Alexandra Ivy Interview and Mega Book Giveaway!

You are now an author with two different identities. What made you decide to go from writing historical romances under the name Deborah Raleigh to a paranormal series under your new pen name Alexandra Ivy? Why use a different name when writing for another genre? 

When I first started writing When Darkness Comes I didn't have any thoughts of having it published. I just really loved Buffy and Angel and just for fun I wanted to create my own vampire world. I was still just playing around with it when I decided that I enjoyed writing not only paranormal, but contemporary. I sent the first three chapters to my agent, and it just took off from there. My name change is primarily to alert my historical fans that this is something completely different :) I understand the frustration of buying a book by my favorite author and discovering too late it's not what I was expecting.

Can you tell us about your Guardians of Eternity series?

I have set the first three books in Chicago, following a clan of vampires, although there are several other demons and fairies and imps. In the third book I will introduce a pack of werewolves just to keep things interesting! Each book is a stand alone book, although the characters from previous books do pop up. I have six books in the series under contract so far.

What type of research do you do when you begin writing a new book or a series of this nature?

I started off with a trip to Chicago--yeah!! Traveling to where I want to set a book is always my favorite part. On this series I pretty much just jumped in a started writing by the seat of my pants--which is fine for the first book--but, I quickly discovered when you are building your own world with imaginary characters that are going to appear in various books you really need to keep everything straight. I've at last developed a large binder that has even the smallest detail written down.

How important is it to you to interact with fans, whether it is through a blog, your website or even during book signings?

I LOVE hearing and chatting with fans and not just about my books. I enjoy talking about whatever books people are reading. I live in a very isolated area so there are no reading or writing groups around so the internet has been a true blessing for me.

Do you have a critiquing partner? Do you let anyone read your work before it is finished to get insight on what works and what doesn't?

I'm going to have to admit that I'm very much a control freak :) While I'm in the process of writing I don't let anyone see the book--not even my husband. Once I've sent it off to my editor, however, it doesn't bother me at all to make changes. It's almost like I've cut the apron strings, if that makes any sense.

You have a choice of choosing to be a vampire, werewolf or fairy in a book. Which one would you like to be and what would your name be?

I think I would go with fairy, because I'm a sun worshipper! I can't imagine not being able to spend at least part of my day outside soaking up some wonderful rays and maybe dancing through a meadow. As far as my name....Mrs. Orlando Bloom :)

Unfortunately we aren't giving any dates away with Mr. Bloom, but we do have a mega book pack to win! Along with winning an autographed copy of When Darkness Comes.

You will also win:

Nymph King Gena Showalter	The Brotherhood Dawn Thompson	Goddess of Love P.C. Cast	After Midnight Teresa Medeiros	The Vampire Who Loved Me Teresa Medeiros

To win these great books, all you have to do is answer these questions correctly:

Name at least two of the Guardian characters.

What are the names of Orlando Bloom’s characters in the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Lord of the Rings movies?

Send your answer to aarblog@gmail.com. One winner will be chosen at random from all correct entriessubmitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Thursday night,October 25, 2007. (Unfortunately because of high postal rates, we can only ship to US addresses.)The winner will be announced here and notified by email on Friday, October 26, 2007.

tags: interview  alexandra  ivy  orlando  bloom  

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