Indigo Vamporium takes my adult series and characters and examines the vampyre family as teenagers. Seithe was the first book in the vampyre series, so I set Indigo Vamporium in the same city to give it continuity as the book revolves around Seithe coming to terms with and trying to perfect his own abilities. He has a lot of responsibility on his young shoulders and doesn't get on well with his guardian; his father's brother Venix.
Book 2, Scarlet Vamporium, follows 17 year old Ellindt as a foreigner in Glencoe, where she meets a wonderful varsity crush. Luckily for her Douglas believes in monsters and beasties because Scotland is rich in tales of the Fey, (the Seelie and Unseelie courts), loch monsters, and has a unicorn as their national animal. It's a match made in heaven, until her family interferes.
JET: What drew you to paranormal romance?
Poppet: I've always found vampyres an intriguing and enigmatic topic.
JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?
Poppet: Lordy, where to begin? I tried to get published MANY years ago, but ran into many roadblocks. I write paranormal fantasy and horror, and when I submitted my books to local publishers was told they don't publish these genres, I must write for the 'local' market. So I thought I'd try overseas, only to be met with the issue that I needed an agent. At that time this country had 2 literary agents. I went to the only one in my 'state', only to find out after paying her all the money I had and she'd given me the runaround for 2 years, that she only publishes diaries and autobiographies by famous people. I was so frustrated, the world loves reading romances and, horror and romance are to date the best selling movie genres worldwide, and yet I couldn't even be heard because of the local clampdown on these genres. I tried my hand abroad, but had not enough money to send the printed MS's to big publishers, it was only when the publishers started using the internet broadly and widely that I finally had a chance at knocking on doors. I got an agent in Ireland who did nothing for a year and answered my emails to her twice. So I gave up on the agent idea, joined Authonomy, learned A LOT, and started submitting to any and all publishers who allow you to submit manuscript's unagented. It was a heartbreaking journey, one that often depressed me severely (it seemed so hopeless just because of my geographical location). And often I nearly gave up. It was only the friends I made on Authonomy that kept me going at all. I was even told by a big publisher represented locally that they'd consider my book if a main character was black. They deny it now and I wish I'd kept the email. That shocked me!
JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?
Poppet: When Wild Wolf published me. I had a previous publishing contract, but I chose to leave that publisher because we didn't see eye to eye. I know I sound like a fangirl but Wild Wolf Publishing just gets me, I adore them, and will stay with them no matter how many of my other books make it or break it in the world.
JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?
Poppet: Enid Blyton. The Magic Faraway Tree changed my perception of planet earth.
JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?
Poppet: When I worked for an ad agency and the creative director (also a film producer) read my work and thought it was good enough. His words encouraged me a lot.
JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?
Poppet: I read the Kabbalah, I-Ching, Nag Hammadi texts, dead Sea Scrolls, and five versions of the bible, researched metals, drugs, geography, astronomy, ancient astrology, archeology, the Greek myths and legends, the Egyptian myths and legends, spent 3 months just working out the ancient Greek calendar, read the Popoh Vuh and all the Mayan legends – all for 1 book.
JET: Of all the novels and stories you’ve written - which one is your favorite? Why?
Poppet: Sveta. Because I think the right person for you knows your insecurities and still wants to love you.
JET: Any advice (from a writer’s standpoint) for the novices out there?
Poppet: Never give up. Work at it day and night. Write and write and write some more. Perfect your writing skills, join a group of authors that aren't afraid to shred your work and tell you the truth, and learn from them. They will remove your ego and polish your writing ability like no other. Only by writing and writing some more will you improve. As Steve King likes to say, the first million words are just practice. If you are good enough, someone, somewhere, will say yes.
JET: All right - now that I’ve hammered you with the big questions, let’s tackle my favorite (and geeky) quick ten. . . starting with: Paper or Plastic?
Poppet: Paper
JET: Steak or Tofu?
Poppet: Neither
JET: Beach or Mountains?
Poppet: Both (lol). But if I had to pick one, I pick mountains.
JET: Country or Rock-n-Roll?
Poppet: Rock – always.
JET: Leather or Lace?
Poppet: Why do I have to choose? :P hmmmm, lace would probably win this war.
JET: Angels or Demons?
Poppet: Both. Demons – but my view of demons is based on their Greek origin. It's a Greek word spelled Daemon. I have this great OLD book that gives ancient astrology lessons by the different cultures (Persian, Greek etc), and it was in there that I first read the Greek definition of daemon. I love daemons!
JET: Paper or Digital?
Poppet: Both (lol) Damn girl! Digital wins, but I like the everlasting aspect of paper. Where would we be now if the scrolls hadn't been hidden in caves for thousands of years? When archaeologists dig up your ebook reader, they won't learn a damn thing.
JET: Silent Film Classics or Cheesy B Rated Horror?
Poppet: Silent Films for sure.
JET: Twilight or True Blood?
Poppet: True Blood
JET: Coffee or Tea?
Poppet: Coffee
JET: Thank you for indulging me. Before we wrap this up, can you tell us what you're working on now? What's next?
Poppet: Aisyx, the final installment of my vampyre / neuri series. It's due out 31st December (after the world ends hahahaha). Call me an optimist, or a non believer in paranoid hype. The first quarter of 2013 will see a number of horrors by me, including Paint (a serial killer), Tithe (a medieval horror on the abuse of religion), Night Blind (more killing and stalking), and a haunting story where antiques end up ruining lives.
Thank you JET!
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my blog. Folks, you can find out more about Poppet and her work at the following places:
Twitter: @AuthorPoppet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poppet/197111090356326
http://authorpoppet.wordpress.com
http://authorpoppet.weebly.com
Other titles by Poppet include Seithe, Venix, Zauran, Sveta, Ryan, Arelstin's Lair, Scarlet Vamporium, Indigo Vamporium, Darkroom, Erra, Shar, Erra More & the Sibitti, Djinn, Blindsided, Penance, Heresy, Dusan, Fey's Adventures, The Scorpion's Sting (Heresy), Solar Eclipse (Heresy), Quislings, Fractured, The Demenion series, Spellbound, and Ruthless.
Until Next Time,
Ciao,
JET
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