Interview & Giveaway: Christina Henry “Black Wings”

Christina Henry is back today (she was part of the Spooky Legends event in October and if you didn’t read Madeline’s take on the “Aren’t You Glad You Didn’t Turn On the Lights?” urban legend you’re missing out.  It was my favorite of the whole bunch), letting me interview her about her debut urban fantasy BLACK WINGS (due out on November 30, 2010).  I loved it (read my review HERE) and I’m sure you will too which is why I’m so glad that Christina will be giving away a copy of BLACK WINGS today. See details below.

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Interview

ATUF:How would you pitch BLACK WINGS to a potential reader who hadn’t heard a thing about it?

CH: It’s a book about an Agent of Death named Madeline Black. She’s stressed, broke and has a hungry gargoyle to feed. On top of all this, her supervisor is a pain in the ass. She’s pretty much just trying to get by with this crappy inherited Death gig when her whole world is turned upside down, first by a mysterious stranger who wants to rent the apartment in her building, then by a monster that shows up out of nowhere and starts eating people.

ATUF: According to Goodreads, BLACK WINGS isn’t your first novel.  That honor goes to Makeup Artist Studio. Were you a make up artist in your pre urban fantasy days?  How did writing these two very different books compare?

CH: Actually, it’s a surprise to me that I’ve written another book, because I thought “Black Wings” was my first novel!

It’s another Christina Henry :) Goodreads must have figured same name, same author, but it’s definitely just a coincidence. Weird, though.

ATUF:If BLACK WINGS were ever made into a movie, who would your dream or, to keep things interesting, nightmare cast be?

CH: Wow, this is kind of tough. I don’t know who would play Maddy. I just think I would hate it if she was played by a super-skinny actress, because Maddy is slightly overweight and I like that about her – it makes her more human and less physically perfect than a lot of heroines. The actress would also need a major attitude, because Maddy’s definitely got a chip on her shoulder! Sandra Bullock totally could have played this role ten years ago but I don’t know who would do it now.

Gabriel could be Michael Fassbender (who was on the British TV show “Hex”, if you’ve ever seen that) or Richard Armitage (who was on the BBC’s “Robin Hood” series). They each have the really strong bone structure and quiet voice that I think of with Gabriel. Plus, it does not hurt that they are both gorgeous and have adorable accents!

 

Can’t you just see Gerard Butler as J.B.? He doesn’t look exactly the way I describe J.B. in the book but I can see him playing that part really well. Actually, Richard Armitage could do this role also if Michael Fassbender played Gabriel.

Of course, there is no creature in the universe as adorable as Beezle so he would have to be computer-generated.

Nightmare cast: pretty much any one of these interchangeable young and good-looking actors that seem to be in a lot of movies. I think that all the characters need a little bit of gravitas and for that you need slightly older performers. I also wouldn’t want anyone too recognizable, because then their star power would overwhelm the character.

ATUF:The sequel to BLACK WINGS is called BLACK NIGHT and is due out in Autumn 2011.  How many books do you have planned in the Madeline Black series?  Are you working on any other projects?

CH: Right now there are three books planned in the series. If the books do well and my editor likes them enough then there will be more – at least two more after that, probably. I’ve definitely got some fun in store for Maddy.

I’ve got an idea right now for another project but I won’t be starting work on it until I finish the third book of Maddy’s series, which I am working on now.

ATUF:Beezle, Maddy’s guardian gargoyle, was my favorite character in BLACK WINGS.  I loved his protective, slightly curmudgeonly attitude.  Will we be seeing more of him in future books?

CH: Don’t tell Maddy, but he’s my favorite character, too! He’s so much fun to write and he really gives me a chance to lighten the mood when things get too serious. You’ll be seeing a lot more of him in “Black Night”.

ATUF:You explore the origin of grim reapers or agents of death in BLACK WINGS.  Is that based on an existent mythology or something you created for this series?

CH: It’s not based on any existing mythology. I had an idea that I wanted to write a book about the Grim Reaper. Originally, the reaper was male, tall and brooding – a lot more like Gabriel, actually. Then Maddy just kind of popped into my head. I’m not really much of a planner (for my books – in real life I’m an insane type-A person) so a lot of the mythology got made up as I went along in the first draft. Details were added later as I started to figure out how the magical systems would work and so on.

ATUF:The world building is quite detailed in BLACK WINGS .  In my review I compared the grim reaper business to the movie Office Space. Were you inspired by your own job history in creating it?

CH: Yes, I worked for an insurance company for two years and it was nightmarish. I was traumatized by reams of paper. When I was thinking up the Agency all I could see were file folders and cubicles.

ATUF:What are some of your favorite titles/authors in the paranormal genres?

CH: I may possibly be Jim Butcher’s biggest fan. I am crazy about the Dresden Files series.

I also love Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Neil Gaiman, Tanya Huff, Lori Handeland, Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, China Mieville, Nancy Holzner, Simon R. Green, Joe Hill…it’s actually kind of hard for me to make a short list!

ATUF:The cover art for BLACK WINGS caught my eye long before I knew what the book was about.  What can you tell us about the cover? Do you know who the artist is?

CH:I agree – the cover is super-cool! I was so excited when I saw it. Maddy looks really dynamic – you can really see some of her personality coming through. The artist’s name is Kris Keller.

ATUF: Finish this statement with as much/little detail as you like: You'll like BLACK WINGS if you like...

CH: ...books with a bit of humor, a bit of mystery, a bit of romance and a lot of action. I think it’s a fun, fast read and I hope your readers think so, too!

Thanks for having me today, Abigail!

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

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CHRISTINA HENRY is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time.  She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Visit Christina Online:
Website

Giveaway

Giveaway courtesy of Christina Henry
One copy of BLACK WINGS by Christina Henry

Meet Maddy Black.
She’s an Agent of Death who really needs to get a life.

Escorting souls into the afterlife leaves Maddy little time for socializing-until devilishly handsome Gabriel Angeloscuro agrees to rent the empty apartment in her building. But when demons start appearing on Maddy’s front lawn, she realizes there’s more to her new tenant than meets the eye.

“A fun, fast ride through the gritty streets of magical Chicago, BLACK WINGS has it all: a gutsy heroine just coming into her power, bad-ass bad guys, a sexy supernatural love interest, and a scrappy gargoyle sidekick. Highly recommended.” –Nancy Holzner, Author of DEADTOWN

Click HERE to read an excerpt from BLACK WINGS

GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES

1. Open Internationally
2. Leave a comment that includes:
   1. A comment or question for Christina
   2. A way to contact you if you win
3. Entries must be received by Midnight MST on December 5th.

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