Thursday, September 3, 2015

Q+A with Joey W. Hill (Vampire Queen)

Q+A with Joey W. Hill author of Vampire Queen paranormal romance

Please welcome today's guest author, Joey W. Hill!  Joey is the author of the VAMPIRE QUEEN paranormal romance series.

Q+A with Joey W. Hill

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Joey: 
I began writing in 5th grade and was penning all sorts of romances by middle school, both fantasy and contemporary. I’d pass scenes to friends during class and they’d write feedback on them. My first critics and editors! I still have a pencil-drawn map I created of one of my fantasy worlds, as well as a particularly enthusiastic note a friend wrote to me during class. She was sure my books would earn a MILLION dollars (lots of exclamation points). Nothing like the unrealistic zeal yet invaluable support of good friends (lol).

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Joey:
  I was a big fantasy reader as a kid. C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, Lloyd Alexander’s Taran Wanderer series and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Howard Pyle were some of my earliest favorite reads. Then I progressed to Stephen Donaldson (Thomas Covenant Chronicles), Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey and Katherine Kurtz, to name a few. So I always had a passion for the fantasy genre, especially when a strong love story or romantic elements were involved. The first book I completed and published, Guardians of the Continuum, was what was called a “fantasy-romance” at that time (paranormal and urban romance hadn’t yet been “discovered” – at least by publishers!).

While it was my contemporary romances that established my career from there, when that landed me a contract with a NY publisher, they wanted a paranormal romance proposal. I automatically went toward vampires. I’d always wanted to explore the Dominant/submissive elements of the vampire-servant relationship, so the Vampire Queen series was born. The Daughters of Arianne series (mermaid/angels) and Arcane Shot series (witches/sorcerers) came on the heels of that, though the vampires have remained my most popular BDSM paranormal romance series to date.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Joey: 
I’d be Nightcrawler in the X-Men comics. A female version, because I really like being a girl (grin). The teleportation thing is awesome. It would make traveling way faster and easier. For one thing, my husband and I wouldn’t argue who should be behind the wheel (and who should try to direct things from the passenger seat). Plus, if I was ever in a scary situation, I could get myself and loved ones out of that situation in a blink – literally – since Nightcrawler can grab onto anyone near him and teleport them as well. Just as a side note, I really like the actor who played him in X-Men 2. He’s probably the main reason I think of that as my favorite paranormal character and desired supernatural talent.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy the latest book in the Vampire Queen series.

Joey:
  Lord Uthe, a member of the Vampire Council, is a “former” Templar Knight. However, that’s a lot like calling someone a former SEAL or a former Marine – if the calling is true, they never stop identifying with the code of that service. Uthe has always tried to honor the spirit of the Templar Rule, despite the politically volatile and highly sexual world of the vampires. Yet now the Fae Lord Keldwyn, who’s the liaison between the Fae Court and the Vampire Council, is not only challenging Uthe’s dominant nature, but his emotional isolation as well. In short, he’s being very distracting with all his long dark hair, Fae magic and not-so-subtle attempts to get Uthe into bed.

They end up pursuing a quest in the Fae world to honor a promise Uthe made centuries ago that could affect both their worlds. Of course, to me, that’s just window trapping drama--blah-blah-action-plot-blah. The best part of the story is exploring their relationship and how two apparently Dominant males will resolve all that erotic tension and emotional build-up!

Okay, I admit, it was pretty cool to integrate the Templar history into this story and figure out how being a Templar would have worked for a vampire knight. Then there’s the cross section of the Fae and vampire worlds and the different twists that can provide. But still… the hot and erotic male/male BDSM romance elements – that’s really what caught your attention, wasn’t it? If you were like “you had me at male/male, BDSM and paranormal”, then we’re all good, right?

Seriously, I hope you all like the sound of that. The great thing about the Vampire Queen series is that every book can take me in a fresh direction. I’ve had M/f, M/f/M and F/m protagonists, depending on the book. While I’ve had the pleasure of writing Male/male for other series, this will be my first M/M in this series (aside from some heavy m/m dynamics in the ménage a trois stories).

If you’ve never read any of my Vampire Queen series, you can read blurbs and excerpts here, as well as find out which books can standalone or need a prequel for full enjoyment. The Night’s Templar is a standalone, but I recommend reading at least a couple books in the series first so you have a basic familiarity with the Vampire Queen world. Free excerpt for The Night’s Templar is here.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Joey:
  I’d cast James Purefoy (Ironclad, Knight’s Tale, etc) as Uthe, and Pedro Pascal (Oberyn in Game of Thrones) as Keldwyn. James has done several knightly roles in movies and he does them very well, emanating the reserved demeanor, courage and intrinsic honor that Uthe has. And the Oberyn character in Game of Thrones had the grace and intensity that I see in Keldwyn. He might look a little older than the Fae does, since Fae are pretty much timeless, but when I’m “casting” I tend to look more for the spirit of the character than an exact match in looks. While someone in a photo might look exactly like I pictured my character, often when I hear them talk, see their body language or overall demeanor, it’s not a match at all. I’ve been building a Pinterest wall for this book, so you can see some of what I’m imagining there.

Thank you Joey for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

The Vampire Queen's Servant paranormal romance by Joey Hill

The Vampire Queen's Servant (Vampire Queen #1) by Joey W. Hill.

Lady Elyssa Yamato Amaterasu Wentworth is a centuries-old vampire who's been given a new servant - Jacob, a total alpha male unaccustomed to submitting to any woman's wishes. What really binds Jacob to her are not her sensual midnight hungers, but something far more provocative. It stirs her blood, renews her life, and awakens her soul like only true love can. The passion between Elyssa and Jacob yields something else unexpected - a shared history that reaches back through the centuries and is fated to challenge their destiny like nothing ever will again.

Release Date: July 2007
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Add to Goodreads.

To learn more about Joey W. Hill and her books, please visit her website.  Have a question for Joey?  Ask away in the comment section below.  We love comments!

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for inviting me to spend the day here, EJ!

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  2. Hey Joey!! I am so glad you are continuing with your vampires. *sighs* The Vampire Queen Series is the one that started my love affair with your writing/storytelling magic. I can't wait for The Knights Templar! I think bringing the Templar Knight into Lord Uthe's character is spot on. He seemed to always follow a code. At first I thought it was just his friendship with Lady Lyssa but this is I think the missing part of his character.

    Lord Keldyn well I have a love hate relationship with him LOL so I can only imagine how this relationship with Lord Uthe will play out.I can't tell you how much I love your Vampire and Fae worlds I am tickled we get to see more of them combined. By the way combining them was total GENIUS!!!!

    btw this is Terry LOL signed in as anonymous because couldn't get google to go LOL

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    1. Hey, Terry! You know how glad I am the vampires brought you into my fold - I love having you as a reader (beaming). You're right about Lord Uthe following a code. Even as I read back through his appearances in the other book, there was always a reserve to him that just begged to be explored. And Keldwyn...sigh. Those Fae. They're so hard to pin down! The two of them have ended up being probably one of the most complicated pairings I've ever written, so we'll see how it all turns out. I may stake all of them before it's done! (lol) Thanks for coming by...

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  3. Nice interview! Really looking forward to Knights Templar. Been re-reading some of the Vampire series to get ready! Terry H.

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    1. Terry, I better double check my series facts, then, because you'll catch me in any mistakes on timeline and eye color (grin).Hope you've been enjoying the re-read!

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  4. Great interview. I've been a huge fan of the series for a long time. I'm excited to see that this series is continuing. I look forward to reading Night's Templar. I think my favorite books in the series are still Vampire Mistress and Vampire Trinity.

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    1. Melanie, thank you! You're not alone in that. I think Daegan, Gideon and Anwyn have their own fan club (lol). I assume you've already found the two free novellas about Daegan and Gideon? If not (or if someone else reading this hasn't), they're available over at the JWH Connection fan forum. I love revisiting my characters with freebies like this, and they're available in all the usual ebook formats so you can keep and enjoy at your leisure. One is called "One on One" (where Gideon honors Anwyn's requirement to allow Daegan to take him solo - wink) and the other is "The Bet", which has to do with a bet he and Daegan made in Bound by the Vampire Queen (but no worries, not a big spoiler, so even if you haven't read BBtVQ it's all good). If you or anyone else would like to check those out, more info about the forum and access info is here - www.storywitch.com/community.

      Hope you enjoy Night's Templar, and thanks so much for continuing to hang out with my vampires! :>

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  5. HI Joey, It's a fact that all genres come and go, and come around again ... I know that Your Vampire series will be among those books that brand new readers will continue to discover and grow to love :) Thank you ♥ (Maryde)

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    1. Maryde, thank you, hon! I appreciate that and hope you're right! :>

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  6. Love the Vampire Queen Series and can't wait for the new addition Joey. The Pinterest page is a nice addition. I feel like I learn a bit more about Joey the person as well as the author in these interviews, thank you for that! You have turned me into a paranormal fan with this series. However, you know my heart still belongs to Ben....fans self while sighing.

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    1. Gail, that's all right. Ben says he's fine sharing with the vampires, as long as we're not talking about Marcie (grin). Glad you liked the interview and are enjoying the Pinterest page about the book. I got sidetracked last night on Christmas crafts and added about ten pins to the "Crafts I Want to Try" page, which is laughable since I barely have time to take a shower most days. But it might happen sometime! Until then, I can look at the pretty pictures.... ;>

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  7. Such a great interview, enjoyed reading this. Definitely going to reread the Vampire Queen series in order to 'catch up' on their world. Madly hanging out for a release date - any clues?:))

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the interview, Fran. Not sure if Joey will chime in on release date info, but I usually stalk Goodreads. ;)

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