Here we are at the ‘normal’ and ‘not so normal’ question spot.
 

‘Normal’ Question Spot

1. What genre do you write in?

First of all, thank you Kay, for inviting me to be featured as a Buzz Guest on your Fae and Ghosts and Witches- Oh My site. It’s always fun to read the authors you spotlight.

The Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price novels are about Vampires, particularly Hadley Price, her Vampire lover Nathan Hughes and their ward, the young Vampire Svetlana Magnovska. So, horror is the obvious genre. But the action takes place two hundred years in the future on a planet that is not Earth. So, there’s Sci-fi in there too. Hadley, Nathan and Svetlana are a family unit. Hadley’s adventures always include them. So, there’s a running theme of family. But these are not Disney characters. It’s nothing in the way of Leave it to Beaver or The Brady Bunch. They are Vampires. Sex and violence and blood drinking are a way of life for them. But there’s also another genre in my books- humor. I’ve always enjoy Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It had a really good mix of true horror, true drama and humor. Yes. Humor. Send in the clowns. I guess the genre of my books would most accurately be called fantasy. It’s sort of an umbrella term to gather all those genres together, but not be limited by any one of them.

2. What do you love about it?

The cool thing about Fantasy as an umbrella term is that I get to mix it up. In my books, there is a character named Betty. I won’t give any spoilers as to who or what Betty is. I invite readers to find that out for themselves. Betty is a lot of fun to write because she is, in part, a mystical character. But her transcendent nature is totally based on technology. High-tech? Magic? Yes. Betty is both. That, and she’s tight buds with the Vampire Hadley Price, who is a biological life form- but not Human.

Are there any characters in my books who are just Human? Yes. A few.

3. What are you working on right now?

Hadley has me doing a juggling act of several things right now. Her newest book, Torch, was released earlier this year. (Available as a paper book or eBook. Find it at your favorite on-line book retailer.) So, there’s on-going promotion for that- including some personal appearance book signings. (Check my Facebook page for updates on that.)

I’ve also recently finished the first draft of the next book in the series and sent that off to my Editor.

Now that I’m between the writing of novel-length books, I’ve given myself a little breather to indulge something I’ve only been thinking about- writing Hadley Price short stories. I’ve opened a Mixcloud account to release those as a free-listen narrated audio. After the world-building (worlds actually, with an “s”) and character development complexity of novel writing, it’s an enjoyable challenge to write simple, short, stories about Hadley. How do I jam the vast worlds of Hadley Price into the more concise and quick to-the-point format of a short story? As I’ve found out, I don’t. The simplicity of short stories takes some getting used to after writing novels. But it’s fun to challenge myself in this different kind of writing. I highly recommend that any writer experiment with different kinds of writing, other than what they normally write. I found myself getting a little cocky because novel writing was becoming less difficult. When that happens, it’s time to take a dose of humility by trying a kind of writing that isn’t easy.

Another thing that I started earlier this year after thinking about it for a while, is Podcasting. The Grace and the Author Podcast takes a humorous look behind the scenes at all the things that go into writing, editing, publishing, and promoting the Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price book series. I’m not an author, but I play one in a Podcast. (No. Wait a minute. I am an author.) My gal pal Elizabeth “Grace” DeCourcey and I have a lot of fun doing it and hope listeners have fun listening to it. It kind of comes off like Click and a Clack. With Vampires.

Last year Hadley was a guess character in three episodes of the popular online audio drama, The Byron Chronicles. I and series producer, Eric Busby, co-wrote the scripts for those three episodes. I mention that because Hadley will, once again, be a guess character in that audio series in 2017. But this time there’s a difference. Eric wrote the script for that, soon-to-be released two-part episode. Just Eric. It’s the first time Hadley will be in a story I had no part in writing. Eric did contact me to get my official okeydokey, so this all on the up and up. I gave him my consent to do that without me. But I do have to say that I’m a bit of a Nervous Nelly on this. I have heard the first part, prior it’s release to the public and Eric did a good job writing Hadley. But man, it’s just kind of freaky to have Hadley show up somewhere when I’m not the one who put her there.
 
4.  Do you have a book inspiration story to share with us?

Inspiration is an interesting topic. As writers, we know when it’s happening. And we know when it’s not. Writer’s block is a scary thing. Even when one has experience with it and knows that all blocks do, at some point, end, it’s just not fun. The other side, however, is a roller coaster ride, a storm of ideas that typing fingers are challenged to keep up.

I often wonder if it’s possible to make that happen. Not likely. You just have to ride the wave when it does and wait it out when it doesn’t.

In a less manic sense, people’ll ask me something like: why is Hadley a beautiful, small, petite woman? They’ll ask me: why does Svetlana speaks with a Russian accent? Why did I make them that way? Why are other characters and situations in my books the way they are? Where do you get your ideas? People who ask me stuff like that really want to understand the dynamics of inspiration. What goes on in my noggin that I write this stuff? What external stimulus makes that happen? The answer is- I don’t know how that happens. I have no idea why Svetlana speaks with charming Russian accent. I have no idea why Hadley’s a small woman. I have no idea why the Vampire Nathan Hughes likes chocolate. The ideas just kind of go through me and out to the type written words. It’s kind of like the ideas are something outside of me and my job is to just write it all down. And I have absolutely no idea how that all works. But I do find it a humbling privilege that it happens with me.
I’ve kind of did a walk around the original question relating to books. Is that meant in terms of a book that inspired me? Or something that inspired me to write in my own books? In either case, inspiration is at work. Inspiration. Strange. Damn Mysterious.

This is one of the Normal Questions and I kind of went off on a Not-So-Normal direction answering it. It’s the perfect seg to go to the Not-So-Normal Questions.
 

‘Not so Normal’ Questions

1. If you could invite any 5 people (i.e. cartoon character; famous person; rock band; poet; artist; living or dead) for a meal together, who would they be?

I could quite easily see myself having supper with Alice Cooper, John Carpenter, Bill Compton, Snake Plissken and Henry Rollins. All weapons must be checked at the door.

In the dining room across the hall, there’d be Jamie Lee Curtis, Daenerys Targaryen, Buffy Somers, Katniss Everdeen and my little Vampire Woman, Hadley Price.

This is a Not-So-Normal question so I gave a not-so-normal answer. This gets back to that whole umbrella Fantasy genre thing. In my dinning fantasy, I can hang out with the dudes or/and be surrounded by interesting women. That, and Hadley would insist on being present to make sure I behave myself around Jamie Lee Curtis.

2. You’re a newly sired vampire. Where do you sleep? What do you hunt and with who?

Vampires do not sleep in caskets. And they do not sleep just in the daytime. Hadley and all the Vampires she knows sleep in beds in sun-proof rooms and that could be at any time, day or night. When a Human becomes a Vampire, they don’t die and get buried. They just change to another race. No casket necessary. Besides, Hadley and Nathan might find it enjoyably kinky to get busy in a casket, but a bed is a nicer piece of furniture and significantly more comfortable when they’re not doing that.

3. Your sire has sent you on a quest to bring back one of his flock. What magical creatures or persons do you bring with you to accomplish that task?

Any Vampire Progenitor with a Progeny who bails on them is clearly negligent in their mentor role. If they can’t handle a Young Vampire they have no business Making that Vampire. Bringing a Human over to the Vampire side is a huge responsibility. The decision to do that is not arbitrary nor taken lightly. The needs of the Young Vampire to be tutored in the correct manner outweigh the concerns of an elder Vampire’s sloppy behavior and otherwise immature conduct. Vampires have zero tolerance for deadbeat dads/moms. They can’t have a Young Vampire mess-up and tip off the Humans that Vampires are real. Vampires, as well as other magical persons, keep their secrets from the mortals by self-policing not just the Young but also the Makers.

4. A wicked old witch has turned you into a frog.  What are you going to do with your days?

If I were to spend the rest of my life as a frog, I’d call HP and see if I could order a special, custom-made keyboard for my desk computer to accommodate my froggy hands. Hadley wouldn’t accept being a frog as an excuse to stop writing her stories. And she would turn me down flat at any suggestion of prince-turning kisses. I write her stories and I’ll just be a frog doing it. She’s got a lot of tales to tell me and she says that she’s only getting started with that. Readers can look forward to the continuing Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price.
Rib-it! Rib-it!

 


YOU CAN FIND WARREN AT:
Blog -> https://hadleyprice.com/
Facebook Personal -> https://www.facebook.com/people/Warren-Onufer/100007806495916
Facebook Author Page -> https://www.facebook.com/Tales-of-the-Vampire-Hadley-Price-608769419246063/
Mixcloud -> https://www.mixcloud.com/warren-onufer/
Grace and the Author Podcast -> http://graceandtheauthor.podbean.com/
Twitter ->  https://twitter.com/WJOnufer   @WJOnufer 
 
 
LET'S GENERATE A BUZZ! Authors, artists, and poets if you would like to be a BUZZ GUEST on ‘FAE AND WITCHES AND GHOSTS—OH MY!’ please DM me on Twitter https://twitter.com/kay_latour or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kaylatour/
 
 
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I’m changing things up a bit today and sharing with you my urban fantasy book WITCH ON PAROLE. It’s the first in a series. It’s a coming-of-age tale with magic, blackmail, parkour, and a wishing fish!

Then in a bold move I will NOT answer the ‘normal’ questions. No. Instead I will jump right to the ‘Not So Normal’ Question Spot. And to shake things up even more, I invite YOU to join in the fun and give me YOUR ‘Not So Normal’ answers in the comment area.


Here’s the book cover!

To stay out of jail, a WITCH ON PAROLE must uphold her parole agreement which specifically forbids the use of dark magic. But her corrupt parole officer has nefarious plans for her. Starting with a cursed gemstone. 

Here’s the BLURB!

All this witch ever wanted was to fit in, be one of the respected professional thieves and never practice magic.  But these dreams crashed and cremated when she was captured on her first thieving mission.  Incarcerated for her crime and paroled two months later, Bryn Brinkman snatches at the chance of a new life.  But her corrupt Parole Officer won’t let her.  He wants a personal spell caster.  The problem? She fears high level magic for a very good reason.  When she was ten her mother used a Level Four spell and disappeared right in front of her.  His attitude?  Too bad.  He’s wedged her between a rock and a jail cell.  If she tells on him no one will believe her.  He’s a respected Supernatural Corrections Officer and she’s just a WITCH ON PAROLE.   

‘Not So Normal’ Question Spot
Let’s have some fun. Feel free to add your answers in the comment section.


1. If you could invite any 5 people (i.e. cartoon character; famous person; rock band; poet; artist; living or dead) for a meal together, who would they be?   

I would invite the Winchester Brothers (Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles) and Cas (Misha Collins). I count them as one because they are always together. And just because 😊

Next would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar) because she is one rad kick-ass woman and I’m sure she and the Supernatural crew would have lots to talk about.

John Barrowman would also be on the guest list and I would ask him to wear his Captain Jack Harkness great coat from his Torchwood days.

And because I consider myself a BROWNCOAT, Nathan Fillion must be invited. If he wore his Captain Mal ensemble I would be thrilled.

Wonder Woman as a cartoon or in the flesh as Lynda Carter would be an awesome addition to the table.

Just for fun, here’s a pic of my Funko Wonder Woman surrounded by my crystals and sage.

And finally, Scooby Doo cos hey! A talking dog who solves mysteries. How cool is that?

If Scooby and the gang were busy then I would hire a shifter for tracking and defence; a witch for healing and spells; and a ghost to eavesdrop on my suspects.

3. If you had wings what would they look like?  Fairy or Angel?  What color and size? 

My wings would be made of black feathers and strong enough to take me everywhere. When I retracted them they would disappear until I needed to stretch them out for another flight.

4. You’re dressed to attend a Cosplay event.  What are you wearing? 

Since I’m a BROWNCOAT I’d probably go as crewman/mechanic Kaylee Frye from Firefly.

5. A wicked old witch has turned you into a frog. What are you going to do with your days?

I would hop on over to the nearest pond and snack on the local fly cuisine. Then with a full belly, I’d sun myself on a rock and take in the warmth of the day. Eventually I’d get around to finding a friendly but powerful witch to change me back but not before experiencing life as a frog. Cos hey, how many chances are you gonna get to experience that?

YOU CAN FIND KAY AT:
Facebook Author Page -> https://www.facebook.com/kaylatour/
Twitter -> https://twitter.com/kay_latour  @kay_latour
Website/Blog -> kaylatour.weebly.com  FAE AND WITCHES AND GHOSTS-OH MY!
Pinterest -> https://www.pinterest.com/kaylatour/
Goodreads -> https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/47638367-kay-latour

LET'S GENERATE A BUZZ! Authors, artists, and poets if you would like to be a BUZZ GUEST on ‘FAE AND WITCHES AND GHOSTS—OH MY!’ please DM me on Twitter https://twitter.com/kay_latour or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kaylatour/
 
#fantasy #urbanfantasy #witchonparole #champagnebooks #witch #witches #fae #shifters #elven #fairy #book #books #booklover #bookworm #novel #novels #indieauthors #amwriting #amreading #writers #authors #author