Jeaniene Frost interviews Jocelynn Drake!

     

Jeaniene Frost and Jocelynn Drake both have new titles on sale today: ETERNAL KISS OF DARKNESS and WAIT FOR DUSK. To mark the occasion they sat down to interview each other. For Jocelynn's questions to Jeaniene head over to the Avon Romance Blog.

 

Now, we'll turn it over to Jeaniene's questions to Jocelynn:

 

Today I’m on the other side of the interview coin as I get the chance to chat with bestselling author Jocelynn Drake. Jocelynn’s Dark Days series has garnered raves from critics as well as fellow urban fantasy peers Kim Harrison and Vicki Pettersson, among others *cough, me too, cough*. Jocelynn, welcome! Just sit down and relax. This won’t hurt…much ;-).

 

1.   As many of you may know, the Dark Days series centers around Mira, a vampire who’s unique among her kind for her fire-starting abilities. Tell us a little more about her, please.  

 

Mira has long been one of my favorite characters as she reminds me a lot of myself, but with more violence.  She is sarcastic, dedicated to her family, and compassionate to those who have earned it.  At the same time, she can be extremely stubborn and somewhat impulsive when it comes to jumping into a dangerous situation.  Mira has been a lot of fun to write as she not only has the ability to create and manipulate fire, but she is also growing in other abilities as each book passes.

 

2.   You’ve had two books release in the past thirty days (side note: I envy your productivity! J). Can you please give new readers a little background as to what they’re about?

 

Pray for Dawn was released at the end of June and is a bit of a switch as it is told from the point of view of my vampire hunter, Danaus.  He must help Mira investigate the murder of a Senator’s daughter while at the same time dealing with a dark part of his past.  Meanwhile, it appears that Mira may be losing her mind and Danaus must discover the root to this growing madness.

 

Wait for Dusk will be released today, Tuesday, July 27 and returns to Mira’s point of view.  In this book, Mira and Danaus travel to Budapest at the request of the nightwalker Coven to help stop the naturi from destroying both humans and nightwalkers. At the same time, they along with Stefan and Valerio must unravel a plot to have both Mira and Danaus killed.

 

3.   You did something very bold with PRAY FOR DAWN, where you shifted the narrative point of view from your heroine Mira to the story’s other main protagonist, Danaus. I haven’t seen this done very often in series before, and I really liked the switch. What led you to make that decision? Did you learn anything surprising about Mira / the Dark Days world once you were seeing both through another character’s perspective?

 

I always viewed Danaus as one of the main characters and have felt the need to tell the story from his point of view because his voice was just as important as Mira’s. Also, in many ways, first person point of view can be very limiting.  By switching points of view, I allowed not only a different perspective on Mira, but also a deeper look into Danaus’s personal thoughts. I enjoyed it because it allowed me to delve deeper into Danaus’s past and hopefully better explain some of his own tightly held personal beliefs.

 

4.   Mira’s a vampire, but vamps aren’t the only creatures that inhabit your world. What are some of the other supernatural species occupying the pages of your books?

 

The Dark Days world includes both werewolves and magic users, such as warlocks and witches.  However, the true odd supernatural creatures are the naturi and the bori.  The naturi are a nature-based race that are determined to destroy mankind in an effort to protect the earth.  On the other hand, the bori are a soul-based race that derive their powers and strength from the souls of humans. As a result, the bori and the naturi are natural enemies and frequently use the vampires and werewolves as soldiers against each other in battle.

 

5.   I’ve heard a few “it’s too graphic!” comments regarding some fight sequences in my series, and I know your world can be equally perilous. Have you ever written a scene where you thought, “Uh oh. This may need to be toned down for public viewing.” If so, did you end up changing anything? Or did you decide that the darkness had to be shown in its entirety to relay the authenticity of the event?

 

I have had my fight scenes described as very graphic and detailed.  However, I have never felt compelled to tone down my fight scenes.  My characters are very violent and highly trained creatures that are fighting for their survival.  It also doesn’t help that they enjoy the thrill of the hunt and the blood-pounding excitement of the fight.  I feel like toning down the violence would be robbing them of who they are.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Jocelynn! It was a pleasure speaking with you, and I look forward to seeing you at the RWA convention in Orlando this week. Readers who are attending the huge book fair Wednesday the 28^th can get their hands on Jocelynn’s newest release and have it signed, too. Be sure to come out if you’re in the area!

 

 

Comments

[Dottie]

I have to say, Pray for Dawn was excellently told from Danaus' perspective. He flavors Mira's story with his thoughts and his feelings, giving the reader a taste of what it's to live inside his skin and to know the cravings that go against everything he thought he was.