Originally posted October 7. Due to site migration, this post got lost in the shuffle

Q: What inspired you to write the Shadow Keepers series?

I truly don’t remember the actual moment of inspiration, but as a former lawyer, the mix of romance with a paranormal judicial system seemed like a perfect fit–especially when you factor in how much I love to write in a paranormal world!

Q: You’re very well known for urban fantasy and romance novels, so what made you use the pseudonym J.K. Beck for the Shadow Keepers series? Was it to let readers know that this was more of a romance-oriented book?

Absolutely! Though all my books have “romantic elements,” I haven’t written a single title romance since 2005. More than that, though, these books are much darker and more intense than my Julie Kenner books. The Blood Lily Chronicles comes close, but that’s in first person and is significantly more urban fantasy than the Shadow Keepers series.

Q: What got you into writing urban fantasy in the first place? Do you find that more traditional urban fantasy writers like Neil Gaiman and Charles De Lint have inspired you, or more contemporary ones like Jim Butcher and Charlaine Harris?

I sort of slid into urban fantasy with my demon hunting soccer mom series. Though I suppose that’s more SUBurban fantasy. I don’t think anything in particular inspired that–it was more the slam-bang of chick lit combined with my love of writing paranormal/otherworldly things. When I wanted to go darker, the natural genre was urban fantasy.

Q: For readers familiar with your A Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series, which contains more humour elements mixed in with the fantasy, do you run into obstacles when you’re going for humour, i.e. writer’s block, or do you find that humour just comes naturally and that it’s easier to write for you?

There’s something about writing in first person that, at least for me, makes the humor come more easily. That’s not to say it ALWAYS comes easily, but it tends to roll more naturally off the keys than when writing in third person. Of course, so much of that stems from the characters. Kate looks at the world in a very skewed way, and that coupled with the situations that come from being a mom and hunting demons lend themselves to humor.

Q: What aspect of vampires intrigues you the most?

Oh, immortality! That’s my far the most fascinating to me. It raises so many dramatic possibilities.

Q: Every vampire fan can remember a distinct time when they first got into vampires. I certainly remember the fascination that I experienced–with what those characters could do, what they were like, their powers, etc. What’s your history with vampires–how did you first get into them?

Anne Rice’s INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. I absolutely loved that book, and then loved Lestat even more. The juxtaposition of Lestat, who embraced the “life” and Louis, who despaired of it, really drew me in.

Q: Did Anne Rice’s work ever influence your own writing?

The writing, probably not in ways that show, but I’ve been tempted at times to do an interview-format book. But the subject matter, mood and context, absolutely.

Q: What are some of the other authors, vampire fiction or otherwise, who have influenced your writing, and who are some of your favourites?

Oh, dear, that’s impossible! I’ll leave someone out!!!! There really are too many to name, but I think my favorites really harken back to the classics. I love Dracula, for example. I also love Salem’s Lot. While I love writing more humanized vampires, I get really sucked in to the “horror” aspects as well. Though I have to say the humanization adds a fabulous new level. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but I’d love to read the book that Let The Right One In was based on. Talk about a wonderfully tragic set of characters, and a fabulous relationship!

Q: To continue the supernatural creature theme, which parts about succubae interested you the most before and during the writing of these novels? Why did you decide to make your main character a succubus?

The soul is such a fascinating topic for exploration in novels–how a soul can be tarnished, lost, removed, tainted. I wanted a character who was overwhelmingly sensual, and I wanted to explore the impact of a tattered soul on a hero. Those two elements together led naturally to the creation of Lissa–a succubus who is supposed to take a bit of the hero’s soul, but she can’t because to do so would take it all and doom him.

Q: Although there have certainly been many representations of succubae and incubi in recent fantasy novels and shows, most recently “Lost Girl,” do you think that these creatures will gain just as much of a following as vampires and werewolves?

At the risk of sounding cynical, I don’t think anything will surpass vampires. There’s such a gothic, dark intensity to them, and so many possibilities. Vamps are romantic and and of themselves. And while I think werewolves, angels, succubi, demons, etc will all rise (and fall) in popularity, I think vampires will remain at the top of the bell curve.

Q: California seems to be a hotspot for supernatural events in fantasy fiction, with many novels and shows being set there, most notably the Sunnydale setting in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so what made you use LA as a setting?

Because I practiced law out there! That, and I wanted the urban setting. Also, there are so many geographical possibilities–big cities, small beach towns, mountains, deserts.

Q: What are you working on now? Can you give the readers some tasty glimpses of what’s to come next from you?

The next three Shadow Keepers books! WHEN PASSION LIES, WHEN DANGER HUNGERS, and WHEN TEMPTATION RULES. And I’m working on an e-novella to fill the gap between the first three and the next group!

Thanks so much for having me. Great interview! Folks can find out more at www.theshadowkeepers.com or check out my blog at www.jkbeck.com Also, I’m on Twitter and Facebook.

And there you have it, folks! Thanks so much to Julie for stopping by and my apologies for having lost this interview but it didn’t make the trek over here so I had to reshuffle it over Enjoy and retweet!