent story! And yet the writing was clumsy. So I went in search of a better English version. I never found it; every version I read, I felt, was either just a bland summary, or it contained too many diversions from the main story, or it glossed over some of the most important elements. So a few years later I began to write my own. I continued to do so over the decades; it’s been almost 40 years now! Not constantly, of course. Sometimes I forgot all about it as I got on with my life—but always it came back to me, and I just kept working on it till I was satisfied that I had captured what I felt was the essence of the great epic. I’ve called it Sons of Gods.

Dooley: Is it a rewriting or a reinterpretation?

Sharan: It’s both. Since I don’t know Sanskrit I have had to rely on English translations or condensations for the basics of the story, and I’ve read just about every English version, long and short, that’s out there. I took the story elements—the basic well-known “bones” of the story—and put my own “meat” on them, words that I hoped would do the story justice. I chose the scenes that would make a continuous story, dramatized events, gave the characters new dialogue, and even altered a few plot elements: tying up a few loose ends with developments of my own. The changes are all minor—a scene here, a bit of dialogue there—and yet in a way I did reinterpret the whole story, gave it a new emphasis, a different slant.  I’ve also retold it for a primarily Western readership, while retaining—I hope!—the Indian style and spirit of the original.

Dooley: Do you have a favorite character from the Mahabharata? Which one and why?

Sharan: The anti-hero Karna has always been my favourite. I’ve always been a supporter of the underdog, and that’s what Karna is, right from the beginning when he is born illegitimate and abandoned. He is followed by rejection and curses all his life—and curses, in those days—were serious matters, because they came true! And yet Karna is the lynchpin of the whole story. Invariably, the Mahabharata is summarized as a conflict between two sides of a great dynasty, ending in a cataclysmic war—without mention of Karna. Yet Karna is the one character who by just saying the word could at any time change everything around, to his own advantage, yet doesn’t. He’s an incredibly moral character, in spite of being on the side of the villains. We can all learn something about true greatness from him.

Dooley: What are the last three books you read?

Sharan: The Remains of the Day, by  Kazuo Ishiguro — at last!

Palace of Illusions – by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni. This is a version of the Mahabharata written from the point of view of the main female character, Draupadi, and it’s just wonderful. Best of all, it gives Karna his rightful place of prominence. I wish I had read it earlier! I feel it thoroughly complements Sons of Gods; one is the whole, the other a detail.

I’m now re-reading an old favourite, The Rich are Different, by Susan Howatch, a writer of wonderfully long, wise, captivating novels.

Dooley: You’ve travelled extensively. How has this affected your writing?

Sharan: Not just travelling, but living in a variety of very different cultures has played an enormous part in my own maturing as an individual. It forces me to place my own identity—or what I thought was my own identity—on hold while I adapt to a very different way of being. I think this gives me the ability to truly slip into someone else’s skin—whether that someone else is a real person or a fictional character—and see a situation from a variety of perspectives. And, of course, travelling gives me firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to live here and there. It gives me smells and sights and atmospheres, the feel of a place, and so it increases the palette of settings I can use in fiction. I love to read books set in faraway places, places I’ve never been to. Travelling gives me the tools to also write books set in faraway places—faraway, of course, always in relation to the usual British or American settings.

Dooley: Who are three women you admire and why?

Sharan: Janet Jagan – the American-born Guyanese activist and later President (see left). Aung Sang Suu Kyi – the Burmese leader. Shree Ma Ananda Mayi – an Indian spiritual teacher I’ve had the privilege of meeting

Dooley: What’s up next for Aruna Sharan?

Sharan: The very week I let Sons of Gods out into the world I started a new novel. I hadn’t planned to do so; I wanted to rest for a while, but it simply grabbed me and before I knew it three chapters and the vague outline of a story were out there, and I’m quite looking forward to where this will go—it’s always a thrill when a new story starts to grow in me, because I never know myself just how it will develop.

The Blurb for Sons of Gods:

Karna, sired by the Sungod Surya, is born to the unmarried princess Kunti. She abandons him to the river; he is found and raised by a low-caste but devoted couple.

Spurned by all, Karna finds a friend and ally in the avaricious prince Duryodhana. But Duryodhana’s worst enemies just happen to be the five brothers, the Pandavas, the noblest warriors in the world. And their mother is Kunti, that princess who still grieves for the child she gave away as a young girl. 

Karna and Arjuna — the middle and mightiest Pandava — each vow to kill each other without knowing they are brothers. As tensions mount, so does their hatred for each other; until, in the cataclysmic war that will wipe out the entire warrior caste, they meet in the inevitable facedown.

This is war in which no-one can be the winner.

Dooley: What else have you written?

Sharan: My novels Of Marriageable Age, Peacocks Dancing and The Speech of Angels were published by HarperCollins between 1999 and 2004.

Thank you for your interest!

Dooley: Thank you, Aruna, for agreeing to be my guest. Best of luck with all your writing endeavors!

 

Aruna blogs at Sons of Gods or you can follow her on Twitter . She also writes as Sharon Maas. 

Interview and Giveaway with Author Regan Summers

I am delighted to welcome Regan Summers,  fellow Carina Press author, to my blog. Her debut novella, Don’t Bite The Messenger, released last week to excellent reviews and I’m really looking forward to reading it. If the book has only half the sass and humor of the author I won’t be disappointed.

Enjoy the interview, read the blurb and feel free to enter the giveaway.

Thanks so much for agreeing to the interview, Regan!

 

Dooley: What’s your writing process? Do you outline or make it up as you go?

Summers: I do a brief outline to ensure my ideas have legs, and adjust it as I go. Outlining, for me, cuts down on large-scale rewrites, which I equate to performing spinal surgery on a creature you’ve never before encountered. It might not even have a spine, but you won’t know that until you’ve broken it open, then there are fluids squirting everywhere and the nurses are throwing up and…anyway, I prefer to outline.

Dooley: How long have you been writing? What made you start?

Summers: Since I was young, five or six. I’ve always been an avid reader, and my first stories were attempts to take characters I loved on further adventures. I just couldn’t let them go. Coincidentally, we didn’t have a TV while I was growing up.

I’ve been writing with the intent to publish for about four years.

Dooley: Good news. We have unlimited funds. Where should we go on vacation?

Summers: YESSSSS. Best news I’ve heard all…oh. This is a hypothetical, isn’t it?

Give me about six months to formulate an answer. Half of this time will be spent setting it to the tune of “88 Lines About 44 Women” by The Nails.

Dooley: What books are currently on your nightstand?

Summers: Richard Kadrey’s Aloha from Hell and Elizabeth Hand’s Generation Loss. Also, Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon. I read it years ago and my three year-old is fascinated by the cover. He’s a cyberpunk baby.

Dooley: What are three things you love about living in Alaska?

Summers: The mountains, the laid-back attitude (yes I would like to wear jeans to the symphony, thank you) and eating salmon an hour after it’s pulled from the water.

Dooley: Who or what inspires you as a writer?

Summers: I’m inspired by the power of the stories. The ability of words placed in a singular order to distract and amuse or transport until the reader loses all track of time and place. I don’t claim to have mastered the art fully yet, but I hope that I entertain and that a few lines linger in the minds of my readers.

Dooley: If you were to travel backwards in time, which historical era would you choose to live in and why?

Summers: Probably the eighties, because I have a pretty good coke nail going. Just kidding (my coke nail is terrible right now). I don’t love the idea of living in the past on account of the social inequality, disease, and lack of readily-available Asian fusion cuisine.

Dooley: What was one of your favorite books from your childhood?

Summers: Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown. It remains one of my favorites.

Dooley: My kids want to ask you a question: where do you get your ideas?

Summers: Hello, Dooley-kids!

Most of my stories came from scenes that developed in my mind while I was spaced out, either at the day job or while trying to fall asleep. The initial scenes could be as short as a couple of seconds: a man standing in a cold, stone room, seeing a branded arm reach around a curtain; a woman struggling to get her cell phone to work while magic and fire leak out through her pores.

Then follows a non-linear series of “what if” questions. What if he thought that arm belonged to a servant and, instead, it belonged to a queen? What if the fire overcomes her before she can make this critical call? If those moments stay in my head long enough, beating out the shiny new ones, I feel obligated to find a story into which I can fit them.

Dooley: What’s up next for Regan Summers?

Summers: I’m finishing writing the sequel to Don’t Bite the Messenger, which has been so much freaking fun! And I don’t say that about all my stories. *shakes fist at the misshapen novel bubbling in the corner*

After that makes its way toward my editor, I’m going to put together a few proposals to review with my agent. Sometimes it’s best to throw your shiny ideas at someone else’s feet and ask which looks brightest.

Thank you so much for the interview, Diane!

Dooley: Absolutely my pleasure, Regan. Best of luck with your writing career.

Now you’ve met Regan it’s time to meet her book. Here’s the blurb:

Anchorage, Alaska

The vampire population may have created an economic boom in Alaska, but their altered energy field fries most technology. They rely on hard-living—and short-lived—couriers to get business done…couriers like Sydney Kildare.

Sydney has survived to the ripe old age of twenty-six by being careful. She’s careful when navigating her tempestuous clients, outrunning hijackers and avoiding anyone who might distract her from her plan of retiring young to a tropical, vampire-free island.

Her attitude—and immunity to vampires’ allure—have made her the target of a faction of vampires trying to reclaim their territory. Her only ally is Malcolm Kelly, a secretive charmer with the uncanny habit of showing up whenever she’s in trouble. Caught in the middle of a vampire turf war, Sydney has to count on Malcolm to help her survive, or the only place she’ll retire is her grave…

Doesn’t it sound great? Regan is giving away an e-copy of her novella. To enter the giveaway just answer this question: which fabulous place would you take me and Regan on vacation? 

You can keep tabs on Regan in the following places:

Twitter       Facebook       Author Website       Goodreads 

You can purchase Don’t Bite The Messenger at Carina Press and all the usual online retailers.