Exclusive Interview with Darynda Jones at Got Fiction

GF:  Hi Darynda, thanks so much for the interview.  Let’s dive right in.  Charley Davidson is an all-time favorite heroine of mine.  How did Charley come about, what was your inspiration for her character?

Darynda: I love that you ask how I came up with her character, because she is what I thought up first. The rest of the series kind of fell into place from there. I had just finished a YA manuscript, which is what I normally write, and I wanted to try my hand at another adult story. The first manuscript I ever complete was a historical romance, but my heart lied in the bizarre and the unexplained, but it had to have just the right heroine to pull it off. So I’m lying in bed one morning, thinking about this character. I wanted someone funny and a little klutzy, very modern and sassy, a girl who didn’t take life too seriously, but I wanted her in a paranormal setting.  And Charley Davidson was born. I loved her from the moment she popped into my head.

GF) The Charley Davidson series is up to 6 books now.  How many will be in the series?  Do you have an end planned?

Darynda: The series itself is ongoing, so I’m just not sure. I have them planned out through book 10, but I do have an ending in mind and, from there, a spinoff I’m very excited about.

GF) Charley’s sayings, her T-shirts and bumper sticker quotes, are hilarious and I LOVE them!  If you could only pick 3, what is your all-time, top 3 favorite t-shirt/bumper sticker quotes? (Can be yours or any other fun sayings)

Darynda: Oh, gosh, there are so many! Okay, I will just randomly pick three that I adore. 

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. —BUMPER STICKER

I came into this world covered in someone else’s blood and screaming. I’m not afraid to leave it the same way. —T-SHIRT

667: The neighbor of the beast. —BUMPER STICKER

GF) You’re currently are working on the Charley Davidson series and The Darklight Trilogy, but do you have plans for future books or series?  Any ideas you might like to share with us?

Darynda: How much time do you have? 

In a word, yes. I have dozens of projects started and I’m actively working on 27 at any given time. LOL. I am actually hoping to have another series (it’s only two books) finished and ready for my agent to sell this year. The one I’m obsessed with at the moment is a futuristic novel about a girl who was convicted of a crime she didn’t commit and it sent to an island prison. She has to fight to survive all while hiding the fact that she had been genetically modified lest she be recruited by the higher ups to join in the Olympian style games that pit prison against prison, only it is a fight to the death, tier by tier, until only one team is left alive.

GF) Reyes is one tattooed dude.  Do you have any tattoos yourself?  If so, what’s your favorite?

Darynda) I love tattoos with a fiery passion. I do have a small one from back when ankles were in. It’s a cross with a rose. *group sigh* I have another one in mind and my little brother is training to be a tattooist. I’m going to let him give it to me if he’s any good. hehehe

GF) Tell us 3 little-known/unexpected facts about you:

Darynda: I’m a certified sign language interpreter.

As much as I rave about coffee, I have to steer clear of caffeine. (Serious ADD)

I auctioned my little brother off on FB. He went for $20.

GF:  Just for fun, let’s play a little Would-You-Rather, please explain your answers!

GF: Would You Rather be able to run 100 miles and hour OR fly 10 miles and hour?

Darynda: Easy peasy. I’d rather be able to run 100 miles per hour. I like to get places fast. Flying would be awesome, but at 10 mph, I’d never get anywhere. And people would record me up there and put it on YouTube, which would be humiliating. I’m not in the best shape. I’d look like a blimp.

GF: Would You Rather have a dragon OR be a dragon?

Darynda: Okay, this is a little harder. If I must choose, and clearly I must, I will go with having a dragon. Dragons are hot. Literally, yes, but metaphorically as well. I’d love to have something that sexy and powerful by my side. Sigh…

Note: This interview was first conducted during the Darynda Jones blog tour at Got Fiction!  Check out this wonderful site.