Chat & Giveaway with Faith Hunter

The newest installment in the Jane Yellowrock series is just a week away! And Faith Hunter is joining us today to answer the questions fans want to know and to share a copy of Death's Rival. Please help me welcome her to the blog.

Q. Why hasn’t Jane gotten with Bruiser?

A. Rick and Bruiser and Leo. What a conundrum. Jane is a healthy, unrepressed female, who respects her body and her souls, so she will eventually pick at least one guy, but even I don’t know which guy(s) yet.

All the men are a big part of her life. Jane likes one guy (Rick) but she can’t have him. Her Beast likes another guy or two (Bruiser and Leo) so it’s hard to pick. And Beast assures Jane that, “Big-cats do not mate for life.” However, at this stage in her life, Jane doesn’t sleep around. She’s a little too uptight and reserved for that. But she is a sexual being. And men like her.

Q. What about Rick LaFleur is attractive to Jane?

A. Rick is free (or was until recently) and he is human (or was until recently) and he could have given his all to Jane, in a relationship where she would not have been used (as she surely would be with Leo) and will be first in his life (unlike with Bruiser who would be loyal to Leo). She wants to be first in a man’s life. Rick fights crime and understands the fact that Jane does so, as well, even if she is going about it via different route. They have a lot in common. 

Q. You have graphic violence, but avoid graphic sex and cursing, an unusual choice that makes the books widely accessible. Why?

A. Oy. Lots of reasons. In no particular order: Emotional, but also physical violence, were part of my young home life. Dad taught me to shoot guns at age 12 in an outbreak of rabies in our rural county. As eldest I had to be ready to protect my brothers from rabid animals as well as human predators. Also, I was bullied in school because I was a Christian and had to stand up, without violence, to the bullies. In my heart-of-hearts, I wanted to bash the bullies, but I couldn’t, so I do on the pages I write. I have internal demons (my own spiritual but evil Beast) that I want to kill, and I kill it over and over on the page. 

As to sex? LKH writes great sex. Never ever boring. And she never uses crass or popular names for body parts, making her sex read like poetry. Most written sex is boring after a while, IMHO, and hers is never boring! When I write sex it makes me laugh. Not what I wanted. I do however write good sexual tension, so I write to my strengths. 

As to language: Language is a tool. If it brings in more readers then it is a good tool. If it pushes away even one reader then it is a bad tool. I can just as easily say, she cursed, or she swore. As long as I don’t overdo, no one misses the actual cuss words. And readers who would be offended by the words themselves are not offended and buy my books. It’s good business. And yes, I do cuss myself. But I am sparing with the use. It’s a tool to be wielded, not a crutch.

Q. Vampires, New Orleans. It’s been done before. How do you keep it fresh?

A. New Orleans is amazing. Every time I drive through I see something new that has been there all along. I literally ride with my head hanging out the window to capture the sights and smells, camera in hand. How can anyone not love NOLA? It is amazing! And it reinvents itself yearly, so fresh is easy.

Q. Will there be more books in this series?

A. After DEATH’S RIVAL, I have two more books under contract. After that, well, it all depends on the readers and how faithful they are to the series. Fans make or break books, and writers live on their joy and love of books. If fans buy books and tell their friends to buy books, then a writer gets contracts. So far, Jane Yellowrock is selling, If I do my job well and the fans like it well enough to do theirs, then yes. I can only hope!

So here are the deets on the new book:

Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…

For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to …a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane.

But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey. Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.

Want to give it a try?  Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. US only please. In the meantime, you can find Faith online and on social media:


Website:  http://www.faithhunter.net
Twitter:   http://twitter.com/HunterFaith
Facebook page for Faith:    http://www.facebook.com/official.faith.hunter

And if you haven't tried the Jane Yellowrock series before, check out my review of book one: Skinwalker.
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