*Do you have a specific writing style?
For
whatever reason, I like writing in first person present. I think it’s because
they’re my favorite to read. Most people read to escape, to be transported to
another world, to be another person. I know it’s why I do. While I have that
book in my hands (or pen to paper) I am no longer Jennifer Harlow, I get to be
a warrior. A singleton in London. Eleanor of Aquitaine. And since it’s in the
present, it’s as if the action is happening right now. Of course what I like to
read translates into what I like to write. Fast, funny, scary how a book should
be.
*Is the book, characters, or any scenes
based on a true life experience, someone you know, or events in your own life?
I
didn’t mean it to. I didn’t even realize it until I had finished my third
FREAKS book (out next year) that my main character Bea’s life trajectory was
following my own, though mine is minus zombies and vampire. I wrote the first
FREAKS book Mind Over Monsters while
I was in college. Deep down I was scared to death to have to go out into the
world and get a full time job, to grow up. So my subconscious, who is far
smarter than my conscious that’s for sure, forced me to subject my main
character to the worst job I could think of. Nothing Jennifer Harlow could face
would ever measure up to being attacked by hordes of zombies. This trend
continued, still unknown to me, into the second To Catch a Vampire. When I was writing it I was in the process of
moving cross country. Alone. So poor Bea had to leave the safety of her new
home with an unknown element, Oliver, to face new challenges and meet new
people, vampires in this case. I think maybe this is why so many people can
identify with Bea and her adventures.
*What books are in your to read pile?
I’ve
gotten so behind in my book reading. Right now on my Kindle I have two dozen
unreads, including my friend Emily Kimelman’s mystery Unleashed about a sassy dog walker in NYC. I’m about halfway
through it and love it. I also have to catch up on my Walking Dead comics, about three superhero books, and I’m slowly
going through Agatha Christie’s cannon to keep up with my New Year’s Resolution
on reading the classics.
*What is your current “work in progress”
or upcoming projects?
I
signed another three book deal with Midnight Ink on top of the F.R.E.A.K.S.
Squad books. The first in the Midnight Magic series What’s a Witch to Do? comes out 3/13. It takes place in the same
world as the F.R.E.A.K.S., they even make a cameo, but is a stand-alone about a
witch in a small Southern town who bands together with a secretive werewolf to
find out who’s summoned a demon to kill her and take control of her coven. I
got to write my first sex scene, which was uncomfortable as I did it in a
library and was paranoid everyone knew I was being naughty. I just finished
writing the second in the series and am editing it now. And I just handed in
the edits on the third F.R.E.A.K.S. I don’t sleep.
*Can you share a little of your current
work with us?
Here’s
the elevator pitch: Special Agent Beatrice Alexander is still settling to a
life as a F.R.E.A.K., wiping out zombies and other supernatural threats when
she gets paired with the annoying yet gorgeous Oliver to go undercover as a
married couple to infiltrate the vampire scene and stop a murderous vampire
Lord of Dallas hell bent on exacting revenge. If you like flirting, humor, and
boiling sexual tension you’ll like this one.
*Is there anything you find
particularly challenging in your writing?
Descriptions. I
learned the basics of writing during my screenplay years, so dialogue and
pacing are like second nature to me now, (helps that I’m a wise ass too).
Descriptions, not so much. I either put in too much or too little. I hate
writing them because I know I’ll have to go back a trillion times in the
editing process to fix them until they’re readable. Show not tell is the bane
of my bloody existence. I’ve written seven books, and I still have a problem
with it.
*Do you have any advice for other
writers?
Never.
Give. Up. Getting to this point took me ten years, and I still have a long way
to go. I’ve lost count of how many rejection letters I’ve received in that
time, and they still keep coming. But I just didn’t give up. Remember The Help was rejected sixty times. Harry Potter fifteen. Just write, read,
and write some more. If you want it bad enough and are willing to work for it,
it will happen. I am proof of that.
*Do you have a song or playlist (book
soundtrack) that you think represents this book?
I
grew up amid chaos. Even at night there was always some noise in the house so I
don’t do silence. I always listen to music when I write, so at my website www.jenniferharlowbooks.com I
include the playlist of every book. They’re either songs I listened to when I
was putting pen to paper or a song that just fits in with the theme. Music
really does add more to the writing experience, much like a movie score. So
check out the website, you may just find your new favorite song.
September 1 Tour Launch
Fang-tastic Books
Sept 1 review
WTF Are You Reading?
September 3 Guest blog
September 4 Review
Nazish Reads
September 6 guest blog and review
Keeping Up With The Rheinlander's
September 7 Guest Blog and review
Urban Fantasy Investigations
September 8 Promo and review
whoopeeyoo :D
September 9 Interview and review
Book Maven
September 11 Interview
Sultry Storyteller
September 12 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm
September 13 Guest blog
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
September 15 Guest blog
Just Another Rabid Reader
September 18 review
Doctor's Notes
September 19 Interview
Sept 21 Guest blog and Review
Urban Girl Reader
To Catch a Vampire
Jennifer Harlow
A F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation #2
Genre: Paranormal Mystery/Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Date of Publication: 9/8/12
ISBN: 978-0-7387-2711-0
Number of pages: 288
Word Count: 78,000
CLASSIFIED
F.R.E.A.K.S. Do Dallas
Beatrice Alexander, telekinetic special agent, is still adjusting to life among the F.R.E.A.K.S. while wiping out zombies and other supernatural threats. When Bea learns about her “special assignment” investigating a series of human disappearances with Oliver Montrose, her gorgeous but annoying vampire co-worker, she reluctantly agrees to go undercover.
Disguised as a married couple, they infiltrate the gothic vamp scene in Dallas. While sniffing out clues, Oliver's convincing public—and not so public—displays of affection have Bea swooning in her bustier and fishnets.
Between contending with her fake husband’s ex-lover Marianna and feeling guilty for hiding the mission from her werewolf crush Will, Bea discovers she’s not the only F.R.E.A.K. keeping secrets. Clubbing with the undead turns bloody when Oliver's old enemy, the Lord of Dallas, decides to seek his revenge. Caught in the crossfire, Bea is up to her neck in blood-sucking trouble.
About Jennifer Harlow:
Jennifer Harlow spent her restless childhood fighting with her three brothers and scaring the heck out of herself with horror movies and books. She grew up to earn a degree at the University of Virginia which she put to use as a radio DJ, crisis hotline volunteer, bookseller, lab assistant, wedding coordinator, and government investigator. Currently she calls Northern Virginia home but that restless itch is ever present. In her free time she continues to scare the beejepers out of herself watching scary movies and opening her credit card bills.
Visit Jennifer at www.jenniferharlowbooks.com
Tales From the Darkside Blog
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jenharlowbooks
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jenharlowbooks/
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2 comments:
Book looks great. Never read one before by you.
debby236 at gmail dot com
I like first person too- puts you right in the story, in the character's head.
All of my fave books are written from first person point of view.
That's how I usually write too.
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