Guest Author Kristen Callihan
**UPDATE 2/6/12: The winner of a copy of Kristin’s new book, FIRELIGHT, is…Alica!**
Fellow Forever Romance author Kristen Callihan is here to talk about her new release, FIRELIGHT. One lucky commenter will be the recipient of a signed copy of her awesome book! So…here’s Kristen!
Thank you, Cynthia, for having me here. I’m thrilled to be hitting the shelves alongside Kiss of the Vampire –which is most excellent, btw!
On thing that struck me about Cynthia’s book was the uniqueness of the story. In the paranormal market, finding a unique angle is quite hard. Everything you can think of has been done. So then it becomes a matter of approaching the story from a different perspective.
When I started writing Firelight, I had double trouble in regards to freshness because I was working with not only paranormal, but the highly popular trope of the beauty and the beast story. How then could I make it different?
One huge difference I decided on right off the bat was that my heroine, Miranda, would not be some defenseless miss. In truth, she is more of a threat than the villain. Her ability to start fires with a thought is a great power. But as Stan Lee once so brilliantly said in Spider Man, with great power comes great responsibility. Miranda constantly struggles to control her ability. She doesn’t want to go around burning things down. And yet the desire to do it is there. Which begs the question. Is she really the beast in this tale?
Which brings me to Archer, my hero. He is the identifiable beast in this story. I could have made him a number of things. But I wanted to try something different. I wanted him to be something no one has ever seen before. This is always a risk. But, for me, part of the fun about writing paranormals is that your imagination is the only limit. No matter what Archer is, however, at his core he is all too human, with human heartaches and vulnerability.
It is only when Miranda and Archer come together that they become whole. Two beasts finding each other and becoming human once more.
I had great fun trying something different. But what about you? What are your favorite monsters? And, given the chance, would you be willing to become one?
FIRELIGHT – for sale now! Read an excerpt or buy.
Shannon
Hi Kristen and Cindy,
Kristen that is one gorgeous cover! You hit the art department jackpot with that one. Your book sounds like a fantastic read. I love the beauty and the beast story in all it’s different forms and your heroine sounds like someone I’d like.
I like reading about all sorts of monsters, and I think shapeshifters are some of the scariest–you never know if the person you’re talking to is human or a beast ready to pounce once you’re back is turned.
Congrats on both your releases!
Caroline
Kristen – Congratulations on the new release. I’m new to reading paranormal but I think you and Cynthia really hit it out of the park by coming up with something so different and intriguing. How could you not read either book with a concept like that? I’ve always loved Beauty and Beast inspired stories and I’m looking forward to reading yours – Caroline
Alica
I love the Beauty and the Beast story- what a fresh take on it! I don’t know if I have a favorite monster. If I can be beautiful, graceful, and rich then I might be willing to be a monster LOL!