If you’ve been with me over the course of the last couple of years you are well aware that I have become a fan of Colleen Gleason’s Gardella Vampire Chronicles novels and for each successive release have done a review of the book as well as an interview with the author. If you missed the previous interviews or would just like a recap, feel free to visit them (click on the interview for the, er, interview and the book title for a link to the book review):

Interview with a Vampire…Author (The Rest Falls Away)

Interview with a Vampire Author, Part Deux (Rises The Night)

Interview with a Vampire Author, Part the Third (The Bleeding Dusk)

Trust me on this, the previous interviews are all really fun and worth reading, or re-reading as the case may be. If you are unsure of the type of books The Gardella Vampire Chronicles are, I think Colleen sums it up best with this quote from the first interview:

“The book straddles the tenets of most genre fiction. It’s not a horror novel, it’s not a romance, it’s not historical fiction. It’s an amalgam of all three, with some suspense, humor, adventure and history all tossed in with a bit of a love story.”

And today, Tuesday August 5th 2008 is the release day for the fourth book in the series, When Twilight Burns!!!

In honor of ‘release day’ I am going to break form a bit and include both my interview and a mini, non-spoiler review of the book!

When Twilight Burns ~Colleen Gleason

–2008
–368 pages, Signet
–4.75/5 stars

When last we visited author Colleen Gleason’s universe she had left us, and her major characters, in a bit of a cliff-hanger in what turned out to be the best of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles to that point. When Twilight Burns deposits the reader right back in the thick of that climactic end and continues on from there at what, for this reader, was an unrelenting pace. And I mean that as a true compliment.

I had heard from others, including the author herself, that When Twilight Burns contained more romance than the other three books and that I should be prepared for it. I have to be honest, I just did not see it. That is not to say there isn’t romance in this book…it is a ‘paranormal romance’ after all, but when someone says a romantic fiction book is heavy on the ‘romance’ I naturally envision page after page of simpering sonnets and proclamations of undying devotion. Forgive me if that is an unfair stereotype of the genre. I don’t read a lot of romantic fiction. That definition definitely does not fit for When Twilight Burns. True, Victoria spends a great deal of the novel in turmoil over the two men who she feels affection for, but that turmoil is filled with the kind of tension and suspense that kept me turning the pages every bit as much as the constant action did! I certainly consider myself a romantic at heart and the bottom line is that the romance in the book is very satisfying and at the same time is balanced so well with suspense and action that I never felt like I was reading a ‘romance’ novel.

I read the entire book cover to cover in one day, stopping only when I had to. I spent the last several chapters of the book sitting down in my new ‘library’ late at night, frantically reading, pushed along at break-neck pace by the events unfolding around the main characters as well as by the suspense of how the growing love triangle would resolve itself…or if it would at all! As happened with the previous book, I turned the last page and I quite literally had a racing heart and was short of breath. There is just something about reading a book like this when you can really shut yourself away and just be carried along by the story.

With each successive book Colleen Gleason has honed her craft and improved as an author. I have been more than open about the fact that this type of book generally is not my ‘thing’ and yet each book has caused me to care more and more about the characters to the point that they have become my friends–friends that I look forward to visiting with each new volume. Even now I am beginning to feel the pangs of missing these characters, knowing that the next book, As Shadows Fade, will see us saying ‘goodbye’ to them. Colleen Gleason has single handedly proven to me that there are indeed books shelved in the romance section of the local bookstore that really are my thing after all!

When Twilight Burns has something for everyone: action, adventure, suspense, tension, drama, factual historical elements, romance, and of course those pesky undead! As she mentions in her first interview, Colleen Gleason set out to do something different with the vampire genre and she has certainly succeeded in doing so. Forget your prejudices, these are not just another set of ‘vampire’ books. These are the genre-bending, genre-blending books that Colleen describes above and this latest chapter in the life of Victoria Gardella is well worth picking up immediately!
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The Interview

Since I have already conducted three extensive interviews with Colleen Gleason, I decided to change things up a bit and ask a few more off-the-wall, fun questions this time around. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did.

1. By writing books set in the time period, and place, that you do, you certainly employ a number of words and grammatical structures that are not common in speech today, or at least not in America. Do you find yourself using various words of phrases in conversation, or even in your inner-voice conversations, that belong to the realm of Victoria Gardella?

(I ask this because as a confirmed Brit-o-phile I often find myself using words, and thinking words, and phrases, that I hear repeatedly in British comedies,etc.)

Hmmm…no I don’t know that I notice myself doing that. Except that I have taken to using the phrase “bloody hell” or simply “bloody”–but I attribute that to Harry Potter just as much as my own books.

I have to work at being in that voice, particularly since, right now, I’m working on a project that is more contemporary in voice (I’ll share more on that in the future, I promise) and it’s completely different than my historical voice. Sometimes I feel like I’m schizophrenic. I also write in a different voice (slightly) when I’m writing in, say, the medieval time period.

So, yeah, those voices inside my head tend to erupt when I’m working on different projects…but not generally in conversation. That I notice. But maybe you ought to ask my family and friends what they think! 🙂

2. Assuming Victoria Gardella was available (which is assuming a lot considering her popularity in her own fictional world), who in classic literature would you pair her up with? Who would be an ideal match for her and why? How about in contemporary literature?

Oooh….what a neat question. I think she’d be great hooked up with a classic Tarzan/Lord Greystoke. I never realized what a superhero he was until I read the original Tarzan of the Apes. He’s incredibly strong and very smart and yet thoroughly a gentleman. They’d be a nice team, fighting the bad guys.

[Carl: I had a similar surprise when I read the first Tarzan novel as well as the Conan stories of Robert E. Howard. These characters that had been stereotyped for me by Hollywood turned out to be much more intelligent and honorable and worth reading than I had ever imagined.]

Contemporary literature….you mean other than Max or Sebastian? 😉 I think she and Jason Bourne would be a good match up. (Especially if he looked like Matt Damon.) He’s got his own angst and past to deal with, his own demons…and so does she.

3. If you could take a step back, how do you think you yourself would get on with Victoria Gardella, based on your personality, interests etc. and what you know of hers.

I think we’d get along very well. Neither of us are perfect, but we’re stubborn and we want to do what’s right–even though we make mistakes at times, we do the best we can. We’re both smart, and though I can’t say I’m as brave as she is…if I were stronger than a man, I might very well be. She’s a bit more active than I am (heh) but we both seem to have a similar, decisive personality.

4. Do you ever get that icy feeling on the back of your neck and think, ‘oh shit, vampires!’?

Yes. And then I grab my stake….and poof!

5. What about the era of Victoria Gardella (the Regency era) would you love if you could go back in time and live there. What would you abhor?

I think, if I were of her class, I’d love the parties and dances and the whole “coming out.” The subtle undercurrents of polite society would be fascinating…and it would be romantic to be wooed by a man within the standards and customs of that time–subtly and not so…overtly, I guess.

What I’d dislike is the same thing: the double standards of that time when it came to men and women, and the fake superficiality one would encounter at party after party after party…the class system, the poverty and danger of London. The arranged marriages. And always having to wear a dress and corset!

6. Have you had to answer any embarrassing questions from your children, relatives, etc. regarding the more “romantic” scenes in your books? If so, please elaborate.

Thank goodness my children are too young to have read my books yet (although my oldest will be able to soon), so no, not from them. But when the priest at my church (whom I know very well) read the first book (tellingly, he hasn’t read any further….!), I was morbidly afraid to look him in the eye after, all because of that scene at the end with Lilith and Max. Silly, I know, because I know he’s read worse stuff.

Anyway, he said he enjoyed it, but that he realized why he doesn’t read romance novels. (Heh.)

Other than that, I really haven’t had anything that felt awkward. Now my friend Colette Gale….she gets that kind of stuff all the time. 😉

7. Your books are filled with interesting character names. What has been the inspiration for some of your character names?

Most usually, they simply pop in my head. Verbena was Verbena the moment I needed to type her name–the letters just came out of my fingers before I had time to think about it. Same with Max (although I changed his last name–it was originally something that began with a Z) and Sebastian Vioget. And Eustacia and Kritanu…all of them. They just named themselves, literally.

Brim, Michalas….all of them! Nedas I think was one that I had to think about…to come up with a good name for the son of the vampire queen, and I think that was derived from some demonic name. And Akvan…he was the name of a real demon, so I didn’t make that one up.

Philip came from Prince Philip of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty–a handsome, stalwart kind of guy.

8. Borrowed from Neth (of Neth Space) and his wonderful brief author interviews: If When Twilight Burns were a fortune
cookie, what would its fortune read?

You Will Break Sales Records and Hollywood Will Call

(You know how often fortune cookies are accurate!)

9. Knowing that these sort of things ebb and flow depending on one’s interests, who are your five favorite literary characters right now (could be from any books written at any time).

Vicky Bliss and John Smythe from the series by Elizabeth Peters
Eve Dallas and Roarke from the IN DEATH series by JD Robb
Harry Potter & Co
Trixie Belden and Jim Frayne
Hercule Poirot

How about five current favorite film/TV characters.

Jason Bourne
Indiana Jones
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Veronica Mars
Hawkeye Pierce

10. Is it more fun to write the heroes or the villains in your stories?

Both….depending on the time. I love writing my heroes–and part of the fun is figuring out how each of them would react in the same situation. They’re so different (I’m speaking of Max and Sebastian here…but Victoria too).

But Lilith…she is just so replusively evil, and obsessed…sometimes it’s even more fun to let myself go all warped and think about how cruel and repulsive she might be. And what she would do…and why. Definitely.

11. And for the bonus round, if you could have your own Verbena, would you and why or why not?

If she cleaned house and did laundry, you better believe I’d have her!

Thank you so very much Colleen!!!

Please remember everyone, for an author, any author, that first week of book sales is of primary importance. If you are a fan of this series, plan to pick up this book, and/or want to get started on the series, now is the time to do it! The way that you can help Colleen the most is by picking up a copy between August 5th and August 11th! And remember, if you do so, to snap a picture of yourself and email it to me for the contest–details here. There are two great prize packs that Colleen Gleason has generously donated and I’ll be bringing back some other prize swag when I go to her book signing in the St. Louis area on August 17th.

I hope to see a lot of pictures in both categories!

Before I let you go, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book once you’ve read it. Please don’t spoil it for anyone in your comments though.

For those of you who are interested:

“If you can’t make it to one of my booksigning events (check the Appearances on my website), you can still join me for a live webcast in honor of the release of When Twilight Burns.

Join me Tuesday, August 5, at 8:30 PM Eastern Standard Time for a live event. All you need is a computer with high-speed Internet connection and speakers.

I’ll be talking about the books, taking real-time questions from people who log on…and of course there will be door prizes!

Go here for more information.

Hope to see you there! Colleen