PSF Guest Blog & Giveaway: Chloe Neill “Twice Bitten”

**Visit Tynga’s Reviews today for her PSF Interview & Giveaway with Jeaniene Frost author of ETERNAL KISS OF DARKNESS**

A big welcome to my guest today, Chloe Neill, author of the Chicagoland Vampires urban fantasy series and the Dark Elite paranormal YA series.  The third Chicagoland Vampires book, TWICE BITTEN is releasing in less than two weeks on July 6, 2010.  Chloe is here to tell us about open & closed paranormal worlds and giveaway a signed copy of TWICE BITTEN + some swag. Details below.

Urban fantasy and paranormal romance author Chloe Neill was born and raised in the South, but now makes her home in the Midwest, just close enough to Cadogan House to keep an eye on the vampires. When not transcribing Merit's adventures, she bakes, watches entirely too much television, roots for her favorite college football team (Go Big Red!), and plays with her dogs, Baxter and Scout.

 

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In the Know: Writing Open and Closed World Scenarios
by
Chloe Neill

One of the major decisions faced by a writer of urban fantasy and paranormal romance is whether to make their world "open" or "closed."

In an open world, humans know that supernaturals exist (ex: Kim Harrison's Hollows series). In a closed world, the sups are in hiding; thus, the writing will either only address happenings in the supernatural society, or the story will reflect the fact that the vampires, etc., must hide in plain sight (ex: J.R. Ward's BDB series).

 

And then, of course, there are the mixed worlds--where humans might know a bit about supernaturals, but they won't have the entire picture. My Chicagoland Vampires series fits into this category: humans know vamps exist, but they're in the dark about the rest.

  

So what are the pros and cons of these approaches?

Open World

1. Pros

The vamps (et al.) are in the public eye, so a writer has the opportunity to consider all the effects of that revelation-- including laws, regulations, military research, segregation and specialized police forces.

Plus, since they're in the public eye, the writer doesn't have to focus on keeping the sup's in hiding--no worries about PDM ("public displays of magic") or vampires who bite and tell.

2. Cons

Humans are quite likely to freak out when they discover sups in the midst. Thus, if they're recently come out of the closet, that initial panic will need to be accounted for.

On the other hand, if you set the Big Reveal in the past, things might have normalized to the point that you can write about an integrated society. Of course, when that happens, you lose the "OMG, I'm a vampire but NO ONE CAN KNOW" angst of a closed world. :)

Closed World

1. Pros

"OMG, I'm a vampire but NO ONE CAN KNOW!" :) Yes, one obvious pro of a closed world is that you can build the "What if they find out?" problem into the story line.

Evil baddies about to take over the world? No one can know. Your superhot BF is a biter? No one can know. You suddenly have magic powers? No one can know.

You also have the advantage of building a complete supernatural society with its clearly-defined set of rules--and not a lot of worry about humans.

2. Cons

In a closed world, sups are ALWAYS in hiding. They can't display their abilities in front of other people without the ability to wipe memories or something similar.

It can also be difficult to create world-effecting drama in a closed world, as presumably humans would eventually figure out the truth if things were really ALL THAT BAD. But it took a really long time for that to happen even in Sunnydale, so it definitely can be done.

A typical trick is to make the magical events occur at night, as in my DARK ELITE YA series. This solves the problem of allowing some magic in the larger world, but out of the general view of humans.

Mixed World

The benefit of the mixed perspective is, of course, that you get to pick and choose from the pros and cons above. :)

Well, that's it for me today. Thanks so much for dropping by, and I hope this information is helpful!! xoxo!

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Thanks Chloe for stopping by.  Come back anytime.

Visit Chloe online:

• Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Goodreads
• Myspace
• The Official Site of Cadogan House

Want to read more from Chloe Neill?

Chicagoland Vampires
1. Some Girls Bite (read my Review)
2. Friday Night Bites
3. Twice Bitten

Dark Elite
1. Firespell
2. Hexbound (coming January 4, 2011)

Giveaway

Giveaway courtesy of Chloe Neill

One (1) signed copy of TWICE BITTEN by Chloe Neill + swag

Releases on July 6, 2010

Book Description

Merit, Chicago’s newest vampire, is learning how to play well with others. Other supernaturals, that is. Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene—and to spy for the vamps while she’s at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan’s offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission.

Merit must accept the assignment, even though she knows that she’ll probably regret it. And she’s not wrong. Someone is gunning for Gabriel Keene, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She’ll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals—not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries old master vampire.

Click HERE to read an excerpt of TWICE BITTEN

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES

1. Open US only
2. Fill out the form below
3. Entries for all Paranormal Summer Fest giveaways must be received by Midnight MST on July 4th.  All the giveaways winners will be announced on July 6th.

I would greatly appreciate if you shared this giveaway on your blog or favorite social networks.  And please say hi to Chloe. Thanks!

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