Interview & Giveaway: Dakota Banks, author of Dark Time

Today I have the awesome Dakota Banks here to answer a few questions. Her urban fantasy debut, Dark Time, is officially released tomorrow. I really enjoyed this one - be sure to check out my review of it.


What got you interested/started in writing?

The usual thing: reading. I was an early and voracious reader, and the voracious part is still true. I remember my mom telling me that when I was two or three I already knew there was something interesting in books, because I'd grab every book for grownups I could get my hands on and "read" it, even if the book was upside down. Later, I had to get my parents to intercede with the librarian and get me an adult's library card, so I could check out Shakespeare instead of Winnie the Pooh. Been there, done that. I started writing when I was eight years old. My first short story was a science fiction tale about a repressive society where there was no individuality (guess what I'd been reading). One character rebelled and escaped from the city, and at the end the reader learns that the character is an ant. Trite even then, but hot stuff for an eight year old. My school newspaper published it to glowing reviews by teachers.

I kept writing, sending off short stories to Analog and Asimov's. Never got anything published then, but did get encouraging notes from the editors. I still have them. Then life took over and competing loves burst onto the scene. First computers, then a husband, then kids. Writing slipped into the background but never into the grave.

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


I've learned that I can dig deeply into myself and mine both the darkest and lightest moments hidden away there and use them in my writing. This makes me realize that my earlier attempts at writing were shallow. Now I can write convincingly about something like seeking deathly revenge because I know these darker thoughts are part of me and I can dip a hand in and pull them up to the light to be examined. Just because I can do that doesn't mean I'll act on those dark impulses. That leaves me free to explore what I call the demonic side of life. On the flip side of the coin, I have experienced an abundance of love with my husband and children, and because of that I can have my characters experience that same wild spark of new love or the steady hum of committed love or the exploration of love in watching a child grow. It comes straight from my heart to the pages.

How do you prepare yourself before writing a new book?


I daydream a lot. I brainstorm characters and situations until I find something that sticks, that either slowly grows in me like a seed sprouting or explodes with the necessity of having to tell the story. Dark Time is that second kind of story, one with a wildly impulsive origin, the passionate kind. The best kind.

Why did you decide to make a departure from being a mystery writer to start writing urban fantasy?


I'd been involved with computers during my entire non-writing professional life, and when I started writing again on a serious basis, I followed the adage "Write what you know." So I wrote the PJ Gray series of suspense stories, really techno-thrillers, based on virtual reality recreations of crime scenes. They were ahead of their time, and as time went on in the series I tossed a few elements like artificial intelligence into the simulations that really bumped the speculative fiction aspect. I wrote a stand-alone eco-thriller set in the near future that allowed me to dabble in world creation—and I liked it! It wasn't much of a leap from there to urban fantasy, which gave me even more freedom in establishing a world close to our reality, but not quite. Since I came from a background of writing action, suspense, and the pacing that goes with thrillers, Dark Time ended up as an urban fantasy with respect to world-building and a paranormal thriller with a splash of romance too. Now that I've made this departure, there's no looking back. After six books in another genre, I've found my niche in urban fantasy. In that area, I'm a debut author and it's a hard and crowded field to break into. (Shameless plug alert!) I'm hoping Dark Time will be more than just a foot in the door, but open the door wide for me.

List 3-5 characters from Dark Time and pick a word that represents them.


Maliha—courageous
Jake—irresistible
Amaro—brilliant
Hound—mysterious
Yanmeng—mystical

So far, what has been the most rewarding part of the Dark Time publishing process?


There are too many here to include, so I'll settle on a few. The back-and-forth with my agent Jill Marsal to improve the manuscript followed by revisions with my editor Diana Gill at Eos are top on my list. Most authors wouldn't rank revisions as rewarding, but I'm a sponge. I listen to what experienced people in the publishing trade have to say about making the book more attractive to readers and incorporate most of it. The end result, in my opinion, is a better book than I could produce writing in isolation. Seeing the cover art blew me away. The artist really got this book. A little while ago my editor sent me some copies of the book hot off the presses. Holding Dark Time in my hands for the first time was incredibly rewarding, the culmination of spreading my wings as an author and trying something different.

What else do you have in the works?


Book two of the Mortal Path series is almost completed. I've spent a lot of time lately being involved with writing groups. I was an Edgar judge for Best Novel for the Mystery Writers of America this past year, and served as chair of the ThrillerFest conference for International Thriller Writers. I believe in giving back to organizations that have helped me.

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.


I'd be Maliha Crayne, heroine of Dark Time, because I love this character so much. It would have to be a good day of hers, though, such as time spent with Jake or discovering a shard of the Great Lens that may free her and the rest of Earth of the presence of demons that have crippled humankind for millennia. Yes, that would be a good day! Not all of her days are like that, because Maliha is a complex character with a dark background and major challenges in her life. Come to think of it, even a not-so-good day spent as Maliha would be rewarding in its own way.

If you were and interviewer, what question would you ask yourself? What's the answer to the question?


I would ask myself what took so long for me to come to my senses and let Maliha and her friends take over my writing life. The answer, of course, is all good things come to those who wait.

Any final comments?


Thank you for the opportunity to speak directly to your readers. If anyone has questions or comments, please post here and I'll answer.

Thanks so much for the great interview Dakota!!

And now for the giveaway...

Dakota has offered 2 signed copies of Dark Time. I'm going to give them to random commenters who answer these questions:

In the novel, Maliha assumes the public identity of Marsha Winters, a successful and very wealthy novelist. If you were leading a double life, what would your public persona be? Would you also be well-known, or would you lie low?

Contest ends at 11:59 pm EST on Monday, August 3rd