Woo hoo!! I am so thrilled to have Chloe Neill visit as my Featured Author for June!! *grin* I've been waiting ALL YEAR for this month, just so she can stop by... *bigger grin* I hope you're ready, 'cuz I am (can't you tell??)! Stick around to the end for a giveaway from one of my favorite authors! ok, ok, I promise to lay off on the exclamation points...
About Chloe:
Chloe Neill was born and raised in the South, but now makes her home in the Midwest, just close enough to Cadogan House and St. Sophia's to keep an eye on things. When not transcribing Merit’s and Lily's adventures, she bakes (a lot!), watches entirely too much television, roots for her favorite college football team (Go Big Red!), spends time with friends, and plays with her dogs, Baxter and Scout. Find her online at
www.chloeneill.com.
So, are you ready to hear what Chloe has to say? I am! Here we go!!
drey: Hello Chloe! Thank you for taking the time to come by for a visit (or four) this month.
Chloe: Thanks for having me! I’m happy to be here!
drey: I’ve had the pleasure of having the Chicagoland Vampires gang swing by, but cannot believe that I haven’t had you visit yet… What was I thinking??
Chloe: You were probably glamoured by Ethan. It happens. ;)
drey: Ooooh! Ethan... *quickly wipes drool off, hoping nobody noticed* Anyway. We shall rectify that oversight this month! On with the inquisition! Er, Q&A… When did you know you wanted to be an author? What were you doing? Was it a gradual realization, or a “big bang” event?
Chloe: HA! I never wanted to be an author. I used to HATE writing—and avoided grad school because I knew I’d have to write. But then I went through a phase where I started reading a lot, and eventually I ran out of things to read. I decided it was time for me to write the story I wanted to read—vampire heroine who has the fun of showing people they underestimated her. And thus, SOME GIRLS BITE was born!
drey: And hurrah for us! *grin* Can you share your first sale experience with us?
Chloe: Absolutely. About three months after I submitted the first three chapters of SGB to an editor at Penguin, she requested the full manuscript. A little time later, I was heading to New York for a work conference, so I e-mailed her to let her know I’d be in the area and that I could drop by if she was interested in chatting about my manuscript. She called me while I was going through airport security and left a voicemail to let me know that she’d enjoyed the manuscript. The next day—while I was in Kate’s Paperie in Manhattan—she called and made an offer! It was AMAZING.
drey: That is awesome, Chloe!! Next: Who and/or what inspires your writing? How do you get from idea to pages?
Chloe: My goal isn’t so much to be a great writer, but to be a great storyteller. I love the character relationships in the novels of J.D. Robb and Diana Gabaldon, and I love the attention to detail and world-building in Kim Harrison’s and Stephanie Laurens’ series.
drey: What do you indulge in when not writing?
Chloe: I have a day job, so it’s more like the writing is the creative indulgence. When not doing one of those things, I bake, read, watch television, train to walk half-marathons (my current project) and play with my dogs.
drey: Yummm, baking... let me know if you ever need a taste-tester! Still on the food bent: What is your favorite accompaniment to chocolate?
Chloe: It needs accompaniment?? =) How about peanut butter?
drey: Bummer! I'm allergic to peanuts. But I guess it's not all about me... *sigh* Ok! Ok! Next... Screen versions of your books: Which book(s) would you like to see on screen? TV series vs. Movie? Who would be on your dream team? (I know there’s been discussions on your site about this, but not all of my readers have been out thataway…)
Chloe: I would be thrilled to see any of my books on TV or in movies. I think it would be great fun to experience someone else’s vision of my novels. Although he’s not an actor, David Beckham will always be Ethan to me. And I think Zooey Deschamel looks a lot like Merit, although their mannerisms are quite different. Jamie Dornan does a pretty good Morgan, with “Jessie” from GLEE pulling off an interesting “Young Morgan” look.
drey: Oooh, Beckham... I used to have a crush on him. *blush* Never mind that! On we go! Smackdown: Ethan vs. Catcher. Who comes out on top?
Chloe: Ooooh—tough one. Ethan is physically stronger, but Catcher has magic, so he could do damage from afar. Let’s say Catcher (but don’t tell Ethan I said that. He’d have a conniption.)
drey: *laughs* I promise! But only if you come by more! *grin* On a more "practical" note... Electronic readers are becoming more affordable and available. There's been quite a bit of discussion about their impact on paper books, the environment, people's reading & buying habits... What's your take? (I do have to say, it’ll be difficult to get your John Hancock on my copy of Firespell… Boooooo!)
Chloe: I LOVE to read, so I support any mechanisms that will allow readers to buy a book, to read a book or to transport a book. I have an iPad and a Kindle account, and love that I can take multiple books on a trip with one simple device. (Although, interestingly, my book club’s selection for this month wasn’t available in either store, so I had to carry a hard copy around on my recent Kansas City trip.) Good point about autographs, though...
drey: Oh well. Guess I'll just have to drag a sharpie along with me so you can sign on the back cover of my nook... Yes, I have an answer for everything! It just may not be the one you want... *grin*
On the publishing side--what do you think publishers and authors ought to do about the digital revolution? Jump in wholeheartedly, and blaze the path for others to follow? Watch from the sidelines till there's some consensus on what the new business model is going to be for the digital age? Cross their fingers that this is all just a fad & will blow over soon?
Chloe: I’m very fortunate that Penguin (the Amazon contract dispute notwithstanding) has been very supportive of ebooks. My novels are available in six different versions, including for Kindle, iPad and Nook. And since I’ve owned two of the latter (and LOVE gadgets), I’m all about ebooks.
But ebooks are currently a small portion of the overall market (3-5%), so we’ll have to see where the market goes.
drey: What are you looking forward to next?
Chloe: In terms of ebooks, more interactivity and more availability of texts (including reference!) I think ebooks offer so many interesting opportunities to be research tools, and I’m excited to see where we go next.
To bring this to a close, the Proust-lite:
- What is your idea of earthly happiness?
Almost every Saturday in the spring and summer, I have lunch in the park. Love that time.
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Low self-confidence days are never fun.
- Who is/are your favorite hero/heroine(s) in fiction?
Eve Dallas & Roarke (JD Robb) and Claire & Jamie Fraser (Diana Gabaldon)
- Who is/are your favorite hero/heroine(s) in real life?
Hmm. That’s a tough one. I don’t know that I have heroes and heroines per se, but I have a great respect for people who are genuinely kind and genuinely creative, those who are willing to make sacrifices for others.
- What sound do you love?
Elgin’s “The Lark Ascending” and my dog Scout’s almost-but-not-quite bark.
- What sound do you hate?
Words of ignorance and hatred.
- The quality you admire most in a man?
Generosity.
- The quality you admire most in a woman?
Ditto.
- If not a writer, you would be a ... I already am that thing . . . in my day job. =)
- What is your favorite swear word?
The “F” word. I use it with vehemence and (to my mom’s embarrassment) much frequency.
drey: Thank you so much for stopping by, Chloe! I hope you enjoy your visit here this month, I know I’ve been looking forward to this all year… =)
Chloe: Thanks for having me, Drey!!
drey: Anytime! I won't even beg you to bring cookies when you come by next... Promise!
Ok y'all... Chloe has a lil' somethin' somethin' for you... One lucky duck is going to get one signed copy of
Some Girls Bite, one signed copy of
Firespell, and some Chicagoland Vampires swag!! Unfortunately for some of you, this is only open to US residents. Anyway. To enter, comment and let me know what your favorite book-to-movie adaptation is. Do it before 6:00pm CST June 29th. I will post the winner on the 30th.
(Charlie Madigan #1) by Kelly Gay
(Elemental Assassin #1) by Jennifer Estep
(Cassandra Palmer #1) by Karen Chance
(Cassandra Palmer #2) by Karen Chance
(Cassandra Palmer #3) by Karen Chance
(Alpha and Omega #1) by Patricia Briggs
(Ephemera #1) by Anne Bishop
by Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin
(Tales of the Otori #1) by Liam Hearn
(Tales of the Otori #2) by Liam Hearn
(Tales of the Otori #3) by Liam Hearn
