LRC Featured Author interview with CC Hunter (Born at Midnight)

Thank you C.C. for arranging giveaway and for agreeing to be interviewed. If you review Born at Midnight this month, you will get extra entries for the giveaway. Make sure you are signed up! Loving the Reviews Challenge and Huge Giveaway!
(Bio is from her site)

C.C. Hunter grew up in Alabama, where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and regularly rescued potential princes, in the form of Alabama bullfrogs, from her brothers. Today, she's still fascinated with lightning bugs, mostly wears shoes, but has turned her focus to rescuing mammals. She now lives in Texas with her four rescued cats, one dog, and a prince of a husband, who for the record, is so not a frog. When she's not writing, she's reading, spending time with her family, or is shooting things-with a camera, not a gun.

C.C. Hunter is a pseudonym. Her real name is Christie Craig and she also writes humorous romantic suspense romance novels for Grand Central. www.christie-craig.com

Our interview is part of Loving the Reviews Challenge- make sure you are signed up and linking your reviews! If you review Born at Midnight or another book from CC you will get extra entries into the giveaway!

And here is our interview:

--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.

CC:  Boy, this is hard.  I’m from Alabama.  I can’t even say Good Morning in 140 characters or less.  LOL.  But I’ll give it a try.

For 16 years, Kylie Galen tried to figure out who she is.  Once at Shadow Falls Camp, she discovers she doesn’t even know what she is. 

--How did you get the idea for the story?

CC:  Great question.

I wish I could tell you that it was all my idea.  That I’m just that brilliant.  But honestly, an editor had planted the seed of an idea in my mind.  Two words:  “paranormal camp.”  Now, that’s all she said.  I asked, “What kind of paranormals?”  She answered, “That’s up to you.”  I asked, “Who is the main character?”  She answered, “That’s up to you.”  I asked, “Is the main character a paranormal?”  She answered, “That’s up to you.”  I asked, “You are going to pay me lots and lots of money, right?  ‘Cause if it’s ’up to me,’ I’m all for it.”   She didn’t fall for it.  But I took those two words, “paranormal camp,” and went to work. 

  It helped that I’ve had a few true-life experiences with the paranormal.  No vampires or werewolves, mind you, but some times when I was certain I’d entertained a few spirits.

I plan to blog about my experiences soon.  So keep a watch out for those stories on my blog:  http://cchunterbooks.com/blog/

--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?

CC:  Hmm.   Another good question.  You’re really making me work at this.  LOL.

I think the one I’d most like to have dinner with is Holiday, the camp leader at Shadow Falls.  I like Holiday and I know she has some secrets she’s not sharing, especially about her romantic relationships. (I mean, how can she resist Burnett?  He’s such a hottie and he is so into her!)

Now, this may surprise a lot of readers but I find out about my characters as I write about them, so there is a lot of juicy details that I don’t know.  Including what kind of a supernatural Kylie is, but I digress.

Holiday is slowly sharing a few details with Kylie, especially in Alone at Dawn, book two of the Shadow Falls series, and I’d love to talk with her about her past and her real feeling for Burnett over dinner. 

As for the character I’d least like to have dinner with . . . well, that’s a hard question because I like all my characters, even the villains.  But if I have to choose, I’d probably go with Fredericka. 

I think everybody knows a girl like Fredericka – in her core, she’s really insecure but comes across as a bit of a bully, especially when she’s obsessed with a guy who is interested in someone else, like the way she acts around Kylie over Lucas.  All of that makes it hard to like Fredericka.  And when you add all of that to her being a werewolf with problems controlling her lupine tendencies, well, let’s just say that having dinner with Fredericka could mean I might end up being on the menu.  Yikes!  LOL.

--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

CC:  My writing does keep me busy but I always make time to read.  It’s one of the ways I recharge my creative batteries, so I usually end my evenings in bed with a good book.

Some of my current favorite YA books include:

Firelight by Sophie Jordan 

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynne Childs

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

13 to Life by Shannon Delany

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

The House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast 

--If a fairy godmother told you your life could be like a favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?

CC:  Wow. Another tough question. 

I think I’d go with The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot.  What’s not to love about Mia and her life?  Sure, she’s got all the problems a typical teenager has but she’s also a princess.  How totally cool is that?  I’d love to be a princess for a day . . . if only I could convince my family to go along with the plan.  LOL.

--Do you need anything to write (music, coffee, etc)? Are there any songs on your book’s playlist-" songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?

CC:  I need peace and quiet to write but that isn’t always possible.  You see, I live in a house with a husband and son who think my office is the best place to plop down and have a conversation.  Plus, I have an oversized puppy who thinks my furniture and the four rescued kitties are chew toys and the dog piddles when I reprimand him.  Then there are the raccoons who come to the French doors of my office to say, “Hey, lady, the kibble bowls are empty.”  We don’t purposely feed the raccoons, of course.  The kibble is for the outdoor cats who visit but just try telling that to the raccoons. 

Bottom line, there’s never a dull moment in my house, and I’ve learned to write through it all.

--Can you give us any teasers from the sequel? Is there a publication date?

CC:  Thanks for asking.  The next book is called Awake at Dawn and it’s scheduled to be published in October, 2011.

The book picks up where Born at Midnight leaves off, with Kylie at Shadow Falls coming to grips with her attraction to Lucas and Derek, as well as her discovery that she’s a supernatural, although nobody is sure just what kind of supernatural she is.  She’s got a new ghost haunting her who warns that someone Kylie loves is going to die.  Figuring out what the ghost means is just as difficult as figuring out where she fits in the supernatural world.  Kylie also develops new powers in this book. . . powers that, unfortunately, have garnered her some powerful new enemies.  There’s a lot of action, a bit more romance and a whole lot of drama.

--If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

CC:  Ah, that one’s easy.  I would love to be able to fly, just like Superman . . . although I’d have to pass on wearing his blue tights, though.  LOL.  I mean, only Superman can get away with it.

--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?

CC:  I love to walk and try to get in an hour every day.  Fortunately, I live in Houston and we have a lot of great walking weather in the fall, winter and spring.  Summer?  Well, it’s okay if you do it early and don’t mind getting drenched in sweat.  LOL.

I also like to take pictures.  In my other life, I’ve worked as a photojournalist and had my photos published nation-wide.  It’s another creative outlet and helps to keep my creative juices flowing.

What else?  Oh, traveling.  I love to travel and wish I had more time to devote to pleasure trips.  My most exciting trip was to China.  I actually ate mountain-toad soup.  I don’t recommend it.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?

CC:  First, I’d like to say thank you for having me at your site and another huge thank-you to your readers for checking out my interview.  I really enjoy connecting with readers, and appreciate this opportunity.

If you’d like to learn more about my Shadow Falls series, please drop by my website, www.CCHunterBooks.com. 

Thanks again!

~CC