My guest today is author Stacey Jay. The first book in her new urban fantasy series, Dead on Delta, was just released on May 31, 2011. Please join me in welcoming Stacey here today to Dark Faerie Tales. You can read the first chapter of the book here.
One lucky commenter will have a chance to win two signed cover flats, and a second winner will receive a copy of DEAD ON THE DELTA. As always, details are listed at the end of the post.
Author Bio:
Stacey Jay is a recovering workaholic (or at least working hard at recovering) with three pen names, two small children, and a passion for playing pretend for a living. She’s been a full time mom-writer since 2005 and can’t think of anything she’d rather be doing. Her former careers include theatre performer, professional dancer, poorly paid C-movie actress, bartender, waiter, math tutor (for real) and yoga instructor.
You can visit Stacey around the web here: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
Welcome Stacey!
Lions, tigers, killer fairies, and ex boyfriends. Oh my!
by Stacey Jay
I like to write about scary things. I always have—whether it’s fictional zombies and murderous best friends or cultural anthropology papers about really old people having sex. (They do. They’re all sneaking in and out of each other’s rooms at the nursing home, dragging oxygen machines and smuggling condoms and dentures in their housecoats. How awesome is that? Go, old people. *makes note to be scary old woman prowling the nursing home in a leather bustier if I outlive the hubs*)
So, when I first had the idea for the world of “Dead on the Delta’s” killer fairies, I couldn’t wait to start writing. But I made myself, because I wanted these killer fairies to be really scary. First up, I made the fairy bites affect people in different ways—some die instantly, some go insane and have to be locked away in camps for the infected, others suffer very few side effects at all.
For me, that lack of predictability made the monsters even more frightening, and allowed reactions to the fairy threat to reveal things about the characters. Are they more afraid of dying or going insane? Are they still afraid, even if they are one of the lucky 5% to be immune to fairy venom? Do they find the loss of the people they love more terrifying than death itself? Or are they glad they scored a free pass and exploit the fear of others to make a quick buck?
I also made the fairies beautiful—with the exception of their flat, glassy eyes, and rows of shark like teeth—because it seems the human mind has a harder time dealing with horror when it comes wearing a pretty face. (Think of all the old horror movies with the precious child who’s the murderer, or even worse, the doll! *shudder, vows that nothing is scarier than a murderous doll. Except maybe a murderous clown. Or—gasp!—a murderous clown doll.* *grabs laptop and hides under tablecloth at mere thought of murderous clown dolls*).
I added in the iron gates surrounding the fairy-ridden southern towns for a hint of claustrophobia—always scary—and a new drug made out of fairy poo and highwaymen on the roads between iron-protected towns and I was feeling pretty good about the creep factor in my first adult urban fantasy.
So I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when the most traumatic scenes to write weren’t the ones where fairies were swarming or someone was about to get ripped to pieces. The hardest scenes to write were the ones when Annabelle’s ex-boyfriend unexpectedly shows up in town. It was a Nasty break-up. There are secrets. There is anger and sadness and Many Unresolved Things. And he’s brought another woman with him, one who holds Annabelle’s future in her hands.
Those were the scenes that had me hiding under the tablecloth with my laptop.
I guess I know now that I have a few things to learn about what’s scary. I’ve also learned that—should I someday gather the courage—there’s a really terrifying book about a murderous clown doll loose in a geriatric brothel just begging to be written.
Thanks so much to Angela for having me over to the blog! And thanks to her readers, as well. I hope you enjoy “Dead on the Delta.”
About the Book:
Once upon a time, fairies were the stuff of bedtime stories and sweet dreams. Then came the mutations, and the dreams became nightmares. Mosquito-size fairies now indulge their taste for human blood—and for most humans, a fairy bite means insanity or death. Luckily, Annabelle Lee isn’t most humans. The hard-drinking, smart-mouthed, bicycle-riding redhead is immune to fairy venom, and able to do the dirty work most humans can’t. Including helping law enforcement— and Cane Cooper, the bayou’s sexiest detective—collect evidence when a body is discovered outside the fairy-proof barricades of her Louisiana town.
But Annabelle isn’t equipped to deal with the murder of a six year-old girl or a former lover-turned-FBI snob taking an interest in the case. Suddenly her already bumpy relationship with Cane turns even rockier, and even the most trust-worthy friends become suspects. Annabelle’s life is imploding: between relationship drama, a heartbreaking murder investigation, Breeze-crazed drug runners, and a few too many rum and Cokes, Annabelle is a woman on the run—from her past, toward her future, and into the arms of a darkness waiting just for her. . . .
GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES:
One lucky commenter will have a chance to win two signed cover flats, and a second winner will receive a copy of DEAD ON THE DELTA.
To enter, leave a comment below answering the following question:
What’s scarier: Zombies or Killer Fairies?
1. +1 entry for answering the question (required).
2. +3 entries for becoming a follower of this blog and Dark Faerie Tales on Twitter and Facebook.
3. +3 entries for tweeting about this contest, blogging about it, linking via your sidebar etc…(please tell me where!).
4. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.
5. Please include your email address in your comment.
6. Giveaway ends Friday, June 17th at 11:59 PM EST.
7. The winner will be picked with the help of Random.org.
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