Werewolves Beware...VICKI LEWIS THOMPSON in the house!

Today my guest is author VICKI LEWIS THOMPSON!

A bit about Vicki, from her website:

A romance writing career has brought Vicki Lewis Thompson many wonderful things –New York Times bestseller status, an appearance on LIVE with Regis and Kelly, the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award from Romance Writers of America, thousands of readers, many dear friends, and the cutest little yellow convertible in the world. Her career has also given her work she loves.

Although she’s written more than 100 books, she continues to be fascinated by the many ways that a man and woman fall in love. The age-old story remains a challenging puzzle to be solved anew with each book. That makes her a very lucky person, indeed.

And now...Vicki in my hotseat! Meow!

R:  Hello, Vicki. Welcome

VLT:  Thanks, ROCCO.

R: Why did you decide to write within the paranormal genre and how do you think your books stand out?

VLT: I was mesmerized by JK Rowling, and then I was asked to write a chapter in BEWITCHED, BOTHERED, AND BEVAMPYRED, an anthology to benefit the Red Cross.  I had more fun writing that chapter than should be legal, and I wanted      to continue experiencing that rush, especially if I could get away with writing light comedy.

R:Tell us about your Werewolf series. What inspired that? 

VLT:Maybe not “what,” but “who.”  My agent Robert Gottlieb suggested it.  And I’m so glad he did!  I’ve had a great time with my hunky werewolves.

R:You also write a vastly different series, the Nerd series. What was your inspiration for those books? 

VLT: Superman.  I’ve had a crush on Superman forever.  I love how he transforms from nerdy Clark Kent to the Man of Steel, but even Superman has a shy side, which charms me.

R: Which do you prefer to write, paranormal or contemporary and why?

VLT: This is one of those questions like “which is your favorite child?”  I love writing contemporary stories because that’s the world we live in, but paranormal stories portray the world I’d like to live in.  Moving between those sub-genres of romance keeps me from getting in a rut.

R: Which out of all the characters you’ve created is your favorite and why?

VLT: Well, since you didn’t say “heroes,” I’m going to choose George, the ADD dragon in my Hex series.  He was a continuing character in all three Hex books, and I love him.  I gave him an iPod, so if you can picture an ADD dragon with an iPod, you have some idea of why I love George.  I have a stuffed version of George on my bookshelf.

R: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

VLT: Going bonkers.  Before I settled on this writing career I branched off into weird sewing projects like making a two-sided fish pillow – one side awake and the other side asleep.  My writing career has saved the world from being subjected to more such gonzo projects.

R: What other writing genre would you like to try that you haven’t yet? Historical, screenwriting, etc?

VLT: I adore reading historical romance, so the idea of writing it has tempted me.  But I know all the research involved in the really good ones, and I’m not sure I have the patience.  I’ll probably stick with what I’m doing.

R: Every writer has an “agent” story. How did you get your agent, and what is your advice to aspiring novelists querying agents?

VLT:  I wrote and sold without an agent for 18 years.  Since then I’ve had three, each with different skills.  I envy those who’ve been able to stay with the same agent for twenty years.  I discovered that as my career changed, I needed a different skillset, which required changing agents.  And that’s not an easy process.  My advice is to decide what you personally expect from an agent.   My current agent and I don’t chat on the phone.  But if that’s something a writer likes in an agent, she should find out during the interview process how the agent works with clients.  Style is so important.

 R: You’ve been on LIVE with REGIS AND KELLY!  What was that like?

VLT: Terrifying in advance, but lovely when it happened because both Regis and Kelly were wonderful to me.  Now it’s a warm and cozy memory.  But the run-up to it was one of the most angst-ridden times of my life.

R: What book is on your TBR shelf you can’t wait to get to?

VLT:  A friend of mine, Cindy Kirk, bought me a copy of BLUE-EYED DEVIL by Lisa Kleypas.  It came out in 2008, and I somehow missed it.  I always seem to be playing catch-up with my reading!

R: What advice would you give new writers just starting out?

VLT: Enjoy yourselves!  I love writing.  I’m not like Dorothy Parker, who hated writing but loved having written.  I love the writing itself.  I love immersing myself in the world I’ve created and letting my imagination go crazy.  If you love what you’re doing, chances are that will show in the work.  Editors and agents can tell when a writer enjoys her work.  They’ve told me so.  Sure, pay attention to the market when you have a few spare moments, but most of all, love the process.

R: What would your readers be most surprised to learn about you?

VLT: That I think big hairy tarantulas are very cool.  I also like snakes, unless it’s a rattler about to bite me.

R: Do you have any information on upcoming works or events that you are able to share?  VLT: Here’s something fun, although it won’t show up until late 2014.  I was asked to be the lead author in an anthology for Harlequin Nocturne.  They’re allowing me to write a light paranormal story, and they also allowed me to invite my three plotting partners to be in the anthology.  So Andrea Laurence, Rhonda Nelson, Kira Sinclair and I are going to write four connected Christmas stories.  Can’t wait!

R: Finish this sentence:  If I could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be

VLT: no one.  I love my life.  Wouldn’t trade with anybody.

R: Just for Fun, your Favorite:

VLT:

Book Winnie the Pooh

Movie Love, Actually

TV show Downton Abbey

Actor Colin Firth

Actress Maggie Smith

Night or Day Twilight

Werewolf or Shapeshifter? I thought a Werewolf was a Shapeshifter??? Have I been writing it wrong all this time, LOL?

Mountain or Lake A mountain lake

Hawaii or Alaska Alaska

Book or Nook Book

Cat or Dog? Cat  (R: Meow, good answer!)

Thanks for a great interview, Vicki! Now for our giveaway.....

Vicki will be giving away 2 copies of WEREWOLF IN DENVER to two lucky readers! Entering is easy!

Just leave a comment below with your email address (comments without email addresses will be disqualified, sorry L)  For extra entries you can:

Friend moi or the Human, Toni LoTempio, on Facebook

Follow me on twitter @RoccoBlogger

Follow Gerry on twitter

Friend Gerry on Facebook

Tweet, FB or blog about this interview and contest (gets you 3 extra entries).

The contest is open to US residents only and closes midnight, October 21 – winner announced October 22!

Get crackin’!

the winner of our nina bangs giveaway: tonyslilpixie!  congrats!

Next week: We participate in the "Spook Hop"
October 31: Jessica Sims visits the blog!

Coming in November - Stephanie Bond and Janet Evanovich!