Lisa Olsen's Blog, page 9

A taste of Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down

Well, since y’all seem to be feeling Team Rob these days, I thought I’d give you a little sample from the new book that features Rob and Anja. So, the setting is, Anja is a little drunk on too much celebrating over the Elder thing, and they’re at Felix’s house in Malibu. Maggie is off to bed, and Felix and Bridget have already disappeared into his room. Anja has just asked Rob if he wants to go for a moonlit stroll and he turned her down, so she is in search of another glass of champagne to keep the party rolling.

“Night, Mags, sleep deep,” I called after her, turning to lean against the wall, not because I needed to, but because it felt nice since Rob had let go of me. When had he done that?

“You should get some sleep as well.”

“I know, you said that already,” I smiled, being more at his eye level with my heels on. “If you want to go to bed, you go ahead, I can find the champagne on my own.”

“I’ll stay up a piece longer, make sure everything’s tucked away for the night.”

My head tilted to one side. “Does that include me?”

“It does.”

“That sounds interesting.” I pushed myself away from the wall, hands coming to rest on his firm chest. “Tell me more.”

His fingers lightly encircled my wrists, pulling them away from his torso. “It’s not all that interesting really. Mostly it involves girls in their cups finding the right bed and catching a few winks.”

“Ah, but whose bed is the right bed?” I smiled, my body just a fraction of an inch from his without my hands between us. I could feel the heat pouring off of his body as I waited for him to answer. Instead he looked away, letting go of my wrists.

“Your own. Off you go then, like a good girl.” His head jerked towards the end of the corridor and I recognized the tone he used with Leila right off the bat.

“I’m not your sister.”

His lips twitched. “I’ve noticed.”

“I’m the new Elder you know.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“That makes me the boss of everybody.” An idea was forming. Still fuzzy around the edges, but a good one, I was sure of it.

“Not quite everybody. Off to bed now with you.” His head jerked again but I held my ground.

“But I’m the boss of you.”

“Something I’ve been reminded of far too frequently.”

“So… technically, you have to do whatever I say.”

“Were you needing something, miss?” He drew himself up formally, even as I slouched back against the wall again.

Boy howdy I needed something… and he was just the man to give it to me. But I couldn’t order him to kiss me, could I? My teeth caught at my lower lip, already thinking what I’d say and what he’d say, and what he’d do…

“Anja?” Rob prompted, breaking me out of my private fantasy.

Music could be heard coming from Felix and Bridget’s room. Deep, throbbing music, the kind you put on when you wanted a soundtrack for something that could get a little loud in the bedroom. Or a striptease – even better. Too bad he’d probably balk at the idea. But I was the boss. Isn’t that what Felix kept calling me? “I want to dance,” I decided suddenly, reaching for him. “Dance with me.”

Rob backed off, his hands coming up. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Sure it is. Dancing’s always a good idea,” I replied, pursuing him as he backed away down the hall. We came into the living room which was deserted, the lights low.

“I think we both know that’s not true.”

“I don’t think I know that it’s a thing I know, you know?” I’d wound myself into a corner of words, no longer sure what it was I wanted to say. Spotting a nearly full glass on champagne on the end table, I rescued it, downing it in one long gulp that tickled my nose. “Fine, take me to your bed then. Even better.” Tossing the glass negligently aside, it hit the plush carpet and rolled under the couch.

“Anja…”

“Oh come on, you said you didn’t want to dance. Or did you change your mind? Fancy a dance then, mate?” I pretty much murdered his accent, but it was enough to bring the twitch of a smile to his lips.

“One dance, and then it’s off to bed with you,” he allowed, pulling me away from the coffee table where one of us might lose a shin.

“One dance is all I’m asking for.” I sighed happily over my victory, resting my chin against his shoulder as his arms came around me. Once again I was struck by how well we moved together. I had a feeling it would translate well off the dance floor. What was it Bridget had said about his hands?

I found myself breathing faster, and deliberately forced myself to think of something else before I lost what self esteem I had left and begged him to forget his silly objections to what we both wanted. “I really do like you in this suit,” I murmured, fishing around for something to say.

“You’ve mentioned that before.”

“Do you like my dress?”

“It’s very nice.”

“Again with the nice,” I snorted, teetering back on my heels to get a better look at him. “Maybe I should raid Bridget’s closet and see what I can come up with that might get a stronger reaction. What kind of girls do you like, Rob?”

“I like girls who do what they’re told.” He raised a brow at me pointedly, but I took it a different way.

“Now we’re getting interesting again. What would you tell me to do, Robby? If you could make me do anything? No one interfering, nothing but you and me and your deepest desires. Anything at all…” My voice fell to a whisper. His jaw tightened, and I saw the hunger descend almost as if he craved a taste of me the way a vampire would.

“The things you say,” he breathed, his gaze lingering on my mouth.

Who would you choose?

As I get closer to releasing Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down, I thought I’d put out a poll for y’all to vote on who you think Anja belongs with. You can vote for more than one person, I believe.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Forged Bloodlines 1-3 now available as a boxed set

My Forged Bloodlines series books 1-3 are now available as a boxed set for your kindle. Easy to navigate between books from the table of contents, this set contains Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down, Meet Me When the Sun Goes Down and Find Me When the Sun Goes down, Anja’s notes on all the vampire Houses and a preview of Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down. It can be found here on Amazon.com for $9.99.

In other news, we’re getting close to releasing book 5 in the series, Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down and I’m starting to plan the next Mercy Book. I’m also working on an audio version of The Touch and designing a new cover for it, so keeping plenty busy!

Psst – Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down is also free today on Kindle.

We Have A Winner!

Thanks to everybody who voted. It looks like the one on the left was the overall favorite, and I agree, I like the idea that she’s a little farther down, waiting for us to follow her. The winner of the free book is Vikki! Vikki, you have your choice of the ebook (faster) or a signed print book (prettier, but a few weeks longer), I’ll send you an email to talk about which you’d prefer.

Follow Me is coming along nicely through the editing process, it won’t be long now!

Vote on cover art for Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down

Hey guys, it’s time to give your input on which cover art you like better for Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down. Not too much difference between the two except for how close the girl is in the pic. So, sound off with your opinion in the comments section and it automatically enters you in a drawing for a free copy of the new book. I’ll leave it up to you whether you’d prefer to have the ebook copy (which will be ready a lot faster) or a signed print copy (which will be a lot prettier).

So, let’s hear it – which cover do you prefer? The one on the left or the one on the right?

I’m not above stealing – Random facts about me.

I have been encouraged to steal a post idea from J.L. Murray (you should totally check out her books, by the way, she rocks! www.jlmurraywriter.com) to help combat the idea that it’s better for me to post some random facts about myself than try to coherently cobble anything else together while I’m in the home stretch of writing my new book. Here is a list of random facts in no particular order.

1) I am obsessed with Joss Whedon. I’ll pretty much watch anything he makes. Even if all he did was pick up coffee for the cast. If Joss is associated, I’m in. Every once in a while I have dreams where I meet him and I’m all suave and cool and not the hopeless tongue-tied mess I’d really be IRL.

2) I listen to classical music while I write. Sometimes it’s a specific song on a loop over and over again, but mostly I need something soft and in the background otherwise, I get too distracted. Now, while I’m plotting is another story entirely. Then I listen to a weird hodge podge of music, anything from Muse to Portishead to Journey to Ke$ha to The Carpenters to Marilyn Manson to musical numbers from The Pirate Movie… it’s a weird playlist.

3) I share many geeky interests with Anja such as: superheroes (particularly Cap), Lord of the Rings, Sliders, Big Bang Theory, Star Trek, Star Wars, Zombies, Battlestar Galactica, Dr. Who, Firefly, Buffy, and of course fabulous movies like Sharktopus and Sharknado. But I have never been particularly into comic books.

4) I am scared to death of speaking in public. I will probably never give a book reading. Like ever. There’s a reason I chose a profession that allows me to remain behind the scenes and interact with fans solely through the internet. I guess I could always hire a shill if I get rich and famous enough. But I’m also enough of a control freak that I know it’d drive me nuts, so no… don’t think I’ll ever do that.

5) I recorded an album when I was seven years old. I was part of a band of kids that sang and danced in Spanish and English. We performed all over California, mostly at private functions but things like county fairs and stuff too. We once performed at Disneyland. We put out a record every couple of years and the one I was on I sang two songs for and I was on the cover.

6) I live in the Pacific Northwest because of an April Fool’s Joke. I primarily grew up in Santa Cruz, CA (which is wicked expensive!). The company I worked for had their HQ up near Portland Oregon, and as a joke I came home and told my husband that they were so happy with my performance that they wanted to transfer me to their corporate office. To my utter surprise, he said “Okay, let’s do it!” To which I had to admit I was full of… April foolery, and there was no job opening up there. But we started looking into it anyway and though it took us another five years to make it up here, we sold our house and took the plunge with no clear idea of how we’d make a living. It worked out though, and I love living here!

7) I wanted to be a cop when I was growing up. Or something in law enforcement. Not a huge surprise that both my parents worked for the Sheriff’s department, but I set off to college thinking I’d join them some day.

8) I am a fantastic cook, but I only cook once a week. Of course, I cook a crapton of food on that day, enough to set us up with meals for the week because I’m also lazy as hell.

9) I am the weirdest combination of driven and lazy that you’ll ever meet (see above). Driven = slave over a hot stove all day long in 90 degree heat, Lazy = let the Tupperware build up for a week before I get to it. Driven = push myself to write between 4K and 5K words per day even if I’m sick, Lazy = wear pajamas until noon and text my kid to come and close my office door that’s less than ten feet away.

10) Like Cady, I skipped a grade in school. Okay, so it was kindergarten, but it made me younger than all of my classmates for the rest of my school career, which was alternately cool and annoying. It also led to some unusual age differences in boyfriends such as:

11) I married my high school sweetheart. Yep, started dating him when I was 14 (and he was 18!) years old and we’ve been married now for 22 years. So yes, I am living proof that you can completely fall in love at first sight and live happily ever after.

In other news, I am sooooo close to finishing Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down, I can taste it!  I’ll be revealing the cover art for you to vote on soon and we’ll have a book giveaway in the near future.

Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down is out in Print!

We finally got Miss Me When the Sun Goes Down out in print! So, for all you out there who prefer to hold the physical book in your hands (and it is pretty!), you can buy it on Amazon.com here.

In other news, The next book in the series, Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down is coming along very well, just crested the 81K mark and there’s still quite a bit of excitement to get to. Also, I finally broke down and started an author page on Facebook, you can find it here for updates on book stuff and some fun giveaways in the future.

Forged Bloodlines Q & A

Thanks to everybody who responded in comments and privately for this Q&A focusing on the Forged Bloodlines series. I’ll put the general questions first, and then leave a break before the spoilers in case someone would rather be surprised.

Where can I get a robot brain?

I got mine from the Creator. As far as I know, there aren’t any upgrades available. You could always summon the robot overlords and petition for a robot brain, but I wouldn’t unless you’re prepared to pay the price.

How long have you been writing?

Technically, before I was in kindergarten. Actual books, for about four years. Before that I’d start a project and lose interest. I was the queen of unfinished projects until NaNoWriMo taught me how to push past my inner editor.

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month takes place in November (though there are equivalents that run for every month of the year) and the basic premise is this: Write 50,000 words in one month. That’s it. No editing, just 50k words that will probably be crap. The first time I tried it, I came in just shy of 100k words and Moonsong was born. Moonsong was so sucky it went through many major revisions before I got it right, but this was a breakthrough for me, giving myself permission to suck instead of coming up with something perfect. You can always fix what you write, but you can never fix what you don’t write.

Where do you get your writing ideas?

They come to me at all times of the day, but I find bathrooms give me the best ideas. If I’m ever stuck on a scene, all I have to do is go and stand in the bathroom (shower if I’m really stuck) and I get an idea. It doesn’t matter if it’s my bathroom, at a friend’s house or a public restroom. Prolly kinda creepy, but there it is.

Who designs your covers?

My husband, James, works on the covers for me. Sometimes I find the image first, but lately he’s been coming up with them on his own. If we’re ever stuck between two ideas, I like to put them up here on my website for a vote. I love to get your guys’ input!

*** Spoiler Section Below ***

Some of these are not really big spoilers, but read on at your own peril!

Will we find out why Jakob refuses to take his place in vampire society?

Yes, we should find the answer to that in book six.

Is Ellie really dead?

Yes, I’m sorry to say she’s really dead. That doesn’t mean I’m not open to bringing back a dead character or two in the future if it fit the story.

Is Carys really dead?

It sure looks like it. Bishop saw her remains. Or did he?

Are Jakob and Rob the same person? We never see them together.

Wow, that’s a great question! No, they’re not the same person, but that’s an interesting concept that I reserve the right to use at a future date.

Did Anja really use her compulsion without realizing it against Bishop?

That’s the big question, isn’t it? Yes, in part. The better question is – how much of it was compulsion and how much of it was for real? I think her compulsion came into play that first time he chased her down and she pleaded with him to go and investigate where she was turned. At the time I don’t think Bishop would have helped her without that extra little push, no matter how much she reminded him of Carys. Did she give him a little nudge every now and again to get her way? Probably. Did she compel him to love her? No, I don’t think so.

So is Bishop offically out of the picture or will he make his way back into Anja’s love life?

Never say never. Anja will be seeing Bishop again at the Gathering in Vetis, so look for some heated conversations there and some surprising news on what he’s been up to since she left. Bishop is going to have some interesting personal revelations in Follow Me that will change things for him going into future books. I’m really interested to get back into his head again and have a few scenes from his POV.

What does älskling mean?

It simply means beloved or darling, Jakob’s endearment of choice.

Will we see the hunter again?

Yes, Carter is out there in the US somewhere, still taking care of vamps that need killing. I definitely predict that Anja will cross paths with him again.

Will we see the magistrate again?

Yes, he’s definitely a sore loser, so look for him to pop up in the future sometime.

Why did Mason kill his own Sire?

That’s a complicated history there, and one we’ll definitely explore in the future. Let’s just say for now that his Sire wasn’t a good guy.

Will we get to meet Bishop’s brother Aubrey?

Yes, he is featured in Follow Me and we’ll learn more about why he and Bishop don’t get along.

Do you think Rob could somehow kill Jake?

Could he manage it? I think he could pull it off if it came down to it and the circumstances were right. In a straight up fight Jakob would easily beat Rob because he’s very tough to kill. But it can be done. Pretty much anytime someone’s head comes away from their body or their heart is ripped out that’s pretty hard to come back from. The trouble is, he’s fast and strong as hell, so getting the jump on him could be tricky. It would probably involve deception of some kind if he were to try it. Would he ever do it? It’s hard to say, it probably depends on how far Jakob ever pushed him. Rob has seen Jakob take away his loved ones before, so he knows exactly what Jakob is capable of.

How many more books will there be in the Forged Bloodlines series?

It’s hard to say. I guess I’ll stop when I run out of ideas. I have pretty specific ideas for at least 2 more beyond Follow Me, but there are all sorts of unanswered questions that keep swirling around in the back of my mind that I want to get to eventually. After all, there’s a great big vampire world out there. There are places for her to travel, people for her to meet. Will Jakob ever take his place in vampire society? Are there any other Ellri out there? What about Jakob’s family? Does he have any other progeny out there? What about natural born children? What about the Gods themselves who created the Ellri? They’re still out there. What about Anja’s family? Will they ever find out she’s a vamp? What about Hanna and Mason? Will Anja ever end up turning someone herself? Does Rob’s extended family come into play more in the future? Can she trust Marcus? What about the werewolves back in the states? These are all things I want to explore in future books.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. If you think of any more questions, add them to the comments section and I’ll see what I can do.

Is It A Crime?

I’ve had this song running through my head for four days straight even though I finished up the scene a couple of days ago. The setting is, it’s the first night of the Gathering, and Simon Corley (Warden of Vetis) has asked Anja to sing for everyone, figuring it’ll put her on the spot. Of course she doesn’t have that problem anymore, but instead of going with a stuffy old song to fit the crowd, she can’t help but sing her little heart out to a specific someone in the room. Have a listen, then guess who Anja’s singing it to in the comments section.







Also, I had no idea that Sade had this series of interconnected videos. But in searching for this one, I noticed the same themes pop up in Sweetest Taboo and Smooth Operator. They’re like little movies featuring the same cast and developing storyline. Kinda cool, except that the guy she’s supposed to be in love with is kind of a tool.

Submit questions for a Forged Bloodlines Q&A

Hi guys! I’m knee deep into the first draft for Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down, but I thought I’d check in and answer a few questions on any behind the scenes or storyline bits and pieces I can part with. So now’s your chance. Post your questions here in the comments, or feel free to drop me a private message through the “contact Lisa” link. I can probably be persuaded to answer lingering questions about character backgrounds or unsolved mysteries, and possibly some spoilers on the next book, as well as any questions you might have on the behind the scenes process I have while writing the series. I’ll address the questions I get in an upcoming blog post.