Author Susan Illene Interview and $30.00 Amazon Gift Card Contest LIVE Here!
Please join me in welcoming author Susan Illene for her vlog interview, and as she chats in the comments with you about her latest release Darkness Haunts book one in the Sensor series.
Direct link to the video so you can watch on your cell phone or tablet from work 
:
http://youtu.be/DTQpJEpwwXg
Author Bio:
“Instead of making the traditional post high school move and attending college, Susan joined the U.S. Army. She spent her eighteenth birthday in the gas chamber — an experience she is sure is best left for criminals. For eleven years she served first as a human resources specialist and later as an Arabic linguist (mostly in Airborne units). Though all her duty assignments were stateside, she did make two deployments to Iraq where her language skills were put to regular use.
After leaving the service in 2009, Susan returned to school to study history with a focus on the Middle East. She no longer finds many opportunities to test her fighting abilities in real life, unless her husband is demanding she cook him a real meal, but she’s found a new outlet in writing urban fantasy heroines who can.”
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Learn more about author Susan Illene below
http://www.darknesshaunts.com
Twitter: @susan_illene
https://www.facebook.com/SusanIllene1
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6889690.Susan_Illene
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Hiya,Susan!
Just here for moral support!
Thanks, Jon!
Who are your favorite authors? Do these authors influence your work in anyway?
Robert, I have a bunch of favorite authors. It’s tough to narrow them down. My top two are Jeaniene Frost and Karen Marie Moning. I’ve read their books over and over again.
I wanted to make my books my own, with my own personal flavor, but their amazing world building certainly inspired me to try and make mine just as intricate. Also, the way Karen Marie Moning set up her Fever Series with so many hidden clues that you only fully understood later in the series was something I did with my own work. There are lines within Darkness Haunts that may not seem very significant now, but anyone who follows the series as it progresses and then goes back to re-read will be able to see where I had already hinted at future surprises.
Thanks for your questions. They were good ones!
Who is your favorite urban fantasy character?
Jennifer, that’s a tough question. I love Cat from the Night Huntress Series for her sense of humor and willingness to use a knife (which my character, Melena, does a couple times herself, though in a different way).
On the other hand, Kate Daniels has a wonderful investigative technique that might not work so well in the real world, but it’s fun to watch.
For my heroines, I like to see a strong woman. I don’t like seeing a weak character who needs others to always save her. Saving can be fine, but I like where there’s at least a stubbornness to try to do her own thing. That always makes for an interesting story.
I completely agree, Robert. There are times when a heroine is going to need a little help, but she does need to show she can handle her own if the need arises. Melena definitely has times where she takes care of business all by herself in Darkness Haunts, but she also learns to work with others. There are times when you really can’t be an “Army of One”! The key is to know when to go one way or the other, but not take away from the heroine as the focus.
was the gas chamber your idea to do and why? thanks
Dina, it was always my dream to be put in a small chamber filled with tear gas (which is basically what it was) and forced to breathe it in! Okay, just kidding. That was probably at the bottom of my list of ways to celebrate my birthday. I actually went into the Army at seventeen and the day for going to the gas chamber during basic training happened to fall on my birthday. They let you go in with a mask so you can feel confident it will work in a real world situation. To assure you of this, though, they make you take it off after a couple minutes so you can see how bad the air really is. It’s not so fun then and they often have to tackle people to the ground who try to run outside. It’s that bad!
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RE: Heroines – I like one that’s strong, but somewhat unprepared for the task at hand. Gets the heart pumping when you think they might just fail!
Is that a Spyderco knife you’ve got there? I have 2 – very useful on the farm for cutting twine and an emergency halter removal. I do the one handed thing with mine.
Loved the book – and can’t wait for the next one!
Deb
Hello, Debra! A heroine definitely has to have a few surprises to throw them off. You’re absolutely right there. As you saw in Darkness Haunts, Melena ran into a few sticky situations during the course of the story…such her dealings with Alaskan wildlife. Darn those mooses and bears that get in the way. Even with being her prepared, things didn’t quite go quite right!
Yes, you have a good eye, it is a Spyderco. My favorite kind, though Leatherman’s have their uses as well!
Do you write more than one book at a time and who is your current favorite author to read?
Hello, Viki. I prefer to stick with one book at a time, but I will start writing a new one while editing the one before. Such as the next book in The Sensor Series was started before the first released.
My current favorite author(s) to read is a tie between Jeaniene Frost and Karen Marie Moning. I really can’t decide between the two!
Thanks for your questions
What movies or books (other than your own) are you most looking forward too in 2013?
Hello, Lisa. I am looking forward to The Great Gatsby coming out later is year. The trailer for it looks great! As for books, Twice Tempted by Jeaniene Frost, House Rules by Chloe Neill (which I just bought), Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs, and Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews are all among the ones I’m excited about, but the list could go on!
Do you have any you’re looking forward to in the genre?
If you could visit any period of time in the past or future, when would that be?
Oh, good question, Lisa. I’d love to go back and see ancient Greece. In fact, if you could just drop me in sometime a little before the movie “300″ takes place, I’d be really happy! That was one of the fun things about developing some of my immortal characters in The Sensor Series is I have these amazing pasts for them that go way back and as the series progresses there will be brief stories of things they’ve done during those times that affect they way they are now.
Thanks for being here! So what was your favorite scene in Darkness Haunts to write? (Great cover btw!)
Hello, Lesley! Thanks for your question. I have a lot of favorite scenes, but I’d have to say there are a couple of battle scenes that were a lot of fun to write. The final one being the biggest. It took a lot of careful planning to make sure I accounted for all the many elements that were involved. Lets just say Melena got a taste of what it was like to fight old style, which went against her much more modern training
This was a really fun interview to watch! I love that you brought out the knife to show us how the trick is done. I think the quality of a strong woman I’m most drawn to is one who’s confident in her strength. Maybe that goes without saying, but I like a woman who’s not afraid to speak her mind–or kick someone’s butt if they deserve it.
Thanks, Angela. Glad you enjoyed the knife demonstration! Good answer about the type of heroine you prefer. You certainly don’t want one who will be a push-over. They have to be willing to give as good as they get!
I enjoyed watching the interview. What character was the most fun to write?
It’s nice to meet another Susan! You have an interesting question. An author has to enjoy writing their main character a lot, but beyond that there is a male vampire who comes later in the novel. He loves to say outrageous things and it gets a rise out of Melena nearly every time. I had so much fun writing his character. It was a naughty part of me I didn’t put in Melena’s personality and was glad to have him to give that to.
What an exciting book! Darkness Haunts will definitely be going on my reading list. Love the cover. Did you design the cover yourself?
I’m glad to hear that, Bonnie. Hope you enjoy the novel! About the cover, I wish I could design one like what you see on Darkness Haunts, but it wasn’t me. I hired Claudia from Phat Puppy Creations to do it. You may have seen her work before if you’ve seen the covers for “On Dublin Street” by Samantha Young or most any of Amanda Hocking’s novels. She really is an amazing artist and really great to work with. We went over all my preferences and she helped me pick the model. In the end, though, I got to be as surprised, and pleased, as anyone at how it turned out!
Hi!
Congrats on the book, but also just have to say thanks for your service – and wow, an Arab linguist – mighty helpful! How difficult was that… aren’t there a fair amount of dialects or the like, or am I making it out to be too difficult, and it’s not a bigger difference than say us Northerners vs Southerners… or even American vs British English?
Lois
Thank you, Lois. One of my driving motivations for writing this novel was my frustration with the lack of female military/veterans that could be found as leads in the UF genre. With the combat experience women are getting these days, I really thought it was surprising more authors weren’t using that background since it gives more legitimacy to a tough heroine’s fighting skills. Whenever people heard my complaint on this, they told me I’d just have to write it myself, and you can see where that led me! I also wanted to give another side to what a true fighter is like. That war isn’t easy. It shapes and changes you. It can scar you in ways you can’t imagine. Soldiers (at least the good ones) don’t become cold, ruthless fighting machines with no remorse as some books portray. They are people doing a job because they believe in serving their country, but that doesn’t mean they necessarily agree with everything they have to do or even like it. So while Melena is tough, she also has a side to her that shows she doesn’t like to kill unless there is no choice. She prefers to use her skills to save people, rather than hurt them. Of course, if it’s kill or be killed, she’s taking her opponent down. There is no question on that!
About studying Arabic. It is about as tough as you imagine. Most every Arab country has it’s own accent and words unique to only them. Even in Iraq the people in the south talk differently than the people in Baghdad or even further north in Mosul. It can be frustrating because you have to learn multiple words and pronunciations for everything. In the school I went to for eighteen months to study the language, they taught us formal Arabic like what they speak on Arabic news channels. Most any Iraqi (except the less educated, as I discovered the hard way) can understand you if you speak formally. The hard part is most of them won’t reply back in that way. It made for some fun times as I had to keep trying to get them to use words I could understand! In one case I was asking a man what he did for a living. For the life of me I could not understand the words he used and the dictionary I kept on hand wasn’t helping. Finally the poor guy just had to let out a “baaaaa” which is pretty much universal for sheep, lol. So I finally figured out he was a sheep herder. Everyone, including him, had a good laugh over that.
Author’s Question – Heroines
I prefer strong female characters who can take care of themselves, but who also have some human weaknesses. It makes the story more interesting. It would also be nice to see some older heroines.
Bonnie, I’ve seen several people mention wanting to see older heroines. I haven’t hit the point where I could write one myself yet, but there are a couple of authors I know of who do and their books are great. If you’d like some recomendations, send me a message on Twitter or my blog and I’ll be happy to give them to you
Author’s Question – Setting
I really enjoy books set in a city I have visited, especially if famous landmarks are part of the story.
Bonnie, good answer. It can be nice if you recognize a setting for a novel and have a picture in your mind
Hi, I wanted to know if you’ve modeled any characters you’ve written about after people you’ve met in real life?
Hi, Bethany. None of my characters are based on any one person. I might have borrowed a characteristic here and there from people I know, but not the whole person. For instance, some things about my main character, Melena, are based on friends of mine from the military who I admired and respected. Mostly, though, the characters developed on their own in my head. While writing the “villians” in my series, the temptation has been there, but I haven’t given in yet!
Hi,
is there a genre you have not written in yet that you would love to?
Hello, Mary. I’d love to write a time-travel romance to ancient Greece or Rome. The trouble is it would take a great deal of research, so it’s on the back burner for now. I really love the idea behind putting a modern day heroine into that time period, though.
Three folks living, dead, real, or imaginary you coud invite to dinner who would they be and why.
Oooh, great question, Pam. The first one would be Henry VIII because I’d love to have a “talk” with him about his treatment of women. You know, just a nice “chat” to help set him straight. I promise I wouldn’t bring a knife…just a whip. I’d also like to meet Rosa Parks. Any woman who can stand up for what she believes in, no matter the adversity she may face, has my full respect and admiration. For the third, I’d love to spend a day with Joan of Arc listening to her story straight from the source. I bet it would be very enlightening to hear.
Hmmm. Top Gun Val Kilmer… yumminess. How about Brendan Fehr instead?
On settings, I love anything in Seattle or in the greater Pacific NW.
Thanks for the video interview and the giveaway!
Vanessa, I like your thinking. I had to take a few minutes familiarizing myself with Brendan’s photos. He’s definitely a good pick! Should you read Darkness Haunts, feel free to let me know what actors you’s pick for the other characters as well. I’d love to hear your choices
what had you get into writing after your life in the U.S. Army?
Stacey, I’ve always had ideas running around in my head, but my schedule in the Army didn’t leave me much time to write. After getting out, the urge to put my thoughts to paper grew until I ad no choice but to write them down. There are a lot of things that happened during my service that I can’t really talk about, but I have found writing urban fantasy gives me an outlet for that. It’s fiction, but I can put pent up emotions into it that need a place to release. A few people have said some scenes in Darkness Haunts are very dark. A lot of that comes from deep inside me and the experiences I’ve had, though the events in the novel are totally different.
For my heroines I like them strong but not as strong when they come to believing in man and romance in that I want them not unconfident.
Good answer!
Hi Susan, just discovered you and the BBB blog. Look forward to reading your work!
Thanks, Theresa. I hope you enjoy it!
I, too, just discovered your works thanks to the BBB website and this contest specifically. I look forward to checking out your books soon!
Glad to hear it, Bobbi!
What was your favorite childhood book?
Dovile, thanks for your question. My favorite childhood book was Black Beauty. I read it so many times! It’s quite different from my own work, but the story telling the difficulties of a horse’s life really touched me. It’s always good when you can learn something from a book and have your eyes opened to new perspectives. I hope I do the same with my own books
Have you ever written fan fiction? For what fandom?
I’ve never read or written fan fiction. I don’t have anything against it, but it’s just never interested me.
I like to see heroines that are close to real-life persons, not perfectly trained kick-ass beauties.
I’m not sure there is such a thing as “perfectly trained” kick ass women in real life, as you say, but there are certainly books where it seems the main female character is a bit TOO good. If they can take out twenty vampires without getting a scratch, it is hard to suspend disbelief! I think it’s good to see a character fail sometimes because that’s when they learn and grow. In Darkness Haunts, Melena’s training only gets her so far. Most vampires and other supernaturals are too strong for her physically and she freely admits it. She often has to use her head to save herself, rather than any fighting skills. Even then, she doesn’t always succeed. There is one point in the novel where she pretty much hits rock bottom. She thinks she’s failed herself and the friend she’s trying to save. It’s at that point she realizes she has to adapt to survive, even if it means doing some things that go against her normal behavior, because fighting against her enemies wasn’t going to be enough.
I like UF set in very large cities and especially at night. I don’t particularly care what city it is, but it’s interesting if it influences the story in some way.
Dovile, I’ll admit Fairbanks is not a huge city. None of the ones in Alaska are due to the extreme weather that doesn’t suit most people for obvious reasons! The nature of the place certainly has an effect on the story, though. There were a lot of elements I could use such as the odd daylight hours, differing lifestyles, and encroaching wildlife that made it fun to write.
Wonderful interview, it was such a pleasure to meet you through this medium. I think Darkness Haunts is right up my alley and have just hopped over and added to my wishlist. For my first question; I loved how you have joy in your relationship and the ability to play pranks – tell us did hubs get the messages and / or revenge
Thank you, Denise! I hope you enjoy it! As for my husband, he gets his revenge by telling everyone wild and false stories about me. You see, my husband is Iraqi so he goes around telling everyone that I kidnapped him from Iraq, threw him in the back of a humvee, and drove him to the US. Obviously that’s not how it happened since I couldn’t have driven across an ocean and there is that little imigration matter, lol. It doesn’t stop him from saying I use my skills as a soldier to abuse and oppress him. I swear he had some women in a class he attended believing him and ready to call the police on me. It didn’t help that at the time I was still in the Army and came to pick him up each day in uniform! He did finally admit I wasn’t as bad as he made me out to be, but it continues to be a running joke.
People who meet us think we still act like newlyweds because we have so much fun together, though we’ve been married almost six years now. It goes to show any relationship can work if you try hard enough. We had a lot of things working against us, including most of the people we knew, who were against our marriage. It was a tough road to be together and our humor helped us a lot.
My next question – what I would like to know is how did you celebrate the release of this fun read or did you just sit back put your feet up in a stupor amazed the process had been brought to fruition ?
Denise, I wish I could have had the time to celebrate, but release day is such a busy time. I had a big book blast that went out and a lot of promoting to do so I hardly slept for the first couple days. When you are a new author who has to build your fan base, it’s really not a good idea to relax if you hope to reach your potential audience. There are so many books available, even within the same genre yours will get lost in the crowd if you don’t put yourself out there, such as doing this video interview! I also did a radio show interview (via podcast) with two erotica writers who invited me on, but that got rather wild, lol.
I have mixed feelings on whether I want my characters to already be in the know or more innocent. I think for me it is most enjoyable when they are savvy, but able to continue to grow into the world and abilities they have. I like smart tough cookies that are just flexible enough not to be whiners and able to maintain heart and caring for others while not taking any ####! I also want to like the character and get that feeling of wanting to revisit each new installment in their adventure like visiting and catching up with a good friend – Don’t ask for much do I LOL
No, it’s not demanding, Denise. I get what you mean. For Melena in Darkness Haunts, I wanted her to be familiar with the supernatural world and have some ability to handle it, but I also wanted her on the outside so that she still has a lot to learn and the reader can experience things with her. That way no one feels like they are jumping into an already running story. This first book is really the start of a whole new life for her that shakes up her world and pre-existing views.
I think my favorite places for UF reads are generally in the more metropolitan type areas. However, I do not think I have read one based in a western environment like say Texas – I can definitely see some real possibilities there
I’ve seen some UF where parts of the story take place in Texas and Oklahoma, but you are right that there aren’t many that maintain the story there. It would be nice to see, I agree!
Wow I really admire that you didn’t follow the usual path to college! What advice do you give potential military recruits…armed forces or college??
Hello, Andra. There is a lot of advice I’d give to those considering a career in the military. For me, it was the best decision I could have made. Though it’s not an easy career by any stretch of the imagination, it is challenging and you learn a lot of skills you might have had to pay a great deal of money to get any other way. It gave me confidence, strength, courage and a belief in myself that I could do anything if I tried hard enough. The military isn’t for everyone, though. I saw people who really didn’t adapt to the lifestyle well, but they are in the minority. For those wanting to go in, I’d definitely suggest they start some kind of excercise routine ahead of time. I did, and I was still sore all the time in those first weeks. Also, make sure you can get a guarantee on the type of job you want. Not all branches will let you do that and I’ve seen soldiers get stuck doing things they really didn’t like. There are chances to change it later, but only after you fullfill your first contract.
Also, take anything a recruiter says with a grain of salt. Mine didn’t lie to me, but I talked to a lot of other people who were misled. If you know anyone who served recently (military policies change over time) ask them for advice. Do not go into it blind! It’s one of the biggest commitments you could ever make. Getting divorced is ten times easier than getting out of the military if you decide you don’t like it. I admit, I had my days where if I could have handed in a resignation right then I probably would have, but then there would be the most rewarding days ever that made up for it. Some of my best memories are during my career. It’s also great because I can take that knowledge and use it to write books!
What made you choose linguistics when you went into service and how did you choose a language?
Hello Biki. I didn’t go into linguistics until mid-way through my career. I actually took a couple of college classes (at night) for Arabic and decided it was a language I’d like to learn. This became even more clear after my first trip to Iraq because I hated not being able to communicate with the locals. A lot of misunderstandings happen when you can’t talk to each other. I mean, literally people have died because of it and I wanted to be able to help stop those kinds of problems.
When it came time to re-enlist I asked for it, and since they were in desperate need of people with that language skill, it was a fairly easy job to get at the time. There is a catch. You have to score high on the ASVAB and a special language test called the DLAB. It is a made up language where they see how well you can learn a language quickly. People who want to study Arabic have to score very well on both to qualify. Even then, about a quarter of students fail to pass the Arabic language program. It’s difficult to learn and the pace is fast.
Is there a genre you haven’t tried writing in yet that appeals to you?
Trix, thanks for your question. I think it would be a lot of fun writing a time-travel romance. The trick to that would be a lot of research, but maybe someday I’ll try it!
What book/series do you wish you had thought of first?
Amber, there are so many great ones out there! It’s tough to say which one would the one. If I had to narrow it down, though, it would probably be the Night Huntress Series.
I like my hero to be a strong, likable person. Whiny, clingy women, even if they change, have me screaming at the book.
I feel the same way about heroines, Lisa!
I love UF that take place in New Orleans and Las Vegas. I’d love to see on that takes place in Myrtle beach, SC.
Oooh, Myrtle Beach. I hadn’t considered doing one there. I spent half my military career living in North and South Carolina. Used to go to Myrtle Beach at least one weekend a month during both winter and summer. Such a fun place. Maybe one of my books in the future will have a setting there
Hi there! What are your thoughts on audiobooks?
Hello Joani! I have only listened to a couple of audio books myself, but I know a lot of people who love them. If the series gets popular enough and there is a demand I’d be willing to consider having my books transfered to audio. The real trick is finding the right reader to do it. I wouldn’t settle for just anyone and would make sure it is a fully professional effort.
How do you think yours would do in that format?
Thank you for the contest! I can’t believe I won!
Congratulations, Bobbi!