A Q&A with Cynthia Leitich Smith

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If you’re a fan of gothic fantasy and paranormal romance, you should sink your teeth into Cynthia Leitich Smith’s newest book Blessed, a young adult thriller filled with brooding shapeshifters and night crawlers set in Austin.  The third installment in a gothic triology, the story revolves around Quincy Morris, an orphaned teenager who’s struggling to keep her parent’s vampire-themed restaurant afloat while saving Central Texas from a legion of rogue vampires. While fighting off blood-sucking fiends, Quincy must keep her new thirst for blood at bay, salvage her soul and clear her best bud and soul mate –a hot-blooded werewolf cross-breed – of murder charges.  Wow – and I thought my high school days were hellish!

Adding a unique spin on the ever-evolving vampire genre, she  gives readers exactly what they want: fast-paced thrill rides filled with vampire lore, preternatural bad boys and steamy romance.  If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, Tantalize or Eternal, you’re in for a treat!   

I had the pleasure of meeting Cynthia at (be still my heart!) a vampire book launch party, and she graciously agreed to chat with me about blood-suckers, her love for dark fantasy and what’s up next!

Welcome Cynthia! Tell us about yourself. When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?  

Thank you! I first began reading and writing from a very young age. I recall that my first “performed” writing was a short story I wrote in second grade about catching crawdads. It was read over an intercom system at my Kansas City, Missouri area elementary school.

By sixth grade, I had a column, “Dear Gabby” in Mr. Rideout’s class newsletter.

In junior high and high school, I served as editor of my school newspapers.

I went on to major in news/editorial and public relations at the White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas, taking several fiction-writing classes as electives.

I continued onto The University of Michigan Law School (with the idea that I’d eventually become a media law professor in a journalism school or first amendment professor in a law school) and continued pursuing journalism through internships at small town and suburban papers as well as The Detroit Legal News and The Dallas Morning News.

The fiction bug bit me hard after graduation while I was clerking for the Department of Health and Human Services in Chicago. I became a full-time writer at age 27.

I couldn’t think of a better city for a vampire-themed restaurant than Austin! How did you come up with this concept?  

Thanks! I’d always been a fan of spooky stories and gravitated heavily toward the horror shelves in the bookstores. Though I began writing realistic fiction, I longed to explore Gothic fantasy from early on. 

It struck me that Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) was perhaps the quintessential horror novel (or one of them anyway) and, being a big classics geek, drew on that for inspiration.

 More personally, I’d worked as a waitress in my teens—first at a Mexican chain restaurant and then at an athletic club (both in Overland Park, Kansas). It struck me that restaurants were such terrific stages for drama. They have thematic music, décor, menus, costuming. Sometimes people even burst into song. 

And sure, folks tend to think of vampires as more drinkers than diners, but I thought that might give my story some of the fresh blood I was looking for. 

Could you give me an example of how you incorporated Austin’s unique culture in your books? 

Tantalize and Blessed are heavily set in Austin. Eternal, only in the beginning of the story. 

That said, the series exudes Austin-ness. Sanguini’s, the vampire-themed restaurant in the book, is set on South Congress, which is an eclectic restaurant-dining-entertainment district. Heroes Quincie and Kieren live in the Bouldin Creek and Fairview neighborhoods respectively. Danger lurks along the hike-and-bike trail to either side of Lady Bird Lake.

Beyond that, there’s a strong sense of the community here. University profs and tie-dyed hippies, indie musicians and filmmakers, professional bikers and politicos and ex-dot.com millionaires. 

It’s welcoming, sunny, optimistic, diverse in every sense of the word, and proudly itself. 

Austin isn’t trying to be another city. Austin is Austin and loves it. You feel that in the characters. 

Unlike other protagonists in popular vampire fiction, Quincie is strong-willed and unwilling to sacrifice her soul for love. How does she embody the characteristics of a tough Texan?

Quincie is smart enough to realize that her soul is who she is. If she gives herself up, there’s nothing left. Not her evolving patchwork family or the business she inherited from her mama or her amazing connection to Kieren. He loves her, the real her, not some monster walking around in body. She fights for herself because she has value intrinsically and to those who truly care about her.

As to how Quincie embodies Texas characteristics, I think she’s a particularly Austin flavor of Texan. She’s very open-minded and accepting and loyal to the folks in her life. She’s independent and ambitious and has one heck of a work ethic. I associate all that with Texas, though she’s also the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, who’ve built their business from scratch, and she values that too.

If your vampire books hit the big screen, which actors would play Quincie Morris and her lifelong best friend and love interest, Kieren?

Honestly, I couldn’t begin to say. At the moment, I’m completely enchanted with how Ming Doyle has brought them to life in her early sketches for the graphic novel, coming this fall.

What is your all-time favorite vampire movie/book? 

That’s a toughie. Other than Dracula, I’m going to go with “Lost Boys.” It’s very 1980s in all of the best possible ways—spooky, funny, and romantic. I’m all about that.  

What is the most important piece of advice you could give to an aspiring YA author? 

Write! Don’t play writer. Don’t just talk about writing and go to conferences and haul around that same manuscript for a decade. Show up to the page day after day after day and mean it. 

Can you give me a sneak peak into what you’re working on now? 

Next up is Tantalize: Kieren’s Story, which is told from the point of view of one of my favorite characters, the hybrid werewolf Kieren Morales.  It’ll be released in August by Candlewick Press. 

I also have an essay called “Isolation” coming out next fall in Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories, an anthology edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones from HarperCollins. 

Beyond that, I’m working on a fourth novel in the Tantalize series, which will be more of a sequel to events in Eternal. At the moment, it’s told in multiple point of view by three of the most popular characters in the series and set in both Austin and rural Vermont.

Take a look at Cynthia’s website to learn more about her books.

“Bones of the Rain” by Russ Hall

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  What’s a girly-girl like me doing reviewing a hard boiled mystery? After all, hard-nose detectives, bar-room brawls and corrupt businessmen are far from fun and frothy. But after reading “Bones of the Rain,” I couldn’t resist writing about the notorious “Blue Eyed Indian” and his fearless, gun-toting sidekick, Cassie Winnick.

When Travis gets dragged to the Kasperville Folk Festival, he expected a lazy weekend in a sleepy Hill Country town filled with middle age hippies reliving their Woodstock days. But just before he could sit for a spell and tap his boots to the folksy blues, the festival shuts down after Austin music star Trish Mirandez is found dead in her dressing room.

Trav soon finds Kasperville isn’t such a friendly place for half-breed Indians after an ‘Injun’ hating cop, Alvin Turnball busts out a Texas-sized can of whoop ass. Suspended for unnecessary roughness, Alvin sets out on a warpath to finish what he started.

Broken, bruised and down on his luck, Travis returns to Austin to lick his wounds with a bottle of “cactus juice.” He soon finds himself in a hot mess of trouble when his music pals ask him to investigate a shady record label owner who may be swindling their royalties. Things really get complicated when he discovers Trish Mirandez’s murder may be connected to an Austin serial killer who has a major beef with prominent, successful women.

With a little help from his friends – including a critter-hording computer genius, a desperate reporter and a feisty gun-wielding vigilante – Trav discovers a connection between the two cases. And as the pieces come together, Trav realizes the people he trusts know more than they’re telling.

Suspenseful from the get-go, “Bones of the Rain” is centered around a compelling plot with one heck of a villain and two main characters you will come to care deeply about. This blogger was guessing all the way to the end as Trav and Cassie closed in on the killer and a motive no one saw coming!

Hall’s style blends the roller-coaster ride pacing of Rick Riordan with the East Texas down-home humor of Joe Lansdale. And like Lansdale and Riordan, Russ draws on the colorful character of his locale – in this case Austin’s music scene – to pepper his narrative. Austinites will especially enjoy the scenes at some of Austin’s most beloved landmarks. Boy am I craving a Huts hamburger right about now!

Check out Chick Lit Cafe’s very First Blogger Interview!

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Want the inside scoop on this stylish blogger? Well then take a peek at my Q&A on Kate Evangelista’s fabulous blog! Here’s a little taste:

Interview:

How long have you been blogging?

Since June 2010. I’m very new to the scene!

Why did you decide to blog?

I have a terrible short-term memory, so I decided to create a blog to document the books I’ve read each year. In a way, revisiting my blogs is like looking through an old photo album. Looking back at an old book blog reminds me of where I was while reading the book, and why I selected that book during that specific time of year.

I also created this blog because I needed more creative freedom. I write research briefs about neuroscience and magazine features about political analysts for a living. Although I’m fortunate to make a living as a writer, I don’t have the freedom to write about things I’m truly interested in. So this blog is really just a fun hobby that allows me to enjoy writing again with no restrictions – and best of all – no editor!

Read more!

Stylish Blogger Award

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It’s official – Chick Lit Cafe has got style! I am now the happy recipient of the Stylish Blogger Award, compliments of Chick Lit Central!!!

And now the rules of the award:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Tell us 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 super stylish bloggers this award.
4. Contact those bloggers and let them know they have won.

Here are seven random things about my nerdy, neurotic self.
1. My signature color is hot pink.
2. I’m addicted to “Murder She Wrote” re-runs.
3.   I let my 13-lb scruffy cat boss me around.
4.  I’m a horror movie junkie. Even when they’re bad, they’re good!
5. My favorite weekend activity is running around Town Lake while listening to an audiobook.
6.  I’m trying to build up the courage to try out for the Texas Rollergirls
7. I’m also working up the courage to start writing my first YA novel. Watch out Stephanie Meyer!

Blogs I selected  for the award (in no particular order):
Vampire Book Club
Fantastic Book Review
Fiction Vixen
Can’t Put it Down
Writing Strong Women
About Happy Books
Blood Rose Books
Book Crazy
Indie Paranormal Book Reviews
YA-Aholic
Bewitched Bookworms
Princess Bookie
Books Make Great Lovers
Parajunkee’s View
Linus’s Blanket

This is a fun way to let other bloggers know how much you dig their sites. Congrats to all you stylin’ bloggers!

“Made in the USA” by Billie Letts

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  A funny thing happens to me when I get caught up in a really good story. I tend to lose touch with reality. After putting the book down (which was hard to do!) I found myself worrying about Lutie and Fate, two orphaned children fighting to survive in the vast wasteland of lost souls known as Las Vegas. 

Their misfortunes begin one grim day at Wal-Mart where their estranged father’s 300-lb girlfriend, and their guardian, plummets to her death in the checkout aisle. What a horrible place to check out of life! That’s even worse than Elvis’ death on the throne…but I digress. Unwilling to become a ward of the state, rebellious Lutie hits the road with her encyclopedia-reading kid brother in their dead guardian’s rusted-out Pontiac to find their father in Las Vegas. Their series of unfortunate events rapidly unfolds after Lutie picks up a hitchhiker with a sick fascination with Hannibal Lector. Things go from bad to worse after Lutie decides to sacrifice her innocence and pride to keep her brother off the streets. Just when she saves enough money to pay for a shabby apartment in a decent school district, a band of thugs robs her blind and beats her to a bloody pulp.

OK so you’re probably thinking that reading this book is just as  gut wrenching as watching a puppy get kicked in the ribs, but trust me – it gets better! After the robbery, the orphans’ mysterious protector, Juan Vargas, swoops in and nurses her back to health. He then transports the kids to his family homestead in rural Oklahoma to take them away from the brutal city streets and possibly give them a shot at a real future.

Living with Juan’s family of circus performers, Fate discovers a world of wonder and happiness as he spends his days catching lighting bugs in mason jars and fishing with his new best friend. But according to Lutie, if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Unable to accept help from Juan’s nurturing mother, Lutie makes it her mission to return to Las Vegas and make it on her own.

Much like her bestselling hit “Where the Heart Is,” this heartwarming tale explores the depths of family ties, the agony of unexpected loss and the resilience of the human spirit. I recommend this book to anyone who likes feisty female protagonists and emotionally rewarding endings.

“Wolfsbane and Mistletoe” edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

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Once again Christmas has roared to a screeching halt. Time to pluck off the ornaments and rake up the mountainous rubble of shredded paper underneath the tree. Although we must say goodbye to the decorations, fat-riddled goodies and yes, even the falalala Lifetime movies, there’s no reason to stop reading Christmassy stories! If you, like me, need something to stave off those post-holiday blues, you should pick up “Wolfsbane and Mistletoe,” a holiday feast of 15 short stories filled with werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires and oodles of romance! I’d like to give you mini-reviews for all 15, but that could take all day and I have some after-Christmas shopping to do! Here’s a taste of three of my favorites. 

For the funny bone
“S.A.” by JA Konrath 

When Robert Westin Smith attends his first Shapeshifters Anonymous meeting, he discovers Santa has a dark side – close ties with Satan to be exact. The not-so-jolly old elf teamed up with none other than Lucifer himself to rid the world of therianathropes, a special breed of shapeshifters with an appetite for evildoers. With his “salvation army” of demonic bell-ringing elves, Santa leaves toys as consolation prizes for children after devouring their parents. Wow – and I thought Billy Bob Thornton was a bad Santa!  Things really get ridiculous when Santa and his band of minions swoop in on the goofy group of shifters to systematically wipe them off his naughty list. I’m not sure what’s funnier about this story, the were-tortoise shouting “man your battle stations” or a wannabe shapeshifter who likes to dance in a hypo costume. Either way, this twisted-beyond-belief holiday tale is sure to tickle your funny bone!

 For Sookie Stackhouse fans
“Gift Wrap” by Charlaine Harris

For many happy couples, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. But for Sookie Stackhouse, it’s downright depressing. Sad, single and alone on Christmas Eve, she can’t stop brooding over her string of fanged and furry ex-boyfriends. Like a gift from the paranormal gods – or perhaps a well-meaning relative – a wounded, naked were-man is left for dead in the winter-bare forest surrounding Sookie’s house. Never one to turn away from a stray were-man (who just so happens to be smoking hot), Sookie wraps him in a blanket and nurses him back to health – and boy does she have good bedside manner! If you aren’t up to date on the series, you may want to catch up before reading this little story because it contains some major spoilers.

 For the naughty list
“Christmas Past” by Keri Arthur
 
This Christmas isn’t so merry for Hannah. Rather than cozying up by the fire with a tall glass of eggnog, she must brave a snowstorm dressed in a skimpy elf costume – jingle bell shoes and all –to hunt down a vampire serial killer with a penchant for Christmas charity collectors. But the humiliating costume and the unrelenting snowstorm isn’t the worst of it. She’s forced to partner up with hunky Brodie James, werewolf expert and chief investigator for Para-Investigations Squad. Owner of a killer smile and smoldering eyes. And the man who broke her heart precisely one year ago. Frostbite and bloodthirsty vampires are the least of Hannah’s worries when Brodie attempts to lure her out of her elf costume and into his bed. Out of all the stories in this collection, this one’s the hottest! I recommend reading this with a hot toddy and a decadent slice of chocolate cake.

“Christmas Letters” by Debbie Macomber

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 I have a confession to make: I am a sucker for Christmas romance books and Lifetime movies that ooze with sentimentality. Come on ladies, you have to admit those movies of the week are so bad, they’re good! I don’t know if it’s the scent of balsam pine that fills the air, or the twinkling fairy lights that transform my normally drab living room into a winter wonderland, but Christmastime always brings out the sap in me.

That’s why I couldn’t resist picking up “Christmas Letters,” a paint-by-the-numbers holiday romance about an aspiring book publicist named K.O. who ghostwrites other people’s Christmas letters. Who knew people actually needed to hire someone to write Christmas letters? I usually scribble something generic like “Have a merry Christmas y’all” and call it a day. But I digress.

 K.O. utterly loathes Dr. Wynn Jeffries,  best-selling author of a child-rearing book that advocates no boundaries for kids. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me! So K.O.’s sister, a Dr. Jeffries groupie, follows the book religiously and allows her twins to turn into tyrannical terrors. Upset by the harm the book has caused, K.O. makes it her mission to hunt down the good doctor and expose him for the childless, psycho-babbling quack that he is.

 But things get complicated when she discovers he lives in her building and her loopy, tea leaf-reading neighbor attempts to play matchmaker. After getting suckered into having dinner with the strapping eligible bachelor, K.O.’s deep-seated anger is soon taken over by lust.

 As many of these love-hate romances go, the storyline is predictable and wrapped up with a cute little bow. Although you’ll most likely predict the outcome after reading the first couple chapters, this book is sure to give you the warm fuzzies. So grab your Snuggie (I know you have one!) and a steaming cup of cocoa and curl up with this cozy little romance!

Boys that Bite: A Blood Coven Vampire Novel by Mari Mancusi

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What do you get when you throw together a pair of distinctly different twin sisters, a tubby, pimple-faced vampire slayer, an Orlando Bloom look-alike with fangs, and a gaggle of money-grubbing Druid monks? A refreshingly unique teen vampire series that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Unlike her vampire-obsessed sister, Sunny McDonald would rather play field hockey and make moony eyes at the resident  high school hottie than hang out in graveyards and Goth clubs. Her averageness vanishes, however, the night her sister dragged her into Club Fang. Wearing a t-shirt brandished with the words “Bite Me,” Sunny catches the eye of Magnus, a vampire hottie who mistakes her for her sister.  After sinking his teeth into Sunny’s neck, she discovers that she will soon join the ranks of the walking undead. Even worse – she would miss the prom! This turns out to be very inconvenient for her sister Rayne, who secretly signed up to be converted into Magnus’ bloodmate.

With less than a week to reverse the curse and rejoin the land of the living, Sunny must track down the Holy Grail and devour the last remaining drops of the blood of Christ. Just when things couldn’t get more complicated, Sunny finds that her quest to reverse the bite may lead to a fate worse than turning into a fanged pumpkin after her week is up: falling head over heels for the bloodsucker who bit her.

If you’re in the mood for a good vampire story, but burned out on the formulaic star-crossed-lover melodrama, then pick up this book. The tounge-in-cheek humor and madcapped misadvenures  will send readers – especially fans of Buffy – into  fits of giggles. Mancusi keeps the quips coming without overdoing the sarcasm, and her take on vampire lore will intrigue and entertain even the most jaded vampire fans. The first book in the series, “Boys that Bite will definitely leave readers thirsty for more. I know I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the next installment!

“Goodbye, She Lied” by Russ Hall

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My friends always laugh at me for being the only Murder She Wrote fanatic without blue hair and a walker. What they don’t realize is that J.B. Fletcher is a hip, hip lady, who exemplifies the meaning of Girl Power! Not only is she a snazzy dresser (love the khaki trench coat!), but she is also a brazen, balls-to-the-wall crime fighter who puts local law enforcement to shame. That’s what I love about amateur women detectives! And that’s why I had such a great time accompanying Esbeth Walters – a Texified Mrs. Marple – on her quest to help her pal “Boose” find the con artists who cheated his elderly mother out of $64,000. 

A retired school teacher and full-time sleuth, Esbeth is the kind of woman that good ol’ Texas boys would call a ‘pistol.’ Much like my girl J.B. Fletcher, the sleuthing senior gets nothing but eye rolls and condescending remarks from local law enforcement. But that doesn’t stop her from taking on a new case when a friend in need comes knocking on her door. When Boose – an endearingly cantankerous rough-n-tough Texan – asked her to find the tricksters who stole his mother’s rest-home fund, she reluctantly answers the call of duty. After snooping around the local nursing home – run by a shifty director and an imposing nurse with about as much warmth as a prison guard – Esbeth discovers Boose’s mom wasn’t the only resident who was bamboozled by money-grubbing grifters. She soon stumbles upon another mystery when a damsel in distress enlists her help in proving her husband’s bizarre car accident was not a suicide. With the help of her elderly sidekick, Gardner Burke (who, if this ever became a movie, could be played by Clint Eastwood), Esbeth unearths (literally) connections between the two mysteries and discovers her cozy Hill Country hamlet is a hotbed for swindlers and cold-blooded murderers.

 I’m not sure what disturbed me the most about this mystery, the two ruthless hit men who like their weapons a little too much, or Esbeth’s foreboding dread of living her last remaining years in a grim rest home that reeks of Lysol and death. This book definitely left me feeling a little uneasy in many ways. But that’s not to say I didn’t have a heck of a good time reading it!

 This read is perfect to snuggle up to with a steaming mug of chai tea – my fave!  With  the nights getting darker and colder, what better than a good murder mystery with a good dollop of Texas grit thrown in too! Thanks Russ, for creating another fun and feisty female detective series. Keep em’ coming!

Do you have a favorite amatuer sleuth? If so, who?

“The Carrie Diaries” by Candace Bushnell

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Finally Candace Bushnell answers the questions that have plagued diehard Sex in the City fans ever since Carrie Bradshaw sipped her first pink cosmo: How did Carrie hit the big time as a newspaper columnist in New York City? What spurred her fascination with bad boys and high fashion? And most importantly – how did she meet her fabulous trio of gal pals?

Considering this book is classified as young adult, many Sex in the City fans will dismiss it as a dumbed-down “little Carrie” story filled with high school hijinks and insipid mean-girl melodrama. But don’t be fooled, this book runs much deeper than – gasp! – the plotlines in the TV series and the movies.

Before donning Monolos and hobnobbing with A-listers at trendy Manhattan hotspots, Carrie Bradshaw was a small town girl who dreamed of being a writer and jumping on a train toward the bright lights of Manhattan.  Detailing  the hardships young Carrie encountered after her mother’s death – a back-story barely touched upon in the series – Bushnell reveals  how the insecure teen depended more on her friends than her widowed father to maneuver her way through the emotional minefield of adolescence.

In this much-anticipated prequel, Bushnell offers a glimpse into  the origins of Carrie’s outlandish fashion sense and penchant for tall, dark and dangerous men. Sebastian Kydd, a James Dean kind of bad boy, most certainly foreshadows Carrie’s rocky road ahead with the notorious Mr. Big.

A refreshing departure  from shallow plotlines surrounding  product placement, over-the-top weddings and decadent trips to Abu Dhabi, “The Carrie Diaries” offers a coming-of-age story that gives “our girl” a bit more substance. Fans in need of a Sex in the City fix will love seeing Carrie evolve from an awkward teen into a quick-witted, insightful writer.

Although I was hoping Bushnell would give readers a taste of Carrie’s early beginnings with Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, she does reveal the young fashonista’s road to New York City and serendipitous encounter with a certain PR bad girl. Oh Candace, please tell me you’re writing a sequal!