An Interview with Erica Hayes

The Reading Cafe is happy to welcome the fantastic Erica Hayes as our guest today. Erica’s new book Revelation, which is the first book in her new Seven Signs series, will be released on Tuesday, October 2nd.  Our review will post on September 28th, for you to get a sneak peek.

Erica is here today to answer our questions, as well as tell us about her books.

Let’s begin our interview with Erica.

 

TRC: Hi Erica.  Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions today. We are always looking forward to reading about the author behind the book.

Erica: Thanks for inviting me!

TRC: We will start will some background information. Will you please tell us about yourself?

Erica:  I'm an Aussie currently living in England, enduring gloomy weather and uncalled-for remarks about how bad our cricket team is. I write paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

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

Erica: Yeah. I wrote when I was in high school, and all the way through college. Later, I did a couple of NaNoWriMos (National Novel Writing Month, where you write like crazy to make 50,000 words in a month, and forget about annoying things like eating and sleeping and talking to other people) and had a blast. I've only started writing seriously – as in, for publication – in the last seven years or so.

TRC: What was your first book ever published?  What were the difficulties in getting your work published?

Erica: My first book, SHADOWFAE, was published in 2009 by a traditional print publisher, St Martin's Press. Getting it published seemed difficult at the time! I mean, I had all the usual problems with practicing my craft, learning to write a good query letter, the inevitable rejections.

Looking back, it was a process of the 3 Ps – practice, persistence, and patience. Write a good book – and by 'good', I mean not only well-written, but marketable. That takes practice. Send it out, and keep sending it out – that's persistence – but learn from your mistakes. If your query isn't working, write a better one (more practice). If your book isn't interesting or catchy enough to get attention… well, maybe you'll have to write another one.

That's a hard lesson. But a book is what it is. Some books have a Big Idea, some are small. There's no point in revising over and again in an effort to make it something it isn't. If it waddles and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. It'll never be a swan. Just make it the prettiest, most striking duck it can be, submit it and move on.

And be patient. Do the work to learn your craft. Stay with your strengths, rather than reinvent yourself every six months to 'follow the market'. Markets come and go – what's rejected all over town this week could be next week's hot thing. And opportunities are burgeoning. Don't rush into self-publishing just because you've had a few rejections. We all get rejections. It doesn't mean the industry is broken, or that your book is a work of genius that's being ignored by The Establishment. Concentrate on what you want for that book. Self-publishing is a good option for some, but other options are still available, each with pros and cons.

TRC: Will you tell us about the premise of your ShadowFae Chronicles series?  How did you come up with the idea for this series?

Erica: Think of a paranormal gang war. It's a dark, violent urban world, where the paranormal creatures – fairies, vampires, banshees, the odd shapeshifter – are disguised in human eyes by magical glamour. The first book, SHADOWFAE, is about Jade, a succubus assassin – she has a power called rapture that makes her sexually irresistible to her victims, whereupon she sucks out their soul and delivers it to her demon lord, Kane, the guy who runs the city. So she's basically a sex slave, and she's not very happy about it. One night, she discovers a way she might possibly escape her thousand-year demon thrall – but of course there's a catch. And a hot romance!

Where did the idea come from? Well, I liked the idea of a succubus – I love Richelle Mead's succubus books, and the Hotter than Hell series by Jackie Kessler – but I wanted to do it grittier than that. Life as a demon's sex assassin isn't very glamorous. It's not all about hot guys and lacy lingerie. Often, Jade has to do dirty jobs. Her demon's enemies are unsavoury – and dangerous – characters. Seducing them isn't fun.

And I'm kind of obsessed with the paranormal – the pretend kind, I mean, the vampires and fairies and what-have-you. I'm not a 'woo-woo' believer, but I love fantasy/sf books and TV – and it's fun to think up paranormal explanations for real-life things. I was watching an Australian true crime TV series called Underbelly, which is based on a very public gangland war in Melbourne – and it got me thinking about fantasy explanations for that arrogant criminal subculture. I decided that the mobsters were all beholden to warring demons, and that if there ever were any good guys in town, they'd long since turned tail and fled.

The demons have won. There's no prospect of salvation. It's all about putting off damnation as best you can – and taking your enemies down with you. So the Shadowfae world is dark and dangerous, but it's also colourful, magical and very sexy. Might as well have a party on the way down!

TRC: You currently have 4 books in the ShadowFae Chronicles series.  Will there be any more books in this series, if so, how many books do you plan on doing?

Erica: Four is it for the moment – I'm working on my new series for now – but there might be more Shadowfae stories published in the future. Just you wait and see 🙂 And there's a Shadowfae short story, CHERRY KISSES, in an anthology called HEX APPEAL from St Martin's Press.

TRC: You have a new series …The Seven Signs, which you call urban fantasy romance.  Can you please tell us the premise of the series?

Erica: It's about a posse of fallen angels in near-future New York, who must stop a gang of demons from hijacking the seven signs of the Apocalypse and bringing on the end of the world.

Romance in the biblical Apocalypse. With sexy fallen angels. And wise-ass demons. And a dangerously unhinged archangel. Yeah 🙂

What's with the sub-genre? Well, my publisher is selling this as paranormal romance, but I like to say 'urban fantasy/romance' because it does have that gritty UF flavour, and the focus isn't completely on the hero/heroine relationship. So the books have more 'plot' than a typical paranormal romance. And like my Shadowfae series, I have prominent secondary characters and subplots. You will become intimately acquainted with the bad guys. But there is a happy (romance) ending in each book!

So it's somewhere between PR and UF. I want readers to know what they're getting! By the time this interview appears, you'll be able to read an excerpt of book 1, REVELATION, on my website: http://www.ericahayes.net/revelation.html

TRC: When talking about the series, you use the number 7 in describing it.  Does this mean you plan to do 7 books in this series?

Erica: No, actually 🙂 I'm contracted for two books – REVELATION and REDEMPTION. But my plan for the series stops at four books. The 'seven' comes from the seven biblical signs of the Apocalypse. Seven seals, seven trumpets – or in this case, seven vials of holy wrath.

Trying to understand the Book of Revelation is like some kind of holy acid trip (and I say that with all due respect!) but the gist of it is that heaven's angels unwrap a series of portents and plagues over the earth, to prepare the way for the End. And at the conclusion, Satan and his allies are once and for all defeated.

In my series, demons have hijacked the whole process in an effort to pervert the portents, so Satan will win and rule over eternal hell on earth. So in REVELATION, you'll meet the first two signs, demon-style: a plague of zombies (of course! Can't have the Apocalypse without zombies!) and the sea turning to blood, along with assorted demonic shenanigans. In book 2, REDEMPTION, we have signs 3 and 4. And so forth, until we reach The End…

TRC: Revelation is the first book in The Seven Signs series.  Can you please give us a brief description of this story?

Erica: Sure! Here’s the back cover:

A fallen angel with a mission and a medical examiner who’s lost her faith are fighting for their souls in a glittering, near-future Manhattan…

Blind faith is for fools. That’s what Dr. Morgan Sterling believes. And she’s going to prove it by curing the zombie plague ravaging her city’s slums. She’s certain it’s not a sign of the End of Days, but a nasty disease—until an angel appears in her morgue in a flash of glory.

Luniel is not just a fallen angel. He’s a powerful warrior sworn to fight evil in hopes of a chance at redemption. He’s after the demon princes who are stealing the seven vials of holy wrath which, when perverted, will unleash eternal hell on earth.

To stop the plague, Luniel needs Morgan’s help, and her faith. But Morgan believes science is their salvation. If the zombie plague is a demonic curse—and if Luniel is true—he’ll have to prove it. Even if he loses his heart to true love or his soul to Hell…

TRC: You write Dark Paranormal and Urban Fantasy.  Is there a preference or any other genre that interests you to write in the future? 

Erica: My first love is dark paranormal fantasy. But I love sci-fi/futuristic. I have one coming out in ebook in early 2013 – it’s about a kick-ass interstellar secret agent who’s hunting her arch-enemy, the terrorist who killed her fiancé. An adventure story with lashings of hot romance. Spaceships and rayguns ahoy!

TRC: What are you currently working on?

Erica: The next book in my Seven Signs series. And a Sekrit Projekt, of course. All writers have a Sekrit Projekt 🙂

TRC: LOL, that we do know.

TRC: Many young adults are now reading mainstream novels that contain erotica and explicit sex scenes. What is your opinion regarding the availability of adult books online, where they are easily accessible to all ages, as long as they have a legitimate pay-pal account or credit card?

Erica: Time for the serious question, is it? Righto 🙂 I understand that people have concerns on this issue. But I’m opposed to government-imposed censorship. If a bookseller chooses not to stock certain books, that’s their prerogative – and it’s up to us whether we want to support that by buying from them – but I don’t believe it’s the government’s role to control what we (or our children) read, or to ‘protect’ us from simple facts of life, such as sex. If that means we have to be responsible for keeping an eye on what our kids read, then that’s the price we pay for freedom.

There's also the question of the way the extreme elements (sex, violence, or whatever) are portrayed. There's an obvious difference in tone, for instance, between explicit erotic fiction and degrading porn. Or between a book like BARED TO YOU by Sylvia Day, which explicitly depicts a healthy if obsessive adult sexual relationship, and AMERICAN PSYCHO by Bret Easton Ellis, for example, which is the only book I can recall seeing displayed in shrinkwrap with an 'R 18+' rating, at least in my country.

The key words being 'obvious difference'. No one could read Ellis's book and imagine it depicted a decent or respectful way to behave. I think we have to trust young adults' intelligence, and teach them to be thoughtful enough to understand the difference. In my opinion, trying to stop them from confronting difficult issues is not the way. No one ever became a better person through ignorance.

Besides, if we stop young adults from buying racy books online, they'll just pirate them online. Where's the benefit in that?

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Erica: Come say hi on Twitter! I'm @ericahayes.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: Chocolate!

Favorite Author: I don't have just one. Recently I've really enjoyed Joe Abercrombie. Stephen King is a perennial favourite.

Favorite Movie: Raiders of the Lost Ark. "Snakes. Why'd it have to be… snakes?"

Favorite TV Show: Again, so many. I've been known to glom on Farscape, Star Trek, Queer as Folk, Blakes 7, Supernatural, The Tudors, Doctor Who, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire… But recently, I'd have to pick Game of Thrones. Love the books, love the TV series.

Milk or Dark Chocolate: Milk. If forced to choose. Any kind is good.

Last book that you read: ONCE BURNED by Jeaniene Frost. Ye olde-style vampires. Cool!

Who is your favorite fictional character (not your own): Must I have just one? Sherlock Holmes. Captain Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack Harkness. Indiana Jones. The Master… they're all guys. That's a bit sad, isn't it? Umm… how about Captain Janeway? She's one confident, no-nonsense lady.

Thank you, Erica, for answering our questions. The Reading Café wishes you the best of luck with Revelation, which is to be released on October 2nd.  Keep us informed about your upcoming releases. We look forward to working with you again.

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

Website: http://www.ericahayes.net/
Twitter:
Facebook:
Goodreads:
Blog:

 

Erica has graciously offered to give a member of The Reading Café a chance to win an e-copy or paperback of Revelation….(depending on shipping availability – to be determined by the author at time of giveaway)

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 or question to Erica.

4.  Giveaway open Internationally, depending on Amazon/B&N availability.

5.  Contests runs from September 28th – October 2nd.