Author Interview
With Trinity Faegen, author of The Mephisto Covenant Series.
If you have read my review of The Mephisto Covenant, then you know how much I loved it! If not you can find it here. I loved it so much in fact that I decided to feature it on TPNR to celebrate my ONE YEAR BLOGVERSARY! And now I get to interview the woman who brought this literary gem to life! And in light of my blogversary she VERY kindly offered to give away a signed and finished copy of The Mephisto Covenant AND an ARC of the next book in the series, The Mephisto Kiss (Available sept. 2012) There will be 2 winners and you have Trinity Faegen to thank for making the giveaway INTERNATIONAL!!
So the first book in the series, The Mephisto Covenant was a wonderful read!
So wonderful indeed I am featuring it in my Blogversary. And who better to talk about it than the author of the book herself!? Trinity Faegen!!
Thank you, Melina! I really can't describe how it feels when a reader
connects with my work. I'm incredibly happy that you enjoyed the book!
Well I certainly connected! Especially with Jax! Now, in all seriousness,
what I want to know is how was the process of writing that first novel?
One word: Painful. I wrote, revised, rewrote, then rewrote again. Then,
after it sold to Egmont, I rewrote huge chunks of it during the editing
process. It pretty much bears no resemblance to what it was when I began. I
still want to change certain scenes, but that pesky publication thing kind
of hinders any do-overs.
In the first book, we have a Russian background for Sasha, why did you
decide on that one?
When I was 12, I saw the movie, Nicholas & Alexandra, about the doomed last
czar and his empress. It began a life-long love of Russian history. Visiting
Russia is on my bucket list, and it looks as though I'll get my wish next
year - yay! I'm hoping The Mephisto Covenant is out in Russia when I go,
because whoa, would that be cool to see it in a Russian bookstore!
How many books are planned in this (amazing) series?
If the stars were perfectly aligned, I'd love to write a book for each
brother, including Eryx. Alas, Egmont only bought two, so after The Mephisto
Kiss, unless they contract for more, that's the end. At a minimum, I hope I
get to write book 3. You'll see why after you read book 2. *wink*
Which Brother is your favorite? I won't tell them I promise.
Zee. He's so screwed up, has so much of a story in him. I already know who
will be his Anabo and she's AWESOME!
How did you come up with the concept of Anabo and Mephisto?
I dreamed the Mephisto brothers as these dark, tortured guys. That's it. I
couldn't stop thinking about them. I didn't want them to be demons, which are something of Lucifer. I read books about Hell, including one called The History of Hell - interesting read! - and I hit on the idea that they were sons of Mephistopheles, another fallen soul who's of Hell, but not the devil. Once I had them fully realized, I knew I wanted to write romance stories about them. Every story needs conflict, and where's the conflict if an ordinary human could fall in love with them? They had to be dark and scary. So I set about dreaming up a girl who could be around them longenough to fall in love - and thus, the Anabo. That created its own set of problems, because they need to be without Original Sin, but not Mary Sues. I had an enormous amount of fun building the Mephisto world.
How long did it take to outline and then write?
As I said, I revised and rewrote this book countless times. I began writing
it in 2006. It sold to Egmont in March of 2010. The first draft went
amazingly fast, but what came after was long and slow and painful. I wanted
to sell this book SO badly, I was willing to do whatever it took to get it
in sellable shape. My agent was a trooper, and reread over and over, until
she felt like we had something worthy of submitting. By contrast, book 2,
The Mephisto Kiss, took 3 months to write. I had to rewrite the last third
of the book in edits, but it was a joy to do - I love book 2.
What is your favorite dessert?
Hands down, chocolate layer cake. The old fashioned kind like my Granny
made. You know, moist cake, delicious creamy chocolate frosting...oh, man,
now I'm DYING for some!
What are you reading? Any recommendation for my readers?
At this moment, I'm reading my friend A.E. Rought's book, Broken. It'll be
out in January 2013. Inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it's a
beautiful and compelling read. I'm also reading J.A. London's Darkness
Before Dawn - insanely beautiful prose and a great story. I never miss the
opportunity, when I'm asked, to talk up Simone Elkeles's Perfect Chemistry
trilogy about the Fuentes brothers. Holy mama, do I love those books! If you
haven't read them, you need to get on that. The woman can write romance like
whoa and damn.
Thank you so much for having me as a guest on your Blogversary, Melina!
Congratulations!
And now thanks to her here is my first Blogversary giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
