"It's freaking hard to be a poor ass Texan vampire"-Amaliya , PWSD
Today we are welcoming Rhiannon Frater to muse about her book, Pretty When She Kills, the newest installment of her "Pretty When She..." vampire trilogy.
Before we start with the interview let me get you up to speed on the Pretty When She... series.
Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry...... in a new, horrific, unimaginable way...
Sating her great hunger, she discovers that she is now a vampire, the bloodthirsty creature of legend. She has no choice but to flee from her old life and travels across Texas. Her new hunger spurs her to leave a wake of death and blood behind her as she struggles with her new nature.
All the while, her creator is watching. He is ancient, he is powerful, and what's worse is that he's a necromancer. He has the power to force the dead to do his bidding. Amaliya realizes she is but a pawn in a twisted game, and her only hope for survival is to seek out one of her own kind. But if Amaliya finds another vampire, will it mean her salvation... or her death? Click here to read my review:
And now my interview with Rhiannon Frater.
Pretty When She Kills (Book 2)
Please note that the following interview contains spoilers from the first book PWSD!
Amaliya Vezorak never believed in happy endings… click here for more.
SciFi Chick: Rhiannon I am excited to have you here today to muse about your newest book! Thank you for taking the time to stop by SciFi Chick Blog to chat.
Rhiannon: Thanks for having me.
SciFi Chick: You might have noticed I
had quote from PWSD to introduce this interview. It is my favorite
line from PWSD . The line is... "It's freaking hard to be a poor ass Texan
vampire...nothing about it was easy or fun". I love this line because I
feel like it sums up Amaliya struggles
in the first book. If you could choose a line from your current book that
best represents the plot what would it be?
Rhiannon: “Fuck my life,” she declared.
It’s a Samantha quote, but it sums it up nicely.
Everything goes to hell in the book and no one is happy about the events that
are unfolding. PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS
takes the kinda/sorta Happily Ever After in PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES and stomps it
to death fairly quickly.
SciFi Chick: Now that Amaliya has finally lived through the hardships of being a
"poor ass Texan vampire" and has come to terms with her new life
Do you have any teasers about what's in store for our
"baby necromancer"?
Rhiannon: In PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS Amaliya is having growing
pains as she embraces her new role in the grand scheme of things. Her natural
inclination is to run away when things get tough and she spends a good portion
of the book resisting this urge as things get increasingly dangerous. The first
book was all about Amaliya’s rebirth, but the second is all about her growing
up.SciFi Chick: At the end of PWSD, Cian has truly accepted his role as Master of Austin. However, he's been so withdrawn from the vampire lifestyle and politics. It seems to me that he might encounter some resistance from other vampire leaders. I even fear there might be some payback coming his way for the actions he took in Austin in the 1970's. So, my question is what can we expect for Cian in the world of vampire politics?
Rhiannon: In PRETTY WHEN SHE
KILLS Cian is definitely being forced to deal with threats from outside his
city. There is no “structure” to the vampire world, so it’s very much the wild
west. Cian controlled Austin by not allowing vampires into it and killing any
that trespassed. Santos in San Antonio has a large cabal, which is his way of
maintaining his city. Cian regards Santos as his biggest threat, but Cian’s
vampire sister, Rachoń, is not to be reckoned with. She was an escaped slave
who saved her entire family by turning most of them into vampires and they rule
Louisiana. She is power personified.
The reality is that Cian was protected by the
existence of The Summoner. Without his creator on the playing field, he’s in a
very precarious situation. But Cian is smart and very powerful in his own right.
SciFi Chick: So, the big bad Summoner is eventually defeated in PWSD. But
in his backstory, the Summoner's favorite hobby was creating baby
vampires. I'm betting there are going be a few pissed off
"kids" out there once they discover "daddy" is dead. Will
we be seeing characters from the Summoner's linage in PWSK?
Rhiannon: Rachoń, The Summoner’s favorite creation, is in the sequel in a big way. So is her progeny. She’s a very intriguing vampire that was a lot of fun to bring into the mix. Cian and Rachoń definitely have an unusual relationship. As to whether or not The Summoner has any other offspring that may enter the scene, you’ll just have to read the second book.
SciFi Chick: I have to say that you surprised me in the last book when Samantha decided to stick around and work for Cian after the whole awkward break up. She was a lot more forgiving then I would have been. And after reading the blurb about PWSK on Goodreads I see that poor Sam is now seeing ghost! Goodness Gracious, how much more can you pile on this poor woman? LOL! Do you have any tasty tid bits about Samantha you can share?
Rhiannon: Samantha’s greatest strength is her loyalty. She’s incredibly heroic in the first book and just an amazing character. I also enjoy her bubbly personality and her strength of will. Samantha is not one to abandon a friend and Cian is a friend. She still cares deeply for him and in the second book she’s still getting over the loss of their romance. In her head she knows it never would have worked out, but her heart is very bruised. Samantha definitely takes on a greater role in the second book. It was a lot of fun seeing how an event in the first book impacts her in the second when she begins to develop abilities she did not have before.
SciFi Chick: I would like to state that one of the things I love most about your writing is how much you do surprised me! There is no real way to predict what will happen in a Rhiannon Frater novel. My rules to prepare myself for reading one of your books are to remind myself of the following.
1. In Rhiannon's worlds, no one is safe
2. In Rhiannon's worlds, bad things
can happen to good people
3. In Rhiannon's worlds, don’t
expect stereotypes, Rhiannon will allow circumstances and character
types to dictate how people will react. Because, sometimes in life
there are moments in which bad people will do good things, or good people do
bad things.
4. Rhiannon will always allow her story to
develop organically so don't expect any forced "Hollywood"
endings!
All of which make your writing so enjoyable. It's like taking a ride on a
roller coaster. It's always fun but also incredibly scary! I never know
when a sharp twist or a steep drop down a hill will occur! I pick up one of
your books and I can almost hear a carnies' voice calling, "Come
one, come all and ride the thrilling 'Nightmare Express' the scariest ride this
side of the Rio Grande!" I can only image the nightmares that you have
that inspire your stories.
Rhiannon: That pretty much sums it up. I have a general idea
of where a book is going when I start it, but I allow the characters to make
their own choices. That means the plot happens in a very organic way. Sometimes
that results in really shocking events happening, but that’s just how it works.
There is a scene in PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS where a character is acting totally
true to his/her nature and doing what he/she thinks is the right thing to do, and
it goes horribly, horribly wrong. I
think that is very true to life and why situations like that work well in my
books.
SciFi Chick: Because this blog focuses much of its
content on strong female characters. I would like to end our interview by
pointing out my favorite female character, thus far, in the series. Of
course the obvious choice would be Amaliya and
I most definitely love her.
But, Innocente or Grandmama, is my top choice for best female
character! What a great character! Strong, devoted to family, sassy,
bold. This is the second series of yours that I've read and I really just
love how you have stronger "older" women in your books. I know my 72
year mother loves it! She just finished your "As the World Dies"
Trilogy and she enjoyed having the character Nerit to related too. So, I know
when she starts this series she will also be a big fan of Grandmama. Will
we get more time with Grandmama in PWSK? And if we do what can we expect from
her?
Rhiannon: Grandmama is probably
everyone’s favorite character. She’s cited as a fav more than Amaliya by just
about every fan of the series. Grandmama is definitely in the mix of
everything. We get to see how her powers work and get to learn a bit about her
history. She’s a really lovely character
and I’m pleased at how many people adore her.
A lot of Mexican-Americans say she’s a lot like their own grandmother’s,
so that pleases me as well. She’s got a grit to her that’s just so much fun to
write about.
SciFi Chick: Thank you for stopping by today! I am
starting PWSK today and will have my review up soon!
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