This week I am proud to be a part of something big! This weeks guest here on Amberkatze's Book Blog is author Joy Nash who is giving away 50 of her books over 50 days! Amberkatze's Book Blog is one of the sites taking part and you all have a week to enter the contest!To find out more about the contest keep reading to the end of this post. However before the fun starts here is your chance to find out more about Joy Nash and Immortals: The Crossing
, the book she is giving away! --------------------
Amber - First I want to thank you for taking the time to be interviewed for Amberkatze's Book Blog! Maybe you can start things off by explaining a little about 'The Immortals
' series?Joy - The Immortals
series, a multi-author series written by Jennifer Ashley, Robin T. Popp, and myself, takes place in an alternate version of our contemporary world. In the Immortals world, magic and magical creatures and races are common and accepted by humans. The world can only exist if there's a reasonable balance of life and death magic. In the first four books of the Immortals series, the balance of magic is threatened, with death magic quickly overtaking life magic, threatening the world's existence. The human witches of the international Coven of Light quickly realize that humanity's only hope lies in the legend of the Immortals, ancient magical warriors who once protected mankind from death magic. The witches come to believe that these warriors aren't legend at all, but real flesh and blood demigods who, for some reason, have disappeared from earth. In each of the first four Immortals books, a human witch locates an Immortal Warrior and convinces him to re-join the battle against death magic. The initial series was so popular--all the books hit the USA Today bestseller list! Three more novels and a novella were contracted. Round two kicks off in Sept with Jennifer Ashley's The Redeeming, the story of Tain, the rogue Immortal Warrior villain from the first Immortals books. My book, The Crossing, and Robin Popp's The Haunting, follows. My hero, Mac, and Robin's heroine, Mai, were extremely popular characters from our first Immortals books. Round two of the series concludes with the anthology The Reckoning, in March 09.
Amber - Your contribution to 'The Immortals
' series is called 'The Crossing'. What is your book about and how does it fit into the series?Joy - The hero of The Crossing
, Mac, is an immortal Celtic demigod who appeared as the Immortal Kalen's friend in my previous Immortals book, The Awakening. Mac is one of the most popular secondary characters I've ever written - readers were asking for his story from the first week that The Awakening was released! I was so pleased to have a chance to move Mac to center stage. In The Crossing, Mac, who is half divine/half Sidhe and fascinated by human culture, finally meets the human woman who is his match when he pursues the fugitive witch, Artemis Black, on a race leading straight into Hell.Amber - How closely did you work with the other authors? Obviously you had to read their books but did you all get together and decide how the series would run?
Joy - For the first four Immortals books, Jennifer, Robin and I worked very closely with Jennifer's initial concept of the Immortals world and develop it into a complex place in which to set our stories. We brainstormed constantly online about the rules of magic, the magical races of the world, the Immortals and their heroines, and the common villain we all had in our separate stories. Since books 2,3 & 4 take place simultaneously, we also kept a close watch on our timeline. Collaborating this way added a lot of positive energy (as well as a good bit of extra time!) to the process of writing a novel.
The second round of Immortals books are not so closely interwoven as the first four were. The books all take place in the Immortals world, with many characters from the first round of books, but each of this year's novels are stand-alone stories.
Amber - There are a lot of magical beings in 'The immortals' series and your book has a Celtic demigod. Did you have to do alot of research to write this book? How did you pick your celtic names?
Joy - My editor invited me to do a Celtic contribution to the Immortals series largely because of my Celtic historical paranormal series for Dorchester, the Druids of Avalon series. So I was already pretty well versed in Celtic lore, though I did more research on the Sidhe and Unseelie Host while writing the Immortals books. Celtic names are tricky, because so many are difficult to pronounce for someone who doesn't know Gaelic. I used several historical sites and also baby name sites to pick many of the names. But I didn't make up a name for my hero in The Crossing--Manannan mac Lir (Mac) is a real figure in Celtic mythology. As in my book, Mac is the son of the Celtic sea god, Lir. However, all his adventures are straight out of my imagination!
Amber - 'The Crossing' is due out on September 30th but you are currently doing a 50 Days 50 Books Giveaway (which I am honoured to be a part of). How did that idea come about and who else is involved?
Joy - I came up with the idea while I was thinking of ways to get the word out on the Internet about the return of the Immortals series in advance of the release of The Crossing. It's my hope to reach a lot of readers who enjoyed the first Immortals books, as well as readers who are hearing about Immortals for the first time. International readers will be happy to know that news about the first translation rights of Immortals has just come in. So far, Immortals is scheduled to be released in German and Norwegian language versions sometime in the future.
Amber - What other books have you written, paranormal or otherwise? What is your favourite so far?
Joy - I mentioned my Druids of Avalon series with Dorchester, which is near and dear to my heart. That series grew out of my first mass market release, Celtic Fire. The first Druids of Avalon book, The Grail King, won a Reviewer's Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine. The next Druids book, Deep Magic, received many glowing reviews and a Psyche Award from The Romance Studio. The Druids series is the story of the Celtic and Roman ancestors of King Arthur, and lays the groundwork for many Arthurian legends. I've had a wonderful time weaving real history, real legend, Druid magic, and my own imagination in writing this series. I've even been lucky enough to travel to England to visit the sites for many of my scenes! You can read about the Legend of the Druids of Avalon on my website, along with excerpts of the books and free short stories that take place between the books. The next book in the Druids of Avalon series, Silver Silence (which I'm writing now), will be out in October 2009.
Amber - What kind of environment do you need to have to write? Any particular items you need to make the writing flow easier?
Joy - I write on my laptop on the couch in my living room--a room which doesn't get much other use in my house. I prefer to work in the mornings, in a quiet house, when my teenagers are in school or sleeping late. I normally make a second cup of tea after breakfast, set it on the coffee table in front of the couch, and start writing. My tea is always cold by the time I finally get around to drinking it!
Amber - How did you get into writing? Did you always want to be an author?
Joy - As a child, I loved to read, and always thought about being an author, but as I grew older, I wasn't encouraged in that area and developed other interests. I ended up going to architecture school and becoming an architect, a career I enjoy and still practice part time. I started writing when I was a full time mom with three toddlers. I needed a creative outlet, and the chance to be in total control of my own story world (unlike my life) was very appealing! About a year later I joined a local writers' group and started thinking seriously about my chances of being published, something I doubted was possible when I started! So if you're an aspiring writer, be assured that your dream of publication is completely possible. If you could read some of the stuff I wrote just eight years ago when I got started, you would know that for a fact :-)
Amber - What are your writing plans for the future? Any new projects?
Joy - Currently, I'm working on Silver Silence, a Druids of Avalon book. But I'm also looking forward to my contemporary romance debut in 2009 under a new pen name. A Little Light Magic by Joy Rizza, set in a small town on the New Jersey shore, will be a fun, fast summer read. Check my website in the coming months for details and an excerpt!
Amber - If you got stuck on a desert island. Which 5 items would you want to have with you?
Joy - Hmmm, that's a tough one. Hopefully my desert island will be friendlier than the one on the TV series LOST. Though I wouldn't mind having a crashed airplane with about a hundred changes of clothes in exactly my size, a hot American doctor with an endless supply of medicine, a hot Asian guy who conveniently grew up as a fisherman, a hot Middle Eastern guy who knows eighty-seven ways to kill whatever threatens me, and an *extremely* hot, blond, wise-cracking Southern con man with a lifetime supply of prophylactics!
--------------------------
Contest time! Joy is giving away a signed copy of her upcomming release Immortals: The Crossing
. That means this book is not yet for sale!!! So if you win this contest you will get it before the 30th of September release date!To enter the contest just comment on this thread telling me which writers you would like to see writing a series together. No full answer to the question no entry!
You can also get yourself another entry to the contest by posting about this contest somewhere on the net! Please make sure you post the link in your entry!
The contest is open till Sunday the 24th of August 4pm CET. Please check back to see if you have won! If the winner doesn't claim the prize within 7 days I will draw another winner.
So enter away and don't forget to check the other sites who are taking part in the 50 books in 50 days giveaway!
A big huge thanks to Joy for letting me be a part of this and for taking the time to answer my questions!
Labels: Author Interviews, Contests, Joy Nash
At 17 August 2008 at 12:28, 
Raonaid Luckwell
I'm gonna put this on my myspace blog (and bullentin) and livejournal. If I knew how to do it on facebook I would.
Myspace - http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=155633569&blogID=425028932
Livejournal - http://morriga.livejournal.com/
Which writers would I like see doing a series together?
I could really see Vicki Pettersson and Kim Harrison and or Lillith Saintcrow doing a series together. That would be one heck-of-a-series full of paranormal-goodness which could be a movie or series.
Lara Adrian and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
Though I'd love to see Kenyon as MacGregor and Nash writing a series together. Perhaps something like MacGregor's Lord of Avalon mixed with Nash's celtic knowledge.
I would love to see Deborah Cooke and Allyson James do a dragon series together. Those two gave me a great appreciation for dragon shape shifters.
Heck, even Nash and Karen Marie Monings. I bet that series would be full of hotness.
Ugh, those were the main ones that stuck out at my head that I would love to see do a series together.
At 18 August 2008 at 00:13, DawnM
Thanks for the interview.
Favourite collaborations, that's an interesting idea.
I'd be interested in a collaboration between Sherrilyn Kenyon, Tanya Huff, Patricia Briggs and Laurell K Hamilton for paranormal. Jayne Castle, Linnea Sinclair and Robin Owens for futuristic. And Amanda Quick, Julie Garwood and Katie McAllister for something with a slightly humorous historical bent. Actually, there's someone missing from that combination, but I've gone a complete blank on the author's name. Ahah, Katie Michaels, that's who I was thinking of.
At 18 August 2008 at 03:52, LadyVampire2u
I would so love to read this book as I have enjoyed the others in this series. COngrats on its upcoming release!
Okay so authors I'd like to see write together? Hmmm Dakota Cassidy, MaryJanice Davidson, Charlaine Harris, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Jeanine Frost, Jim Butcher and Keri Arthur. I bet it would be a very interesting and fun anthology.
At 20 August 2008 at 00:27, Caffey
Hi Joy!! So excited about this series, I too wonder if its possible to talk to you 3 into writing more books again of this series? :) Too great on more of the Druids of Avalon's and too a contemp that I'm looking forward to hearing more about!
Its hard to see anyone else doing this series but Joy, Jennifer and Robin! But for like a series of those who write some great fantasy at Dorchester too, I'd love to see Kathryn Kennedy, C. L. Wilson, and Karen Whiddon, all write on a magical story, a fantasy that they all write great reads!
Also will post on my blog at
caffeys-reads.blogspot.com
Would love to share about these books!
At 21 August 2008 at 21:58, Unknown
I would love to see Joy team up with Simon R. Green (author of the Nightside Series). They both have such vivid ways of describing scenes and they've both based book in "other" worlds. My second choice would be to have Laurell K Hamilton and Maggie Shayne join forces for a series. I'm certain the paranormal will reign supreme with that pairing.
Les SLusarczyk
nightcrawler_1836@hotmail.com
by Kelley Armstrong
Thank you for the interview Joy and Amber. Always great to get a little more background from the author.
As for what writers I would like to see writing a series together - paranormal of course. Raven Hart, Kim Harrison, Yasmine Galenorn and J. F. Lewis. There are so many to chose from but I think they would be a interesting combination.