An Interview with Kristen Painter

The Reading Cafe is happy to have the wonderful Kristen Painter as our guest today.

Kristen has her newest release, Out for Blood, coming on Tuesday, October 30th.  Yesterday we posted an early review of her terrific continuation of Kristen’s House of Comarre series. 

Kristen is here to talk to us about her latest book, as well as telling us a bit about herself.

Let’s meet Kristen.

Hi Kristen.  Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions today. We are always looking forward to reading about the author behind the book, and it is a pleasure to have you here at The Reading Café.

TRC: Would you please tell us about yourself?

Kristen: This is a tough question. What do I say? I love pretty things, but I’m not sentimental. I have four cats and two fish tanks that fascinate me endlessly. I get cranky when I’m hungry (my husband made me add this.:) I’m fiercely loyal to my friends. I can be silly or serious. Family is important to me. I tend to speak before thinking, although I’m working on that one. Graphic novels are one of my favorite escapes. And I have a shopping addiction. I think that gives you a good general picture. Hah!

TRC: When and how did you become interested in writing?  Have you always liked to write?

Kristen: I’ve written stories since I’ve been able to hold a pencil and (mostly) spell the words necessary to get my ideas onto paper. I don’t know if I ever consciously thought “I want to be a writer.” I just always felt like I was one. If you write, you’re a writer. For me, it’s that simple.

TRC: What was your first book published?  What was your reaction when you saw your first published book?

Kristen: My first published book was All Fired Up from Samhain Publishing in 2010. Seeing that first book was pretty thrilling, as I think it is for most authors. There’s definitely a sense of, “Wow, I did it.” I had another genuinely heart-stopping moment when I first saw the cover for Blood Rights. It’s an amazing cover (the whole series of covers has been amazing!) and I feel really blessed to have ended up with them.

TRC: How did you come up with the idea of House of Comarré?  Can you please tell us the premise of the House of Comarré Series?

Kristen: The idea of Chrysabelle came to me in college – this mysterious, gold inked woman in a white gown who was far more dangerous than anyone realized. The rest of the series grew up around her with the basic premise of what if vampires had blood geishas? That’s loosely what I built off of.

 

TRC: Please tell us a little about Out for Blood, which is being released October 30^th.

Kristen: Out For Blood will take the characters to some dark places emotionally, but I promise it will all be resolved in Last Blood in a very satisfying way.

LINKS TO PRE-ORDER
Amazon / The Book Depository / Barnes and Noble

 

 

TRC: We have read that Last Blood, coming in July 2013 is the last book of House of Comarre series.  Was this your intent to end the series after 5 books?

Kristen: I didn’t have any real idea of how many books it would take to tell this story, I just told it the way it came to me and that turned out to be five books and one novella. I’m happy with that. I never wanted to be an author who hung on to a series longer than necessary. It’s still hard to say goodbye to the characters though – they’ve been a part of my life for a while now.

TRC: You have written Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.  Which genre do you prefer, and is there any other genre you are interested in writing?

Kristen: I’ve also written steampunk, but I definitely love Urban Fantasy. You can do so much crazy stuff in this genre and it’s perfectly acceptable. I love that!

TRC: Many people seem to be confused as to what is Urban Fantasy.  Can you explain the difference between Urban Fantasy & Fantasy or Paranormal?

Kristen: To me, if the book ends with a happy ever after, it’s paranormal romance. If the romance is just an element of the book, it might be Urban Fantasy.

TRC: What are you working on now? Do you have a new series planned?

Kristen: I just finished up book five, Last Blood, so now I’m working on my next series idea. I actually have two, so I don’t know what I’ll end up writing next. I’m excited about both of them, though, so whatever it is, I’m ready to write!

TRC: Who is your muse?

Kristen: I don’t really believe in muses – not any more than I believe in writer’s block. I write because telling stories is my job. I can always write something, always figure out a way to make something work. That’s what authors do. And those days that the writing is hard, but I get it done anyway? Those are some of the most rewarding because it’s often those days that produce some really great stuff.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Kristen: I just want to say I love my readers, love hearing from them and am always willing to interact with them on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KristenPainterAuthor.

Thank you, Kristen for answering our questions. We look forward to continuing to read your books, and to work with you again in the future. 

If you want to learn more about Kristen, you can find her at the following links:

Website: http://kristenpainter.com/
Twitter:
Facebook:
Goodreads:

Kristen has graciously offered to give a member of The Reading Café a chance to win a copy of any book from her House of Comarre series.

1.  You must be a member at The Reading Cafe. If you are not a member, please register using the Log-In at the top of the page, or by using one of our social log-ins.

2.  If you are using a social log-in e.g. Twitter, please leave your email address along with your comment.

3.  Please post a comment and say hi to Kristen.

4.  Giveaway open to U.S. & Canada only.

5.  Contest runs from October 26rd – October 29th.