From Wordless to Words

I cannot tell you how excited I was when Claudia was asking for peeps to host her on her blog tour. I’d seen links to her books on the sites of friends. A local friend tried to send them to me so I could read them but the post man ate them.

I told her I hadn’t read it, but I wanted to host it anyway. I certainly am NOT a writer by any stretch of the imagination. But I’ve been reading since I was 2 and it’s the only thing that kept me going after I started to lose my hearing. Books are my escape. They are what keeps me sane.

That said I am a proud host of Claudia for her blog tour for her book 'The Fey’.

This is my kind of book. I cannot wait for the next one. And I have a really great signed copy all my own.

Here goes nothing. My own mix of why, what, and a little science to boot questions.

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1. I read A LOT of Iris Johansen and Kay Hooper. They both have strong female leads and do some stuff that seems paranormal. Who are the influences you look to for inspiration in your writing?

Wow, I think the question is ‘Who wasn’t an influence in my writing?’ I learned to read when I was about three years old. I spent most of my childhood buried in one book or another. I don’t know that I could delineate who or what influenced me specifically in the Fey. This is one of the reasons I chose to publish under the Creative Commons license. I stand on the shoulders of masters. I can only hope that my work inspires someone else to do the same.

2. Jesse features a lot in the novel. What made you decide to keep him around in the manner you chose?

Jesse Abreu is Alexandra Hargreaves best-friend. They lived so much life, and death together, that their bond goes way beyond the inconvenience of his murder. When he showed up on the page, I wondered why I hadn’t seen him before – not whether to keep him. He is an integral part of the Alex the Fey thriller series.

3. For being such a strong female character, it struck me as a little odd that one of Alex's colleagues would worry about her being alone for a night or so towards the end. I mean she's been trained to 'deal' with that. What gives?

Most Special Forces officers are trained to work independently. They are sent out alone and return alone. Intelligence officers are not trained that way. Intelligence officers work for the Intelligence Center as well as act as integral parts of individual teams. Many work on large teams in specific intelligence units such as the one Alex is assigned to after she’s wounded.

As for Alex, she is an identical twin. She shared a room with her twin brother most of her life. When forced out of the house in some cockeyed individuation effort, she entered the US Army. She wasn’t alone during her basic training or her tour in Bosnia. During Special Forces training, she was almost never alone, especially at night. She got married right after completing training and moved in with her identical twin brother. Her leave time was spent with her husband and brother. Her work time was spent with her team.

She was alone for the first time in The Fey. She certainly survives, if not thrives, during that experience based on her lifelong training. It’s simply the first time she’d ever been alone.

4. I think I need more back story since I didn't see a compelling reason for Raz to not be called by his given name. Can you give us a little insight?

Elite intelligence operative change their names and have their histories wiped. In fact, it’s not uncommon for undercover police officers to change their names and have their histories wiped.

Raz works for Ben, who is considered to be one of the world’s best intelligence agents. He is an elite intelligence operative.

5. How exactly is it that Alex and Max are identical twins?

Alex and Max Hargreaves are monozygotic twins. The science is that an egg carries an “X” chromosome. Sperm can be an “X” or a “Y”. In their case, the egg was carried duplicate “X” chromosome. Thus when fertilized by a “Y” sperm, the egg became an “XXY”. This type of being is viable, however has vast disabilities. If the egg splits early enough, either X chromosome can replicate. In Alex and Max’s case, they became “XX” and “XY”.

Depending on the geneticist, these types are twins are not considered to be identical because one is XX and the other is XY. They remain monozygotic. Outside of their gender chromosomes, their genetics are identical.

6. Why do so many people share a home with John and Alex? I mean she's a twin, which means there is a need for some individuality there. She came from a big family. All the normal reasons for NOT having that many people actually living in your house, sharing personal space are part of her upbringing.

You’d be surprised how many identical twins live together. I know of three pairs here in Denver. While we see might see a need for individuality, many identical twins don’t necessarily feel that need. Their normal is being together.

Further, Max and Alex grew up in a military family. Siblings in military families tend to be a lot closer because they move so much. Their father was the General who ran the base they lived on. These General’s children don’t tend to socialize with a lot of other kids.

Given the circumstances, these type of living situations are not uncommon.

7. Why a female lead, and particularly a female lead with an extensive military background?

Why not?

I never sat down and decided to write about this person or that person. These characters came to me from the ether. In my mind, they exist as separate beings. The only connection they have to me is that I am their scribe. If they bear any similarities to me, it’s only because I am their scribe.

I didn’t choose to have a female lead. This is simply her story.

I didn’t choose for her to be in the military. That is just where she is and has always been.

I’m working to be a clear reporter for these characters lives and issues.

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Claudia, thank you SO much for letting me take part in this.

The Fey is serialized at AlextheFey.com. The novel will run through the end of the year, then will be removed. Learning to Stand will take it’s place in February, 2010. The Fey is also available at Amazon. If you use our store, feel free to use this code: WLKP3C74 for a special Tiny Tyrant ten percent discount.

I chose not to have a give away of the book on my blog so she could donate a copy to Operation Shoebox.

Show your support to this wonderful author and friend and go buy a copy today. You won't regret it.