Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Black Wings-Interview/Giveaway

I got a chance to interview Christina Henry the author of Black Wings, Black Wings is an Urban Fantasy about a Grim Reaper named Maddy, its pretty original, Christina was nice enough to answer some questions, and I posted them below, check them out, and be sure to check out Black Wings too.The sequel comes out in August 2011. Also she was nice and agreed to a giveaway for Black Wings, just comment below on the interview with your e-mail addy. Thanks again Christina :]

Happy Reading
Katy

Black Wings (Madeline Black, #1) 


1. How did you come up with the idea to write a book a Grim Reaper?

A few years ago I tried to write a suspense thriller, but it wasn’t working for me. I kept adding in supernatural elements! When I decided to write an urban fantasy I wanted to do something that was a little bit different from a lot of what was out there at the time – mostly vampires and werewolves.

I love the idea of Death as a protagonist, because Death is the most powerful force there is – natural or unnatural. No matter how strong you are, no matter how fast you run – Death gets everyone in the end.

2. Any advice you'd give Maddy?

Stay calm! A lot of Maddy’s problems stem from the fact that she can’t control her powers because she’s too emotional. She’s an older character but it many ways she acts younger simply because she hasn’t spent that much time interacting with other people. She’s been pretty deliberately sheltered by Beezle, her gargoyle.

3.Does Black Wings have a playlist, certain songs you listened to for inspiration?

Black Wings has a lot of humor and a lot of action, but I feel that the core emotion of the book is really about sadness and loss. The first song that summed up Black Wings for me was Sarah McLachlan’s “Full of Grace” and that set the tone for the pretty much the whole playlist and the whole book.

Some of the other songs from the Black Wings list were:

Wonderful Life/Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
O Children/Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
The Part You Throw Away/Tom Waits
Father Lucifer/Tori Amos
Graveyard/Trip Shakespeare
Somewhere Over the Rainbow-What a Wonderful World/Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Landslide/Fleetwood Mac

4. Can you tell us anything about Black Night?

I can tell you that the stakes get raised very dramatically for Maddy. She owes Lucifer a boon after the events of Black Wings and he’s going to make sure she pays that debt. Of course, being Lucifer he’s got lots of ulterior motives as well, so nothing is ever as simple as it seems for Maddy.

5.Do you have an actress in mind when you picture Maddy?

Wow, this is kind of tough. I don’t know who would play Maddy. I just think I would hate it if she was played by a super-skinny actress, because Maddy is slightly overweight and I like that about her – it makes her more human and less physically perfect than a lot of heroines. The actress would also need a major attitude, because Maddy’s definitely got a chip on her shoulder! Sandra Bullock totally could have played this role ten years ago but I don’t know who would do it now.

6.Have you read any good books lately that you'd recommended to Urban Fantasy readers?

I’m presently reading China Mieville’s Kraken, which is really clever and wonderful like all of his books. His young adult novel Un Lun Dun is one of my all-time favorites.

Also, if you haven’t read Nancy Holzner’s Deadtown you definitely should! The sequel, Hellforged, was just released a few weeks ago and they’re both awesome.

This is a little out of the urban fantasy milieu, but I’ve been recommending Ken Harmon’s The Fat Man: A Tale of North Pole Noir to pretty much everyone. It’s  a wonderful send-up of both the mystery genre and Christmas conventions – if you want a good laugh you should read this book.

17 comments:

My Life With Books - Jennifer K Jovus said...

you gave me the eeebeegeebee's when you said "death gets you in the end." I am most intrigued now! ;)
kjovus
kjovus(at)gmail(dot)com

donnas said...

Great interview. I have read a lot of good things about her book and I am looking forward to reading it.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

Stacey Smith said...

Sounds Freaky but then I like that type of book that is out side what everybody else is wrighting.
sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com

buddyt said...

I know covers don't necessarily tell you what the book is like inside but I do like both of them.

If the giveaway is open worldwide, I would like to be entered.

Thanks.

Carol T

buddytho {at} gmail DOT com

Bethany C. said...

I really love the concept for Black Wings, and it's good to know there's a plan for it's sequel in the works! Thanks for the giveaway!

b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail(dot)com

throuthehaze said...

Great interview! I am dying to read this book :)
throuthehaze at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

Hi :)
Thank you for the interview with Christina. I loved BLACK WINGS and am looking forward to devouring BLACK NIGHT. I totally agree with Christina on Nancy's Deadtown series.
All the best,
RKCharron

Amy said...

Thanks for the interview and giveaway! It's refreshing to read about an older heroine

angeldream3(at)gmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

Please enter me in contest. I would love to read this book. Tore923@aol.com

Unknown said...

These books look like great reads! I love some of your interview questions!

nyelekli (at) yahoo (dot) com

Meredith said...

I like that the heroine isn't insanely skinny, but more like a real woman!

meredithfl at gmail dot com

Eric Rogers said...

Great interview! I am especially interested in picking up the books Christina recommends. Of course, I'm also super-interested in reading her books.
ericandsarita(at)gmail(dot)com

Jolene and Family said...

I'm not sure if I missed this, if not please enter me. I would love to read this and I loved your review

june111(at)att(dot)net

Mariya said...

Great Interview. Please enter me XD
mystifyingparanormalreviews@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Great interview!
If the contest is open internationally i would love to enter!

celebridal(at)hotmail(dot)com

ArtemisG said...

I am a new follower and i don't know if the contest is international. Count me if it is.
Thanks you!!!

artgiote@gmail.com

heatwave16 said...

Loved the interview!!! I've been dying to read this book...sounds great.

heatwave96(at)hotmail.com