VICKI PETTERSSON: Interview! Contest!!!

And here it is!! An interview with author extraordinaire Vicki Pettersson about her new book The Touch of Twilight, the zodiac series, writing stuff, and other completely random and possibly freakish questions. CONTEST DETAILS AT THE END!

Vicki and I were born in the same year, and married in the same year (not to each other). We've been friends since we both were writing historicals, since she was a showgirl and I was...oh, I was still an editor. Right. Anyway, YEARS. She's one of my writing heroes. She knows what she wants to do, and she puts her head down and gets it done. You can see her passion and her hard work in every page.

And in spite of her currently scrabbling to finish Book 4, I pinned her down long enough to answer a few questions:

Susan: Joanna, your heroine, discovers in the first book (The Scent of Shadows) that she has superpowers, among other things. It's been rumored that these books are actually a confession of your own super abilities. Can you tell us one of your own uber-mortal talents?

VICKI: I have the ability to bruise myself in my sleep. No kidding. I'll wake up in the morning with bruises and have no idea how they got there. Of course, the first fight scene in SCENT came to me in a dream, so maybe that's where I test a scene's plausibility. (My poor husband. He'd probably prefer it if I wrote romance.)

Susan: In TOT, Jo burrows even deeper into the underworld of Las Vegas. What's your favorite new thing about that universe that you discovered while writing this book?

VICKI: Oh my. Tough question, because obviously I'm only writing about things that interest me as a writer and a reader. Without giving too much away, I suppose my favorite elements were discovering about new creatures, unfolding more of the history behind the Zodiac's matriarchal lineage, and sensing a possible subculture that none of the characters in the books seem willing to acknowledge. As Jo and I share a perverse curiosity that causes us to plunge headlong in directions others would rather us not (which I like to think of as an endearing trait), I got to indulge in all of these things.

Susan: Confession time. If you had to choose, would you rather have one night with Hunter or Ben? (I know which one I'd choose…)

VICKI: One night? Dude. There are seven days in the week. If pressed, I suppose I could divvy the days up evenly and take my day of rest on the Sabbath. How does that sound? (Slutty, I know. But I won't hold it against them if you won't. {Evil grin})

Susan: How does Vegas continue to influence the books?

VICKI: Vegas is as much a player in these books as any other major character, or so that's the goal. I want things to happen in this series that could only happen or evolve in this particular place, so I choose city settings that are unique to the environment, and that speak to me as a native. I'm always amazed at how place affects mood, and I'm sure to note my emotions when I travel. Vegas speaks to me of hope, so despite the noir tone of this series, I try to convey that as well.

Susan: Where do you get your ideas? Kidding. But about your writing process: how is it different now, with several published books under your belt, than when you started?

VICKI: I know that I can write. I know that I can finish. I know what works for me and why. (Or maybe I should say I know a lot of what doesn't work for me — that's sometimes more important.) I can tell when I'm heading off track before I get too far, and I have the tools to correct such missteps quickly and easily, so that I don't waste too much time detouring down rabbit holes. The different stages of creating a novel are now familiar to me, so even if I'm in an uncomfortable place in the text, I recognize that I've been there before, and move forward with the confidence that I'll get out of it again. But I'm still basically a plough horse about it (or maybe just a mule {G}). I just put words on the page one at a time and shove them around until the day's work is done.

Susan: We know the advice for writers in the midst of books: Read, write, don't stop. What's your advice for writers with a finished book, starting the query process or in the publishing waiting game?

VICKI: Why? Do you know someone in that position? {Innocent blink}

Actually my advice is to do the same thing that you do in all other areas of your life: build on it. Do what you've been doing all along - write. It's really the only thing you can control anyway, but fortunately it's also the most important thing. And while seeing your work on the shelves is definitely a Dream Come True, the writing is still the best part of the job. Enjoy it.

And now you KNOW you need to read TOUCH OF TWILIGHT, right? To enter to win a signed copy, just post in the comments to this post, and we'll do a random drawing. Contest ends at midnight MST. Good luck!!!