Chat & Giveaway with Thea Harrison

For fans of Thea Harrison's Elder Races series, tomorrow is a big day! Rune's book, Serpent's Kiss will be on sale.  The awesome Ms Harrison was gracious enough to entertain of some of my questions about her amazing books.  Check it out:

Thea:  Hi, thanks for having me! It’s fun to be here today!

Jen: You're very welcome. I'm excited to have you here. Start by telling us something about Dragos we don’t already know.

Thea: Dragos is extremely bothered (he won’t let me write “afraid”) at the thought of someone flying in an airplane when they don’t have a Wyr side with wings, because if something happens to the plane, they can’t jump out and fly.

Jen: What about Tiago?

Thea: As far as Tiago goes, he has cried for soldiers he has lost in wars. He didn’t want me to write that either (sheesh, what is it about these macho men?), but he has.

Jen: How do you write for a character who is older than civilization?

Thea: What an excellent question! I hadn’t really considered my process before you asked. I sit with the facts of the character until they start to speak to me. For example, Tiago is a thunderbird, and when I read about the thunderbird in American Indian mythology, I began to imagine what his character would be like. He would not be afraid of war, or of confrontation. Why would he hesitate to pull a gun on someone if he felt it was necessary? He wouldn’t. How would he be in conversation? He would be just as aggressive as he would be in action. In fact, Tiago’s personality is quite a bit different from my own personality, which was fascinating to write.

Jen: Who has been your favorite character to write and why?

Thea: My favorite characters are the ones I am currently writing about. Right now, I’m working on Dragos and Pia’s next story, book five, so they are my favorites.

Jen: Rune is the hero for Serpent’s Kiss. Is it too soon to tell us whose story will be featured in Oracle’s Moon?

Thea: The hero is the Djinn, Khalil. Khalil has a cameo appearance in Storm’s Heart, and then he gets a bigger role in Serpent’s Kiss. The heroine, Grace, is introduced in Serpent’s Kiss as well.

Jen: I think many of us have a soft spot for the Wyr. Will they always be the touchstone for the series?

Thea: I can’t say that they always will be, but they certainly are the touchstone for the first six books. Ha, listen to me— “the first six!” Should the series continue for any length of time, I hope to have stories that focus on other Elder Races. I do have a Vampyre/human story lurking in the back of my mind. I hope to get a chance to tell that one.

Jen: You’re very interactive with fans. What made you decide to embrace social media the way that you have?

Thea: I love readers, and I answer every email I get… that may take me a while because of writing deadlines, but I answer them. It’s wonderful to know I’ve had a chance to give readers pleasure through the stories. As far as embracing social media goes, I’m pretty new to it. I’ve only become active in social media this year with the publications, so I’m learning so much from how writers, bloggers, publishers, and other entities interact with each other and with followers on Twitter. If I’m doing anything right, it’s because of them. Any mistakes I make are my own.

Jen: The response to Dragon Bound was tremendous. How did that affect you both personally and then moving forward while writing the series?

Thea: Personally I’ve been amazed, delighted, and honored. Having the books come out so quickly in the first year has been truly excellent for me, because I have had to be on such a rigorous writing schedule, I haven’t had the opportunity to freeze up the way I might otherwise have done. Most people believe that I had the first three books written before Berkley bought them. That isn’t the case. I’ve written them under contract, so as you can imagine it’s been a hectic eighteen months—in a good way!


For the last couple of weeks, though, I have been pausing to consider Pia and Dragos, because I am now working on their second story. It’s an interesting experience, and a little intimidating. Their second story is not going to be another Dragon Bound, because that’s impossible. Dragos and Pia can’t have another character reveal the way they did in Dragon Bound, or have another voyage of first discovery— they’ve had that. Their story has now become something different. I do hope it is one that readers will enjoy just as much.


I don’t want to be a writer that tells the same story over and over again. I think readers deserve more than that, and as much as it possible for one person to do, I want to give them more. At times that feels risky. But the story canvas for the Elder Races is a large one, and there’s room for all kinds of colors in it. I feel that it would be a shame to set up such a large canvas and be given such a wonderful opportunity, only to fill that canvas up with the same color.

Jen: Thanks again for stopping by the blog.

Thea: I really enjoyed visiting with you today! Thanks again for having me!

If you've never tried this amazing series, now is your chance to check out from the beginning.  We're giving away one copy of Dragon Bound to all Red Hot Books followers in the US.  Just fill out the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win!