Interview & Giveaway: Jess Haines “Hunted By The Others

It’s here!  Today is the official release date for Jess Haines debut urban fantasy HUNTED BY THE OTHERS.  I had a blast reading this book (a 5 bat blast) and want to make sure you all do too.  A big thanks to Jess for coming back (see her previous guest blog HERE) for an interview today.  Plus Jess is offering a giveaway too. See below for details.

Jess Haines is a displaced New Yorker with a penchant for the silly, the obscure, and the fantastical. Los Angeles is home for the time being, since it consistently meets her daily quota of strange. She’s currently working on the H&W Investigations urban fantasy series. Find out more about Shiarra Waynest, drop her a line, or join her mailing list at www.jesshaines.com!

 

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Interview

ATUF: Can you tell us a little about your debut urban fantasy, HUNTED BY THE OTHERS?

JH: Sure thing! It’s about a private investigator, Shiarra Waynest, who has run into financial trouble with her business. She breaks down and accepts a job she normally wouldn’t touch – a mage coven hires her to find an artifact in the hands of New York’s hottest – err, most powerful vampire.

Seeing as she’s human, Shiarra knows she can’t compete with the Others (supernaturals). All she wants to do is find the artifact, collect her fee, and call it a day. However, when the magi who come in contact with it start showing up dead and the vampire Alec Royce finds out she’s been attempting to manipulate him, things go downhill pretty fast. Before she knows it, her friends and family are suddenly endangered by her choices, and she’s running out of time to figure out where this thing is hidden. Meanwhile, a bunch of crazy supernatural hunters called White Hats are inviting her to join them or die. Oh, and her werewolf ex-boyfriend may or may not be trying to get back in her pants and/or use her to get his own hands on the artifact.

Yeah, she’s not having a good day.

ATUF: How and why did you decide to write an urban fantasy?

JH: You know, it’s funny, but the thing which drove me to write this story was the completion of a high fantasy novel I’d been working on since 2001. I slaved over that baby. The charts, the sketches, the diagrams! I had it all planned out. It would be epic, thundering across the annals of high fantasy history like the next Robert Jordan. It was to be my dream, my crowning achievement, my magnum opus…!

It also sucked. A lot. Like, really sucked.

So I tossed it aside and decided that I needed a palate cleanser. Something lighter, something funnier, something that didn’t smack of oh-so-serious high falutin fantasy. Rather than think on it and plot the thing out start to finish, I sat down and just started banging out chapters. I wasn’t sure where it was going at first, but I kept taking the pieces of it in to work with me and showing them to my first and number one fan, Binah. Binah kept pushing me to write more, so I did. Before I knew it, I had a completed draft – and HUNTED BY THE OTHERS was born.

ATUF: In HUNTED BY THE OTHERS, Vampires, Weres, and Mages etc. came out of the proverbial closet in the aftermath of 9/11.  How did you decide on this type of revelation?

JH: When I reached the point of deciding how it was these supernatural critters announced themselves to the world, there only seemed one logical answer. With all the technological advances we’ve had over the last few decades, how long could critters like vampires or werewolves really hide among us? Why not jump on an opportunity to be seen as something more than monsters out of fairytales instead of being forcibly ousted by technology at an inopportune moment?

Part of how I figured it is that people don’t often stop to consider who (or what) might be working alongside them. The Intern had an interesting blog post on this very thing– err, okay, not exactly on this very thing, but the last paragraph is really what I was getting at. Granted, HUNTED BY THE OTHERS approaches this on a far grander scale, but the same concept applies. They decided it was their time to be noticed.

Hey, it made sense at the time.

As for the other side of that coin – why the fall of the Twin Towers, specifically – this may sound a bit silly and perhaps even insouciant, but I consider it my tribute to what happened that day. I was a volunteer on site at Ground Zero as soon as I could get there. The things that I saw and did at the time have always stuck with me. It’s not meant to make light of those events in any way, just seemed appropriate to pay my own (admittedly weird) brand of homage to them.

ATUF: Shiarra Waynest is your main character, a P.I. who unwillingly gets caught up in a power struggle between the “Others.” I loved that she was a normal person thrust into extraordinary circumstances.  She exhibited real fear in the face of danger, but she never let that fear paralyze her. Can you tell us what makes her tick?  (And how is her name pronounced?  I’ve been reading it like ‘tiara’).

JH: Good question! (Yeah, I know, I had to go pick the funky name, didn’t I? If you want me to get all phonetic on you, “Shiarra = Shee--ahr--uh / Shia = Shee-ah” seems about right.) She’s a normal person. She likes to kick back and chill with her friends, go out for coffee, and keep away from anything Other. Sadly, letting the Others in to your life is a hell of a lot easier than getting them to go away.

Shiarra’s not so much driven to succeed as she is to survive, though she doesn’t realize that right away. Doing something “wild and different” (having her own P.I. business) was her way of showing her family she could be just as strong and just as capable as her brothers, the fireman and successful lawyer. She doesn’t want to look like a failure to them, which means she’ll do almost anything to keep H&W Investigations’ doors open.

When she gets caught up in The Circle’s machinations to steal the Dominari Focus from Alec Royce, she learns just how much she values her life over her business. She’s forced to make some tough choices and confront some ugly things about herself in the process of staying alive. All while juggling her ailing finances, attending her younger brother’s birthday bash (without leading the bad guys to her parents’ doorstep), and getting some truly spectacular gear to prove to the Others that she’s able and willing to defend herself.

..I did mention the talking belt with the stakes, right?

ATUF: There is an interesting legal arrangement in the book that allows humans to contractually sign their lives away to “Others.” These forms have to be signed prior to any kind of intimate (pleasant or otherwise) contact between humans and “Others.” Are there any circumstances under which you could be persuaded to sign such a form?

JH: Feed me enough chocolate and coffee, and I’ll do anything.

In all seriousness, I think it would strongly depend on who was doing the persuading. One thing to bear in mind about those contracts is that you’re opening yourself up to being killed by a monster who will suffer no consequences for their actions other than a guilty conscience (hah!). It’d take an awful, awful lot of persuasion to get me to put something like that aside.

ATUF: There are currently three titles in the H&W Investigations series listed on your website.  Do you have plans to continue this series beyond those three books?

JH: I would love to carry out Shiarra’s story into a much longer series! At this point, though, I think whether we go beyond the current contracted trilogy is up to my publisher, Kensington. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that the books sell well enough that you’ll be able to see a lot more of Shiarra and her friends in the future.

ATUF: I love the cover of HUNTED BY THE OTHERS.  Every detail matches your description in the book.  Did you work with the artist to ensure such a faithful rendering?

JH: Indirectly, yes. My descriptions of the character are what the artist worked off of, but I didn’t actually see the cover art or how it was coming along until after it was done. I’m very pleased with it! They did an incredible job capturing the badassery of Shia, the guns, and (my favorite!) the wise-cracking belt.

ATUF: On your website, you mention a novella (SPARK OF TEMPTATION) that will be part of an upcoming anthology Nocturnal scheduled for publication on September 7, 2010.  Do you have anymore details that you can share with us?  Is it a prequel?

JH: Sure! SPARK OF TEMPTATION focuses on two of the side characters from HUNTED BY THE OTHERS: Sara Halloway (Shiarra’s business partner and best friend) and Arnold Moore (a mage who helped deal with the Big Bad from HBTO).

*Slight spoilers from HUNTED BY THE OTHERS below*

It takes place between HBTO and TAKEN BY THE OTHERS, while Shiarra is recuperating in the hospital. The vampire from the first book, Alec Royce, contacts Sara and blackmails her into helping him find out who has been nosing around his businesses. As she investigates, John – another vampire, Royce’s second-in-command – becomes interested in her and attempts to seduce her. Meanwhile, Sara has a fight with her current boyfriend, NYPD Officer Lerian, leaving her stung and alone.

Arnold does what he can to help her. As much as she likes him, Sara’s leery about accepting help from Others – especially magic users. During the investigation, she finds her initial spark of interest in him blossom into something more.

While working together, Arnold and Sara find out that a group of vampire hunters called the Anti-Others Alliance are out to make Royce’s life miserable. The AOA finds out Sara is involved with Royce, and take action to get rid of her. Between Royce’s threats, John’s advances, and AOA members out to get her, Sara’s in for some serious trouble – and isn’t sure she’ll come out of the mess alive.

ATUF: Who are some of your favorite authors in this genre?  Are there any titles past/present/future that you really loved?

JH: This is the part of the interview where you can’t shut me up. I LOVE the staples of this genre – Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files), Kim Harrison (The Hollows), Charlaine Harris (I’m a late-comer to Ms. Harris’ work, but I adored the first Sookie Stackhouse book), Laurell K. Hamilton (the Anita Blake series, pre-porn/ardeur) – though I have surprisingly few urban fantasy titles on my bookshelf.

Most of what I read growing up were in the high fantasy genre, like Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton, Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey, etc, or science fiction, like Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, and Orson Scott Card. Let us not forget the horror staples either, like Stephen King and Peter Straub. Currently, I’ve been catching up on the books written by my fellow authors over at the Absolute Write forum, and I’ll be doing reviews and interviews on my blog here and there.

Though this is a far from complete list, some of my favorite books are:

THE ELVENBANE (Norton/Lackey)

BLACK SUN RISING (Friedman)

UNDER THE FANG (an anthology of vampire short stories, not for the faint of heart/weak of stomach)

TURNCOAT (Butcher)

DEAD WITCH WALKING (Harrison)

1984 (Orwell)

And, of course, any Calvin & Hobbes titles.

ATUF: Do you have a dream cast in mind if HUNTED BY THE OTHERS were made into a movie?

JH: Do I! *g* Though I can’t say for sure it will happen, I do know that there were some producers looking at my work a while back. Binah and I went nuts making a dream cast list the day I heard about it. Of course, the producers looking at it – even optioning it – is far from having a movie deal in the works but, hey, a girl can dream, right?

So, without further ado, this is who I would love (lovelovelove) to see in the most memorable roles of HBTO: The Movie!:

Shiarra Waynest Dina Meyer, Alicia Witt, or Evan Rachel Wood

Sara Halloway Katee Sackhoff

Alec Royce Paul Rudd or Robert Downey, Jr.

Chaz Chad Michael Murray

Arnold Charlie Korsmo or Alan Tudyk

Jack the White Hat Tyson Ritter, James Marsters, or Willem Dafoe

Tiny the White Hat Michael Clarke Duncan

Veronica Wright Grace Park (alt: Parker Posey or Lena Headey)

Anastasia Alderov Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Allison Darling: Nikki Reed

David Borowsky Shia Lebeouf

Rohrik Donovan Gerard Butler or Viggo Mortensen

Cab Driver Sascha Baron Cohen or Daniel Baldwin

Bruno the Bouncer: Brock Lesnar

ATUF: It’s still early in the year, but I’m going to go out on a ledge and say that HUNTED BY THE OTHERS is probably going to be one of my favorite urban fantasy titles of 2010. Taken By The Others (H&W Investigations, book 2) doesn’t have a release date yet, but is it too much to hope for sometime in 2010?

JH: Thank you so much! I’m not 100% certain myself, but I think Kensington was looking at a December 2010/January 2011 release date for TAKEN BY THE OTHERS (also known as: “In Which Shiarra Learns There Are Consequences to Her Actions” *g*). There’s no official copy on TBTO available yet, but the unofficial copy – the overview from my synopsis/outline – is this:

*Some spoilers from HUNTED BY THE OTHERS below*

OVERVIEW: Several months after HUNTED BY THE OTHERS, Shiarra is out of the hospital, back on her feet, and getting into the routine of working again. The story starts with the White Hat from the last book, Jack, come to warn her that she’s in danger and will soon have to choose whose side she’s on: that of Alec Royce, the White Hats, or a stranger named Max Carlyle.

As usual, Shiarra doesn’t want anything to do with the Others – but that doesn’t stop them from involving her in their problems. Vampire Max Carlyle is out for revenge against Shiarra and Royce for (**removed, no spoilers!**). Meanwhile, Shia has to bat off Royce’s advances, somehow keep the White Hats at arms length (while also enlisting their aid), and find out who set up her werewolf boyfriend, Chaz, to walk into a death trap.

Shiarra finds herself confronting every aspect of her fear of vampires for the first time. Being bitten and bound by blood turns out to be the least of her worries. Someone inside Royce’s coterie has decided to side with Max, betraying both Royce and Shia at every opportunity. Once the police get involved, taking Royce into custody for a crime he didn’t commit, Shiarra falls into Max’s hands.

That’s when she finds out what it really means to be afraid of vampires.

ATUF: Thanks so much for stopping by Jess.  Come back anytime!

Giveaway(International)

One signed copy of HUNTED BY THE OTHERS by Jess Haines

They are the Others—the vampires, mages, and werewolves once thought to exist only in our imaginations. Now they’re stepping out of the shadows, and nothing in our world will ever be the same again…

In A Town Like This, Being A P.I. Can Be Murder

Shiarra Waynest’s detective work was dangerous enough when her client base was strictly mortal. But ailing finances have forced her to accept a lucrative case that could save her firm—if it doesn’t kill her first. Shiarra has signed on to work for a high-level mage to recover an ancient artifact owned by one of New York’s most powerful vampires.

As soon as Shiarra meets sexy, mesmerizing vamp Alec Royce, she knows her assignment is even more complicated than she thought. With a clandestine anti-Other group trying to recruit her, and magi being eliminated, Shiarra needs back-up and enlists her ex-boyfriend—a werewolf whose non-furry form is disarmingly appealing—and a nerdy mage with surprising talents. But it may not be enough. In a city where the undead roam, magic rules, and even the Others aren’t always what they seem, Shiarra has just become the secret weapon in a battle between good and evil—whether she likes it or not…

Click HERE to read the first chapter of HUNTED BY THE OTHERS.

GIVEAWAY GUIDLINES

1. Open Internationally (thanks Jess!)
2. Leave a comment for Jess or answer the question: “What would make you sign an Other contract?” (log in with your comment if you want to be contacted if you win).
3. Entries must be received by Midnight MST on May 15th.  The winner will be announced in a post on May 16th.

Please take a second to share this giveaway.  Thanks!

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