Guest - Parker Blue

Hey, this is Debra Dixon. I'm here briefly to introduce you to our exciting new young adult fantasy author, Parker Blue. Her book BITE ME from Bell Bridge Books has gotten great reviews so far.

Help me welcome, Parker Blue !

The Idea Fairy

 

Writers are often asked where they get their ideas, as if there's some obscure idea fairy who bestows the perfect idea upon you with her sparkly wand if you know the magic words. Yeah, right. For most writers, finding ideas is not the problem. Avoiding them is. I've tried to duck as they come whizzing in, but they're sneaky little devils. They like to attack when I can't avoid them. They especially like to blindside me when I'm in the bathtub or shower (there's some strange relationship between story ideas and water I've never understood). Or, lately, they've been waiting until I'm driving 75 miles an hour on the freeway (in my hour and a half commute to work) to hit.

Yes, the diabolical things wait until I have no possible way to write them down, then they strike. You see, if I could just record them immediately, I could get them out of my brain and go back to working on whatever current work in progress I should be writing. But because I can't jot them down, I feel compelled to examine their sharp little edges, poke their intriguing extremities and play the "what if" game to form them into some sort of shape. Then, over the next few months, other bits and pieces pop in. I'll bump them up against other ideas I've had and if enough puzzle pieces fit together, I begin to see a story emerge. I call this my "gelling" period, when the ideas start to gel together. Once I can see a form emerge, then I can start working on a story.

Because of this process, I rarely remember the initial impetus for my books, the very first idea. However, in the case of Bite Me, out this month from Bell Bridge Books, I do remember. This is one of the rare times I went looking for a specific idea instead of letting it find me on its own. I wanted to write for the women's action/adventure line, Silhouette Bombshell (now sadly defunct), so I sat down to come up with four ideas to pitch to the editor. I love paranormal, so I knew I wanted to write an action novel with a female heroine and paranormal elements. My first thought of a vampire slayer. But, since Buffy has obviously been done (and very well!), I wanted to put a spin on it. So, what about a vampire hunter who is part demon as well? Even better, what if she's part lust demon and she has to fight vampires to keep the lust under control? Bingo! I had my idea.

Unfortunately, Bombshell folded and when I rewrote the book as a paranormal romance, the publisher who had expressed interest decided they didn't like it after all. But Deb Dixon at Bell Bridge Books pointed out that it would really work better as a young adult urban fantasy--and she was right. So, I rewrote it once again, dropping the heroine's age a few years, and giving her faithful hellhound a voice (who knew hellhounds were so snarky?). I love the result and I hope readers will, too. Here's what it's about:

Bite Me by Parker Blue, Bell Bridge Books, October 2008.

Eighteen-year-old Valentine Shapiro got a raw deal in the parent lottery. Her father was part incubus demon, and her mother's never forgiven her for that. Thrown out of the house by her mother, Val does the only thing that seems to make any sense—she takes aim at the town vampires, figuring a stake a day keeps the demon at bay. Soon enough, she finds herself deep in the underbelly of the city, discovering the secrets of the Demon Underground with the help of her faithful hellhound, Fang, and fighting to save those she loves. Whether they love her back or not.

Parker is blogging on NovelTalk as well--check it out and comment there for a chance to win an autographed copy of her book! Plus Bell Bridge Books will be giving one away today, so start racking up those comments!

Pam McCutcheon / Parker Blue
http://www.parkerblue.net
http://www.pammc.com