Interview with Cynthia Eden

I’d like to welcome our guest today, Cynthia Eden. It’s a pleasure having you come visit us at Much Cheaper Than Therapy, where chocolate is plentiful and advice is free. So grab some chocolate and a lounge chair. Your therapy session has begun.

I understand you have a new release out called IMMORTAL DANGER. Can you tell us a little bit about your fabulous new book?

Sure, I’d be happy to chat about my book, but, first—thanks for having me back at Much Cheaper Than Therapy! It’s a pleasure to be here again.
IMMORTAL DANGER is a paranormal romance featuring an ex-cop turned vampire heroine. Now that she’s immortal, Maya Black spends her nights tracking down all the supernatural bad guys that go bump in the night. And then she meets Adam Brody, a man with a lot of dangerous secrets. He needs her help, she wants him—and his blood. So they make a bargain and team up to hunt down a rogue gang of vampires.

IMMORTAL DANGER is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?

My editor picked the name! Megan is absolutely wonderful at choosing titles and she picked this one for me.

What made you decide to write in this genre?

I love the paranormal sub-genre, always have. When I was younger, I got hooked on vampires and werewolves. To me, the supernatural has a strong appeal—the big, “what if” element—and that element works perfectly to help me generate story ideas.

Where did you get your idea for this particular book?

I had actually just finished writing a novella that featured a vampire heroine and I started thinking more and more about creating another female vampire—one that had all the nice, polite barriers ripped away. Maya Black isn’t an easy heroine. She’s been through hell and has the scars (inside and out) to prove it. I wanted to create a strong heroine, a woman who could face her worst nightmares, and Maya was born. The rest of the story all flowed from Maya’s character.

What are your favorite paranormal research books or sites, and why?

I love the “Element Encyclopedias”—there are so many of them! Like, THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PSYCHIC WORLD, THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MAGICAL CREATURES, and THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GHOSTS & HAUNTINGS. These books are all great! So much info—creatures that I’d never heard of before reading about them in these books. Very detailed and clearly organized info. Love these books!

Which character did you like writing about the most, and why?

In this book, Maya was my favorite character. She was strong, physically and mentally, but she was also a wounded character. Some of her actions surprised me in this story, and any time a character surprises me, well, that’s always fun.

Tell us about how you develop your characters. Do you create character sheets, do interviews, that sort of thing? How does your research and/or world affect your character development?

I don’t create character sheets or do interviews. I write the story and the character develops as the story progresses. Now, as I start to write, I make my character notations (physical characteristics, important life events), but these all emerge through the story. I rarely start a tale already knowing everything about a character. Usually, the story influences the character and leads me down paths that I didn’t anticipate during the first few pages.

How do you go about building your world if you use one? Do you use maps, charts or drawings?

I use a NotePad file. ☺ I write down all the “rules” of my world—specifically, about all the

powers my creatures possess, their origins, etc., and I make certain I consistently follow those rules. I’ve written several stories in the same “world” now, and my file is pretty big because I try to write down all the major character/creature points to keep my consistency going.

Do you have any authors that inspired you?

There are SO many authors who have inspired me—Christine Feehan, Linda Howard, Larissa Ione, Angela Knight, Shannon McKenna, Julie Garwood…these ladies (and at least a good two dozen more that are springing to mind) are such amazing story tellers. Every time I read their work, I’m inspired.

What do you feel is the most effective promotion you have done for your book?

Well, right now, I am running a viral marketing contest/campaign on my blog (www.cynthiaeden.com/blog). I’ve received a lot of entries for the contest and the readers seem very excited about it. The readers post my graphic on their blog or MySpace page so they help me to spread the word about my book.

What do we have to look forward next?

My next release will be MIDNIGHT’S MASTER (July 09 from Kensington

Brava). This is the last book in my Midnight trilogy, and it is the demon Niol’s story (he appeared in both HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT and MIDNIGHT SINS).

Thanks, Cynthia!

To celebrate her book release, Cynthia is offering a free autographed copy of IMMORTAL DANGER to one lucky commenter on today's blog. She will be around all day today. I'm sure some of you have questions or comments for her, so please ask away...And don't forget to check back Monday night to see who won.

Bio.

Cynthia Eden is an awarding winning romance author. She currently writes paranormal romances for Kensington Brava, and she has also recently been offered a contract to write a romantic suspense series for Grand Central Publishing.

Check out author’s website at www.cynthiaeden.com.

Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Danger-Cynthia-Eden/dp/0758226063/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236061026&sr=8-3
Thank you very much for the interview!