Interview with Angie Fox and Giveaway - August 28, 2012

Please welcome Angie Fox to The Qwillery. Immortally Yours (Monster MASH 1) is published today. Happy Publication Day to Angie!

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery!

Angie:  Thanks! I’m excited to be here.


TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Angie:  Sometimes I don’t know when to quit when it comes to expanding the worlds I create. For example, the Accidental Demon Slayer series is about a demon slayer who runs off with her grandma’s gang of geriatric biker witches. All the bikers have nicknames, and the names were so much fun to create. So I developed the What’s Your Biker Witch Name? Quiz. It was an offbeat extension of the books. Plus, you haven’t lived until you get emails from physicists in China telling you that their biker witch names are things like Wino Wally No Brakes and Two Date Tessa Hard Rider.

For Immortally Yours, I’m doing a viral program that is cracking me up right now because it is getting slightly out of control (which in my world, means things are going well). I’m going to offer readers an interactive experience that centers around the news network that is covering the war.

In this new series, PNN is the paranormal version of CNN. So I’m basically setting up the “official” PNN website to be like The Onion, only paranormal. It allows me to have a blast, while giving readers a taste of the series. Check it out at www.PNN-Network.com


TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Angie:  Just call me a plantser. I like to know where the story is going, but not too much because when I’m having fun, that’s when the story itself takes on a lot more energy.

I began Immortally Yours by wondering about all the things that could happen in a paranormal MASH unit. In most paranormal books, characters heal themselves and that’s it. But what if my world required paranormal doctors, nurses and medics to serve during a paranormal war?

What if my protagonist is drafted into the middle of this conflict? What if I gave her a vegetarian werewolf roommate? Add in a vampire with an almost obsessive need for peace and privacy (which you are just not going to get in a tent with two other people). What if I give them a commander who is an old Spartan?

I let the storyline evolve based on the interactions between characters and the impact of war on the soldiers, as well as on the MASH staff.


TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Angie:  Finding time to write! I am the mom of two small kids. At first, I wrote books because it was something special I could do just for me. I did it while the kids were napping. Then my books were published and I was suddenly a New York Times bestselling author and yet I still have that same few hours in the day where I write. It is a refuge for me, and I know that’s my little break in the day, but sometimes I wish the time didn’t go by so fast.


TQ:  What inspired you to write Immortally Yours, the first novel in your new Monster MASH series?

Angie:  I wanted to do something different. Plus, I love writing books that are not only about the hero and heroine, but also about the community where they live. A quirky, paranormal MASH unit sounded like a blast to write. Plus, I love books about special ops soldiers. They are too sexy. So I made my hero a tough-as-nails wounded warrior and my heroine is the doctor who saves him (in more ways than one).


TQ:  What research did you do for Immortally Yours? What is the oddest bit of information that you found in your research?

Angie:  I spent a lot of time learning about how MASH camps operate. I also called up my nurse and doctor friends and asked them questions like: if I was going to make a banshee do X, Y and Z, by how much would I need to increase normal lung capacity? And what does that mean physically? How would they look different? Sound different?

And then I watched Patton to get a feel for my camp commander (and because I like Patton).


TQ:  Which characters in Immortally Yours has surprised you the most?

Angie:  Petra is one of the strongest heroines I’ve ever written. She’s stubborn, independent and used to being on her own. She’s also dealing with her own personal tragedy. Petra is a thoracic surgeon who has been drafted out of her practice in New Orleans and into the middle of this great paranormal war. Enlistments run until the end of the conflict, which for her will be a life sentence. Still, she manages to keep her dry sense of humor and she’s even created a new family, of sorts, among her colleagues at the MASH 3063rd.

The only thing she’s not prepared to deal with, it seems, is the hero, who bursts onto the scene first as a critical patient on her operating table and then as the only man who knows her secret ability. He discovers it while she’s saving his life. Unfortunately, her secret ability is forbidden by the gods and could get her killed – or worse. She’s survived so far by keeping her head down and now Galen is threatening that.

But he isn’t interested in hiding. Galen is a hardened special ops soldier, who has risked everything time and time again. He’s focused on his duty and determined to bring an end to the war. Petra and her ability will give him a means to do it. He’s not just an alpha, though. He’s very charismatic. And either by charm or by force, Galen will bring her onto his side. He needs to convince Petra that a) she can make a difference and b) she needs to trust him enough to risk eternal damnation. I mean really, it’s hard to talk a girl into that. But Galen isn’t one to give up. And like they say, all’s fair in love and war.


TQ:  Tell us something about Immortally Yours that is not in the book description.

Angie:  One of the challenges – and the great joys – of writing Immortally Yours was balancing the humor with the stark drama of war.
Petra and her colleagues at the MASH 3063rd have been drafted until the end of the conflict, which is bad for her but even worse for people like her vampire roommate, Marius. They’re living in this quirky, ad-hock camp, trying to make the best of it while they work long hours in the OR, putting soldiers back together – knowing that they’re probably going to see these injured heroes again and again – if they’re lucky.

Galen, himself, dies on Petra’s table in the first scene of the book. In this world, immortals can die. They’re hard to kill, but war is horrific and both sides have developed weapons to end lives in stark and brutal ways.

The underlying tragedy brings the oddball personalities in the camp together. They develop ways to keep their sanity and to create the kind of relationships that offer a port in the storm. That’s where a lot of the humor comes from.


TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Immortally Yours?

Angie:  Probably the scene where Petra has a heart-to-heart with her werewolf roommate, while they sit out fishing by the tar swamp. It’s such a slice of life at the MASH 3063rd. Plus, I love how each of the supporting characters has their own story to tell.


TQ:  What's next?

Angie:  The next Monster MASH book, Immortally Embraced, comes out in February 2013. Then book three, Immortally Ever After, releases in August 2013. Also, in the spring, I’m going to be releasing the fifth book in the Accidental Demon Slayer series, My Big Fat Demon Slayer Wedding.


TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Angie:  Thanks for having me!




Monster MASH

Immortally Yours

Monster MASH 1
St. Martin's Paperbacks, August 28, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE GODS…

No one patches up the incoming wounded like Dr. Petra Robichaud. Recruited by the gods for her uncanny medical skills, she’s the best M*A*S*H surgeon in the army. Along with a nosy guard sphinx,vegetarian werewolf, and other paranormal paramedics, she bandages soldiers who are built like Greek gods (literally). But when one sexy immortal ends up on her operating table—half dead and totally to-die-for—Petra’s afraid she’ll lose her patient and her heart…

NOTHING IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN LOVE

Commander Galen of Delphi is one gorgeous but stubborn demi-god. When his spirit tries to slip out of his fatally wounded body, Dr. Petra has to slip it back in—unwittingly revealing her ability to see ghosts. Now that Galen knows her secret, he’s convinced she’s part of an ancient prophecy. If the oracles are right, Petra could lead Galen’s army to peace. And if he seduces her on the way to hell and back? Heaven knows—all’s fair in love and war…

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

Immortally Embraced

Monster MASH 2
St. Martin's Paperbacks, February 26, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

IN THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES…

Even during a truce, Dr. Petra Robichaud has her hands full as the M*A*S*H surgeon to an army of warring gods—especially when Medusa herself turns up pregnant. Petra has no idea what to expect when a gorgon’s expecting, but she won’t let it turn her to stone. As the healer-hero of an ancient prophesy, it’s Petra’s job to keep the peace. But as the lover to a warrior demi-god, she knows how impossible some jobs can be…

IT’S EVERY GOD FOR HIMSELF.

Commander Galen is sexy, strong, and sworn to lead his team to hell and back. But when he announces to Petra that he can no longer risk her life for his love, the doctor is on her own…Until a mysterious new entity—in the form of a hot-blooded male—enters the picture. Can he be trusted? Can he be resisted? Meanwhile, an oracle delivers another prophesy that places Petra back on the frontlines with the man she may be bound to for eternity—in love, or in war…

Pre-order

Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound

The Accidental Demon Slayer series

About Angie

Angie Fox is the New York Times bestselling author of several books about vampires, werewolves and things that go bump in the night. She is best known for her Accidental Demon Slayer urban fantasy series. She is also writing a series about a group of paranormal M*A*S*H surgeons. The first book in the Monster MASH trilogy, Immortally Yours, is out now. The second book, Immortally Embraced, releases in February 2013.

Visit Angie at:
Website: www.angiefox.com
Twitter: @AngieFoxauthor or https://twitter.com/AngieFoxauthor
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angie-Fox/176533609089557








The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a copy of Immortally Yours (Monster MASH 1) from Angie AND The Accidental Demon Slayer (signed), The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers (signed) and A Tale of Two Demon Slayers from The Qwillery.

How:  Leave a comment answering the following questions:

In a war between the gods, which god or goddess (or demi-god or demi-goddess) 

would you want on your side?

Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

There are a total of 3 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry) and Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry).  This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook or Twitter mentions. You MUST leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*