- If you were not a writer what would you be doing ?
Well, I also work as a freelance writer, which is
kind of a day job maybe? I write proposals for government contracts, edit
papers for medical journals, and that kind of thing. I like switching back and
forth between technical and creative writing. They use different writing
muscles, and I find that if I’m stuck on one, moving to the other helps get me
unstuck.
But before this, I worked in labs and coordinated
autopsies, so I could also do that.
- If you wrote a book about your life what would the
title be?
I’d call my autobiography “Full Tilt Bozo.” There’s
an old comedy sketch by Robin Williams about being yourself and embracing your
weird, and I love it so much. I used to try so hard to fit in, and eventually I
realized that if I want to be a middle-aged woman with purple hair and comic
book t-shirts, I should! So that’s what I am, and I’m happy.
- What is the hardest thing about being an author?
There’s so much about writing that is out of your
control. Will your agent or publisher want the book of your heart? Will people
buy it? Will they hate it? Will they hate you?
It’s hard not to worry about those things, even though you logically know that
the only thing you can do is develop your craft and write the best book
possible. Everyone won’t love every book, and that’s okay. But I worry anyway.
- What is the best thing about being an author?
I get to sit around in my pajamas and write about
hot vampires and assassins and time traveling dinosaurs and call it work. If
I’m excited about something, I can put it in a book and have an excuse to geek
out about it and call it work. Don’t get me wrong; it’s still hard work, but
it’s so much fun!
- Have you ever been star struck by meeting one of
your favorite authors? If so who was it?
Oh, that’s a long and distinguished list. I always
tell myself I’ll be cool when I meet fellow authors, and then I realize I’ve
been shaking their hand for the past two minutes and repeating, “I’m Carrie.
Like the girl who blows up proms.” I’ve fangirled over Jim Butcher and Libba
Bray and Tom Robbins and Geraldine Brooks and the list goes on and on.
- What book changed your life?
Probably Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins. I read
it in college, got to the last page, and said, “I’ve got to do this for a
living.” That’s when I knew I had to at least try to be a writer. I’d loved
writing before then, and I knew I had fun with it as a hobby, but I loved how
that book made me feel and think, and I wanted more.
- What were your some of favorite books growing up?
I loved The Westing Game and The Hobbit in
elementary school. In junior high, I read my Dragonlance books and the Couples
romance series (anyone remember those?) until the covers fell off. In high
school, I tore through Stephen King’s entire catalogue and heard every
Carrie-goes-to-prom joke known to man.
- What books are currently in your to be read pile?
I am about halfway through four different books
right now: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Magic on the Storm
by Devon Monk, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and The Silent Patient by Alex
Michaelides. Why do I keep adding more to the list? Why don’t I just finish
one? The world will never know.
- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audio books?
It depends on the type of book. If I’m reading
fiction for pleasure, I like print. If I’m trying to learn how to be a better
writer or editor, I’ll read an ebook, because seeing it on the screen turns on
my work brain. If I want nonfiction, then I like audio books, because I can
listen while I fold clothes or do the dishes. Is that weird? I suspect it might
be weird.
- If you could live inside the world of a book or
series which world would it be and why?
I’d find it interesting to live in the post-Shift
world of the Kate Daniels books by Ilona Andrews. I love the idea of a world
that fluctuates between magic and science. I’m a scientist now, but I’d really
want to be a magic user there, so I don’t know where I’d fall, and I’m curious!
Thank you so much for having me on your blog!!!
Thrall
Supernaturals of Las Vegas
Book One
Carrie Harris
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Inked EntertainmentSupernaturals of Las Vegas
Book One
Carrie Harris
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Date of Publication: 3/7/2020
ASIN: B084RGTXNF
Number of pages: 234
Word Count: 52,000
Cover Artist: Inked Entertainment
Tagline: Undeniable attraction. Blood magic. Vampire politics. Murder...Just another day in Las Vegas.
Book Description:
Liss Lorensson is a thrall–born to be a servant of the vampire crown prince.
Gregor Valdemar is a vampire prince who chafes under the strict rule of his sire and longs for a different life.
When the two finally meet on Liss’s 21st birthday, sparks fly. But blood magic, murder, and political intrigue stand in the way of their growing romance. Vampire seduction meets the power of the blood in this first volume of the Supernaturals of Las Vegas series.
Excerpt
Liss Lorensson
fastened a length of pearls around her neck and tried not to think about
biting. It would happen right there, at the sensitive juncture where the
shoulder met the neck, just under the slightly uneven orbs that distinguished
real pearls from fake baubles made in factories. She was resigned to getting
bitten—it was part of her new job, after all—but after all of the time she’d
spent preparing for this night, it had gotten built up in her mind. Anyone who
knew her would say that Liss Lorensson was never nervous or underprepared for
anything. She’d practically sprung from the womb with a to-do list, according
to her mother. But now, she felt both of those things, and she didn’t quite
know how to deal with it.
She settled the
pearls into place, eyeing her reflection, ignoring the minute tremor of her
hand. No one who saw her would guess at her agitation. Her face was a perfect,
pale oval with the kind of complexion that usually only comes with Photoshop.
Makeup accentuated the cold intensity of her icy blue eyes. Her long blonde
hair was twisted back into a chignon, not a strand out of place. A shimmery
silk dress gave her an air of understated yet virginal elegance, topped off
with a pair of silver, strappy heels. She usually skipped heels, since at 5’10”
they often made her taller than her dates, and most men didn’t like that sort
of thing. But Gregor was tall, so she’d been practicing with these particular
shoes for weeks now. She could do anything in them now without stumbling—walk,
dance, sneak into locked rooms, or engage in hand to hand combat.
Even so, all the
preparation felt insufficient. Only a few days earlier, she’d graduated from
her small private college with a dual degree in finance and political science,
summa cum laude. She’d moved out of her dormitory the next day, ignoring the
protests of casual friends who didn’t know anything about the world she came
from. Today was her 21st birthday, and they’d begged her to stay so they could
take her out on the town. A small part of her was curious to know what that
would be like, to drink until her head swam, to pick up some boy she didn’t
care about and do as she liked with him. She’d never done anything like that.
There had never been time. She’d been taking a huge load of classes in order to
graduate early and return home for her presentation tonight.
Her eyes fell on
the stack of textbooks on the divan. She’d moved back to her family’s penthouse
in a hurry, and her normally immaculate bedroom was still in disarray. The
marble floor was dotted with half unpacked suitcases and boxes of dorm
essentials she’d need to donate or move to storage. Normally, she was on top of
that kind of thing, but there hadn’t been time for that either. She hadn’t even
had time to process the fact that she was no longer a college student. As of
tonight, she’d take her place with her family, thralls to Gregor Valdemar,
prince of the vampire kingdom of Las Vegas. Each vampire was allowed four
thralls, who protected their masters during the day and served them at night.
She’d help her father run the Renaissance Casino and Hotel, one of the biggest
resorts on the Strip. No one knew it was owned by the undead. One vampire in
particular—Gregor. Her new master, as of tonight.
She’d seen him a
few times from a distance, but vampires weren’t allowed to associate with
thrall minors, so they’d never spoken in person. But she had pictures, of
course, and plenty of stories about him from her parents and her older brother
Tait. He seemed to be a good boss and patron from what she could gather. At
least she wasn’t stuck with one of those anachronistic morons who couldn’t or
wouldn’t change with the times, the kind that made their thralls dress up in
white powdered wigs and corsets just because it reminded them of the good old
days. In order to be successful, one needed to stay current, and Gregor seemed
like he managed that. He’d financed her college education, for starters, and
had sent her a note of admiration when she’d won a particularly exclusive
finance and economics prize. She’d kept the note, reading it over and over
again in the hopes of getting a glimpse at the mind behind it. But it simply
said, “Congratulations on winning the Stepford Prize. I hear it is particularly
competitive. Gregor.” It was handwritten in neat, small print. There was
nothing to be gleaned from that except for the notability of him sending it at
all. For him to take a few moments to celebrate her accomplishments before
she’d even reached the age of maturity seemed to bode well for their working
relationship.
Who was she
kidding? She grimaced at herself in the mirror. She wanted him to like her. She
wanted to like him.
About the Author:
Carrie Harris is a geek-of-all-trades who writes genre fiction for all ages. If it has monsters, mayhem, or murder in it, she’s all in. Because all authors are required to have a history of weird jobs, she worked as an autopsy coordinator and in a lab full of brains in jars. Now she’s a full time writer in Utah, where she lives with her ninja-doctor husband and three teenage children. Carrie has done a variety of cool things like organizing WriteOnCon (an online writers conference) and serving as the president of the Class of 2k11 (an author marketing group), and her book BAD TASTE IN BOYS was named a Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. If you bring any of this up to her, she will blush a ridiculous amount. As you read this, she is probably drinking something caffeinated and talking to people that only exist in her head.
Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/carrieharrisbooks
Website: http://carrieharrisbooks.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/carrharr
1 comment:
Thanks so much for having me!!! :)
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