Stone Cold Blog Tour
*At what point in the Allie Beckstrom series did you know you would write Shame's books?
I think it was somewhere around book six when I knew Shame would be fun as a point of view character. But I also knew his path was leading toward pretty dark things, and I wasn't sure readers would be interested in a flawed, but (I hope) loveable character going through some of the hardest times of his life. When one particular reader (and Shame fan) asked me a particular question, Shame's books snapped into focus for me. That was probably when I was writing book #8 in the Allie series: Magic Without Mercy.
* Since this is the last book in the series, what's coming next for you?
House Immortal, book one of a new trilogy comes out September 2nd! My editor calls it "Allie Beckstrom meets Firefly" and I hope I have captured the essence of that. I call it my Frankenstein farm girl, near-future, gently dystopic, steampunk-light, not-quite urban fantasy, save-the-world fantasy series.
*If your books were to be made into a movie, who would be your top picks for the cast?
Oh, man. I suck at this question because I don't keep up with movies stars like I should. So...I'm going to say....cool people. Cool people should totally be the characters from my books. Or just one really cool person with a lot of wigs and costume changes.
*Could you tell us a little about the ups and downs you have experienced in publishing?
I started my publishing career writing short stories, which are a very different beasty than novels. After somewhere around six pounds of rejections, and several dozen sales, I decided to give novel writing a try. My first novel, in fact, is based off of a rejected short story.
I came into the urban fantasy genre when it was just picking up steam, and I feel very lucky to have had a chance to write the nine-book Allie Beckstrom series and the two-book Shame spin off series. I also have written three steampunk novels which blend magic, steampunk, and the old west, and now I'm writing a not-quite-urban fantasy near-future fantasy. So to say I'm a fan of the rise of cross-genre work is an understatement.
When I started in novels, ebooks were a fairly new thing, and we were all wondering if anyone would really read for pleasure on a hand-held screen. I've seen the fall of Borders, the closing of excellent genre magazines, the decline of mass market print orders, the rise of self and epublishing, the growth and death of various social media platforms, plus many, many other ups and downs in the industry.
But one thing that has remained constant is that good stories will always find their reader, and writers will always find a way to get those stories in their reader's hands.
*What are some of your favorite books in the paranormal genre?
I love Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson series and Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series. I also think ML Brennan's American Vampire books are a great fresh take on vampires.
*If you could tell readers one thing about yourself or your books, what would that be?
That I am always unprepared and panic when people ask me this question. Um: kumquats! For some reason I have never found a way to work kumquats into my books.
*What is the craziest or at least most interesting thing you have ever done?
Maybe not all that crazy, maybe not that interesting...is silly okay? I recently spent one night gnome-bombing my friends and family. Basically, I snuck to all their houses in the middle of the night and anonymously left random gnomes in their yard.
*Finish this statement: "You'll like the Broken Magic series if...
You like dark heroes who are flawed but doing their damndest to make sure their loved ones stay safe in a crazy world filled with crazy magic that is trying to kill them. Or maybe you'll like it if you are tired of reading books with all those kumquats in them.
Thanks Devon!
Author Info:
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| Copyright Diane Beals Photography 2010-2011 |
Devon has sold over fifty short stories to fantasy, science fiction, horror, humor, and young adult magazines and anthologies. Her stories have been published in five countries and included in a Year’s Best Fantasy anthology. In 2010, Fairwood Press published twenty-two of her short stories in a collection titled: A Cup of Normal.
She is currently writing two series. The Allie Beckstrom books (Magic to the Bone, Magic in the Blood, Magic in the Shadows, Magic on the Storm, Magic at the Gate, Magic on the Hunt) are urban fantasy set in modern-day Portland, Oregon where magic is the new technology. The Age of Steam books (Dead Iron) are steampunk set in the 1800′s American West.
Devon has one husband, two sons, and a dog named Mojo. She lives in Oregon and is surrounded by colorful and numerous family members who mostly live within dinner-calling distance of each other. When not writing, Devon is knitting strange things, remodeling the house-that-was-once-a-barn, or hosting a family celebration.
Find Devon Online:
Book Info:
Marked by Life and Death magic, Shame Flynn and Terric Conley are “breakers”—those who can use magic to its full extent. Most of the time, they can barely stand each other, but they know they have to work together to defeat a common enemy—rogue magic user Eli Collins.
Backed by the government, Eli is trying to use magic as a weapon by carving spells into the flesh of innocents and turning them into brainless walking bombs. To stop him, Shame and Terric will need to call on their magic, even as it threatens to consume them—because the price they must pay to wield Life and Death could change the very fate of the world...and magic itself.
