Amber I. from Awesomesauce Book Club and I have been stalking paranormal authors that will be attending the RT Booklovers Convention in Kansas City on May 1-5. We’ll both be there in all of our book nerd glory so we decided to do a bloggy event to get psyched up even more for the convention! Today I’m chatting with Jeanne C. Stein author of the Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles.
Introduce Yourself to our readers:
[box]I’m Jeanne Stein, the author of the Urban Fantasy series, The Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles. Anna Strong received a RT Book Reviewers Choice Award for Best Urban Fantasy Protagonist in 2008 and was nominated again for the 2011 book, Crossroads. I also have numerous short story credits, including the novella, Blood Debt, from the New York Times bestselling anthology, Hexed (2011). My series has been picked up in three foreign countries and my short stories published in collections here in the US and the UK. The ninth in the series, Blood Bond, will be released in August. [/box]
[box]Also in the fall, I’m debuting a new series with co-author Samantha Sommersby. Called the Fallen Siren Series, the first book, Cursed, introduces Emma Monroe, a siren seeking redemption by working for the FBI’s Missing Persons Bureau. We pitched it as Without a Trace meets Angel. [/box]
[box]I live in Denver, CO where I’m active in the writing community, belonging to Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (where I was honored to win the Writer of the Year award in 2008 and was nominated again in 2012), Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and Horror Writers of America. I have taught at numerous conferences and on-line academies, and been a guest at RT since 2004. [/box]
Is this your first RT convention? What are you most looking forward to at RT?
[box]As I mentioned above, I’ve been attending RT since 2004. Not only is it a great place to meet readers, but it’s the one place I know I’ll be able to catch up with some of my favorite writer pals as well as visit with RT’s great reviewers. [/box]
If you’ve been to one before any tips for us newbies?
[box]Enjoy yourself! And don’t be shy about speaking to a favorite author when you see her in the bar, or in a restaurant or after a panel. There is no greater complement to an author than having someone approach them to talk about their books.[/box]
Where can we find you at RT? Are you on any panels, going to any parties, etc.
[box]Yes, I am on the panel Vampires We Love to Hate on Thursday at 10:00 AM; Anything Goes in Urban Fantasy (which will have some terrific give-aways) on Friday at 10:00 AM; and am a host for the Vampire Meet, Greet & Play on Friday at 3:45 PM. At the Meet & Greet, there will be goodie bags, Bloody Mary’s and Chocolate! You can also find me at the Ebook Fair and The Giant Book Fair on Saturday.[/box]
Tell us a little about your newest book?
[box]I have two new books coming out this fall. The ninth and (maybe) final novel in the Anna Strong Chronicles, Blood Bond, will be released in August. I hope fans of Anna’s will enjoy this chapter in her life. It’s a little different from the other books because there’s more of a romantic bent to this one although Anna does have a chance to kick some bad ass![/box]
[box]Also, as I mentioned before, the first book in a new series is launching this year. Cursed introduces a new protagonist, Emma Monroe, a Siren cursed with immortality after failing to keep Hades from dragging Persephone to the underworld. She must live as a human seeking redemption by saving other women in peril. In this lifetime, she is an agent with the FBI’s Missing and Kidnapped Persons Bureau. Part of her curse involves never being able to find happiness in love. When she gets a new partner, that part of the curse is put to the test. I’m writing that series with San Diego author, Samantha Sommersby, under the name S.J. Harper. I’ve included an excerpt of both books below. [/box]
Any plans in the city while you’re there?
[box]Actually I have a very good friend who lives in Kansas City so after the convention, I’m spending a couple of days with her before heading back to Denver. I’m looking forward to catching up![/box]
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sCug-t2bVyI/UXZsDB1xxzI/AAAAAAAAH4A/V82b-kGSoh4/s320/JeanneStein.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]
Jeanne C. Stein is an American Urban Fantasy author living in Colorado. She now lives in Colorado, but was raised and educated in San Diego, which is the setting for her contemporary vampire fantasy.
Jeanne is active in the writing community, belonging to Sisters in Crime both nationally and in San Diego and Los Angeles. She also belongs to Horror Writers of America, RWA and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She was named RMFW’s Writer of the Year for 2008 an honor given to a writer who has contributed to the organization as well as achieved success in publication.
Suddenly, an icy finger touches the back of my neck and I shiver.
Frey feels it. His eyes snap to mine. “What’s wrong?”
But I brush his concern away with a hand wave. “Nothing. Really.”
I turn my face away. Glad once again that he can’t read my thoughts; carefully locking those thoughts away from Chael’s prying mind.
Because it is something. This night reminds me of another night, almost two years ago. A ride up another hill in another part of the world that ended in a fight for the death against an old soul vampire.
Avery.
Instinctively, my hand touches the hem of my dress. I was wearing Avery’s gift that night. Just as I’m wearing Steffan’s now.
I was driven to the house then just as I’m being driven now.
My throat is dry. I have the terrible feeling I shouldn’t have accepted Steffan’s invitation. Worse, I shouldn’t have brought Frey along. I may have read too much into Chael’s show of good will, his compassion for my mother. Was it all just a trick to win my confidence?
Blood pounds through my veins, heat rising as the vampire seizes control.
Frey can feel it. My skin hot against his. He turns a puzzled frown my way. “Anna?”
Chael senses a change, too. He can’t see me in the mirror, but he is acutely aware of the transformation taking place in the seat right behind him. It makes him nervous enough to pull the car over.
Once the car is stopped, I’m out of it, at the driver’s door in a heartbeat. I fling the door open, grab Chael by the neck and pull him out, moving too fast to give him a chance to fight back. His vampire nature flashes, then retreats. He acts like a dog showing his stomach to an alpha, submissively waiting for whatever I choose to do.
I choose to shake him until his teeth rattle. What game are you playing?
None. I am doing as you asked. Taking you to King Steffan.
His mind is open, his thoughts as passive as his body.
I shake him again. There must be more. All this talk of making history and of King Steffan’s unseating. Do you expect me to fight him?
At this, a smile, thin, unnerving. No. Not you.
Then who? I shove him away, stand ready to defend myself if he unleashes his beast.
He tugs at the hem of his jacket, straightens his tie, smoothes his hair back with both hands. You are still too impulsive, Anna Strong, he says through gritted teeth and tight jaw. Has it ever occurred to you to ask first before you resort to violence?
Not when it comes to you. Now answer the question. Who do you think is going to attack King Steffan tonight?
Chael shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket, locks his eyes with mine. Ever heard of a vampire named Vlad?[/quote]
[tabs slidertype=”left tabs”] [tabcontainer] [tabtext]The Becoming[/tabtext] [tabtext]Blood Drive[/tabtext] [tabtext]The Watcher[/tabtext] [tabtext]Legacy[/tabtext] [tabtext]Retribution[/tabtext] [tabtext]Chosen[/tabtext] [tabtext]Crossroads[/tabtext] [tabtext]Haunted[/tabtext] [tabtext]Blood Bond[/tabtext] [tabtext][/tabtext] [tabtext]Cursed[/tabtext] [/tabcontainer] [tabcontent] [tab]
My name is Anna Strong. I am a vampire. How I became one is the reason for this story. I tell it all the way it happened. It may not be what you expect.
She’s a bounty hunter–tough, beautiful, and trained for the unexpected. Until the night she’s attacked and left closer to death than she can imagine. She awakens to an indoctrination into a dark new world where vampires walk among us. But this time, a tight grip on a .38 won’t stop what she’s hunting for.
Existing between the worlds of the living and the dead, Anna is torn by her love for two very different men. Max, a DEA agent, all too human, and vulnerable. And Avery, a Night Watcher who’s joined Anna in pursuit of the rogue vampire who changed her life that terrifying night. Now, as her two worlds collide, fate plunges Anna into the ultimate battle between good and evil where survival is not just for the living…[/tab] [tab]
Anna Strong was a tough-as-nails bounty hunter, until the night she was attacked-and changed forever.
Now a vampire, Anna discovers that her long-dead brother may have had a daughter-and the girl’s in serious trouble. There are some very dangerous people after her, but they’re about to learn that to a bounty hunter with an unnatural thirst for blood, even the deadliest human predators are easy prey.[/tab] [tab]
Newly-made vampire Anna has become a Watcher-one of the supernatural world’s enforcers- even as she fights to control her vampiric rage. When a series of very dangerous events threatens to draw out her unstable powers, her Watcher mentor sends her away for her own safety. But if there’s one thing Anna has always been able to find, it’s trouble.[/tab] [tab]
VAMPIRE ANNA STRONG…
Anna has struggled to adapt to her supernatural status while clinging to the vestiges of her humanity. Now she must deal with her legacy. The sinister vampire who transformed her is dead, and Anna is entitled to his vast fortune. But a predatory werewolf comes forward, claiming the inheritance as her own?and she?ll kill to get what she wants most: blood and money.[/tab] [tab]
With her partner out of town, her family abroad, and her mentor estranged, newly-turned vampire Anna Strong is keeping a low profile.
But now young vampires are turning up dead, completely drained of their life force. And though Anna wants to say no when Williams, her former teacher and now leader of a supernatural enforcement squad, asks for her help, she can?t. But soon, she?ll wish she did.[/tab] [tab]
Anna Strong’s primitive vampire instincts are getting harder to control. And a new enemy wants to take advantage of that fact, for Anna has been chosen to shape the destiny of all vampires-and all humans.[/tab] [tab]
As a bounty hunter, Anna Strong knew how to find trouble. But now that she’s a vampire, trouble seems to have a knack for finding her…
The death of Anna’s old vampire mentor is causing ripples in the mortal world. His forensic report has brought up some anomalies and people are asking questions-questions that no vampire wants to answer. Anna needs to lie low, but the sudden discovery of a slew of drained bodies near the Mexican border brings an old flame back into her life and with him, a new challenge. Then, some stunning news from an unexpected source sends Anna and her friend Daniel Frey on a journey that may change both their lives-forever.[/tab] [tab]
Anna Strong—kick-ass bounty hunter and vampire—has made some enemies in her time. But it’s not just her old foes she should be worried about…
Anna’s shape-shifting friend Culebra finally opens up to her about his life before he owned Beso de la Muerte, a bar catering to supernatural clientele. As if summoned by the conversation, Culebra’s past stumbles into his bar in the form of an old buddy cashing in a favor.
Soon Anna, Culebra and her ex, DEA agent Max, find themselves deep in Mexico, dealing with drug cartel infighting, old vendettas and missing girls. Mexico just may prove to be Anna’s best match yet…[/tab] [tab]
As a vampire, Anna Strong has an immortal life…but now she’s running out of time.
Anna’s relationship with shape-shifter Daniel Frey has given her hope for a future with him and his son—especially when Frey proposes…
But just when Anna starts to think her life couldn’t be better, she must fly to France to be at the side of her dying mother. There she learns that not every vampire accepts her Chosen One status. And one such vamp is about to go rogue—by leading his followers in a fight to usurp humanity…[/tab] [tab][/tab] [tab]
Meet FBI Agents Emma Monroe and Zack Armstrong.
She’s cursed. He’s damned. Together, they make one hell of a team.
Emma Monroe is a Siren, cursed by the gods and bound to earth to atone for an ancient failure. She’s had many names and many lives, but only one mission: redemption. Now that she works missing persons cases for the FBI, it could be just a rescue away. Unless her new partner leads her astray.
Special Agent Zack Armstrong just transferred into the San Diego Field Office. He’s a werewolf, doing his best to beat back the demons from his dark and dangerous past. As a former Black Ops sniper, he’s taken enough lives. Now he’s doing penance by saving them.
Emma and Zack’s very first case draws them deep into the realm of the paranormal, and forces them to use their own supernatural abilities. But that leaves each of them vulnerable, and there are lines partners should not cross. As secrets are revealed and more women go missing, one thing becomes clear: as they race to save the victims, Emma and Zack risk losing themselves.[/tab] [/tabcontent] [/tabs]
Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
Yay! Love Jeanne’s books! Cannot wait to read the finale later this year!
Thank you, Jessica!
I’m a huge Anna Strong fan! Great books (I love the audio versions). I’m looking forward to seeing Jeanne at RT, I really want to make the Anything Goes Urban Fantasy panel 🙂 Book Savvy Babe
I’ll look for you at RT! Should be fun!
I should add–the pic above is an OLD one. I change my hair like some women change shoes. Now it’s shoulder length and light brown so don’t be surprised when you see me!!
I hope Blood Bond is not the last Book. I love the Anna Strong series.
NO, I don’t think it will be the last. Anna and I have been together too long to even imagine life without her!
Vampires we love to hate, sounds like fun!
Love your book covers, great how they all kept the same look.
Thanks, Lexi. The cover art is by Cliff Nielsen and the design by Judith Lagerman.
Thanks for the fun interview, I wish you all a great time at RT, and one year, I will be there.
RT is a great con for readers and authors alike. I hope you can join us…and next year, it’s in New Orleans so that’s something to think about!
I have not read any of these books but will have to check them out. I hope you all are having fun at RT 🙂