Nicole Peeler’s debut novel Tempest Rising was just released to great reviews (read my review here), I am excited to have her here…even though she threatened me, read below for the proof! lol

Nicole has posted a playlist for Tempest Rising here. Check it out.

WLP: Can you tell us about Tempest Rising?

NP: Tempest Rising is about a girl with a secret who discovers a body. This discovery leads to all sorts of revelations pertaining to her secret. Then she meets a very hot guy. And then there are more murders, and some sex, and then some violence. So, basically, my favorite two word summary of the novel is, “Hijinks ensue.” 

WLP: Why did you chose to write about Selkies?

NP: I wrote the novel while I was living in a flat in Edinburgh, Scotland, that overlooked the Firth of Forth. So when the time came to pick Jane’s supernatural heritage, the selkie legends were both obvious and perfect. Jane’s supposed to be sort of an anti-heroine, so I needed a legend that wasn’t overtly bad ass; a myth that left me room to make Jane vulnerable. What is more vulnerable, and anti-woman-in-leather, than a girl who’s half seal?

WLP: How long did it take you to write Tempest Rising? What did it feel like to see it for the first time in print?

NP: It took me about three months to write the rough draft of TR, then another three months, or so, to finish edits. Then I found an agent, and it sold shortly after we went on submission. So all together it took me less than a year from the germ of the idea that was Jane, to selling to Orbit. So it’s been a very surreal experience, and I’m still not at all used to seeing the book in print. I keep waiting to wake up and find it was all a dream.

WLP: What’s next for Ryu & Jane? Why did you give Jane a vampire for a lover instead of another Selkie?

NP: To be honest, selkies aren’t that exciting. They swim and they bask. So having Jane meet another selkie would have lead to some inevitable pacing issues. Plus, I wanted Ryu to be the polar opposite of Jane, in pretty much every way. I wanted him to be urbane, street smart, and a total player. If any mythological creature was going to grow up to be a pimp daddy mack, it would have to be a vampire.

WLP: Can you tell us about Tracking the Tempest (is there a release date?)?

NP: The sequel is coming out in July of 2010. It’s way faster paced than TR, and Jane is put through the ringer in this book. It’s also set in Boston, so Jane’s out of her comfort zone. It’s tons of fun and I can’t wait for it to come out!

WLP: Will we learn more about the obvious connection between Anyan & Jane?

NP: Oh yes. There will be much more Anyan. Sweet, sweet Anyan.

WLP: What about Jane’s mother, is there a possibility of a reunion at some point?

NP: If I told you, I’d have to kill you. And Orbit gets a bit miffed when I kill interviewers. So my lips have to remain sealed on that one.

WLP: Word on the street is Jaye Wells & yourself have a bit of a smack down going on about Selkies & Vampires. Who’s going to win that cage match?

NP: Realistically, Jaye would kick my ass. I totally fight like a girl.

WLP: What do you do when not writing or working at LSU as an Assistant Professor?

NP: At the moment I feel as if all I do is work. But when I do have some spare time, I’m usually at the gym, belly dancing, eating, or drinking.  Or traveling. I’m a huge fan of traveling to other places and eating new foods. I don’t know if you were aware of the existence of “cultural calories,” but food that’s a cultural experience is automatically stripped of calories. So, for example, “mushroom pakora” at an Indian restaurant are a cultural experience and therefore calorie-free. Fried mushrooms at your local chain restaurant are not a cultural experience, and are therefore bad for you.

WLP: What books have you read lately?

NP: At the moment I’m reading Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man. But I’ve also just finished up Charlaine Harris’s Harper Connelly series, which I adored. I am also seriously obsessed with Gail Carriger’s new debut novel, Soulless. I think it’s brilliant.

WLP: I giggled a lot at some of the music references in Tempest Rising, especially the Wu Tang “I like it raw” comment. Do you listen to certain music while you write? If so what?

NP: I listen to music all the time, and I have very eclectic taste. I often blog about what I’m listening to, currently. Right now it’s a lot of The Gaslight Anthem. I want to do terrible things to the lead singer, most of which involve spreadable fruit and a lot of rope.

WLP: Belly dancing? Seriously?

NP: Hell yeah! Belly dancing rocks. I dance with some seriously awesome ladies at the Lotus Studios, here in Shreveport. It’s very fun, very sensual, a great workout, and you get to wear a shit ton of bling.

WLP: Finally, on Facebook you say your favourite movies are embarrassing, so what are they?

NP: I’m known, amongst my friends, as the one with the tastes of a fourteen-year-old boy. I love Transformers, anything by Judd Apatow, a good old-fashioned sausage fest like 300, or any early Adam Sandler. I’d rather eat my own sick than watch a romantic comedy, and I read too much “serious” literature to enjoy a lot of art or independent films. I think that because I engage with so many difficult ideas in the fiction that I teach and that I read for teaching, I really, really want my movies to be pure escapism. It’s not that I can’t appreciate good film, but that I usually watch movies with the sole intention of turning off my brain. 

WLP: I want to Thank Nicole for taking the time for an interview, even though she said BLING in an answer. All the best to you Nicole!