Fall is right around the corner, and with it comes crisp weather, pumpkins, goblins, and ghouls. It’s the best time to be a supernatural, and also a great season to be an Urban Fantasy reader.

This fall we’ve got two great urban fantasy novels to look out for by a pair of fantastic authors. Amanda Carlson’s FULL BLOODED (UK | US | AUS) officially releases tomorrow. It’s a new urban fantasy debut featuring a tough as nails female lead, and did I mention she’s a werewolf too?

Then in October, the fourth House of Comarré novel, OUT FOR BLOOD (UK| US | AUS) by Kristen Painter will be published. Find out more about this dark and seductive series from the House of Comarré website.

But enough about the future (exciting as it may be). Today we thought we’d bring both authors here and let the fur and fangs fly . Come back next week for the second half of this series where Amanda will be interviewing Kristen about her life and books.

     

Kristen: Amanda, I hear you have a book coming out. Can you tell us more about Full Blooded and what interested you in writing about werewolves that sparkle? 

Amanda: Well, sparkling werewolves hadn’t been done yet, so I thought I’d jump in and give it a try and…no…wait. There are no sparkling werewolves in my book. Wrong series, KP. My book is about the only female werewolf ever born. The book starts out with the worst wake-up call ever and takes off from there, like a fun romp through the woods. It’s full of action, adventure and the right amount of snark. Just the way you like it.

Kristen: So there’s no sparkling? Not even a tiny bit, like they wear fancy jeweled collars?

Amanda: Nope, no sparkling, except if you count the “pow” moments where Jessica gives someone a shot to the face. The bad guys may see a sparkle or two in their mind’s eye, but that’s about it. She doesn’t even wear a ring. Bling is not her thing. But it does have sparkling prose.

Kristen: Werewolves that don’t sparkle. Okay, got it. Besides writing, what do you do in Minnesota? Doesn’t it snow there like every day? Are there a lot of werewolves in Minnesota?

Amanda: It snows quite a bit in Minnesota and I have a huge hockey rink in my backyard every winter to prove it. Thankfully it doesn’t snow every day. Just every other. There are actually a lot of wolves in Minnesota, including the Timberwolves—Go, Wolves! (There’s some good basketball if you’re a fan.) I’ve yet to see an actual werewolf here, since they’re make believe, but I always have my fingers crossed when I’m hiking in the backwoods.

Kristen: Are you saying werewolves aren’t real? Wow. Crazy! I hear you’re afraid of ghosts. Any truth to that rumor? What else are you afraid of? Besides me and our shared editor.

Amanda: Our shared editor does take the focus of much of my terror, but only when you’re not around to torment me in person. For the most part ghost don’t really bother me. But I do hear they bother you, and since we’re sharing a room at an upcoming conference in a haunted town, I’m trying really hard to arrange a meet-and-greet for you. Hope you’re still game! But my real, honest-to-goodness fear: spiders crawling on me in the middle of the night. I’ve awoken many a night throughout my life batting the imaginary arachnids off my arms and legs. It’s a heinous way to wake up.

Kristen: We recently hung out in New Orleans where I learned a few things about you I can’t erase from memory. Care to share something your readers would be surprised to learn about you?

Amanda: Readers will be very surprised to learn I’m older than you, by the teensiest smidgen. My overly youthful appearance is attributed to an honest-to-goodness genetic link to pixies, so it’s not your fault. It’s deeply rooted in my Irish Fae heritage, so you never had a chance. Don’t take it too hard.

Kristen: It’s so great to see all the awesome reviews for FULL BLOODED coming in. You must be thrilled. You know what else is thrilling? What’s coming next for you. Tell us about the next book in the series.

Amanda: HOT BLOODED is about Jessica’s extreme adventure to find her man, defeat her nemesis and figure out who and what she is. It’s filled with lots more mythological mayhem and tons of action and it hits shelves April, 2013.

Kristen: Lastly, let’s do that bullet point thing you like so much.

Gumbo or chili: Gumbo (or my new fave thanks to you: shrimp & grits)

Fur or beads: Beads, totally, but I do like them paired with faux fur on occasion.

Bingo or Bunko: Bunko. You get bingo all to yourself.

Chocolate or vanilla: I prefer a swirl cone.

Daniel Craig or Sean Connery: Daniel Craig. Meowza. But Tom Hardy has my heart. For now.