Interview and Giveaway with Sable Grace

Ascension by Sable Grace combines my two favorite aspects of a book, Vampires and Greek Mythology. I absolutely loved this book. So, I was extremely excited when this author duo agreed to do and interview and giveaway. Details about the giveaway will follow the interview and don't forget to check out my review of Ascension here.

*Greek Mythology and Vampires have to be my two favorite themes in a book and Ascension combines these two aspects together. How did you come up with the idea to incorporate all these different elements together?

Well, it didn’t start out that way J. At first, it was supposed to be a story about the Fates who needed to find their Replacements. The heroine was meant to be one of the Sisters. Then, as the story progressed and the true heroine stepped onto the stage, the story morphed to fit Kyana as the lead. The rest of the world elements really stemmed off of her and her duties in the Order of Ancients.

*I couldn't see Kyana as a fate, so I can imagine just how much her "personality" changed the story from its original form. The gods in your book aren’t anything like mythology has portrayed them before. The fact that they are willing to be replaced rather than just fade, is well, game changing. What made you decide to make them more “humble”?

Not having the gods fit the ‘mold’ they’d been in throughout history was important. Some of their traits were borrowed, but their looks and personalities were their own. Making them humble was the easy part. Since it’s the Order of Ancient’s duty to keep the balance between the different realms and protect the humans from those creatures who go bump in the night, they had to be willing—if not even a little eager—to keep the Order strong so it could continue the duty it’s been entrusted with for so many millennia.

*That definitely makes sense, and it is very fortunate for the humans that they do have this humble outlook! You are actually two authors that came together to write this book under the name Sable Grace. Since the book flows very well, that you would never guess more than one person wrote it. Do your writing “voices” blend easily or did it take some work to get everything to mesh well?

It’s natural :). We didn’t try to make the voice of Sable Grace different than our own voices, just took turns writing sentences until the chapter was finished. We felt it was different, and, when our critique group couldn’t pick out who’d written what, we knew we were onto something. The editing process probably helps with this a lot since it means one of us is constantly editing her own voice into what the other has written, making them merge, hopefully, more gracefully.

*How many books do you have planned for this series? Any hints you can give us for what is in store?

 
We hope the readers will want to see what happens next as much as we do and allow the series around for a very long time. Hints? To make sure we don’t give anything away, let’s say in Dark Breed Novel, Book 2, you’ll get to see a little more of Florida. Book 3 strays even further into the world, but we don’t even have titles for those yet, but we can say that the characters in Ascension will be around in all three. Most of them anyway.

*I know I can't wait to read the next books! How do you choose your character names?    

       

Typically, whoever needs the character first gets to pick the name. That doesn’t mean the other doesn’t get the chance to offer input. If one of us selects a name the other really hates, we’ll talk it out . . . though I’m not sure that’s happened. Our heroine, Kyana, is the exception to that. Her name was chosen by Heather’s son, and we’ll be forever thankful to him for that.

*He definitely made a good choice! If your book was to be made into a movie who would be your top picks for the
cast?

When the writing begins, each person gets an identity. This can be someone famous who just fits the character or a picture we fell in love with from an ad found on the Net or in a magazine. Since the writing is shared, it’s important to have a clear image of the character that we both share—and something to fall back on in case you forget. We’d love to share our idea file in the event Ascension became a movie. (We can dream, right???) J As for our idea of the perfect Kyana and Ryker, it would be Morena Baccarin as Inara Serra from the movie Serenity (and the TV show Firefly) and Jason Lewis from Sex and the City.

*Ooo Excellent choices! What are some of your favorite books in the paranormal genre?

Wow, tough question. There are so many wonderful authors out there, it’s impossible to pick just one or two. All of the ladies on the Supernatural Underground blog are fantastic. Juliana Stone, Pamela Palmer, Jeanniene Frost… they’re all brilliant. Too many to list here, but you can find them all at: Supernatural Underground

*If you could tell readers one thing about yourself or your books what would that be? 

That without the support of our families we’d never be able to pull off catching this dream we’re sharing together. We really hope our passion for writing, and for the Dark Breed novels comes through, because we live and breathe the stories and characters every day. And our poor families are forced to as well. Many props to them for putting up with our dazed looks and long nights when the ideas are churning.
           

*Have you always wanted to be a writer, and how long did it take you to achieve your dream?

We’ve both been writing for as long as we can remember and actively pursuing publication for longer than we’d care to admit. It took Heather four years to make her first sale to Berkley – medieval romances – that were released a few years ago under her own name, and two years for the team of Sable Grace to sign with Avon.

*Could you tell us a little about both of you?

 
We’re both moms, happily married, have kids, and pets. We’re nerds in our love for tech toys and video games. We love the written word and will read anything in any genre available. Heather is the artsy type who likes to garden and create beautiful things. Laura’s idea of art is how much mud and pin-striping she can get on her Jeep as she’s trying to get over some massive rock obstacle in her path. We’re as different in personality as we are in looks, but we like it that way. In fact, that’s how Sable Grace was named. Sable had already been chosen, and the word grace seemed about as opposite as Sable as we could get – reflecting our personality differences.

*What are your passions other than reading or writing?

 
Spending time with our families would have to be at the top of the list, for sure. Doing things with our husbands, and our kids, is very important to us. Sorry, it’s cliché. But it’s the truth.

*I'm the same way. Free time is such a luxury some days! What is the craziest or at least most interesting thing you two have ever done?

 
Wow, we’re so boring. We’ve talked about a list of things we’re going to do one day like taking flying lessons, going parasailing, and whitewater rafting. And one day, we’re going to do them all and a bunch more! Heather grew up in Turkey and had a lot of adventures there as a kid, and recently got to take Laura out to experience a little of that culture on her birthday. (Which was important since we gave so many of those cultural attributes to Kyana in the Dark Breed series!) Other than that, yeah, we’re really really boring!

*Haha, I'm pretty boring too ;) Just for fun. If you were stranded somewhere but had electricity, what three things other than basic survival supplies, would you have to have? (Each of you can have your own 3 choices)

 
L: My computer because deadlines wait for no one, including those stuck on a deserted island—and so we can tell everyone where the party is going to be, and catch a ride home when it’s over. A Zune because if you have rocking music, you can survive anything. And, my husband (and his three items would be zipties, duct tape, and his Jeep ax so if the party plans failed he could design us a boat to sail home on)

H: My kindle. My laptop. And a whole hell of a lot of sun block (I’m blond and pasty…)

*Another kindle lover :) I seriously do not know what I would do without mine. Finish this statement: "You'll like Ascension if...”

…you like fast-paced stories and want a different take on a popular genre.

Thanks so much for the interview! 

Author Info:

Sable Grace is the writing team of Heather Waters & Laura Barone, long time critique partners and friends who came together by fluke to discover their voices fit together quite nicely during an experiment of "I'll write the first sentence, you write the next." It was meant to be nothing more than a warm up exercise for each of them to get started on their own projects, but soon, the story became far more interesting than what they were supposed to be working on and Sable Grace was born.

Both Heather and Laura reside in Florida, are happily married, and are, well, complete opposites. (Think the Odd Couple on crack here.) Still, there's enough common ground for them to weave their words together in the voice of Sable Grace.

Heather also writes medieval romances under her real name, which you can find at www.heatherwaters.net, and Laura is a Golden Heart finalist for her highly sensual manuscript, Mr. Right Now.

Find Sable Grace online:

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 A signed postcard to redeem for an e-copy at Netgalley. This does expire 4/26, so I'm only running the giveaway until Sunday at Midnight. The winner will have to redeem pretty quickly, so please only enter if you have access to netgalley titles. Thanks!

The gates of hell have opened, and one woman will stand in the crossfire as the Dark Breed—vampyre, demons, shape shifters—and mankind fight their last battle for survival. 

Kyana is half Vampyre, half Lychen . . . and the last of her kind. Determined, dangerous, and damned, she has no love for the mortals who have imprisoned and misused her. But when the Order of Ancients entrusts her with a mission—to find the key that will send the Dark Breed back into Hell for eternity—Kyana has no choice but to accept. 

She is furious to learn her assignment comes with an escort . . . Ryker, a demigod and fierce warrior who long ago found a way under her skin and stayed there. In a shaky alliance, they discover an ancient cult with dangerous motive and a god who seeks to destroy all others. And as Kyana begins to feel the heat that threatens to bind her to Ryker, she knows she has to resist. For it could only mean the undoing of them both...  

Rules

1. Netgalley users only.
2. Leave a comment to enter with a contact method.
3. Please spread the word. (Extra entries with links)
4. Ends on 4/17 at Midnight.