MVF Interviews: Chloe Neill

Posted by Saluki in Author Spotlight, Interviews | 1 comment

We have a very special treat for you today – author Chloe Neill is stopping by for an interview as part of her HEXBOUND Blog Tour.  If you aren’t familiar with Chloe, she is the author of the Chicagoland Vampire series and the Dark Elite series. I can’t urge you enough to go out and read her books if you haven’t already.  You can also check out my book reviews for the Chicagoland Vampire Series and Firespell, book one in the Dark Elite Series here at MVF.  HEXBOUND, book two in the Dark Elite Series, is on shelves now!

What gave you the idea for the Dark Elite Series?

I was fascinated by the possibility that someone’s magical abilities wouldn’t last forever–but would be limited in time.  I started there, and then decided to introduce Lily to that world.

We love the chemistry between Lily and Jason. Can you give us any clues as to what is in store for them in
HEXBOUND?

Thanks! Unfortunately, I can’t give away any spoilers, but Jason and Lily definitely get to know each other better in HEXBOUND. We also learn something very interesting about our favorite Chicago werewolf. :)

Is the character of Scout based on anyone you know in real life? All of your characters seem very “real” but Scout has
a vulnerability and rawness to her that makes the reader drawn to her from the very beginning.

Thanks! Scout isn’t based on anyone I know per se, although I’m sure she has attributes of my friends–her sarcasm, her collections, her curiosity. I just try to the things she does consistent with what she would want as a character.

Will we learn more about Lily’s parents soon?

We’ll learn a bit more in HEXBOUND. But we can’t solve the mystery too soon!

Many of our readers are aspiring writers. What advice would you give regarding the publishing process? Was it easier
or harder than you anticipated to get published?

SOME GIRLS BITE was accepted by the first publisher I sent it to (although that process still took six months). Thus, I think the publication process was easier than I imagined. That said, by the time I sent SGB to Penguin it had been edited many times over, I’d been writing professionally (although not fiction) for quite a while and had worked out a lot of the writing kinks along the way. :)

Do you have a specific writing process? For instance, do you outline? Listen to music?

I am trying a new method this time around, and doing an overall plot outline (that just includes major plot points) instead of a lot of detail. It’s similar to a graph method that J.K. Rowling has used. We’ll see how well it works!

Do you like to read, and if so, what is your favorite genre or authors?

I love to read, although I don’t have much time to read right now. I love Diana Gabaldon and J.D. Robb, and Kim Harrison is my favorite urban fantasy author.

Is there anything you would like to tell our readers about upcoming releases/projects? And, thanks again for taking
time out of your schedule to chat with us.

I hope readers have a chance to check out HEXBOUND, the second book in my Dark Elite series, which is currently on shelves. They can also look forward to HARD BITTEN and DRINK DEEP, the fourth and fifth books in my Chicagoland Vampires series, in May and November 2011.

Thanks for having me!