Yasmine Galenorn – Interview & Giveaway

Today readers, we have the pleasure of New York Times’ Bestselling author, Yasmine Galenorn, stopping by for an interview! Her up-coming release, Bone Magic, will be out on shelves January 5th, so we’re launching her book promotions from here. Yasmine will be responding to comments today and possibly tomorrow, time permitting, so let’s be sure to give her a warm welcome. The details of the giveaway will be at the end of the interview, and it’s a big one, so be sure to read all the way to the end. 🙂

Welcome back to SVR Yasmine!

Sidhe – Bone Magic, book 7 in your Otherworld Series is out on January 5th. Congrats on writing such a successful and exciting series! Can you start things off by telling us a bit about the book?

Yasmine – Bone Magic marks a major turning point for several of the characters. Camille undergoes a drastic ritual at the hands of the Moon Mother and the Black Unicorn that will forever change her life; Chase faces an incredible shift in his life in a life-or-death situation, a significant portion of Iris’s past is revealed, paving the way for me to write a novella about her, and we say goodbye to a minor but recurring character when the demons do some permanent damage.

Sidhe – I recall from past interviews that you identify most with the character Camille. Do you find yourself sometimes putting characteristics of people that you know into your characters? Or are you just more of a people watcher and you utilize some characteristics from all over?

Yasmine – Most of the characters have some aspect of me-Camille especially, but as far as putting aspects of friends and family in characters-well, that’s bound to happen, but in bits and pieces. And I do people watch-I shamelessly watch people when I’m out and so the characters evolve from every which way.

Sidhe – Do you listen to music while you write to inspire you? If so, are there any bands/singers who resonate especially while writing the D’Artigo sisters and the world you’ve created in your Otherworld Series?

Yasmine – Yes, about 70% of the time. And each book has a playlist which you’ll find on my website under the descriptions of the individual books. I’m also starting to add them into the books themselves so people can find them in the back. I do have some songs that appear over and over, and others that I connect with certain characters. The song Believe by the Bravery-that fits the overall series almost like a theme song. Other recurring songs on the playlists: When the Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin), Half-Light (Low), a LOT of songs from Gary Numan, especially his darker, newer material. I listen to bands like Seether, Saliva, Orgy, Oingo Boingo, Thompson Twins, Gabrielle Roth, and many, many more.

Sidhe – You’ve crafted an amazing world, how do you keep track of all the details when writing a multi-book series?

Yasmine – I have what I call my Research Notebooks from Hell for every series. After each manuscript is accepted by my editor, I go through and update the entire notebook. I’ve done workshops on this subject for writers, before-organizing when you’re writing a series. The notebooks contain everything from character development through the books to subplot arcs/major arcs, bestiaries, military entanglements, places/groups/shops etc. for each world I’m writing.

Sidhe – I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but Camille goes through some major experiences in this book, both personally and with her loved ones in their world. Do you have a hard time unwinding after writing, what must be very emotional for you, scenes involving your much-loved characters?

Yasmine – Yes, actually, I do. I’m usually so brain-fried that all I want to do is immerse myself in TV. I’m almost always too tired to read-I read on breaks between books. Exercise helps, sex helps me get out of my head, taking a drive and just sitting at Starbucks helps…but until I finish the book, I’m always immersed in it whether I’m writing or not.

Sidhe – How many more books do you have coming up in this series? (Enquiring fans want to know) 🙂

Yasmine – However many that my publisher and I can negotiate for me to write. There are so many ways I can take this world that I am by no means done. Once the spirit seals story arc is tied up (and it won’t be by book 9 but it’s getting there), I have other plans for the sisters.

Sidhe – Do you have any new books or series in the works that we can look forward to?

Yasmine – Yes, Night Myst, the first book in the Indigo Court Series, will be out late next June.  Here’s the blurb for it:

Eons ago, vampires tried to turn the Dark Fae in order to harness their power. Instead, they created a demonic enemy more powerful than they dared to dream. Bent on enslaving the world, the Vampiric Fae have been quietly massing their strength for centuries. Now, Myst, queen of the Indigo Court, is rising again…and a long-prophesied war is brewing…

Born a witch, Cicely Waters can control the wind. When her Elemental warns her that her aunt and cousin are in danger, she packs her Pontiac GTO and returns home for the first time in twenty years. But the magical town of New Forest, Washington has changed. The Indigo Court holds the city in fear; people are vanishing, and strange deaths plague the town. Swept into an unexpected and passionate reunion with her trusted childhood friend Grieve, the Fae prince who taught her how to harness the wind, Cicely finds herself with a fierce and territorial lover. But Grieve has become enslaved by Myst’s court, and now both lovers must walk a fine line to survive the machinations of the Vampiric Fae Queen. Caught between two evils, both vying for supremacy, Cicely must fight for her family and her future. As she discovers the hidden secrets to her own heritage, will she lose her soul in the process?

Sidhe – How do you get yourself to write on days where you’re not feeling it? Or how do you keep at it when the going’s rough?

Yasmine – I remind myself of how bad the panic is when I’m on a hard deadline and behind. I also remind myself that this is my career-not a hobby-and whether I feel like it or not, the work I produce turns out tight and well-written. If this were a hobby I could just walk away, but my readers depend on me, I have legal contracts with my publisher that must be fulfilled, and this is how I make my living. You can’t just knock off work every time you feel like it if you have a ‘day job’ , and likewise, I can’t just fuck around when I feel like it.

Sidhe – Besides the awesome artwork that Tony Mauro does for your covers, do you have any pictures of people/celebrities who remind you of your characters to motivate or inspire you?

Yasmine – I adore Tony-he’s the most incredible artist and he’ll be doing the art for my new series too. I’m so thankful for that and can hardly wait to see the art for Night Myst. As far as your question, some of the anime inspires me-both story and artwork. InuYasha and Bleach have really impacted me. Most celebrities don’t, but characters, series, movies do. Hellboy I & II, the Xmen movies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the first couple seasons of Supernatural, Fringe, all of these spark off new ideas.

Sidhe – Do you have anything else you’d like to share with readers?

Yasmine – I’d like to invite people over to my blog this month -I’ve got a lot of contests and fun posts going up. And I’m Twitter-you can find me there. Please, sign up for my newsletter on my website because that is the easiest way, other than visiting my website, to keep up with updates and new releases. I hope you love Bone Magic and Inked-both of which are out on January 5, 2010.  Bone Magic is the 7th book in the Otherworld Series, and Etched in Silver, my novella in Inked, is the story of how Camille and Trillian first met.

I’d like to thank Yasmine for taking the time to come by Sidhe Vicious Reviews. We wish you much continued success and can’t wait to read more of your captivating novels!

Thank you for having me-and for sponsoring this contest. I enjoyed it!

Yasmine

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Live Chat Info:

Before we get to the giveaway details, I have an announcement to make! If you’ve ever wanted to chat in real-time with Yasmine, then tomorrow, on December 6, you’ll want to join us for the online chat with Yasmine in the Moon Stalkers Forum. Yasmine will be sharing an excerpt from Bone Magic during the chat, that will only be available to forum members during the chat that evening. Here’s the info, “Chat: December 6^th, 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time, my forums: http://www.galenorn.com/Bulletin (case-sensitive).  You MUST register for my forums to join. The special excerpt will be posted right before and I’ll give the link to people in the chat. The excerpt will only remain up for 24 hours.” So head on over to register and get in on the chat!

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Giveaway Details:

Yasmine is generously providing not one, but 6 books to 6 winners!! 🙂 There are 2 copies of Demon Mistress, 2 copies of Night Huntress and 2 copies of Dragon Wytch.

For one entry: Please leave a comment telling us whether Witches, Vampires, Shifters or Fae are your favorite Paranormal characters and why. OR (for today only, the 5th, you can ask Yasmine a question in lieu of answering the original comment 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 additional 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 Canada and USA and will run through December 16th. The winners will be posted here on the 17th. 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! 🙂