Finally! Thanks for everyone's patience in me getting back to these questions. And thanks so much to those who picked up
Succubus Blues and have read it! Listening to you guys discuss it is...well, it's an amazing experience. Here's the answers (as best as I can give) to the questions I found:
Genre: Unfortunately, it's everywhere, so you may have to ask in a bookstore. I consider it urban fantasy but have found it shelved in: fiction, romance, and horror.
Editions: It's in trade paperback now but will eventually be in mass market. I don't have a date yet, but I imagine it'd be before January when the sequel comes out.
Specific people's questions:
From Mickey:Richelle, the shapechange thing...she shifts her heels into sandals and then takes them off. I take it she's affecting matter that touches her? That's not her shifting her form into something that looks like shoes, but actually shifting her shoes?Et tu, Mickey? I knew someone would ask me about this someday, but you?
It’s her form that shifts, and that can manifest itself into clothes or other things on her body, yes. In my mind, the system works in reverse too, and other things (from elsewhere in the world) she wears can be absorbed as part of the transformations. I realize that’s kind of imprecise science, but it’s the best I’ve got for you on so little sleep…
Paul:Is that how you read Jim's books (five pages a day?) Noooo. Not Jim’s. Those are taken down as fast and as furiously as possible.
Liz:What culture/time period do Georgina's flashbacks reference? I was thinking Greece in the early Christian era, possibly 3rd or 4th century AD?Liz, you nailed it. Specifically, she’s in Cyprus—and that’s trivia you’re not supposed to find out about until a later book!
The story of Thetis and Peleus that Doug told at the very end reminds me of Tam Lin, albeit with a sex change. Do you know if it is a variant, or possibly the original, of the Scottish ballad?Ooh, that’s a great question. The Thetis and Peleus story is definitely older, but I don’t know if it inspired Tam Lin or not. It could be one of those “collective unconscious” myths, but hmm…there are some astonishing similarities I never thought of before…
BTW, is The Vampire Academy part of the same world?No, VA is an entirely different story and set of characters. It’s technically geared for teenagers, but I think older readers will dig it too. Especially if you like the idea of teenage dhampir bodyguards-in-training. And really, who doesn’t?
So, where do you get your ideas, Jim? Will Harry and Murphy ever get together?Brilliant.
