Author of 'La Vida Vampire' (the prize in my last contest), Nancy Haddock, agreed to answer a few questions about her debut release to post here on my blog. Thank you Nancy for answering the questions! You are offically my first author interview!

1. How did you come up with the idea for La Vida Vampire? Were you just sitting at home one day thinking 'wow wouldn't it be cool to have a vampire stuck under a house for 200 years?' or did the idea start from some other point in the story?

I would love to be clever enough to have started with the stuck for 200 years part, but the idea for La Vida Vampire started in a different place. I was watching a peanut butter commercial in which one little girl says to her friend, "We can play Crazy Eights or we can watch this Princess Vampire video" ... or words to that effect. Okay, so I know I heard the line all wrong, but I couldn't stop laughing, and that was the first spark of inspiration. From there I played "What if?" until I came up with the buried in the basement for over 200 years part, the day-walker surfer girl part, and a few other parts. But the truth is that Cesca had quite a few surprises for me -- which is cool because discovering things about characters is one of the highs of writing!

2. Did you decide Cesca would be a surfer vamp and work around the whole vampires can't go out in the sun problem? or the other way round?

I knew Cesca had a special affinity for the ocean as she grew up, and knew that didn't change after her turning. When she was unearthed, she insisted she could be out in the sun part of the time -- even though she didn't know why this was possible. Thus Cesca became a part day-walker and learned to surf.

3. Is Cesca anything like yourself? Of course you aren't 227 years old but do you share any character similarities with her?

According to a friend who's known me only slightly less than 227 years (grins), I share Cesca's sense of humor. We also share a birthday -- at her insistence, not because I was too lazy to give her one of her own. The date will become significant in a future book in the series.

4. Do you live in St. Augustine, Florida or just know it well? Are there really ghosts haunting the area? Did you have to do alot of research or did you use artistic license for this part of the story?

I do live in -- and love -- St. Augustine, Florida! I've only lived there for a bit over 5 years, but began visiting in 1989. There are ghosts galore, especially in the old downtown areas. There are also at least two ghost tour companies, and a number of books about the local ghosts. Within that framework, I did use a bit of literary license for the story.

5. Finally I want to know and I am sure others want to know - When is the next book coming out and what will it be called? Anything you can tell us? No spoilers of course but a few hints would be nice ;)

I don't have a sure title or release date for the second book, though we're probably looking at spring of 2009. The thumbnail sketch is: When a vampire wanna-be comic comes to Cesca for protection, her afterlife gets more complicated -- and more dangerous -- when she's forced to confront her past. Triton does come into this story more, and there are other surprises.

Thanks so much for the fun interview, Amber! You and your readers rock!

Light,
Nancy

Thank you again Nancy! I am looking forward to hearing more news about the next release! I hope you will let me review it ;) and of course make another contest to celebrate it!

Labels: Author Interviews, Book Talk, Just for Fun