ℚ Sidhe: The Incubus Saga [3] - Amanda Meuwissen

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Amanda Meuwissen to talk about Sidhe (2 July 2015, BigWorldNetwork.com, 524 pages), an Urban Fantasy Gay Paranormal Romance, book three of The Incubus Saga.

Synopsis | Trailer | Teaser | The Series | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

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Hello Amanda, welcome to BooksChatter and thank you for joining us today.

What was the inspiration for The Incubus Saga?

"I am a huge Arthurian legend fan and could not get enough of A Midsummer Night’s Dream or the amazing Avalon storylines of Disney’s Gargoyles cartoon, so I adore fae lore in all forms.  I also tend toward urban fantasy, high fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal storylines.  With some additional inspiration from TV shows and an old web comic, The Incubus Saga is a hodge podge of these various ideas coming together, including some ties to my first book, The Collector.  Maybe one day I’ll bring Adam from Collector and Sasha and the Grier brothers from Incubus together for an adventure."

How much of yourself is reflected in this series, and how?

"Well the first book spends a lot of time in the Minneapolis area of Minnesota, which is where I live, so those locations are very familiar for me.  I’ll admit that Sasha’s parents are designed after me and my husband, and characters always tend to embody people I know either to a small degree or completely.  Ula, for example, the shapeshifter first met in book 2 and with a larger role in book 3, is based off of a good friend.  My dedications for these books always detail out those people who inspired a character or helped with a scene.

I’m also a huge geek, and have tons of pop culture references throughout, especially comics (like the mascot character Wally being named after The Flash).  All of my characters tend to be geeks to some extent.  And I will always, always have at least one bisexual character, because as someone who identifies as bisexual, I feel we don’t get nearly enough limelight."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover.  Can you tell us about your cover for The Incubus Saga - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"Mario Hernandez, my good friend and Creative Director for the publisher BigWorldNetwork did all of my covers and actually came up with the concept for the first book, which inspired the direction I went with the others.

Each cover focuses on a main character.  Sasha as the incubus for Incubus, Jim on book 2 as a Changeling, and Malak the villain on Sidhe because he’s the dark sidhe king.  It’s funny that Nathan, the actual protagonist, is only on book 1, but even though the books are from his perspective, he rarely sees himself as the hero or center point; to him, his life revolves around the others in it."

Why should we read The Incubus Saga and what sets it apart from the rest?   What makes your series unique?

"The characters and relationships are so fully realized, believable, relatable, and intense.  These are the things readers constantly tell me about why they love this series, and success then, because that’s what I love too.

My stories are always character driven. It’s all about the story the characters want to tell, and in this case Nathan’s love for his brother, his friends, and the romantic relationship he builds with Sasha are the driving force.

This is so much more than just romance or erotica, however though I promise those elements are hot and exciting, but about family and discovering and accepting difficult things about oneself, such as sexuality and even how to accept that maybe we are worth more than we ever thought possible.

It’s an uplifting story, however harried in the roller-coaster ride along the way, and you will not be disappointed."

Can you tell us something quirky about The Incubus Saga, its story and characters?

"Sasha is actually named after a female redheaded vampire character from a 90s TV show, Kindred: The Embraced.  The Grier name for the brothers came from a street near my house.  Nathan is actually named after both Nathan Explosion from the adult cartoon Metalocalypse and Nathan Detroit from Guys and Dolls because he loves both metal music and show tunes.  Iain Wilde is the only character who is named exactly for the person he’s based on.  And also his penchant for swearing is real."

Who would you recommend The Incubus Saga to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"This book is for over 18 readers of M/M romance with a love for very character and plot driven stories.  This is M/M and there is sex, more and more heated throughout books 2 and 3 than in book 1, so be ready for that.  There is extreme violence and imagery throughout as well, and there definitely needs to be a warning for anyone who has issues with non-consensual sexual encounters, as Nathan has a very intense near-rape scene in book 2, and is accosted on more than one account in various ways by the story’s villain.  Sex is a major theme in the books, and all the ways it can be experienced and expressed, so be aware of that."

If you could / wished to turn The Incubus Saga into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Chace Crawford as Sasha Kelly, my darling incubus, though a wig to achieve the perfect Crayola red hair would be a must.  Stephen and Robbie Amell as Nathan and Jim Grier—as cousins they would make perfect brothers, and I adore them both.  And Michael Fassbender and Eva Green as the two personas of the villain Malak."

What do you like to write and read about?  Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I love falling in love stories, and overcoming acceptance of oneself.  However, I always do M/M romance in there somewhere, when I’m not writing nonfiction, but vary with a love of fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal, and would never do anything straight up contemporary real life without some level of fantasy to it.  And very much yes, that is also what I prefer to read."

What is your writing process?

"I write everyday as the old adage goes, and go through spurts of great creativity and writer’s block, but the real trick is to always, always push myself to write a little into that next scene or chapter if I finish one, because that keeps the creative juices flowing way better than stopping when you reach a moment of catharsis. I take tons and tons of notes of what is to come, write down any ideas and scenes as soon as they strike me, and figure out where they fit into the larger scenario later, but I always let the character be my guide, which often changes things and requires reworking all of the old notes several times."

What is in store next?

"This is the end of The Incubus Saga, so next I continue working on my M/M YA vampire novel, that I am very excited about, and expect to have ready for readers in the next year or so.  I’m also working on some non-fiction, and recently got inspired for a superhero novel that I think really breaks the boundaries of what people come to expect with heroes and villains and origin stories, especially since it will be M/M as well."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I have a cat named Sasha, who was NOT in any way named after the incubus character, though I know that’s still hilarious, but I don’t seem to have any photos of myself with him, so instead, as I am an avid cosplayer, here is one of my most treasured photos in costume of me as Rogue from X-Men with Nathan Fillion and my amazing husband John."

Nice one!  :-)

Sidhe - available NOW!

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