Kait Nolan is in the midst of a blog tour with her novella Forsaken by Shadow, and I thought it would be interesting to have one of my characters—namely Shawn—interview her, mostly because he saw what I was doing and started throwing out questions. “Interesting” is such a subtle term for Shawn’s typical hijinx, but he conducted himself with respect, for the most part, and enjoyed doing the interview. I may have him do this again.
So, on to Shawn’s interview with author Kait Nolan.
Shawn: Alright, so, questions. *flips papers over* Where’d I put them? Oh, here’s a few. I tend to write on napkins. Sorry, Jinxie won’t share her notebooks.
We’ll get down to the nitty gritty of your book in a bit, like why I ain’t seein’ no vamps yet.
Kait: The vampires are coming…they just don’t play a role in this particular book. 
S: What kinds of books do you write? Y’know, genre and shit. And do you read the same stuff you write?
KN: Well despite a lengthy stint writing romantic suspense (police/FBI type), I currently write straight up paranormal romance, with planned branching into Young Adult.
I absolutely read the same stuff I write. When I have time to read, that is. My To Be Read pile has been swelling at an exponential rate, despite the fact that my free time to actually read has shrunk.
S: Ooh, paranormal romance! I like that shit. I like the idea you have of shadow walkers. What was your inspiration for it, or how’d it come about?
KN: I actually had to think really hard to remember that. Shadow walkers actually came up first as an idea for a group blog. I had several Twitter pals who were considering a group blog thing (I have an addiction to blogging…it’s a sickness), except I kept missing them. It was a ships passing in the dusk kind of thing because they were pretty nocturnal and I, by dint of my job, was not. I saw a quote somewhere about walking in shadows and then when Gage showed up, I started thinking “oh what a cool way to be special ops…”
S: Let me tell you honestly that yes, shadow walking is definitely a great attribute to have for special ops. I, myself, tend to port from place to place. So, is Gage a trained killer like me?
KN: Well Gage is trained to kill as it is the kind of thing necessary for a Shadow Walker, but that’s not the primary function of the Shadow Walkers. They’re more about intel, retrieval, extraction and the like. There’s a whole other group that’s designated purely as assassins. The Hunters.
As for the mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting, it’s something I personally enjoy. They’re like modern day gladiators in a way, so it seemed natural that someone who’s been trained to fight would still gravitate toward fighting even with his memory stripped away.
S: *nods* Ah yes, good answer. I read everything Jinxie reads (obviously, though I try to ignore some of it), and her TBR pile is fucking HUGE. Can you name any books that you absolutely MUST read the moment you see it?
KN: Maggie Stiefvater’s Linger, sequel to Shiver, which was amazing. Anything by Cassandra Clare. LOVED The Mortal Instruments trilogy. I’ve been on a major YA kick this year. So much great stuff coming out. I used to be that way about Nora Roberts’ new releases, but not so much since I jumped back on the paranormal train.
S: YA books? *gag* Sorry, I just can’t get into them.
KN: It is, perhaps, not for everyone
S: Why do you write that shit … I mean, I’m not calling it shit per se, but why do you write in general? What motivates or inspires you to write or is inspiration for your stories?
KN: I write in general because I have to. I don’t have much choice in the matter. If I don’t write, I’m pissy beyond all get out and a little unbalanced. When I write, I can sort of reset the internal balance, if that makes sense. I guess it’s its own variety of drug. As for what inspires me…anything and everything. I get ideas all over the place. Sometimes from current events, sometimes from TV or an overheard snippet of conversation. It’s a lot of fun for me to take something from the ordinary world and turn it into the extraordinary. I think that’s the real attraction to paranormal for me.
S: How do you feel about fangs? *winks*
KN: My, what big, shiny, white teeth you have… You must have really great dental…
S: *flashes fang* All the better to bite you with, m’dear.
KN: Careful vamp, I’m a married woman. Protected by two fierce dogs who will lick you to death.
S: *laughs* I love dogs! Jinxie’s Moon is a sweetheart. I see you have similar breeds.
KN: Malamutes are made of awesome.
S: So, you say there are vamps in the future? Nice. I’d like to see how you work them in and what your vamps are like. Can you give any hints as to what’s in store?
KN: I have no idea yet about what role the vamps are going to play in the big metaplot, and I don’t have a specific idea for a story featuring a vamp hero or heroine just yet. But I have been thinking about the lore. I’m not using much in the way of “traditional” lore. They can walk in the sun. Can eat real food. Don’t have anything against garlic. They have a pulse. They are less living dead and more…well it’s kind of like they have a sort of super sickle cell anemia kind of thing going on. Their blood cells simply can’t carry oxygen, so they have to rely on other means.
S: Interesting idea about the vamps. I’m a daywalker too, and can eat food, but that’s mostly for appearances. However, I love, love, LOVE tiramisu. *pauses and stares* What? *shuffles papers* What’s your favorite dessert?
KN: Tiramisu is awesome. My favorite dessert…oh God that’s so hard to narrow down. But I guess it would have to be homemade peach cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream.
S: Ooh, yet another good answer.
So let’s wrap this up and you can show me around this beautiful home, okay? Tell all the peeps for me, Kait, where to buy your shit … er … I mean book. *grins*
KN: Gladly
S: Thanks, Kait, for sitting through this wonderful interview with me. I actually felt a bit useful. *winks*
Jinx: Thank you to Kait Nolan for agreeing to face my bad boy vamp. I’ll try to keep him away from you.
S: Shut it, Jinx. Oh hey, go check out my blog, since you’re here!
