Chloe is the author of both the YA 'Dark Elite' series, and the 'Chicagoland Vampires' series, and is here today to talk a bit about book 4 in the series, 'Hard Bitten', which is released May 3rd.
So without further ado, let's get started!
Ailsa: Welcome to the blog Chloe! I really love the series, so it's great to have you here. How did you first come up with the idea for Merit & her world? Was it Merit first?
Chloe: Merit was first, but her name was Katie and she was in a band with her best friend, Mallory. She was attacked by a vampire in a club, and saved by Morgan (who owned the club). I thought that was a little silly, so I put the pages aside. And then one day I had a mental image of Ethan, and the rest flowed from there.
Ailsa: It's interesting that Ethan wasn't there straight away. Do the characters ever do things that you aren't expecting, or do you have things pretty tightly planned out?
Chloe: A little of both. I generally know where I want a book to go, but sometimes the characters surprise me. The antagonist in DRINK DEEP, the fifth book (Nov. 2011) was a complete surprise to me!
Ailsa: Ooh, I'm intrigued! And I'm very glad that Drink Deep comes out relatively close to Hard Bitten. So can you tell us a little bit about your journey to publication - did it take you a while, or was it fairly quick?
Chloe: SOME GIRLS BITE was the second manuscript I wrote. I received one rejection for my first manuscript, then sent SOME GIRLS BITE to one publisher--Penguin. My editor bought the first two books, and the rest is history! I consider myself very lucky to have had such a quick route to the shelf.
Ailsa: That does sound very quick! Has your life changed much since the books were published?
Chloe: I have a full-time dayjob, so it's mostly become much busier with writing, editing, marketing, blogging, interviewing, etc. I don't get many days (or hours) off.
Ailsa: Twice Bitten was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for my emotions - can we expect more of the same in Hard Bitten?
Chloe: I hope that readers think all my books include a good emotional rollercoaster and with some resolution at the end!
Ailsa: They do, but I thought it was especially true for Twice Bitten! I can't wait to see what happens next! Finally, I know I'm going to love HARD BITTEN - can you tell us one reason why you think readers will love this one?
I think we see Ethan's and Merit's relationship grow, and we see Merit really dive into her position as Sentinel. I'm very
proud of her!
Thanks for having me today!
Ailsa: You're welcome! I'm so excited to read the book now!
HARD BITTEN comes out on May 3rd in the USA, and 11th May in the UK.
Seeing the relationship evolve between Ethan and Merit will have a lot of ups and downs and I am sure we will have great fun in following it.
ReplyDeleteAs long as Ethan and Merit end up together I will be a happy Girl!! :)
ReplyDeleteI too hope that Ethan and Merit end up together - they're two halves of the whole!
ReplyDeleteI love these books and can't wait for Hard Bitten to come out - its a shame the publication date is later for the UK though - I have to wait an extra week to read it!!