Vicki Crum–Author of Love, Laughter and Werewolves!!
August 2, 2020 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as #amreading, #NewRelease, new release, reading, Vicki Crum
Vicki Crum writes contemporary and paranormal romance, creating tales full of love and laughter and discovering one’s soul mate in the most unlikely places. Her published works include Loving Luc, Once in a Blue Moon, Moonspell, and Blood Moon (Eternal Moon Series). Vicki resides with her husband in a charming seaside community in Southern California. She has two grown daughters and two adorable grandchildren who light up her world.
Connect with Vicki at vickicrum@homail.com, or visit her at http://vickicrum.wix.com/author and www.facebook.com/vickicrum.author
We’re spending time today with contemporary and paranormal romance author Vicki Crum. Vicki’s third book in her paranormal romance Eternal Moon series has just been released.
Jann: Your Eternal Moon series is about werewolves. What drew you to this genre?
Vicki: A few years ago, my friend and critique partner, Mandy Baker, urged me to try my hand at writing a paranormal romance. I had only written contemporary romances prior to that, and one contemporary romance with futuristic elements. I tried to think what I could write exploring the paranormal world that would hold my interest. I wasn’t really a “vampire” kind of girl, so I settled on a werewolf. I’ve always been fascinated by wolves, and so I figured, why not? I could still create characters that were sexy and mysterious, and they could be awake during the day and eat whatever they wanted!
Jann: You received great reviews for Once in a Blue Moon and Moonspell. For this series, did you start with plot idea, a character or a theme?
Vicki: Oddly enough, I had started a contemporary romance that wasn’t really going anywhere, so I revamped it into what would eventually become Once in a Blue Moon by making the hero a werewolf. Only Jake was meant to be a werewolf in the beginning. I didn’t even know his love interest, Casey, was a werewolf until Jake did! A rare breed of werewolf with a case of latent genes, even Casey doesn’t know about her true heritage until Jake comes along. I can tell you I had some fun with this one!
In Moonspell, I give Casey’s handsome older brother, Reed, his own love story. Due to their odd family genetics, Reed is not a werewolf, but Marin, the woman he ultimately falls for, is. Each book in the series is connected by siblings. In Blood Moon, Austin is Marin’s brother.
Jann: Blood Moon, book three made its debut recently. What can you tell us about your characters Austin and Kat and their journey?
Vicki: Of all the characters I’ve ever written, I think Kat and Austin are my favorites. They completely captured my imagination and took over my life for a while. I love the way they relate to each other, their good-natured sparring, the immense and uncharted chemistry between them that sweeps them along, almost against their will, on an ultra-passionate adventure. The story takes place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Austin serves as Kat’s outdoor adventure guide. Lots of beautiful scenery, wild animal encounters, and plenty of passion-filled nights. And did I mention Kat’s stalker ex-husband, who refuses to take no for an answer? A showdown at the end exposes Austin’s werewolf heritage in a sudden and violent way, causing Kat to reexamine her feelings for him, and what a future with him might look like.
Jann: What do you want the readers to take away from this series?
Vicki: I want them to have fun, to be entertained above all, to be carried along on a fantasy, passion-filled adventure as the characters meet and fall desperately in love, then struggle with how, despite the odds against them, to forge a future together.
Jann: Will there be a fourth book? If so, can you tell us a little about it?
Vicki: The next book (as yet untitled) takes us to Nashville, and yet another sibling of Marin and Austin’s. Ethan Sawyer is a popular country music star who falls for an extremely independent woman, one whose father was a famous, and very troubled, rock star. Due to Skyler’s scarred past, getting involved with a musician is a non-starter for her. She is also half Shawnee, which according to her full-blood grandmother, makes any kind of union with a shapeshifter forbidden.
Jann: Your first book, Loving Luc, is a contemporary romance. Do you have any plans to write another contemporary romance?
Vicki: Loving Luc is a contemporary romance with futuristic elements, as Luc hails from a planet in another solar system that just happens to be very similar in size and scope to Earth. But yes, I’m thinking to finish my Eternal Moon series with Ethan and Skyler’s story, and then I have several straight contemporary ideas I’d like to work on. Also, my daughter has expressed an interest in us writing a book together, so we’ll see where that idea leads.
Jann: Do you find yourself returning to certain themes in your stories?
Vicki: I would have to say the main theme in most of my books has been the tried and true “love conquers all”. I’ve paired lovers from two distant solar systems and given them their happy ending, and three of the Eternal Moon novels feature couples with incongruent genetic lines, human and werewolf. You can imagine what kinds of difficulties they might face trying to create a life together! I love the idea of discovering one’s soulmate in the most unlikely and unexpected places, wherever that may be.
Jann: Are there any words of inspiration on your computer, in your office or in your mind when you write?
Vicki: Honestly, the quote that has always inspired me the most, and I’m sorry I can’t remember who said it, goes like this, “It makes me sad to think of all the truly talented writers who eventually gave up and went away.” When I’m feeling down and discouraged, this quote gives me heart. Never give up your dreams!
Jann: Do you have a website, blog, twitter where fans might read more about you and your books?
Vicki: You can find my website at: vickicrum.wix.com/author, and catch me on Facebook at Facebook.com/vickicrum.author
Congratulation Vicki on the debut of Blood Moon!! It’s been fun getting a peek into your world of werewolves here on A Slice of Orange.
Books by Vicki Crum
A Pick Six Interview with Author Vicki Crum
April 28, 2017 by A Slice of Orange in category Pick Six Author Interviews, Spotlight tagged as contemporary, paranormal, romance, Vicki Crum
Pick Six Author Interviews are occasional features on A Slice of Orange. We send a bunch of questions to the author who then picks just six of the questions to answer. This month we are featuring a Pick Six Author Interview with Vicki Crum.
Vicki writes contemporary and paranormal romance, creating tales full of love and laughter and discovering one’s soul mate in the most unlikely places. Her published works include Loving Luc, a contemporary romance with futuristic elements, and the first two books in her sexy, light-hearted werewolf series, Once in a Blue Moon and Moonspell.
Vicki resides with her husband in a charming seaside community in Southern California. She has two grown daughters and two adorable grandchildren who light up her world. She loves interacting with readers. Connect with her at vickicrum@homail.com, or visit her at http://vickicrum.wix.com/author and www.facebook.com/vickicrum.author
One: What kind of writer are you? A page a day or a burst writer?
I try to write for at least a couple of hours a day, especially on the weekdays, more if I can. It just depends on what’s going on. For instance, I have two young grandchildren, and if I get the opportunity to spend time with them for whatever reason, I pretty much drop everything and go for it! Sadly, I am too-easily distracted these days. A sale at Macy’s, lunch with a friend (or occasionally even my husband!) and I’ll take off and go. I like to be active, so keeping my butt in the chair can be an effort sometimes. Writing is the most fun and the most productive when I am in the middle of a particularly fun chapter or scene, and I’m really emotionally invested in the outcome. Those are my favorite writing times.
Two: How do you stay motivated? What keeps you writing?
Believe me, I’ve thought of quitting, more than once. Just before I found my current publisher in early 2014, I was seriously thinking about giving up on my writing aspirations. I’d been at it for a long time and had suffered my share of rejections over the years. My world had been expanded in the most joyous way by becoming a grandparent, and my priorities were realigning themselves in a lot of ways. Still, writing had become such a part of who I am that I couldn’t seem to give it up entirely. Sooner or later I’d end up right back at the computer with another new or intriguing idea for a story, or an interesting character rattling around in my brain. And I have to say that having a dedicated group of writer friends that I can engage with regularly is great for keeping me dialed in and moving forward. It’s fun to celebrate their various successes, and that helps keep me inspired.
Three: What are you working on now? Can you tell us about your next project?
I’m writing the third book in my “Moon” series. This is the first series I’ve ever written and also my first foray into paranormal romance. It’s been lots of fun. The first book in the series, Once in a Blue Moon, is a sexy romp about a werewolf who doesn’t know she’s a werewolf due to a stubborn case of latent genes. It takes the hero, a seriously hot, motorcycle-riding alpha hunk, to introduce the heroine to her true nature. The second book, Moonspell, was released in January, and I’m just getting underway with the third one, tentatively titled, Moonrise. Both Moonrise and Moonspell have the hero, or the male protagonist, as the dominant character in the book. The books are related through what I hope are a fun and endearing cast of characters. I like a little humor in my stories, and I’m trying to keep that sexy, light-hearted theme going as I write this series of books.
Four: What’s on your To-Be-Read-Pile?
My TBR pile, like so many other writers I know, is quite high. I’m currently reading two books, when I can find the time, Legend of Love (The Muse Chronicles) by Lisa Kessler and Rules of the Game by Lori Wilde. Next on my list is Kat Martin’s Into the Fury, Nora Roberts’ Tears of the Moon, and Frostline by Linda Howard and Linda Jones. There are so many books that I’m dying to read, but it may take me a bit of time to work my way through them since I very seldom allow myself the opportunity to curl up in the sun with a good book. I had a lot more time to do that before I started writing!
Five: In your books, who is your favorite character and why?
My favorite character of all the ones I’ve written is from my book, Loving Luc, published in 2014. Luc is the epitome of what I think a romantic hero should be. He’s strong and handsome, with plenty of those alpha-hero protective genes I love so much, but he is also thoughtful and gentle and caring. Did I mention brave and highly intelligent? Luc is one of a kind as far as my romantic heroes goes because he is not of this world. Luc is from a planet in a solar system far distant from Earth. He comes from a world, a race of people, so similar to ours that he can blend in here on Earth almost seamlessly—with a few minor adjustments, of course. His very existence is fated to be intertwined with that of my heroine, Maggie, in every way possible…spiritually, emotionally, and physically. They are, essentially, pioneers on the cusp of a brave new world, and it was so much fun creating them!
Six: If a spaceship landed in your backyard and the aliens on board offered to take you for a ride, would you go?
Absolutely! As long as I didn’t believe they posed a serious threat to my life. I’ve always loved astronomy, especially the study of the moon and stars. It’s fascinating to imagine what other life forms and worlds might exist in the universe. It’s a huge assumption to think we are all alone in the heavens. I refer back to my previous answer about my hero, Luc, who comes from a planet and life form that is parallel to ours on Earth in so many ways. I think it’s a very romantic notion to think of falling for a brave and daring, handsome and sexy alien who happens to be madly in love with you!
Thank you to Vicki for answering six questions for A Slice of Orange.
If you would like to read one or all of Vicki’s books, they are available in the Book Store.
If you would like to be featured in a Pick Six Author Interview, please send us your information through the Contact Form.
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