Alexandra Ivy-Interview with the Author

 

With the release of FEAR THE DARKNESS, number 9 in the Guardians of Eternity, we would like to welcome the author  Alexandra Ivy. 

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TRC:  Hi Alexandra and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of FEAR THE DARNESS.

Alexandra:  Thanks so very much for inviting me!!! I’m really excited that Caine and Cassie’s story is finally here. It has some unexpected twists and turns, so I hope everyone enjoys the story.

 

TRC:  We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Alexandra:  I’m a small town girl from the Midwest. I’ve been married for 28 years (yikes, that hurts to admit) to my very own romantic hero and I have two sons, Chance and Alexander. I love, love, love to read when I have the time and on occasion I indulge my love for traveling.

 

TRC:  Many authors begin their love of writing at an early age. What was the catalyst that sparked your interest in writing?

Alexandra:  From a very young age I intended to become a famous actress. I loved the stage and performing in front of a live audience, but when I took a playwriting class, I knew I’d found my true career. I loved the ability to create my own world that was populated by my own characters. Of course, life intruded and after marrying my college sweetheart I was busy working and having children. It was when I decided to stay home with my boys that I returned to my love of writing. It took a looooong time 😉 , but finally Zebra Publishing bought my regency historical, and as they say, the rest was history.

 

TRC:  What challenges of difficulties have you faced as a writer?

Alexandra:  I was absolutely the tortoise, not the hare. It took me almost ten years of writing before I was ever published. And during my career, I’ve gone through every stage. I definitely wasn’t an overnight success. In fact, I trudged along at the bottom of the publishing world for a quite a few years. Then, I was fortunate enough to find a group of readers who have supported the Guardians of Eternity with amazing loyalty.

 

TRC:  FEAR THE DARKNESS is the 9th installment in your Guardians of Eternity series. Would you please tell us about the premise?

LINKS TO ORDER
The Book Depository
Amazon Paper Books
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B&N Nook and Paper Books

Alexandra:  Cassandra is a Were, a blessed with visions that portend the fate of the world. A rare and delicate creature, Cassie must be protected at all costs. Enter Caine, a powerful cur turned pureblooded Were whose recent tangles with a demon lord have left him in serious need of redemption. Caine is duty-bound to keep Cassie out of danger—and that means resisting his potent urge to seduce her…

 

TRC: The couple of note in the storyline is Cassie and Caine, who will finally acknowledge their attraction and obvious mate status, but the overriding premise is the Dark Lord’s obsession with returning to full strength and using any method and everyone possible including Gaius.  How challenging was the writing to include many of the major players from the series as well as trying to keep the focus on Caine and Cassie’s relationship?

Alexandra:  A great question! It was a true balancing act and I had to rewrite more than one scene when I realized that former characters were starting to take over the book! Especially Styx and Viper who always have to be center stage 😉

 

 

 

TRC:  Without giving away the ending, is Gaius storyline next in the series or will he continue to be a slave to the Dark Lord (in more ways than one)?

Alexandra:  He is in the next book. And he’s being tortured on an epic level, but there’s a surprising twist that I hope will keep readers guessing.

 

 

GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY (Reading Order)

1. When Darkness Comes
2. Embrace The Darkness
3. Darkness Everlasting
4. Darkness Revealed
5. Darkness Unleashed
6. Beyond The Darkness
7. Devoured By Darkness
8. Taken by Darkness (Yours for Eternity Anthology)
9. Darkness Eternal (Supernatural Anthology)
10.The Real Werewives of Vampire County (Anthology)
11.Bound by Darkness
12.Fear The Darkness

TRC:  My heart goes out to Gaius. His pain and guilt eats away at his very soul. Will he get another chance at love? At a HEA?

Alexandra: I can’t say yet 😉

 

TRC:  MY LORD ETERNITY is the second release (December 1, 2012) in your IMMORTAL ROGUES series.-a spin off from the Guardians of Eternity. Would you please tell us about the premise?

Alexandra:  To other vampires, mortals are weak, uninteresting creatures. To Lucien Valin, they are infinitely fascinating. Especially Jocelyn Kingly—once the prize of London society, now an outcast. As the vampire assigned to guard her, Lucien is relishing his task. But her beguiling goodness puts her in terrifyingdanger. Not just from the traitor intent on claiming her mysterious amulet, but from the desire Lucien struggles to keep in check.

Youthful infatuation already cost Jocelyn her good name. But even with little to lose, instinct tells her that accepting Lucien as a tenant in her home is a devil’s bargain. As she roams London’s streets at night, helping the most wretched, she feels a dark force drawing near. And Lucien—magnetic, charming, irresistible—may turn out to be her savior, her lover, or the means to change her destiny forever.

 

TRC:  The last book in your Immortal Rogues trilogy is MY LORD IMMORTALITY is set to release December 31, 2012. Would you please tell us something about the premise of the storyline?

Alexandra:  Amelia Hadwell has no time for London’s nightlife. Not when her beloved brother’s odd ways have their family threatening to institutionalize him. And not when she is questioning her own sanity after being confronted by a murderous shadow creature—then being saved by a captivating stranger, a man who belongs to a world she cannot imagine.

Reserved and scholarly, Sebastian St. Ives has been content without human desires—until they are reawakened by the delicate, brave Amelia, whom he is meant to protect. For the young woman has no idea she possesses the key to a ravenous vampire’s dark victory. Now Sebastian must shield her from both a killer and his own growing attraction—or bond with her completely, and forever…

 

TRC:  What was the decision behind the spin-off trilogy? Where the characters demanding their stories be told NOW?

 

Alexandra:  These are actually books that I wrote under the name Debbie Raleigh when I was still writing regencies. Even then I couldn’t resist vampires J It was so much fun to see the books back in print and since the characters are immortal, I used one of the female characters…Nefri…to tie the books into my new series.

 

TRC:  What was the decision behind releasing the IMMORTAL ROGUES trilogy (all three books) within the span of less than 12 months?

Alexandra:  Since they were re-releases it was much easier to schedule them close together and I think readers enjoy when they don’t have to wait for months or sometimes years between books.

 

TRC:  What challenges did you encounter (writing, research, logistics) with the successive release of the novels? Did you find the time to sleep? 😉

Alexandra:  My writing schedule has truly been nuts over the last couple of years J Don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy to have the books being released so close together, but it has meant that I write 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week. I keep promising my family I’ll take a break, but there’s always another story to write!!

 

TRC:  Writer’s Block is a real phenomenon that many authors encounter from time to time. How do you handle the anxiety and pressure of writer’s block?

Alexandra:  Thankfully, I’ve never had to struggle through writer’s block. I write every day, and while I might go back and edit what I’ve written or even toss it out, I never, ever stop writing. To be honest, I’ve never really believed in a muse. Some days are easier than others, but it’s actually hard work that gets the story written. Having a deadline keeps me focused.

 

TRC:  If you could virtual ‘cast’ the characters from your Guardians of Eternity series, which actors or models do you feel would be represent the major players in the storylines?

Alexandra:  When I was writing Dante was definitely Johnny Depp and Abby was loosely based on Sandra Bullock. Caine has a bit of early Brad Pitt. Levet is a combination of people with a hint of Pepe La Pew 😉

 

TRC:  Many authors listen to music while writing for inspiration or relaxation. What do you do for inspiration? Relaxation?

Alexandra:  I read!!

TRC:  Your storylines are part of many anthologies. Which do you find more difficult to write: full length novels or short stories and why?

Alexandra:  Short stories are challenging. You have to have a story that can unfold in a third of the space of a normal book, but they’re also a lot of fun. I love the opportunity to take characters that might not be suitable for a full length story and giving them their own adventure!!

 

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

Alexandra:  I’m actually working on a new series. The books are tentatively titled the ‘Sentinels’ and will start off in a short story collection coming May 2013. These will be different from my Guardians, with the stories revolving around people who are ‘gifted’ with special abilities. They’re known as high-bloods and will include witches and psychics and necromancers, as well as the Sentinels. The Sentinels are men and women who are trained warriors who protect the high-bloods when they travel away from their safe-house called Valhalla, or track those high-bloods who are a danger to the mortal population.

 

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

Alexandra:  Just a huge thank you to all my readers. I never forget that without them I wouldn’t be allowed to share my crazy world 😉

 

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Any kind of Chinese food…mmmm.

Favorite Dessert
Cheesecake

Favorite TV Show
Right now it’s True Blood! Of course, I also love Game of Thrones.

Favorite Movie
Pride and Prejudice–the Colin Firth version.

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk

Do you have any pets?
Over the years we’ve had dozens including ferrets, hamsters, dogs, cats…now, we just have one dog.

TRC:  Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Once again congratulations on the release of your new novel and the upcoming final 2 installments in the Immortal Rogues trilogy. We are looking forward to reading the novels.

Alexandra:  Yay! Thank you so much!

Alexandra Ivy has graciously offered a copy of one of her GUARDIANS OF ETERNITY books (Winner’s Choice) to one eligible member at The Reading Cafe.

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 the social log-ins.

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter, please leave your email address as Twitter does not allow for email address.

3. Please answer one of the LIGHTNING ROUND questions.

4. Giveaway open to continental USA and Canada only.

5 Giveaway Sept. 5 -8, 2012.