Interview: Author Dani Harper ~ Giveaways

Dani Harper

Quite simply, I adore the paranormal. I write paranormal romance, blog about the paranormal, watch paranormal TV and movies, and read paranormal books of almost any kind. Stephen King once said he’d always had a love of the unquiet coffin … and all I can say is me too! Maybe it’s a gene, but I’ve been a bigger fan of Halloween than of Christmas all my life. It was only natural that werewolves, faeries, ghosts and other supernatural creatures would turn up to populate my stories

Welcome Author Dani Harper to Badass Book Reviews. This interview is conducted by our own very badass ~ Lethal Lovely

Q1. Welcome to Badass Book Reviews, Dani Harper! We’re very excited to have you here. Why don’t you give us a little background about yourself?

When I wasn’t writing for northern Canadian newspapers and an agriculture college, I was raising four daughters (who were also raising me) and two pugs. I also raised goats, pigs, geese and chickens, plus far more rabbits than I ever thought possible. Whatever sanity I have remaining, I attribute to a deep love of the outdoors and a passion for reading. Eventually I was inspired by a new-to-me genre – paranormal romance – to begin writing stories of my own. When both the girls and the livestock left home, I felt ready for my first solo vacation. This led to my biggest adventure EVER. I met the love of my life on an Alaskan fishing boat, eventually marrying him and moving to the island community of Sitka. Except for the grizzly bears that stubbornly refuse to stay out of my yard, it’s been the best seven years of my life. And yes it’s true that my husband inspires me every day.

Q2. I just finished the first book, Changeling Moon, and I thought it was amazing. I have nothing but good things to say about your wonderful hero and heroine–Connor & Zoey. So where did you get the idea to write about shifters?

As far as I’ve been able to figure out, my new Changeling series was inspired by wolves! One bright sunny morning when I lived on the farm, I was stunned to see a pack of wolves – about 7 or 8 – run across my yard not far from the house. No mistake about what these big dark creatures were – I’d seen hundreds of coyotes before and these clearly dwarfed them. They were amazingly beautiful creatures, running with ease and grace, seeming to float along rather than touch the ground. Their teeth gleamed white from grinning black lips, their tails were great plumed banners and I had the strong impression that the wolves were happy as they ran together. It remains one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Ever since then, I’ve run with the wolves on paper.

Q3. I never thought of a veterinarian as being sexy before Changeling Moon. My opinion on them has definitely changed. Can you tell us why you chose that as Connor’s profession?

I don’t get to “choose” very much when it comes to my characters. They have a tendency to simply show up in my head one day, fully formed, with names and careers and everything. The entire Macleod family was like that – they showed up as a group! (Yes, it gets pretty noisy in my head sometimes.) So Connor was already a vet when I became aware of him, which was lucky for me because I have a little bit of experience in that world. I’ve always been fascinated with animals and I volunteered at a rural clinic at one time, in addition to looking after my own livestock. I also had several friends at that time who were vets and veterinary assistants. It’s a physically and emotionally demanding profession, and one that I admire.

Q4. What about Jessie? I thought it was genius casting her as the Pack alpha. I’ve never read of that happening before in a paranormal romance.

Jessie popped up in my head, along with her mate Bill, at the same time that the Macleods showed up. I like her a lot – she’s so self-assured and confident in herself despite her small size. She’s very wise too, and deeply devoted to the well-being of the Pack. It’s no wonder that its members voted her to be their Alpha.

Q5. I love how much emphasis you put on family and friends in Changeling Moon. I learned so much about them that I almost feel like they’re a part of my family. Who is your favorite supporting character in Changeling Moon?

My favorite supporting character would have to be Birkie Peterson. By day, she’s the unflappable receptionist of the North Star Animal Hospital. And by night, who knows? She’s very mysterious and even the Changelings don’t quite know what she is or what she’s capable of – although she’s fully aware of what they are. But it’s her down to earth personality that I love – she’s a mentor and a best friend and a favorite aunt all rolled into one, and she’s adopted the Macleods as her own.

Q6. What was the hardest scene to write, and do you have a favorite?

The hardest scene to write is always the one I’m working on now, LOL! If I were to choose a favorite scene, it would have to be the one from Changeling Moon where Culley turns up in wolfen form in Connor’s office just before Zoey walks in. There is something so gleefully normal about this situation. Sure Connor is a big strong handsome shapeshifter – but is there anything more human than wanting to strangle your smart-ass brother?

Q7. What gets your creative juices flowing?

I wish I knew. Seriously, nothing much seems to happen until I “hear” characters talking to each other. And the story builds off that dialogue, as the characters reveal it to me. They don’t pick convenient times either – my characters will get chatty when I wake up in the middle of the night or when I’m driving or even once when I was up on a ladder painting the house! My husband gave me a mini tape recorder to carry around and that’s helped a lot. Once upon a time I thought the writer was in charge but all that changed the minute I started writing fiction. It doesn’t matter what I think the story should be about — my characters do what they darn well please. It isn’t unusual for me to be talking to them while I’m typing. Or yelling things like “You can’t do that!” Most of the time, I’m just trying to keep up.

Q8. The next two books in your series, Changeling Dream (which is out now) & Changeling Dawn (which will be released January 1, 2012) are about Connor’s brother & sister, James and Kenzie. We learn a little about them in Changeling Moon. Can you tell us more?

I think I’ll start with a little background. The Macleods are Changelings, able to become wolves at will. Changelings live a very long time, more than several human lifespans put together, but there aren’t many left in the world. Almost two centuries earlier, during the terrible wolf exterminations in the British Isles, their family was forced to flee northern Scotland. They settled in the Peace River region of northern Canada, a landscape that reminded them of their ancient home, a place where rugged wilderness borders farmers’ fields. The small village of Dunvegan is now home to an entire Pack of Changelings. All of them live as humans, hiding in plain sight.

James is the oldest brother in the Macleod family. His wife and unborn child were murdered by an unknown assailant, and in his grief and guilt he became a wolf and remained one for the next three decades. It’s only when Jillian Descharme moves to town that he ends up having to make a choice – relearn what it is to be human or remain a wolf forever.

Kenzie is the youngest of the Macleods. During the family’s time in Scotland, she suffers a trauma that affects her ability to trust humans ever again. Now an archeologist in the wilds of Alaska, she runs into Josh Talarkoteen, a man with some issues of his own. Sparks ignite, but can she allow herself to rely on him before a new danger claims them both?

Q9. What character are you looking forward to writing about next? I wouldn’t be averse to reading Culley’s story. *wink wink* *hint hint*

You’ll be glad to know that I’m in the middle of writing Culley’s story (Book 4) at this very moment. I was really looking forward to writing about this particular character, only to discover that most of the time I just want to kill him! You know the type – doesn’t follow directions from the author, gives her the “silent treatment” and has his own ideas about the plot (which he carries out when I’m not looking). At this point, I’m hoping the heroine will kick his handsome butt for me.

Q10. Do fishing and writing go together? What’s the biggest fish you ever caught?

In the fall and winter, I’m fortunate to be able to devote most of my time to writing. Spring and summer are very different! My husband is a commercial salmon fisherman. In the spring, we have a lot of pre-season boat maintenance to do — like scraping and painting the 40-foot hull! Summer is the main fishing season and I’m in charge of keeping the boat stocked with ready-to-eat meals for its many ocean trips. So I do a lot of cooking!

If we’re short a deckhand for any reason, then I go out to sea. I’ve learned to catch and clean big salmon, and take my turn at the wheel as well. My laptop always goes on the boat with me, however, and if the ocean isn’t too choppy, I’ll bang out a few lines between catches. When I get back to shore, there are always a lot of dried fish scales that have to be cleaned out of the keyboard, LOL! We’ve taken out the skiff to go sport fishing occasionally, and as much as I love it, I’m terrible at it!

So far my biggest catch has been a rather ugly rockfish that weighed maybe 3 pounds. Meanwhile, my husband (super Alaskan mountain man that he is) won a derby with a 54-pound salmon he caught with a simple pole!

Thank you very much for accepting my invitation Ms. Dani Harper, and we hope to have you back again.

Contact: To find out more about her Changeling series, please visit her website at www.daniharper.com  Or stop by her Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/DaniHarperFanPage and say hello!  She always has time to chat with a reader.

Dani Harper~ Changeling Series

Giveaway: Chance to win one of three different items! To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment and tell me what supernatural creature would you most like to be? Vampire, werewolf, or something completely different? Dani Harper has graciously given us a paperback copy of Changeling Dream–her latest edition to the Changeling series, a stuff plush Wolf and a Backback!

*Sorry for the misunderstanding, everyone. The 3rd giveaway offered by the wonderful Dani Harper is actually a book tote, not a backpack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

© 2011 – 2012, Badass Book Reviews. All rights reserved Please do not copy reviews or content from this site

Share and Enjoy