EJ: When did you begin writing?
Skyla: Pretty much as soon as I could hold a pencil.
From the moment my mother came home with me from the hospital, she would read to me, and I learned to read when I was about two and a half. Immediately I began telling stories, whether with my hundreds of Barbie dolls (all of which I still have!) or writing them down. I won several poetry contests in middle school, was an editor and writer for my high school’s newspaper later on, and pursued writing full time as soon as I graduated.
EJ: What brought you to the paranormal genre?
Skyla: I was a weird kid. Like, really weird. Sees-and-talks-to-people-who-aren’t-there weird. I was also allowed to watch anything (my favourite show when I was seven was David Lynch’s Twin Peaks). I’ve basically had a paranormal bent to my work for as long as I can remember.
As an adult, I’d say paranormal—like a lot of genre fiction—gives us a lens through which we see and experience the truth in a way reality doesn’t. My favourite show continues to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even so many years after it’s been off the air, and one of the reasons was how masterfully Whedon showed emotional truth in the fantastical.
EJ: If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?
Skyla: Who says I don’t have any supernatural talents? ;-)
Honestly, I’m simple sort of girl: I like the powers of a witch. Cursing is big in my family.
EJ: Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.
Skyla: I think the thing that makes this series a tough sell is also its greatest strength, which is the diverse cast of characters.
I imagine for a reader it could be a challenge going from narrator to narrator in the first three books—which are tied together but could be read as standalones—as it took a bit of an adjustment for me to write them. A narcissist vampire assassin to a demon-hunting nun to a socipathic quarter-demon mercenary? Yeah. Whiplash. But I strove with each book to give damn near every reader someone to root for, from the truly violent characters to the softer ones, so that if you’re thinking “Yeah, the nun main character really isn’t working for me”, there would still be someone snarky on the sidelines to bring a bit of fun. Once the full cast is assembled for the latter part of Lineage (book three) and for the entirety of Exhumed (book four), I think the diverse variety of characters previously introduced come together as a strong ensemble and play well off of one another.
EJ: If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?
Skyla: The Demons of Oblivion series has a rather large cast of characters—the first three books alternate narrators (look, I get bored a lot, okay?)—which should mean a huge list here of potential actors but I’ve always been at a loss for a few of them.
While she doesn’t look exactly like Zara Lain, Sasha Barrese as the demon bartender Casey in the show Supernatural makes a very strong contender. Tall, hot, and kickass, just give her blue eyes and make her a vampire assassin.
Henry Cavill would make a good, very pretty warlock Nate O’Connor. Mmm, sexy brooding...
If we’re talking contemporary actors, I’d like to see what Megumi Okina could do with my sociopathic merc Peri Takata. (If I’m not limited to contemporary, you can’t go wrong with Meiko Kaji.)
For Nicolette, a tall pacifist vampire with a sunny disposition, picture Jenna Elfman from her Dharma and Greg days.
The witch Mishka Thiering would be Amanda Seyfried, who could do both vulnerable and manipulative witch wonderfully.
The characters from Hunter present the largest challenge for me, however I just saw the latest ep of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. the other night and I was quite taken with Pascale Armand. She has both a strength and vulnerability that would fit Ryann.
The psychic, Elliot Rhys, also has a very specific look I always drew a blank on but I actually think Fran Kranz (of Dollhouse, Cabin in the Woods, and Much Ado About Nothing fame) could pull that character off well even if he looks nothing like him.
Bloodlines (Demons of Oblivion #1) by Skyla Dawn Cameron.
After three hundred years of unlife, vampire Zara Lain has seemingly done it all, and she's now making a living as a successful thief-turned-assassin. Her newest assignment seems simple enough--kill the aging leader of the O'Connor Coven and his only heir, and she'll have another ten million in the bank.But in the dangerous world of the supernatural, few things are ever "simple."When a massive assault decimates the continent's population of powerful witches and warlocks, and its orchestrator has vampires being hunted down and captured, Zara realizes the tables have turned and now she'll be playing the hero. Forced to join with a smart-mouthed fellow vampire, a demonologist who's also a fan of hers, a recently widowed--and frequently brooding--warlock, and her best friend's mom, Zara's grudgingly willing to do what she can to save the day.If only people would stop ruining all her outfits...
Thank you Sklya for joining us here today at From the Shadows!
To learn more about Skyla Dawn Cameron and her books, please visit her website.
As a special treat, Bloodlines is free for Kindle October 28th - November 1st!
