Answers - and Contest Winner!

First, the answers to all those awesome questions! In order as they were posted...

1. Sonya asked - if you were to have your werewolf character Matthias over for tea, what tea would you serve him?

Nothing foo foo or flowery. Something along the lines of Irish Breakfast or Five O'Clock, something hearty and substantial. Scones with orange marmalade, but no little finger sandwiches. *grin*

2. Morseren asked -  Would Matthias wear a cravat?

LOL! I can't see Matthias wearing one. Definitely too...foo foo for him. Of course, a man in a short tunic and a toga might seem foo foo to some, but he couldn't stand the "monkey suit" he had to wear for the wedding ceremony. although, if Lillian batted her lashes and pouted at him, he MIGHT do it for her. Ahh, what love does to people. =)

3. Della asked - Where have you ever gotten your craziest idea?

*Blinks*  Most of my ideas come from either dreams or asking "What if"...sometimes I take ideas from real life, but the craziest idea has to be, hands down, the one where I decided I would write a novel and submit it, despite everyone telling me no one gets their first novel published and if they did, it took years to shop it. The craziest story idea has to be the one I'm writing right now. The characters are non white, there's a definite ethnic flavor and mythology being used, and I'm determined to write it, clean it up, and send it out.

4. BreiaB asked - What did you do to celebrate the acceptance of your manuscript ?

LOL. I didn't. The morning I got the email, I was literally on my way out the door to go trapping for my second year's falconry bird. I don't think I've actually sat down and did any celebrating. From that moment on, I've been trying to learn what I can about promoting it, went through edits, got post cards and business cards made up, managed to land a few guest blog spots and interviews...put together contest prizes, and more promoting - without going overboard and killing any interest in the novel before it's even released yet.

5. RobinK asked - What types of books do you enjoy reading? Any new authors we should try?

I enjoy paranormal romance and historical romances. Any other books would be my current, "obsession of the month" books, which tend to be research. Right now, it's Chinese mythology and culture books, but last month was Victorian etiquette. As for recommendations...LOL...I've been so busy with my writing and getting ready for release, I haven't had time to sink myself into any new books or try new authors. Usually, I rely on my fallback authors - Christine Feehan's Dark series, and anything by Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz's historical romances).

6. Kareena asked - How much did you put aside in your "business account" to start your business(writing)? Did the bank hassle you at all about starting a 2nd account?


My "business" account is a misnomer. It's actually a personal account in my legal, maiden name. I set it up so that it's separate from the family account and only I can touch it. This is (I hope) to make taxes easier because as a writer, those royalty checks do not have taxes taken out. You have to do that yourself. I opened it with a hundred dollars, but I have less in there now as I've been using it to buy things for writing related business - contest prizes, post cards, business cards, etc.


I'm still trying to find out if WA state has an "author" category for business license. They have a decided lack of return time for emails at their office. I'd love to be able to deduct some expenses from the business, if I ever get it set up.


7. Erica asked - Would you rather be the object of affection for a vamp, or a were?

OOOOoooo. Evil, Erica. Evil. One of each, please. I'm not greedy. LOL. If I HAVE to choose just one...vamp. Vampires were my first introduction to the paranormal, starting with the 1979 version of Dracula with Frank Langella. Gawds, he was yummy...those eyes of his. *Swoon*


8. Piedmont Writer asked - Who is your favorite character from literature?


Just one? Hmm...this one is difficult. Dantes (Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas), Fanny Price (Mansfield Park - Jane Austen), and Dracula (Dracula - Bram Stoker). Sorry, couldn't pick just one! LOL.

9. I Am Me asked - at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?

In my early teens, probably just going into junior high. Well, no, probably earlier. I was already a writer when I hit junior high, writing scribbles and poetry. It was probably junior high when I wanted to become an author and have a book published.

10. Deb asked - When you wrote Moonlight and Magick, did you know how it was going to end when you began writing or did that evolve (and change?) as you wrote?

Yep! LOL. It's probably the first story I ever wrote in which I knew how the ending would be. While the plot bits changed somewhat, moving from chapter to chapter, I knew how the beginning was and how the story would end. With my novellas, i just write and see where it goes. My current WIP is proving to be a bit more flexible. I mean, I have an idea of how I want it to end, but I'm staying open to possibilities, which may be the reason why it's taking so long to write this one compared to M&M...

11. KarenL asked - How did you gather your research for you book?

Research? *Grin* Other than looking up dream meanings, and a couple of Celtic myths, Roman clothing and the legend of Romulus and Remus, no research. Pretty much pulled out of my head. When I reached that part of the book where I needed to either verify something or get details to use in the book, I opened my browser and looked it up on the internet. I was rather surprised to find that my Sidhe references were nearly identical in meaning to the Celtic myths. When I was writing it and what it meant in regards to my book, I had no idea how close I was to actual Celtic beliefs.

And now, for the winner...

#8 was drawn, which is Piedmont Writer. If you could shoot me an email (isobael at gmail dot com) with your name and address, I'll get it in the mail on Monday or Tuesday when I can hit the post office.

Congrats!