Please welcome Lori Handeland back to Mt. Oly! The other night after a hard day of FROS training I ran into Lori and she graciously agreed to sit down for a little chat.

Late, late on the night of a full moon at the Mt. Oly Shangri-La bar

Kim: So, Lori, your new series is about birds?

 

Lori: Not exactly.  It’s about a lot of things, most of them very weird, but not birds.  Or at least not yet.

 

Kim: But it’s called the Phoenix Chronicles. Is this about Dumbledore’s bird, Fawkes?

 

Lori: Funny you should ask that since I just watched a Harry Potter Marathon and got a real kick out of the brightly colored phoenix.

 

However the phoenix in The Phoenix Chronicles is Elizabeth Phoenix, the heroine of the series. Liz discovers that the Grigori, the fallen angels of Biblical Legend mated with humans and produced a legion of supernatural creatures known as the Nephilim.  They’ve been here since the beginning of time, wearing human faces but beneath they are all the monsters of legend—vampires, shape shifters and more. There’s a secret society that fights them and she’s just been put in charge of the ground troops. 

Because The Phoenix Chronicles is an urban fantasy, there are two love interests. Liz’s childhood friend and first love Jimmy Sanducci and her former mentor, the Navajo medicine man Sawyer. 

Kim: Is that a daquiri you’re drinking? So, these Nephilim are pretty two faced, huh?

I have to say that I am a HUGE fan of UF (urban fantasy). The story arcs and world building are out of this world. Can you share your secret of how the idea for the Grigori and Nephilim came to you?

Lori: The concept for Any Given Doomsday came to me several years ago when I was researching another book and came across the legend of the Gigori. It fascinated me. I bought a bunch of books on prophesy, Revelation, angels, demons and read them whenever I had the chance and an idea started to nag at me–one of those ideas that captures an author and won’t let go. In between contracted projects, I spent whatever time I had in the world of The Phoenix Chronicles. I loved it there!

Kim: Whoa! They sound like two bad boys!

Do you already know who Liz will end up with and will we know before the end of the series?

Lori: Right now I don’t know who Liz will end up with. I like to wait for them characters to reveal things to me rather than making them do what I want them to do. They get really testy when I try that. But by the end of the series, we should have an answer. Of course, right now, I don’t know how long the series will last.

Kim: Right now, Any Given Doomsday is on shelves. What’s coming up next for you and Liz?

Lori: The second book in The Phoenix Chronicles, Doomsday Can Wait, will be out April 28, with the third book, Apocalypse Happens, to follow next November.

After the first of the year, I’ll begin writing the fourth book, tentatively titled Chaos Bites.

Kim: Do you have anything currently planned for your Nightcreature novels?

Lori:  Right now the Nightcreature Novels are on hiatus.  I am hoping to hear positive news in the new year that the series will continue.  Fingers crossed everyone!!

Kim: Fingers crossed, Lori! Thanks so much for sitting down to chat with me.

So, Goddesses, let’s talk (and take a little quiz) about The Great Debate. Lori writes both paranormal and urban fantasy.

1). Do you need to have a happily ever after at the conclusion of each book you read?

2). What other genres do you read?

3) What’s the last book you read that was out of your “norm”?

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*The Mt. Oly Shopping Mall*

Kim: Claudia, what do you think we should get for Karen Hawkins? I was thinking a big gumball machine would be cool; the kind where you put your quarter in and it spins around?

Claudia: Not a tower of Lindt chocolate truffles on a crystal stand?

Kim: Let’s make that Godiva!

Claudia: I think we should put in a stipulation somewhere that she has to dress the part. Heh.

Kim: Yes! Oh, I know the perfect thing for Suzanne! A life size replica of the Black Pearl. She’ll love that!

Claudia: I was thinking of a life size, anatomically correct doll of Johnny Depp. How much money do we have to work with, anyway?

Kim: Budget? I snagged Zeus’s Amex on the way out. HA! Do you think we could just rent Johnny Depp in his Capt. Jack persona?

Claudia: Actually, why pay when you can get it for free? I’m sure that Johnny as Jack would *love* to make Suzanne’s every Christmas wish come true. As long as we promise no you-tube surprises, which I’m perfectly willing to promise. Although Suzanne might want a souvenir… This is sounding more risky by the minute. Next thing you know Karen will be whining about not getting Hugh for a present. Don’t you dare spill that Hugh is hanging my holly!

Kim: Risk, schmisk. It’ll totally be worth it.  Now, what about Nicole? I was thinking one of those tricked out horse trailers with a ginormous bumper sticker that says “Follow Me for Romance.”

Claudia: As long as budget is no problem, why not a team of reindeer for her to ride? Hey, wait a minute, do reindeer have a mating season? That could get very tricky. I know she’s a superb horsewoman, but a half dozen distracted reindeer might be more than any one woman could handle, goddess or not.

Kim: Oh, good point. How about a gold saddle? The judges will have to vote her a 10!
Wow, no wonder Sabrina loves shopping with you. Our list is getting knocked right off. Speaking of Sabrina, any suggestions?

Claudia: You just can’t go wrong with buying Sabrina jewelry. She already has more than any one woman could wear in a lifetime, but what’s wrong with a little excess? How about jade? She doesn’t have much of that. Green and red jade, bracelets and earrings and definitely a half dozen necklaces or so. With any luck, she’ll be mistaken for a harem girl, which I think she’d enjoy immensely.

Kim: Oh yes. Let’s make it a whole harem package; find an outfit for her and belly dancing lessons. Although that part might be more for her husband…

Claudia: Kim, you’re thinking too small. We get Sabrina into her finery, a few dancing lessons under her veil, and then we put the whole show on you-tube. She’ll be famous. I know she’ll thank us for it.

Kim: *checks her list twice to see who’s naughty and nice* Karen Hawkins, check. Suzanne, check. Nicole, check. Sabrina, check. That leaves just Karen R, Rachel and Julia on our list. I know exactly what Julia needs! Lessons with the Naked Chef. He, um, does give the lessons, au naturale, doesn’t he?

Claudia: If he does he must pay a mountain in health insurance rates. When I think of what could happen around a gas grill….If Julia wants to work with the Naked Chef, I say we get her an adorable apron, cut just so, with matching oven mitts. When a naked chef is around, you definitely need a good pair of oven mitts.

Kim: Julia, check.
I have to insist that for Karen R we get her one of those real life dummies. No way am I helping out with her next book. Its too scary when she gets that gleam in her eye. Lifelike dummy and gallons of bloo…er, red dyed corn syrup.

Claudia: I know exactly the one we should get! Buster from Mythbusters. He’s exactly right for her since he’s already been blown up at least ten times. Nothing she could do to him would faze him in the least. While we’re at it, let’s get the two Mythbuster guys and Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. If that trio of danger loving men doesn’t make her happy, nothing will! And they’re not afraid to get dirty, if you know what I mean.

Kim: Excellent. K-Rawk, check. That just leaves Rachel. What about a week working at the Weekly World News? She’ll have a blast. What do you think? Or we could buy her cat a new wardrobe.

Claudia: I think a week as a reporter for the Weekly World News sounds perfect! What about a life size, chocolate Captain Jack or maybe Jack Bauer to round out her gift?

Kim: Man, I love the way you think. I have to say that all this shopping has completely exhausted me. What do you say to a Swedish massage and a couple mimosas? I know the perfect place. The masseuse looks just like Gerard Butler!

Claudia: Looks like? Suzanne gets the real Captain Jack and I get a lookalike? How much alike? And does he have an accent? Will he dress like a Spartan warrior? Kim? Kim??

Tell us, Goddesses, how do you do your Christmas shopping? Are you realistic or do you go all out? What do you do to get away from all the craziness that goes on during the holidays?

**Please note that no reindeer or dummies were hurt during the making of this blog *g*

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I loooove games! So for today, I thought we’d play a fast and fun game called NAME THAT RINGER! One of the following statements below is true so see if you can spot the ringer! Everyone who answers correctly will be entered into a contest for one of the signed prizes Goddess Kim is bringing back from RWA!

So . . . which ONE is TRUE?

1) I’m faintly allergic to peanuts and get hives when I eat them, but only on my legs. It’s not as attractive as a tan, but it’s better than Stark White.

2) When I was in San Francisco when I was nine, I saw a man jump from the roof of a building right in front of me. He didn’t bounce.

3) At my senior prom, I wore a hit pink mini-dress with MASSIVE puffy sleeves. And no, there are no surviving pictures. (Praise be!)

4) I can touch my nose with the tip of my tongue, though I don’t usually admit this on a first date.

There you go! Now name that ringer! Goddess Kim will draw a name from one of the correct answers and an autographed treasure will be delivered forthwith!!!

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I was just reading another blog about comfort reads and re-reads, and it got me to thinking. I read A LOT of books as a kid, from kindergarten all the way up through high school and college. But there are a couple of books that I read, mostly between ages 9 and 15, I would say, that truly struck a chord with me. They literally influenced my life and the kind of person that I am. And the fact that I’m a writer.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee – I remember feeling like I was Scout, and I could almost touch those warm, lazy days of summer.

Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey – I still to this day want to be able to ride a dragon. What an amazing world she created. I own all of the Dragonrider books, and they’re all tattered and frayed.

The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart – the first book in her trilogy (the other two are The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment), all of which turned me into a fan of the whole King Arthur and Merlin legend, and an Anglophile. Hm. Whatever happened with that?

Which books do you remember from when you were a kid/young adult? Why were they important to you?

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Well. Ok, Connie’s not really skinny dipping. SKINNY DIPPING is the name of Brockway’s book, which came out this month and is one of the funniest contemporaries I’ve read in months. The book is about– well, here. I’ll let Connie tell you. She’s got a way with words.

By the way, that’s Julia London interviewing Brockway, so expect some smart alecing like you’ve never seen before!

Welcome Connie Brockway to Mt. Oly!

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The goddesses welcome Julia Quinn to the Mount!  Julia’s new book is The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever and hits the shelves June 26! 

Lightning Round!  Julia Quinn is swamped with deadlines, but after a lifetime of trying to convince her family that she’s a goddess, she couldn’t resist the chance to come and by and actually be one for a day.

In the interest of sanity (hers, but mostly her editor’s), we’re going to make it quick and painless. Give us your favorites, JQ!  (Or at the very least, the first choice that comes to mind.)

Childhood book: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsberg.

Romance novel: I could never choose.

Non-Romance novel: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.

What is your favorite word? I like to make them up and see if anyone notices.

Weird website: The Stinky Meat Project. www.stinkymeat.net).

Halloween costume:  See the picture.

Ice cream flavor:  Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche. 

Fruit: Blackberries.

Starbucks order: Triple Grande Nonfat Caramel Macchiato with no vanilla.

Alcoholic drink: Lemon Drop

Non-alcoholic drink: Diet A&W Root Beer. And that high-maintenance Starbucks order above.

Goddess: I’d tell you but I think Gibson would beat me up.

Other than writing, what other jobs or professions have you undertaken or considered? I attended medical school at Yale for about three months—just long enough to dissect a human backside. Other than that, I’ve been a full-time writer pretty much since I finished university.

What was the first piece you ever had in print? I wrote the sections on Crete & Cyprus in Let’s Go: Europe 1991. It was exciting work—I lost eight pounds (since they didn’t pay me enough to buy proper food), had my every belonging infested by fleas, and was propositioned by a monk on a boat to Haifa. But I do know where to get the best souvlaki pita on Crete. (The train station in Chania, if anyone is interested.)

What are you working on at the moment?A two-novel set, the first of which is called The Two Dukes of Wyndham. It was inspired by a Dire Straits song called “Industrial Disease.” In it, Mark Knopfler sings, “Two men say they’re Jesus. One of them must be wrong.” So I thought—how about: “Two men say they’re the Duke of Wyndham. One of them must be wrong.” The second novel is about the man who turns out not to be the duke.

So, what are your favorites?

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