MC of #AADSAV MaryJanice Davidson stops by

Today’s Authors After Dark Author (AAD) Spotlight is on one of the queens of snark with a huge shoe fetish and the Master of Ceremonies of AADSAV, MaryJanice Davidson!

No shoe fetish?! LOL

Actually I’m fetish-free! Uh, shoe-wise, I mean. For decades I was a Payless Shoes girl—buy one pair, get nine more for half price...like that. I started researching designer shoes when I began writing the UNDEAD series, but I rarely indulge myself. I just can’t see dropping $400-$500 for shoes I will eventually walk through dog poop in (My son is supposed to clean up after the dogs every day but, uh...well...). That’s not to say I don’t admire designer shoes and find them beautiful, because I do. But I don’t revere them like Betsy...few do!

Since Betsy and I have a few things in common (we’re tall, we’re vain, we’re not the sharpest knives in the drawer, we rarely learn from mistakes, we haven’t been redeemed by love, we’re selfish, we’re stubborn, we’re—wait, how many is that?) many readers assume I’m as obsessed with shoes as she. I’m not, but nevertheless I always make sure I’m wearing nice shoes at signings and on book tours, or at least had a pedicure in the last 90 days, because readers always check out my footgear. I’ve had readers call my attention to their shoes, too...once an enthusiastic fan yanked off her pump, shoved it under my nose, and practically screamed, “I got these heels at a sample sale in New York City for seventy bucks!” Yikes.

Davidson has written many books and series from the Undead series featuring Betsy the Vampire Queen, The Wyndham Werewolf  books, and the Fred the Mermaid trilogy, to the BOFFO series with FBI agent Cadence Jones. She has agreed to take some time out of her busy writing and shoe researching schedule to answer a few questions. So help me welcome her today to The Book Nympho.

TBN: Let’s start with Betsy from the Undead series. For my readers who are not familiar with the story of the Vampire Queen and her motley crew, can you give us a quick look into Betsy and her world?

MJD: Sure! Betsy is a vampire who turned thirty, lost her job, and was run over by a Pontiac Aztec all on the same day. Worst birthday ever. No one is more astonished than she when she comes back from the dead as not just a vampire, but the long-foretold queen of the undead. Luckily Betsy has lots of support from family and friends (her mother was relieved her daughter was “alive” and didn’t much care about the whys and wheres of her resurrection; her best friend cared about the whys and wheres but was still thrilled her friend was “alive”, and new friends only ever knew Betsy as a vampire and thus acceptance was no problem for them), which is a very good thing since she’s got all the everyday problems we all face (finding work in a crap economy, keeping the peace around the holidays, baby-sitting her half-brother Jon, etc.) as well as fending off various creatures of the night, cornering the occasional serial killer, and hanging out with the Anti-Christ.

TBN: The newest installment in Betsy’s story, Undead and Unsure is releasing in August. What teasers can you give us about what Betsy will be facing in the 12th book in the series?

MJD:  Well, the devil is dead. Which leaves a gaping job opening in Hell, of all places. The Anti-Christ (Betsy’s half-sister Laura) will have to decide if she’s stepping up or stepping back. Also the vampire king keeps playing in traffic. I am not kidding. He plays in traffic. And Betsy’s best friend Jessica has been pregnant for eighteen months. Or four. Or eleven. Nobody can seem to keep it straight—including Jessica.

Spoilers from Undead and Unstable below will explain the paragraph above...


UNSTABLE spoilers

(The devil is dead because Betsy killed her to save Sinclair from his future fate as the Book of the Dead. Sinclair plays in traffic because he can now tolerate sunlight for the first time in almost a century, and is also thrilled to not be the future Book of the Dead.)

TBN: How many more books do you see in Betsy’s future?

MJD: I just signed a contract to write two more, and I plan to keep writing the series as long as readers want to keep reading them. They’re such good fun to write, I can’t even tell you.

TBN: The Wyndham Werewolf series is a spin-off of sorts from the Undead Series. Did you see the series coming while you were writing Betsy’s story or did Derik and Rachel demand their stories be told?

MJD:  I always wanted to re-visit the Wyndham weres...reader response to Derik’s Bane was so positive I knew I wanted to write a couple more full-length books. So yes, I was thinking about where the weres fit in while writing Undead books (they exist in the same fictional universe).

TBN: Do you see anymore of those fluffy werewolves getting their own book?

MJD:  Oh, sure! I would love to do a couple more. We’ll see the werewolves next spring, too; my paranormal antho, Undead and Underwater, features a story about the Wyndhams set 25 years in the future, when a new leader takes the Pack.

TBN: You’ve covered the fanged and the furry. So why not mermaids? Where did the idea of Fred the mermaid come from?

MJD:  I was getting tired of the mermaid stereotype: beautiful, kind, sweet, empathetic, terrific boobs, aching to fall in love and make l’il merbabies, wonderful singer, etc., etc. I asked myself where the bitchy mermaids were. Fred(rika) Bimm was born from that, a grouchy mermaid who can’t swim, is a disaster on any sea-going vessel, is allergic to shellfish, and so socially unpleasant you’d think twice before inviting her...well...anywhere.

I love taking stereotypes and turning them on their head...it’s such good fun! I recommend it to all writers.

TBN: You have another new release in 2013. The 3rd book, You and I, Me and You, in your BOFFO series about Cadence Jones is hitting the bookshelves in March. What made you leave the paranormal creatures locked in a room so you can tell a FBI agent’s story?

March 19th 2013
by St. Martin's Press

MJD:  I wanted to have characters who weren’t in the Betsyverse. Nothing against them or paranormal in general; I love writing in that genre and always will. But I often write two books at the same time, and if I write myself into a corner I can always switch books. So having books set in completely different universes keeps my writing springtime fresh! Theoretically.

The Betsyverse is crawling with vamps and weres and the like; the BOFFO universe is crawling with the mentally deranged. Somehow, that works for me.

TBN: Lastly are you nervous about being the MC at AADSAV?

MJD:  Nervous? I can’t wait! I love meeting readers and I love giving talks and teaching workshops and all that fun stuff. An audience, trapped by politeness, forced to listen to me talk about me for an hour? Sign me up, baby. Twice!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I can’t wait to see what hijacks will take place at AADSAV in August.

You and me both! I’ve never been to Savannah, and this will be my first AAD conference. It’s going to be great good fun. I’m counting the days!

MaryJanice Davidson is a former model and medical test subject, as well as a New York Times best-selling author who has no idea why she is a success at what she does. ("No idea. At all.") Her books have been translated into several languages and are available in 15 countries ("No one is more surprised than I."). She frequently speaks to book clubs ("I don't know why my books sell."), writer's groups ("I don't know why I'm on best-seller lists."), and World War Two veterans ("Thanks for driving Hitler to suicide!"). She lives with husband, family, and dogs in St. Paul, MN, and loves ("No, really...I do!") hearing from readers. You can reach her at contactmjd@comcast.net , by visiting her Facebook page, or joining her Yahoo! group. Also, check out her blog if you have a chance her blog. Don't forget to check out her website too.

Undead and Underwater 

by MaryJanice Davidson 

(Undead #11.5) 

March 5th 2013 by Berkley

Betsy Taylor and the Wyndham werewolves are back in three all-new outrageous novellas from New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson.

MaryJanice Davidson “continues to put her own unique spin on paranormal romance” (Fallen Angel Reviews) in these hilarious and sexy new novellas featuring Undead Queen Betsy Taylor as she meets Fred the mermaid, an all-new female superhero, and Lara Wyndham, the daughter of the Pack leader of the Wyndham werewolves.

Undead and Unsure

by MaryJanice Davidson 

(Undead #12) 

August 6th 2013 by Berkley Hardcover

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