Hey Everyone!
I’d like you all to help me welcome one of my favorite new authors of 2010, Stacia Kane!
I loved her Downside series books and I am IN LOVE with Terrible, so I was psyched when she agreed to give me an interview and she is even Giving away a Signed set of the Downside books! How awesome is that!
Enjoy The interview and check out the giveaway deets at the bottom of the post…
When did you first start writing?
I've always written, but I started writing with an eye toward publication at the end of 2001/early 2002, after my first daughter was born. I was home with her and I realized that was my chance, basically; it was time to go ahead and do it, if it was what I wanted to do. I had some fits and starts in there--took a lot of breaks, took a year off when I got pregnant with my second--and started publishing in 2006.
Have you always enjoyed Fantasy?
Oh, yes, totally. My brother (five years older than me) was a big D&D guy, and obsessed with Lord of the Rings. So from the time I was six or seven I was surrounded by it. I used to help him work up his games, and we watched the Bakshi LOTR all the time. We collected comic books, too. I was a huge fan of a book called THE WARLORD, which was about a fighter pilot who crashed into another world. There was a shapeshifting woman (Shakira--she turned into a cat) and wizards and an evil guy named Deimos who ended up being just a head mounted on a hand...it was awesome. My favorite books and movies have almost always been fantasy.
Why writing Urban Fantasy?
I just love the possibilities! You can do anything in UF. It can be as "normal" or as out there as you want, it can be any kind of world you want. It's just so much fun, really, and the world can become a character in a way it really can't in other genres.
Were there any Books, Movies or Writers that have inspired you?
Oh, tons. Neil Gaiman's run on SANDMAN, and especially his BBC series/book NEVERWHERE; that was a big one. Andrew Vachss's Burke
books are amazing. CONAN THE BARBARIAN was one of my absolute favorite movies when I was a kid, and it still is. Shows like Buffy, of course. The movie THE CHANGELING is one of the scariest, most atmospheric movies I've ever seen, and I try to bring that sense of foreboding into my work a lot. My brother and I used to watch DOCTOR WHO late at night whenever we could. GHOSTBUSTERS, of course! Really, everything inspires me; images, throwaway lines in any movie or book...anything.
What is your favorite subject in the Urban Fantasy Realm?
I'm not really sure what you mean? I guess I'd say witchcraft, is that what you're looking for? I like the grittiness that can exist in UF worlds, and I really like witchcraft, and ghosts.
How did you come up with the "Downspeak"?
I picked up a book--I don't even remember when--at Barnes & Noble called THE WORD MUSEUM, a dictionary of archaic slang. And every once in a while I'd sort of flip through it, and when I started writing UNHOLY GHOSTS I thought, I'm writing a sort of alternate history, and I want 
to show the differences in socioeconomic levels and add another layer of "different" to the world, and I already had the Puritan imagery, so I thought why not, basically. I didn't want to use Ebonics or something already in use, because I didn't want to seem like I was co-opting an established culture, and I didn't want something associated more strongly with a certain group, either, because that sort of division doesn't exist in this world. So it just sort of came, basically, and I had so much fun with it, and with making it a bit different for every character, and using it--hopefully--so that the reader knows instantly where a character is from, what kind of life they've had. It becomes part of their character, at least I hope it does.
Favorites:
Favorite Paranormal themed Movie?
Oh, wow, there are so many! Maybe a tie between GHOSTBUSTERS and THE CHANGELING. They're both excellent, but so different from each other.
Favorite Paranormal themed TV Show?
I have to say Buffy, although I do love Supernatural a lot.
Favorite Paranormal themed Book?
Oh, wow, there are way too many to pick one!
Favorite Author?
Same as above, really. I love so many writers. Barbara Michaels, Herman Wouk, Andrew Vachss, Maeve Binchy...
Favorite Urban Fantasy Author?
Probably my friends Caitlin Kittredge and Richelle Mead.
Favorite Genre that is NOT your own?
I love gothic novels, and I love thrillers/suspense.
Favorite one of your Books?
UNHOLY GHOSTS.
Who is your favorite of your own characters? Why?
Oh, it's so hard to pick one, I love them all! Probably Chess, though, really. But Bump is the most fun to write. Malleus, Maleficarum, and Spud from the Demons books were tons of fun to write, too.
Which was the hardest to write? Why?
Which character was the hardest to write? Probably Chess, again. She takes a lot out of me. And the hardest
book so far was probably SACRIFICIAL MAGIC, the fourth Downside book, although CITY OF GHOSTS was really difficult, too, just because I had so much to wrap up and I was really afraid I wouldn't get to do more. After I finished that one I just sort of wandered around my house crying for like an hour; it was 1:30 in the morning.
What would you be if not a writer? Why?
Hopefully I'd be what I still am, which is a stay-home mom. I honestly loved doing that, and still do. I'm a homebody anyway, and I've honestly never found any job I've had particularly mentally/emotionally stimulating, whereas being at home I could always find things to do, things to entertain me and the girls, things to keep me busy...it made me happy, basically. Maybe it's not for everyone but I was very happy.
If you Could be a Paranormal Being, Who would you be?
Vampire. I want to live forever.
If you could meet ay Urban Fantasy Character out there, Who would you like to meet?
Oh, wow, there are so many. I guess I'd have to say any of mine, though, just because that would be such an interesting experience.
Quickies:
Coffee or Tea? Neither. I don't really like hot drinks.
Virtual or Real? Virtual or real what? Probably real, I guess?
Day or Night? Night. Completely.
Here or There? There.
Sooner or Later? Later.
Light or Dark? Dark.
Reading or Writing? Writing.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Finishing. :-) I love it all, I really do, but I guess editing is really the part I enjoy the most. Going back to see what I actually did is pretty cool.
What is your least favorite part?
The slump I hit at around 30k words, where I don't know what happens next and feel like the book is just crap and I should give up. Only stubbornness pushes any of my books beyond that point.
The Downside Ghosts Series in your own words?
Black magic, human sacrifice, sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll, and people just trying to survive.
Any plans for more Books in the series?
Absolutely! I've four chapters into the fifth one right now, and after that I have the sixth to write as well. I'd like to do at least nine; I have plots and a story arc for that many minimum, but I'd be happy to go to twelve, too, of course. Beyond that, though...part of me thinks it'd be great to write these characters forever, and part of me is very afraid of the series losing its way, if you know what I mean, and just slogging along. I don't like to think about it ending, though. That's a really scary thought.
What is coming up next for you?
I have a few short stories that will be in anthologies this summer, both Downside stories. The first is RICK THE BRAVE, and that'll be in the HOME IMPROVEMENT: UNDEAD EDITION anthology releasing August 2nd with Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, and a whole bunch of others. I'm extremely excited about that.
Then there's another for the MAMMOTH BOOK OF GHOST ROMANCE, which is, well, a romantic story; it's a bit sweeter and happier than the Downside books in general, so that was fun. It was nice to write a story for Chess where things actually worked out for her, and she ends up happy without the knowledge of something dark still looming in the future or that things could all fall apart any minute.
What are you working on right now?
Downside 5, edits for SACRIFICIAL MAGIC, and a new project I'm really excited about.
Do you have any advice or tip to those like me that want to become a published Author someday?
Read a lot and keep writing. And don't give up; don't let someone talk you out of it if it's what you want to do. I know everyone told me I could never be a writer, but I refused to listen, and now I get to write books for a living.
Anything you would like to say to your fans out there?
I can't thank them enough; they are the coolest people in the world, really. The reaction I've gotten, especially for the Downside books (although the Demons books also got a really lovely, warm reception, which was great) has been totally unexpected and totally overwhelming; seeing how passionate people are about the books, and how they've touched people, is just incredible. I never even dared to hope I'd have that kind of response. So I really, really do appreciate it; I can't say that enough.
Thank you so much for being here!
Thanks for having me!
Find Stacia Kane Online:
Website | Blog | Goodreads
Twitter | Facebook | LiveJournal
Alter RETIRED Ego: December Quinn
Buy Stacia’s Book:
Amazon US | Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
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