Christine Warren, author of HARD BREAKER, chatted with Fresh Fiction about her
latest book, where she sees the series going, and whether or not she plans to
write more books in The Guardian series.
Fresh Fiction: Now that the major battle between the Guardians and the
demons has been fought, will you be continuing the story line and taking it a
new direction?The Guardians series was always intended to have a fixed start and end
point. I wanted to try something different after the Others and see if I could
carry a single story thread across multiple books. With my previous work,
stories were more loosely connected by characters. For me, the Guardians have
done what they set out to do, and now they get to enjoy their retirement with
their mates!Fresh Fiction: What was your inspiration for the Guardians and their
wardens? Is it based on any folklore?Itโs not really based on any one specific story or myth. I simply liked the
idea of an epic Good vs. Evil struggle and the idea of heroes who look scarier
than the things theyโre saving the world from. That was enough to get my
imagination firing.Fresh Fiction: Are you done writing your Others series? It has been five
years since you have written any, when can we expect more?Well, as a matter of factโฆ Iโm not technically restarting the
Others series, but I am going back to that universe and expanding on it
a little. In 2018, Iโll be debuting a new series of shifter novels that connect
back to the Others, while introducing a new setting and characters. Iโm excited
about it, and it feels good to be going back to my roots. Like revisiting old
friends!Fresh Fiction: Why did you quit writing The Others series? The
way you branched it out and yet tied the characters together gave you lots of
room for growth.I never actually thought of it as quitting, just taking a break. I wrote
more than a dozen books in the Others series and that was all I did for most of
ten years. I just needed a little change of pace to keep my creative juices
flowing. But obviously, my Others mean a lot to me. They gave me my start as a
writer, not to mention tons of giggles over the years. I couldnโt abandon them
forever, which is what gave rise to my upcoming series.Fresh Fiction: Are you planning to leave The Guardians series
open for a revisit, too?Like I said, I donโt intend to go back and write more about the Guardians.
Those guys (and girls!) deserve a break; they went through a lot. But I never
actually say โnever.โ Mostly in an attempt to keep those words from coming back
and biting me in the butt.Fresh Fiction: Your books are full of strong female characters, do you
have an inspiration for that or is it your desire for women to read that in your
books and be inspired to find the strength in themselves? ย
Wow, thatโs one of the best compliments Iโve ever gotten. Thank you! I think
the answer is little bit of both. My parents raised me to believe I could do or
be anything I wanted to, and it wasnโt until I was an adult that I realized how
different that experience was from the one my mother had growing up. She had to
deal with even more misogyny and oppression that Iโve ever had to contemplate,
so sheโs definitely a role model for me. But mostly I think I write strong women
because I believe that women are strong. Weโre incredibly strong, more so than
weโll ever be credited with, and Iโm just reflecting the truth that I see around
me every day.Fresh Fiction: Where did the idea for gargoyle heroes come from? (You
have to admit it is a stretch to think of those rather gruesome statues turning
into gorgeous men.)Okay, so when I was a kidโฆ in junior high, maybe?... there was a cartoon on
television about gargoyles that came to life at night to protect and defend the
citizens of New York. I was obsessed with it. Frankly, Iโve always loved that
idea. To me, it harkens back to the classic Beauty & the Beast myth, where the
outer appearance of something terrifying can hide real goodness and nobility.
Whatโs more romantic than that?Fresh Fiction: On the subject of male gargoyle, how and why did you come
up with the idea to switch one of them to a she?I hadnโt planned on a female Guardian, to be honest. I think in my head I
was too obsessed with my mental pictures of big, fierce, yummy men! But as I was
writing the books, I realized I wanted to write a very special kind of heroine
who could physically kick ass but still be emotionally vulnerable. And I wanted
to write a hero who could deal with that, a man with the confidence not to be
intimidated by a woman who could take him in a fight. To me, thatโs the sexiest
kind of confidence.Fresh Fiction: What kind of research do you do for the locations in
The Guardians seriesIt varies. Some of it is based on places where Iโve spent time in the past,
like Vancouver, B.C. or Boston or London. Some of it is just places Iโm
fascinated by, like Paris (still on my wish list) so I end up doing a lot of web
crawling and reading and watching films or looking at photos. With Ireland, it
was extrapolating my experiences in a different part of the country (Cork and
Kerry) to the area around Dublin. And having a native Irish pal didnโt hurt
there. It all kind of goes into the melting pot in my head and eventually comes
out on paper. I donโt make guarantees about my accuracy, but I do try my best to
catch a little snippet of what a place is like for my characters.Fresh Fiction: Which character couple is your favorite of the
series?Thatโs like asking me to pick my favorite pet! I canโt do it! I love aspects
of all of them, and all of them carry little pieces of me in them. Filโs
Lithuanian curses and Sparโs reactions came straight from my grandmother and the
people who knew her. Kylie was like writing down the voices in my head
sometimes, and Dagโs bafflement with her smart mouth was tons of fun. Wynn, too,
has a lot in common with me, and I admit to having a soft spot for Knox. And
like I said before, I love the dynamic between Ash and Drum, but every one of
those couples is super special to me. Iโm going to miss them!
Since her early days of hiding the luridly covered
paperbacks under her pillows so her parents wouldn't catch
her reading past her bedtime, Christine Warren has suffered
an addiction to romance novels. Discovering Ellora's Cave
turned her into a positive junkie by introducing her to the
world of Romantica, but it also proved to be an inspiration
for the long-time writer. After penning everything from
poems to short stories to screenplays, she discovered her
real calling in erotic romance and happily penned her first
e-book about a sexy Russian vampire and a woman with too
many friends.
Christine spends most of her time thinking about sex โ
which is really no different from what she's always done โ
but now she puts those thoughts into her computer screen
and hopes her audience enjoys reading them as much as she
enjoys writing them!
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