Charlene Teglia – Interview & Giveaway

Today I have erotic paranormal romance author Charlene Teglia here for an interview and giveaway! Grab a cup of tea, a scone and get comfy while we get to know this awesome lady a bit. 🙂

Sidhe Vicious welcomes Paranormal Erotica author Charlene Teglia! We’re looking forward to getting to know you and all about your novel Claimed By The Wolf.

Charlene – Thanks! Claimed by the Wolf introduces the Shadow Guardians, immortal
warriors who guard humanity from, well, creatures like themselves.

Sidhe -Your Paranormal Erotica novel, Claimed By The Wolf was released in December 2009 by St Martin’s Griffin. Can you tell us about it and a bit about the main characters?
Charlene – The hero, Kenric, is an alpha werewolf whose pack died when he was betrayed by a witch. The heroine, Sybil is an incompetent witch who accidentally unleashes the same dark force that led to those deaths. Romance with baggage! To complicate matters, the only way to make things
right is for Inanna’s immortal warriors, the Shadow Guardians, to transfer their power to her via sex magic.

Sidhe – What about vamps, witches, weres, etc inspired you to write about them?

Charlene – I love witches and werewolves and vampires. And there aren’t enough books with shape-shifting dragons, demons, or sidhe in them.

Sidhe – Will we be seeing more of Sybil, Kenric and the rest of the Shadow Guardians in the future?
Charlene – Yes, Kiss of the Demon is underway and should be out in Oct. of 2010.

Sidhe – How did you get your start in writing? What, if anything, lit the “spark” to get you started and keep you motivated?

Charlene – I wrote all the time, as far back as I can remember. My mom says I made up stories that I acted out with my stuffed animals when I was 3. As for motivation, writing is stress relief, a sanity check, and the way I pay the bills. Then there are the deadlines. I have a lot of motivation to keep my butt in the chair and my hands on the keyboard.

Sidhe – What was the path to publication on this novel like? Highlights? Pitfalls?

Charlene – This book was “book #2” of a contract and was developed after everything else I proposed was rejected, LOL. Proof that necessity is the mother of invention. I had to write something to fulfill the contract.

Sidhe – Did you find it harder or easier to write subsequent novels in this series because of already having created this world?

Charlene – It’s so much easier to start with a world, rules, characters, history. I’d rather build on that than start over from ground zero any day.

Sidhe – Do you have any funny writing quirks or habits that you do when you’re in the “zone” writing?

Charlene – I lose my coffee cups, does that count? Set them down, forget, wander off.

Sidhe – Have you ever met a vampire, werewolf, demon, fae?

Charlene – No, but it would certainly liven up my day if I did.

Sidhe – What supernatural power or creature would you most like to have or be?

Charlene – It’d be fun to fly, but I suppose I should wish for something more useful, like the power to heal.

Sidhe – Who is your favourite paranormal or urban fantasy fictional character and why? (Not counting your own of course).

Charlene – I don’t think I can answer that, I have too many favourites. I love Harry
Dresden, Rachel Morgan, Kate Daniels.

Sidhe – Who’s your favourite author? TV show? Movie?

Charlene – Again, too many favourites. It depends on the mood.

Sidhe – If you could choose one fictional character to bring into real life, who would you choose?

Charlene – Odd Thomas. I’d like to have breakfast with him.

Sidhe – How have the books you’ve read influenced the books you write?

Charlene – I’m not sure it counts as influence, but when you analyze what you read and understand why something you like works for you and why something you don’t like doesn’t, it helps you understand your own work and where your strengths lie.

Sidhe – What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever gotten inspiration from?

Charlene – A tabloid headline (I Was An Alien’s Love Slave, Ellora’s Cavemen
Seasons of Seduction III)

Sidhe – What do you do when you’re having writer’s block to “shake” it off?

Charlene – Writer’s block is a complex issue, so it depends on the problem. If the story is stuck, then I do character interviews, brainstorm on paper, etc. until I figure out the problem. Or I switch gears and write something else; that will often shake loose whatever’s stuck on story A. If  it’s a case of too much work, not enough play, the well needs refilling. Resting, reading, etc. will fix it.

Sidhe – What can a new reader expect from your book/series?

Charlene – The Shadow Guardians are very erotic stories with romance and danger and fun.

Sidhe – You write about various types of supernatural creatures. Do you do a lot of research or do you prefer to take what you already know and use your imagination for the rest?

Charlene – I do a ton of research. And I use my imagination. I usually reverse-engineer for world-building elements.

Sidhe – Are any of your characters particularly fun or easy for you to write? Any that are more difficult?

Charlene – The dragon shape-shifter was very easy to write. Kenric was a stone bastard, but I wrestled him down in the end.

Sidhe – Do you have any tips for aspiring speculative fiction writers?

Charlene – Read, read, read, read. Write, write, write, write, write. And get your hands on Plot by Ansen Dibell, it’s an excellent resource for solutions to myriad kinds of story problems.

Sidhe – Thanks so much Charlene for being here at SVR. It was great to get to know you!

Charlene – Thanks for asking me, it was fun.

——————————————————————————————————————–

Giveaway Details:

Charlene is graciously offering up a signed copy of Claimed By The Wolf to one randomly picked commenter. (US only this time).

So if you had to pick between a werewolf, a dragon shape-shifter, a vampire, a sidhe lord or a demon for your significant sexy other, which would you choose and why? Charlene may also be popping by for the next day or two to reply to comments, so if you have any burning questions for her, feel free to ask away. 🙂

For one entry: Please leave a comment with the answer to the question.

For  extra entries: 

– Subscribe to my blog, Sidhe Vicious Reviews, through the links at the top right hand side of the blog, and let me know in your comment. Be sure you verify your subscription through the email you’ll receive or it won’t count. (+1 entry)

– If  you’re already subscribed, you’ll receive an extra entry, but be sure to let me know in the comments. (+2 entries)

– Post a link to this contest on your Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, GoodReads, LibraryThing, or on your blog and send me the link either in the comments or by email and you’ll get an extra entry for each place you add a link to.

Contest is open to USA only and will run through January 21st until 11:59pm. The winners will be posted here on the 22nd. Please leave your email addy in your comment for me to contact you if you’ve won. If I haven’t heard back from the winner/s in 7 days, a new winner will be drawn from the eligible comments. Winners will be chosen by a random number generator. Good Luck everyone!