Today I’m sharing my interview with the awesome Cassie Alexander, an author I recently discovered and is now on my auto-buy list! If you like dark urban fantasy with a heroine who I dubbed the human version of Rachel Morgan from The Hollows…be sure to check out the Edie Spence series! And now onto the interview…
Welcome to Romancing the Dark Side Cassie, it’s a real pleasure to have you stop by and chat with us today. I must admit I’m having a fan girl moment right now! 😉
RtDS: * Please help yourself to the virtual cookies and coffee *
CA: Done! 😉
RtDS: Give us three (3) interesting facts about your heroine that may surprise readers.
CA: Edie likes horror movies — which you’d think she’d be over, since she sees enough of that stuff at work – she listens to country music sometimes (which I do not) – and she really wants a tattoo only she hasn’t figured out what it would be yet.
RtDS: Your writing incorporates a lot of the fascinating medical details and aspects of your own career experience as a nurse. Is there anything that would be off limits to write about for you?
CA: I actually work on a very specific floor, so I try not to get too specific in details about how people were injured, that sort of thing. Luckily, I’ve floated everywhere in my Very Big Hospital, and most of my patient-patients don’t overlap with my book-patients except in small details – like how Mr. Gale carried his comb in his sock, I did meet a prisoner who did that, that sort of thing. I’m pretty bound up by HIPAA rules – but I could share a few good stories in real life, if people who asked had strong enough stomachs to listen.
RtDS: I really love that your heroine, Edie, is an imperfect, human nurse with no supernatural abilities. Was this intentional or purely accidental?
CA: Intentional. When I started writing the series I was really frustrated with too-perfect heroines who were always magical-this, magical-that. I thought it must be really easy for those characters to fight the bad guys and get the guy when they had all that supernatural mojo going for them. I started out writing Edie for me, because I wanted something a little different, a lot closer to who I was.
RtDS: Who has been the most difficult character to write in the Edie Spence series so far?
CA: It’s always the new ones! The old ones I know. Recently (this is book five, don’t hate me!) I’ve had a hard time writing this new vampire character because he’s so old and been imprisoned for so long — and I haven’t figured out how that affects him currently. I’ll figure out sometime soon though. Between now and when it’s due, I hope ;).
RtDS: I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s rooting for Edie to find herself a sexy boyfriend, human or supernatural. Will we see a little more romance in her life in Shapeshifted? (I’m TEAM ASHER…for now!)
CA: Ha – yes. And a coy, you’llllll seeeeeeee.
RtDS: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
CA: I’m almost nervous to answer that because then what if it does become challenging?! (I’m a little paranoid, and maybe a little superstitious .;)) I think the hardest thing is knowing when not to force it. I’m a brute strength kind of person, physically and mentally. Sometimes I try to push my way through problems when I should choose another path or just take a break and let my brain breathe. It’s hard though when you’re always under deadlines to trust yourself and give yourself that space.
RtDS: What is your favorite thing to do when you have free time?
CA: Sit at coffee shop tables outside and/or watch action films. I work nights so I miss the hell out of the sun – so any summer day I have off, I’m writing outside if at all possible. It feels so indulgent, you have no idea. Action films…well, I’m just a fan of bombast and gore ;).
RtDS: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
CA: I really like Steve Bein’s Daughter of the Sword, it’s his first book, just came out last year. And I’ve enjoyed the heck out of Michael Underwood’s Geekomancy and upcoming Celebromancy (which I got to read early, the perks of being an author, hooray!)
RtDS: What has writing helped you discover about yourself?
CA: That my willingness to sit quietly in front of a computer screen knows no bounds? I kid, only because the question is pointed.
I’ve always written. Ever since I was a kid. Writing’s how I explain my world to myself, and myself to other people. It’s only recently that I realized that my books are about how I want the world to be for all of us. I think of my job as a writer is to give people hope. (Which, in large ways, mirrors my job as a nurse.)
RtDS: Finish this sentence using as much or little detail as possible: The Edie Spence series will appeal to readers who…
CA: People who like humane and humorous dark fiction.
RtDS: What can we expect from the next book in the series (spoiler free of course!)?
CA: Deadshifted is all about Edie’s relationship with *loud cough here*.
RtDS: Cofee or Tea?
CA: Tea!
RtDS: Werewolves or vampires?
CA: Vampires!
RtDS: You’re stranded on a deserted island and can pick one book and one person to spend the time with. Which book do you choose? Who would you want for company? {Real or Fictional…ladies choice}
CA: House of Leaves, because it covers a lot of ground, and then I’d actually read all of the footnotes. And for company, my husband, because we really do get along.
RtDS: What’s your current guilty pleasure?
CA: Watching Hell’s Kitchen, or Master Chef 😉
RtDS: Cassie, thanks for chatting with us, it was a so much fun having you stop by today, come back soon!
Cassie is a registered nurse and the author of the Edie Spence urban fantasy series. Nightshifted, her debut novel, was released by St. Martin’s Press in May 2012, and Moonshifted followed in Nov 2012. She likes alchemy, blood, and science, in that order.
I like both as long as they are well developed characters.
Kassandra
sionedkla@gmail.com
Great interview ladies! I ♥ Cassie Alexander’s books!
I love this series!!! Thanks for the fun interview and congrats to Cassie on the success of her series 🙂
Yes, it’s interesting to see how she relates to the others with abilities and how they respond to her.
I love this series! It’s even better since Cassie is a nurse, the hospital and medical scenes are very authentic (take this from someone who has also worked in healthcare.)
I devour a new book as soon as it comes out ahead of anything else I have to read.
I’m good either way!
I like human heroines. It’s nice to know that you can be your true self and still battle evil and win.
I like both.
I’ll take either quite happily, but since I’m human, so I’m told, I’d like to see how she would manage without any special abilities.
I like both as long as it it a good story line with great characters. Thanks for the giveaway. Please enter me. Tore923@aol.com
I’ve read the 1st book in this series and loved it – and thought it was really refreshing to have a character who was super-anything deal in a supernatural world. And it wasn’t like she was altruistic, either – Edie made some decisions that weren’t terribly smart – but it added up to a great story.
Ack! *NOT* super-anything!
I like both!
Thanks for the chance to win!
I like both as long as it is a good story. Thank you for the giveaway.
I like both kinds of heroines. Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks for the giveaway. I have yet to read any books in this series, but I’ve added it to my TBR. As for my favourite type of heroine – I like both kinds! If it’s a good story that grabs my attention, with an interesting character, I don’t care if they’re human or not.
I like reading both.
I actually like them both.