AAD Author Spotlight: Kristen Painter

Former college English professor.  Two time Golden Heart finalist. Blogger. AAD Author. Kristen Painter wears a lot of hats. And she has dipped her toes in several genres from romance... to poetry... to steampunk... and most recently urban fantasy. Kristen was kind enough to spare some time to chat with me about her House of Comarré series and a few other tidbits. Check it out:

Jen: Right off the bat, it must be said that the cover art for Blood Rights is absolutely gorgeous.

Kristen: Thanks you!

Jen: Did you get any input there?

Kristen: The fabulous folks at Orbit found Nekro, the artist, and he did the art, then Lauren at Orbit put it all together. I had some input, but just minor tweaking stuff.

Jen: What did you think?

Kristen: LOVE it. LOVE. Like majorly.

Jen: For those who have not read Blood Rights yet, what can they expect?

Kristen: Hopefully, a fun, fast-paced read and a glimpse into another world not so unlike our own.

Jen: Where will Mal and Chrysabelle go from here in Flesh and Blood?

Kristen: Now that would be telling, wouldn't it? Hah! Let's just say...more trouble awaits. 

Jen: Is there a set number of books planned for the series?

Kristen: Yep. There will be five books in total and possibly a spin-off series if things go well.

Jen: I was so sure the Mal and Chrysabelle relationship would was going to go farther in Blood Rights. Will there be more romance between them in the later books? (Please say yes.)

Kristen: YES! Remember, it's five books, so having everything happen in the first book wouldn't have worked. I promise that things will keep progressing for them!

Jen: You do have several romance books under your belt, ranging from PNR, to contemporary, to steampunk. Which is your favorite genre to write and why?

Kristen: It tends to be whatever I'm writing at the moment. Does that make me fickle? lol

Jen: What other authors do you enjoy reading?

Kristen: I love Louisa Edwards's contemporary chef romances and Roxanne St. Claire's romantic suspenses. I love a good Victoria Alexander historical, too! Outside the realm of romance, I'm currently digging back into comics and graphic novels. A lot of my fellow Orbit authors have some great stuff out there too. I'll pretty much read anything you put into my hands.

Jen: I spend way too much time playing on Twitter. What is your biggest time-sucker?

Kristen: Twitter! And tv. I love tv. There, I admitted it. From reality tv to Law and Order marathons to the BBC, I watch too much. I have to really use it as a reward or I'd have zero brain cells left. I should probably add online shopping to the list of time-sucks too. Man, I wish I could get paid to shop. I'd BANK! 

Jen: Your favorite guilty pleasure?

Kristen: Besides chocolate and playing with my cats? Going to movies with my husband. Because we both work at home, we can sneak off for matinees and a lot of times we have the theater to ourselves. It's pretty awesome. 

Jen: What are you looking forward to most from AAD in New Orleans this year?

Kristen: Um, everything? My husband graduated from Tulane, so we go to NOLA quite a lot. I know the city fairly well and love to spend time there. There's one particular meal I'm looking forward to having -- besides beignets and hot chocolate at Cafe Du Monde -- actually, there are about five meals I'm really looking forward to. lol Oh, NOLA, I love you but you do not love my waistline!

Jen: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.

Kristen: Thanks for having me! I'll be chatting tonight (and giving away some books) in the Knight Agency chatroom at 9pm eastern, so stop by and say hi!