Immortally Yours--New from Angie Fox

Killer Hobbies welcomes New York Times bestselling author Angie Fox. She has a new series coming out about a group of paranormal MASH surgeons. She’s stopped by today to give away a signed copy of Immortally Yours and to talk with us about the new book.

To start, how did you come up with the plot for IMMORTALLY YOURS?

I wanted to do something different. Plus, I love writing books that are not only about the hero and heroine, but also about the community where they live. A quirky, paranormal M*A*S*H unit sounded like a blast to write. Plus, I love books about special ops soldiers. So I made my hero a tough-as-nails wounded warrior and my heroine is the doctor who saves him (in more ways than one).

IMMORTALLY YOURS definitely has your trademark humor. It’s ironic – and amusing. How natural is it for you to write “funny”? Is it ever a challenge to rein it in for the more serious parts?

One of the challenges – and the great joys – of writing Immortally Yours was balancing the humor with the drama of war.

Petra and her colleagues at the MASH 3063^rd have been drafted until the end of the conflict, which is bad for Petra but even worse for people like her vampire roommate, Marius. They’re living in this quirky, ad-hock camp, trying to make the best of it while they work long hours in the OR, putting soldiers back together – knowing that they’re probably going to see these injured heroes again and again – if they’re lucky.

The underlying tragedy brings the oddball personalities in the camp together. They develop ways to keep their sanity and to create the kind of relationships that offer a port in the storm.

What can you tell us about Petra’s otherworldly sidekicks? (Are you an animal lover in general? They always seem to make a lot of appearances in your books.)

I am an animal lover. While there are no actual pets in Immortally Yours, we do have some creatures. I couldn’t resist. And really, it’s not Petra’s fault. Her roommate Rodger just happens to be keeping a few small swamp monsters. And when those babies shock him by having more babies, he has no choice but to adopt them out all over camp. Then we do have some supporting characters who happen to be creatures, like Jeffe the guard sphinx. On a side note, Jeffe is one of my favorite characters to write because he’s so infuriatingly logical, and it comes off in some unexpected ways.

Are there a set number of books for this series?

It’s a trilogy. At the same time, each book will read as a stand-alone and each book has its own happy ending, because, let’s face it: we need happy endings these days

Tell us about the creative marketing strategies for your books.

Angie Fox

I’m all about creative marketing. It’s fun and my brain just thinks that way. Like for the Accidental Demon Slayer series, I developed the What’s Your Biker Witch Name quiz? It went viral, which has been a blast. You haven’t lived until you get emails from physicists in China telling you that their biker witch names are things like Wino Wally No Brakes and Two Date Tessa Hard Rider. And now for a shameless plug: you can get your biker witch name at: www.angiefox.com.

For Immortally Yours, I’m doing a quirky little viral program that is cracking me up right now because it is getting slightly out of control (which in my world, means things are going well). I’m offering readers an interactive experience that centers around the news network that is covering the war.

In this new series, PNN is the paranormal version of CNN. So I’m basically setting up the “official” PNN website to be like The Onion, only paranormal. It allows me to have a blast, while giving readers a taste of the series and immersing them in the world of PNN.

The Giveaway

In fact, I’m centering my giveaway today around PNN. Just post your favorite headline from www.PNN-Network.com in the comments section below and you’re entered to win a signed copy of Immortally Yours!

Chill Me, Thrill Me and The Big Read--Plus a Contest

I've had a dream week for an author.

Chill Me, Thrill Me
On Wednesday, I was part of a panel called "Chill Me, Thrill Me" for the St. Charles City-County Library. The event was organized by Fedora AMIS, and our "Queen of Clues" was Eileen Dreyer. Let me tell you that Eileen is a tough act to follow on any panel because she's "roll in the aisles" hilarious. Eileen is a nurse by training, and she said that one reason she loves writing mysteries is that in her books the bad guys get theirs and the good people live happily ever after. Also on our panel was Wilfred Bereswill, who stopped by a local casino to do a little research beforehand, Eleanor Sullivan, who became a fiction writer after writing textbooks, and Angie Fox, who wrote before the sun came up on a daily basis until she penned a New York Times extended list bestseller which has just gone back for a second printing.

My friend and bookseller Lynn Oris was there from Barnes & Noble, so we went out to eat afterwards. She has such a lively mind, and she knows her books. I learned from Lynn that the practice of allowing booksellers to return unsold books began after WWII when the economy was bad. Bookstores were afraid to take a chance on new authors, so booksellers said let us ship you books and if they don't sell, return them.

The Big Read
On Friday my dear friend Emilie Richards came to town for The Big Read, and we had a perfect dinner at Cafe Napoli outside on the little patio where people-watching was almost as fabulous as the Chicken Napoli we ordered.

On Saturday, I met with Emilie, Tess Gerritsen and Julie Compton for an interview with Claire Applewhite. Claire asked great questions, and once it's done, I'll be sure to link this blog to it. I always enjoy seeing Tess. She has such a scientific mind, and she'd gone to The Big Read early to catch a panel on a topic that interested her.
I had "met" Julie over the 'net, and liked her immediately, so it was great to meet her in the flesh. She's from St. Louis, and set her book Tell No Lies here. I just started reading it and was blown away by her talent. Once in a while, you read a book and think, "Wow, I wish I'd written that." Tell No Lies made me pea-green with jealousy. That girl can WRITE.

And Emilie, well, she's such a dear to me. I told her I wanted to try my hand at quilting again, so she brought me the five books on quilting that were created to go along with her Shenandoah Album series. I'm reading Touching Stars from that series, and everytime I read something by Emilie, I'm struck anew at how deftly she uses internal conflict in her characters to propell the plot.

I moderated The Big Read panel, and boy, was I nervous. I wanted to show Tess, Emilie and Julie in the best light possible--to ask questions that really gave the audience a sense of what fabulous women they are as well as a taste of what they write.

Marketing Your Book

After the panel, Angie Fox and I taught a class called Marketing Your Book. We had worked hard on the outline, and I believe that paid off. Emilie and Julie sat in. They said it was the best, most concrete session on the subject they'd ever heard. High praise from those two experts!

Julie, Emilie and I went to dinner at Trattoria Marcella's on The Hill, the Italian section of St. Louis, and then on to Ted Drewes for custard. (Angie had a babysitter to relieve.)

It's been a charmed few days. To celebrate, I made this Big Read journaling box. Isn't it fun? Email me at savetales@aol.com and I'll send you the file. Well, creating the journaling box was not nearly as much fun as I've had the past few days!

CONTEST

Introducing Magnificent Mondays! From now on the THIRD Monday of every month will be a Magnificent Monday. Starting NEXT Monday if you are one of the commenters, you can win a prize. In keeping with the season, our prize NEXT Monday, October 20, will be a copy of The Wheels of Darkness, a spooky thriller by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Want to enjoy a shiver up your spine? Post a comment next Monday and maybe you'll win! Tell your friends and maybe they'll share!

And check out my personal blog http://joannaslan.blogspot.com/ I'll be writing about my year as a debut author PLUS offering cool prizes there as well.

BLOG VISIT

I'll be a guest blogger on The Lipstick Chronicles, Saturday, October 18, 2008, the same day I'll be appearing at the Kingsport (TN) Times Women's Expo.

I figure we all need a laugh, and I think you'll get a chuckle out of my guest post about my husband's ongoing battle with moles.

Check it out at http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com