Jeri Smith-Ready

Interview with Adrian Phoenix, author of A RUSH OF WINGS

As you all know, I love love loved the debut novel of today's guest author, Adrian Phoenix. A Rush of Wings was a lush, absorbing read that yanked me into its chilling world of vampires and rock 'n' roll. Entertainment Weekly said, "Hard-charging action sequences, steamy sex scenes, and a surprising government conspiracy make this debut, the first in a series, engrossingly fun."

So I was thrilled when Adrian agreed to be part of my interview series. Even better, she's giving away a signed copy of A Rush of Wings to (say it with me now...) one lucky commenter.

Speaking of prizes, the winner of Chris Marie Green's prize, a signed copy of Twice Bitten, is...flip! Congrats! If you're watching, please send your mailing address to jeri AT jerismithready DOT com, and I'll pass it on to Chris.

Q. What’s been your biggest surprise/thrill about your first release?

Adrian: Can I say everything? I’d have to say the biggest thrill so far has been the great review A RUSH OF WINGS received in Entertainment Weekly. I’ve been a regular reader of the magazine for a gazillion years and it was pretty damned surreal to see a review of my book in their pages. Thrilling, yes, but surreal!

Dante’s world of New Orleans is so beautifully ‘painted’ by your words. Have you spent a lot of time in that city? Why do you think it’s such a natural place for vampires to hang out in literature?

I haven’t spent as much time as I’d like, honestly. As I was preparing to write RUSH, I went to New Orleans and walked the Quarter over and over and over. I’d sit and watch everything around me – this was during Jazz Fest, so the streets were full of people – note the way things smelled, looked. I went into almost every shop and museum and imagined Dante walking through the same places, imagined what he’d see, feel, think, and picked the perfect (to me) street for Club Hell.

But my favorite time was night. Then, with the flickering old-fashioned street lamps, the old , flower-draped buildings and the clop of horse hooves on the cobblestone streets (tourist rides in a horse-drawn buggy), I felt like I’d stepped back in time. And I felt like I belonged there.

As to why it seems like such a natural place for vampires – for me, it was the atmosphere and the city’s pulse, or maybe it was more the Quarter’s pulse, a deep and dark rhythm pounding beneath your feet. Mystery and the possibility of danger saturated the night air. Each narrow alley, each inner garden, each shuttered window whispered a seductive, “Look, ma jolie, if you dare.” LOL. What’s not for a vampire to love? The city is night-blooded.

The storylines in RUSH are complex, with many point-of-view characters, yet the plot is deftly woven so that it all comes together in an easy-to-follow way. I’m in awe. What’s your secret? Index cards? Hyperlinked multi-colored outlines? Forty drafts?

Thanks so much! Actually, I hate to admit it, but I don’t have a secret. I did three drafts of the story, mainly to cut it for length. It was 150K words originally. But for the plot lines, somehow they all kept clear in my mind. I’d finish a chapter and think, “Okay, it’s now this day and time. What is everyone else doing?” And go to the next POV and storyline. I knew how they needed to weave with the others. It’s been going the same way with the second book. But I think, before I start the third, I’m going to create a bible so I can keep everyone straight. It’s finally reached that point.

If you could inhabit the life of any of your characters, enter their world and deal with it as that person, which one would you choose?

Wow. A very interesting question! A tough one too. I choose Dante, because the creative side of me would love to delve into the world of music and rock shows.

Conversely, which of your characters would you most like to bring to life in our world (maybe as a best friend or much, much more)?

Another tough question! Heather and Von would both make great friends, and Lucien and Dante would be very cool as otherworldly friends and Dante could be a friend with privileges. ;) Ack! Can’t choose.

Same two questions, but use examples from another author’s work (including television/movies/theater)?

Geek-girl jumps right in with Legolas from LOTR – but the movie version instead of Tolkien’s book. The books lacked characterization, but the films offered much more with expressions, a hand to the shoulder, a glance away, a tensed jaw. Yeah, Legolas, for both. A second choice would be Eric Draven from The Crow.

Which author, living or dead, would you most like to collaborate with?

Oooo! Another tough one! Bring ‘em on, baby! ;) Stephen King would be my first choice. I also loved Caleb Carr’s work in THE ALIENIST and its sequel.. It’d be cool to work with him too. But he’d be third pick. Oscar Wilde would be my second choice. LOVE him!

What’s your earliest memory?

Oddly, it’s a sensation of falling and darkness.

Do you have any phobias?

Oh yeah! I can’t have the light on when in the bathroom. A night-light, yes. But not a light. It freaks me out. (I have no explanation for this.) Maybe I’m afraid of seeing what might need to be cleaned.

Name a literary cliché that makes you throw a book across the room.

The old misunderstanding bit: X walks in on Y sitting all cozy with Z, assumes the worst and stomps off. Refuses to listen to Y explain that they’d been bargaining for X’s life with Z. X and Y split up. Years later the truth comes out, etc.

If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would it be?

Go to a movie or three, eat lots of popcorn, then go home, lounge on the sofa and read, yummies at my side.

If you could write in a totally different genre than your current one, which would you choose?

Historical. Definitely.

What are you working on now, and what new releases can we expect to see from you down the road?

Right now, I’m finishing up IN THE BLOOD, which takes place three weeks after the events in RUSH. I’ve got some short stories coming out in anthologies and I’ll be doing a dark fantasy novel on John Keats in the near future.

If you could tell a perfect stranger just one thing about A RUSH OF WINGS, (other than what it’s about – no cheating by quoting synopses or back cover blurbs) what would it be?

It’s about facing the past, no matter how dark and bleak and ugly, and holding onto your heart, to who you are deep inside.

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Give Adrian a comment or a question, or tell us about a cool new (or new-to-you) band you've discovered recently, down there in the comments before 5 p.m. EST on Monday, March 17. I'll draw a name and announce the winner next Tuesday morning.

If you don't have a Blogger account, just sign in as anonymous and leave your name at the bottom of your comment so I can identify you. Then come back next Friday or stay subscribed to the comments to hear the results.

***I recommend against putting your e-mail in the comments, since that's a spam magnet.***

(And don't forget, you have until Monday to enter the drawing for Caitlin Kittredge's Night Life.)

Labels: Contests, guests, reading

• posted by Jeri @ 8:26 AM
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