Welcome special guest: author Erin Kellison @EKellison

Today we have author, Erin Kellison, visiting. Erin is the author of the Shadow Series, which includes Shadow Bound and Shadow Fall, as well as Shadowman (Sept 2011), and the e-novella Shadow Touch. She lives in Arizona and hides from the sun by writing books featuring a land filled with shadows.

* So, Erin, what inspired you to become a writer?
Reading. I’ve always loved to read. Books were my refuge and my passage to other worlds. When I finished a book, my imagination wouldn’t shut off and I would think of my own stories. Now I write them.
* When did you attempt your first story? What length was it? What's become of it?
I asked for a typewriter for Christmas when I was in the fourth grade, with the intent of writing stories. I remember trying to stare it down. I’m sure I attempted many, but I didn’t finish any. I tried a novel in sixth grade (a dark fantasy adventure), never completed. I think I wrote my first full short story when I was twelve. I believe it was called The Three Wishes. It’s stored in the garage with my stuff from when I was a kid.
* How many stories did you complete before you sold your first?
I finished several flash fiction stories, somewhat less short stories, and I co-wrote with my sister a novel-length chick-lit suspense mystery. Shadow Bound, the first in my Shadow series, was my first complete solo effort. I had a lot of half-finished stuff though.
* What genre(s) do you write in? What drew you to write in it/them? What’s your favorite genre of all to write in?

I write dark fantasy romance. I love fantasy—have read it all my life. I grew up on Lord of the Rings. I was nerdy enough to try to learn the Elvish language in junior high. And I love romance, especially if it’s dark. My first romance was Jane Eyre (6^th grade—my mom said it was too hard for me to read, so I was determined to do so. Took me a year. Changed me forever.) Love gothic romance.
* What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?
Worst writing advice: This book won’t sell. Best writing advice: Write the story of your heart.
* How do you celebrate/deal with acceptance/rejection letters?
Hugs in both cases. My hero husband is amazing—we make sure to celebrate all successes, no matter how small. For rejections, I wallow a bit, and then I move on.
* In regard to the book you’re promoting, which actor and actress do you envision playing the roles of your hero and heroine? If there’s a villain or other characters who are pertinent to the story, who would play those parts?
    I’m afraid my hero, Shadowman, would have to be CGI. He’s made out of shadow, for one thing. And for another, he’s the Grim Reaper. His appearance changes depending on the attitudes of the person regarding him—if a person conceives Death as Skeletor from He-Man, then Shadowman looks like Skeletor. If Death is a friend, he appears as a friend. If the person thinks of him as a lover, then that is how he comes to her.
    I think Bryce Dallas Howard would work well for my heroine, Layla Mathews.
    My villain, Rose Anne Petty, could be played by Katie Holmes. She should try a bad guy.
    For Fate, who is my big baddy, Cate Blanchett, who is awesome in anything. In fact she can play all the women. She can play Shadowman too.
* The book you’re promoting, is it a stand-alone story or part of a series? If it’s part of a series, please list the order the books need to be read in for maximum reading enjoyment.

    My Shadow series thus far consists of Shadow Bound, Shadow Fall, and Shadowman. Though they are all part of a series, with a shared world and cross-over characters, they should also stand-alone. I also have a novella series, starting with Shadow Touch. Future installments are in the works as we speak. Part II will release next May.
    The spark for the series was my first heroine, a banshee. I was looking for a mythological being that had the same kind of darkness and pathos that I love in vampires. I grabbed hold of the idea and wouldn’t let go.
*** Now for some fun info… ***
* Which do you prefer: rain or sun & warm weather or cold weather?
I love cool, crisp fall weather. I miss it where I live in Arizona.
* Are you a morning person or night owl?
Morning person, used to be night person. I don’t know what happened.
* What’s your favorite number?
7

*** About the book/series… ***

The back cover blurb:
Ghosts
They haunt the halls of the Segue Institute, terrifying the living, refusing to cross over. But one soul is driven by a very different force.
Love
It survives even death. And Kathleen O'Brien swore she would return to those she was forced to leave too soon.
Shadowman
He broke every rule to have her in life; now he will defy the angels to find her in death.
The Gate
Forging it is his single hope of being reunited with his beloved, but through it an abomination enters the world. Leaving a trail of blood and violence, the devil hunts her too. Pursued through realms of bright fantasy and dark reality, Kathleen is about to be taken...

Shadowman, book three in my Shadow series, came out just last week. Shadowman was introduced in the prologue of Shadow Bound, book one, which is excerpted here: http://www.erinkellison.com/books/shadowBound.html

~ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shadowman-Erin-Kellison/dp/142011896X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1295912023&sr=8-5
~ B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadowman-erin-kellison/1102991105?ean=9781420118964&itm=3&usri=erin%2bkellison
~ Books-A-Million:  http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9781420118964?id=4959123444020
~ Indie Bound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781420118964

***Find Erin here***

Website: www.ErinKellison.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/erinkellisonauthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ekellison

Thank you for joining us here today, Erin! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your work.
Erin says: I’m happy to give a set of my Shadow books, Shadow Bound, Shadow Fall, and Shadowman, to a random lucky commenter.  All readers have to do is say hi and leave their email addy. The contest will run for a week, when I will notify the winner. And it’s open to international readers.