PARAPALOOZA - Day 3

Southern Witch series - Quote of the Day:

"Hey, watch those paws. Remember you're not a tabby. With jungle cat strength comes jungle cat responsibilities."

~ Tammy Jo to Mercutio

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Okay, I just adore Kerrelyn Sparks, so expect to see more of her later in the week. For those who don't know, Kerrelyn Sparks writes the fantastic "Love At Stakes" series of humorous vampire romances. And she doesn't just write them great, she writes them fast, often delivering more than one book a year! She's amazing, so I was very interested in hearing about her process. Here's what she had to say on the subject of writing:

"When I've completed a book, I adore writing! When I'm starting a book, I suddenly develop an interest in laundry." ~ Kerrelyn Sparks

(Hee hee hee. I love that quote!)

Kerrelyn went on to admit that she's "a lazy slug" at the beginning of each story because she writes character-driven books, and it takes her time to get to know the characters. "I don't fill out charts or personality profiles for them because that would be too logical," Kerrelyn joked. Instead she lives her life while the characters grow in her head. A book's first hundred pages might take her six weeks to write, but once she knows the characters, she writes faster and faster to the end. The last hundred pages may be written in a week.

As a reader, finding a great writer like Kerrelyn who's prolific is always a treat because don't you always want to say to your favorite author... "Write faster!" I know I do.

And Kerrelyn's not the only person in the Sparks family who has a vision of Kerrelyn's characters. Her daughter did some creating of her own by "vamping up" her Barbie Dolls. Check out the video of Kerrelyn showing off her daughter's handiwork at Vamp Dolls Vid. Also, go visit Kerrelyn's site at www.kerrelynsparks.com

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And speaking of prolific writers whom I adore, let's talk about Annette Blair. When I joined the publisher's author loop (a place where the writers can talk to each other), she was one of the first people to welcome me and has continued to be wonderful and warm to me and to everyone else. She's also fabulously talented. If I had witch powers, I'd pop myself over to the East Coast to have coffee or tea with her because I just know that would be a delightful experience.

My question for Annette: I love it when characters from one series pop up in another unexpectedly. It's a little nod to the author's most loyal fans, who know all the characters that came before. Is it true that you've got some "guest appearances" in your upcoming novels?

"Yes. In my new Works Like Magic novels, my heroes come from parallel places and times. They're magical supernatural ancients who are able to cross into present-day Salem where they can interact with my witches. Melody from The Kitchen Witch shows up in Naked Dragon (1/2010). Kira from My Favorite Witch will show up in Bedeviled Angel (8/2010). Also, Reggie, a minor character from Sex and the Psychic Witch, will be the heroine in the third Works Like Magic novel which is about a time-traveling pirate who comes back to Paxton Island for buried treasure." ~ Annette Blair

Ancient supernatural hunks? Time-traveling pirates? Plus witches? I am SO there!! To visit Annette at her site, go to www.annetteblair.com

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If you'd like to win a signed copy of Barely Bewitched, an autographed copy of Secret Life of a Vampire by NYT-bestselling author Kerrelyn Sparks, and a copy of The Kitchen Witch by bestselling author Annette Blair, please drop by in the comments and answer one or both of the following:

1.) What fictional character would you like to see made into a doll?

OR

2.) If you could take a character from a TV show or movie and drop him (or her) into a different show for a guest appearance who would it be and where would you put him?

(For example, I might like to see Dr. Who drop into an episode of Psych. LOL I crack up just thinking about Gus's reaction to that.)