Interview with Carrie Vaughn and Giveaway - August 4, 2012

Please welcome Carrie Vaughn to The Qwillery. Carrie is the author of the Kitty Norville series (in addition to other series/novels). Kitty Steals the Show, the 10th Kitty Norville novel, was published on July 31, 2012.

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

Carrie:  I'm not really sure -- I have a bunch of quirks. I write things out of order, whenever scenes come to me. If I get stuck I'll skip ahead. I work on more than one thing at a time. I have to know the ending before I start.


TQ:  Who are some of your favorite writers?

Carrie:  Robin McKinley, Ray Bradbury, Lois McMaster Bujold, Connie Willis, Steven Erikson, Iain M. Banks, Patricia McKillip, Peter Beagle, the list goes on…


TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Carrie:  I'm a little of both. I start with a rudimentary outline, but it never has enough information and I'm constantly making discoveries and reworking the outline as I go. I'll know the end, but have no clue about the middle.


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

Carrie:  The business side of it, usually. Contracts, promotion, etc. As for the writing itself, every project gets to a point where I get completely lost and I'm convinced it will never come together -- the messy middle. But I always manage to get through it, and it usually turns out okay.


TQ:  What inspired you to write the Kitty Norville series?

Carrie:  I decided that if there really were vampires and werewolves in the "real" world, Dr. Laura would not be able to help them with their problems and they would need their own talk radio advice show. Once I came up with the show, I needed a host for the show, and Kitty was born.


TQ:   What sorts of research have you done for the series? What is the oddest bit of information that you've come across in your research?

Carrie:  I've done all kinds of research. Some of the obvious research is probably the various mythologies and folklores I've written about -- Chinese mythology, Navajo lore, and so on. I also have to do quite a bit of research on the places I set the stories, police procedure, and so on. The oddest bit I've probably come across is that the Nazi resistance to the Allied occupation of Germany in the last months of World War II was called Operation Werewolf, and you can bet I'm going to use that in a story someday.


TQ:  Do you base your paranormal/supernatural elements on existing lore, make things up or both?

Carrie:  A little of both. For a lot of the vampire and werewolf "rules" I get inspiration from Hollywood, which is kind of its own thing and not really based on existing lore. But it's what people are familiar with so it's easy to use and comment on it. But for a lot of the stories I definitely try to tap into existing lore, because the stories are really good, with details I could never possibly make up, and because I love using details that people will recognize as being part of the actual lore. For example, when I had skinwalkers in Kitty Takes a Holiday, I really wanted to use the actual folklore, rather than the Hollywood version, which really doesn't have much to do with the original Navajo lore. The folklore is much more interesting and dark.


TQ:  Tell us something about Kitty Steals the Show that is not in the book description.

Carrie:  The book description mentions some old faces returning to give Kitty trouble…I think readers will be pleased with which old faces those are. And London is one of my favorite cities to visit, and I really enjoyed waxing enthusiastic about it in the book.


TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in the Kitty Steals the Show?

Carrie:  In one scene Kitty meets a bunch of European vampires. It's pretty traumatic, but I believe Kitty handles herself well. I imagined the scene for a long time, so it was especially fun to write.


TQ:  In the Kitty Norville series, who is the character that has surprised you the most?

Carrie:  In some ways, Kitty herself has surprised me, just because I sometimes don't even know what she's going to say until I write it down. Considering I once thought I didn't have it in me to write a series at all, the fact that she's on her tenth (and beyond) novel constantly surprises me. The other character who surprises me may be Amelia, just because she really did show up out of the blue, but I've become so intrigued by her and her relationship to Cormac. I definitely want to do more with them.


TQ:  What's next? /this is where you share anything bookish that you'd like/

Carrie:  More Kitty books are on the way. I've finished writing the next two, so be on the look out for them. I've also got a bunch of short stories on the way. I'm currently working on a sequel to my superhero novel, After the Golden Age.


TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Carrie:  Thank you for inviting me!



Kitty Norville

Kitty Steals the Show

Kitty Norville 10
Tom Doherty Associates, Tor Books, July 31, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Kitty has been tapped as the keynote speaker for the First International Conference on Paranatural Studies, taking place in London. The conference brings together scientists, activists, protestors, and supernatural beings from all over the world—and Kitty, Ben, and Cormac are right in the middle of it.

Master vampires from dozens of cities have also gathered in London for a conference of their own. With the help of the Master of London, Kitty gets more of a glimpse into the Long Game—a power struggle among vampires that has been going on for centuries—than she ever has before. In her search for answers, Kitty has the help of some old allies, and meets some new ones, such as Caleb, the alpha werewolf of the British Isles. The conference has also attracted some old enemies, who’ve set their sights on her and her friends.

All the world’s a stage, and Kitty’s just stepped into the spotlight.

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

Kitty Norville 1-9

Kitty's Greatest Hits
(Short Story Collection)

About Carrie

© Timony Siobhan

Carrie Vaughn is the New York Times bestselling author of the Kitty Norville books, including Kitty’s Big Trouble and Kitty and the Midnight Hour. She is also the author of the stand-alone novels After the Golden Age and Discord’s Apple, and the young adult books Voice of Dragons and Steel. Vaughn had the nomadic childhood of the typical Air Force brat, with stops across the country from California to Florida. She earned her B.A. from Occidental College in Los Angeles, and a master’s in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has worked as a Renaissance Festival counter wench, a theater usher, an editor, a buyer at an independent bookstore, and an administrative assistant. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Website : Blog : Kitty Norville's Twitter









The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a copy of Kitty Steals the Show (Kitty Norville 10) from The Qwillery.

How:  Leave a comment answering the following question:

If paranormal and/or supernatural being exist, should they reveal themselves to the world?

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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.

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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 Friday, August 11, 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.*