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?

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.

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!) 

Welcome to a (late) edition of Readers Ask, now moved to Wednesdays!

As always, send me your burning questions to questions at colleengleason dot com for a chance to win an advance copy of The Bleeding Dusk.

My email buddy David Jebb, an American currently living in Spain, has been carefully rereading Rises the Night, which has caused him to pepper me with the following questions about…Venatrixes (his word, not mine….but I kinda like it).

He asks: I have a question about the Venator system.  Zavier tells Victoria that only women directly related to the first Gardella can assume the legacy, whereas a male Venator can be a direct descendent, an off-shot or be completely unrelated and go through a series of trials, like Max.  Is this just because of the social conventions of the time?  If, say, there were a 21st century female Venator, could she be a non-Gardella because women have more choice today?

Great questions! Okay, first…the Gardellas are a very fruitful family and they've spread their roots throughout the world. So Gardellas–or at least, members of the family tree–can pop up everywhere, including The New World. And the Venator "sense" or "calling" can be found in both men and women.

However, only very few women throughout the ages have had the Call (and have answered it–remember, Lady Melly was called, but she didn't accept the Call) to be a Venator, and it seems–by virtue of genetics or design, I'm not sure–that only those women who are directly descended from the Gardella lineage have received the Call. 

At least, so far as Zavier knows.:-) (No, that's not a hint.)

Ahhh….my two favorite topics. It's just so hard to choose, isn't it?

Before I get into the questions, I have a little announcement to make regarding Readers Ask: I'm going to be moving it to Wednesdays starting next week. So, if you have a question you'd like me to try and answer, send it to me, as always at questions at colleengleason dot com.

Okay, on to the questions. (Now you know I'm not going to give anything away, right?)

(Warning: spoilers for Rises the Night below…) 

S. Faust asks: I know who Sebastian's "Vamp" relative is, however, is Sebastian also a vamp or just in this for himself?

Sebastian is not a vampire. Victoria, and the others, would have sensed him if he were.  And as for his motivations…he's a pretty conflicted guy, so his motivations aren't always clear even to himself!

Someone else asked me (I have to look up who it is) if Max and Sebastian have known each other for a long time….in other words, do they have a history?

The answer is: most definitely. And more of that history will be alluded to in The Bleeding Dusk, and the pieces will start to fall into place. Then, in the fourth book, the whole story should become clear–why Max and Sebastian have such antipathy for each other!

Thanks so much, sorry for a short entry today…I'm running off to take the kids for pony rides!