I’m very excited to once again welcome Faith Hunter to the blog! Faith is the author of one of my favorite series, Jane Yellowrock. She’s here to discuss Jane, one of the most badass heroines around, in addition to answering some other burning questions about the Yellowrock world. Please join me in welcoming Faith and don’t forget to check out the BLOOD TRADE giveaway!
Q & A with Faith Hunter
1. How and where did you “meet” Jane Yellowrock?
I was sitting with [fellow urban fantasy author] Kim Harrison and we were exploring the idea of new books and series and I bounced this new voice off of her. Then I read the first Temple Grandin book and I was hooked on the animal brain as opposed to the human brain versions. And I began to remember the old Tarzan movies. You know, “Me Tarzan. You Jane.” And between the two events, Jane was born, with her Beast inside her.
2. Jane is tall and badass. Was there anyone you use to picture her?
Rhona Mitra. I’d love to see her do Jane in a feature for TV. Not that it is in the works. But I’d still love it!
3. What about Rick LaFleur is attractive to Jane?
Rick understands Jane, especially now that he’s got a cat (of sorts) of his own. Rick fights crime and understands the fact that Jane does so, as well, even if she is going about it via different route. They have a lot in common, like I said, especially now.
4. Jane’s a Christian and unashamed of that, yet not preachy or confrontational about her faith. Has that been a problem for readers?
My answer to this question has changed in the last weeks. Angry people, wounded people, un-self-confident people are always going to find something in a character (or in her writer) to hate. Some of them will become verbal bullies, who use the internet to hurt others. So yes, I’ve been blasted about religion by people who hate Christianity, even though Jane is non-confrontational, nonjudgmental, non-preachy. She is searching for her past & her Cherokee spirituality, and trying to find ways to become whole, much like many in the Eastern Cherokee band has done. I think her religion (both Christian and her Cherokee spirituality) is one reason the publisher didn’t think the series would sell well. I was told that, “No one thought these books would sell.” (rolls eyes) But actually sales are still climbing, and I get fan mail thanking me for making Jane searching, fallible, spiritually open to new experiences.
5. Jane is a skinwalker, and of Cherokee heritage. How much research into Indian culture and mythos did you do?
I am still researching! There are many different Cherokee tales of the dark beings in life, from the liver eater to the stone finger, from Skinwalkers to witches. Most of the worst dark creatures are depicted as evil beings who kill and eat humans. But the oldest, pre-Christian, pre-white man Cherokee stories tell of skinwalkers being the protectors and warriors, and that is who and what I wanted Jane to be. I started with the good stories and built my world and character around them, with evil stories as warnings of her possible future.
***
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: Blood Trade Jane (Yellowrock #6)
AUTHOR: Faith Hunter
PUBLISHER: Roc
PUBLICATION DATE: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 0451465067
PURCHASE BOOK:
Amazon | B & N | Book Depository
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who’s always up for a fight—even if it means putting her life on the line…
The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.
But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care.
About the Author
Faith Hunter, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. The Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock is taking off like a rocket withSkinwalker, Blood Cross, Mercy Blade, Raven Cursed, Death’s Rival and Blood Trade. Her Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban fantasy series—Bloodring, Seraphs, and Host—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality, urban fantasy world. These novels are the basis for the role playing game, Rogue Mage.
Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 20+ books in print in 28 countries.
Hunter fell in love with reading in fifth grade, and best loved SiFi, fantasy, and gothic. She decided to become a writer in high school, when a teacher told her she had talent. Now, she writes full-time and works full-time in a hospital lab, (for the benefits) tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their dogs to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.
Please visit FAITH at her favorite spots:
WEBSITE | GOODREADS | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
As a big Jane Yellowrock fan, I’m excited to participate in the BLOOD TRADE Blog Tour. This is the sixth book in the Yellowrock series by the wonderful Faith Hunter. The series is one of my auto-buys and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in strong and complex female characters, dynamic world-building, and exciting action. I love Jane Yellowrock as a heroine. She continues to grow over the course of the series; she’s flawed and complex with a unique relationship to her other half – Beast – the mountain lion who inhabits are part of her and into whose form she can shift. This is great series. Take a look at the excerpt below and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
BLOOD TRADE EXCERPT
“I’m depressed,” I murmured into the wind, trying the words on for size. Yeah. Depressed. I felt a shadow lift off me just admitting it to myself.
I knew why I was depressed. I’d screwed up so bad, so often, in the past year that I’d lost friends, lovers, and, well, that was enough. Wasn’t it? Now that I knew what was wrong, I could do something about it. If I could figure out what to do. This moodiness was uncharted territory.
Letting that thought simmer on the back burner of my mind, I wended my way through the city, heading uptown, which meant upriver, as everything in New Orleans was about the Mississippi River—uptown was upstream; downtown was downstream (something new I’d learned about the city that was my temporary home). I needed to cross the river, and though I could have taken the newer Crescent City Connection, part of I-90, I took the older, narrow, dangerous, two-lane hell of the Huey P. Long Bridge. I liked the old bridge, maybe because it was so dangerous; it had character, like an old noir film, a bridge leading out of the Land of Shangri-La.
On the other side of the Mississippi, I headed through Westwego and then vaguely west, like the town’s name suggested. Unsurprisingly, I found myself headed to Aggie One Feather’s place, adjacent to the John Lafitte Preserve, a wilderness area where the Cherokee elder who was my personal shaman—and probably my personal counselor too, now that I knew my emotional state—lived. But I could tell that she was still out of town. No car in the drive, shades pulled, no smell on the still air of coffee or bacon cooking, and the sweathouse out back had no smoke seeping from the chimney.
I slowed to a stop and set my boot soles on the shell-based asphalt, thinking about going into the sweathouse by myself, but I’d had some difficult experiences going it alone in there and wasn’t ready to try that again, even with the depression to motivate me. Even though I had some really heavy stuff to deal with. And so did my Beast.
I thought about the mountain lion soul who lived inside me, but she was still asleep, curled into a tight ball, her nose under her long, thick tail. She had been sleeping a lot lately, angry because I wasn’t letting her out to hunt—because I was afraid she’d do something stupid, like track down the vampire Master of the City, roll over and show him her belly, and then lick his feet. My fear was caused by a silver chain that no one but Beast and I could see. It was in the place in my mind that Aggie One Feather called my soul home, and the chain was some kind of binding that curled from Beast’s leg across the floor to a shadow in the corner of my mind, a shadow that was Leo Pellissier, the Master of the City of New Orleans and the entire Southeast USA, with the exception of Florida. Leo was the biggest, baddest fanghead I’d ever met. He was also my boss, for now, because I couldn’t actually get away, or not for long, and Leo knew nothing about the magical binding that kept me in New Orleans, because it had been accidental. I was not about to let the MOC discover how deeply I was tied to him. The vamp was like the left hand of the devil and would use and abuse the binding to get his way in everything. Ev-ery-thing. Like me in his bed and as his dinner, and I’d stake him before I let that happen—and suffer the consequences. Heck, I’d stake myself before I let that happen. Yeah. I had lots to be depressed about. Beast’s little problem was at the top of my list.
To read the full first chapter: http://www.faithhunter.net/wp/2013/02/27/blood-trade-excerpt-chapter-one/
***
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: Blood Trade Jane (Yellowrock #6)
AUTHOR: Faith Hunter
PUBLISHER: Roc
PUBLICATION DATE: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 0451465067
PURCHASE BOOK:
Amazon | B & N | Book Depository
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
Jane Yellowrock is a shape-shifting skinwalker who’s always up for a fight—even if it means putting her life on the line…
The Master of Natchez, Mississippi has a nasty problem on his hands. Rogue vampires—those who follow the Naturaleza and believe that humans should be nothing more than prey to be hunted—are terrorizing his city. Luckily, he knows the perfect skinwalker to call in to take back the streets.
But what he doesn’t tell Jane is that there’s something different about these vamps. Something that makes them harder to kill—even for a pro like Jane. Now, her simple job has turned into a fight to stay alive…and to protect the desperately ill child left in her care.
About the Author
Faith Hunter, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. The Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock is taking off like a rocket withSkinwalker, Blood Cross, Mercy Blade, Raven Cursed, Death’s Rival and Blood Trade. Her Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban fantasy series—Bloodring, Seraphs, and Host—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality, urban fantasy world. These novels are the basis for the role playing game, Rogue Mage.
Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 20+ books in print in 28 countries.
Hunter fell in love with reading in fifth grade, and best loved SiFi, fantasy, and gothic. She decided to become a writer in high school, when a teacher told her she had talent. Now, she writes full-time and works full-time in a hospital lab, (for the benefits) tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their dogs to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.
Please visit FAITH at her favorite spots:
WEBSITE | GOODREADS | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
In no order whatsoever, here’s my list of most anticipated reads for 2013!
MERCY THOMPSON SERIES, Book #7
FROST BURNED by Patricia Briggs
This is by far my most anticipated book for 2013. The Mercy Thompson series is aces, the bee’s knees, the best thing since sliced bread and HBO original series. Mercy’s world is filled with complex characters, thoughtful world-building, and a feisty, intelligent heroine who sets a pretty high standard for the genre as a whole. This one is due out on MARCH 5, 2013.
CARNIEPUNK Anthology
I don’t even know where to begin with this one. The list of contributing authors is phenomenal. So much talent in one place…and when you throw in the magical world of the traveling carnival? Well, I can’t wait to see where these authors take us. The publication date is set for JULY 30, 2013.
BLUD SERIES, Book #2
WICKED AS SHE WANTS by Delilah S. Dawson
I read the first book in Dawson’s Blud series, WICKED AS THEY COME, earlier this year and was immediately drawn into her highly original world of romance and adventure, where bunnies are ravenous blood suckers, blood is money, and a traveling carnival leader can easily steal your heart. The world-building in this series is very original – magical and macabre, and with such a sense of dark whimsy that it makes you smile while also creeping you out just a touch. If this world could be captured on film, it would be directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet or Terry Gilliam. The publication date is set for APRIL 30, 2013.
ARCADIA BELL SERIES, Book #3
BINDING THE SHADOWS by Jenn Bennett
This is a great UF series with a wonderful heroine – Arcadia Bell. There are so many things that make this series unique – the love interest, Lon Butler, is a sexy 20 years older, divorced and with an adorable teenaged son named Jupe, the magic system is original and complex, and Bennett has a knack for creating wonderful moments between Cady, Lon, and Jupe that sing with the sort of authenticity that is usually only found at your own dinner table. The expected publication date is MAY 28, 2013.
JANE YELLOWROCK SERIES, BOOK #6
I’ve waxed poetic on this series a million times. Jane is tough as nails. She has a mysterious past that even she is only beginning to understand. I love the action in this series coupled with the slow revelations in the overall story arc. I love the supporting cast of characters. I. Love. This. Series. Adding this to my list of most anticipated reads is a no brainer. The expected release date is APRIL 2, 2013.
PENTON LEGACY SERIES, BOOK #3
Ok, this is one of my favorite new series this year. I loved the world Sandlin created with Penton, Alabama, an enclave of vampires living peacefully with their human familiars. Something about this tight knit crew of vamps just took hold of me and wouldn’t let me go. My favorite in the series is ABSOLUTION which features Mirren, the ultimate alpha male vampire. This next installment centers on Will, who really is kind of the source of the trouble raining down on Penton, so it’s only fitting that the third book in the trilogy features his story. The expected release date is FEBRUARY 5, 2013.
SENTINELS OF NEW ORLEANS SERIES, BOOK #3
ELYSIAN FIELDS by Suzanne Johnson
Speaking of Susannah Sandlin (who also happens to be Suzanne Johnson) and a great new series, let’s talk about the Sentinels of New Orleans. This is another of my favorite new series in 2012. I really enjoyed ROYAL STREET (#1), and just recently finished RIVER ROAD (#2). Mind = blown. Loved, loved, loved RIVER ROAD (review will post soon). Where to begin? DJ is a fantastically relatable heroine who throws potions instead of punches, there is a great love triangle that had me switching allegiances by book two, the world-building is wonderfully done, New Orleans isn’t just a backdrop, it’s a character, and the police procedural feel of RIVER ROAD had me hooked. Waiting with bated breath for this one to release! The expected publication date is AUGUST 13, 2013.
JESSICA MCCLAIN SERIES, BOOK #2
The first book in the Jessica McClain series, FULL BLOODED, was one of my favorites this year. Plus, it’s one kickass werewolf book. I loved the werewolf mythology that Carlson created. She also gave us an ending that left you reaching for the next book in the series only to find it wasn’t being released until APRIL 23, 2013. Well, dang.
SOOKIE STACKHOUSE SERIES, BOOK #13
DEAD EVER AFTER by Charlaine Harris
I have a soft spot for these books. This really was the series that brought me back into the paranormal fold. And it pains me to admit this but it lost me about two books back. Honestly, I can’t stay away from Sookie too long. With book 13, Harris is finishing Sookie’s story and I have to be there to say goodbye. I plan to catch up in time to enjoy this one with everyone else. The expected publication date is MAY 7, 2013.
FINISHING SCHOOL SERIES, #1
ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE by Gail Carriger
A book set 25 years before the start of the Parasol Protectorate and in the same world? Gail Carriger? Um, yes. I really want to read this one. The expected publication date is FEBRUARY 5, 2013.
This list could go on and on and on…but I’ll stop here.
What books are you looking forward to reading in 2013?
(Click the banner to see what other blogs are participating in the tour!)
I don’t think it’s a secret that around here at She-Wolf Reads that there is some serious Jane Yellowrock/Faith Hunter love. This series is one of my all time favorites. I first learned about it from a short story called Signatures of the Dead in the Strange Brew anthology. I read it on a plane to New Orleans and fell in love. When I landed and got to the hotel, I immediately downloaded Skinwalker, the first book in the series. And so began a love affair with all things Yellowrock. I could go on and on about how much I love the worldbuilding, the multilayered heroine who is continuously discovering new clues to her past, or the unique and complicated relationship between Jane and Beast…but really, I wouldn’t do it justice. So, as part of the Death’s Rival Blog Tour, I’m posting an excerpt from this latest installment in the Yellowrock series. Read it and let me know what you think. If you haven’t picked up a book in this series, consider doing so. You won’t be disappointed.
And to show how much I sincerely love this series I’m offering a giveaway – any book in the Jane Yellowrock world. If you haven’t read it, here’s your chance. If you need to catch up before the release of Death’s Rival, well, here’s the opportunity to get a book closer. Enter the giveaway at the end of the post!
DEATH’S RIVAL EXCERPT
I parked in the shell drive, turned off the growling bike, and unhelmeted. As Aggie watched, I began removing my weapons, stashing them in Bitsa’s bags. Guns, blades, stakes. The cross in the lead-lined pouch. Everything. Nothing that might be considered a weapon could be brought into an elder’s house. I filled up one saddlebag and started on the other.
Paper crinkled in the bottom and I dug out a white paper bag. I had bought Aggie and her mother gifts while I was in the mountains, and left them in the bag in my bike. I closed the lid of the saddlebag, feeling the witchy-lock tingle under my fingertips as it activated. A thief would get a nasty shock if he tried to steal Bitsa. Carrying the small white paper bag, I crunched across the shells, my boots falling silent on the grass. I smiled down at Aggie, her face unlined, her black hair pushed back behind her ears. She had cut it into a pageboy that just brushed her shoulders, and it glistened like liquid onyx in the sun.
Aggie wasn’t surprised to see me. But then, little really surprises Aggie. She’s like a leaf on the surface of a stream, floating along in the eddies, sliding across rapids, untouched by it all, and serene. “I have no idea what that kind of serenity might feel like, Lisi.” It wasn’t what I had planned to come out of my mouth, and I rattled the bag to take attention away from my words. “I come bearing gifts.”
“You are covered in dried blood. Are you injured?” she asked.
I touched my shirt, crusted through with blood. “No. Not mine. And no one else is hurt either.” At her disbelieving expression, I added, “Some vamps tried to bite me last night.” Which was true. I just didn’t add the part about them being successful.
“Are they dead?” she asked.
“Not any more than they were before they tried.”
Aggie’s mouth twisted into what might be the start of a smile or a grimace, and tilted her head in acceptance. “Come inside. My mother asked to see you this morning when she woke.”
“Uh. Sure.” But Aggie’s mother scared me witless. Uni Lisi, grandmother of many children, a term of respect, was an old woman who saw too much sometimes. I followed Aggie into the house, feeling like a lumbering giant next to her petite grace. “Wait here,” she said, pointing to the living room. Inside, the windows were thrown open and bees bounced at the screens. The small living room was spotless, floral fabric on the sofa and chair, a brown recliner, a new wide-screen TV, a rug I hadn’t seen before on the floor, and on a side table, a bowl of potpourri flavored the air with dried herbs and synthetic scent. A feral hiss brought me up short. A huge tabby cat lay curled on the cushions of a well-used old rocker. She stared at me with wide green eyes. I stared back, Beast rising inside. The cat drew her paws beneath her, the body language saying she was ready to run or fight. Her hair bristled and she showed me her teeth. Cats don’t like me. Never have.
***
Please check out my interview with Faith on Jane Yellowrock and the Alpha Female.
Death’s Rival (Jane Yellowrock #5) by Faith Hunter
Jane Yellowrock, Book 5 – October 2, 2012 Release Date
You can find DEATH’S RIVAL at:
AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
ABOUT DEATH’S RIVAL:
Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…
For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to …a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane.
But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey. Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.
The Jane Yellowrock Giveaway
About the Author
Faith Hunter, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. The Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock is taking off like a rocket with Skinwalker, Blood Cross, Mercy Blade, Raven Cursed, and Death’s Rival. Her Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban fantasy series—Bloodring, Seraphs, and Host—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality, urban fantasy world. These novels are the basis for the role playing game, Rogue Mage(2012).
Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 20+ books in print in 28 countries.
Hunter fell in love with reading in fifth grade, and best loved SiFi, fantasy, and gothic. She decided to become a writer in high school, when a teacher told her she had talent. Now, she writes full-time and works full-time in a hospital lab, (for the benefits) tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their dogs to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.
Please visit FAITH at her favorite spots:
WEBSITE | GOODREADS | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
{We now interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for a fangirl moment}
I love Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series. I love it. I love its world of vampires and shifters, its Native American mythology, steamy streets of New Orleans, and mountains of North Carolina; I love that Jane is tough as nails but also quite vulnerable; I love that her past is mysterious and full of a pain we have yet to discover the true depths of. This series – this author – is an auto buy for me. Can you tell I like these books? So, of course, I was geeked to take part in the Death’s Rival blog tour. Here is a Q&A with Faith as she discusses writing, Jane, and what makes a good heroine. And stay tuned at the end of the Q&A…there’s a giveaway for the newly released ebook, Have Stakes, Will Travel, a book of short stories in the Jane Yellowrock universe.
{Please excuse the interruption. Now back to your program!}
Faith Hunter Q&A
Jane Yellowrock, Book 1
Tell us about Jane Yellowrock’s voice and Beast’s voice. How did you find them?
I’ve always heard voices. The story-telling voices not the other kind. Well, maybe the other kind too. Anyway, I was sitting with Kim Harrison and we were exploring the idea of new books and series and I bounced Jane off of her. Then I read the first Temple Grandin book and I was hooked on the animal brain as opposed to the human brain versions. And I began to remember the old Tarzan movies. You know, Me Tarzan. You Jane.
Jane is a really complex character, and not only because of her coexistence with Beast.
Their voices are not easy, because to me, Jane is like one of those faceted crystal prism balls. When you hold it up to look inside, it looks transparent, but it also bends light around in strange and wonderful ways. It’s clear, but throws off rainbow hues. Jane is like that. Violent, broken, tender, loving, giving, solitary. She is a Cherokee Skinwalker—possibly the last of her kind. She is a modern woman. She is a warrior woman who accidentally did black magic once, very long ago, and now has the soul of a mountain lion inside with her, and that panther has her own voice, too. Jane is … complicated, partially because her own history is lost to her in a version of traumatic, protective amnesia that left her isolated from everyone. I thought that as I wrote the series, she would unravel tome, become an open book (koff-koff). Instead, it seems she is growing more complicated! Her love life is growing more complicated…
Beast’s voice was even more difficult because Beast started out with an animal brain and learned the concept of language from Jane—a traumatized child whose spirit (at that time) was trapped inside Beast. Then, when Beast/Jane shifted into human again and were discovered by park rangers, Beast had the opportunity to hide in silence in Jane’s brain and learn about human society and language. This made her voice primitive, and language skills nascent at best, and her understanding of social skills … well, let’s be kind and call them minimalistic. (writer rolls eyes)
I noticed that your Rogue Mage and Yellowrock books use first person Point Of View. Is that a favorite? Do you always use 1st person?
Jane Yellowrock, Book 2
As Gary Hunter, Gwen Hunter, and now Faith Hunter, I’ve written in 1st POV and 3rd. First offers an immediacy that 3rd doesn’t. So yes, I like first. But I have a new series to pitch, a spinoff of the Jane Yellowrock series, and I’ll use 3rd.
There is an immediacy a writer achieves in first person POV, and an intense suspense. It isn’t impossible to achieve immediacy, intensity, and suspense in limited third person, but it is harder. The advantages of first person POV are feeling what the character feels with a closeness not as easy to attain in third, and knowing exactly what the character knows. The biggest disadvantage is knowing only what the character knows. Sometimes a writer needs to let the reader know something that the character doesn’t and there is no way to tell or show this info. And worse, sometimes a writer needs to keep something from the reader to build suspense, and it comes across cheesy to not tell. This is much easier to achieve in limited third. So both POVs have positives and negatives in the usage. A writer has to decide which to use, and then not get wishy-washy.
Jane Yellowrock, Book 3
How and where did you “meet” Jane Yellowrock?
My answer is going to make me sound like I need lots of pricy meds and my own straightjacket. I’ve always heard voices. See? What’d I tell you? But I mean the story-telling voices not the other kind. Well, maybe the other kind too.
Anyway, I was sitting with [fellow urban fantasy author] Kim Harrison and we were exploring the idea of new books and series and I bounced this new voice off of her. Then I read the first Temple Grandin book and I was hooked on the animal brain as opposed to the human brain versions. And I began to remember the old Tarzan movies. You know, “Me Tarzan. You Jane.” And between the two events, Jane was born, with her Beast inside her.
Why does Jane have so much guilt and angst?
That gets revealed in Death’s Rival! And all I can say is that it surprised the heck outta me!
Jane Yellowrock, Book 4
Which 4 characteristics should a perfect heroine have in your opinion? And do you think Jane fits this description?
Wow. Really good question.
i. She should be strong. Readers want to read about someone who can do what they can’t do, but want to do. Like kick bad-guy butt.
ii. She should be broken. Readers like to see characters who have flaws, problems, empty or dark places in their souls, people who make do and push through the darkness no matter what. Life is hard. If a broken character can do it and find joy, then maybe I can too. I think that’s why I write broken characters. I’m broken. Healing, but broken.
iii. She should be tender. A character who is too hard is boring. A robot. A character has to care for someone. Otherwise she’s just a psycho killing machine. Something has to make her weep.
iv. She should be capable of love, even though she fears it. She should be willing to step out and try love. Even though she’s scared.
And yes. Jane is all that. She is Beast-strong. Broken by her past and the years she lived away from humans in her Beast body. She loves Angie Baby and Molly, her godchild and best friend. She wants to love. Even though it hurts.
Who is the writer or what is the book that has had the most influence on your development as a writer?
JANE YELLOWROCK NEW RELEASES
Jane Yellowrock, Book 5 – October 5, 2012 Release Date
Order your copy at the following links:
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
Speclal ebook from the Jane Yellowrock world, September 5th 2012
Order your copy at the following links:
JANE YELLOWROCK GIVEAWAY
About the Author
Faith Hunter, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. The Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock is taking off like a rocket with Skinwalker, Blood Cross, Mercy Blade, Raven Cursed, and Death’s Rival. Her Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban fantasy series—Bloodring, Seraphs, and Host—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality, urban fantasy world. These novels are the basis for the role playing game, Rogue Mage (2012).
Under the pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action-adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 20+ books in print in 28 countries.
Hunter fell in love with reading in fifth grade, and best loved SiFi, fantasy, and gothic. She decided to become a writer in high school, when a teacher told her she had talent. Now, she writes full-time and works full-time in a hospital lab, (for the benefits) tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their dogs to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.
Please visit Faith at her favorite spots:
Hosted by:
Nocturne Romance Reads and Fade into Fantasy
When presented with the idea of discussing the Alpha-Female in any genre of book, the first character that came to mind was Jane Yellowrock of Faith Hunter’s Skinwalker series. She is, hands down, one of the toughest heroines I’ve come across in urban fantasy. There is a line from the film Tombstone that reminds me of Jane. When asked why he would risk death to help a friend, Doc Holliday says:
Doc Holliday: Because Wyatt Earp is my friend.
Jack Johnson: Friend? Hell, I got lots of friends.
Doc Holliday: …I don’t.
Jane reminds me of Doc. She doesn’t have many friends, but those she does have, she’ll lay down her life, face anything, to help them. She’ll do the same to protect an innocent and to do her job. She is tough, with moments of vulnerability. She is a total kick-ass, alpha female heroine and I am, for lack of a more eloquent word, GEEKED to have Faith Hunter here on the blog to discuss Jane Yellowrock and the Alpha-Female.
Please welcome Faith Hunter!
SWR: Define Alpha-Female. In what ways, if any, is she different from the Alpha-Male?
The latest Jane Yellowrock book to be published in October 2012.
The alphas of any gender have to be able to handle physical crises and attack, deal with long term strategy and consequences, and be tough no matter what they are up against. If they grieve, hurt, or cry, they have to do it while alone, when no one can see. But the female alpha? She has to be able to do so much more than the alpha male—you know, twice the work to be considered half as good. (rolls eyes) The alpha female has to look good while doing all her jobs, be able to use her sex as one weapon in her arsenal, and defeat the opponents. She also has to wow the bad guys, the good guys, and the readers, and she has to do all this without coming across as a snooty bitch or an unfeeling bitch. She has to be warm, gentle, and kind as well as know how and when to kickass. That’s hard to do! Go Alpha females!
I think the difference between the male and female alpha goes back to that WOW factor. Females have to have a softer side, a sexy side, they have to be vulnerable on some level, even if the only person to see that side is the reader.
My favorite alpha male is Jack Reacher of the Lee Childe novels. Reacher is tough as nails, totally self-contained, and self-reliant, but he isn’t pretty, and he doesn’t have to be. Jane Yellowrock, while not a traditional beauty, is striking and all woman. She has cool clothes, even if they are limited in number, and kickass boots.
SWR: What was your inspiration in creating the character of Jane Yellowrock?
I think that broken women make the best characters and the strongest women, even in real life. Women who have survived things that would destroy others can and will stand up and fight; they don’t run away, because they know who they are and where their strength comes from. So the first criteria for Jane was that she be broken. The second criteria was that she not know how or when she was broken. I wanted a character who had lost part of her life, part of her past, and who would unfold before me, reveal herself to me, like a new friend who tells snippets of her life. The third criteria for Jane was her Cherokee nature. I had just discovered that I was about 20% black, and over 40% mixed American Indian—Cherokee and Choctaw. I was on a road to self-discovery and Jane became part of that!
SWR: Do you consider her an alpha-female, and, if so, in what ways is she an alpha?
Jane Yellowrock is gutsy, never runs away from a fight (even when she probably should), and defends the innocent. She is soft in her love of, and protective instincts toward, children. She can kick anyone’s butt. And she is tall, dark, and striking in appearance. Also, she is evolving and growing. I think all really good alphas have to move forward in their thinking and their lives or they just get boring.
SWR: Some people would argue that the alpha female has no instinct for nurturing. This is not true in Jane’s case since she shows real nurturing instincts towards Molly’s children. Do you think “nurture” and “alpha female” are mutually exclusive?
When I first was writing Jane, I knew something was wrong with her. She was not clicking with me and I didn’t know why she was wasn’t, so I asked Kim Harrison’s hubby, Guy, to read the first 100 pages. He didn’t want to tell me, but he found her too hard, too cold, too unfeeling. So I introduced the character Molly, who is antithetical to Jane in nearly every way. Molly is an earth witch with a husband, two kids, a house in the country with a huge garden, a half dozen sisters, and is Jane’s best friend. Molly bakes bread! Molly cooks! Molly nurtures! All the things Jane can’t or won’t do, or be. And Molly’s children are Jane’s godchildren, the one way that Jane has for being soft and gentle. Once I added a softer side to Jane, I liked her. A lot!
SWR: What role does sexuality play in the alpha-female persona of Jane Yellowrock?
Jane and Beast are on two different sides when it comes to a love life. Beast is the soul of a mountain lion that Jane drew inside her by error, in an accidental act of black magic, when Jane was five years old and fighting for her life. Beast wants strong alpha males as her mate and as Jane’s mate. The biggest, baddest of them all? Beast wants. And in multiples if possible. Beast is a cat. In many ways, she just wants to play.
But Jane was raised (in this current life) in a Christian Children’s home and she is, unconsciously, looking for the white picket fence, 2.5 kids, husband, dog, and cat—which, if she really looked at that versus her nature, would and should send her running to the hills. (grins) We all want things that are not in our natures, or that would not be good for us, and we have to learn and accept who we are and what is really good for us as we grow. Jane is learning that her not being human means that her dreams have to change. And that is hard. Jane is having to merge the needs and wants of her two, very different, personalities and a past that sets her apart form others.
SWR: How does Jane’s alpha nature impact her choice of mate/lover/partner? What does an alpha female need with regards to a romantic partner – a beta or another alpha?
Frankly, I don’t think Jane knows what she needs yet. I think she is secretly afraid of sharing her space with an alpha male, and does things that jinx any relationship that might have a chance of really going somewhere. I think her needs and wants will change as she continues to be part of the New Orleans’ vampire society, with all the benefits and horrors that might bring. In the end, I think she will take a man (being?) who can see her for what she really is, one who accepts her, is tender toward her, and treats her gently even when she may not deserve it. A male who will let her stand on her own two feet, fight her own demons, and yet support her when she needs it. Passion and friendship. Hard to find in the real world. Just as hard to find in Jane’s world.
SWR: Alpha Female has almost become synonymous with “bitch.” Why do you think that’s true? And do you think this is true for Jane and how she is perceived in her world?
I think we as writers have forgotten what I forgot early on, what Kim’s Guy told me. Every character has to have something soft and caring about them to make them interesting. They have to have something (s) to grow through, and other characters to love. We writers are creating characters who rely on snark and fists, and that is both bitchy and boring. I’ve put down several books lately where characters have no inner strength or tenderness, and are just mouth and weapons. It takes more.
In her own world, Jane hides who and what she is, and protects that broken, bleeding part of her soul. So yes, a lot of her men think she is a bitch a lot of the time, but she is learning to let some of her men into her life. I’m having fun with that!
SWR: Who are some of your favorite alpha-female characters?
To name just a very few:
Joanne Walker of the Walker Papers by CE Murphy.
Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan
Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson
All of Ilona Andrews’ characters (male and female)
Kalayna Prices’ Alex Craft (a newcomer to UF field and I adore her!)
SWR: Is there anything else you would like to add about Jane and the Alpha Female?
Thanks to all the alpha fans out there! You promote my books to your friends and on FB, Twitter, and other social media. That is what keeps writers in print. You make it happen. You have the power.
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The Skinwalker series is one of my favorite all time UF series. If you have not read it, save yourself and purchase the books here. You won’t be disappointed.
Faith loves her fans and she wants to hear from you. Please stop by and visit her at her favorite spots:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS
About the Author:
Faith Hunter writes dark urban fantasy: Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock with Skinwalker, Blood Cross, and Mercy Blade, and Raven Cursed. Her Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban fantasy series—Bloodring, Seraphs, and Host—feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality.
Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine and it highlights our most highly anticipated releases. Click the button above to learn how to join in on the fun.
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If you have not read anything in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter, please remedy that by going straight to your local bookstore and purchasing Skinwalker, Jane Yellowrock Book #1 . You have until October 2, 2012, when the latest installment, Death’s Rival, is released, to catch up and read the other books in the series. That’s all I can say. No more words. Read these books.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
Jane Yellowrock is a shapeshifting skinwalker you don’t want to cross—especially if you’re one of the undead…
For a vampire killer like Jane, having Leo Pellisier as a boss took some getting used to. But now, someone is out to take his place as Master Vampire of the city of New Orleans, and is not afraid to go through Jane to do it. After an attack that’s tantamount to …a war declaration, Leo knows his rival is both powerful and vicious, but Leo’s not about to run scared. After all, he has Jane.
But then, a plague strikes, one that takes down vampires and makes their masters easy prey. Now, to uncover the identity of the vamp who wants Leo’s territory, and to find the cause of the vamp-plague, Jane will have to go to extremes…and maybe even to war.
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What new releases are you waiting on?
I am an avid UF/PNR fan and I will read anything that catches my interest. Strong likeable characters, interesting world-building, and unique takes on supernatural regulars are what keep me coming back to a particular series for more. However, as a woman of color, I sometimes get tired of seeing the same types of characters in my UF books – usually Caucasian women in worlds built around a European mythology. I’d love to sometimes read about strong heroines that reflect the diversity I see in the mirror and in the world around me. So I decided to put together a list of my top five series I feel illustrate that diversity.
1. JANE YELLOWROCK SERIES by FAITH HUNTER
Jane Yellowrock is probably my favorite UF heroine. She is a Native American skinwalker, someone who can shift into just about anything she wants but prefers changing into “Beast,” her Mountain Lion alter ego. Jane’s past is a bit of a mystery and Hunter does a good job of slowly revealing pieces of it over the course of the series. The Jane Yellowrock books are recommended for anyone who likes their UF full of action, led by a kick ass alpha female heroine who is smart, confident, and can hold her own when making tea and killing vampires.
First Book in Series: Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, #1)
2. MERCEDES THOMPSON by PATRICIA BRIGGS
The Mercedes Thompson series is pretty much an auto-buy for me. Mercedes is part-Native American and she believes she is a skinwalker because she can shift into a coyote. However, over the course of the series she learns more about her past, her father, and her heritage. Raised within the North American Werewolf Pack, she is pretty much part of the werewolf family and struggles within a romantic triangle between the two wolves she cares about. Mercedes is small but scrappy, smart and caring, and gets into all kinds of trouble but usually because she is trying to help out a friend.
First Book in Series: Moon Called (Mercedes Thompson, #1)
3. KIRA SOLOMON by SERESSIA GLASS
This is a really interesting series. Glass takes from Egyptian and West African mythology and creates a world that is very unique in the UF genre. Set in a supernatural Atlanta, the main character, Kira Solomon, is a Shadowchaser. She hunts down beings from the Shadow of Chaos who threaten our world. Kira is a very lonely character given her unique ability (or curse) to draw energy, memories, and emotions from anybody she touches. As a result, she can’t touch anyone she cares for without hurting them – a power similar to Rogue from the X-Men. Enter Khefar, a Nubian warrior with a curse of his own, and there is nice romantic tension in this series coupled with some cool action scenes.
First Book in Series: Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers, #1)
4. LILY YU by EILEEN WILKS
I’ve only read the first one in this series but I enjoyed it. Lily Yu is a San Diego cop investigating a murder that seems to have been committed by a werewolf. During the course of the investigation she gets close to her prime suspect, Rule Turner, who is a member of werewolf royalty. Lily has her own supernatural abilities that help lead her deeper into city’s supernatural community. Great romantic tension and a good murder mystery make this a recommended read. I hope in later books Wilks might introduce some Asian mythology based on Lily’s Chinese ancestry, particularly through the character of her grandmother who has a pretty cool ability herself.
First Book in Series: Tempting Danger (World of the Lupi, #1)
5. MILAGRO DE LOS SANTOS by MARTA ACOSTA
This was a fun read. I started this series not too long ago and I’m interested in seeing what craziness happens to Milagro in the next books! A smart and sassy Latina heroine that would be besties with Carrie Bradshaw, coupled with a new twist on the vampire mythology, and you have a fun paranormal romance that shows a lot of promise.
First Book in Series: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula (Casa Dracula #1)
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Tell me, what UF/PNR series do you recommend that show some diversity in their characters and mythology?
Happy Reading!
