Star Interview

Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K Hamilton is one of the most unique horror writers working today, she is the author of the best selling Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels and is about to release her new book, A Kiss of Shadows.

1.) For anyone hasn't heard of you, tell us about yourself.

I find general questions like this some of the most difficult to answer. It like going up to someone tell me about your entire life in two sentences. If you mean my writing, I am best know for the Anita Blake Series set in modern day world where vampires are legal citizens and a werewolf may be your next door neighbor. Anita raises the dead for a living, and is a legal vampire executioner she also happens to be dating a vampire and a werewolf respectively. Anita is a hardboiled detective series in which all the monsters are real. The series mixes mystery, horror, romance and the fantastic in decidedly unequal parts. I am fond of both reading and writing first person narration with a mystery flavor. I like modern day fantasy where we get to see the modern world cope with old time creatures.

2.) Any questions we might have about you new book A Kiss Of Shadows were answered in depth on your official website. What do you want to tell us about A Kiss Of Shadows?

Kiss of Shadows begins a new series for me, a real fairie princess and detective in Los Angeles California. Its modern day world, with a biggest exception being, things associated with the fey in mythology and folklore are real. Merry is in line for the high throne of the Unseelie court if she can survive the assassination attempts. Merry and her cousin Cel are both in line for the throne of the Unseelie court produces an heir of the blood first, gets the throne. IF Cel gets there first, Merry and all her bodyguards and lovers will surely die. Merry refuses to take money from the court because that would obligate her to the court. So between assassination attempts, auditioning royal consorts much to the pleasure of the guard, she keeps her day job as a private detective.

3.) I am embarrassed to admit that A Kiss Of Shadows was the first book of yours I read, I couldn't put it down. How many more do you see in the series?

I don't know anymore. I originally planned for 7 - 11 books. But I have lots I want to cover and will have to see where it takes me.

4.) Describe your writing process.

I am a little unclear about what you mean by this question. If you mean work habits, then I try and sit down as soon as my daughter leaves for school. My goal at the beginning of a book is between 4 - 8 pages a day, towards the end of the book I pick up speed and my goal is 8 to as many as my muse will grant me on that day. I break for lunch. I write some more. I treat it very much like a job. Before my daughter came I often worked 20 hours at a shot, enamored of the creative process. However, once you add small children to the mix those days are gone. It is a more than fair trade, though can be frustrating. I have never worked out the ability some people have, to not give up something. If I am with my daughter I feel guilty that I am not writing, I have a deadline and my characters are waiting. IF I am writing I feel like I should be with my daughter. By at the end of the day when my daughter says to my husband and I: "I wish I could do this wonderful day all over again." I know I have made the right choice after all. I can write the scene tomorrow I was going to write today, but I will never recapture that particular day with my child. Unlike my fictional world where time stands still and waits for me to come back to it, the real world marches on, sometimes at a frantic pace.

5.) How long will you continue to write?

Why would I stop? I am doing the only job I have ever really wanted to do. Except for the brief fling of wanting to be a wildlife biologist.

6.) Do you watch Buffy/Angel?

It has been hard to watch anything on a regular basis, I am just that busy. I did until they moved it to the UPN, which is not available in St. Louis. So my Buffy watching days have come to an end.

7.) Do you think programmes like this, and other Vampire/Mystic creatures TV programmes have helped people become more aware of your books?

My books predate the Buffy series by quite a bit. I know that it hasn't hurt. I do not know if it has helped or not.

8.) What authors do you read?

Sharon Shinn, Rhett Macpherson, Mark Sumner, Marella Sands, all members of my writing group. It is great that I enjoy their works so much. I am currently reading Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. I also enjoy the Laurie R. King's series Mary Russell and her partner Sherlock Holmes. I don't get a lot of time to read anymore. I am usually too busy writing or living my life to fit it in as much as I would like. But aren't we all?

9.) Who influenced you as a writer?

Robert E. Howard short story collection: Pigeons from Hell was the first heroic fantasy I ever read. Once I read it I realized not only did I want to be a writer, but this is what I wanted to write. It was Andre Norton's books and a small author bio talking about her life that made me realize she was a real person. And if she was a real person and could write, then maybe I could too. Other influences: Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King (it is hard write any kind of horror and not be influenced at least to some degree by his works). Robert B. Parker for dialogue and feel of a hard-boiled mystery. Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky for inspiration to write the female detective. Agatha Christie who is still the queen of plot. The Hammer vampire films were also an early influence. The old black and white monster movies of the 1950's were always a favorite of mine growing up.

10.) Do you read your own reviews?

Not if I can help it. Of course people mention them to me. If a particularly good one gets brought to my attention I will feel compelled to look at it. The same though is true if it is a particularly bad one. Lately I have begun to agree with most of my reviews both good and bad. Many of their complements and complaints are also mine. What I found most amusing was the reviews for KOS in the United States, one review will call it a political thriller, which it is, and the next review will call it an erotic thriller, which it also is. This book more than any other I have written has garnered reviews where you wonder if the people are reading the same books.

11.) What does the future hold for you?

As a writer, I plan on writing Anita indefinitely, because I am still having a wonderful time. And I plan on writing Merry until there is some sense of closure to her life. The Anita is structured like a mystery series where each book is fairly self-contained and the series is not working to some grand climax. The Merry series is structured more along the lines of fantasy or romance series i.e. I am hoping for happily ever after at some point. Once we reach happily ever after we go home and leave them there. I am trying to find time to work to work on some short stories. But two series at once is about all I can handle right now.

many thanks to Laurell for taking the time to answer these questions

For a review of Laurell's new book "A Kiss of Shadows" click here