Thursday, October 7, 2010

Interview with Cindy Spencer Pape

Cindy Spencer Pape, author of Motor City Witch, has been kind enough to stop by Reading with Tequila to answer some questions.

Author of over thirty popular books and stories in paranormal, historical, and contemporary romance, Cindy Spencer Pape is an avid reader of romance, fantasy, mystery, and even more romance. According to The Romance Studio, her plots are “full of twists and turns that keep the reader poised at the edge of their seat.” Joyfully Reviewed said, her “colorful characters and plot building surprises kept me spellbound,” and Romantic Times says her “characters are appealing, and passionate sex leads to a satisfying romance.”

Cindy firmly believes in happily-ever-after. Married for more than twenty years to her own, sometimes-kilted hero, she lives in Michigan with him, two teenage sons, & an ever- changing menagerie of pets. Cindy has been, among other things, a banker, a teacher, an elected politician, but mostly an environmental educator. Her degrees in zoology and animal almost behavior help her comprehend the three male humans who share her household.

Reading with Tequila: The Urban Arcana series is paranormal romance. Paranormal creatures come with their own sets of rules, so how as a writer do you decide which to use in your books and which to discard in the name of creative freedom?

Cindy: Mostly I base it on what works for my story, and on what just makes sense for me. One thing I’ve had to work on was giving each group distinct powers, so that elves, witches, and djinn are each distinct and not totally overlapping. Sometimes, it’s as simple as what I like better. I prefer my werewolves to be hereditary rather than “catching” it from being bitten, so that’s the way they work in my world.

RWT: One of the things I absolutely loved about Motor City Fae was the immediate connection I felt with the characters as soon as they appeared in the story. Where there any characters you enjoyed writing more than others? Any that were harder to write than the rest?

Cindy: Thank you! I think many girls have a thing for musicians, so Ric was easy to love. Meagan, too was an easy write, the flaky artist who isn’t so flaky underneath. Elise is cooler, though, and sort of shy. That took a lot of work on my part so she didn’t come across as cold or stuck-up.

RWT: Motor City Witch is Aidan and Elise's story. Any chance that Meghan and Ric (from Motor City Fae) will be making an appearance?

Cindy: Of course! And Greg, George, and Jase, along with some new ones.

RWT: I thought Motor City Fae was very sexy, but I've heard rumor that it's actually pretty tame compared to some of your other books. Which of your books would you recommend to a reader who hasn't read many sex scenes and wants to start off with something on the tamer side? And which would you recommend to someone who wants something really erotic?

Cindy: Some of my books are hot, others are flat out erotic. The Carina Press titles are more mainstream, though there’s still plenty of sex—just more plot in proportion. For my less erotic books, you might look at my cowboy stories with Wild Rose Press. They’re about as tame as I get—along the lines of a Silhouette Desire maybe. On the other extreme, my Immortal Cravings series, with Ellora’s Cave Exotika are probably the hottest I’ve ever written. Book 3, Just for Jess, came out on Oct. 5, so that’s a brand new one featuring a lonely vampire and FOUR hot immortal males.

RWT: Motor City Fae was one of the very first books released by Harlequin's new imprint Carina Press. What was it like working with an entirely new division?

Cindy: Amazing. I have loved everything about Carina, and being one of the launch day authors was a huge honor. I look forward to continuing with them for a very long time. In fact, I’m working now on Urban Arcana #3, tentatively titled Motor City Werewolf.

About the Book

She’d left magic behind:

Once upon a time, Elise Sutton had been a powerful witch and paranormal enforcer.

Once she’d been madly in love with Fae lord Aidan Greene. But when Aidan had considered his duties more important than their relationship, the love affair ended badly. Shortly after, while on the hunt for a rogue demon, Elise was brutalized and almost killed. Months later she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. To protect her child – and her heart – Elise decided to live a nonmagical life. Until she meets Aidan again, and he assumes Dina is his daughter. When Dina is kidnapped by a racial purity movement, Elise turns to Aidan for help. The icy façade she had built around herself shatters at Aidan’s touch. Together they have to hunt through the human and faery worlds to find Dina and to discover whether or not they have any kind of chance at a happily ever after.

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