An Interview with Lois Gresh
The Reading Cafe is happy to welcome Lois Gresh as our guest today.
Lois is here today to discuss her new book, Nightfall, just recently released, as well as to tell us a little bit about herself.
Hi Lois. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions today. We are always looking forward to reading about the author behind the book.
TRC: Let’s start with some background information. Will you please tell us about yourself?
Lois: I consider myself to be fairly ordinary, although I do have a vivid imagination. I read constantly – magazines and nonfiction books of all kinds, as well as a wide variety of novels. I’m crazy about art, so I enjoy visiting galleries whenever I travel to writing conferences. As for music, I listen to everything from metal to the blues to rock n roll to pop to sound tracks to classical: it just depends on my mood. I swim almost every day, and I also like riding my bike. I enjoy nature – forests, oceans, lakes, birds, animals of all kinds, and in particular, beautiful fish.
Professionally, I’m written 27 books and more than 50 short stories. NIGHTFALL is my first erotic paranormal romance novel. I hope readers give it a try and like it. Half of what I’ve written is fiction -- spanning dark fantasy to paranormals of all types to whatever strikes my fancy at a given time -- and the other half is pop culture.
TRC: When did you start writing? Have you always liked to write?
Lois: When I first learned how to read, I instantly loved books. I actually remember the moment. I began writing stories at a very early age and never stopped. As a child, if I
dared to whine that I was bored on rainy Saturdays, my mother would say, “Go read the
dictionary. It’ll give you something to do.” I found that I loved the rhythm of words, and I became very fond of the thesaurus. We weren’t particularly well off – that’s a nice way of saying we didn’t have much – and so, I spent a lot of time at the library and reading an ancient (1930s!) set of encyclopedias that my mother kept in the hallway outside my bedroom. At 9, I wrote a 55-page science fiction story; at 12, a 220-page “report” about ancient Egypt; at 16, a 250-page book about poverty; at 22, a 500-page novel; at 23, a 400-page novel; and during college classes, I wrote horror stories featuring my professors.
TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information between friends and family. With whom do you bounce your ideas?
Lois: I must be the rare case of writer who prefers to keep my ideas buckled down tightly until I’ve finished a story. This way, family and friends who read my final drafts don’t know anything about the stories. Their reactions are along the lines of typical readers’ reactions.
That said, I’ve spouted a lot of ideas at my longtime agent, Lori Perkins. Whenever I’m around Lori, I spew story ideas. She’s now the publisher of Riverdale Avenue Books (RAB), which just opened in late December, 2012. NIGHTFALL is one of the first books from RAB, and as a newcomer to the erotic romance scene, all I hope is that readers will give it a try.
TRC: Will you please tell us about the premise of Nightfall, and how did you come up with the idea for this story.
Lois: I like to say that NIGHTFALL is Paranormal Romance Gone Wild. Not only do we have a liberal dose of Forbidden Love — in this case, between an ancient voodoo priestess and a sexy vampire — but I also think we have some new, very unusual twists. These twists are what made the book fun for me to write, and I would love to immerse myself in this world again and again (and again, etc.) because I really enjoy spinning these tales. When you read NIGHTFALL, you’ll probably realize right away that I was enjoying myself while writing it.
For one thing, writing about a voodoo priestess is a tremendous blast, not to mention writing about her best friend, Skipp the poetic ghost, her anorexic always-drunk girlfriend, the sexy vampire Vadim and his incredibly odd father, and the gargoyle familiar who helps Alex (the voodoo heroine) in all of her exploits. Oh, and lest I forget, the lovely Venus de Milo is also in NIGHTFALL. This is why I say it’s Paranormal Romance Gone Wild.
The story takes place in an ordinary town that could be most anywhere. It’s bleak and quiet there, tucked away in the countryside. But little do people know that also living in this quiet corner of the world are paranormals who seek solitude and isolation. When several local old folks die in mysterious ways, all friends of Alex’ Uncle Frenchie, she’s determined to help save the lives of other elderly citizens in town. Along the way, she falls in love with sexy Vadim, who falls in love with her. Problem is, they come from clans that have been feuding for centuries. Their love is forbidden. Not just because their clans will object, but also because their actual blood cannot be allowed to fuse in any way. It could spell death and destruction. But they love each other, and so, they must find a way to overcome this problem and be together. Yes, you’ve guessed it. I love these characters. : )
Links to order Nightfall: Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/ Kobo
TRC: Nightfall is paranormal romance, what made you decide to write in that genre?
Lois: I’ve written about everything from vampires to ghosts to demons to angels. I think that paranormal stories — whether dark or romantic or both at the same time — are interesting for many of the same reasons.
The forms of fantasy — its tropes and motifs, its structures and magic systems — overlap between, say, paranormal fantasy and dark fantasy, paranormal fantasy and urban fantasy, and so forth. The boundaries of fantasy are blurred.
One characteristic of fantasy, in general, is that it involves magical creatures, objects, and/or events existing in our real world. Stories that fuse magic and mythology with reality touch us deeply on the inside and urge us to find order and meaning in our world. Whether dark fantasy or romantic paranormal fantasy, this type of story incorporates villains, mentors, adventures, obstacles, morals, ethics, and the search for truth and identity.
With romance, I like the idea that love conquers all, that things end up okay at the end and people are happy.
TRC: You have written other genres, such as thriller, dark fantasy/scifi, and children’s book. Do you have a favorite genre, and if so, why?
Lois: My favorite genre is the one that I’m working on at any given time. I do write in a lot of different genres, as you say, thrillers, dark fantasies, science fiction, and young adult and children’ books. I love them all, that’s just the truth of it. The story and the characters drive me, not the genre. I do tend to gravitate toward writing stories that include fantasy and thriller elements, though I’ve been known to write a lot of very strange science fiction stories, too. : )
With NIGHTFALL, I take my love for fantasy and paranormals and merge it with the idea that love conquers all and people can indeed end up happy no matter what obstacles they face.
Given that I’m currently finishing THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS COMPANION, an unofficial guide to the first seven novels by Cassandra Clare, I’ve been immersed in paranormal romance and urban fantasy for quite some time now. I’ve learned a lot from her books, as well from a lot of other paranormal romances I’ve been reading over the years. I study books as I read them. I find myself drawn to paranormal romances in urban fantasy settings.
TRC: You also have two companion books (The Hunger Games, and The Mortal Instruments. How did you come up with the idea of writing these companion books?
Lois: In short, I was gripped by Suzanne Collins’ THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy and felt that the books were filled with important messages. For example, people should focus on what matters (kindness, peace, nurturing their children, health, food for all) than on things such as what they look like and how mean they can be to other people. Is it more important to get ahead – literally to survive in THE HUNGER GAMES — by stabbing other people in the back, or does it make more sense to get ahead by using your skills and intelligence and trying to help the people around you?
As for THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS COMPANION, I love this series of novels by Cassandra Clare. Talk about paranormal romance and fantasy – wow! I’ve been studying these books because they’re incredibly action-packed and spiced with romance and good characterization.
TRC: What are you currently working on?
Lois: As of this very moment on 010813, I’m finishing the draft of THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS COMPANION. Then I’ll write a few stories that are due within the next month. And then, maybe I’ll work on another novel.
TRC: Where do you like to do your writing? In a quiet room…by yourself? Do you have specific times that you like to write?
Lois: I write as soon as I get up in the morning. I head into my cubbyhole space wearing my pajamas and switch on the computer. Then I make two cups of espresso with sugar and bring them into my cubbyhole. I work until I can’t do it anymore, then I knock off for the day and try to get some exercise before tackling household chores and errands -- which as we all know, never ever end -- and if that isn’t clear enough, what can I say about chores and errands? THEY NEVER NEVER NEVER END!
TRC: Would you like to add anything else?
Lois: Again, as a newcomer to the erotic paranormal romance scene, all I hope is that readers give NIGHTFALL a try.
LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food: probably espresso with sugar
Least Favorite Food - I hate anchovies, so we’ll go with that!
Favorite Place to Read - in bed
Favorite Movie: MISERY. Stephen King.
Milk or Dark Chocolate: milk chocolate
Favorite Color - the color of the ocean
Do you have a favorite fictional character (not your own):
Dracula. Loved Anne Rice’s Lestat.
Thank you, Lois for answering our questions. The Reading Café wishes you the best of luck with Nightfall. Keep us informed about your upcoming releases. We look forward to working with you again.
If you would like to learn more about Lois, you can visit her at the following links:
Website:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Goodreads:
Lois has graciously offered to give a member of The Reading Café a chance to win an e-copy of her new book, Nightfall.
1. 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. Giveaway open Internationally.
4. Contest runs from February 13th – February 16th.
