by Kresley Cole
How do you pronounce Nïx, Annika, and Regin?
—Wilka
Technically, Nïx is supposed to be pronounced along the lines of Neeks. The ï sounds like a long e (as in naïve). But I think over the years the pronunciation could have been transmuted to sound more like Nicks. She would answer to both.
Officially, Annika should be pronounced AH-nik-uh, because that’s how my Swedish husband pronounces it. Sometimes my southern twang kicks in, and I say it ANN-ee-ka. I think she’d answer to both, too.
Regin could be Ree-gin or RAY-gin. She answers to her superhero identity: the Fellatrix.
What are some typical compliments and complaints you receive about the Immortals After Dark series?
—Alexis
I’m very complimented when readers say the series is continuing to improve with each book. I know I work harder and harder on each installment (where will it end?? I just want to put thermometers in mugs of beer, for fuck’s sake).
I’d say the biggest complaint I receive is that I don’t write fast enough. But if I tried to avert that complaint, I might end up averting that compliment!
Some readers wish I’d concentrate solely on the IAD and leave off writing other series, but that would be impossible. I can only write so many of those complicated, maddening, hair-pulling IAD books a year, or I’d risk burning out.
What’s up with the character quotes at the beginning of the books? Most authors quote famous people.
—Pauline
Well, I started doing it in If You Dare, my 2005 historical romance. I’d heard some writers say you have to be able to sum up your story in two or three lines, so I decided I’d sum up my characters the same way.
But then the quotes were kind of fun, and I wanted to share them. I thought I’d fudge the rules a bit and have my heroes and heroines be the legendary folks quoted at the beginning of the books.
My editor said, “I don’t know if we can use these. It’s not something I’ve seen before.” I replied, “Then that’s exactly why we should use them. Besides, it’s not like it matters—no one reads my books anyway!”
Some of my favorite quotes:
“Women are like bottles of liquor. They should be sampled, savored, then discarded. Matrimony is for men who can’t handle their liquor.”
—MURDOCH WROTH, EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WARLORD, MODERN VAMPIRE SOLDIER
* * *
“Witches are good for one thing and only one thing. Tinder.”
—BOWEN GRAEME MACRIEVE, THIRD IN LINE FOR THE LYKAE THRONE
* * *
“A femme fatale? With a history of burlesque dancing? You must have the wrong girl. I’m naught but a humble ballet dancer, a mere delicate sparrow.”
—NÉOMI LARESS, PRIMA BALLERINA, FORMER FEMME FATALE AND BURLESQUE DANCER
* * *
“That sorceress might be an evil bitch, but she’s my evil bitch. And I’ll have no other.”
—RYDSTROM WOEDE, FALLEN KING OF THE RAGE DEMONARCHY
* * *
“When in doubt, squeeze till something breaks.”
—JOSEPHINE DOE (A.K.A. LADY SHADY)
* * *
“Me, a steel magnolia? Steel, my ass! [Laughing, then abruptly serious.] Try titanium.”
—ELIZABETH “ELLIE” PEIRCE, EXPERT IN BOYS, REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY, AND LAW-ENFORCEMENT EVASION
* * *
“The first rule of being a mercenary? Find out what the client wants, then convince him that, a) you can get it for him, and, b) you’re the only one who can get it for him. Second rule? Lie. Often. The truth rarely serves you well in this business.”
—CADEON WOEDE, MERCENARY, SECOND IN LINE TO THE RAGE DEMONARCHY THRONE, A.K.A. CADE THE KINGMAKER
* * *
“They say I’m as fickle as winter, as shy as frost, and as indifferent as a blizzard. It’s rumored my body is pure as driven snow. Nobody imagines that I might be full of fire.”
—DANIELA THE ICE MAIDEN, VALKYRIE AND RIGHTFUL QUEEN OF THE ICERE, THE FEY OF THE FROZEN NORTH
* * *
A lot of writers get inspired by other books. Do you? Where do your ideas come from?
—Dettie
I don’t get to read novels as often as I used to, and when I do, I feel guilty because if I’m lucid and awake enough to be reading, then I should be writing.
I’ve had ideas come from anywhere and everywhere, from poems to bars to music videos. . . .
Poems
Lachlain, a werewolf king bent on vengeance, came about when I read Beowulf:
Then the sun was gone,
And its heart was glad; glowing with rage
. . . impatient to repay
Its enemies.
I dreamed up Mariketa the Awaited, heroine of Wicked Deeds, when I read “The Witch in the Glass,” a poem by Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt. The first stanza:
“My mother says I must not pass
Too near that glass;
She is afraid that I will see
A little witch that looks like me,
With a red, red mouth to whisper low
The very thing I should not know!”
TV
The Talisman’s Hie is an immortal (read: bloody, gruesome, lethal) equivalent of The Amazing Race.
Néomi Laress, the heroine of Dark Needs, was born when I first saw the music video for My Chemical Romance’s song “Helena.” My takeaway: “A dead dancer with joy on her face.” I must’ve watched the video a hundred times that night.
Films
Alien and Aliens. I sneaked in to watch Alien when I was really young. My folks feared I would be scarred by the “chest bursting” scenes, but I was more thrown by Ellen Ripley’s character. She was an action hero—and a woman! I believe I’d be a different person today if I’d missed out on Ripley.
In Demon from the Dark, she’s the role model of Carrow the Incarcerated. Carrow constantly asks herself, “WWRD?” (What would Ripley do?)
Pride and Prejudice. The version with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. One of my favorites scenes is when Darcy and Lizzie meet at dawn, and he declares his feelings. He’s so overcome with emotion, he stutters and says “I love” three times. Thud.
That Darcy—his mannerisms, his deep voice, his intensity, his shyness—was the inspiration for Sebastian Wroth.
Let the Right One In. This movie is chilling, but it’s also a kind of love story. (Spoiler: The Morse code tapped in the end is translated as K-I-S-S.) After watching this, I wanted to create a “bad” hero who did unheroic things. Lothaire’s book came not long after.
Location inspirations
Bars
One of my first book signings was in a New Orleans bar called Loa’s. I loved the name. When I discovered the definition—a voodoo spirit—the character of Loa the Commercenary started to come to life.
I conjured up Orion the Undoing with my editor during a plot session in a Bourbon Street dive bar. (We believe the location adds flavor. The things we do for our art!)
Travel
The rune stones in Dreams of a Dark Warrior are based on the Rök Rune Stone in Sweden, which is considered the country’s oldest piece of written literature. Rök means smoke.
The demon Rök got his name from the same. In fact, that rune stone inspired the idea of the Smoke Demonarchy.
Galway Bay oysters, mentioned in Dreams of a Dark Warrior, are seriously the best oysters on earth or any dimension.
The shark farm in No Rest is based on a rumor I heard years ago in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica.
I’ve never been to Yélsérk, Hungary (home of the Fyre Dragán in No Rest), and I doubt anyone else has either. Yélsérk is “Kresley” spelled backward. (Just to prove I’m a one-trick pony: Erol’s—the bayou tavern frequented by Loreans—is, you guessed it, “Lore” spelled backward.)
Who’s your favorite character in all of the Lore?
—Pennyroyal
Nucking Futs Nïx. Apparently, readers enjoy her antics. Coincidentally, I adore wri
ting them. See, readers? This is why we’re so right for each other.
What made you decide to dress Nïx in slogan T-shirts?
—Hannah
I love sucker-punch characters, the ones that masquerade as one thing, but are actually something else entirely. Nïx’s nickname (Nucking Futs) and her T-shirts make her seem lighthearted and jovial—and she can be—but she’s also a ruthless and powerful immortal. During this Accession, she’s the wild-card game changer, yet most don’t take her seriously. Just how she likes it.
Should we be pulling for the Møriør in the Accession? How did they come into being? Can you spill any secrets about them?
—Cal
Depends on if you like to pull for a winner. Just kidding, just kidding! (Or am I?)
The Møriør came into being because, as many of you know, I like to go back to a scene I wrote and show it from a different point of view. I’d always wanted to show the entire Accession from a differing perspective, so I thought, what if we pitted a small but powerful force of primordials against Nïx and her army?
Diabolical Nïx has done some shady things to her allies. When you see her in action against her enemies, you have to wonder, What if I’ve been pulling for the wrong side?
Hmmm, secrets. Orion, the Møriør leader, will play an unexpected role in Nïx’s future. Rune is going to get closer to his goal of wiping out Magh’s fey line sooner than he anticipated. Sian, the new—and newly returned—ruler of Pandemonia, will receive a huge surprise from Lanthe and Sabine (you didn’t think those two Sorceri would settle down just ’cause they got hitched, did you?).
Do you put any autobiographical tidbits in the series?
—Gail
Oh, yeah. For instance, the Valkyries’ addiction to video games is based on personal experience. Lemme tell you a little story. . . .
So I’m in college, rooming with Swede, my husband-to-be. We get a Super Nintendo Entertainment System with a few cartridges, including Donkey Kong Country.
Now, I have tunnel vision, so when I start a quest, I need to finish it before I do anything else. Like sleep or eat. This is a problem with video games, because finishing an entire one could take weeks! Worse? I had a crew of very supportive friends.
My first indication that something was wrong? When Swede patiently explained to me and my friends that for the last two weeks he’d been going to sleep with the Donkey Kong soundtrack playing—and waking up to the same. Without glancing away from the screen, I told him, “Yeah, baby, I hear you, I do, but I’m closing in on King K. Rool and I’m up to my ass in Kremlings.” My friends rolled their eyes at him: “Hellooo? Kremlings.”
High on high scores, I grew totally addicted, turning grungy and vampire-pale. That time was all a blur: School? Classes, schmasses. Must—get—to—next . . . LEVEL.
I would even dial Nintendo 1-900 help lines for hints. I remember telling some kid (who sounded fifteen), “No, no, that can’t be right. I’ve already sacrificed three Kongs doing that!” Fifteen-year-old’s reply: “Lady, don’t you have a job to be at or something?” Humiliation.
Then came the 3:00 a.m. intervention. Swede threw the cartridge on our neighbor’s roof! My only thought: Where to find a freaking ladder at three in the morning? Aha, the other neighbor’s backyard! My friends were the lookouts, cheering in hushed tones as I dodged a dog and continued my mission.
Must hurry, dew might damage cartridge. As I scrambled across the roof, reaching for my precious, an idea started setting in that I might have a problem. I snagged the cartridge. Triumphant!
I got back inside with my precious. Wait . . . Swede had destroyed the console? Scuttled??? Copious weeping. Acceptance.
But the Valkyries’ video-game addiction wasn’t the only idea I got out of that dark time. When I look back, I’m reminded that every heroine needs goals (however misguided), a hero who can be understanding if she’s gone crazycakes, and a crew that supports her in anything, even going cold turkey with Donkey Kong.
For years afterward, I never touched another game . . . until Wii. I convinced Swede that my body would tire out before I could get as bad as before. And what great exercise! Until it too became all a blur: Dance Dance Revolution! Love this song! Won’t stop till I get an A. I can’t feel my ankles! So thirsty. . . .
Oh, and don’t even get me started on the autobiographical-ness of trash-talking, bowling witches.
Turn the page for an in-depth look at the evolution of the cover for
A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER
Summer 2005. The original design sketch by artist Vince Natale, with editorial feedback in the margins.
The draft that my editor originally sent to me. I was in love!
Color! The art department (“Art”) adjusted hues and fonts, while editorial and marketing considered a tagline. A Louisiana-esque wrought iron fence replaced the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Art made the colors crisper and removed all the background elements to highlight the moon. (This version really popped for me!)
Official cover, 2006: For a cleaner look, Art returned the title to the earliest font and removed the tagline.
Rerelease of official cover, 2016: For the tenth anniversary of the IAD, S&S updated all the series covers. Note the glowing eyes (it’s like they plucked Lachlain from my head!).
These new IAD covers would have one unifying theme. As my editor described it to me: “Each immortal will be gazing out from behind a specific design element, because they secretly exist beside us, hidden in the shadows.”
As a pingback to these early A Hunger Like No Other versions, this revised cover depicts Lachlain gazing out from behind wrought iron.
A Day in the Life of
Blood Red Kiss
(Private text thread among the authors as they furiously work on their deadlines and hide out from their editor, Lauren McKenna, a.k.a. McKraken)
Morning:
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: Do you think Simon & Schuster would give us a tour bus for the release of BRK? I’m not saying we deserve one, but I’m not NOT saying that either. Wouldn’t it be great if we could score 1. A bus 2. Fine-ass handlers 3. Snickers Minis and Absolut Vodka as sponsors?
GYNA [DogMom]: I hope you weren’t actually asking a question, because YES. The answer is YES.
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: Hmm, how should we let S&S know?? If only there was a clever way of communicating our supersecret desires to them. . . .
GYNA [DogMom]: I’ll be bringing only 9 of my dogs on the bus tour that will totally be happening. Wearing shedded fur is SO popular right now.
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: May it be forever! ::plucking at my befurred shirt::
LARISSA [IoneUrSoul]: I don’t have 9 dogs, but I have a very, very friendly hellhound. Okay, not that friendly, but she can be in charge of security. (We don’t want the Snickers Minis or Absolut to be stolen. Priorities, obviously.)
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: I like where your head’s at, Ione.
Writing ensues for 1.25 minutes
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: I can’t wait for BRK to release. Really excited about Warlord coming out in mass-market paperback for the first time. Been waiting a decade for this. I re-edited the shit out of that story!
GYNA [DogMom]: It’s the ten-year anniversary of the IAD! This calls for an interpretive dance, Cowalter!
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: Damn, this author is freaking old. Kidding. I started writing as a zygote.
LARISSA [IoneUrSoul]: Valkyries are still kicking it old school! Like you! What? You said it first. . . .
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: That’s fair, Ione. You know, I started writing the IAD back then because I couldn’t find Valkyries in modern fiction. I wrote them to fill a need. Plus they get hot-as-lava heroes.
LARISSA [IoneUrSoul]: I still can’t believe we’ve had ten years of dark, edgy IAD boys. Keep ’em coming (heh)!
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: More heroes will be coming (heh heh) soon.
GYNA [DogMom]: You give good “fill a need,” KC! I’ve been drooling over your IAD men the enti
re decade. (Should seek medical help?)
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: Never! Speaking of drooling, y’all’s (it’s a word) next vampires and alien assassins need to get here now! G, readers have been DYING for Dallas’s story (and by “readers” I mean “me, Larissa, and everyone on earth”).
GYNA [DogMom]: What can I say—Otherworld Assassins needed another alpha man on his knees. Gotta keep those heroines happy :) And Larissa! MoonBound Clan vampire knocks it out of the freaking park. How do you keep things so fresh? (read: delicious?)
LARISSA [IoneUrSoul]: Mmm . . . fresh vampires. You know, I’m convinced that vampires are always fresh. Even when vamps are traditional, there’s still something yummy about them—
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: Preach! Sorry, pls continue. . . .
LARISSA [IoneUrSoul]: For fun, I liked tossing mine into a world where they, the most powerful predators on the planet, have to fight for their existence. Who doesn’t love a good vamp fight? Mmm . . . fresh vamp fights . . .
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: The only thing that could make fresh vamp fights better is fresh vamp Jell-O fights with one of Gyna’s sexy aliens thrown in the mix. Hey, this should be a bonus scene! Lauren McKraken would be all over it!
LARISSA [IoneUrSoul]: I love Jell-O! Did you know they have pina colada and strawberry daiquiri flavors? I think either of those would make for a rather, um, delicious vampire/alien Jell-O fight. Ahem. Speaking of aliens, Gyna, as a megafan of sci-fi, I gotta bow down to your alien awesomeness. No one does hot alien romance like you do. Write more. And faster. I’m greedy.
GYNA [DogMom]: Dang. I just fell deeper in love with you, L. And your books!
KCOLE [Khaleesi]: I know, right? There went the last little piece of my heart, Larissa Ione. ♥
