Author Interview & Giveaway with Erica Hayes

I am so excited to have here with me today, Erica Hayes, the author of the super sensual and dark urban fantasy series, the Shadowfae Chronicles! Please help me welcome her to Among The Muses.

First, give us the scoop on who Erica Hayes is.

I’m a writer, and I love my job. That’s about it :) I’ve written full-time for a couple of years now, and it’s the only job I’ve never gotten bored with.

Has there always been an ‘inner writer’ clawing just beneath the surface to get out, or was the inspiration of writing something that came about at a particular time in your life?

No clawing beneath the surface for me. I’ve always written stuff. I had a bit of a hiatus after I finished uni/college, while I tried to get a real job. It didn’t work out. I got the chance to quit and write all day, and I took it. And two and half years later, here I am.

What inspired, or influenced, the creation of the Shadowfae Chronicles?

I wanted to write dirty! No, truly. I was reading a lot of urban fantasy and supposedly ‘dark’ paranormal romance, and it irked me how easy some monsters’ lives were. Vampires who never kill anyone, demons who never actually have to tempt anyone to sin, succubi who don’t have to taste hellfire when they damn their victims. Paranormal Land was way too safe. When my characters used their powers, I wanted them to really suffer for it.

I had this idea about a succubus who wants to be free — that’s a nasty way to earn a living, right? Sucking out men’s souls with sex? Beholden to her demon lord, always having to get intimate (ahem) with whoever he tells her to? She’s got these demonic powers that control her as much as she controls them, and I wanted to show her life in all its squalor — but it’s also beautiful, and colourful, and magical.

One of the things that captivates me most about your writing is your ability to creatively describe a unique, dark, and sensual world with equally creative characters. Can you describe the Shadowfae world to readers that are new to the series?

Essentially? A hellcursed Melbourne with fairies. But more than that. It’s kind of hard to describe... how about I give you a snippet? This is from the new book, Poison Kissed, and it’s the nightclub called Unseelie Court, where these guys hang out, and where a lot of the action in the books takes place.

“Crashing nightclub metal wound sinuous tentacles into my ears, vibrating my body with sweet longing until the club’s dark humidity caressed me like a lover’s fingers. You’d think a nightclub would be deafening for a banshee’s heightened senses, but I could hear everything: the warm rainbow whisper of wingbeats, sharp teeth clinking on glass, claws scraping skin, the silky slide of kisses, and the tantalizing friction of bodies shifting and swaying as they dance and drink and f**k.

Unseelie Court, the dirtiest, sexiest club in town. The hottest action, the coolest drugs, the wildest party. In here, fairies hid themselves from human eyes with glamour, that shadowy, look- away, don’t-see-me magic that makes them look normal. Vampires dazzled their prey, that mesmerizing glint in their eyes, and humans blink and sigh and forget they saw anything out of place. We all did it, glassy and effortless, and the air sizzled and clashed with spells, sparks alight, the magical stink of ozone faint but definite.”

Get it? Yeah. Everything is sexy, dark, overwhelming. No wonder they’re all crazy :) If you’d like to check out some more, I have the first chapters from Shadowfae and Shadowglass, as well as a free short story to kick off the series, on my website at http://www.shadowfae.net

The sexy fairies of the series are completely unique and unconventional to the way they are perceived in fairy tales, from appearance to eroticism. Can you give new readers a little background on the different traits that deviates them from the norm?

There are normal fairies? I guess mine are a bit psychotic. I wanted to make fairies who acted like fairies, not just humans who can fly. Their magical glamour disguises their appearance, but they’re still wacky dudes, and because they can’t function in the human world, they’ve become an underclass of thieves, con artists, tricksters and drug dealers.

They’re colourful — Nyx from Shadowfae is green, and has sunflower yellow hair. And they’re very sensual creatures, because their emotions manifest physically. Ice from Shadowglass is a water fairy, and when she gets embarrassed, she oozes, which is mighty inconvenient when she’s trying to impress her hero with how cool and collected she is.

I have waterfae, airfae, firefae — but also a few unexpected ones. Fairies evolve with the times like everyone else. Indigo in Shadowglass is a metal fairy, and in my new book, Poison Kissed, you’ll meet Diamond, who’s a glass fairy and a most peculiar creature.

What’s the story behind the antagonistic vampire Mafia?

It’s from real life, except for the vampire part. We have this larger-than-life gangland thing going on in Melbourne that I wanted to use. Go and google ‘Melbourne gangland killings’ -- seriously, you couldn’t make up this stuff. It was in the papers every week for years, and it’s still going on. And for me, there’s a strong resemblance between a dark, dangerous paranormal world and the way real-life gangsters behave. It’s everyone for themselves, might is right, and you never know who your friends are until they shoot you in the back.

So the Melbourne in Shadowfae is run by this bunch of hellbound gangsters who are beholden to warring demons. It’s the only sensible explanation :) My vampire ganglord, Angelo, is Italian (sorry, but them’s the facts) and at the start of the series he’s the biggest, baddest, meanest vampire in town. But the real boss of the gang is Kane, the reigning demon lord. If there ever was a battle between angels and demons for Melbourne’s soul — and we find out later in the series that there was — it’s already over, and hell won. 

Book one, Shadowfae, gave us a succubus and incubus as the main characters, and in book two, Shadowglass, the hero and heroine are fairies. Was there one book that you enjoyed writing more in terms of characters or plot?

Shadowfae just kind of happened. I mean, I’m a plotter, so I had the whole thing figured out, but I didn’t really know what kind of book it would be. Once I started writing, the atmosphere just exploded onto the page. Shadowglass was more pre-planned — I already had a contract, and I knew the editor wanted more of the same. So I plotted the hell out of that bad boy :) but it was awesome because I got to play with my fairies, who in the first book were secondary characters only.

Is there one particular character that is extra special to you for some reason or another?

Whichever one I’m writing at the time... But I’d have to say Kane, the demon lord, is my favourite. Seductive, powerful — so much so, he doesn’t yet understand his own strength — a master of temptation, yet he’s socially inept and an idiot when it comes to romance. What’s not to love?

Was there a character that was more challenging to write?

The hard thing about writing dark romance is that your main characters still have to be hero (or heroine) material. Indigo, the metalfae hero from Shadowglass, was challenging. I can’t really say why without giving too much away... let’s just say he has a personality quirk that made him a problem child. Joey from Poison Kissed is another unusual hero – not your regular shapeshifter. You think serpent gangsters can’t be sexy? Wait till you meet Joey.

I noticed on your website that you have soundtracks for the first two books, as well as an Unseelie Court soundtrack (which are all fantastic by the way). Does music influence ideas for particular scenes or characters?

Oh, I’m glad you enjoyed the songs! I make those soundtracks after the fact, more of an atmosphere thing really — I prefer silence when I write. But some of the songs are for characters. ‘I Never Told You What I Do For A Living’ is a song for my succubus, Jade. ‘Lips Like Morphine’ is how Indigo feels about Ice. And some are there just for the fabulous sound. They’re dark, angry, helpless songs, and that’s what my story world is like.

On September 28th, the third installment of the Shadowfae Chronicles, Poison Kissed, is set for release. Can you tell us a little bit about what to expect?

Violence, romance and sex :) what else? Seriously, I love this story — danger, revenge, forbidden passion and a kick-ass banshee heroine. We’ve changed covers for this one — the first two covers were beautiful and I adore them, but I love this cover too! It’s more of an urban fantasy feel — the story is heavy on romance, but at heart it’s a fantasy. So we have subplots, and villains, and an ongoing background story. Just so ya know :)

Here’s the back cover copy:

Beyond the veil of magic, a fairy otherworld pulses with glamour and dark beauty. It's a place where passions run deep and dark — and death is just one kiss away...

Mina is a banshee whose greatest power lies in her siren song. She's beholden to her boss Joey, a snake-shifter who once saved her life and now employs her as a gang enforcer. She refuses to upset the fragile balance between them by admitting that she longs for him, that his embrace is the only thing she craves more than revenge for her mother's death...

When Mina learns that Joey may have been involved in her mother's murder, fury threatens to spill out of her, note by vicious note. She and Joey have always trusted each other to stay alive, but now she's not sure what to believe. The evidence stacked against him — or the one man who haunts her dreams and burns in her blood...

How many books are planned for the series?
At the moment, four. But the story of the series isn’t finished, so hopefully there’ll be more!

After Poison Kissed, what’s next?

Book 4’s already written — it’s called Blood Cursed, and the excerpt is in the back of Poison Kissed — and I’m working up a proposal for book 5. I do have an ending in sight... but we’ll have to wait and see. And I’m working on something different, a kick-ass space opera about a lady secret agent.

Now for some quickie responses… 

What I love to do outside of writing... What is this ‘outside of writing’ of which you speak?

A favorite Urban Fantasy author of mine... At the moment I’m reading Jocelynn Drake and Rob Thurman.

A favorite book I’ve read so far this year… Grimspace by Ann Aguirre.

My favorite type of hero… One whose flaws actually mean something. He might not have a heart of gold, but when he finds his heroine, he wants to deserve her.

My favorite type of heroine... Vulnerable but gutsy. A girl who goes outside her comfort zone to get what she wants.

If I could have a supernatural power it would be... I’d like to be a vampire. Eternal youth. What could go wrong? :)

My writing routine includes… An hour of email, promo etc., then on with the words until I’m done.

Something I always have to have near when writing... Computer and brain. All else is superfluous.

In regards to writing, something I wish I knew then, that I know now... Be fearless. That idea you think is too hard, or too big, or too scary? That’s the one. Run with it.

Five years from now I see myself... Lounging on a beach in Tahiti, reading the title of my latest book on the New York Times list... Giggle. At least, still writing books. That’d be nice.

I would tell an aspiring new author… Don’t be afraid to let your words sparkle. And don’t give up.

Is there anything else you would like to tell fans of your books? Thank you! And yes, Kane will get his story. But not yet...

Where you can find Ms. Hayes...

Website | Blog | Twitter 

Thank you Ms. Hayes, for taking the time to stop by and give us the low down on your fantastic series and upcoming release!!

Now for the Giveaway....

This contest is open Internationally, but with some catches.

The winner will have their choice of book: Shadowfae (#1 of the Shadowfae Chronicles), Shadowglass (#2), or the pre-order of Poison Kissed (#3). 

The catch is.. the US release date for Poison Kissed is earlier than the UK date, therefore, if the winner is international and wants the upcoming release, it will not be shipped until November! Sucks, I know, sorry!

Contest RULES:

• To be entered, you MUST leave Ms. Hayes a question and/or comment!! She'll be popping in here periodically to answer you!
  

• Leave your email addy with the comment. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, you can email me at amongthemuses@gmail.com

• If you would like an extra entry point: then you can tweet about the contest, then come back and paste your link in a new comment post.   

• Contest ends Tuesday, September 14, 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be chosen through random.org, and contacted via the email addy they've left.

Good Luck, and thanks for stopping by!