Thirteen Thursday with Kiersten White and Lauren Hammond

Today there's two authors visiting us again. First, we have Lauren Hammond, debut author of Love Sucks, which was released earlier this month. I love promoting new authors so without further delay, welcome Lauren!

If you were an item on a Mexican restaurant, what you be and why?

Salsa, because I'm spicy!

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview and how would you answer that question?
Why did you choose to be a writer? Because if you are given the gift to be able to write, you might as well use it and I think creativity should be shared among everyone.

What’s your brain food? You know, the thing that you eat or drink to get the creative juices flowing…I like cupcakes and Mountain Dew.
Coffee and Cream of Wheat. Yup, I'm obsessed with lumpy Cream of Wheat.

I know that you’ve been writing since you were young and are also a poet and screenwriter. I love movies. What are some projects you have done that still stand out in your memory? Anything random or funny to share from behind the screen?
I wrote a screenplay called Remember Me My Love based on a true story about my grandparents and how they met and fell in love. Do you know they have been married for almost 60 years? They really only knew each other for a short time but, my grandfather wrote my grandmother beautifully scripted love letters while he was overseas during the war. Perhaps I get my writing skills from him. I like to think so.

What was the journey you went on to get Love Sucks published?
It wasn't any easy journey in the beginning. I first wrote Love Sucks as a screenplay actually. A year later I went back to it. There was so much more to the story that needed to be told. When I first completed it, some agents were interested in it. But alas, they thought it wasn't different enough. I mean I read A LOT and honestly I've never read a vampire book like it so I was a little puzzled by this. So I let Love Sucks sit on my desktop for about six months when I saw that Punkin House Press was taking manuscripts. I said what do I have to lose? So I sent it and THEY WANTED IT. Naturally I was over the moon excited and it makes me believe to this day, if you never give up on something you are meant to do, you will get there someday.

What would you say to the statement that this book is “another vampire story”?
No. It's not ! Read the reviews... It is not your typical vampire story. Most of all because it's told through a vampires eye's. It's written so you would know what it's like to be in her shoes, to feel her love, pain, and heartbreak. It also begins in the 1700's which most people question me about. Why a period piece, they ask? I think in any great novel, it needs to be established how the character came to be and for Cara, her journey begins in the early 1700's.

Cara is a strong female character, despite her confusion with her new self. Where did you pull the inspiration for her character?
Maybe a little from myself and a little from friends and family. I didn't want to create a weak, feeble, main character. I mean who wants to create a weak character and expect their readers to relate to her or him. I didn't. Strong, well developed characters are what pulls you into a great novel in my opinion.

This is only part one of the story. What can we expect to see Cara learn and do as move forward in the series?
Well, I haven't decided to go further than the sequel yet. So far there will only be two books, Love Sucks and A Sucker For Love. And I can't really spill too much about this because I don't want spoil it for the readers but, I will say, that in the back of Love Sucks is a little teaser on what a Sucker For Love is going to be like.

 Thanks Lauren!  We also have the hilarious Kiersten White, author of Paranormalcy, which comes out on Tuesday. Welcome Kiersten! 

 If you were an item on a Mexican restaurant menu, what would you be and why?

Fried ice cream.  Sweet, different, and probably really bad for you, but you don't even care because it's yummy!

You recently went to Romania. What was your favorite place/thing there? 

Romania is definitely the most interesting place I have ever been! It was my first time out of North America.  I really enjoyed the history there.  It was traditionally three different countries, so every area we went had its own historical architecture and religious traditions.  It's interesting going to a country like that where they have a priceless, 550-year-old church/fortress in nearly every small town, so much so that they can't begin to afford to keep all of them up.  Quite a difference from the USA, where if something is 150 years old it's a tourist attraction!  The countryside was also amazingly beautiful.
 

Evie is a riot and from your blog & Twitter it seems like you share the same quick wit. What other characteristics do you think you share--and would a pink taser be your weapon of choice? 

You know, I've never been a fan of the color pink.  Which is odd, considering my MC is obsessed with it, but what can I say--to each her own!  So I'd probably go for a sparkly forest green, or sleek silver. Other than that, I would say Evie is far braver than I am, but we're both willing to speak our mind and stand up for the people we care about.

This whole story is so different and refreshing and funny. How did you come up with idea and with Lend's unusual power? 

You're going to hate this answer, but it really just came to me.  It started out as a question--what would you do with vampires if you didn't want to kill them?  That led to the International Paranormal Containment Agency, that led to a snarky sixteen-year-old girl working for them, that led to the question of why she would be working for them.  Once Evie's voice started going, I couldn't get her to shut up.

Lend--and I'm not going to spoil anything here--just came like that.  I knew why he could do the things he did, but when he showed up in the very beginning even I didn't know just what he was going to turn out to be like.  Evie and I got to know him together!

If someone asked you why they should read Paranormalcy, what would you say?

Because I'll be your best friend?  Because it's not your average YA paranormal?  Because IPCA needs the funds to continue to protect average, innocent people from rampaging vampires and hags?

Nah.  Because I have a sneaking suspicion (and a very big hope) that it will make you laugh, that it will make you nervous, and that you will have fun for however long it takes you to read it. 

Thanks Kiersten. 

Come back next week for an interview with another awesome author AND a special book tour. :)