I have another sexy vampire and his author Paige Tyler with me today. Hopefully Paige will have also brought some of her other hunky men with her.
Hi Paige. What amazing, colourful and funny characters you have given us. I especially loved Kaige’s dry sense of humour. Would you like to tell us about your “damsel in distress” saving hero?
I’d love to tell you all about Kaige! Talking about my hunky leading men is one of my favourite things to do! Kaige is attractive (obviously), well-built, romantic, funny, naturally heroic, with just the perfect balance of manliness and sensitivity. Plus, as it turns out, he’s pretty good in the sack too! But Kaige has a torturous dark side as well. You see, he hasn’t necessarily handled being a vampire too well. Living for hundreds of years just isn’t as fun as it sounds when you don’t have the right person to share it with. I wonder if he finds the right woman in Vampire 101? Hmmm…maybe…
If one of your books could be made into a movie which one would you pick and why?
I would love to see both my Modern Day Vampires series (Vampire 101) and my Werewolf series (Animal Attraction, Animal Instinct) made into movies, but if you forced me to pick only one, I’d have to go with the werewolf series. Animal Attraction and Animal Instinct would look incredible on the big screen – with those beautiful Alaskan backdrops and powerful, majestic wolves running all over the place, it would be breathtaking. Also, I have to admit that again, there is a little self-interest going on with my choice. Both Hunter and Eliza from Animal Atrraction made me promise to give them first dibs if any of my books every made it onto film. I remember that there was something about them threatening to sneak into my closet and eat all my shoes (when in their wolf form, of course!) if they didn’t get their way.
You have made a point of building a complex world for your vampires is this going to be an ongoing series or do you have a specific number of books in mind?
It’s definitely more of an ongoing series. I wasn’t really planning for it to be when I wrote Vampire 101, but as the story developed, I realized there were all these wonderful storylines just waiting for me to start on. And then Savanna and Kaige pulled me aside and told me that there was absolutely no way they would allow me to get away with not writing them another story. Let me tell you, they can both be very persuasive when they want to be – something about threatening to send a band of rogue vamps after me. So I sort of had to promise to work on their second book next. This book is going to pick up right where Vampire 101 left off and I can tell you that those two get themselves into some serious trouble! They wanted adventure? I’ll show them adventure! Teach them to threaten their author! LOL! After their book, I’ve already got several others outlined. They feature various characters (such as Zane Bradford) I think readers will totally fall in love with!
As a child/teenager what where your favourite books and why?
When I was a kid, I absolutely loved reading Nancy Drew! She was such a kick-ass heroine for her time. LOL! I loved reading about all the adventures she got herself into and the clever way she got herself out of them!
Then as a teenager, I discovered romance books. I started with Harlequins, then graduated to historical romances. Johanna Lindsey was my favourite, mostly because she loved to spice up her stories with a little spanking now and then, something I like to do, too!
So, basically, these days I try to combine a little bit of both of those styles into my books. You know – a little adventure, a little bit of mystery, and a whole lot of spice!
Savannah has a lot of ideas about what a vampire is and most of those illusions are shot down in flames pretty quickly. Is she typical of your heroines?
Though I try hard not to create a cookie-cutter, ‘typical’ heroine, I suppose that in some ways Savanna is my prototypical leading gal. She’s strong-willed, clever, sensual, and bold when she has to be (usually when her man is in danger). I have noticed over the years that most of my female characters come out that way (I suppose it’s the Nancy Drew coming out). But I think that makes for a great character to get to know – someone interesting – someone that you would want to hang out with.
A lot of your stories have spanking in them. Is there a reason you like writing them.
Spanking? Oh my…I never noticed that! Let me go look… Okay, I’m back. I just skimmed through a few of my books, and you know what? I think you’re right! How did that get in there? Well, as the saying goes; you gotta write what you know! LOL! As I mentioned above, I’ve had an affinity for a slightly warmed bottom since I first started reading romance books – not that I’ve ever done it myself, of course! LOL! But if written in the proper romantic style, I definitely think that a little spanking can add a lot of heat to a scene. And since I mentioned that all my female characters tend to be rather strong-willed (maybe even a little stubborn), they usually find themselves in frequent situations where a little reddening of the bottom is certainly called for.
Part of what makes Vampire 101 so engaging is the secondary characters. Jenson especially plays an important role. How important do you think it is for the background roles to show their personalities?
I think everyone loves a well-rounded book full of interesting characters. It just makes the book seem more real – and I think it more fun for the reader to get to know the main characters through their interactions with the secondary characters. Plus, you sometimes end up with secondary characters that are some much fun to work with that they end up getting their own books! That’s always cool. You have to be careful with that, though. Once the word gets out on the street that your backup characters have a chance to get their own books – watch out! Every two-bit method actor in town starts trying to jump into your book. You have to really show them who’s in charge! (Where’s my delete key? LOL!)
Seriously though, it can be really tough to write these secondary characters into a story without losing control. You want them to be interesting, but not TOO interesting – know what I mean? You can end up with secondary characters that are better than your main ones! Actually, that’s how my first published book, Samantha and the Detective, came into being. Samantha and Hayden actually started out as back-ups in another story. But I quickly figured out that they had more chemistry and zip that the leads. I ended up having to pretty dump the first book and creating a new one for Samantha and Hayden. What happened to the original story? It never made it off the drawing board. So take my advice, keep a firm handle on those secondary characters – they can get loose on you!
If I was to ask a family member (mum/husband etc) to describe you in three words what would they be?
Well, my husband would describe me as sweet, beautiful, sexy, great in bed, an incredibly talented writer, and an amazing wife. Wait, is that more than three words? Oh well, I didn’t marry him for his math skills! Though come to think of it, he is really good at math… LOL!
What made you decide to start writing about vampires?
Like Savanna, the heroine in Vampire 101, I’ve always had a thing for vampires ever since I saw Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love vampire stories, and I read just about everyone I can get my hand on, including the Argeneau series from Lynsay Sands and the Love at Stake series from Kerrelyn Sparks, which are some of my favourites. Of course, when I read someone else’s books I start thinking how I would write them differently. That was how I came up with my Modern Day Vampires series. Some people like to think that the vampire genre has been overdone, but I’m definitely not one of those people. The vampire mythology is so wide open and strikes a chord with so many different people, that all you need is a different angle, and poof, just like that you have a great story on your hands.
Overall do you find your characters work with you or do you find yourself arguing with them?
I think you can probably figure out the answer to that question from my other responses. LOL! I like to think that I’m in charge, but it’s not that surprising to find my characters all gathered together with pitchforks and torches ready to riot if I don’t do what they want. LOL! Seriously though, as a writer, you always hope the characters just “talk to you”. That way the story just flows and the words seem to write themselves. It’s when the characters won’t say a word to you, when you’ve been staring at the same not-quite-right page for hours (without a clue what’s wrong with it) that writing can be frustrating. Here’s to hoping I don’t run into that kind of problem too frequently!
Would you like to tell us about what you have planned for the rest of the year and where readers can find (blog website etc?)
Well, Animal Instinct, the sequel to my bestselling paranormal werewolf erotic romance, Animal Attraction, comes out in June from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, which I’m really excited about! It’s about Hunter’s twin brother Luke, who is also a werewolf, and the girl he falls for, and it’s just as hot as the first book! I also have a sexy sci-fi erotic romance coming out with Liquid Silver Books called Valuable Cargo about an all-female salvage crew from the year 2850 that finds an ancient derelict ship with a hot, hunky (circa 2150) guy in cryogenic suspension. That’s when they discover that they just don’t make guys like they used to!
As for what I’m currently working on, I have a few projects going at the same time. I’m right in the middle of outlining the sequel to Vampire 101 – sorry the name is still classified! My main project that I’m working on is another paranormal romance. But this one is…well, let’s just say it’s completely different than most of the paranormal romances out there right now. But even though it’s different, I’m sure that you guys out there are going to love it! While those are my two biggest projects at the moment, I also have a few outlines in various stages of completion; a futurist sci-fi romance, a contemporary romance set in the beautiful Seattle area, even the third book to my werewolf series. Not really sure which one of them I’ll pick up next – I’m sure the characters will get together and let me know though – don’t you worry about that!
You can get more information about my books by visiting my website, blog, MySpace, Facebook, and Yahoo Groups at the links below!
MySpace
Facebook
Alpha Males and Their Authors Yahoo Group
After Dark Yahoo Group
Forum at Coffee Time Romance
Thank you to Coffee Time Romance for such a fun interview! I really enjoyed it! Thank you, too, for giving Vampire 101 the Coffee Time Romance Reviewer’s Recommended Award! I’m so flattered!
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