Howdy, folks! My name is Jess Haines, and I’m the author of HUNTED BY THE OTHERS, hailed as “a delightful romp of a book” (Angela Knight, NYT Bestselling Author). I’m here today to let a few of my characters tell you about their adventures and what makes them tick.

Take the floor, guys!

______________

Shiarra: Um, hi? Wow, this is different. Uh…

Royce: Haven’t you done this before? Say your name. Introduce yourself.

Arnold: Find your cue cards. Did we get cue cards?

Sara: Hush! Let her do it. This is her interview.

Shiarra: Right, sorry. My name is Shiarra Waynest. I’m a private investigator, co-owner of H&W Investigations. I’m also the main character in a book. How weird is that?

Sara: Hi, I’m Sara Halloway, the “H” in H&W, and Shiarra’s best friend.

Chaz: Is it my turn? Oh, hi. Call me Chaz. I’m Shiarra’s boyfriend, leader of the werewolf pack, the Sunstrikers. Go Yankees!

Royce: Was that really appropriate? Well. My name is Alec Royce, owner of A.D. Royce Industries. You may have visited one of my clubs or restaurants if you’ve—

Shiarra: This isn’t a commercial.

Royce: *offended look* May I finish?

Shiarra: Yeah, sure.

Royce: As I was saying. I run a number of fine dining establishments, as well as nightclubs and other local entertainment. I’m also the leader over the vampires in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Arnold: Show-off… Hey, I’m Arnold. I’m a mage and head of security for The Circle, a corporation devoted to making the benefits of the arcane available to one and all. I also helped save Shia and Sara—

Shiarra: Hey, hey! No spoiling things for the readers.

Arnold: Oh, yeah. Well, I’m still awesome.

Sara: Now who’s the show-off?

Chaz: Hey, do we get any pizza for doing this interview?

Shiarra: Ohh, pizza! I want pepperoni.

Royce: This is the silliest interview I’ve ever seen. Why isn’t anyone running some kind of control on this? The PR people should’ve briefed—

Sara: I’ll get the crushed pepper and garlic salt.

Arnold: The vampire may not like that.

Sara: Ohh. Made a Very Bad Call there, didn’t I?

Royce: …

Shiarra: Hey, so, while we wait for the pizza, I’ll tell you a little about the story.

Royce: Finally.

Chaz: Nobody asked you, fang-boy.

Royce: That’s it. I’m done.

Shiarra: Sit your ass down! Jesus, you’re such a whiner… Now, as I was saying, this is a story about me and a few of my friends. Acquaintances, in some cases. *eyes Royce*

Chaz: Don’t forget the friends with benefits.

Shiarra: C’mon, I’m blushing over here.

Sara: What she’s trying to say is we’re a bunch of regular folks—err, in some cases, supernaturals, aka, Others—who got caught up in a big mess started by The Circle—

Arnold: Not all of us are assholes, by the way.

Sara: No one said you were!

Royce: Most of them are. Executives at The Circle did attempt to steal my property. Which, last time I checked, is illegal whether you’re human or Other.

Arnold: Not the point!

Shiarra: Anyway! I ended up doing some stuff I never thought I’d agree to—ever. Unfortunately, it involves Mr. Sensitive over there—

Royce: I don’t have to take this abuse, you know. I managed to get injunctions against the White Hats, I’m sure I can do the same—

Shiarra: Oh, whatever! Look, we have a bunch of adventures, things get wacky, and just read the darn book.

Arnold: *in Summer Blockbuster Guy Voice* It’s bold! It’s new! It’s—

Chaz: Really annoying?

Sara: You guys are such children.

Royce: I’m calling my lawyer.

Shiarra: Are we done yet?

______________

Um, sorry about that. Sometimes my characters have a mind of their own. *sheepish grin*

While I’m here, I’d like to invite you to join me in my celebratory shenanigans over on my blog (http://jesshaines.com/blog/2010/05/04/release-day-is-here/)! Through June 30th, I’m running a contest-slash-experiment. Stick around for a while! There shall be pictures. There shall be swag. There shall be much rejoicing.

Hope you all enjoy my book!

—Jess

Also, for a chance to win a copy of HUNTED BY THE OTHERS by Jess Haines, all you have to do is leave a comment. If you do not have a blog with your e-mail address listed, please list your e-mail address as follows: your e-mail (AT) wherever (DOT) com, so the spam bots won’t send you junk mail. The contest is open to everyone in the world. The contest will end on May 18, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Good luck.

Sorry for the delay folks, but RL took over for a few weeks. 😀

After a book premise has piqued your interest, what keeps you hooked?

Is it the cover?

Is it the first sentence? The first paragraph? The first page?

For me it’s the first sentence. When an author makes me want more from the first sentence, then I’m pretty certain I’ll like the book. For those that don’t, I’ll give it a chance, but expect it to be pretty boring until some action or something begins.

Even when I don’t like a book, I keep reading until the end. Maybe it’s because more than likely I’ve already paid for it, and just have to finish it.

What about you? What hooks you when you read? And do you finish books no matter what? Or do you get bored and put them down forever?

Description from author Jess Haines’ blog : They are the Others — the vampires, mages, and werewolves once thought to exist only in our imaginations. Now they’re stepping out of the shadows, and nothing in our world will ever be the same again…
IN A TOWN LIKE THIS, BEING A P.I. CAN BE MURDER

Shiarra Waynest’s detective work was dangerous enough when her client base was strictly mortal. But ailing finances have forced her to accept a lucrative case that could save her firm — if it doesn’t kill her first. Shiarra has signed on to work for a high-level mage to recover an ancient artifact owned by one of New York’s most powerful vampires.

My impressions: This novel kept my attention and I wanted to know what would happen next. Please know that it is very easy for me to put down a boring book–and this was not one of those. It was an absolute thrill ride. After Shiarra Waynest (Shia) decided to take on an assigment from a high-level mage, her safety went downhill. From being threatened by the most powerful vampire in the state, to being threatened to join a hate group against THE OTHERS, Shia is not sure what her options are. Add a few murders to the plot, and you’ve got yourself a very fun, creative novel. I loved it.
Please pick up a copy on May 4, 2010 or you can even pre-order at any online store now. 😀

There will also be a giveaway in April for a signed copy of this book here on my blog. Check back. 😀

There were 26 official entries. I used random.org to choose a winner. And the winner is Tracey D (Booklover 0226), who was commenter #13. Tracey, send me an e-mail that includes your mailing address and Penguin will send you a signed copy of Angelology. But, if you do not contact me by Sunday, March 14, 2010, then random.org will be consulted for another winner.

Thanks to all who entered! 😀 Please check back. There will be my usual posts, along with reviews and contests.

Okay, now that I have your attention. Not only do I offer a contest, but I conducted a phone interview with Danielle (author of Angelology) from her home in France! 😀 She was so lovely and polite. And yes, I did gush about how much I loved the book. 😀 Read our interview below her picture:

Demon Hunter–1.) What piqued your interests in angels and angelology?
Danielle Trusonni–I’ve always been interested in angels. I went to Catholic school as a child, but I never knew I’d be that interested in them until I stayed at a convent for research. There were beautiful glass windows, and pictures of old medieval churches and convents that were very inspiring to me as well. I think angels are part of our society in a really big way.

DH–2.) In order to conduct research for your novel, you stayed in the convent of Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse, WI, where your grand aunt is a nun. What did you experience there? And how did your stay influence your novel?
DT–I really didn’t know what direction I wanted to go in during the beginning stages of the book. While I was at the convent, I knew I wanted angels to be a part of the novel. And I got a lot of ideas about Evangeline and decided her status of being a nun. Staying at the convent was only part of the research. I also visited all of the major locations mentioned in the book–New York, Paris, and the Devil’s Throat Cavern in the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria. My research spanned two years.

DH–3.) Will the sequel to Angelology begin immediately where it left off, or will a period of time have passed? And will Evangeline remain the main character?
DT–A little bit of time will have passed. Evangeline and Verlaine will remain the two central characters.

DH–4.) What made you decide to write such a dark, fantastical story after your critically acclaimed memoir, Falling Through the Earth?
DT–My memoir was a book I wanted to write for personal reasons. I didn’t have any preconceived genre set for me. I think that it’s impossible to write the same book twice. I always knew that I would write fiction at some point. I think that it’s important for writers to change and evolve. But initially, I didn’t set out to write this kind of novel.

DH–5.) What sparked your interest in writing? And when did you begin your writing journey?
DT–I started writing when I was a teenager. I’ve always loved to read and write. In high school I wrote poetry and took creative writing classes. It took me a while to take writing seriously. I thing I began to take it seriously while I was at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, which gave me the discipline and the time. The time was a luxury.
Angelology was bidded for buy two major motion picture companies. Columbia won the bid. I cannot wait to see this movie and read its sequel. Angelology will be released everywhere on March 9, 2010. Go forth and buy it! You won’t be disappointed. You can read all about Danielle at her two websites:
Danielle Trussoni
Angelologist

Viking has agreed to give away one signed copy to one very lucky commenter. All you have to do is leave a comment. If you do not have a blog with your e-mail address listed, please list your e-mail address as follows: your e-mail (AT) wherever (DOT) com, so the spam bots won’t send you junk mail. The contest is open to everyone in the world. The contest will end on March 10, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Good luck and don’t forget to read my review of Angelology in the post below this one. 😀

Title: Angelology

Author: Danielle Trussoni

Pub Date: March 9, 2010 by Viking Adult

Format: Hardcover, 464 pages

ISBN: 9780143145264

Synopsis: (Penguin) A thrilling epic about an ancient clash reignited in our time-between a hidden society and heaven’s darkest creatures.

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.
Genesis 6:5
Angelology is a riveting, intricately woven tale of a centuries old battle between the secret society of Angelologist and the infamous Nephilim race.

This novel had me enthralled from start to finish. It has been categorized as thriller, dark fantasy, horror, etc. I’m not so much concerned about the category as I am the story. It was amazingly crafted by Ms. Trussoni.

The story follows 23-year-old Sister Evangeline at the St. Rose Convent, Hudson River Valley in Milton, New York. The year is December 23, 1999 and the young nun discovers a 1943 correspondence between deceased philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller and the late Mother Superior of the St. Rose convent.

Discovery of the letter, and a chance meeting with a stranger who was searching for the correspondence, leads Evageline through a phenomenal web of lies and secrets in just 48 hours.

The villian of the story, Percival Grigori, doesn’t disappoint. Even in his frail state, and the fact that he is a few centuries old, he manages to cause great pain to Evangeline and those closest to her, with assistance from some horrific creatures.

At first I was hesistant to review this novel because it contained nuns, angels, and the Nephilim race, just like the current novel I’m working on. 😀 But to my delight, our stories are not similar, and Ms. Trussoni has her own wonderful plot and I love this story. I promise you that this novel is one of the best you’ll read this year. 😀 Pick it up at any store or online.

Disclaimer: As per FTC guidelines, I received a review copy of Angelology from Penguin/Viking. I did not receive any endorsements of any kind, whether that be monetary, gifts, etc.

P.S. I will hold a contest for a signed copy of Angelology beginning tomorrow. Danielle Trussoni can be found here or there.

There were 24 official entries. I used random.org to choose a winner. And the winner is Charles Gramlich, who was commenter #7. Charles, send me an e-mail that includes your mailing address, and David will send you a personalized copy of 33 A.D. with whatever inscription you’d like. But, if you do not contact me by Friday, March 5, 2010, then random.org will be consulted for another winner.

And as for everyone else, thanks for participating. Stay tuned. Later today, I will post a review of another book, and a contest will be held for that book on tomorrow. 😀

P.S. If you’d like to know when and where you can purchase your own copy of 33 A.D., you can check out David McAfee’s blog here. I will mention a release date for it in the future as a reminder.

My friend David McAfee wrote an amazing novel, entitled, 33 A.D. I’ve read it and it is splendid, IMHO. 😀

According to David’s blog, “33 A.D. is the story of a vampire in Biblical Jerusalem who is sent to assassinate Jesus of Nazareth.” In David’s tale, vampires used Pontius Pilate and Judas to further their cause. It is an intricately woven tale of suspense and horror. This novel deserves some attention.

David’s UK publisher, Ghostwriter Publications, will release David’s novel around June 2010. Since David’s previous agent did not sell his U.S. rights, David decided to release the U.S. version himself, but he is still seeking representation and a U.S. publisher. 😉 And this novel deserves both.

I conducted an interview with David about his work. A contest will follow thereafter. 😀

Demon Hunter–1.) How did you come up with the concept for 33 A.D. And did you ever imagine it would offend anyone?
David McAfee: 33 A.D. was inspired by the book Violent Sands, by Sean Young. Violent Sands (Breakneck Books, 2006 – now an imprint of Variance Publishing) is the story of Barabbas, the murderer set free by Pilate instead of Jesus. Young’s book is incredible in its ability to take you back to that time and place, and while I read it, I started to think about what else might have been lurking in the shadows and I started to wonder what a vampire in Biblical Jerusalem would have thought of all the hoopla surrounding Jesus. Viola! The concept for 33 A.D. was born.

I did worry about people getting offended, and I still do. Some people already have, and they let me know about it, too. But the book isn’t meant to be offensive, it’s just a story. I tried pretty hard to get a lot of the details as close to the Bible as possible, which was a real challenge for me because I’m not especially religious. (I bought my first Bible while writing the book and used it for research) But there is only so much you can do when you insert a vampire into the New Testament, and there are people who will not be interested. Thankfully, I have several friends who are deeply Christian and they helped me out (Jeremy Robinson Aprilynne Pike, etc.) by reading it and making sure I didn’t screw up too badly. 😉

DH– 2.) Why do you prefer to write in the horror genre?
DM–That’s a harder question than it seems, because I don’t necessarily prefer to write horror, I just write what I like and it is what it is. I like vampires, but I don’t care for the romantic’s view of them. I like vampires with bite (no pun intended), so I think that is what makes this a horror novel rather than an urban fantasy. That said, if you’ve read any of my short stories, well…those are definitely horror. Huh. I just blather on, don’t I?

DH–3.) How long have you been writing?
DM–I wrote a kids’ book when I was six, does that count? I even illustrated it. It was titled TIGGER MEETS LADY TIGGER. Obviously it violated all sorts of copyright laws, and my parents were far more aware of such things than I was. But I was proud. I’d written a book. At twelve, I started my first horror novel about a giant mutant cat that escaped from a geneticist’s lab and terrorized a small town. A few weeks into writing it I discovered girls, and that piece of fiction remains unfinished to this day. But I’ve only been trying to get published for about 5 years now.

DH–4.) What is your writing dream?
DM–I would love to quit my day job. I know that’s kinda lame, but that’s it. Really. It wouldn’t even take much because my day job doesn’t pay all that well.

DH–5.) Who are some of your writing influences?
DM–Hmmm…there are a lot of them. King, Crichton, R.A. Salvatore, Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickman, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, P.N. Elrod, and several dozen others who helped warp my mind just enough to want to write the weird stuff that comes from my head.

DH–6.) What else are you working on?
DM–33 AD has been taking up a lot of my time, but there are a few things in the pipeline that are growing nicely. Another vampire book, BAIT, is most likely the next novel-length fiction I will write. I love that story, it’s about a guy who uses himself as bait to catch and kill vampires, and he has a very unique method of doing so, but that’s all I’m going to say for now. Keep your eyes and ears open.

DH–7.) Do you think you’ll ever write in another genre? If so, what?
DM–Other than horror? Probably, but I’m one of those annoying people that always tends to think of worst case scenarios. I’ll see someone’s discarded grocery list in a parking lot and wonder if they were attacked before they could finish shopping, or I’ll see a dog riding in the back of some guy’s pickup and start thinking up reasons for the dog not to be in the cab. Usually I come up with things like the dog is vicious and would eat the driver, or it’s possessed and the driver is taking it to an exorcism. That’s just how my mind works. So most of the time when I get an idea for a story, it’s not pretty. That said, I do have one or two non-horror projects in the pipeline, including YA and MG projects.
DH–8.)Do you have to have silence while you write or do you prefer music?
DM–Silence. I used to write to the soundtrack from DRACULA, but I didn’t want it to become a crutch, you know what I mean? So now I close the door to my writing room and tune everything out.

David agreed to give away a signed copy of 33 A.D. to one lucky commenter. All you have to do is leave a comment. If you do not have a blog with your e-mail address listed, please list your e-mail address as follows: your e-mail (AT) wherever (DOT) com, so the spam bots won’t send you junk mail. The contest is open to anyone. The contest will end on March 1, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

The awesome Carleen Brice wrote an equally awesome book titled, ORANGE MINT AND HONEY, which was released February 12, 2008. And the folks over at Lifetime Movie Network thought so as well and bought the movie rights to OMAH. 😀

Being Lifetime and all, they changed the title, and the movie will be called Sins of the Mother, starring Jill Scott and a host of other wonderful stars. The movie will air on Lifetime Movie Network on February 21, 2010, at 8:00 EST.

Also, Carleen has another book, CHILDREN OF THE WATERS, that was released on June 23m 2009. Be sure to pick up both books–not just because she’s my friend, but because she’s a rockin’ author. 😀

You can visit Carleen here, and here, where she encourages White readers to buy Black books.

Oh, and here’s the movie trailer for Sins of the Mother:

P.S. I am posting a contest on Monday for an unrelated work of fiction. 😀