GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Sheep Interview: Kallysten + giveaways | I Smell Sheep

Monday, November 12, 2012

Sheep Interview: Kallysten + giveaways

Welcome to Je Sens Les Moutons! 
Today we talk with Kallysten about her recently released book Bodyguards, quilting, and watching her man harem Jello wrestle. Good times folks. Good. Times.


Sharon: Happy Release Day! Tell us about Bodyguards (QuickSilver Codex #1) 
Kallysten: Thank you! A happy day indeed, and long in coming! When I first started writing Bodyguards, it was supposed to be a short story or novella that would come out in the summer… But it turned into a novel on me, and I had to push the release date back. The one thing that didn’t change is that it’s the first part of a series, which will count at least six books, probably more. I’m hard at work on book 2 for a release in the spring. 

In Bodyguards, we meet Vivien, a young woman who suddenly discovers she’s the heir to a fantastic realm where magic and vampires are commonplace. It comes as a shock, as you can imagine…especially since the current ruler of her kingdom wants to ensure she won’t claim his throne! Thankfully, she has bodyguards to protect her, twin brothers Aedan and Bradan. Bradan – or Brad, as she knows him – has remained so close to her all her life that she has developed a crush on him, which tends to complicate things…


Sharon: well, by the look of the cover she has a crush on both! 
coming out Spring 2013
Kallysten: LOL Well in this installment she and Aedan do little more than clash about every little thing. But like I said, there’s more to come… 

Sharon: You self-publish now. Have you been happy with that decision?

Kallysten: Pretty happy, yes. It is a lot of work, but it’s worth it to know that I have the last say for everything… Or, well, most things… My editor can get quite fierce! *grins* 

I had (and still have as I continue to publish with Samhain and Torquere) good experiences working with epublishing companies, but I also had one rather abysmal one with a now defunct company, the owner of which stopped answering emails and taking care of business from one day to the next with no explanation. There’s something to be said about the peace of mind that comes with working for yourself.

Katie: What is up with your pen name? <G> Why just one word? 

Kallysten: One of those decisions that follow us through decades… LOL 

The name Kallysten comes from a book I read when I was a teen, just as I started writing. She was the heroine and she was smart and beautiful (of course!) but also courageous and a bit mysterious and (of course again) she got the boy who was all those things, too! Everything a young woman would love to be… I decided then that I would be a writer, and that my pen name would be Kallysten. Flash forward a dozen years… I started writing again, now in English, and I needed a pen name. I couldn’t imagine going by anything other than Kallysten.

I’m looking for a new name by the way, for a few YA books I have planned for 2013. This one will have a first and last name ;)


Katie: Queen Katie gets my vote! *Winks* 
Kallysten: I’ll… think about it :P 


Sharon: can you tell us anything about the new books? I would go with JK Rowling... seems like a name that would be appealing <G> 
Kallysten: *G* That’d probably cut down a lot on my need to promo… but then I’d lose time again sitting in a courtroom ;) 

The first YA book I’ll release is actually a story I wrote as one of my monthly freebies, Beneath the Twin Moons of Haldae. It’s a sci-fi/shifter novella, and when it was finished it occurred to me that it would work better as YA than adult fiction. So I’ve been reworking it and will release it at the beginning of the year.

The next one doesn’t have a title yet. One of my Kallysten stories is about two vampire dads raising a human son, and I liked that premise so much I started another story based on that concept, although told from the teen son’s perspective and in an entirely different world. It’s my little darling at the moment.


Sharon: You write m/m, m/f, m/f/m. Do you have a preference? Is one easier or harder (heehee, I said harder) to write?

Kallysten: Well there’s a lot more… hardness in my m/m(/f) stories, but that’s purely anatomical *G* The writing is the same for me; as long as I enjoy my characters, it’s easy to tell about them, whatever their gender. It can get tricky when there are too many ‘his’ but my editor is pretty good at helping me keep hands and other body parts straight, if you’ll pardon the pun! As for having a preference, I think I go by waves. I’ll write a m/f story, switch it up with a threesome, go to m/m, and I guess by keeping things varied I keep myself entertained, too. 

Katie: You have written a ton of stories. Is there a golden child and a black sheep in the bunch?



Kallysten: The ‘golden child’ has to be the Out of the Box series. It started as a 4000 words short story. Then I wrote a sequel, and another, each one getting successively longer until #10 ended up at 15.000 words. Then that wasn’t enough, and I wrote a novel-length sequel. And right now I’m finishing another novel with the same characters. I guess I go back over and over to Virginia and Anando because there’s a lot of me in her, and a lot of my husband in him – and I’m not talking about the things they get up to, more about their attitudes and mindsets. 

The ‘black sheep’… *sigh* I have a short story called Snapdragons which is my one story that doesn’t have a HEA or HFN ending. I like that it’s different, and at the same time, I feel guilty about being so cruel to the characters. It’s on my booklist but for the most part I don’t promote it or talk about it. And now I’m feeling guilty all over again :P 
Katie: It’s ok, we have moonpies to drown our sorrows in. *passes bucket of moonies* 
Sharon: and Kool-Aid. We have a “special” blend ;) 
Kallysten: Cheers! 

Sharon: How long have you been quilting and could you show us some of your work? Do you have any other hobbies?

Kallysten: I started quilting the summer I first visited the US, so it’s been almost 15 years. I used to do it by hand, but when I moved here one of the first gift my husband bought for me was a sewing machine. I do mostly lap quilts, because they’re easier to give to friends than queen size ones ;) 


Lately I’ve been dabbling in beading and making my own beaded book thongs to give away as swag to my readers. I’m having a lot of fun with that! 
Katie: If you were the last female on earth after the zombie apocalypse, who would be in your man harem? (Can be fictional or real) 
 Kallysten:  a man harem just for me… How thoughtful! Let’s see. In no particular order… Jack Harkness (Torchwood), Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Eric Northman (True Blood), Robert Downey Jr, Vincent Kartheiser, Jon Snow (Game of Thrones), a young Harrison Ford, Henry Cavill, Chris Hemsworth, Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries)… Ten looks like a nice, round number… Oh what the heck, let me add Anando (What? You didn’t say it couldn’t be one of my own characters!) and we’ll call it done. 
Katie: Uh, well hate to tell you but Eric Northman is at the top of my list and Sharon called dibs on Thor years ago. Looks like a Jello fight to the death is in order!
Sharon: *high fives Kaite* Kallysten you are going down! *psst...not really Kallysten. We just like to sound like bad asses. We will all just eat the Jell-o* 
Kallysten: Or we could have the men all wrestle in the Jell-o… Just a thought :P 



We interrupt this interview for...um...a potty break, yeah!

*Kallysten, Katie and Sharon disappear into the dungeon with spoons then come out later licking their Jello covered fingers*

We return to our interview now....

Sharon: Finish this sentence. People think I am weird because…

Kallysten: I don’t talk much. I always preferred to listen…and use what I hear in stories :P 
Sharon: *whispers behind Kallysten* Sheep, sheep, sheep 

Kallysten: *ponders a sheep walking through the dance club On The Edge…* 
DesignStudio13

Sharon: If you didn’t have blood flowing through your veins, what would you have?

Kallysten: Definitely muscat (a sweet after-dinner wine from my native south of France). 

Sharon: You are French? Say something if French! What do you miss about France?

Kallysten:  sens les moutons! ( I smell sheep :P ) 

Oddly enough, a lot of what I miss is smells, like the smell of fresh bread and pastries in a good bakery… And now my stomach is grumbling ;) 


RAPID FIRE ROUND!!! 

Sharon: jelly or jam?

Kallysten: Jam! 
Sharon: favorite flavor?

Kallysten: Any kind of berries 


Katie: Funnel Cake or Beignet?
Kallysten: Beignet! (Preferably my grandma’s raisin and rum ones.) 
Katie: We must get some! 
Sharon: road trip! 
Sharon: the biter or the bitten?

Kallysten: Both! 


Katie: Herbal tea or Black tea? 
Kallysten: Herbal… although without much enthusiasm. 

Sharon: thighs or abs?

Kallysten:  abs… 

Katie: Ireland or Scotland? 

Kallysten: Ireland! (Which I had the chance to visit briefly as a teen and would love to visit again.) 
Katie: Was there last summer, loved it!

Sharon: popcorn or M&Ms?

Kallysten: M&M’s! (Peanut ones) 
Sharon: me too!!!

Sharon: Coke or Pepsi?

Kallysten: Water :P 
Katie: Yes, but if you HAD to pick which one would you choose? 
Sharon: you can even pick which can is prettiest

Kallysten: *closes eyes and points* Coke! 
Sharon: Nooooooo! *sob*

Katie: Shake it if you got it or Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle?

Kallysten: Shake it! 

Sharon: Sing in public or dance in public?

Kallysten: Die of embarrassment!

Sharon: Anything you want to let our readers know?
Kallysten: Only that if they’d like a taste of my writing, I have several freebies and extended excerpts available on my website

Thank you for this, it was fun! 



Bodyguards (QuickSilver Codex #1)
On the verge of her twentieth birthday, Vivien’s worries are those of a typical young woman: doing well in college, gaining more independence, and maybe managing to show Brad, her classmate and sometimes jogging partner, that she wouldn’t mind taking their burgeoning relationship to a different level.

Everything changes in the blink of an eye. Vivien stumbles into a knife fight, watches a man die in front of her, and soon listens, stunned, as Brad and his brother Aedan tell her a story of magic, vampires and a murderous ruler intent on killing a princess in hiding – a tale in which she is the princess and heir to a realm she didn’t know existed.

Vivien’s first instinct is to refuse to believe this incredible tale, even if it comes from a man she is attracted to. But when her self-proclaimed bodyguards use magic to take her to a different world, the edges of reality start blurring and Vivien has to figure out who she truly is.

About the Author:
I have been writing for over fifteen years, and I’ve always enjoyed sharing my stories and listening to the readers’ reactions.
My first novels were published by Linden Bay Romance in 2005. The defunct Venus Press subsequently published a few of my short stories. Because so many of my stories are linked as series and part of the same universe, I decided it would make sense to have them all in the same place, which is why I decided to self-publish, first with Alinar then on my own. When I see calls for submissions that speak to my muse, I sometimes try for them, and was published this way by Samhain (Moonlust) and Torquere(Christmas Magic).

When I’m not writing – which isn’t all that often! – I devour books, work in my vegetables patch or at my real-life job, put small quilts together for friends, and try to exercise more. Where do I sign up for days that are 30 hours long?

You can contact me kally@kallysten.net if you have questions or comments.


GIVEAWAY

Kallysten is giving away the winner’s choice of any ebook from herbacklist (anything released before August), plus 5 ‘swag packs’
To enter - talk to raffledude help Kallysten come up with a pen name for her YA books! Be creative :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

17 comments:

  1. I tired making crochet book thongs. Fun to do. I may try beaded ones. I love your books.
    debby236 at gmail dot com

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  2. Here is a couple:
    Kareem (pronounced cream)
    Cinnamon
    Hugh
    Herb
    Oscar
    Oliver

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  3. Mane Suggestion ~ Itsa Coupe (It is a coupe) lol

    heather[dot]coulter[at]gmail[dot]com


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  4. CONGRATS KALLY! I DON'T KNOW WHICH TO PICK AS THEY ALL LOOK GOOD!

    linda_bass@sbcglobal.net

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  5. Thanks for a fabulous post and giveaway!

    Itsabitsa

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  6. Thanks for the great interview and the wonderful giveaway :D
    I like the bookmarks, I design my own cross-stitch ones as well as Amigurumi Crochet Dolls or Picture Blankets(when the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome lets me). Not so good at quilting :(

    ilona
    felinewyvern at googlemail dot com

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  7. Congratulations! Great interview..Wonderful giveaway. I have not read anything by you yet, so if I win...send me your favorite book.

    The name I came up with is Ally S. Kent


    kcnrhtx (at) charter (dot) net

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  8. What fun interview! Loved it! :-)
    New YA name: Cote Aixoise
    What? I thought it was nice and funny. :-D

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  9. Amazing Kally doing amazing work again :)
    Loving it <3
    lively_muzna@hotmail.com

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  10. I've always liked the name Bianca. It's fun to say. lol

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  11. How about Justin Thyme? I love word play lol!
    wendynjason04@gmail.com

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  12. How about Justin Thyme? I love word play lol!
    wendynjason04@gmail.com

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  13. Congrats on the release of your Bodyguards series Kallysten,
    Great interview (I'm a water drinker too, nothing like fresh well water ;) )
    Some names I can think of are Kelly Blue, Kally James, Silver Thorne, Futura Jones, Anando Marie Meyer and Forever Anda Dey.

    Mindy :)
    Birdsooong@comcast.net or Birdsooong@aol.com

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  14. Maybe I could put all these names suggestions in a bag, pull two out and combine them :P

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  15. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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