13 April 2010

Interview: Lori Devoti “Amazon Queen”

When I first heard about Lori Devoti’s Amazon series, I knew I had to have her on ATUF. So maybe Lori’s Amazon’s aren’t exactly like their historical counterparts (thankfully neither Mel or Zery appear to have cut off a breast in order to better draw a bow), but they do bring a fresh new mythology to the urban fantasy genre & has already spawned two books. My review of Amazon Ink will be up this week, and my review of Amazon Queen will be coming soon after that.

Lori Devoti grew up in southern Missouri and attended college at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she earned a Bachelor of Journalism. She, however, made it clear to anyone who asked, she was not a writer; she worked for the dark side--advertising. Now twenty years later, she's proud to declare herself a writer and visit her dark side occasionally by writing dark paranormal romances and urban fantasy novels with a little death and a lot of adventure.
Lori lives in Wisconsin with her husband, daughter, son, an extremely patient shepherd mix, and the world's pushiest Siberian husky.

Amazon Ink (Amazons, Book 2) by Lori Devoti

Being an Amazon ruler just became a royal pain.

Amazon queen Zery Kostovska has never questioned tribe traditions. After all, these rules have kept the tribe strong for millennia and enabled them to live undetected, even in modern-day America. Zery is tough, fair, commanding--the perfect Amazon leader. At least, she was. A new high priestess with a penchant for secrecy and technology is threatening Zery's rule. Plus, with the discovery of the Amazon sons, males with the same skills as their female counterparts, even Zery can't deny that the tribe must change. But how? Some want to cooperate with the sons. Others believe brutal new leadership is needed--and are willing to kill to make it happen. Once, Zery's word was law. Now, she has no idea who to trust, especially with one powerful Amazon son making her question all her instincts. For Zery, tribe comes first, but the battle drawing near is unlike any she's faced before . . . and losing might cost her both the tribe and her life.

April 27, 2010
Mass Market Paperback
384 pages | $7.99
ISBN: 9781439167724
On Simon&Schuster.com

Interview

ATUF: AMAZON QUEEN is the second book in the Amazon series. Can you bring us up to speed and tell us a little about the new book?

LD: The second book is told from Zery, the Amazon queen’s, point of view. The Amazon world is changing and Zery is forced to make some very hard choices, choices she never thought she would have to make. But while the book centers on Zery, Mel and her family are back too (you can read the book description above).

ATUF: Can you explain your take on Amazon mythology in this series?

LD: When I sat down to develop this world I basically just asked myself, “If Amazons were real where might they be today?” I also did as much reading as I could find on both Amazons and on modern archeological finds that show warrior women buried in the steppes of Russia. A lot of my books’ mythology is based on that.

ATUF: The typical urban fantasy heroine is a single woman without any children. What made you decide to make Mel (from AMAZON INK) a mom?

I’m not sure why I started with that. It just seemed natural for Mel. She needed something she cared about passionately. What do we care for with more passion than our children?

ATUF: You’ve mention in other interviews that your heroes are always Alpha heroes. Are there any new alphas for us to fall in love with in AMAZON QUEEN?

LD: Yes, in Amazon Queen you meet a new son who definitely challenges Zery and he isn’t shy about it. J

ATUF: You’ve been really fortunate in getting great cover art for both Amazon Ink and now AMAZON QUEEN. Can you tell us who the artist is, and what, if any, input you had in the final designs?

LD: Timothy Lantz designed the cover for Amazon Ink. I’m not sure who designed Amazon Queen. So far as input, I saw early versions of both covers which I discussed with my editor. In the case of Amazon Queen we saw a number of photos of the model and both said “that one!” I’m very fond of both covers.

ATUF: Do you have plans to continue this series with more Amazon books?

LD: At this time, I’m not under contract for any more books in the series. Which doesn’t mean there won’t be any. I would like to finish Mel’s story. So, we’ll see.

ATUF: What other projects do you have coming up?

LD: In July I have a dark paranormal romance with Harlequin Nocturne, Zombie Moon. It’s about a man who chose to be turned into a werewolf after his family was killed by zombies. Not only are werewolves immune to a zombie’s bite, they are great hunters. The heroine searches him out after her best friend is taken captive by a zombie doctor (doctor who is making zombies).

Then next year two more books with Nocturne. One will be book six in my Unbound series. I’m not sure what the other will be yet.

ATUF: Do you have any favorite authors/books in the urban fantasy series?

LD: Neil Gaiman, Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Jim Butcher and Simon R, Green are among my favorites.

ATUF: If your Amazon series makes it to the big screen, do you have a dream cast in mind?

LD: Not really, although Angelina Jolie would seem to be a good fit for Mel. I don’t tend to think of my characters like this. I don’t visualize them so much as feel them...their emotions, I mean.

ATUF: I have a feature here on my blog called Genre Swap Saturday where I spotlight a non-urban fantasy and answer two very specific questions. Will you pick one of your previous books and answer for us:

LD: I’ll pick my upcoming release, Zombie Moon.