GIVEAWAY & GUEST AUTHOR: ALEXANDRA IVY

Today, we're honored to have Alexandra Ivy, author of the wonderful Guardians of Eternity series, featuring sexy vamps and hunky weres. Yum!

The Raving Readers: Alexandra, thank you so much for joining us today! Your Guardians of Eternity series is so awesome! How did you come upon the idea for this series?

Alexandra Ivy: First I want to thank you so much for having me as a guest!!  I absolutely love talking with readers (I'm an avid reader myself!) and it's always exciting when I find anyone interested in my Guardian series…especially if they happen to like the books :)  My first itch to write the books came from Buffy (of course). I LOVED that show and the way they combined humor with horror!  It was different and funky and just plain fun.  Of course, when I wrote When Darkness Comes, I was writing historicals and I didn't really plan on having it published.

TRR: Not published? Gasp! What a horror that would be! We're glad that didn't happen. In fact, in reading several of your books, we noticed that your series has an overall arc storyline. Did you plot everything before writing the first book? If not, how do you do it?

AI:   No, the first book I wrote just for fun, but as the series has progressed I've found that there are always a few loose ends that I don't have time to clear up, and that the loose ends have become more and more important and are weaving their way through the series…so now I do have an overall idea of where I want the books to go and while the books are still stand alone, there is a growing evil that encompasses the story line that will be resolved in the last book!

TRR: Yes, so we've noticed and that makes it so exciting! Of all the books that you've written thus far, who is your favorite Guardian and why? Which Guardian fascinates you the most and why?

AI: Dante was my first so he'll always have a special place in my heart, but I think Styx is the most fascinating, simply because of the burdens he carries as King.  I also have to admit to having a very large crush on Salvatore…I didn't know if I'd like writing a Were, but he's such a bad boy I couldn't help but fall in love. :)

TRR: Your heroes are all so yummy. I'd have to add Jagr (Darkness Unleashed) to the list. Viper (Embrace the Darkness) too! In terms of couples, which pair is the easiest to write, as in the words just seemed to flow and there was no stopping you, not lunch nor dinner nor sleep? LOL Why do you think this is so?

AI: Absolutely Viper and Shay…their chemistry just seemed to leap off the page and it was also the book I introduced Levet so there was an added dimension of having the tiny demon around to aggravate Viper (who needed to be aggravated!).  And I just liked their love story.

TRR: Oooh, Viper. Yes, definitely! And now we're on book #6, Beyond the Darkness, Salvatore's story, which will be out in April. Do tell us more.

AI: Salvatore has made appearances in the other books…he's the King of Weres and desperate to save his people from the edge of extinction.  Thirty years ago he genetically altered four female pureblooded females so they couldn't shift, which he hoped would help them carry their litters to full term.  During Beyond the Darkness, he discovers there is a darker force hunting the Weres and he also stunned when he finds one of the pureblooded females (Harley) stirs more than his lust.  Ancient powers are stirring and Salvatore realizes Harley is his true mate.  Unfortunately, she's been trained to believe he's the enemy and unless Salvatore can convince her to join their powers, it might very well be the end of the Weres.

TRR: Why are Salvatore and Harley perfect for each other?

AI: Salvatore has always been the strongest, the smartest, and the most arrogant among the Weres.  He needs a female who can stand up to him and be a true partner, not a lapdog (pun intended :)).  There are also wounds that they both carry that can only be healed by each other.

TRR: I LOL at the dog comments. I really like your humor. Have there been instances when your characters refused to do as they're told? How did you deal with them? 

AI: Daily.  Sometimes they don't behave because I'm trying to take them in the wrong direction.  Once a character is fully formed it knows where it wants to go and what it wants to do…I know, it sounds creepy!  I usually have to take a break and truly consider what the scene is about and how I can approach it differently.

TRR: I guess a writer's job is not easy. Now, the question all fans truly want to know the answer to: How many more books do you have planned in the series, assuming your publisher buys them all? 

AI: There will be at least four more (as well as two anthologies that are loosely based on the Guardians).  The next book will be Tane's, who is a vampire Charon (a vampire assassin) and a half-Jinn mongrel…I'm writing the book now and it's soooo much fun!  There others are still fairly vague.

TRR: Oooh, I know about that half-Jinn. Would love to read that. Hope there'll be more about that still unknown sister too. Are you by any chance joining any conferences or do you have any book signing events where fans can meet and talk to you? 

AI: I rarely do conferences…I'm fairly shy and the thought of going alone to a huge conference tends to give me a rash. :)  I do love to do book signings to meet readers (actually it's one of my favorite things!!)  Right now I haven't scheduled any signings but I always keep my website updated!

TRR: Right. I'll be sure to check the website often. Sadly, we're down to our last question. Anything else you'd like to tell us?

AI: You can contact me at any of the below:

http://www.alexandraivy.com/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#%21/alexandra.ivy?ref=profile

http://apps.facebook.com/twitter/

I hope everyone will drop me a line…I love to hear from readers!!

TRR: Thank you, Alex and it's a real pleasure to have you with us.

~ o ~

We have two giveaways--any book from the author's backlist, which includes the one to be released in April (Beyond the Darkness)! One international and one US residents only. In fairness to everyone, this means there'll be two pools of entrants--one US resident pool and the other non-US resident. Please indicate your country of residence when you comment.

We'll also have Alexandra Ivy popping in and out of the blog, so if you've any questions, feel free to ask! She'll be around to answer and comment.

How to enter the contest?

Answer this question: Go to Alexandra's website and tell us which of her Guardians of Eternity books you'd like to read the most and why.

Extra chances to win:

+ 3 if you're an old follower of this blog
+ 2 if you're a new follower of this blog (start following from this contest/post)
+ 2 if you follow us on Facebook or Twitter
+ 2 if you take our poster (located on the right sidebar) about this contest and post it
              on your blog/website with a link back to us
+ 1 for every time you spread the word about this contest via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,
              your blog, website or other form of social media. For example, you tweeted about
              this contest twice and also announced it on your Facebook. You also wrote a blog
              post. That's 4 additional chances! However, for these to qualify, be sure to come
              back here and post the links. Like, if you tweeted twice, give me both links.

If you do all of the above, at a minimum, that's 9 chances to win (8 if you're a new follower)! Remember, the more things you do to help us spread the word, the better your chances.

Contest ends on March 24 (Wednesday), 1159pm EST.

Winner will be picked via Randomizer.org and announced on March 25 (Thursday). Instructions will be given then on how to claim your prize. Be sure to come back and check because we won't hunt you down. If prizes are unclaimed after 1 week, new winners will be chosen.

Good luck!