September 27, 2007

…and when I'll be doing the drawing from the names of people whose questions I've answered here on Readers Ask.

The answer is: when I get the ARCs (advance review copies), which will probably be in early October. So, that means you still have time to submit a question to be answered. Send it to questions at colleengleason dot com, and if I answer your question on the blog, you're entered.

I'll be giving away more than one copy.

Chris was asking for more information about The Bleeding Dusk, so here's a little more info about the story by way of a few chapter titles from the book (these are random, and in no particular order):

In Which Victoria's Idyll Is Invaded

In Which Victoria Develops an Acute Dislike of Sugarplums

In Which Our Heroine is Forced into a Gown and Its Accoutrements

In Which Our Heroine Finds Herself in a Compromising Position

Wherein Wayren Reveals a Disturbing Prophecy

Wherein the Merits of Italian Desserts Are Discussed After an Eventful Evening

Wherein We Are Reminded That Hell Hath No Fury 

So, there you go. A bit o' hints about the book. Which chapter sounds the most interesting to you?

September 12, 2007

I've had quite a few people ask me recently about vampire lore and mythology, and how it is manifested in my books, so I thought I'd talk about that today.

One of the things I did the most research on when I started the series was the wide variety of vampire myths. There are legends about blood-drinking creatures–usually humans who have died, but sometimes just demons or other creatures–from all cultures and all time periods including Mesopotamia, China, India, Africa, and Europe.

When someone asks me whether I believe vampires exist, I have to say: I'm really not sure. I suppose it's possible. After all, if there are all these stories from all these unrelated peoples, all over the world…there has to be some reason they're the same. Usually, legend is based in some sort of factual event.

What do you think? 

One of the other questions I get a lot is: can your vampires see their own reflections?

And I must admit…I don't know! I haven't had the occasion to answer that query, and I've been giving it a lot of thought. I think they can. I don't see why they wouldn't.

So, I guess the answer is…yes. They can see their own reflections.

How's that for a straight answer? You read it first, here on For All the World to See.

September 5, 2007

I'm over at Marta Acosta's blog this week, and she asked me some interesting questions–one of which I couldn't answer. (It had to do with writing lyrics for Joss Whedon's musical version of my books. Anyone want to take a–heh–stab at it?)

Anyway, she asked me the following question:

You've mentioned that you were influenced by Jane Austen's novels, particularly Pride and Prejudice. Her books were social satires and she was always very aware of the restrictions and hypocrisies of her own society. Will readers find social criticism in your novels, or any allusions to modern situations?

And for today, I'm going to answer it as I did there (you can pop over and see the rest of the interview if you're so inclined): 

Yes indeed. There were two main things I was thinking about as I wrote The Rest Falls Away, and I hope that these themes are there for all to see:

First, that as women, we often try to have it all: the home life, the perfect house, the career, the family, the husband, etc. We want to be Super Woman. Well, it doesn't always work out–many times, there are sacrifices, choices, and mistakes made because we try to do too much. Unfortunately, I'm not sure many of us could do it all–and do it all WELL. So I tried to show that in my book when Victoria believes she can have it all.

Secondly, I wanted people to remember that those who protect and serve us–the firefighters, the doctors, the authorities: those whose calling is to take care of the majority of us–all make sacrifices in their lives in order to do so. Just as Victoria does.

I hope that people gleaned these thoughts from the story.

So, er, did you? Maybe?

August 29, 2007

Here it is again, Readers Ask Wednesday. Today I'm going to answer Danielle's question, but first let me warn you that her question contains a spoiler for Rises the Night.

(Before I get to that, let me remind you that I accept reader questions at questions at colleengleason dot com, and I pick one to answer every week. Sometimes more. If I answer your question, you get entered in a contest to win an advance copy of my next book.) 

So, anyway, if you haven't read Rises the Night, stop reading here.
Come back tomorrow. Please.

Okay, so if the rest of you are with me, here's the question:

In Rises the Night, did you plan on having Victoria's Aunt Eustacia be killed or was it just something you thought of as you went along. Also, will it have a impact of Victoria in the next novel?

Lovely question, thank you, Danielle. And how astute you are to have picked up on the fact that I don't always know (in fact, really rarely do) what's going to happen until it does.

In fact (don't mind me if I digress for a moment), there's really only one thing I know for certain that's going to happen in the five books I have planned about Victoria, and that's who she is going to end up with, romantically.

Other than that–nope. I don't even know if Lilith will be vanquished by the end of Victoria's story.

So, anyway, to answer your question: when I started thinking about Rises the Night (which at the time was called simply Gardella Two), I realized that Aunt Eustacia probably had to die in order for Victoria to be able to spread her wings.

It happens all the time, the mentor dying: Obi-Wan, Brom, Dumbledore, Gandalf, etc.–and in this case, I thought it was very important for Eustacia to let go of the reins and to allow Victoria to take on her responsibility. Plus, Eustacia had led an extremely long, valuable, full life, and even though Kritanu mourns her, she was ready to go.

So, while I did know that she wasn't going to make it through the end of the book, what I didn't know was how it was going to happen until much further along. 

As far as having an impact on Victoria in The Bleeding Dusk, yes indeed. She has to take over as Illa Gardella, and for the first time, there's no one (eg, Eustacia or Max) as a filter between her and her duty.

August 22, 2007

Since I at last have the final cover for The Bleeding Dusk, I thought today would be a good day to answer some common questions people ask about the covers. (Isn't it gorgeous???)

First, let me just say that I can take no credit whatsoever for the cover art. It's the uber-talented Art Department at New American Library that turns out gorgeous, eye-catching covers time and time again.

As many of my friends say, I've been blessed by the cover gods and I'm very thankful.

So, when we start getting ready for a book's artwork, my editor usually asks if I have any ideas of who or what I'd like to see on the cover.

For The Rest Falls Away, I said I'd like to see a woman holding a stake behind her back. I had a totally different image in my head, but what NAL came up with was so much better than I could ever have imagined!

For Rises the Night, my editor thought that Max should be on the cover (she has a thing for Max, and who am I to argue?). So, yes, that's Max on the front of Rises–even though he looks much younger and beaten down than the Max that I picture in my head. (And they didn't show his vis bulla, which I would have liked!)

For The Bleeding Dusk, I don't think I gave any ideas at all, except to suggest that they do something in the background that hinted at the Colosseum or Roman architecture, since the entire book takes place (including one scene at the Colosseum) in Rome. I was asked to give details about Victoria's appearance–hair color, etc., and of course the result is this fabulous cover.

I'm in love with it.

So, which of the three covers do you like the best? 

~~~~~ 

(And don't forget–Readers Ask is every Wednesday here on the blog. Send your questions to questions at colleengleason dot com, and if I answer yours, you get the chance to win an advanced copy of Dusk!)