Veronica: I invited Jody to be my guest today since her DREAMWALKERS series is currently on sale. She turned the tables and wanted me to be the subject of the interview, so here goes!
Jody: The premise of the Dreamwalkers series is that certain human brains are so vivid that their nightmares can come to life and eat people. The heroes and heroines (so far) are the folks who fight these monsters and hide their existence from the rest of the world. Oftentimes these nightmares take the shape of popular culture creations, but sometimes there are classics.
What are the scariest movies, TV and books you can think of?
Veronica: Probably ones I don’t watch! I’m not into horror movies much – I find the images linger after the show is done. I did like Joss Whedon’s “Cabin in the Woods.” I used to love Stephen King novels but then there came a point I had to stop reading them because they just got too dark. The Shining is probably my favorite. I should mention the photographer who did my author headshots is also an actor and appeared in one of the Friday the 13th movies, so there’s a little horror connection. But he’s a lovely person in real life!
What monsters do you think your brain would create or has created in your books? (Caveat: real world human monsters don’t tend to get created, just things like vampires and mega spiders, and the size of the monster tends to be between 3-12 feet. If your nightmare is more of an “event”, like falling or appearing in public naked, I bet there’s a monster that represents that kind of horror!)
Veronica: I have an evil alien species in my Sectors Science Fiction Romance series, never described in too much detail but humans are said to go insane looking at them. The hero fought them off in Wreck of the Nebula Dream, for example. I think the Alien in all “Aliens” movies would be pretty much of a nightmare to face, don’t you?
What kind of dreamwalker hero or heroine do you think would be required to dispatch your nightmares? (Romance optional!)
Veronica: I always go for the Special Forces soldier, so he’d have to have the additional skill of entering the dream and taking weapons with him. Hmmm….
Bonus question: What pop culture monsters do you think the dreamwalkers have the most trouble killing?
Veronica: The ones that get the most press? Have the biggest box office on opening weekend? I don’t know!
(Jody sez: My biggest influences in this series were Joss Whedon, Supernatural, and all the funny T-Rex memes out there.)
There are two Dreamwalker novels:
TANGIBLE (courtesy of Samhain Press): When Zeke Garrett is reactivated to mentor the next dreamer that pops up on the Somnium’s radar, he’s sure it’s a mistake. The covert organization is still struggling to conceal the fallout from his last assignment, a fatal catastrophe.
From the first blast of her pepper spray, he realizes this neonati, whose nightmares manifest vampires straight from the pages of pop-culture, is more than he bargained for—a potential dreamwalker. But before her training can begin, he has to convince the stubborn, mouthy woman she’s not dreaming.
Maggie Mackey hasn’t slept well in a month, but that doesn’t explain how the monsters from her nightmares suddenly seem so real. Or why, when a team of intimidating, sword-wielding toughs rescue her, their leader captures her mouth in a swift, knee-weakening kiss.
Once he tears himself away, Zeke’s mental forehead smacking begins. Their embrace has confirmed they have a rare tangible bond, a phenomenon which fooled him once before. Somehow he must tutor the woman of his dreams without getting attached. Otherwise her nightmares could become his own.
Warning: Contains lots of cussing, pop culture references and monsters with nasty, big, pointy teeth.
DISCIPLE (courtesy of Samhain Press): When student dreamwalker Maggie Mackey was first discovered by Zeke Garrett, now her mentor, their sexual attraction blazed off the charts, as did their tangible dreamspace bond.
Three months later, their relationship is as stalled out as Maggie’s training. Zeke isn’t sure what’s to blame. His clumsy mentoring, Maggie’s stubbornness, or something more sinister.
When the pair is summoned to a restricted outpost for troubled and sick dreamwalkers to investigate the deaths of several patients, a nightmare from Zeke’s past resurfaces to further complicate Maggie’s training. In fact, there’s a better-than-good chance she’ll be yanked away from him and reassigned to a curator. Disciples sent to curators are rarely heard from again.
To survive the secretive inner workings of their organization and the deadly new force emerging inside the sphere, Maggie and Zeke must confront their inner demons as well as their feelings for each other. Because in the world of the dreamwalkers, inner demons never remain politely inside one’s tortured soul. They prefer to manifest…and eat people.
Warning: Book contains sex, cursing, more cursing, T-Rexes, dire peril and explosives.
About the Author:
Website: http://www.jodywallace.com (More buy links and other offers there)
Catsite: http://www.meankitty.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jodywallace
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Jody Wallace grew up in the South in a very rural area. She went to school a long time and ended up with a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing. Her resume includes college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, web designer, and general, all around pain in the butt. She resides in Tennessee with one husband, two children, one grandma, six cats, and a lot of junk.
KING! How could I forget IT? I should write some killer clown monsters.