Interview: Faith Hunter, author of Skinwalker

The talented Faith Hunter is here answering a few questions about herself, writing, and her new book Skinwalker - which is released tomorrow, Tues, July 7th. I really enjoyed the book and gave it an A. Make sure to check out my review of Skinwalker.

Q. What got you interested/started in writing?

A. I was a talent-less child in a talented family. In tenth grade my creative writing teacher, Carole Kohler, told me I should be a writer. I believed her. I latched on to that promise of talent with both hands and feet and made it my dream. And here I am!

Q. What have you learned about yourself since you began to seriously pursue writing?

A. Two things come to mind. One, I was a pretty lazy gal until I started writing professionally. Deadlines taught me that I can be driven, driving, determined, and have a terrible case of tunnel vision when I am in the middle of a book. I shut out the world, becoming contrary and insular. Two, I am loyal to my friends and business partners even when it hurts. Oh! Wait. There’s third one. I love stories. I love offering my stories to the world.

Q. How do you prepare yourself before writing a new book?

A. I read a lot to clear my mind. I sleep a lot to rest my mind. I see my friends a lot because, when writing, I do so little except write. Most importantly, I learn something new when I am between books. I’ve taken lessons in belly dancing, kayaking, rafting, have started making homemade bread and quickly went back to store bought, planted my first my herb garden, learned how to make herbal vinegars. I learned to make jewelry for the Rogue Mage novels and fell in love with it! I try to learn something new every year.

Q. How is Skinwalker different from previous the novels in the Rogue Mage series?

A. The world of the Rogue Mage, Thorn St. Croix, is a future world, after an apocalypse that had religious overtones but may not have been what it really seemed. Thorn was a magic user, capable of bending and shaping leftover creation energies in what might have been called spells in another book. Thorn is a warrior in the fight between evil and good, between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness. The world of Thorn is unique in the urban fantasy genre and it set her apart from most other heroines.

In SKINWALKER, the world is more traditionally urban fantasy, peopled with vampires and weres and witches—a more familiar world. The character Jane Yellowrock, however, is very different. She is a skinwalker who has the soul of another beast (I won’t give the species away!) living inside her body. She has had to make peace with Beast, and with her (their) solitary life. So far as she can tell, Jane is the last of her kind.

For a living, Jane Yellowrock contracts out as a traveling vamp hunter and may spend only a few weeks in any one place. Except for her friends back in the Appalachian mountains, it is a lonely, violent life, tracking and killing vampires who succumb to the insanity that marks their race—until she is hired by the New Orleans’s vampire council. Once there, she is hired to track and take down a rogue vamp who is killing and eating tourists, cops, and the vamps them selves.

Q. Ok, how about a few character word associations?

A. Suuweeeet! No one has ever asked this of me. (rubs hands together in expectation) But I have to do more than one word for each. Go!

Jane Yellowrock: Conflicted. Lonely. Stubborn. Violent. Determined. Gritty. Loyal. Tall.

Molly Trueblood: Fierce. Indomitable. Steady. Motherly. I love her!

Rick LaFleur: Secretive. Player. Musician. Tattooed. Jane’s soul mate? But can he be trusted?

Leo Pellisier: Dark. Cold. Burning. Powerful. Secretive. Building something, but what?

Bruiser/George: Came out of the blue. Sexy. Bound. Not free. Alluring. Dangerous. I like him, but will Jane or her Beast?

Q. So far, what has been the most rewarding part of the Skinwalker publishing process?

A. This. The interest of fans and reviewers, their excitement. Under the names Gary Hunter, Gwen Hunter, and Faith Hunter, I have written characters I loved before, and never knew if people really loved them. But people really love Jane Yellowrock. It is amazing! And satisfying. Really joyful.

Q. What else do you have in the works? Any info about the future of the Jane Yellowrock series?

A. Blood Cross, book two in the series, will be out this winter. Jane and the characters you mentioned will be back for more! And (fingers crossed) I have turned in proposals for two more skinwalker books, for a total of 4 (so far) in the series. I am biting my nails!

Q. If you could be any fictional character for a day, who would you be? It can be one of yours or any other author's.

A. I’ve written 20 books and the fantasy characters are the best. I’d love to be Thorn one week and Jane the next! But since Thorn is five feet even and Jane is six feet tall, I’ll have to build on a new closet!

Q. If you were the interviewer, what question would you ask yourself?

A. I like this! Okay…. If you were able to skin-walk into any creature, what would it be?

African lioness. I think they are lovely!

Q. Any final comments?

A. Thank you for the cool questions! Hope you like Skinwalker!

Faith Hunter

www.faithhunter.net

Everyone make sure to check out Faith's website and blog. There is all kinds of info about the book, an excerpt, a prequel short-story, and even a snippet or two. Don't forget, Skinwalkerhits shelvesTOMORROW!