Paranormal Guest Author: C.C. Hunter (Shadow Falls Series)

Please welcome paranormal guest author C.C. Hunter.  C.C. is the author of Born at Midnight and Awake at Dawn.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

CC:  Some writers will tell you that they were born with a pen in their hands and by the time their umbilical cord fell off, they’d finished the first draft of their first novel.  Not me.  I was raised in the south, where all my family tried to one-up each other with their stories, I grew up surrounded by storytellers.  And while I was good at it, I was also dyslexic, and writing was not my strong suit.  (Now, standing up and telling my story to an audience?  That I could do with no problem.)  I was twenty-three before I told my husband I wanted to be a writer.  It took years…lots of years, spent teaching myself how to put my talent of telling a story on paper.  I think I may be finally catching on, too.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

CC:  Ghosts.  LOL.  Seriously, I’ve always loved ghost stories.  I think I love them so much because of all the spooky paranormal elements, this is the one I come closest to believing really exists.  And my first novel with any paranormal element in it was one about a girl whose mom dies and comes back to warn her about bad things that were going to happen to her.  Back in 2006, the paranormal genre was really getting hot.  I had sold one sweet romance to Silhouette years before and wanted to get back into writing novels.  I had been writing Single Title romances, humorous romantic suspense, but humor wasn’t the hottest genre and I couldn’t seem to sell them.  I signed with my agent and she recommended I try to write a book with a paranormal element in it.  I wrote a proposal about Faes and ghosts.  It didn’t sell, but it got the attention of several editors.  Rose Hilliard at St. Martins was one of them, and she loved my voice.

I went on to sell six humorous romances and Rose watched my career from afar.  About two years ago, Rose went to my agent and asked if I would try writing a YA paranormal series. I was leery at first—not about the paranormal element but about the YA.  Ahh, but once I got started I totally loved it. 

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

CC:  Good question.  And to be honest, I get asked this one a lot, so you’d think I’d have my answer down pat, but I really don’t.  LOL.  I guess it’s just that it’s so hard for me to choose.  Now, when I was writing Born at Midnight, and creating the Shadow Falls universe, I did a lot of research.  And because writers like to tweak details to match their vision, I’ve made some changes to the mythology for many of my supernaturals.  Some of them, like vampires, shape-shifters, and werewolves, can be scary but once you get to know them as characters, you’ll realize they all have some good qualities.   I think that’s what makes it so hard for me to choose—I don’t want to be unfaithful to any of my characters.  LOL.  But if I had to choose, I’d probably go with either a witch or a fae.  I think these characters offer the most options . . . although I think it would be totally cool to be able to fly like a vampire does.  LOL.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

CC:  I read once that your characters should be the type of person that someone wouldn’t mind being locked in a closet with for several days.  Because basically, that’s what a reader is doing.  Shutting out the rest of the world and spending hours, sometimes days, with your characters.  So I can tell you that I think Kylie and the rest of the crew at Shadow Falls are good closet buddies.  They are interesting, courageous, mysterious (so you won’t get bored), and have lots of heart.  Their experiences in their world can teach us a few things about living in the real world.  Things about romance, friendship, family, and about learning to accept ourselves and the other people in our lives for what they are.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

CC:  This question is always so hard for me to answer.  I mean, I could toss out names like Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Chace Crawford, but in truth, the roles of Kylie and the all the crew at Shadow Falls are already taken in my mind.  I know the expression on Kylie’s face when she’s really frustrated, and Amanda doesn’t make that expression.  I know how Lucas walks, with his quiet, silent movements and his how body tenses when people get too close, and Zac doesn’t do that.  I know the sexy twinkle Derek gets in his eyes when he looks at Kylie, I know how he sounds when he laughs, and that’s not Chace.  I actually have a film agent shopping around the series and all I can say is that it’s going to be hard to find people to play these characters the way I see them in my head.

Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls #2) by C.C. Hunter

Now that she’s settled in at Shadow Falls Camp, Kylie Galen’s determined to discover the extent of her supernatural abilities.  But with a ghost insisting someone Kylie loves is about die, a rogue vampire on a murdering rampage, and her sixth sense telling her someone is watching her, Kylie’s quest for answers is quickly put on hold.

To make matters worse, just when she’s about to give her heart to Derek, a half-fairy, he starts pulling away.  When Lucas, a werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past, returns, Kylie’s feels more conflicted than ever. Her weekend with her mom should have been the just the break Kylie needs, but it turns out to be her breaking point.  Someone from the dark side of the supernatural world has plans for Kylie--and it'll take all her resources to get back to Shadow Falls alive...


Thank you C.C. for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about C.C. Hunter and her books, please visit her website.