[Archive] Guest Web Event with Allison Pang_2.18.12
2/18/2012
Return Guest Web Appearance with:
Allison Pang
Hey there Book Monsters and Literal Addicts! Book Monster Reviews and LITERAL ADDICTION are very pleased to welcome author Allison Pang back to our sites today.
A marine biologist in a former life. Allison turned to a life of crime to finance her wild spending habits and need to collect Faberge eggs. A cat thief of notable repute, she spends her days sleeping and nights scaling walls and wooing dancing boys….Well, at least the marine biology part is true. But she was taloned by a hawk once. She also loves Hello Kitty, sparkly shoes, and gorgeous violinists.
Allison spends her days in Northern Virginia working as a cube grunt and her nights waiting on her kids and cats, punctuated by the occasional husbandly serenade. Sometimes she even manages to write. Mostly she just makes it up as she goes.
Allison is the author of the ABBY SINCLAIR urban fantasy series which currently consists on her first book “A Brush of Darkness”. The second book in the series, “A Sliver of Shadow,” is scheduled to be released on February 28, 2012.
Let’s take a look at what “A Brush of Darkness” is all about:
“A Brush of Darkness”
The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares.
Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.
“A Sliver of Shadow”
Coming 2/28/12
Just when her new life as a TouchStone – a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds – seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate’s away…let’s just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed.
The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faerie is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding eleven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen’s magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she’s making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves.
They sound great right?
For today’s Event, Allison gave us a guest post to share with you all. Let’s get to the post to see what she had to say…
Guest Post by Allison Pang
CONTEST: Allison is offering winner’s choice of “A Brush of Darkness” or “A Sliver of Shadow” to an entrant from LITERAL ADDICTION and an entrant from Book Monster Reviews.
To enter, make sure you’re signed up for the Forum on our Author’s Corner page and leave a comment as a reply to the contest entry thread with your email address.
Entries without email addresses will NOT be eligible.
For another chance to win, go to Book Monster and leave a comment on the post there as well.
Good Luck.
On bacon with Allison Pang…
On Bacon
I had a naked incubus in my bedroom. With a frying pan of half-cooked bacon and a hard-on. And a unicorn bite on his ass. Christ, this was turning out to be a weird morning.
“You look ridiculous,” I mumbled, feeling a strange relief flood through me. Suddenly shy, I drew the sheet up around my shoulders. “I thought maybe you’d left.”
“I thought about it,” he admitted, “but your dreams indicated breakfast was a better choice. Besides, my alternatives are rather limited at the moment.”
“You sure know how to make a girl feel good.” I clutched the sheet a little tighter.
“It’s a gift.”
“Modest too, I see.” I sat up straighter, glancing at the floor to find my clothing, but it was bare. I’d forgotten we’d fallen into my bed, sans undies. I waved my hand at him imperiously. “Go on and cook me my bacon, incubus.”
“Oh, I’ll cook your bacon,” he muttered, ducking back out to the kitchen.
~~ A Brush of Darkness
There is that lovely writer adage called “write what you know.” (Which is mostly true, although as a fiction writer, there’s a certain freedom in writing about what we do NOT know. Though that’s neither here or nor there in today’s post.)
I know about bacon.
I love bacon.
I would eat it every day if I could.
So when I first started writing A Brush of Darkness and I wanted to add a few character quirks to my heroine Abby, it made sense to give her my love of breakfast meats. That’s not to say Abby is a self-insert, any more than any of my characters would be - but she and I definitely share a number of characteristics. (To be honest I never really expected it to be published – it was supposed to be my “learner book” – so I put a ton of inside jokes into it. Many of which are still there. Abby can’t cook either – that’s all me as well.)
The bacon thing was really just a poke at myself. (Although on Twitter I’m apparently known for two things – Hello Kitty…and bacon, so perhaps there’s more to it than I realized.) But it started out as a joke and soon became a character quirk.
On a personal note, I’m not entirely sure there’s any such thing as too much bacon – but in book form, there’s such a thing as taking a joke too far. When I got my first agent, I was asked “What’s up with this bacon thing? There’s too much of it.”
And my agent was right – so I went through the manuscript and took out about 24 references. Now, there’s still a lot of bacon involved in A Brush of Darkness…and to a lesser extent A Sliver of Shadow, but it’s a bit less obnoxious than it was.
As an aside note – if you ever get a chance to eat at Max Brenner, I can’t recommend the “Really Cheesy-Really Crunchy Mac& Cheese with applewood bacon highly enough. (And try the chocolate too…you really can’t go wrong.)
So, readers – what do your favorite characters like to eat? Would you invite them over for dinner?
