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In celebration of Wild Hunt’s release, I’ve teamed up with The Good The Bad and The Unread and you can win a copy of Unbound or the Wild Hunt. The hero of Wild Hunt is Risk’s (hero of Unbound’s) son. If you missed out on reading Unbound this is your chance–it’s only available used or as an e-book right now. Check out the contest here…
Author of: GHOST MOON, the latest in the Berkley Sensation Moon series
Favorite Candy: Red Hots (little cinnamon hearts)
Favorite Cartoon Character: Rick Redfern in Doonesbury
Super Power Most Covets: Ability to step outside of time
Q.) Your new release, Ghost Moon, (May 2008) is part of your “Moon” series with Berkley Sensation. How many books are in the series so far? Can you tell us a bit about the series and the newest addition to it?
R.Y.) There are six previous books and two novellas. I had no idea I was writing a series when I started. But after Berkley bought that first book, they asked for more. I’m often asked, “Why is the hero in the second book in your werewolf series not a werewolf?” I still didn’t “get it” that the hero of the book had to be a werewolf. I fell in love with Jack Thornton, the police detective in KILLING MOON, and wanted to write his story. So my first werewolf, Ross Marshall, became a strong secondary character in that book. I love writing about a family of werewolves because I can bring back characters from previous books and use them in key roles in new stories.
Since I hadn’t planned a series, I realized after a few books that I would need to introduce new elements to keep the books fresh. So I created an alternate universe that’s very different from ours. Characters cross over between the two universes. In that other timeline, lots of people have psychic powers. Some of them are werewolves who are not part of the Marshall family. In fact, there are also female werewolves in that universe.
Q.) You obviously love werewolves. How are your weres different from others? What traditional werewolf lore do you keep in your books?
R.Y.) Actually, I haven’t read many werewolf books because I don’t want to be influenced by other authors. When I was fifteen, I read DARKER THAN YOU THINK, by Jack Williamson. It was a werewolf story so vivid that he made me want to BE a werewolf. Later, I read THE WOLF’S HOUR, by Robert McCammon. Those two books stuck with me, and finally I wanted to write my own werewolf story. But back then, paranormal was not “in” in the publishing world, so I kept thinking, “who would buy a werewolf book from ME?” I knew that if I wanted to sell the book, I’d have to write the whole manuscript on speculation. I resisted for a long time, but finally I went ahead and did that. And I was lucky that Berkley bought it just before the big paranormal wave began to surge.
I think I don’t use a lot of the old werewolf conventions, although I’m not sure because I didn’t deliberately investigate them before I started writing. I picked what I wanted to use–and it’s basically the idea of a man who can change to wolf form. There’s nothing special about the full moon. You don’t get to be a werewolf by being bitten by one. Instead, it’s a genetic trait. And, of course, my werewolves are the good guys in my books.
Q.) On your web site you say romantic thrillers are your passion. Can you define the term for us? Do you consider all your books to be romantic thrillers?
R.Y.) I’ve debated with my writer friends what “thriller” means. I think it’s the new, sexy word for “suspense.” It’s a fast-paced story where the hero (and or heroine) is in danger, being hunted by sinister forces out to destroy him/her. The emphasis is on the danger and the action, not the mystery, although there should also be a mystery element to the story. And, of course, in my books, the romance is as strong as the suspense. I love weaving the suspense and the romance together in a book so that the story depends on both of them to work.
Q.) Not all of your books have paranormal elements. Do you find it hard switching between a paranormal book and one without those elements?
R.Y.) No. 
I realized early in my career that I was much better at writing romantic suspense than at writing straight romance because I love plotting as much as I love developing relationships. The paranormal just works in naturally with a lot of my suspense stories, because I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy when I was a kid.
Q.) Are you a plotter or a pantser? Character-driven or plot driven? Ever try to be the opposite? Do you have a set method you use when starting a book?
R.Y.) I am a plotter. The plots in my stories are complicated, so I need to know where they are going and how they will work out. If I get my choice, I like to write as much of the plot as I can think of, then stop and write two or three chapters so I get to know my characters. Then I go back and fill in some of the plot holes. I have always wondered about the distinction between character-driven and plot-driven. I think those two key elements must work together. The most important thing about any scene is how the characters react. You can have a man dangling off the side of a cliff, and it will be exciting. But if the heroine’s heart is in her throat as she tries to rescue him, the scene will be a lot stronger.
Q.) What can readers expect to find in all your books no matter the subgenre?
R.Y.) A heart-tugging romance woven into a story of suspense and danger.
Q.) Who and what do you read for fun? How about movies? Any favorite werewolf movies? How about any that “gnawed” at you?
R.Y.) I haven’t really seen any werewolf movies! I did like the TV series, WOLF LAKE, and I was sorry that it went off the air so quickly. I don’t have a lot of time to read, so I listen to books. Mostly in the car or when I exercise. I’m listening to two books now, HIGH NOON, by Nora Roberts, and PLUM ISLAND, by Nelson DeMille. I listen to a lot of thrillers. And I look for ones with a romance. But I’m constrained by what the publishers put on tape. My husband and I often listen to Nora Roberts, Harlan Coben, Clive Cussler, Dick Francis, Carl Hiaasen, Terry Pratchett, Tess Gerritsen. If there were more paranormal books on tape, I’d listen to them.
Q.)Any new projects on the horizon? What would you like to try next?
R.Y.) I’m always working on a new book. Right now I’m finishing ETERNAL MOON. The heroine is the reincarnation of a goddess, and the werewolf hero is the reincarnation of her lover. They have been torn apart over and over down through the years by evil forces. But this time, hopefully, Jacob Marshall is strong enough to help Renata Cordona break the cycle. Readers meet Jacob in GHOST MOON. As I was writing that book, he threatened to take it over, so I knew I had to do his story. He’s got an interesting talent. He’s a “dog whisperer.” He’s able to communicate with animals–and this talent is very important in ETERNAL MOON.
Q.) Finally, where can readers find you on the web?
R.Y.) I’m at www.rebeccayork.com I hope readers will come and visit. In my picture gallery (under new pictures), I’ve got some great wolf photos from Bays Mountain Park, in Kingsport, Tennessee. Most of them were taken by Karen Travis. You can also sign up for my newsletter. Newsletter subscribers are also eligible to enter the contests that I run. On my home page, you can see my book trailer for GHOST MOON. And I have a page with video interviews and previous book trailers.
Back to Lori: Great interview, Rebecca! Thanks for answering all my questions. Ghost Moon will be available May 6th, but readers can hop over to Amazon
I’m blogging over at Romancing the Blog today, on the ins and outs of what being a “bestseller” means–or not…
“THE MULESKINNER” is a publication focused on the Soldiers of the 35th Engineer Brigade (a.k.a. Muleskinners) and its engineer mission while deployed to Iraq in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Here’s Issue 9.
Note: I’m not sure how many more issues there are going to be, but from now until they end I’ll post them as I get them. Happy reading!
“THE MULESKINNER” is a publication focused on the Soldiers of the35th Engineer Brigade (a.k.a. Muleskinners) and its engineer mission while deployed to Iraq in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Here’s a special edition issue.
And a note–this one was originally sent on APRIL 1 —APRIL FOOL’S DAY. Consider that when you read the first page.
Wednesdays are one of my long writing days. Meaning I don’t go to the gym. It’s a day I really like to crank out some pages, but today was also my first day going back to my urban fantasy, Amazon Ink.
It has been months since I worked on this story. I started by going through my editor’s suggestions for the first chapter. That was easy enough. Now I’m rereading everything to get back into the world. It’s fun. I love this world. I love my characters.
But as always when I have stepped away from something for a bit, there’s fear. Fear that I won’t be able to do it this time–that those other pages were somehow written by magic, that I wasn’t really involved or that it will feel that way when I start back on it.
I face this every time and I’m pretty sure other writers do too. And every time, I’m amazed that it wasn’t magic, that I am able to pick the story back up and keep going with it.
Hopefully, this time will be no different.
I’ll find out tomorrow. I’m giving myself today to get my head back in the game/story…
Found this link through Ilona Andrews post at Fangs, Fur & Fey. Let me give you a bit of a warning before you read it. It’s by a man who took part in what he called the “Open Source Boob Project.” That’s right BOOB, not book. Somehow letting random men squeeze your boobs was supposed to desexualize the world.
I kid you not.
You can’t post on his link anymore. Surprise, surprise, he got some strong opinions on his project and his buttons. Yes, buttons. He also backtracked some–but no amount of backtracking in my mind changes the major disconnect here.
So, go forth, read, be astonished. And not in a good way. (Note: to get to the original post you have to scroll down past the part where he explains things.)
At my house anyway. Two boxes of books arrived last night.
In honor of this, I’m posting the back cover copy, and I finally put an excerpt up!
Natural enemies–hellhound and Valkyrie–their alliance made them more powerful than anyone could anticipate…
Alongside his hellhound brethren, Venge Leidolf was summoned to start the Wild Hunt anew. But in this dreaded pursuit of souls, Venge sought to free himself from his infernal bondage–by claiming the heart of a fierce Valkyrie…
Geysa never questioned the alluring gifts that set her apart from the other Valkyries, or her hatred of hellhounds–until Venge fell under her spell. Drawing the alpha hellhound so close made Geysa doubt her every instinct. To stop the Hunt, the two blood-born enemies would need to cast aside old vows and allegiances. Only then could no one question the strength of their union…
A prize a day Monday through Friday this week. Stop by the blog for details. And I’m giving away a copy of either Guardian’s Keep or Unbound–winners choice. :) I’m also blogging there this week–as is Deborah Cooke and Terry Spear.
Length for a Nocturne Bite is supposed to be between 10,000 and 15,000 words. Mine wound up at around 14,000 before edits. Which means it took me longer than I had planned. But it is done!!
So, this weekend I can work on editing it and The Vampire Who Stole Christmas and Monday (hopefully) get at least Vampire off to my editor.
Happy, happy, happy!
Random books from my shelf...
