We are very happy to welcome author Kelly Meding here at Book Lovers Inc today. Her new novel, As Lie the Dead, book 2 in the Dreg City Series will be released on Tuesday 27th and she’s here to celebrate her upcoming release. Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of the post. Willkommen Kelly!
The Geeky Lover: Kelly, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
Kelly: I am a moderately shy homebody, born and raised in southern Delaware near the beaches, and now live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. As a child, I entertained myself by creating elaborate stories for my She-Ra figures and Barbie dolls to enact, and now I tell stories for a living. Chocolate and coffee are my oxygen, and I am mother to the world’s most resilient kitty cat.
The Geeky Lover: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?
Kelly: My days are actually pretty atypical, since I work a part-time job outside of writing. I tend to fit in writing time whenever I can—morning, afternoon, evening. I don’t have a set schedule, because my other job schedule fluctuates. But when it’s time to write, I’ll read a page or so of where I left off previously, and then dive right back in.
And I’m definitely more of a pantser. I start with characters and the general idea of the book, and then I start writing. But I do think ahead, and sometimes I have to stop and really examine the direction I’m going. My plots tend to have quite a few twists and bends, so I can’t move forward unless I’m certain things will still come together in the end.
The Geeky Lover: What do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?
Kelly: I honestly have no idea, and I’ve never given it much thought. Is there a way to answer this without offending someone? People read because they love books and stories and they want to experience the tales told by their favorite authors. Although I imagine one of the two is more critical of what they read than the other—I’ll leave you to decide which.
The Geeky Lover: As Lie the Dead is the second book in your Dreg City series. What can you tell us about Three days to Dead, the first book?
Kelly: It’s the story of a murdered woman who’s brought back to life to solve her own murder and potentially stop a devastating alliance between rival paranormal creatures, and she only has three days to do it. Along the way she has to get used to living in a new body, navigate a world in which allies are now her enemies, and accept the idea that she’s going to die again very soon.
The Geeky Lover: What I love most about urban fantasy is the mix of paranormal and ordinary life. What makes your world special in your eyes?
Kelly: My favorite thing about Dreg City is that it could be any city, anywhere. I deliberately didn’t set it in New York, Chicago, or Atlanta, because I wanted there to be this sense of “any city.” That these creatures could be living right under your nose no matter where you are, and that this war could be fought next door and you’d never know it.
I think my world is also unique because I didn’t stick to the traditional versions of the paranormal creatures I used. My vampires aren’t like most others in fiction, and I used some of the lesser known critters, such as goblins and gargoyles, and created my own histories/hierarchies within their societies. And there are more critters inhabiting the world of Dreg City that haven’t even been mentioned yet.
The Geeky Lover: Evangeline Stone, your heroine, is a Dreg Hunter. She hunts the things that go bump in the night. She had a rather adventurous life and I don’t only mean the dying and resurrecting part. How did you come up with Evy’s character?
Kelly: A lot of Evy’s character stems from the question “What kind of person volunteers, at age eighteen, to be trained to hunt and kill monsters?” And how do I make this person sympathetic to readers? I basically “met” her at the same time readers did—when she wakes up in Chalice’s body. As the novel progressed, I was able to step back into her personal history and really flesh out her back story. Even though we only see them in flashbacks, Evy’s relationship with Ash and Jesse is what really defined her for me—they were the first people in her life to truly accept her and to love her, warts and all. With them she was home.
The thing I like most about Evy is that she never really feels sorry for herself. She’s very much a “this is what’s happening so f*cking deal with it” kind of person. She rolls with every punch thrown at her and does her best to survive, and joining the Triads was very much a survival decision (which you’ll get to read more about in Book 3).
The Geeky Lover: Why did you decide to write the book in a first person POV? You can admit it: Evy forced you to do that.
Kelly: Hehe. It just came out that way. I’ve written novels in both first and third, and I enjoy both POV. But this story is Evy’s story, and the way it began (her waking up in the morgue) demanded it be in first, and that this crazy afterlife be told from her POV. I really enjoy writing her voice, cussing and all.
The Geeky Lover: What can we expect of As Lie the Dead?
Kelly: Drama! Betrayal! Secrets revealed! Loyalties tested! And explosions!
As Lie the Dead picks up about an hour after Three Days to Dead ends, and it launches Evy into (if I may borrow a line from “24”) one of the longest days of her life. There are several new characters introduced, you see a cohesive Triad team in action, and there’s a deeper look into the were-community. Evy is also forced to look into a mirror and truly examine her beliefs about Dregs and her black-and-white view of their world.
The Geeky Lover: Do you see Evy and Wyatt having a Happily Ever After?
Kelly: Oh boy. The part of me that loves a good romance and loves an HEA screams “yes!” The part of me that loves Joss Whedon and his ability to make un-happy endings acceptable wants to giggle with mad laughter. But at this point, I don’t know for sure. This is urban fantasy, not paranormal romance, so there isn’t a guaranteed HEA. But I also don’t want to disappoint my loyal readers. I guess it will come down to what Evy wants in the final book.
I will say that if I get to write the series to the end, I know what the final scene will be. I’m just not one-hundred percent certain who will be there (except Evy, obviously), or how I will get her there. How’s that for side-stepping the question?
The Geeky Lover: Some great new side characters have been introduced in As Lie The Dead. I loved meeting Phinn and Alex’s dad. Can we expect to get more of them in the next books?
Kelly: These two characters were a lot of fun to bring into Evy’s orbit. Phin has taken over a little corner of my heart and refuses to move out. He and Evy have such an interesting dynamic in As Lie the Dead, and he’s become far more important to the overall story arc than I anticipated. Alex’s dad, Leo, on the other hand…he was an intense character to write without making him a walking cliché. He provided some great conflict for Evy, and he may or may not pop up again.
The Geeky Lover: We finally get to find out a lot about Wyatt’s past. Was that surprise/twist in your plans since the beginning?
Kelly: I’d love to sound all authoritative and say yes, I always knew. But I didn’t. And it might sound a little goofy, but Wyatt isn’t a character I know a lot about, and I didn’t know much about him before I wrote As Lie the Dead. While writing this particular book, I really poked into his past and the reasons why he does the things he does, and why he got involved with the Fey and Triads in the first place. There’s a lot of darkness in his past. He’s more emotionally damaged than I expected, and even I was a little surprised by that “twist.” It’s extremely heartbreaking, but it made for a wonderful moment with Evy.
The Geeky Lover: A lot is said about the need for change in the Triad system. Are we ever going to witness that, for better or for worse?
Kelly: Oh, golly, that’s a good question. Yes. The system that’s in place now is basically a Band-aid on a gushing head wound. Sooner or later, a drastic change in treatment will be needed. And it’s something that readers will experience right along with Evy.
The Geeky Lover: I so love your German covers. You are really lucky with those. How did you feel about your debut novel also being published in Germany so fast?
Kelly: I was shocked. Selling any foreign rights was always a dream of mine, but to have the rights picked up so quickly was amazing. I can’t think of many people whose debut novel came out in a foreign country almost two months before it debuted in the States. *grin* Germany has a huge and growing urban fantasy market, and I absolutely love the covers Droemer chose, as well.
The Geeky Lover: What is next on your schedule?
Kelly: Right now I’m waiting for edits on Dreg City 3, and I’m deep in the middle of writing Dreg City 4. There’s lots of good stuff coming up for Evy and Company, and I’m so excited to continue her story. I also have a second series coming out with Pocket Books next year, and I’ll be posting more on that on my blog in the coming weeks. All of this means I should have two books coming out next year (yay!).
The Geeky Lover: And now to the mean questions:
Who’s your favorite secondary character?
Kelly: Phineas. He has surprised me since his very first scene.
The Geeky Lover: Is there anything you wish you would have written differently?
Kelly: Yes and no. There will always be things I wish I could go back and tweak, or change to make current plotting easier. But no, not really, because that’s just crazy-making. It is what it is, and I’m very happy with how both books have turned out.
The Geeky Lover: Last but not least and especially for all the potential readers: Give them 3 reasons why they should read your books?
Kelly:
1. Gremlins who live in factories and do favors in exchange for cheesecake.
2. Explosions!
3. Sexy hero who sacrifices everything for the woman he loves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~*~Giveaway~*~*~
Kelly offers a signed copy of As Lie The Dead for one lucky commenter today. has been very generous with us today!
All you have to do is to leave a question for Kelly or just a meaningful comment about the interview
This contest is open Internationally.
Please leave us a way to contact you (twitter name or Email addy in blogger profile is enough).
Giveaway ends on Saturday July 31th, we will announce the winners on Sunday.
Good Luck!
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Hi Kelly! I haven't started this series yet (I keep meaning to) but I really like already what you did with Dreg City. I think it's a good idea to have a fictional city so that you're free to add whatever your imagination can come up with. It is an urban 'fantasy' after all. On a completely unrelated note, I grew up in MD- do you love crabs and Old Bay?
b(dot)cardone
Great interview! I love your handling of the Fae Kelly, the are often misrepresented in fiction or made evil:) I hope to see more of them in coming books.
Kai
mailkaicharles@yahoo.com
Loved the interview! Really hope Evy and Wyatt end up together (I'm a sucker for romances). Can't wait till release day to get my copy of As Lie The Dead.
http://twitter.com/glamour_me
Mmmm… cheesecake… Any particular type? 🙂
I've had these books on my wishlist and I want to read them. Thanks for the interview.
books (dot) things (at) yahoo (dot) com
Hi Kelly,
I absolutely loved Three Days to Dead and can't wait for As Lie the Dead. 🙂
Best to you.
Michelle
kweenmg at yahoo dot com
I so don't need another reason to want this book, but I'm dying to know who/what that winged creature on the cover is…
Allthingsurbanfantasy at gmail.com
I'm more of a Paranormal Romance Person the Urban Fantasy.It does sound good but i'm afrade of endings where there is no happy ending .I so hope it will have a happy ending.
sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com
I absolutely loved Three Days to Dead and cannot wait to read the next book. I think I will read Three Days again. It is one of my favorite reads. I blab about it all over the web. Thanks for the entertainment Kelly!
robin [at] intensewhisper [dot] com
Great interview. I really want to know who and what the winged creature is too. Really looking forward to reading it. I loved Three Days to Dead.
bacchus76 at myself dot com
Bethany C – I love crabs with Old Bay! My parents used to take my sister and me crabbing a lot when we were kids. Nothing better than eating what you caught yourself!
Fiction State of Mind – The Fae have so many myths and stories around them, and it's been to play around with their motivations. They'll definitely pop up in the future. 🙂
Tamara & stacey – I love a good HEA, too. The trick is making sure Evy plays along.
Melissa – They seem quite partial to fruit-topped cheesecake. *g*
Michelle – Thanks so much!
Abigail and donnas – I promise by the middle of As Lie the Dead, you'll know who/what the winged dude is on the cover. 🙂
Robin K – Yay! Thanks so much!
Loved Three days to dead, looking forward to reading ALTD 😀
van
Littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(dot)com
Great interview…please enter me
vidishamun@gmail.com
I've got the first book in this series on the way to me now. Looking forward to reading it. I'd love to win this book. and the gremlins intrigued me. Wish my kids would work for cake lol.
I love the three reasons to read this book!
allisonsbj3(at)gmail(dot)com
I love the dual personality concept – what made you think to mesh the personalities of Evy and Chalice? Does Wyatt appreciate both, or does he (will he) love one over the other? Can't wait!
lustandink(at)gmail(dot)com
Assuming you are able to finish the series the way you want to, how many books are you planning to write for it?
I read the free short story that was posted and loved it and I just picked up Three Days to Dead so I'm looking forward to starting this series.
jen(at)delux(dot)com
Mmm my husband works in a factory I wonder if he knows any cheesecake Gremlins?
Great interview!
eva.s.black[@]gmail[.]com
how did this series slip under my radar? It sounds really cool, so just added it to my wish list.
van_pham, Vidisha, allisonsbj3 – Thanks so much for stopping by!
Pamk – I wish more people worked for cake, too. Hopefully next week the friends helping me move won't mind working for pizza. 🙂
Dee – Great question. That would make a terrific blog post topic. Short answer is a long chat w/ other writers about concepts of memory–is it retained in the body or only in the mind? Once I decided that, the rest followed. Wyatt loved Evy, and Evy herself is only just understanding her new existence so…you have to wait and see!
JenM – I'd like six books to properly write the series, maybe seven. But I do have a proper ending in mind. At some point, poor Evy just needs a break. 🙂
EVA SB – LOL! If he meets one, let me know!
Sullivan McPig – Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!
Kelly, thanks for the interview! I love the insight into the Dreg books! "Three Days to Dead" totally rocked! I can't wait to read "As Lie the Dead!"
The german cover is awesome by the way…
Thanks again!
Katie
bigferret at email dot com
Great interview. I have the first book sitting in my TBR pile,after reading the three reasons to read this book,I think I will bump it up my reading list so I can read this one when it comes out.
How many books would you like to have in this series?
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
Thanks for the interview. Um, what kind of Wyatt "twist?"
Anyway, I'm so glad I discovered this book only a couple months ago because: a)despite the saturation of uf/pnr out there, it's tough to find one you want to invest in; b)I only had to wait a couple of months before bk 2!
But, now it's going to be a long year before bk 3 🙂
Kelly, what inspired you yo be a writer? What made you decide that this was something you wanted to do?
Any advice for us aspiring writers? Loved Three Days to Dead! Can't wait for As Lie the Dead!
jessbess2505[at]yahoo[dot]com
Katie – Thanks so much! I love the German covers, too. A much different feel than the US ones.
elaing8 – If I get my way, I'd like six to seven books to properly tell Evy's story.
KT – Don't worry, it isn't a "twist" twist (he's not secretly a Fey avatar or about to turn evil or anything), just some backstory revelations and insight into his past that Evy certainly wasn't expecting… *g*
Jessica – I've been writing stories since middle school, but I only set my sights on it as a career goal after college. I love telling stories, and it's such a thrill and blessing to be paid for it now! And it be able to share these tales with so many awesome folks. 🙂
My best advice is to be persistent and write as often as possible. No writing is wasted writing.
Hi Kelly!
I am absolutely in LOVE with this series and have read and re read Three days til Dead to many times to count! I have been counting down the days til the 27th and I CANNOT wait to get my hands on the second book! I love everything about the characters and Evy's world. Def my favorite series to boot!
🙂
Jenna Rysanek
Sweetj826@aol.com
This book is in my TBR pile. I'm looking forward to reading it. The covers are awesome, too!
Rachel
Res498(AT)aol.com
This series is on my wishlist and if I win I'm definitely going out to buy the first!
linaramz at yahoo dot com
You are a new author to me and I haven't read any of the series as yet. I enjoyed the interview and what really caught my eye was the note about gremlins !
Just curious but what is your other job ?
Thanks for opening the giveaway to worldwide entries.
Carol T
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
I haven't read a book by you yet, but I want to! The interview was great!
I just want to ask whether you would like to explore any other genres?
Misha
mishamary@gmail.com
I'm always looking for new authors and series to read, sounds good! tWarner419@aol.com
I read "Three Days to Dead" about a month ago when I was looking for a stand-alone UF book not realizing it was book 1 in a series. And I'm so glad it is! I'm looking forward to seeing more of Evy and Wyatt and the Dregs. I really appreciated how you told the story without it feeling like it was all a set up for later books. It could stand on it's own, but I'm glad there are more coming. I do have to say that the blurb on the cover by Patricia Briggs helped sell the book to me. Send your thanks her way =).
This was a fun interview. I love that you don't give any spoilers but give us lots of great things to look forward to. I'd love to see the 6 or 7 books hit the shelves as well. Good luck!
akbabcock at gmail dot com
Jenna – That's awesome to hear! Thank you so much!
rachel445 & Adelina – Thanks so much! I hope you like them!
buddyt – I work part-time for Pier 1 Imports. It helps keep food on the table and the electric on. 🙂
misha1989 – I would definitely like to explore other genres. I'm fiddling with a YA, as well as some other ideas. We'll see!
teteta – Thanks! Good luck.
Allison – I'm so glad to hear you weren't disappointed to learn it was a series. The concept definitely could have lent itself to a very heartbreaking standalone, but Evy has so many more adventures ahead of her. And I admit, I nearly fell out of my chair when I found out Patricia Briggs blurbed me! No joke.
I loved Three Days to Dead and am looking forward to As Lie the Dead. I loved the premise of the first book and can't wait to learn more about Evy's world! I was wondering which scenes are hardest for you to write – the romance, action or heavy dialogue scenes? Do you ever cringe at some of the stuff you put Evy through?
Your series sounds really good. I like that you may not have a happy ever after. Makes it more true.
I have yet to pick up your series, but I totally will now!! Who does your covers? They are incredible!
Hi Kelly!!! I have book 1 on my to read pile, so I'll have to make sure to grab this as well.
I work in a steel plant, and I am always trying to convince people that gremlins are lurking and are the answer to the problems that make no sense. In my world, the gremlins have to be paid off in tequila. 🙂
Heather – I think action scenes are trickiest, because there is so much choreography. The big battle at the end of Three Days took a while, because there were so many different elements involved. But they're also a fun challenge. And I definitely cringe at some of the stuff Evy's gone through (and continues to go through). She inhabits a very dark and violent world, and I want to stay true to that without making it gratuitous. 🙂
Victoria – Thanks! Evy definitely keeps me guessing about what she wants.
Nicole – Cliff Nielson is the artist (he also does Meljean Brooks's covers, among others) of both covers, and should also be doing Book 3! I just adore the covers I've gotten.
heatwave16 – Gremlins cause way more trouble than they get credit for. 😉
Kelly – since you say you have the last scene planned out….do you have an idea of how many books you would like to take to get there? Or are you just hoping to get to that point before some evil publishing conglomerate pulls the plug?
cass at feministdracona dot net
I haven't yet started this series but I will! I love the book covers, they look great! Just out of curiosity, where did you get the idea for the fist book? I mean a girl murdered and then brought back to life! It's sounds great!
my e-mail is on my profile!
If you could have your characters visit another author's (or TV/film) world where would you like them to go and who would they visit while there?
Ladytink_534(at)yahoo(dot)com
I know I shouldn´t, but I still judge books by its covers and I like these :)Cheescake loving gremlins? I´m in! Twitter @seesen9
draconismoi – I always hope that the decision to end the series will be mine, rather than an economic one, but there's never a guarantee of that (unless you're a bestseller). But I do hope, no matter the actual book count, that I can tell a complete story for Evy.
Kailia Sage – The initial idea ended up having nothing to do with the actual book. It was a scene of a woman in Purgatory being called before St. Peter and tasked with a special assignment on Earth in exchange for passage into Heaven. But the more I toyed with this idea, the more it expanded and eventually became Three Days to Dead.
Ladytink_534 – Oooh, great question! It would be a trip to see Evy on HBO's True Blood, stuck in a world where vampires are out, sort of accepted, and so different from the vampires she's used to. Ha!
April – Hee! Thanks!
Kelly, I just loved Three Days to Dead and am really looking forward to reading the rest in the series.
Can you give us any more information about your next series, a title perhaps? Is it going to be UF as well?
Hi Kelly!
just wanted to drop by and say how much I enjoyed, how much I loved book 1 🙂 I couldn't put it down while reading and a few minutes later I pre-ordered book 2…
wish you all the best for the future,
Ina
This series sounds really interesting. I'd certainly like to read it someday.
juliecookies(at)gmail.com
curlypow – Thanks so much! The new series isn't quite UF. It's a modern take on original superheroes. I promise I'll be posting for info soon!
Ina – Awww, thank you! That's always awesome to hear! Best to you, too. 🙂
Julie – Good luck with the giveaway!
The German cover is beautiful! I love seeing all the different foreign covers for books. I still need to read the first in the series so hopefully I will get to do that soon because it definitely sounds interesting
throuthehaze at gmail dot com
Okey so Kelly is more of a panster than a planner… but… is there any plans or ideas about this series having a definite number of books, or what?
Re-posted your contest at: http://contests-freebies.blogspot.com/2010/07/win-as-lie-dead-at-book-lovers-inc.html
Cherry Mischievous
mischivus101-warrior [at] yahoo [dot] com
So impatiently waiting for the book!!
I loved Three Days Dead and can't wait to read As Lie The Dead. I think it is really cool that it picks up an hour after TDD. What a great concept, going to have to do a quick re-read of TDD. Hope the series goes on for a long time.
throuthehaze – I love seeing foreign covers, too. They design to their markets, and sometimes the covers are just lovely.
Cherry – I'm aiming for six to seven total, depending of course on my publisher. But I also hope to tell some other stories in the Dreg City world at some point. There's just so much to explore, and so many fun characters to play with…
Jerrilynn – Hee! I hope you like it! Sooooooon!
Digital Diva – While Three Days can largely stand alone, there were so many tiny threads left un-addressed that picking up in the aftermath of the Olsmill battle seemed like the best way to start book two.
Thanks everyone! Two more days!
HI Kelly, another new potential reader here 🙂 I haven't read your series yet, but it sounds interesting so I added it to my wishlist.
What are some of your favourite novels/series/authors in the genre?
Thank you,
stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com
Hi Stella! Some of my favorite UF/PNR authors are Jeaniene Frost, Jackie Kessler, Sydney Croft, Rachel Vincent, Ilona Andrews, Gena Showalter, Patricia Briggs, and I'm happily discovering new authors every day.
Great interview. I really love first person POV books at you get more of what at least one character is feeling, while leaving some mystery with the other characters.
meredithfl at gmail dot com
I enjoyed your interview very much. I haven't read any of your books yet, but I like the sound of this series and I'm definitely going to put it on my list to read.
seriousreader at live dot com
How do you choose your titles? Do you choose them and then write the story or title them after you are done? Do you get to pick the title or does the publisher get involved it that part of the story?
Thanks –
Thanks for hosting too – please enter me. bevsharp@desch.org
Why cheesecake?
Thanks for the great interview and giveaway!
xx,
E.J
From the Shadows
e.j.stevens.author[at]gmail[dot]com