But today we have an interview with Joleene and she brought along Jorrick and Katelina from the book to answer some questions that this blogger was dying to know! We both had fun with this and i hope you have fun reading it! When you're done please hop over to her website and check out her series.
www.joleenenaylor.com
PT to Joleene: Which vampire world was your inspiration for the Amaranthine series?
Jo: Thanks so much for having me! I hope you don’t
mind, but I’ve brought Katelina and Jorick along because it’s good for them to
get out once in a while. Anyway, that’s a good question. I was actually reading
the first four books of the Anita Blake series when I wrote Shades of Gray-
Jorick: Yes, you can probably thank those books
for the gleaming spinal column on the opening pages.
Jo: As I was saying, I was reading Anita Blake, but
I have to give credit to Interview with the Vampire for some of my vampire
basics. I saw the movie in ’94 and it was the first time I encountered more “realistic”
vampires. By that I mean they were attractive, they had quirks and flaws, they
didn’t turn every victim they bit, and they were nothing like the shambling,
cheesy almost-zombies of many 80s horror movies.
PT to
Joleene: What can we
expect in the future? More of this series? A different series?
Goddess of Night, the ninth book in the series
will be released March 31, 2017. It’s also the last. Not the last in the
Universe, just the last in Katelina and Jorick’s series. Like Tolkien, I have
plans to continue the Universe. There will be a standalone novel about Jorick’s
past, and I have plans for a trilogy from a different characters’ perspective,
not to mention a couple of other characters are trying to talk me into writing
a road trip novel…
Jorick: Just what the world needs…
PT to Jorick: When you agreed to keep an eye on Katelina, you obviously developed
feelings for her. What was the exact moment you realized you were in love with
her?
Jorick: I don’t know that it was an exact moment…
Katelina: Come on! I want to hear the answer to
this!
Jorick: Well it was… I mean, I suspected…I was talking
to Oren and it just sort of slipped out. I was as surprised as he was.
Katelina: Seriously? That’s the best you can do.
Jorick: *shrugs* I assume I’m supposed to answer
honestly…
PT to
Katelina: What was your
first impression of Jorick?
Katelina: That he was attractive; really, really
attractive, and dangerous. The weird thing is that there was something
comforting and safe about him at the same time. It’s hard to explain.
Jorick: *looks away*
PT to
Katelina: How did you
handle the stress of being kept in Oren's home full of vampires?
Katelina: Thank you! At last! Someone who
understands that! It was a cross between terrifying and mind numbingly boring,
like it went from shear horror to nothing in 3.0. I’m not sure that I’ve
recovered from it yet, but I admit finding that book in the armoire helped a
lot. To get lost in a fictional world for even a little while helped me forget
my own horrible reality.
Jorick: I rather thought that having me there
might have helped.
Katelina: Sure, if you’d stayed it might have,
or if we’d left sooner, or…
PT to
Jorick: Can you tell us
why you hate your "sister" so much?
Jorick: Ah, Kateesha. She’s…She’s cruel for the
simple purpose of being cruel. I understand the need to kill from time to time,
or even to torture-
Katelina: Jorick!
Jorick: I’m sorry, but it’s true. However,
Kateesha does it just because it amuses her, and people like that are dangerous
because you can’t control them, and you can’t predict their behavior. Add to
that she takes certain liberties and has certain delusions…
PT to
Katelina: The vampires
kept calling you unimpressive and average. How did that make you feel?
Katelina: At first it hurt my feelings. Who
wants to hear that they’re not a special princess, even if you *know* you’re
not, but later it just made me mad. Like who in the hell did this b**** think
she was? Okay, so I don’t look like one of the vampire vixen collection, but so
what? They only look that way because they’re immortal. When they were human I
bet they weren’t much to look at either. Were they. Jorick?
Jorick: What? Hmmm? I really don’t remember.
PT to
Jorick: Can you tell us
how you met Oren?
Jorick: Oren was my neighbor… I was tired of
living close to The Guild and Malick, so I relocated to Virginia and happened
to choose a plantation near Oren and his family. Neighbors in those days were more
reliant on one another than they are now, and though I tried to avoid them, the
family invited me to things, and invited themselves to my house. They had a
good deal of misfortune, especially with children. Oren’s wife lost several in
pregnancy, and those that were born were unhealthy, so even when I tried to
escape there was a funeral, or some neighborly thing I was forced to do. I
suppose I could have scared them away, and maybe I should have, but at the time
a small part of me enjoyed it. It was such a contrast to what I’d grown used to
working for Malick.
PT to
Katelina: Before all
this vampire business, how did you unwind after a stressful day? And now how to
do unwind after a stressful day?
Katelina: I liked to go home, change into some
jammies and watch TV.
Jorick: Or go to the bar with your friend.
Katelina: *winces* Yes, there was that. We-
Sarah and I…*looks upset*
Jorick: *teases with a wink* Now she likes to
aggravate me.
Katelina: *flushes* I don’t aggravate you!
PT to
Joleene: If you could
live in any fictional world, which would you choose?
Jorick: Not one of her creation. They’re all
horrible.
Jo: Very funny. But you’re right, actually. I’d
like to go to Middle Earth and live with the elves. I’ve loved Legolas since I
was a kid and-
Katelina: Elves? Really?
Jo: Yes! They’re beautiful and immortal AND they
can go in sunlight and get to eat tasty feasts. I’m telling you, they’re like
vampire 2.0. You should really look into it.
Jorick: *catches Katelina’s hand* No, no she
shouldn’t. She’s good where she is.
That was so fun! I hope you enjoyed our posts. Now you can enjoy reading about some truly scary vampires. Take a bite out of Joleene's vampire world!
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Apple:
Cecy (pronounced Sessy) Robson is the new adult and contemporary romance author of the Shattered Past series, the O’Brien Family novels and new Carolina Beach series, as well as the award-winning author of the Weird Girls urban fantasy romance series. A 2016 double nominated RITA® finalist for Once Pure and Once Kissed, Cecy is a recovering Jersey girl living in the South who enjoys carbs way too much, and exercise way too little. Gifted and cursed with an overactive imagination, you can typically find her on her laptop silencing the yappy characters in her head by telling their stories.
