Author Interview: Chloe Neill ( Chicagoland Vampires) and Twice Bitten giveaway!!

Posted 11 July, 2010 by Danny in Danny / 0 Comments

I can tell you we are really excited about having Chloe Neill, the author of the fantastic “Chicagoland Vampires” series, here today. We are happy she had time to do this interview with us. While Heather, Pushy and me were together in Chicago two weeks ago, we sat on Pushy’s porch thinking about the questions we’d love to ask Chloe. (Sidenote: I had such an incredible time meeting my girls!)
I remember when Heather wrote her review about the Chicagoland Vampires and I finally followed this recommendation and read those books. I was hooked! I loooooveeee those books! Read Heather’s Review about the first two books here ( Some Girls Bite and Friday Night Bites).
Last week July 6th was the long awaited release of Twice Bitten the third installment of this series and we were happy Chloe included us in her Blog Tour! ( By now we’ve read Twice Bitten and we looooveee it! Review’s coming soon)

The Chicagoland Vampire series is her first series and Some Girls Bite was her debut novel. In addition Chloe started writing a Young Adult series called Dark Elite with the first book Firespell already published.
Links to Chloe :
Chicagoland Vampire series
Dark Elite
Let’s start with the interview and
welcome Chloe to our Blog:

Chloe wearing a Cadogan shirt
( I so need one of those!!!)

Bookworms: Thanks so much Chloe for coming over to our blog and that you took your time to answer questions from three extremely excited Bookworms!!!

Chloe: Thanks for having me!

Bookworms:And, although we are dying to know if Merit and Ethan will end up together, we will NOT ask you that. 🙂

Chloe: Good. Because I won’t tell. 🙂

Bookworms: In the third book of the Chicagoland Vampire series, Twice Bitten, you introduce werewolves into the story. How do you feel your werewolves compare to the wolves we’ve seen in other paranormal books as of late?

Chloe: I actually can’t recall reading about other werewolves in recent paranormal novels, mostly because I don’t have a lot of time to read. But I tried to make my shifters unique in their connection to the earth. They are a very spiritual

bunch.

Bookworms: Merit goes through the change from human to vampire in two segments, the first being at the very beginning of Some Girls Bite and then again in Friday Night Bites when she accepts her inner vampire. Is Merit unique in this?

Chloe: Yes–this was definitely a biological accident. The transformation should be complete after the three-day change. In Merit’s situation, however, the change was “stalled” by the drugs Ethan gave her. As a result, the vampire was separate

inside her, and it took Celina’s riling her up to kickstart the rest of the change.

Bookworms: Merit always has a candy stash but we don’t know what kind of chocolate is in the drawer. Is it a particular brand of chocolate in her drawer and when you have a candy craving what do you reach for?

Chloe: Merit is a fan of dark chocolate, so she’d reach for that first and foremost. I love Kit-Kats, and keep a bag of snack sized bars in the freezer. They are delicious!

Bookworms: How long did it take you to go from getting the idea for Some Girls Bite to seeing it published? And did it goes faster or easier with your subsequent books like the Firespell books?

Chloe: It took about four months to write SGB and another four months to edit. I was very fortunate that the first publisher to whom I sent SGB liked it (and published it!) FIRESPELL took about three months to write, but I had the contract for the series before I started writing it (based on an outline and idea).

Bookworms: Is it difficult to switch mindsets when you’re writing both the Chicagoland Vampire books, which are clearly for an adult audience, and the Firespell books which are definitely YA? What do you do to keep yourself in a particular character’s mindset?

Chloe: You hit the nail on the head–the key is putting myself in the shoes of the particular character. As long as I’m doing that, it’s not difficult to switch back and forth.

Bookworms: Did you know from the beginning that the Chicagoland Vampires books would be a series? Did you have a particular number of books in mind right from the start or did it grow once you published Some Girls Bite.

Chloe: Yes–I had only wanted to write a series of urban fantasy novels. I theorized that I’d write 8 in the series, but the timeline has shifted since I started writing. I don’t have a definite end point now, but I have no plans to stop writing about

Merit anytime soon.

Bookworms: How do you pick the places in Chicago that you have in the books? Are they real life places, modeled after real life places and did you visit them or just research them online?

Chloe:I start with online research to identify interesting spots, then make location scouting trips to Chicago a couple of times a year. I’m always on the lookout for interesting neighborhoods and buildings!

Bookworms: Thanks again Chloe for your time!

Chloe: Thanks for having me today!!


Now, we have something awesome to announce:
You can win a
signed copy of Twice Bitten
(yes you’re reading right: a signed copy! and Danny is officially jealous now! )
and
an awesome Twice Bitten Swag Bags that includes:
  • TB bookmark,
  • Firespell bookmark,
  • “I’ve been Twice Bitten” silicone band and
  • CV pen
Open to US/Canada only! ( Sorry, but you know my heart is bleeding now… )
How to enter:
  • Comment here with your email address
  • Tell us which is your favorite Chicagoland Vampire character?
Winner will be announced in one week on Sunday 17th and please don’t miss our Twice Bitten Review coming on Thursday, 15th of July!

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Obsessive Reader by Night - Scientist at Day! You can also find me on goodreads. I'd love to get to know you so, don't be shy and say Hello!

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