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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Author Interview + Giveaway: Linda Robertson

First off, I'd like to thank Linda Robertson for dropping by to answer some questions. I really enjoyed her first novel, Vicious Circle (you can see my review here). The latest book in her Persephone Alcmedi series, Arcane Circle, was released last December.



Sara: How would you describe your Persephone Alcmedi novels, for readers who haven’t heard of them before?

Linda: They are about a witch who, in discovering her destiny, also finds her life will never be the same. There’s family and love and romance, but there’s also danger, betrayal, death and secrets.

Sara: How would you describe each of your main characters in three words?

Linda:
Persephone: Loyal, stubborn, responsible
Johnny: Rock-n-roll, tattoos, sexy
Menessos: Manipulative, regal, sexy

Sara: What sets your series apart from the rest of the Urban Fantasy genre?

Linda: Let me set this up with what doesn’t set me apart. :) Urban Fantasy has its tropes, like the big destiny and the witch-werewolf-vampire union. I’ve got those. I have some of the usual “tools” as well: the powerful spell book, the broom, the wand, the ley line. What’s different is the ley line is painful and addictive, I made up a protrepticus—a spirit housed in a cell phone, etc. I’ve given her tools/powers/sagely-advisors and I’ve also taken them away. I don’t want her to be all powerful. She’s just a dependable girl-next-door who’s forced into all this and struggling with it. I’m on book five and she’s just starting to accept it. Also the series is tight time-wise. We’ve covered only about six weeks of her life.

Sara: Tell us a little about your writing process. Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Linda: Yes.*giggles* None of the books have been the same as far as process. Where I am now, I do a little of both. When I played guitar in a cover band, I did my own solos but made sure to hit the high points and low points on time with the original recorded solo. Writing is like that. I document the high and low points of the story in bullet form, arrange them chronologically, check my moon phases etc, and then I write. I used to outline strictly everything thinking it would maximize my time. Um... no. I’ve learned I need to be free to the inspiration of the moment, so I don’t define every detail in outline because I like to let it flow as I work. Admittedly, that sometimes doesn’t work out and I have to go back and re-write as something later seems like a much cooler way to handle the situation. My half-and-half system is the evolution of my process and I suspect it will continue to evolve.

Sara: Where did the idea for the Persephone Alcmedi series come from? Are they novels you have always wanted to write or did they sneak up on you?

Linda: I blame the po-boy I ate at the New Orleans airport while waiting for my flight. I was sitting there wondering what to write next, as I am a writer who has about ten useless manuscripts in the drawer. (My learning curve is LONG :) ) Johnny “appeared” first. They say write what you know... so he was Rock-n-roll Bad boy. But what if he’s just playing that role because of the tattoos. What if he didn’t get the tattoos... what if his memory is gone and he doesn’t know where they came from? He evolved that way. Persephone developed out of what his perfect woman would be and she took over.

Sara: One of my favorite characters is Persephone’s grandmother. Did you base this character off of a relative? Or did she come solely from your imagination?

Linda: Ahhh, Nana. Nana is my mother, my aunts, and my mother’s friends rolled into one. I was going to sprinkle her with CRASS, but it was one of those moments where the seasoning shaker’s inner lid was loose and I didn’t know it. She got a heaping helping of it. I want to do more with her, but this series is Persephone’s story. I may have to revisit Nana as a lead character later.

Sara: Can we look forward to more books in your Persephone Alcmedi series, after Arcane Circle?

Linda: Presently I am contracted for two more books. Wicked Circle is set for release in January 2012. The sixth book is not yet titled. I hope to do nine books. That’s the overarching plot I have worked out.

Sara: What are your influences both in and out of Urban Fantasy?

Linda: Jennifer Roberson, Sword Dancer series; Steven Brust, Jhereg series; Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Dragonlance series, Darksword series, Rose of the Prophet series; Kim Harrison, Rachel Morgan series.

Sara: What are you currently reading?

Linda: Maria Lima’s Blood Heat.




Thanks again to Linda for stopping by and answering some questions. She has also offered up two copies of Arcane Circle to two lucky readers! All you have to do is answer Linda's question: How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day -- and are you really Irish?

Title: Arcane Circle
Author: Linda Robertson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 12/28/10
Summary:
Even magic can’t solve everything...

After facing down the forces of Fairy in mortal combat, Persephone Alcmedi still must deal with the aftermath. Not only does Seph now possess deadly secrets she must hide from the arcane and mundane world alike, but the dozens of magical creatures who’ve taken up residence behind her cornfield need food and shelter, and there’s still her foster daughter Beverly’s tenth birthday party to plan.

And that’s not all... Seph’s boyfriend Johnny has revealed himself as the wærewolf Domn Lup, and the ruler of the wære world is en route from Romania to make sure Johnny really is the “king” he claims to be. But Johnny’s hiding a dangerous secret: his magic is locked in his mysterious tattoos. He and Seph must find a way for him to reclaim it—fast—despite those who have no intention of letting Johnny gain his full powers. Seph knows that, in the arcane world, strength is always a necessity and power must be constantly proven, but how far is she willing to go to succeed... and at what cost?


Giveaway Rules:
Open internationally.
Note: US/Canada winners will receive a signed book straight from the author, but international winners will receive a new unsigned book from a different supplier.
Must ask answer the question or leave a question.
Must leave a valid e-mail address.
Contest ends at midnight on Saturday 26th.

34 comments:

  1. LOL, I am not Irish and generally do not celebrate St. Patties day. My hubs birthday is the day after so we may celebrate that. He also made the bad choice of using green dye on cookies, so we have been eating leprechaun patties for weeks ;)

    robin [at] intensewhisper [dot] com

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  2. I am Irish and but I don't always celebrate. If I am off then usually me and some friends go to a few different local irish pubs. I watch them get wasted and do stupid things. (I don't really drink) I am looking forward to St. Patty's this year. I actually got the day off with the bf and we are going to hit up a few places.

    iqb99@yahoo.com

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  3. We are currently in St Pat's day (being in NZ). I have green nailpolish on a green top, green braclet and a green lee thing made of clovers wound twice round the top of my head.
    My grandmother was half Irish so there is some connection and I'm fair with red hair :)

    emmad at xtra dot co dot nz

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  4. I do have some Irish in the mix, but I don't really do any celebrating on St Patrick's day beyond wearing something green.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

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  5. Yes, I am Irish. I celebrate by dressing in green and baking a green cake for the family. Its just a small, fun thing we do. We used to go to the parade's they had here but this year the one near us has been cancelled sadly.

    LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com

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  6. I'm not Irish, but my stepdad is, does that count? I have to admit, I don't really celebrate St. Patty's Day - when I was younger, we used to go out and drink green beer, but now just the thought of that makes me slightly ill.

    I would love to win a copy of Arcane Circle - I love Johnny, he's so hot and cute.

    jen at delux dot com

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  7. Not a single drop of Irish blood in my veins! And we do not celebrate St. Patrick's day in the Netherlands except perhaps for some Irish pubs.

    (sullivanmcpig(at)gmail(dot)com

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  8. I'm Irish, but my family has never done anything. We don't even eat the certain foods. We just wear green to avoid being pinched!

    jessbess2505[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  9. We are not Irish (we're Belgian) but since our trip to Ireland in 2009, we do celebrate it by making an Irish dish.
    So tonight it's Shepherd's Pie :)

    (And maybe we'll pretend to be Leprechauns too, who knows...)

    jannickv[at]hotmail[dot]com

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  10. I'm not Irish, so I don't really celebrate St. Patrick's Day here in Romania. :)
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    petra_socaciu(at)yahoo.com

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  11. ROBIN- Leprechaun patties! OMG that's a riot!

    DANIELLE G- Watching your friend do stupid things sounds like a safe and entertaining way to spend the evening. Have fun!

    EMMAD- BARBARA E- & JESSICA You've just made me wonder if my kids are getting pinched at school today...not sure they wore green.

    LADY VAMPIRE- Sorry about the parade cancellation, but enjoy the cake!

    JEN M-Yes that counts! It depends what beer they're making green...

    SULLIVAN- But you're MCPig--are you SURE you're not Irish?

    SINNAYE- I LOVE shepherd's pie! YUM!

    JERSEY GIRL- Celebrate Thursday then! Cheers / Noroc!

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  12. I am in no way Irish. We really dont do anything for St Pattys day either. My kids wear green and The Leprechaun visits there school classrooms and messes it up but that is about it. Love your books Linda

    Stacy

    Chllybrd(at)gmail(Dot)com

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  13. I am not Irish and don't really celebrate. However, I'll probably go out and have a drink with friends tonight.

    It's always fun seeing people get in the spirit of things. I'm german, so I'll have to wait for Oktoberfest!

    cdetterman at gmail dot com

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  14. I'm a quarter Irish, and we don't normally celebrate minus my mom running around pinching us if we're not wearing green. (She's not Irish btw...) My plugs (I've got two guages in my ears among other piercings) are green leopard, so I'm safe. I won't be going out drinking tonight because I've gotta be at work at 8am tomorrow morning, but we did get drinks last night.

    Thanks for stopping by, Laura!

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  15. I am a quarter Irish, but nothing too exciting for the big day. I just make sure to where green, and I celebrate with a beer tomorrow.


    heatwave96(at)hotmail.com

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  16. In my country we don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but I would like to. It seems to be very fun XDDD

    sweet.sayumi@yahoo.com.br

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  17. lol we don't celebrate but my grandmoher was as Irish as they come.
    Thanks for the great giveaway
    scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com

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  18. I don't really celebrate today, mostly because I was a bartender and annoying people decided they were power drinkers on this day- it's kind of like New Years Eve in that it's commonly referred to by restaurant folk as one of the 'amatuer nights.' But green is my favorite color, so I dressed festively. And got my daughter a shirt that says Daddy's Little Leprechaun. I know I have a little Irish heritage (grandfather's grandmother), and my grandmother said her real parents (she was adopted) were Irish immigrants, but she kind of lived in a fantasy world, so that could be a lotta horsecrap.

    b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  19. Well I'm not Irish, but for the fun of it, I do wear some green. Sometimes I got to a pub with friends and get drunk lol!

    angeldream3[at]gmail[dot]com

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  20. I'm not Irish, so all I do is wear green just in case :) wouldn't want to get pinched...

    juliecookies(at)gmail.com

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  21. STACY-- Are we blaming leprechauns for messy desks now? Don't tell my kids that or they will swear their room is infested with them!

    COSTINA--You can consider St. Patty's Day like a trial run for Oktoberfest.

    SARA--Perhaps those drinks are still hitting you...I'm Linda. HA!

    HEATWAVE--hope you enjoyed your beer!

    -PETIT- I hope you had a beer or something to celebrate with us anyway!

    PAM K--Sounds like your gramma was a hoot!

    BETHANY--'daddy's lil leprechaun' HOW CUTE!!!!

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  22. AMY--I hope you're not one of the amature's Bethany was referring to! HA!!

    JULIE--I forgot to wear the green, but I didn't get pinched. Hope you didn't either!

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  23. In my family tree several generations back I am Irish :) I am very proud of it and hope to visit the country someday! I wore a Disney pin that said "Kiss Me I'M Irish".
    Pelfreak
    tinknstitch@hotmail.com

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  24. I wore green and drank green beer.

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  25. I'm a quarter Irish (plus 25% German, 25% French, and 25% hillbilly mutt). We eat pizza and play cards on St. Paddy's day. Exciting, huh?

    This series has been on my TBR for a bit. I'm excited about this giveaway.

    stephanie AT stephaniemloree DOT com

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  26. I'm not Irish so I really don't celebrate St Pats..when I was in school the most I would do is dress up in something green.

    bookflamereviews@gmail.com

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  27. Lol, maybe they were. Sorry about that, Linda! Now I know, four mojitos is too many mojitos. (I almost did it again. I think my fingers are out to get me...)

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  28. I am not Irish and St. Pat’s Day is very low key at our house. I always wear something green, and encourage the family to do likewise. That’s about it. In early March, we did a bang-up job celebrating Mardi Gras...points for early partying?

    Thanks for the giveaway. (Email in profile.)

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  29. I wore green for St. Patrick's Day. I would love to visit Ireland one day. I am sure it is very beautiful. Please enter me in contest. I would love to read your books. Tore923@aol.com

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  30. Anonymous-- :-D A real Irish person! Most on here said they weren't, so glad to have someone who IS!

    James--I'm lame. I didn't do EITHER this year.

    Stephanie--Sounds like fun to me! What kind of cards? Poker????

    Aanchal-- Not Irish but a cool name nonetheless!

    Sara- HAHA! :-D

    LSUReader--definitely points for early celebratory partying.

    Tore--me too! Wanna see Ireland someday!

    GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!

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  31. I don't usually do much on St. Patrick's Day but wear green. I have mostly Scottish and English ancestry. No Irish as far as I know.
    marlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  32. I'm not Irish at all but any excuse to visit the Irish pub in town for a good meal is ok by me :)

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  33. Im not irish and don't do anything for st. patties day! Boring me stay home alot Love to read! Thank you for the great giveaway books sound so good!
    tishajean@ charter.net

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  34. I'm not irish, and didnt do anything. But my friends went out to town tho. I love irish accents tho ;) Roarke from J.D Robb series is my fav!

    queen_tui@hotmail.com

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Thanks for stopping by Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog! I'd love to here what's on your mind. :)