MFT Guest: Interview with Lisa Shearin and Giveaway of full set of the Raine Benares Books

Today for My Favorite Things I have the pleasure of having Lisa Shearin on for an interview.  She's also being incredibly generous and giving away a set of her Raine Benares books.  You'll find the giveaway info at the bottom as well as the link to the schedule for My Favorite Things where you'll find many more awesome posts and giveaways! 

Let's welcome Lisa to the blog! 

Can you sum up your books in 10 words that you think best describe them? 

My books are snarky, action-adventure, comedic fantasy with a touch of sex. 

Your books are full of some magical creatures, can you tell us about some of them?  

I wanted to do something different with both my elves and my goblins.  My elves aren’t the “high elves” like you’d find in Tolkien.  My elves work for a living.  Though the law enforcement in most kingdoms would refer to it as stealing or piracy, the Benares family consider themselves to be “seafaring businessmen specializing in acquisitions.”  

With my goblins, I wanted to do a complete turnaround from the usual perception of goblins.  My goblins aren’t short, gnarled, and long-nosed with a bad case of post-nasal drip.  I asked myself why couldn’t goblins be gorgeous?  Why couldn’t they be tall, leanly muscled, silvery skinned and wicked sexy?  And while I was at it—for added fun and frolic—I thought deep black eyes, long black hair, and fangs that weren’t for decorative use only would be a nice touch.  (Heck, they don’t call it “fantasy” for nothing.)  My goblins are just your basic dark-eyed, smooth-talking, dangerous bad boys who you probably wouldn’t take home to meet the parents.    

What was your biggest obstacle to overcome when writing a series? 

Keeping the details straight.  Each of my books builds off of the one before.  Basically, the where one book ends, the next one begins. It can be a challenge to keep up with who did what to whom and when.  I think I do a good job of keeping my facts straight—because if I didn’t, I’m sure my fans would let me know.    

Your books have awesome titles and amazing covers, how did you decide on the titles?

 I came up with the titles for the first three books myself. But I had trouble with the fourth one (Bewitched & Betrayed), so I had a “Name That Book” contest and let my fans come up with suggestions.  The winner would get their name on the Acknowledgement page in that book for having come up with the title.  It worked so well that I did it for the next two books as well—Con & Conjure and All Spell Breaks Loose (which I’m working on now).
  

  
And did you have any input when it came to the covers?

Authors really have little, if any, say in the covers.  My editor will ask me if I have any ideas, and I’ll give them to her.  But the next time I see the cover is when it’s in its final form.  It’s mainly a publisher’s art and marketing departments that determine how a cover for any given book looks.  They consider the type of book that it is, the demographic that they’re marketing it toward.  Ideally, they want the cover that will best sell that book to the target market.  

What is your all time favorite book, or author?

I absolutely adore Jim Butcher’sDresden Files series.  And of that series, my favorite book is Dead Beat.  I recently discovered and also love Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar mystery series.  

What can we expect to see from you in the future? Anything new in the works?

I’m presently working on Raine Benares’s sixth adventure—All Spell Breaks Loose.  It will be out next year.

About  Magic Lost, Trouble Found:

 A girl with attitude. An all-powerful amulet.This could only mean trouble.My name is Raine Benares. I’m a seeker. The people who hire me are usually happy when I find things. But some things are better left unfound…Raine is a sorceress of moderate powers, from an extended family of smugglers and thieves. With a mix of street smarts and magic spells, she can usually take care of herself. But when her friend Quentin, a not-quite-reformed thief, steals an amulet from the home of a powerful necromancer, Raine finds herself wrapped up in more trouble than she cares for. She likes attention as much as the next girl, but having an army of militant goblins hunting her down is not her idea of a good time. The amulet they’re after holds limitless power, derived from an ancient, soul-stealing stone. And when Raine takes possession of the item, it takes possession of her.
Now her moderate powers are increasing beyond anything she could imagine—but is the resumé enhancement worth her soul?

You can find Lisa Shearin on her Website:  http://www.lisashearin.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by Lisa!  And for the giveaway as well, of course!

The Giveaway:

The complete set of the Raine Benares books (Magic Lost, Trouble Found; Armed & Magical; The Trouble with Demons; Bewitched & Betrayed; Con & Conjure) signed and personalized to the winner with bookmarks and postcards as well.

    

Rules:

Must be 16 or older to enter.
Must have a US or Canadian address to ship to.
Ends July 5th, 2011

To Enter:

Leave a comment about the interview (Feel free to tell us which cover and/or title you like the best, because seriously, I'm in love with them!)  Don't forget contact info!

 

 

 For the schedule of The Favorite Things event check out the schedule post.  And make sure you head over to My Bookish Ways to see what she has going on today as well!