HOLLA everyone! It’s me Tori and I’m here with Allison Pang to talk about her debut novel A Brush Of Darkness, hello kitty, smexy incubuses, and life in general.
Welcome Allison! So glad you could join me here at Smexy Books. Word on the street is A Brush Of Darkness is THE urban Fantasy book to get your hands on this year. Will you tell us a little about it?
Wow. I’m so totally flattered. I’m not sure if it’s *the* UF to read this year, but I’m perfectly happy to have people think so! In a nutshell, BoD is the story of a normal girl thrust into a magical world that overlaps our own. Before she has the chance to grasp all the intricacies of this otherworld, her Faery employer disappears, leaving Abby in charge. When other magical beings also start to disappear, Abby is forced to join up with an sexy incubus in search of his missing sister. And of course, there’s a small, pervy unicorn as well.
I really like the cover for this book. It just screams dark and snark. Did you design or have any input on it?
No, I really didn’t. The most I was able to insist on was that Abby not be holding any sort of weapon. She’s not a vampire slayer or anything and I didn’t want to provide that sort of misconception. Everything else was done at the discretion of the artist.
I have to say, I REALLY like Abby. She has that special snark about her that had me laughing and snorting throughout the book. And speaking of snark, smexy Brystion has his fair share and more. Is he based on anyone you know? Enquiring minds want to know.
Thanks so much! I’m not sure where Brystion came from. Of all the characters I’ve written, he’s one of the hardest – he definitely has a mind of his own. (And he’s terribly stubborn.) I certainly didn’t base him on anyone that I’m aware of.
Where did the idea of a mere mortal mixing it up with the Fae come from?
Only that I haven’t seen it done very often. I just like the concept of someone normal being forced to deal with issues that aren’t part of the everyday. I mean, she’s not a trained fighter. She doesn’t carry a gun. She’s crippled and jaded and sort of broken inside. Even the fact that she discovers that she’s a Dreamer (by way of a certain smexy incubus), doesn’t really have any practical application in the real world. At the end of the day, I wanted her own sense of integrity to lead her into doing what she thought was right – not some sort of forced destiny.
I see you are working on book 2. Do you have this planned as a series? If so, do you have an idea of how far it you’d like it to go?
BoD is the first of three sold books to Pocket. I would love for there to be more, but as of right now, this initial story arc should span those three. My original idea was to have seven books – one for each year of Abby’s Contract, but things have changed up a bit in the second book so that may not work as well as I would have liked. Even so, the books have some really fascinating secondary characters and I’m itching to do some with Melanie (the violin playing girl.)
Let’s talk about you now. I see you lead a very interesting life. What took you from marine biologist to writer?
Wanting to make more than $7k a year. And eating. Or really, eating more than just Ramen for the rest of my life. In truth, after I got my initial degree I was having serious second thoughts as to what I wanted to do. (I flirted with going to grad school for English at one point.) I ended up working at Ocean Spray doing scientific research (there’s a lot of counting in science, by the way. Counting cranberries. Counting the mites on the cranberry leaves. Counting the parasitic nematodes inside the grubs we’d just beheaded. Yeah.) At any rate, four months later the grant wasn’t renewed and my position was removed. I hated the idea of working at a job that could be dismissed so easily so I immediately moved into the tech industry and haven’t looked back since.
Writing wise – I only wrote a little bit in college, but was pretty disillusioned by the literary tone of the classes. I knew I wanted to write genre, but that wasn’t really what they taught. So I stopped writing all together for the next 12 years. About three years ago, I was in some online role playing/writing games and decided it might be nice to write a book for publication (Yes, that’s as naïve as it sounds). I researched on how to go about that (i.e. joining writing groups, learning how to pitch and query, etc.), and wrote A Brush of Darkness. And the rest is history, I guess. :)
Have you always had stories to tell?
Yeah…but they were always private sorts of stories. Nothing I really wanted to share with anyone for a long time, anyway.
What drew you to the Fantasy genre? What other genres interest you?
It’s what I’ve always read, so it’s all I’ve ever wanted to write. There are plenty of other genres I like to read, but I have no desire at this point to write anything that doesn’t have at least some sort of fantasy aspect to it.
What are your “must have” things to write?
All I need is my netbook. I don’t use any other tools except for Mindola’s SuperNoteCards once in a while – everything else is just a distraction for me. Music is always nice as well, as a good way of blocking out external noise, but it’s not a requirement.
Where do you picture yourself 5 years from now?
Hopefully making enough money from writing to either quit working or at least go part time. The practical side of me likes eating, so I’m just going to see how it goes. I mean, sure, I’d love to hit the New York Times list, but that’s a bit of a pipe dream for me and I can’t count on that happening.
I see you are a hello kitty connoisseur. Me too. And a former jewel thief. ME TOO!! OMG-we are soul mates. Have you ever been to this site? www.kittyhell.com. I want Hannibal Lector kitty.
Yes. Kitty Hell is on my blogroll and pretty much a daily read. I adore the completely random HK stuff, like the appliances. I totally want the floor buffer. So useless. So cool.
What authors have a permanent spot on your bookshelf?
Pretty much anything by Jacqueline Carey or Anne Bishop. Or Robin Hobb. Or Charles de Lint. Or Lynn Flewelling. Or Kate Elliott. Or Diana Gabaldon. Gah. I have a lot of books. And many bookshelves.
What big thing do you want to do that you haven’t done yet?
Actually have a clean house? I don’t know. Getting published was such a big thing that I haven’t really given much thought to anything else down the road. I’d like to do some more traveling, but I don’t think that qualifies as “big.”
Now for the quick responses:
Coke or coffee?
Coke
Big breakfast or a donut on the run?
Donut on the run. (Or protein bar is more like it, but small and simple.)
Do you agree that Starbucks is THE evil empire that must be destroyed?
Well. I don’t drink coffee. And I’ve only been in a Starbucks maybe four times ever. Never bought anything. So, sure. Whatever you like. Amusingly enough, Abby drinks at Starbucks apparently. LOL.
Dead tree books or e books?
Either. I’m not picky. Keepers I’ll buy twice – I’m impatient enough that I’ll buy the ebook just to get it right away, but I’ll definitely buy it a second time if I want it on the shelf.
Mac or Windows?
Windows – though it depends on the OS. Vista was terrible, but I like 7 well enough. I was a hard core gamer for a long time, and most of the games I was playing weren’t available on the Mac, so there was never any chance I would own one. That’s not the case so much these days, but I’m still not interested in them.
Where can we find you on the web?
My official site:http://www.heartofthedreaming.com
My unofficial blog:http://mynfel.blogspot.com
My group blog:http://word–whores.blogspot.com
Twitter: @allison_pang
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/apang
DA:http://mynfel.deviantart.com
My gaming forum:http://www.petalsandthorns.com
Yeah, I’m all over the place. LOL.
Is there anything you’d like to say to our readers?
I loved being here and I really hope they enjoy A Brush of Darkness!
Well, we loved having you here too! Thank you so much for the interview. I look forward to a seeing more of Abby, Phineas, and the oh so smexy Brystion.
Today, Allison is offering up one copy of A Brush of Darkness to one lucky commenter.
To enter, just leave a comment and a valid email address. Contest open to US/Canada through February 5th.
Great interview this book looks so good.. katybug2373@gmail.com
Hello – I'll jump right on this bandwagon! I am sooo looking forward to reading this book! Thanks for the contest!
sgalley65 at yahoo.com
I am so looking forward to reading this one, between Natasha and Tori, I *have* to give in to the peer pressure. LOL.
Great interview guys. I fell a little in love with Allison just now…er a little more than I already was from talking to her on twitter :P
Can't enter, just stopping by :)
That tiny unicorn makes me want this book every time
I've seen this book mentioned on other sites, and after the interview and review I'm almost convinced to read it. I've just been back and forth on the love interest being an incubus part. It still looks good enough that I'll probably give it a shot though.
jbrink83 at hotmail dot com
LOVE the cover, and I mean you had me at mini unicorn! Though sexy man candy helps too!
-Jess
takingitonebookatatime@yahoo.com
I must have this book! The reviews I've read RAVED about how awesome this book is!!
lovetoreadforfun@gmail.com
Great interview ladies! I've heard nothing but great things for this book and I hope I get to read it soon.
hangingwithbells@gmail.com
I can't hear enough praise about Brush of Darkness! And, this book has been on my wishlist for a while now, so it's great to hear that other bloggers, who I feel have similar reading tastes, have enjoyed it.
PolarisGreen at gmail dot com
I loved this book so much. It was sexy and funny. Brystion was OMG-yummy and the unicorn was the best. Such a fun book for all of you paranormal romance lovers! This is going to be a fantastic series and I can't wait for the next book
krissyp8@yahoo.com
Looks like a fantastic book! Great interview.
sghorney@gmail.com
I'm convinced. I'm in Brazil, so please don't put me up for the contest.
Great interview. Sounds like a really good book. Congrats on the release!! And thanks for the chance.
bacchus76 at myself dot com
This book is looking at a profitable future from its allure alone.
chicareader(at)gmail.com
awesome interview and the book looks to die for!! Thanks for the chance to win a copy
tenasocal(at)aol(dot)com
Thanks for the great interview and review. I'd love to read more. Count me in, please. (Email in profile.)
Great interview. I love what I have seen about this book.
smccar1 at hotmail dot com
Great interview.Sounds really interesting from all the reviews I've read.
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
I enjoyed the interview!
Brush of Darkness sounds like a great read.
kissinoak at frontier dot com
Great interview, it's always so nice to learn about a new author. And after that fabulous review, I would love to read A Brush of Darkness.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
great interview. Love your cover and the books sounds great.
scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com
LOVED this interview! You ladies and your Hello Kitty were cracking me up. I have to go to that site just to see what Hannibal Lector kitty looks like. I'm so excited to read this book, a have a huge appreciation for a snarky girl:) Thanks so much for the giveaway!
supernaturalsnark@gmail.com
Great interview! Everything I read about Brush of Darkness makes me want to read it more and more. Count me in!
ntelhiard@gmail.com
Great interview- love how she made it a point to stand firm on the no weapon thing. It seems like almost every cover in the genre has that, and it's cool that she bucked against it so as not to misrepresent her character. Thanks for the giveaway!
b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail(dot)com
One of the best interviews. Ever! Thanks to Allison for stopping and a thanks to Tori for a job well done.
E-mail is in my profile.
This book looks really good. I would love to read. Definitely going on my list.
iqb99@yahoo.com
Awesome giveaway! Thanks so much.
loveletters.books@gmail.com
eBook and Print if you really like it! That's my kind of gal! I cannot wait to read this book!!!
Another fun interview Tori. Great job!
julie@yummymenandkickasschicks.com
I can't wait to read this! I wish every commenter enormous luck in grabbing a book. I just wish me *slightly* more luck. ;) goddess_les@yahoo.com.
I kind of really, really want to read this now. Great interview! Thanks fr the giveaway! :)
hotaru_2218@yahoo.com
I am really looking forward to reading your book. I need it for my Sony ereader, but have not found it in that format yet. I keep checking for it.
Lisa
Sounds like my type of book! Looking forward to reading it. :)
Thanks for entering me in the giveaway,
~Felicia
fchien16@gmail.com
Awesome interview and thanks for the giveaway! Please count me in!
chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com
You had me at small, pervy unicorn, LOL. I added A Brush of Darkness to my wishlist as soon as I first heard about the book. I'm really looking forward to reading it.
Barbed1951(at)aol(dot)com
I enjoyed reading the interview and chuckled through much of it.
Cringed a bit about the parasitic nematodes inside the decapitated grubs.
I love a snarky character! This book sounds like a lot of fun!
Thanks for the great interview.
I have to agree about the cover–it is awesome, definitely eye catching.
I love a snarky heroine. Can't wait to read it.
akbabcock at gmail dot com
Lovely review Allison & Tori.
And please don't include me in the giveaway.
Have been waiting to read this book and I really want to win a copy. Have recently started reading UF but love PNR and find them compatible. I am still amazed that the same elements combine into so many fun variations and do not get bored reading all of them.
linze_e at hotmail.com
I would love to read this, it sounds really good.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
Great interview – can't wait to read this book, the cover has always been so arresting!
Count me in :)
van
Littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(dot)com
I can't wait to read this! It sounds like it would have some adventure and some humor! Thanks for the giveaway!
meredithfl at gmail dot com
Hi Allison,
I haven't read your book yet. As a matter of fact, I just heard about it today. It sounds like a great book though and right up my alley. I love snarkiness mixed with romance *grins* Great interview by the way and I wish you the best of luck!
This books sounds like something I'd love. Please enter me in the contest.
jen at delux dot com
I am really late joining this party and a whole lot of others due to the ice and snow storms that blew threw Dallas this past week! Better late then never I guess!
This book sounds right up my alley! Please include me!
mmafsmih@gmail.com
I really enjoyed the review and reading the interview. I love that cover too. Please enter me in the contest!
Stacie
user1123 AT comcast DOT net
Would love to read this book! Heard some good things about the book and new author, Allison Pang.
angeldream3(at)gmail(dot)com