01 December 2013

Author Interview: Jianne Carlo

This week, we're pleased to welcome author Jianne Carlo, whose latest novel, THAT PEARLY DROP, takes readers on a journey through time. The author will offer a free copy of That Pearly Drop to a lucky blog visitor; please leave your email address with a comment. Here's the blurb:
 
Emma knows time travel’s impossible. So, the only other explanation for her going to sleep on Halloween night in 2013 and waking up in Wales in the year 1763 is that she’s insane. There’s a murdered girl, a coach ticket to Wye Castle, and a letter of employment to be governess to the Earl of Wye’s daughter. What’s a gal to do but go with the flow?

Wolf-shifter Ian, Earl of Wye, recognizes Emma as his mate instantly and senses she’s in danger. He knows Emma’s harboring a deep, dark secret. But, no matter what he does, she won’t confide in him. Then he finds Emma wounded and rambling about nine white gorgons who attacked her. The hounds of hell are Ian’s nemeses, and the fact they’ve reappeared in the mortal world after centuries of banishment can only mean one thing…
**Author Interview with Jianne Carlo**

THAT PEARLY DROP is the first book in the Murphy’s Laws of Time Travel. The book sounds exciting from the blurb. Please tell us a little about this series. What inspired you to write That Pearly Drop?
My husband and I attended a wedding at Clearwell Castle in Wales, and on the plane ride over, I read Cristina Dodd’s Only a Knight, a medieval romance set in Wales. The weather was perfect, the castle picturesque beyond description, and then one of the waiters told us the tale of The Mabinogh. Bingo! The idea for the book was born. A half-immortal shape shifter, the hounds of hell, and a woman who’s thrown 250 years back into the past.

As an FYI, Christina Dodd was the guest speaker for our RWA chapter conference a few years ago, and I spent about twenty minutes alone having a drink with her. When I told her the story, she was tickled pink.
What is it about the mix of paranormal (the hero being a shifter) and time travel that draws you? And why 1763, of all the time periods?

*Red-faced* I harbor a deep hope that time travel is possible and that’s coming from a woman whose day job is based on numbers—cold, hard, definite, numbers. So, what if you went to sleep in a foreign country in the year 2013 and woke up in the same foreign country in the year 1763? How would an accountant deal with that—reality? Unreality?
The Welsh cut their teeth on mythology and the tale of the Mabinogh fascinated me, particularly that of Mathonwy, the shape shifting, and the different curses or geises placed on gods and goddesses.  I just had to make my hero a half-immortal shape shifter who can harness thunder and lightning. It added that eerie, gritty feel I needed for the book.

Why 1763? Truly, I could’ve chosen any year from 1760-1779 because it was a time of dynamic change for mankind. During this period James Watt invented the steam engine, Ben Franklin plotted secession, and Adam Smith wrote An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (the book considered the foundation of modern economics). It’s such an intriguing, churning nineteen years that I simply couldn’t resist setting the book during that time. I picked 2013 because the difference between the centuries was a clean, even 250.
Where do you draw inspiration from?

I’m a voracious reader and a collector of absolute trivia. Add that together with a few obsessions—Vikings, SEALs, Wolves, and certain time periods, and the ideas pop up constantly. I’m also constantly inspired by the Caribbean, particularly Trinidad and Tobago.

What's your writing schedule like?

We’re empty nesters as of last week (yay!!!) and so I anticipate that my schedule and habits will change for the better over the coming months. I write around the day job, which takes up a ton of time. I usually awake around 4:30 am (I am not a night owl), and write until it’s time to get ready for the day job.

What's your favorite way to interact with readers?

I love meeting readers online or at conferences or in person. One of my favorite encounters is this – the dh and I have a favorite local Italian restaurant that we frequent. We became acquainted with the maitre’d and the owners, and discovered that the owner’s wife loves my books. I don’t know who was more thrilled her or me. J

What’s up next for you?

I have a whole bunch of stuff going on.

Branded by Étaín, the first book in my latest Viking series, The Beasts of Bärvik releases on December 5, 2013.

First Quarter 2014:

That Tantalizing Lick, Murphy’s Laws of Time Travel #2

Viking in Chains, Jomsviking Blood Brothers #1

Second Quarter 2014:

Wolf Without, Ricky’s Landing #1

The Wolf with the Broken Smile, White Wolf #4Temptation, Circle of Thirteen #1

Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me.

Learn more about author Jianne Carlo

Email: Jianne@jiannecarlo.com