Interview with Chris Marie Green

I’d like to welcome our guest today, Chris Marie Green. 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 The Path of Razors, Vampire Babylon, Book Five. Can you tell us a little bit about your fabulous new book?

Yes, thank you! This release is actually a mass market reissue of the trade edition, which has already been on the shelves. Ace, my publishing imprint, is re-releasing all my Vampire Babylon books in anticipation of a new series I’ll have out in 2011. It’s a “post-apocalyptic western urban fantasy” series called Bloodlands, and it’ll be released during three consecutive months: August, September, and October. As for the Vampire Babylon books, they’re straight urban fantasy, with a vampire hunting team taking down bloodsucker undergrounds in Hollywood and London during the course of two different trilogies.

The Path of Razors is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?

The second Vampire Babylon trilogy—the London trilogy—has deep fairy tale themes and imagery running through it. There’s some big bad wolf and wicked stepmother stuff going on, as well as a lot of references to Red Riding Hood. This particular book focuses on the consequences of straying from the “good path,” or the path you should be traveling in life, but everyone from the main heroine, Dawn Madison, to the teen girl vampires make choices that lead them off of those paths and far into dangerous territory. In some versions of Red Riding Hood, the heroine has the choice of traveling either the path of needles or the path of pins—The Path of Razors is where my characters chose to go….

What made you decide to write in this genre?

I’ve always been fascinated with vampires in general. I grew up a horror movie and book lover, so it was only natural that I ended up here. : ) Urban fantasy encompasses everything I love to read—horror, action/adventure, some romance, and twisty noir.

Where did you get your idea for this particular book?

Since I use trilogies to tell Dawn Madison’s story, The Path of Razors is an extension of the initial book in the trilogy, A Drop of Red. It’s The Empire Strikes Back of the trilogy, LOL. The London adventure ends with Deep in the Woods, Book Six.

My vamp hunting team had already dealt with those Hollywood vampires in the first trilogy, so it was time for them to move on to another underground. At the same time, Dawn is facing the fallout from being a vampire hunter. Can you imagine what it would be like to be a normal person who’s thrust into that kind of life? Of course, she’s not so normal now—especially not after what happened to her in the previous book, Break of Dawn. That title is very literal, because Dawn is still on the edge, fighting for her sanity and soul in London.

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

I love the Vampire Encyclopedia. It’s fascinating and makes for some fun, informative reading. I’ve also read about Vlad the Impaler from various sources—he plays a part in the formation of these vampire undergrounds that Dawn and her team fight. This sounds odd, but I actually do more research out of the paranormal arena for these books, since it’s important to ground the stories in reality. For instance, I traveled to London so I could get inspiration for certain scenes, block them out, and record all the sensory details I could manage. What a job, huh? ; )

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

I love Dawn—I think in a lot of ways, she’s my dark twin. Kiko, her psychic associate, is always a lot of fun; I hear him talking to me when I write his scenes, LOL. In this particular trilogy, though, I very much identified with the point-of-view teen vampire, Della. She brought back all the pain of growing up, but Della is the worst-case scenario of teen angst. She became a vampire because it helped her to belong in school and because an older man made her a lot of promises—of love, of being appreciated… Too bad that man was a master vampire who made all those promises to a lot of other girls, as well.

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 do have character interview questions that I like to think about before I start writing chapters. Basic things like how they grew up, what their fears are (and you can bet those fears always come true during the course of the trilogies), what their high school yearbooks said about them. With these Vampire Babylon books, though, I find that character development and plot go hand in hand—they both affect each other. I love that, because I think that’s an organic way for things to develop.

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

My most important world-building tool is the story bible. It’s so important to keep track of details, such as what the vampires are capable of, etc. I build the world off of that, and it helps me to keep everything straight in my mind!

Do you have any authors that inspired you?

I devoured Stephen King’s short stories in middle school, and they taught me a lot about planting details in a story. I was also addicted to V.C. Andrews, as well as John Saul. And I love romance, especially Maggie Osborne. Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is a big favorite of mine, too—I re-read that book every so often because it’s that fabulous.

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

I think having web sites are crucial. I write under two pen names—Chris Marie Green and Crystal Green. One is for urban fantasy, one is for romance (Silhouette Special Edition, Harlequin Blaze). Each name is a different brand because there are certain expectations for each kind of story. Romance has to have that emotionally satisfying ending, whereas urban fantasy can be darker. I want readers to know what they can expect from each name.

What do we have to look forward next?

There’s the Bloodlands series later in 2011 (and I’m on Twitter and Facebook under Chris Marie Green if you want updates!). I’ll have a new Special Edition out under the Crystal Green name in January, but in March, there’ll be a new Vampire Babylon short story in an anthology called Those Who Fight Monsters.

Thanks, Chris!

Thank you!

To celebrate her book release, Chris is offering a free book of A Drop of Red, Vampire Babylon, Book Four, to one lucky commenter on today's blog. (please check the blog Monday night to see if you won. Chances of winning determined by the number of entries.)

She will be around all day today. I'm sure some of you have questions or comments for her, so please ask away...

Chris Marie Green is the author of the urban fantasy Vampire Babylon and Bloodlands series from Ace Books. Until about five years ago, Chris was an eighth-grade teacher, but she became a full-time author who has published over thirty-five books under this name as well as the pseudonym Crystal Green.

Check out author’s website at www.chrismariegreen.com and http://www.crystal-green.com/.

Buy http://www.mystgalaxy.com/search/apachesolr_search/chris+marie+green.