Alpha Blog Tour with Rachel Vincent

One of the 2010 releases that I have been waiting all year for is Alpha, the last book in Rachel Vincent's Werecat series! I've read a few early reviews, told myself not to read too many because for some reason it only makes me want to read the book more and I have to wait for it to release and as I've said numerous times, as well as Inigo Montoya, "I hate waiting."

Anyway...today I have Rachel Vincent here answering a few questions I thought up and a little taste of Alpha! In order to celebrate the countdown to her release!! I'm very excited about this book as you already know.

First a little about Alpha, although I'm sure you've already seen this a few times on my blog already, but here we go again anyway!

Alpha will officially hit the shelves on October 1, 2010



YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE FAYTHE…

The unscrupulous new Council chair has charged Jace, Marc, and me with trespassing, kidnapping, murder, and treason. Yeah, we’ve been busy. But now it’s time to take justice into our own hands. We must avenge my brother’s death and carve out the rot at the heart of the Council.

It’s not going to be easy, and loss seems unavoidable, but I have promised to protect my Pride, no matter what. With a target on my back and Marc at my side, I’m heading for a final showdown that can—that will—change everything forever.




Now for the Q&A:

Jessica: What are some of your favorite books you've read this year?

Rachel: Recently, I loved White Cat by Holly Black and Matched by Allie Condee.

Jessica: Where do you like to write? When during the day do you usually write?

Rachel: I write in an old recliner in my office, with my laptop on my lap. And I work all day. I do this full time. More than full time, most days. ;) I start off with email, blogging, and stuff like that, then move into my wordcount for the day, but I take frequent Twitter/email breaks.

Jessica: Do you get frustrated with Faythe? ;)

Rachel: No. I created her. I write her dialogue and I make her decisions, but I have to do all that without being unfaithful (no pun intended) to the character I created. I understand why some people get frustrated with her, but I like Faythe. I wouldn’t write about her if I didn’t. The mistakes Faythe makes (excluding issues of the heart) she makes with the best of intentions. Real people make mistakes, and the only fictional characters who don’t are cardboard cutouts. Faythe is human (at least in part), and if she’d been perfect from the start, she wouldn’t have had room to grow.

She is what her life has demanded of her. When she was coddled and indulged, and taught that the entire world (at least her world) revolved around her, she became spoiled and a little selfish. But when she was expected to grow and take on responsibility, that’s exactly what she did. Without ever losing herself along the way. I am proud of Faythe, and I’m proud of what writing her has taught me.

Jessica: Do you disagree with any of the decisions, choices any of your characters make/made?

Rachel: Do I disagree with them? Well, decisions aren’t statements or arguments, so it’s hard to disagree.

Would I have made the same decisions? Not always. But I’m not a character in the book. I haven’t been through what they’ve been through. And if characters never mess up what on earth is there to write about?

On that note, for every single decision one of the sympathetic characters (the good guys) has made, I’ve heard from many readers on both sides of the issue. And that tells me that I’ve done my job. That I’ve built their world and their lives realistically enough for people disagree about what should happen. Like in real life. There are people who condemn Faythe for sleeping with Jace, and there are those who think it should have come a lot sooner. There are people who hate that Faythe started to run away and put herself at risk, but there are also people who don’t think she should have had to come home in the first place—a view which is supported by the fact that even in the end, Faythe wasn’t rescued. She saved herself and Abby.

So…do I think they all always make the best choices? No. But I think that most of their choices are justifiable, at least in the time and place they were made.

Jessica: Who can we expect to see in Alpha? Do we see Abby and other members from the Prides who've been absent for awhile?

Rachel: We won’t see Abby (her parents will keep her as far from the action as possible), but we’ll see just about everyone else in the series. It’s the finale. I held nothing back. ;)

Jessica: If you can tell us, what was your favorite moment in the Shifters series?

Rachel: SPOILERS!!!

My favorites probably aren’t the ones that readers would pick. My favorite moments are the ones that challenged me as a writer. The times I feel like I met that challenge. Faythe defending Abby and killing Eric. Faythe’s shock after killing Andrew. Faythe bonding with a feral Kaci. Ethan’s death and the Pride’s subsequent devastation. And Faythe’s determination to keep things together for her family in Alpha, when she’s lost almost everything. Those are my moments of triumph, and the best days are the days when someone writes to tell me s/he cried, or laughed, or threw the book—then ran to pick it back up. I don’t really believe I’ve done a good job until that happens. ;)

Jessica: Thanks for stopping by Rachel!

Rachel: No problem!

And now for a line straight from Alpha:

"My mother was still screaming, and now starting to go hoarse." pg 217