GCC Tour - Jackie Kessler

I'm back! San Francisco was just as dreamy as expected and the RWA convention was a whole lot of fun. I got to meet in person so many wonderful writer compadres who, up until now, have just been pixels on my laptop screen. I'll write more on the RWA soon, but one thing I kept hearing over and over is that paranormal romance (romance with otherworldly features: from ghosts to vampires, devils to shapeshifters) is really hot at the moment.

Jackie Kessler - one of the Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit sisterhood - is proving to be a rising star in this hot domain of paranormal romance. And, as if proof of this pudding, her new book is titled Hotter than Hell.

I toured Jackie last year with her book, The Road to Hell, which was the second in her Hell on Earth Series. Hotter than Hell is number three in the same series. According to the Romantic Times (which voted the book a top pick), Hotter than Hell is packed with "quirky characters" and has a "spicy, fast paced plot and witty dialogue."

Here's the full blurb:

In HELL’S BELLES and THE ROAD TO HELL, Jackie Kessler brought readers into an unforgettable Underworld populated by alluring demons and sexy devils. Now Daunuan, the most irresistible incubus of all, is facing one Hell of a challenge...

So whose soul do you have to damn to get a promotion around here?

Daunuan was never the ambitious type. There's so much to love about his job just the way it is—mind-blowing sexual prowess, the power to seduce any human, excellent dental plan. But now Pan, the King of Lust, has offered to make Daun his right-hand incubus—a position other demons would give their left horn for. All he has to do is entice a soul destined for heaven into a damnable act of lust. Should take, oh, seven minutes, tops.

Then he meets his target, Virginia Reed. She’s cute. Funny. Smart. Unfathomably resistant to his charms. He can’t understand it. But Daun has centuries of seduction to his credit. He’s the best there is. Sooner or later he’ll transform this polar icecap of a female into a pool of molten desire, and every instinct tells him she’ll be worth the effort.

Meanwhile, he has to deal with a plague of rogue demons Hell-bent on taking him down, sent by an unknown enemy with a serious grudge. And one other problem: the dawning realization that he’s falling in love—that unholiest of four-letter words—with the woman he’s about to doom for all eternity...

Jackie is had two spin off Hell stories in the upcoming anthologies, Lilith Unbound and Red Hot Valentine's Day. She is the co-author of Black and White, a dystopian superhero novel about two superpowered women - once best friends, now on opposite sides of the law. Black and White will be published next summer.

Jackie dropped into answer my usual questions:

When do you write?
Usually, I write first thing in the morning, before my day job, and then at night, when my Precious Little Tax Deductions are sleeping.

Why do you write?
Because there are worlds inside of me. I have to write. I can’t imagine not writing.

Who are your biggest writing influences?

Now: Neil Gaiman, Chris Moore, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, and George RR Martin. When I was growing up: Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, and JRR Tolkien.

Have you got any tips for budding writers?

To paraphrase author Cindy Procter-King (Head Over Heels), there are three things you need to get published: talent, persistence, and timing. While it’s difficult to write to the market, you absolutely can hone your craft and develop a thick skin. Write. No matter what, write. And never be daunted.

When you become the second billionaire through writing (after JK Rowling), what will you do with your life? Will you still write?

Holy cats, absolutely. I’ll write until they pry the keyboard from my cold, dead fingers.

What do you love most about the book you’ve just written/released?

It’s the first time that I wrote in male first person POV—as a horny devil, to boot—and it really made me stretch outside of my comfort zone. It’s the best book I’ve written to date.

I’m a Diet Coke junkie when I write, what do you use for your writing fix?

Chocolate. A lot of it. (My thighs hate me.)

Youtube has a nasty habit of luring me in and stopping me writing! What’s your procrastination vice?

Email and the Internet. And reading. And watching television. And…heh, anything shiny and bright…

What do you do with the kids when you have that “da-ding” moment of inspiration and just need to write? (I slap Bob the Builder in the DVD player)

I dash upstairs, shouting “Be right back!!!” and then I write. And when I’m done, I go look for the kids and hope they aren’t bleeding or have any broken bones. (Mother of the Year, that’s me.)

When Hollywood comes calling and makes a movie of your book, who will play your main characters? And what will you wear to the Oscars?

Ooh. Anyone other than Demi Moore can be Jezebel. (Although lately, I’m thinking Christina Ricci.) And as for Daun…hmm. I just saw The Dark Knight, and let me tell you, Christian Bale is seriously doing it for me. Hee hee hee… As for what I will wear to the Oscars: anything that doesn’t make my thighs look fat. J

Pick up Jackie's new book at Borders or B&N or Amazon or even better, an indie bookstore near you.