Author Interview/Giveaway - Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro

Describe your book in five words or less.

Nephilim vs Fallen angels

How did the ideas for your books come to you?

I love theology and the stories about angels and fallen angels both in the bible and in the Book of Enoch have always captivated me. I wanted to know what a nephilim (the offspring of an angel and human) would be like today. What would her life be like? How would her angelic father impact her life? How would Heaven and Hell treat her? So I wrote the story.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Only that there’s no crisp line between good and evil, and that one person’s good intentions can be another person’s evil doings. And sometimes knowing others will see something as wrong, bad, or even evil isn’t always enough to make a person want it any less.

What is the hardest part of writing for you? What's the easiest?
The hardest part of writing is writing. Ideas come to me all the time. Even plotting out a story is usually quick and painless. But actually sitting my butt in the chair and keeping my fingers on the keyboard can be a real struggle. The easiest part is coming up with story ideas. I’ve got at least two or three full blown story ideas bouncing around in my head at any given time.

What's next for you? Are you currently working on or have plans for future
projects?

Right now I’m working on book 2 in the HELLSBANE series, called HEAVEN AND HELLSBANE. The second it’s done I start on book 3. I’d like to squeeze some short stories in there, but we’ll have to see.

Why did you choose to write for specific genre?

Because I love it! I love all things paranormal. I love the limitless possibilities of paranormal fiction, angels, vampires, werewolves, the supernatural powers and the problems that come with them. It stirs my imagination and transports me in a way that other genres can’t. It’s what I read. It’s what I watch on TV and at the movies. Writing what you love makes writing fun.

What's it like hearing that readers are eagerly awaiting your book's release date?

It’s fantastic. Every writer hopes someone will be out there willing to read their book. But when you hear a reader say they can’t wait to read your book, it makes you want to write all the faster.

What is one question that you've always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?

Where do you write? It’s not really a question I “want” to be asked, but I’m surprised that no one is curious. Maybe it’s just me but I’m always wondering what surrounds a writer when they write. I even started a collection of photos on my website of author’s writing areas—where ever they might be. I call it “The Writer’s Cave” since so many of us refer to long stints of writing as crawling into/ or out of our caves. You can check it out here: http://www.paigecuccaro.com/html/the_cave.html Unfortunately, I haven’t added to the collection in a while, but I’m hoping to have my site redone shortly and add lots more authors then.

My answer to that never asked question would be in the kitchen. We moved very recently and my home office isn’t quite ready for me yet. So for the time being I’m doing all my writing at a folding table in the corner of the kitchen. It’s handy at meal time, but the table wobbles and everyone in the free world passes through our kitchen during the day.

What was your road to publications like?
I started writing seriously around 1992. I wrote a kid’s story and then an adult romance and then a paranormal book about angels, (172 thousand words—still herding dust bunnies under my bed.) Then around 1998 I joined RWA and my local chapter in Columbus and began actually learning about the publishing industry. I entered contests and went to workshops and worked hard to improve my writing. Then in 1999 I wrote a paranormal book called The Shaman’s Daughter, based on a story I’d heard at summer camp when I was a kid. I sold it in 2000 to a small e-publisher. After that I was considered “published” and I couldn’t enter contests anymore which meant I didn’t have the great opportunities of getting my work in front of editors and agents that contests offer. I had to cold query.

It took a year or more but I finally sold another story to a larger e-publisher under a penname. I published several books with that publisher until in 2007 I sold my first story to Harliequin. I’ve contracted books and/or novellas with several small publishers and two New York houses.

But last summer I heard all kinds of buzz about this great new publisher that was starting up. Several big names in the industry were jumping on board with them or helping out in some way. Everyone was saying how they were going to set the publishing world on fire. So I submitted this paranormal story I’d been working on about a girl who discovers she’s half angel and her dear old dad wants her dead. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when Heather and Liz at Entangled Publishing called me and told me they loved HELLSBANE. I think they may have lost some of their hearing when I squealed over the phone. But they’ve been amazing and I’m so thankful to have been given this opportunity.

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