Interview and Giveaway: Chloe Neill - Hard Bitten Blog Tour

Please join me in welcoming one of my favorite authors: Chloe Neill, author of the fabulous vampire series, The Chicagoland Vampires (my review of Hard Bitten is here), and also a YA series, The Dark Elite. Ms.Neill was kind enough to answer a few questions and offer a cool giveaway!

Book Addict: I know that you have a day job. Do your co-workers know you’re a published author?

Chloe Neill: There are a number of folks in my office, but many of them do, yes. They've been very supportive of my writing! I think it has improved my writing at work, as well, so that helps.

Book Addict: You have seven books under contract in the series - do you have a specific end to the series planned or will you try to continue to write the Chicagoland Vampires for as long as the ideas keep coming?

Chloe Neill: Definitely the latter. There are things I want to accomplish in the series, but I also really enjoy writing about Merit so I don't currently have an end date in mind.

Book Addict: Your characters are a joy to read. When I’m reading I feel like I know them :) Do you have a favorite character?

Chloe Neill: Thank you! I like all the characters for different reasons. I relate to Merit, and I respect Mallory's focus. Ethan tries (and often fails) to do the right thing by his vampires, and Jeff is such a good, cheerful soul. Mayor Tate is pretty intriguing, I think. We meet more of him in both HARD BITTEN and DRINK DEEP.

Book Addict: Can you tell us something silly that we don’t know about Merit?
Chloe Neill: She has a collection of the OLIVIA children's books that she absolutely adores. They're with her at Cadogan House (although she wouldn't admit that to many people.)

Book Addict: I love that Merit loves food – are you a foodie?

Chloe Neill: Definitely, although a different type of foodie than Merit. I'm a vegetarian, so I don't eat the same kinds of things that she does. But I share her love of chocolate and fine baked goods. :)

Book Addict: There were some big plot twists in Hard Bitten but the ending left me hopeful for Merit’s future. Is it as hard for you to write emotionally intense scenes as it is for us to read them?

Chloe Neill: There are scenes in all the books that make me laugh out loud and, on occasion, cry. The intense scenes are actually a bit easier to write because the emotion tends to push the momentum along, but they definitely move me, as well.

Book Addict: Do you read other books in the vampire genre or do you try to stay away from that?

Chloe Neill: I used to read LOTS, but writing has kind of ruined me for reading fiction, unfortunately. But I still keep up with JR Ward's BDB series, of course! :)

Book Addict: Thank you again for answering my questions! Congratulations on the release of Hard Bitten. I really enjoyed Hard Bitten and am looking forward to Drink Deep. Go Merit!!!

Chloe Neill: Thanks for having me!

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Ms. Neill has graciously offered a Cadogan House prize pack to one lucky commenter! Leave a comment with your e-mail address to be entered.
Ends Friday, May 6.

Hard Bitten
~Chloe Neill

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: New American Library
Publish Date: May 3, 2011
ISBN-10: 0451233328
ISBN-13: 978-0451233325
ASIN: B004IYIU1U

From the author's website:
Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals--and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are ... tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society--a world full of vampires who seem to ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands...

You can read the first chapter here!