Interviews
Heart to Heart Interview with MaryJanice Davidson
Heart to Heart: We love Betsy Taylor, inadvertent queen of the undead. How did you get started on this series?
MaryJanice Davidson: Would you believe, it was as simple as a picture in my head I couldn't get rid of? I had this vision of a tall blonde woman waking up in her own coffin, and not only was she dressed badly in cheap shoes, but she didn't even know she was a vampire. And I thought, how come she doesn't know? In the movies, you always know you're a vampire. How'd she wind up in a coffin in bad lighting? And the Betsy series was born.
HtoH: Will the hardcover debut bring her a bigger audience?
MJD: Cripes, I hope so!
HtoH: And will Sinclair ever...evolve? Grow up? Whatever?
MJD: I think he will, most definitely. You know what they say about the redeeming powers of love.
HtoH: You've had one of those "overnight successes" that took years.
MJD: You're right, it did take years! Oh, wait. That's not a question.
HtoH: Did you always write funny? Did you always enjoy writing in different genres?
MJD: Yup and yup. I guess it all goes back to my rampant immaturity. I can't be the straight man, so to speak, when I'm writing. As for writing in different genres, I like to read in different genres, so I guess that's why I write in them, too. I'd get bored if I had to write the same thing all the time.
HtoH: Were there any particular books you read as a teen that prompted you to become a writer -- and a writer with an interest in the paranormal?
MJD: Oh yes...there was this one book, The Girl with the Silver Eyes, about a teenager with telekinesis, that I could only find on my summer vacation when I'd visit my grandpa's house. So every summer, I'd get that book out over and over again until school started.
HtoH: Can it really be true that starting in July [2005], you have a release every month through February?
MJD: Yes! It can be true.
HtoH: Does that include a new book for the sexy werewolf Derik, introduced in Derik's Bane?
MJD: Close...there's a Wyndham werewolf novella that I'm literally finishing this week. It's called A Fiend in Need, and it's Antonia's story (the grumpy psychic werewolf from Derik's Bane).
HtoH: Are you getting enough sleep?
MJD: Tons! Although, if I'm on a hot streak I'll often look up and realize it's after 10:00 p.m., which is a long day of writing when you start around 8:00 in the morning. What can I say? I'd rather write than just about anything else.
HtoH: Is it too quiet in Minnesota?
MJD: Never! If it was less quiet out here, I wouldn't be able to think all these stories up.