Play Dead interviews The premise: Dead bodies aren’t staying dead. Anne: Turn on the news and there’s another story about somebody waking up in an autopsy suite just as the Y incision begins. That was the trigger for PLAY DEAD. The David Gould character bounced around in my head for years. I liked the idea of someone dealing with life and death issues on the job while personally trying to keep from falling apart. A character whose reckless malaise hides a tragic past. This book seemed a good place to finally put him. His partner, Homicide Detective Elise Sandburg, came about in a totally different way. She’s an example of how research sometimes drives the plot, and how it can even help develop characters. I had a vague idea of who she was, but it wasn't until I started doing in-depth research that she solidified and I came up with the plan to make her the daughter of a famous root doctor. From the beginning I knew she'd been abandoned in a cemetery as an infant, but everything else about her came from researching Gullah culture. I wanted the plot to involve voodoo, but New Orleans seemed too obvious. I settled on Savannah. In researching the area I discovered that a fairly small region of South Carolina and Georgia was home to a group of people called Gullah -- African-Americans whose ancestors had been brought over on slave ships from the southwest coast of Africa. This coastal Atlantic Ocean Lowcountry is made up of hundreds of small islands. It's a world of water and flat marshland, shanties, and sandy lanes leading into dark vegetation. Weathered churches, and desolate cemeteries. Gullah culture is embedded in the belief of herbalism, spiritualism, and black magic. While other regions call it voodoo, ubia, etc. the Gullah call it the root, and practitioners are called root doctors. Back in the eighties I found myself fascinated by Wade Davis' book THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW. In his search for the poison used to create zombies, his journey eventually led him to the puffer fish and tetrodotoxin. Davis discovered that many of the zombies had committed crimes previous to their zombification, and their new, lobotomized state was much cheaper than incarceration. Creating zombies was also something witch doctors did in order to prove their power and to gain status. The practitioner would use a concoction to secretly put the victim in a state that mimicked death, then dig up the "body" in the middle of the night, bringing it back from the dead. It's also interesting to note that tetrodotoxin is a powerful painkiller, and has recently moved into a second phase of clinical trials in Canada. I recall reading an article stating that scientists hope to one-day use TTX to put astronauts in the state of suspended animation for deep space travel. Eating of puffer fish is big in Japan. 100 - 200 people die from it a year. I came across an article claiming that macho guys like the risk, but they also get a pleasant buzz from the toxin. I just took that another step. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll hear of TTX being used recreationally. I spent months researching PLAY DEAD. Too much time -- but I kept coming upon more and more fascinating things about Savannah and the area. I guess I was having too much fun. One day I suddenly realized I had a book due in a few months, and I'd barely started it. At the same time I was frustrated because I felt I still didn't know enough. Every police department has it's own rules and methods, so the police procedural aspect alone took a lot of research. Then I had a city I knew nothing about, plus two cultures -- Gullah and Southern -- that were also new to me. To that add a large dash of zombies and TTX! Many people have asked me about the Savannah tunnels. They really exist, and were used to transport plague victims from hospitals to cemeteries. Here is what someone who had been in them told me: "It was the nastiest place I have ever been. The city sewer system was leaking raw sewage, and there were more cockroaches than you have ever seen in your entire life. I'm talking billions covering every nook and cranny. They are dark and very cramped, nothing like the catacombs of Paris. The bricks and ballast literally crumble if you lean against them, and I would urge no one to ever go there." Another person who peeked in from the Candler Hospital basement said this: "It was sealed off, but the opening could be opened and closed. The walls are brick, rounded ceiling... In the basement was an OLD cage elevator, and a lot of equipment, like old wooden wheelchairs."

Pale Immortal Interviews   Picolata: 1. You're doing some things to market this new book that required thinking outside the box. Tell me about some of the things you are doing (Project Pimp Squad, the book trailer, etc.) The biggest was probably the video. (I think it’s okay to call it book trailer, but I retrained myself since receiving the cease and desist warning.) I also started blogging, but that’s not unusual other than the fact that I didn’t believe in any kind of self-promotion a year and a half ago. I’m still not sure I believe in it. This is an experiment. In addition to the video and blogging, I put together a Pale Immortal blog, complete with the first two chapters. I haven’t dedicated that much time to it, but it still gives readers an idea of what the book is about. Project Pimp Squad:100 Bloggers Blogging. I came up with this concept about a month ago. I’m trying to get one hundred people to blog about Pale Immortal and post the Pale Immortal video Youtube link on their blog the day of the book’s release. 2. I saw the book trailer - is it okay to call it a book trailer? - several months ago, and I was intrigued. What inspired it, and what transpired to bring it into existence? My daughter is a film major. She’d planned to attend grad school last year, but decided to take a year off. I’d watched several book videos and found most of them lacking. My first thought: Wow, Martha could do something fantastic with a book video. It wasn’t until a couple of months later I started thinking she might actually be willing to make one for me. She and my son are in a band – The Chambermaids -- so they did the music. Actually one of the songs on the video was written by my son a couple of years ago, but it didn’t end up on their CD. The other one is an instrumental soundtrack recording they did for something else. 4.Did the story inspire them, or vice versa? Martha knew nothing about the book. I described the mood I was looking for, and also suggested some scenes with the order they should appear. The guy walking to the house was supposed to be carrying a suitcase. They forgot that, but I think it still worked once text was added. Martha just read the book a few days ago and she couldn’t believe how well the video captured something she hadn’t read. I think it worked because we tend to think alike, so when I told her what I wanted she immediately understood. Right now she’s making a video for a writer in Hawaii, and it is AMAZING. Grad school starts this fall, so that will be the end of her book videos, at least for a while. I’ve since learned that it’s almost impossible to get people to watch the video to begin with. Not sure how to get around that problem. Not sure there is a way, because they are being asked to view something that’s basically an ad. Nobody wants to do that. 5.Some of the major characters in Pale Immortal are teenagers, including one character through whose eyes you allow us to view the world for a little while. This certainly isn't a kids book, but I can imagine sophisticated older teens enjoying this book. Are they a target audience for you, and if so, is that why you chose to use a music-video as a marketing tool? Teenagers are my favorite characters to write. I actually gave Graham too much of the book and had to strengthen the adults once the first draft was done. I seem to have quite a few young adult readers, and I definitely had them in mind when I made the video. 6. I see this book as a departure for you - it certainly isn't standard serial-killer fare. Does moving into new territory with your work worry you? Are you looking for a new audience, or trying to add to your current readers' numbers? It is a departure. I’m not really worried, although that doesn’t mean I expect Pale Immortal to do well. I just know I’ve done all I can do. So much of this business is out of my hands and out of my control. I do hope old readers will follow me, but some of them already dropped out when I wrote Play Dead, which was probably the first step away from the traditional police procedural. I also gained new readers with that book, so I think there’s a constant fluctuation that takes place. For the most part I’m guessing Pale Immortal will appeal to a new audience, but it’s always tricky when you try to second-guess readers. 7. Book marketing chafes many authors. How do you feel about peddling your wares? I’m not crazy about self-promotion. I honestly don’t think a writer can do that much, and sometimes self-promotion can backfire. The most important thing is a great cover along with prominent bookstore placement funded by the publisher. Without that, a writer is pretty much screwed. No amount of blogging or touring or chest pounding can make up for lack of backing. That said, I’ve had fun with the video, and I predict the Project Pimp Squad event will be a blast. I plan to get drunk and blog. I hope everybody gets drunk and we have one huge drunken online party. As I reflect on what I’ve done in this past year as far as marketing goes, I can see that it’s all been about fun. A girl’s gotta have her fun. BOOK LOONS INTERVIEW: Anne Frasier is the USA Today best selling thriller author of Hush, Sleep Tight, Play Dead, and Before I Wake. She's been recognized with numerous awards including the RITA and Daphne du Maurier for romantic suspense. Publishers Weekly says Frasier 'has perfected the art of making a reader's skin crawl' and the Minneapolis Star Tribune calls her a master of the genre. She's had her work published since 1988 and her books have been printed in more than a dozen languages. Frasier lives in Minneapolis/St. Paul where she is working on her nineteenth novel, which is scheduled for release in October of 2007. Q: When did it first become clear to you that writing thrillers and making reader's skin crawl was your creative calling? A: I started out in romance almost twenty years ago, but even back then I was always being told to remove the blood and bodies from my books. At one point when I was writing for Bantam I said, "Why don't I just remove the romance?" That was about the time one of their other romance writers switched to straight suspense, and I was told the house couldn't support more than one such writer. It's all about timing in this business. A year or two later they probably would have jumped at the suggestion. So the desire has been there for almost twenty years, but it took me a while to sell anybody else on the idea. Q: Why does the thriller, in its various incarnations and sub-genres, hold such an appeal for readers? A: With my first thriller I worried that I was exploiting victims and glorifying killers. But then I realized that people have a need to uncover and expose what they fear. I think it gives them a feeling of control or the feeling that if this happened to me I would know what to do because I've been here before. And in thrillers the good guy wins, which sadly doesn't always happen in real life. People want to read about good overcoming evil. Q: What's the hardest part about writing a page-turning thriller? The easiest? A: The hardest is creating realistic evil without going over the top and making it some hand rubbing, cackling cartoon. The other side of that problem is being careful not to make a realistic killer too sympathetic. It's a delicate balance, one I'm not sure I've always pulled off. Easiest ... Hmmm. Maybe scaring people. People will say, "How can you write that? I was so scared!" But of course it's different for the person writing it. I know what's going to happen. Q: Various of your novels like Play Dead and Before I Wake are set in the deep south in cities like Savannah and New Orleans. How important is setting and atmosphere for your stories? A: I think of setting as a character. I'm actually becoming more aware of that with each book. For me, setting is just as important as the main characters. Q: Once you decide on a location, do you make a point of visiting and getting a good feel for the area before you begin your book? A: I visited Savannah a few times. Love Savannah. For Hush I made a couple of trips to Chicago. But travel and research can be expensive and time-consuming. With Pale Immortal I deliberately decided on a familiar area. Also Pale Immortal has more of a fantasy element, so I felt I didn't have to be as accurate even when it came down to police uniforms and police procedure. I relaxed that a bit. So if somebody says, "Hey, in Juneau County a coroner would never be the medical examiner." I will just say that in Tuonela they would. Although I did research this subject enough to know that in some areas of the country a person can be both. Maybe even Juneau County for all I know. Q: Most readers wouldn't associate a small town in Wisconsin as being particularly creepy, yet you instill a wonderful aura of menace and foreboding as well as an almost otherworldly tone in every page of Pale Immortal. What's your secret? A: I find foreboding in everything. Old buildings. New buildings. Bridges. An open field. A weedy pasture. A grove of trees. A quiet street. Anything and everything can seem sinister to me. Small towns can be particularly secretive while at the same time seductive. On the surface they can look quaint and welcoming, but underneath they resent newcomers and change. Nature is the same way. Beautiful and inviting, but dangerous and secretive. Do I need therapy? I'm suddenly thinking I need therapy. Q: Your main character, Evan Stroud, is afflicted with porpheria as a teen and lives in relative seclusion, not to mention being taunted by kids and the curious as a vampire. How does his affliction play into the theme of your story? A: I think we all have some Evan in us. He's the ultimate outsider, yearning for answers he will never find and a life he can never have. And possibly a love he can never have. And yet he isn't an outsider by choice. Maybe nobody really is. He's also trapped by circumstance – another recurring theme with both Evan and Rachel, and I think something many people deal with in their lives. The weight of responsibility. Do you turn your back on the people you love in order to have a different life, the promise of a better life? No. This also mirrors the isolation, loss of identity, and sense of displacement that's so prevalent in society today. I think many of us long for at least the roots and heritage of that quaint town and a life that doesn't exist. Q: You also include a strong sub-plot involving Graham Yates (Evan's son), his less than ideal upbringing and disturbing glimpses into teenage angst and obsession. Was it easy for you to get into Graham's head? A: I love that age. I love writing characters who are sixteen. They are so naïve and cocky, innocent and volatile. They think they know everything and approach life that way. They can make you mad and break your heart all at the same time. I have to say that's the easiest age for me to write. Teenagers come much easier for me than adults. Q: You generally incorporate a romance into your thrillers, albeit an attraction between characters who are often very fractured. Does a romance add more dimension to your characters and the story in general? A: Pale Immortal deals with fantasy and the supernatural, but I wanted to make the story real when I could make it real. That was my plan from the beginning. And romance was a natural part of the story. I think love raises the stakes. I definitely wanted to get two kinds of love in there. Romantic love and the love a father feels for his child. Q: It appears you're not nearly finished with Evan and his connection to the Pale Immortal or the mystery surrounding Old Tuonela. Can you give us some non-spoiler hints about what Evan might discover in the sequel? A: When I was close to half done with Pale Immortal, I realized I had too much story for one book. Way too much story. The true history of Old Tuonela is revealed in the second book. We find out who Victoria is. Tuonela itself becomes a tourist town, which gives it a strange, surreal carnival feel. Evan's father comes back from Florida and Evan confronts him about the past and his illness. Here the love-of-a–father-for-his-son theme is revisited. Evan is literally digging up history and Old Tuonela awakens and becomes a force that has to be dealt with. I introduce a couple of new characters, but most of the players are the same. Q: Are you planning on continuing this series? A: This is definitely something that could go on for several books, but that depends on my publisher and how well the first book does. Q: You were a judge in the International Thriller Writer's 2005 Best Novel contest. What were a few of the highlights of that experience? A: The highlight was working with fellow judges Alex Kava, Ali Karim, and James Siegel. And reading such an enormous amount of books in such a short span of time was extremely educational. I really got a handle on what was being published, who was publishing it, who was writing it. Q: Has the thriller come full circle or do you believe thriller writers continue to evolve and come up with new and better ways to tell a gripping, page-turning story? A: I'd like to think it's continually evolving. Right now there's a lot of genre crossover going on that is interesting and exciting. It used to be publishers were very much against crossover fiction. Q: Which authors have influenced your career? A: Oh, that's tough. I would guess there are hundreds going all the way back to Dr. Seuss. Some people think I'm kidding when I mention Dr. Seuss, but I'm completely serious. I'm a very visual person, so I think movies have also influenced me in a big way: Night of the Living Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Nosferatu and a lot of the old black and white horror movies. Also Hitchcock. With Pale Immortal I wanted to take some of those horror/supernatural elements and combine them with a story that was basically character-driven, and a story that, in a weird way, had love at its foundation. Q: What do you do when you aren't plotting your next thriller? A: Other than blogging, which is threatening to swallow me whole, I take photos and listen to music. I also spend an enormous amount of time fantasizing about a warm place to live in a perfect small town. TRIBE’S INTERVIEW: Tribe: Anne, how long have you been doing this writing schtick? I get the sense you’ve been at it for a while… Anne: If i count the 2 unpublished mss, about 22 years. Tribe: Jeez…I had no idea it was that long… Anne: I’m an old broad, I’ve been published for about 18 years. Tribe: You initially published under a pseudonym different from the one you use now right? Anne: Yes. I started out writing romantic adventure and romantic suspense. Tribe: Why romance? Anne: I’m not really sure. At the time, I thought it would be easier to get my foot in the door, and I liked to read romance, along with everything else. Tribe: I’d venture aguess that romance isn’t just heaving cleavages and stiff trousers, right? Anne: Ha. Well, sometimes there can be quite a bit of that, but in the romance novels I was writing, I was always being asked to remove the blood and dead bodies. Tribe:Blood and dead bodies? Seriously? Is that common in that genre? If it hasn’t been obvious to you yet, I know nothing about romance as a genre. Actually, I’ve been accused…no, this is your interview… Anne: No, but even with romantic suspense we couldn’t have blood and gore. Some houses wouldn’t even allow the mention of blood. I don’t think it’s like that anymore. Tribe: Were you an editor’s pain in the ass at the time? Anne: Yes, and I’ve continued to work hard at that. Tribe: What authors or books have influenced your work? Anne: This is going to seem strange, but I think i’ve been influenced by movies more than writers. Things like Night of the Living Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hitchcock. I’m very visual. Tribe: From Pale Immortal I can see that…the creepiest moments in that book were so effective because of the visual images that were conjured. Anne: People who enjoy my books typically describe reading them as movie watching. Tribe: Aside from your insistence on showing blood and guts, what other issues were cropping up during your romance novel phase? Anne: Actually I should admit that I worked with some great editors. Quite a few, actually. Tribe: What goes into making a good romance novel? Is it just sex? Fantasy? Anne: To be honest the genre has changed so much since I wrote romance that I don’t feel qualified to say what goes into it anymore. I haven’t written it for at least 8 years. But it’s safe to say that it’s not necessarily sex. The romance genre is about relationships, even familial relationships. The plot is driven more by internal conflicts within the characters. Often there’s not a lot of external plotting in a romance novel. Tribe: Can you say, or do you want to say, why you left that genre? Although, judging from Pale Immortal, it could be argued you haven’t left the genre behind entirely. Anne: I was frustrated by the restrictions and limitations of romance. I wanted more of a challenge, I wanted blood and guts. And yes, Pale Immortal does have a strong romantic element to it. Tribe: How did you make the change? Is that when you changed your pseudonym? Anne: I’d wanted to write straight suspense almost from the beginning, but I couldn’t get my publisher or agent interested in looking at as much as a synopsis. Finally I was dumped by HarperCollins in one of their great unloading of authors, and I was unemployed for a year. I took that off time to write Hush. I decided I was going to write what i wanted to write. Since I couldn’t get anybody to even look at a proposal, I just started writing the book. Tribe: Did you have to find a new agent also? Anne: No, after I wrote half of Hush I sent it to him, and he really liked it. Then he went and sold it immediately. Tribe: Was that liberating for you as a writer, to be able to say “this is what I want to do” and just go do it? Anne: Yes, it was extremely liberating, you don’t know the half of it. Tribe: But, those years writing romance weren’t wasted, right? Anne: Oh, definitely not. It helped me develop that internal plot that I think is lacking in a lot of thrillers. I learned an enormous amount about writing and about the business. Tribe: How was Hush received? Anne: Hush not only did extremely well, it continues to do well four years later. A fantastic cover hasn’t hurt anything either. I should admit that although I finally had the freedom to write what I wanted, I deliberately wrote something commercial. It’s not hard to see how that indeed made a difference in sales. Tribe: It seems you’ve been on something of a roll ever since… Anne: I’d say it’s been a bit of a bumpy roll. See, once a book does well, everybody and their mother wants to help you plot the next one. That’s been extremely tough on me because quite simply I’m not that kind of writer. Not to mention, I’m not that kind of girl either. Tribe: So what have you done to cope with that? I get the sense that it’s tough to get you to do anything you’re not interested in doing…. Anne: I’ve actually tried to be diplomatic about it, but plotting by committee just hasn’t worked for me. Tribe: But the books since Hush, those were ultimately based on your ideas? Anne: Yes, for the most part. For Sleep Tight I was asked to write something that would appeal more to women and that focused on familial relationships. Sleep Tight has those things. With Before I Wake my editor wanted the greater part of the story to be set on a farm. Tribe: Ah, that farm belt audience, huh? Anne: I’m not sure where that came from. Maybe because I used to live on a farm. At one point with Sleep Tight I was asked to have no murders, just accidental deaths. There’s a pretty good example of input that didn’t work. Tribe: Well, shit….what’s the point if you can’t have murders? Anne: So those are some of the stranger things in the business that can be challenging. Tribe: Is Pale Immortal something of a different track for you? Anne: Yes, it certainly is. I was contracted for a book similar to past books with the addition of a paranormal element. But it was important for me that the paranormal in Pale Immortal have credibility, that it seem believable. Tribe: You know, when I started reading it, and I’m not gonna reveal any spoilers, what really grabbed me was an extreme sense of creepiness that made the hairs on my arms stand. Anne: I hope that sense of creepiness came from my efforts to make it real, make it believable. Tribe: Pale Immortal creeps me out precisely because I could buy into those paranormal elements. It’s sort of the way early Stephen King novels could creep me out. Was the plot of Pale Immortal something that you had all figured before you set down to write it? Anne: Most of it, yes. Once it was done, I actually tried to rewrite it the way my editor suggested–which was overtly paranormal–but it didn’t work, so I went back to my original plan. It’s interesting the way these things work. There is one element that I didn’t realize was present in Pale Immortal until I was deep into the book. It’s an important plot element I can’t go into without giving too much away. But I find it interesting it was there all along; I just had to find it. Tribe: Pale Immortal’s setting is a place called Tuonela, Wisconsin. It has a marvelously spooky past. Is it a real place? Anne: I was trying to remember how I found the place, and for the life of me, I really don’t remember now. I do remember Googling something. Anyway, the name Tuonela is from the Kalevala, which happens to be the national epic of Finland. It’s a very interesting book, by the way, even at over 900 pages. In any event, Tuonela does mean “land of the dead.” Tribe: Yeah, but is it a real place in Wisconsin? Anne: That’s a proprietary secret, mister. So, move on… Tribe: The reason I’m asking is that it seems like a ringer for one of those ghoulish towns that are talked about in Wisconsin Death Trip. I found Tuonela to be something of a ringer for Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Did you read that before or after you wrote Pale Immortal? Anne: All I’m going to say is that I was familiar with Wisconsin Death Trip before I started Pale Immortal. Then when I was actually starting the book I took a long drive from St. Paul to Milwaukee and decided to set the novel in Wisconsin. Tribe: One of the many things that deeply impressed me about Pale Immortal was the amount of genre bending you did. It works as a romance, as a horror novel, as a mystery, hell, even as a police procedural. Still, you weren’t parodying any of those, you weren’t patronizing…you treated them all with respect and merged them into a tight little novel. Anne: There are a lot of genres represented. I hope readers will respond to the mix. So far, advance comments from those who have read the ARC have been positive. Tribe: I also found that you really put a lot of thought into those characters, they aren’t paper dolls in the least. Anne: This was supposed to be my big book, almost the book of my heart. In some ways the process of creating it was something of a mess, but I think that in the end it all came together well. It was very important to me that Pale Immortal be character-driven. Tribe: You know, I think you’re fretting way too much because I think Pale Immortal works… Anne: Thanks, Tribe. Tribe: I take it Pale Immortal is something of a new direction for your fiction? Anne: I’ve always loved paranormal mixed with elements of a police procedural, so absolutely. Tribe: And you’re already two thirds of the way into a sequel? Anne: Yes. I simply had way too much story for one book. There was just so much more there I wanted to tackle. Tribe: It seems you’ve made it a point to participate in fan groups like Bouchercon or writers groups like Thriller Fest? And no, I’m not going to open that panel can of worms issue…it’s old news now. Anne: I hadn’t been to conferences in over 10 years, I’m making a point of attending Bouchercon this year. It’s all part of my new “get out of my cave” thing I’ve been doing this year. Tribe: Well, we’ll be sure to have a beer or six with Neil Smith perhaps. Actually, let’s get Neil to pay. Anne: I have to practice my drinking… Tribe: It’s ok, we’re old pros at drinking. Anne: I lost the skill somewhere, I have to brush up. Tribe: I’d entrust you to Mrs. Tribe’s care…but unfortunately, she’s something of an old pro when it comes to drinking too. Anne: Too funny. I’m looking forward to meeting you and Mrs. Tribe. Tribe: You seem to get around the blogosphere pretty well…enough to even get people pissed at you. Anne: It never occurred to me I was such a social butterfly. Ooh, that’s right. I’ve really pissed some people off this year. Tribe: Now that’s talent, lady! Anne: I do kind of enjoy that and it must mean i’m doing something right. Tribe: Fuck ‘em if they can’t take it. Anne: Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like you do. On second thought, maybe I would. HAWK EYE INTERVIEW 1. Is this the book you’ve ALWAYS wanted to write? It seemed… and I hate myself for using these mushy terms … it seemed so organic and untainted by editorial intrusions. This book went through a couple of revisions, but in the end I decided the new material wasn’t working, so I locked myself away and went back to my original version, vision, and concept. Often the first ideas are the best. Pale Immortal deals with fantasy and the supernatural, but I wanted to make the story real when I could make it real. That had been my plan from the beginning. And yes, this is a book I’ve wanted to write for a LONG time. 2. I’m still shocked by the love scene in the morgue (in a good way.) Were you surprised to find yourself brushing off your romance writing? Was it like … oh, my god, I think they’re going to have to kiss? I actually had that scene plotted before I ever started the book. A lot of what happens in the first half is moving toward that scene. I wasn’t surprised by it, but I was surprised to find I could still write a love/sex scene – of course with a twist. 3. It’s a hoot to see some Burlingtonia in there (although sadly, Peaches is no more, a victim of the wrecking ball to make way for the new casino.) Do you keep a mental catalogue of locations worth a literary revisiting? Could this have been set anywhere else? Tuonela is definitely Burlington. I’ve wanted to use Burlington in a book for a long time, and when I visualized Tuonela in my mind, it always looked like Burlington. So I decided to go with it. I can’t imagine it being set anywhere else. I think part of that is because Burlington calls to me in the strange way it calls to Rachel in Pale Immortal. Sometimes our connections to a place reach back generations and that creates an odd bond. My Burlington roots are deep. One set of grandparents lived in a house on Snake Alley; the other owned a butcher shop in West Burlington. 4. You do teens well (they’re so often stock characters)… was that from being the Kool-Aide house when yours were younger or do you i.m. your kids a lot? I just happen to love that age. I love writing characters who are sixteen. They are so naïve and cocky, innocent and volatile. They think they know everything and approach life that way. They can make you mad and break your heart all at the same time. I have to say that's the easiest age for me to write. Teenagers come much easier for me than adults. 5. Vampire novels have a long and illustrious history. Did you study any prior to sitting down at the keyboard? Favorites? I’ve just recently realized I’ve never read a vampire novel. Isn’t that strange? Reviewers keep telling me this book is unique, and I think ignorance was bliss in my case. But I’ve certainly seen a lot of vampire and horror movies. I’m a very visual person, and I drew from movies like Nosferatu, Night of the Living Dead, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 6. Given the subject matter, it seemed to beg for a sequel. I mean, why have a guy who lives forever if you can’t use him for a series… Had you actually planned a sequel in the beginning or are you just wise in retrospect? Since I see from your ticker you’ve finished the first draft, I hope I’m not treading on sacred ground. Criss: (is revealing that evan lives forever a spoiler? I never know about these things. Your call.) When I was half done with Pale Immortal I realized I had too much story for one book. So yes, there will be a book 2. the first draft is done, and the sequel is scheduled for fall of 2007. No firm title yet. 7. So we’ve had voodoo and vampires… any other areas of creepiness you’ll be visiting shortly? Are there any you wouldn’t touch … too scary… to unbelievable… too stupid for words? Well, I don’t think I’d ever do werewolves. I’m not really into werewolves. But you never know. 8. Do the “victims” correspond with people you’ve secretly wanted to off for years? Do you indulge in literary revenge? People always ask me that, but I don’t think I indulge in literary revenge. Not that I’m consciously aware of, anyway. 9. You’re back here 9/5 for reading? Visiting old haunts as well? 10. Definitely! 11. Since your move to Minneapolis brought your writing in a whole different direction does coming back to your hometown make you want to change paths again? 12. I sometimes think about writing something a bit more literary that’s loosely based on true events, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get that book written. Praise for PALE IMMORTAL: “The characters are rich, complex. The story is masterfully spun. The deeper issues at play in the book resonate. It seems a bit early for predications, but I’m betting this book will be on my top ten reads of 2006.” Sandra Ruttan, Spinetingler Editor/Submission Director ITW: How did you come up with the story idea for PALE IMMORTAL? This is a book I’ve wanted to write for about seven years. It’s actually a combination of a couple of old proposals, along with a slight shift in focus. Pale Immortal deals with fantasy and the supernatural, but I wanted to make the story real when I could make it real. That had been my plan from the beginning. The core story is a story of abuse and abandonment, loss and regret. It’s about the love a father feels for a child he never knew he had. The father just happens to have this strange disease. And he might or might not be a vampire, living in a town that might or might not exist. The book went through a couple of revisions, but in the end I decided the new material wasn’t working, so I locked myself away and went back to my original version, vision, and concept. Often the first ideas are the best. ITW: Tell us a little about Evan Stroud and the disease he must live with. A: His disease isolates him, and isolation is something most of us have dealt with at certain periods of our lives. I think we all have some Evan in us. He's the ultimate outsider, yearning for answers he will never find and a life he can never have. And possibly a love he can never have. ITW: Rachel Burton has resisted returning to Tuonela, but she’s back now, filling in as coroner. Why the change in heart? Both she and Evan are trapped by circumstance – a recurring theme in Pale Immortal, and I think something many people deal with in their lives. The weight of responsibility. Do you turn your back on the people you love in order to have a different life, the promise of a better life? This also mirrors the isolation, loss of identity, and sense of displacement that's so prevalent in society today. I think many of us long for at least the roots and heritage of that quaint town and a life that doesn't exist. Q: Evan’s teenage son is a prominent POV character in Pale Immortal. Care to elaborate on the teenagers in your books? I just happen to love that age. I love writing characters who are sixteen. They are so naïve and cocky, innocent and volatile. They think they know everything and approach life that way. They can make you mad and break your heart all at the same time. I have to say that's the easiest age for me to write. Teenagers come much easier for me than adults. ITW: Tell us a little about yourself? Your background? Your writing routine? I started out in romance twenty years ago. Back then I was always being told to remove the blood and bodies from my books. At one point I said, "Why don't I just remove the romance?" As of today, Anne Frasier's PALE IMMORTAL dwells among us. Set in contemporary small town America with a well-drawn cast of characters, PALE IMMORTAL (just released!) is simply an irresistible read. I defy you to set the book aside after reading the Author's Note at the beginning. Legend has it that a vampire once roamed the streets of Tuonela, Wisconsin. An autopsy has it that town’s first murder victim in a hundred years was drained of blood. However, if you're looking for the typical fang-in-the-neck vampire story, this isn't it. Tuonela has its dark history and attending lore, but the characters are perfectly believable human beings. Mostly. I'm a straight-shooter with endorsements, so this has nothing to do with friendship. I tell you true, the characters in PALE IMMORTAL drew me in and held on long after I finished the book. I'm not a regular paranormal reader. It's not that I'm offended by blood spillage or suckage. It's just that without good relationships and characters I care about, a book will lose me in short order. Beyond that, the premise has to work for me. You can't just hand me some ready-made hokum about monsters. You have to build a world I can buy into. PALE IMMORTAL does that in spades. KE: So, Anne, I won’t say you had me at hello, because we do not go gentle into the PALE IMMORTAL night. But the characters had me early on. Can you guess my favorite? AF: Graham is definitely my favorite, so i'm going to guess Graham. Am I at all close? Or was it Tuonela? :) KE: You got it on the first try. Graham is one of the best teenagers I’ve read in a very long time. Graham’s mother drives non-stop from Arizona, dumps him on the doorstep of the village recluse, whom she says is Graham’s father, and takes off. During Graham’s first couple of days in Tuonela a pretty girl (Isobel) befriends him, but so does a group of Goth types who call themselves "The Pale Immortals" after the town’s infamous former resident. All this and the discovery of two corpses—one a bit fresher than the other—and poor Graham ought to be looking for a ride to Minnesota. You put this kid through some horrific stuff, but he keeps bobbing back up from the pits with that terrific, slightly twisted adolescent eye for the ironic. Sort of a blue collar Holden Caulfield. The “initiation” scene into the Pale Immortals is so Graham. He has to drink blood in near darkness, of course, and he remembers there’s been some stolen from the hospital. “For some reason that didn’t seem so bad. Already packaged and on a shelf. Kinda like grocery shopping.” Where did this character come from? Did he evolve with the writing, or was he conceived as such a strong character with the story concept? AF: I just happen to love that age. I love writing characters who are 16. They think they know everything and approach life that way. They can make you mad and break your heart all at the same time. I have to say teenagers come much easier for me than adults. I wanted to write Graham for about eight years. I wanted him to be the main character, and the adults would just be Charlie Brown adults, but I began to doubt that story would ever get written, so I used him for this book. KE: Graham gives Isobel a CD with his favorite music, which he thinks about almost apologetically as upbeat, allowing to himself that “a young heart could only take so much.” He’s been abused and shuttled around all his life. And Isobel’s parents are classical musicians who are always gone. Vulnerable teenagers. Dare I suggest the dreaded T word? Do we have a bit of a theme going here? How does that fit with a story that borders on horror? AF: This book is packed with themes. I happen to love themes! I think the book mirrors the isolation, loss of identity, and sense of displacement that's so prevalent in society today. The lack of a strong family unit. Another similar theme is the outsider. Both isobel and Graham are outsiders. So is Evan -- and even Rachel to some extent. Of course Evan is the ultimate outsider, yearning for answers he will never find and a life he can never have. People trapped by circumstance is another recurring theme and something a lot of people deal with in their lives. The weight of responsibility. Do you turn your back on the people who need you for the chance of a better life? No. At least most of us don't. There is also the recurring theme of the love of a father for his son. This plays out with three generations of Stroud men.How does it fit with a story that borders on horror? I can't explain my attraction to horror or the psychology of it, but for me it's very powerful. I think it some ways it can make us face what we most fear and move beyond it. Or maybe it's just the buzz. :D KE: It’s more than buzz. Good horror forces us to look squarely into the face of our worst fears, and you’re doing it with themes that run the gamut—from the safety of home and community, parental love and commitment to the beast within and the danger of losing our children or driving them away. Lots to chew on here. Evan Stroud is my favorite kind of hero—the wounded outcast. Because he has a potentially fatal allergy to sunlight and only goes out at night, people only half-jokingly call him a vampire. I loved Graham’s first inkling of trust when Evan serves him breakfast: “Would a vampire say something about a good breakfast? Would a vampire even fix breakfast?” I’ve gotta say, I've finished the book, but I’m still thinking about Evan Stroud. He’s turned on his ear by the end—which means there’s more to come—but he’s totally sympathetic and totally human. Isn’t he? AF: Haha. That's definitely the big question here, isn't it? Is he just a victim of subliminal persuasion? Of myth and superstition? Of paranoia? Or is something more going on? KE: (Grrr. Where's my scoop?) Okay, so you left me thinking about Evan, but still smiling over Graham. He has such a distinctive voice. Notices the things kids notice. Like when the principal calls an assembly. "She hardly ever smiled, because being a principal was serious shit. And being a small woman who was also a principal was even more serious shit." Talk about a little bit about juxtaposing Graham’s voice with Evan’s. AF: I'm not sure I always pulled that off. I'm not as comfortable writing adults, so i struggled a little with Evan. Didn't want him to sound too pompous or grouchy, but also didn't want him to come across as too laid back or too similar to Graham. KE: You pulled it off nicely. Evan’s voice rings true to the character’s situation, which is certainly unique. But I have to touch on Tuonela. You got me with the Author’s Note, too. I’ve wrestled on a couple of books with the question of whether to use an author’s note and where to put it. What was your thinking on this one? AF: The author's note is something i wanted people to think about and wonder about. I wanted them to get up, walk to the bookshelf, and pull out a map to see if they could find Tuonela. I wanted to take the story outside the book and into the reader's own life. That has been a big part of this book -- adding layers outside the pages. I've never done an author intro before, and I'm not sure I would do it again. It was just something I did for this book because I had external plans for it. KE: I’m still trying to figure out whether Tuonela exists. You actually had me Googling. You say that 90% of the time you won’t find Tuonela on the map, so I’m about to start buying maps of Wisconsin on E-Bay. AF: Kathleen, you're doing exactly what I wanted you to do! Look for Tuonela. Just call me ambiguous. ;) KE: It’s a delicious setting. Lovely small town, creepy past. “In Tuonela, twighlight never lingered and darkness always came quickly, like an extinguished flame or a dropped curtain.” Our heroine, Rachel Burton, did the sane thing and got out while the gettin’ was good. But she’s back, and she’s the coroner of all things. What’s that about? AF: That ties into the responsibility theme i was talking about earlier. At first she returned because of an ill parent. Then she didn't want to leave her father alone. Then the town needed her. But of course deep down the town was really calling to her. I've experienced this pull with my own hometown. Something is always calling me back, and I have to fight it because I don't think it's a good place for me. But it's always there, and I sometimes I wonder if I should just quit fighting and move back. I think many of us long for the roots and heritage of quaint town and a life that doesn't exist. And of course with Rachel we have to think that subconsciously she also stayed because of Evan. KE: It’s funny—someone on the Romance Readers Anonymous loop mentioned Theresa Weir yesterday, wondered whether she was still writing. Someone else said she thought Theresa had morphed into Anne Frasier and listed your latest books. I don’t often post, but I jumped on the opportunity to report that PALE IMMORTAL is hot off the press this week. Described the setup and ended with: You've got a grisly murder in a small Midwestern town where nothing this exciting has happened in 100 years. Plenty of suspense and some pretty gory deeds, but this is a character-driven novel, and this romance lover was hooked from page one. And that’s how I’ll end here, with both thumbs up for PALE IMMORTAL! posted by Kathleen Eagle @ 7:13 PM shots magazine and ali Karin interview: Pale Immortal contains elements of a book I’ve wanted to write for several years. It’s actually a combination of a couple of old proposals, along with a slight shift in focus. Even though it deals with fantasy and the supernatural, I wanted to make the story real when I could make it real. That was very important to me. The core story is a story of abuse and abandonment, loss and regret. It’s about the love of a father for a child. The father just happens to have this strange disease. And he might or might not be a vampire, living in a town that might or might not exist. The book went through a couple of revisions, but in the end I decided the new material wasn’t working, so I locked myself away and went back to my original version, vision, and concept. Often first ideas are best. Evan Stroud is allergic to sunlight. His disease isolates him, and isolation is something most of us have dealt with in our lives. Evan is the ultimate outsider, yearning for answers he will never find and a life he can never have. And possibly a love he can never have. Many of the main characters are trapped by circumstance – a recurring theme in Pale Immortal, and I think something many people have faced. The weight of responsibility. Do you turn your back on the people you love in order to have a different life, the promise of a better life? This also mirrors the isolation, loss of identity, and sense of displacement that's prevalent in society today. Evan’s teenage son figures prominently in the book. I love writing characters who are sixteen. They are so naïve and cocky, innocent and volatile. They think they know everything and approach life that way. They can make you mad and break your heart all at the same time. I have to say that's the easiest age for me to write. Rachel Burton, the town coroner, is forced to return to Tuonela. This ties into the responsibility theme. At first she returns because of an ill parent. Then she didn't want to leave her father by himself. Then the town needed her. But of course deep down the town was calling to her. I've experienced this pull with my own hometown. Something is always calling me back, and I have to fight it because I don't think it's a good place for me. But it's always there, and I sometimes wonder if I should just quit fighting and move back. I think many of us long for the roots and heritage of a quaint town and a life that doesn't exist. And of course with Rachel we have to think that subconsciously she also stayed because of Evan. Speaking of Evan…. Is he human? That's definitely the big question. Or is he just a victim of subliminal persuasion? Of myth and superstition? Of paranoia? Or is something more going on? And about that author's note… I wanted people to wonder about it. I wanted them to get up, walk to the bookshelf, and pull out a map to see if they could find Tuonela. I wanted to take the story outside the book and into the reader's own life. That has been a big part of this journey -- adding layers outside the pages. 1. You did some things to market this new book that required thinking outside the box. Tell me about some of the things such as (Project Pimp Squad, the book video, etc. The biggest was probably the video. I also started blogging. That’s not unusual other than the fact that I didn’t believe in any kind of self-promotion a year and a half ago. In addition to the video and blogging, I put together a Pale Immortal blog with book chapters, the book video, photos, and mp3s. I haven’t dedicated that much time to it, but it still gives readers an idea of what the book is about. Project Pimp Squad:100 Bloggers Blogging. I came up with this concept a few months before the release of Pale Immortal. My plan was to get one hundred people to blog about the book and post the Pale Immortal Youtube video on their blog the day of the book’s release. I knew one hundred was aiming pretty high; I'd really hoped for fifty, but ended up with over one hundred. It was so incredible and so much fun. The members of the Pimp Squad loved it and are still talking about it. The support and sense of community was absolutely astounding. People who hadn't planned on being involved jumped in the day of the event because they wanted in on the party. 2. What inspired the book video, and what transpired to bring it into existence? My daughter is a film major. She’d planned to attend grad school last year, but decided to take a year off. I’d watched several book videos and found many of them lacking. My first thought: Wow, Martha could do something fantastic with a book video. It wasn’t until a couple of months later that I started thinking she might actually be willing to make one for me. She and my son are in a band – The Chambermaids -- so they put together the soundtrack. 4.Did the story inspire them, or vice versa? They knew nothing about the book. I described the mood I was looking for, and also suggested some scenes with the order they should appear. Martha read the book months later and couldn’t believe how well the video captured something she hadn’t previously read. I think it worked because she and I tend to think alike, so when I told her what I wanted she immediately understood. Grad school started this fall, so that's the end of her book videos for a while. I quickly learned that it’s hard to get people to watch the videos to begin with because they're basically being asked to view an ad. I think Youtube has definitely helped in that regard because writers can imbed the video on their blog and other bloggers can imbed it too. That really took the book video to a new level. 7. Book marketing chafes many authors. How do you feel about peddling your wares? I’m not crazy about self-promotion. I honestly don’t think a writer can do that much, and sometimes self-promotion can backfire. The most important thing is a great cover along with prominent bookstore placement funded by the publisher. Without that a writer is pretty much screwed. No amount of blogging or touring or chest pounding can make up for lack of backing. That said, I had fun with the video, and Project Pimp Squad was a blast. I enjoy blogging. For me, being online is all about fun.