Author Interview

Please give us a brief bio, your website, my space page and blog links.

Chris Marie Green (AKA Crystal Green) writes full time across the genres. Besides her Vampire Babylon series(http://www.vampirebabylon.com/), she writes for Harlequin Blaze and Silhouette Special Edition. You can visit her other web sites at http://www.crystal-green.com/ and www.myspace.com/vampirebablylon.


The Writer:

1) What is the best thing about being a writer? The worst?

The best is that I get to write on my laptop in bed in my pj’s (I guess I’m really saying that I get to make my own schedule!). The worst is finding sufficient time to write my books while making time for all the extras, like PR. Anyone who runs her own business knows that it isn’t easy to find enough hours in the day for everything.

2) What is your method of breaking through writer's block?

I feel like “writer’s block” is a euphemism for “fear of failure.” So the only cure I know is to confront your writing: sit down and just do it. It sounds so pat, but, really, this is the only way I can get around those days where I just don’t feel like working.

3) Do you bring your own life experiences to your writing? Your own personality? If so how?

Sometimes, not all the time, I bring my own experiences, and it’s usually in a purely emotional way. But, as far as settings and more external experiences go, I do armchair and hands-on research, too. A writer normally finds herself tapping into painful situations (What it’s like to feel lonely, rejected, etc.) so they can create a connection between the readers and the characters. But, practically, I like to visit the physical places I write about. For instance, for my March release, A DROP OF RED, Vampire Babylon, Book 4, I went off to England to scout locations for certain scenes.
Don’t I have a terrible job? ; )

4) What fuels you as an author to continue to write?

The need to get that story out and spend time with my characters. They can be like friends, or at least interesting people who enrich your own life.

5) Can you tell us a bit about what book(s) you have coming out next and what you're working on now?

I’ve got a few Vampire Babylons waiting in the wings: the next book, BREAK OF DAWN, is out in September. After that, there’s A DROP OF RED, Book 4, in March, 2009. Before this, though, I’ll have a Special Edition and a Blaze out in October. The first, FALLING FOR THE LONE WOLF, is the last book in my Suds Club miniseries. The latter, GOOD TO THE LAST BITE, is a sequel of sorts to a previous Blaze, THE ULTIMATE BITE. Both are “hot” vampire reads. Right now, I’m working on Vampire Babylon, Book 5: PATH OF RAZORS.


The Person:

1) Which season do you prefer? Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter?

I’d have to say that Fall trumps them all because we’ve got football season and Halloween!

2) What is your favorite Holiday?

For sheer drama, Halloween is tops.

3) Do you like Comedy, Drama, Romance, Foreign Language, Indie or Mystery movies?

Well, I’d have to deviate a little and go with horror movies. There’s nothing like a great adrenaline rush while sitting safe and comfy in a chair, hiding behind your hands.

4) When you get a chance to read, what books do you love to read?

I’m an eclectic reader, so I love just about everything. I’ll tell you what I’m reading right now: THE MEMOIRS OF CLEOPATRA by Margaret George, ONE MORE TIME by Celia May Hart, and SHADOW AND EVIL IN FAIRY TALES by Marie-Louise von Franz. The first is a very well-researched creative history, the second is an erotic historical time-travel romance, the third is research for PATH OF RAZORS.

5) What bores you as a reader?

Not much, LOL. I’ll read anything, and if it isn’t flipping my skirt, I’ll still stick with it in the hopes that it gets better. I do have a hard time whipping up interest in more technical books though.

6) What is your favorite food and what is your guilty pleasure food?

My favorite food would have to be popcorn. Yum. Guilty pleasure food would have to be the rich, thick blueberry ice cream I can no longer find at Trader Joe’s.

7) If you could go anywhere on a vacation where would you go?

Egypt. I’ve always been attracted to the mystique of the country, and I’m going to make it there someday!

8) What is your favorite feature on a person?

Smiles are always good, but I have to be honest…. The other night I was re-watching BATMAN BEGINS, and when Christian Bale rolls out of bed without his shirt on, I was hot-flashing at the sight of his torso. Holy deltoids, Batman.

9) Do you have a secret talent?

Not really, unless you count the ability to tie a cherry stem into a knot in my mouth. But who didn’t perfect that in college? : )

10) What is your favorite time of day?

Sunset. It’s so peaceful, and it means that my work is done (hopefully) and I get to relax.

11) What do you think is romantic? What does the word Romance mean to you?

I like to think romance is based on affectionate respect. You and your partner think of what the other one wants and needs, and you go that extra mile to provide it.

12) What type of music gets you dancing?

I’m a sucker for the kind of “alternate” music they played in the 80s: stuff you don’t hear as much, like “Make A Circuit With Me” and “I Still Believe.” Stuff they don’t really play at weddings.

13) Who would you go out on a date with if you could?

Bruce Wayne. Sure, he’s messed up, but I could use a little excitement in my life.

14) You're having a dinner party, what five people would you invite?

Frank Miller and a resurrected Will Eisner, just so I could hear them spar about comic philosophy. Cleopatra, because I’m reading about her and I’d like to separate the fact from the fiction. Jack the Ripper, because I want to know who he is and why he did what he did. And, of course, Bruce Wayne, because, number one, he’d keep Jack the Ripper in check, number two, he’d have some things to say to Frank Miller, and number three, I’d want to keep Bruce around after dinner. (Heh.)


Random Questions:

1) Aliens have landed on the planet. What are the three things you would tell them that are great about this planet?

Chocolate. Little children who say cute, funny, and disturbingly true things when you least expect it. The oceans.

2) If you could create your own drink what would go in it and what would you call it?

Hmmm, I’m not sure, but I have discovered the perfect drink anyway, and I’d like to tell you about it. It’s called The Blue Fin, and I think it was created by The Blue Fin restaurant at the W in Times Square. It’s got Hypnotique, white cranberry juice, vodka, and a gummy fish.

3) You have been locked in a mall and told you can get anything you want and when they open in the morning you won't have to pay a single cent. What stores would you hit? Better question how would you haul away all your loot?

I’ll be completely unoriginal (yet truthful) and say I’d hit the jewelry store. Pearls are my number one love, and I’d drape them all over me as a mode of transportation. Hopefully, the limitations of that would keep me in check—can’t be too greedy!

4) If your life were turned into a cartoon, what cartoon character would you want playing you?

Naturally it would be Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. She’s got the best cartoon hair I’ve ever seen, and Prince Phillip is a total babe.

5) If you were a pirate what would your booty consist of? What would your pirate name be?

Pearls, pearls, pearls. And a few shirtless men who look as if they just stepped out of 300. My name would be Bitch Captain Awesomeboots and I’d wield quite the pearl-hilted sword in any duel.


6) Okay I have to include a crazy question so here goes: He-Man, GI- Joe, The Thundercats, The Transformers and Jem are all in a battle to decide who is the best 80s cartoon, who do you think will win? I told you it was a crazy question. No one said I was sane. :-p

I’ll go with He-Man based solely on the size of his pecs.

7) You've been given the honor of naming a planet, what would you name it?

Kiko. (If you’ve read Vampire Babylon, you know he’s basically a planet unto himself anyway.)

8) If you were in a rock band what would the name of your band be? What would your rocker name be?

Barbarella’s Missing Panties. And since I think it’s time to bring back the whole Prince/weird-sign-thingie-that-denotes-a-name, I’d make this strange flowy/ethereal symbol that, in reality, means nothing at all.


If you'd like, you can include excerpts from your latest work. Please include the 'Buy' link if it is available. Thank you for participating in this interview.

Thanks—and here’s my excerpt (although I’m not sure how to do the buy link. Lame, I know!)

Lights…Camera…

1. Lights…Camera…

Charity Flynn had sold her soul to experience another moment like this.
The doors of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre burst open to the night, showering the actress with camera flashes, pinpoints that flared like exploding stars. She posed, summoning her brightest, sexiest smile, knowing which angles would make her shine. She pouted her lips ever so slightly, tilted her head, then allowed her Allure…just a touch…to reach out to every man, every woman out there.
Another flash went supernova, worship in motion.
For a hushed instant, the late-summer air went still, the crowd silent in the presence of such magic. It was as if Charity—their Charity—had reached into their chests and stolen their breath away.
Their adoration filled her, fed her.
But this superstar wasn’t reckless. She hid her Allure, trained to know when enough was enough during decades of practice. Time spent Underground, time spent waiting for this second comeback to glory.
Such a long, long wait away from the screen….
The cameras came back alive. A paparazzo shouted to her over the blinding lights as she stepped out of the theatre’s lobby, where the special late-night premiere after-party was in full swing. Her diamond-studded pumps met the red carpet.
“Charity,” the photog yelled, raising his monstrous camera above the heads of the others. “How do you think it’ll feel to be queen of the box-office?”
She swayed to a stop, allowing more flashes to devour her. “It already feels like a million bucks.” Her smile grew, and the crowd smiled right back. “Several million, as a matter of fact.”
They all laughed at her sly nod to the salary Charity Flynn would be commanding after such a big response to her first inevitable blockbuster.
Before she could move on, another voice piped up. “You really look like a million tonight, Charity!”
“Vintage Chanel.” She spread her arms, showcasing the long creamy white silk sheath that flowed over her curves, a sparkling brooch clasping the material together at her cleavage. “It used to belong to…” Another smile, this time a very knowing one that toyed with their expectations. “…her.”
Her.
The press had been calling Charity “the new Amanda Grace” ever since she had arrived on the Hollywood scene a few months ago. They had also referenced a second name, “Delia Wright,” to describe whatever Charity had that the camera loved. But Charity didn’t hear this other name as often since “Delia” wasn’t the original. The template.
Platinum-blond Charity—and Delia—with their cherry lips and heavy-lidded smiles, evoked the legendary, carnally inclined, tragically dead Amanda Grace from the late 50s. They reflected her in manner, in style, in…
In everything.
And it wasn’t just a coincidence.
Charity winked at the cameras and continued to her limo, where she climbed inside to be enveloped by dark grandeur: plush velvet seats and mahogany detailing. Her veins fizzed as if shot through with champagne and, now that she was sequestered, her mouth began to sting with thirst.
Just a taste, she thought. Something to keep me high until the end of the month when the Master infuses me with his own blood again.
Just a cocktail, especially now, in the ecstatic aftermath of tonight’s affection and triumphs.
Charity shuddered, leaning back against the seat while the vehicle took off, away from the pulsing camera lights. But a voice from across the large sitting area jarred her.
“Amanda.”
Her heightened gaze cut through the darkness, settling on a shadow. In return, he leaned forward, catching some light from the passing streetlamps. Based on his delightful scent, she determined he was human. A Servant, as a matter of fact—one who did much of the Underground’s footwork here Above. His face, punctuated by a cleft in his chin and piercing, pale eyes, was something out of a thug’s casting call. But upon second look, the casual way he moved in his long leather coat, his jeans and boots, made him more approachable.
“Mr. Lonigan,” she said, “I’m ‘Charity’ now. Charity Flynn. Remember?”
The private investigator made a conciliatory gesture. “Sorry. Charity…Delia… I like your first name more than the other two you’ve used.”
She didn’t know him well, so her curiosity almost overwhelmed her surprise at seeing him in her limo. Almost.
“Probably wondering why I hitched a ride?” he asked.
“It crossed my mind.” She used her smile on him. “Is it too much to hope you’re here for a little…fun?”
Charity rubbed a hand over her neck, her nails scratching her jugular.
Matt Lonigan calmly stared out the window, a subtle rejection, even if she’d seen interest in his eyes before he’d turned away. But she could sense a deeper purpose to his visit, even without having to reach into his mind. Not that going into someone’s head was ever a good idea—especially while Above. Here, it could lead to detection from the “others” the Master had always warned them about.
She followed the Servant’s gaze out the window. They weren’t traveling to the hotel where the after-after-party would be held. No, she knew where they were headed: near one of the abandoned quarry entrances of the Underground where the rare hiker wandered or where no production units had ever set foot.
Unease stole over her, because she had an idea about what was going on, about why the Master’s Servant was here with her. She’d all but tuned out the disturbing rumors from Below lately because her attention had been anchored Above, on the career she deserved.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“The Master is gathering every one of you. I was assigned to see you came back instead of partying your big night away. The Master wanted you to understand the seriousness of this call home.”
A gathering. It iced her spine. She’d given everything for this third chance at superstardom.
Well. Amanda Grace wasn’t going to tolerate any threats to what she’d worked her ass off for, to what she’d invested so much in.
Suddenly she couldn’t bring herself to care about the after-after-party she’d be missing.
Soon, the limo disappeared down into the black of a massive cave. Once stopped, surrounded by rock, they alighted. Charity walked ahead of Matt, never looking back at the Servant, even as they passed the wailing echoes of the removed Guard chambers.
She pretended to be unaffected, even as she pictured the lower-level vampires and their red eyes, their barbed tails, their freakish way of moving, like stuttering heartbeats in transit. Guards were their first line of defense, monsters manufactured to protect the Underground.
The damned, she thought, hurrying her steps, hearing the click of her heels against the cold walls.
She slowed only at the entrance to the emporium. There, Matt opened the door, allowing her to anticipate the usual splendid cacophony, the exotic incense, the vivid laughter, the tang of blood.
But…there was only the hint of that normally free-flowing blood tonight as she entered.
This had to be serious.
Pulse tapping in growing concern, Charity greeted a contingent of Groupies, silver-eyed vampires who had entertained her for so many hours Underground while she’d waited for her comebacks. Now, as they sat cross-legged on the marble floor, holding hands, they weren’t the lively, erotic creatures she’d always treasured: they weren’t sidling up to her, playfully biting her skin or stroking her to pleasure.
Tonight they merely watched her return to them, their eyes wide as Charity made her way past the waterfalls, the pools, the blanked grand television screens, and to the amphitheater.
Levels of stone seating held her brothers and sisters—other high-ranked Elites who had been just as worshipped Above as Amanda Grace. As they heard her, they turned their heads as one, every face a beautiful mask of waiting terror, every pair of eyes swirling in preternatural worry.
A hollowness seized Charity, and she placed a hand over her breastbone. She felt empty there. But when she thought of the crowds tonight, the cameras, the utter joy of being loved, she knew her sacrifice had been worth it.
She would do anything to preserve it.
She sat next to Jesse Shane, one of the world’s biggest action stars who’d “died” in blood-soaked mystery eleven years ago. Next to him was the Underground’s newest Elite, Tamsin Greene, who had “expired” just as tragically as Amanda Grace once upon a time.
Charity sat straight, attempting to seem unruffled. She was one of the oldest Elites, and the young ones were looking to her for serene guidance.
“Is everyone here?” she asked Jesse.
He spoke in that carefree cowboy voice that’d made him millions. “Every single one. You know what happened?”
At Charity’s raised eyebrow, he continued.
“We’ve officially been exposed Above.”
Horrified, the actress held a hand to her stunning face.
To the eternally youthful visage she’d paid for with the currency of her soul.