PostsInterview with Tiffany Allee + Giveaway
Today I am very happy to welcome to Ex Libris Tiffany Allee, author of the wonderful debut novel , the first book in the exciting new paranormal series: The Files of the Otherworlder Enforcer Agency. is an enchanting and very exciting story combining the best of the police procedural and paranormal romance, urban fantasy genres. I loved it as you can see in my review, you can check out why I enjoyed it so much here. So please give a warm welcome to Tiffany who was kind enough to answer all my questions :-)
Tiffany: The fact that banshees are mostly unexplored in the genre is precisely why I chose a banshee. It's not that I don't enjoy the types of supernatural creatures currently featured in many paranormal romance novels, but I thought that something different might be fun. It also gave me a lot of leeway. Oh sure, lots of people know about banshee lore, but it hadn't been changed by too many author's ideas yet. It left me lots of room to make up my own twist on the legend.
Stella: What kind of research did you do for the novel? Did you research the different mythologies behind banshees, incubi, etc? Or did you make up the specifics of your lore/species yourself?
Tiffany: I researched quite a bit, from online sources to my own little store of books on mythical creatures. I won't say that I stuck to the research, but I did try to keep some of the flavor and abilities of the creatures intact. My vampires suck blood, my banshees scream, my incubi seduce. But many of the twists on the species are specific to my world and don't come from the research.
Stella: Can you tell those readers who haven't had the chance yet to discover a bit about the universe?
Tiffany: In the universe, otherworlders—inhuman creatures such as vampires, selkies, and succubi—coexist with humans in a world very similar to our own. They all work side-by-side, although not always happily.
The series focuses on detectives in the paranormal unit of the Chicago Police Department working alongside agents from the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency (OWEA), which functions similarly to the FBI.
Stella: The police procedural part of the story read very realistic, was it a challenge trying to blend such a fantasy universe with the different supernatural species into the real world?
Tiffany: Thank you, I'm glad it came across realistically. It was definitely a challenge, and I had to think through some of the issues that might arise from these so-called "freaks" working alongside normal people. I was able to work a few of the touches into the actual story, such as anti-discrimination laws geared toward keeping people from discriminating against otherworlders, and weapons laws and how they apply to otherworlders with lethal powers.
Stella: Why is the novel called ? I am curious to read your thoughts and explanation on that. Did you choose this title or was this more a result of a group brainstorming? I get the obvious banshee reference, it's the Charmer part I'm trying to figure out the hidden or more subtle meaning behind.
Tiffany: I've actually seen a bit of confusion over the title, so I guess not everyone is privy to what is happening in my brain--imagine that! Haha. The title, , refers to Aidan. He charms the banshee, for good or ill, with his charming nature and his well super hotness.
Stella: Ooh now I get it! And what a perfect title then!! :-D Can you tell us when we can finally see Mac and Aidan again, and give us a little teaser about what the sequel will be about? Any idea or plan about how many books there will be in the series?
Stella: Ooh now I get it! And what a perfect title then!! :-D Can you tell us when we can finally see Mac and Aidan again, and give us a little teaser about what the sequel will be about? Any idea or plan about how many books there will be in the series?
Tiffany: Three more novellas are currently planned for the series. Readers will get to see how Mac and Aidan are getting along in the next novella, but the focus of that story is actually on the succubus, Marisol. I don't want to spoil it, but let's just say someone steals something very valuable to her. :-)
Stella: Which supernatural creature do you find the scariest and why is that?
Tiffany: I think it depends on the story. Some writers make vampires and lycanthropes scary, while in other stories they're more sexy than scary. I think the most fearsome creatures are ones who are unidentified—scary monsters that attack in the dark.
Stella: Do banshees have any additional powers in your world besides the death scream?
Tiffany: Fully powered banshees are not only able to kill with their screams, but can also foresee death. Unfortunately, this type of vision usually causes them to scream, which makes it dangerous for them to live among humans.
Luckily for our heroine in , she's not fully powered. She's what they call a half-banshee, which is really a banshee who doesn't have all the powers of a normal banshee. Mac is able to stun with her scream, but she doesn't get visions (thank goodness, considering her line of work).
Stella: If you had to create a tagline for , what sentence do you think would describe it well and give readers a taste of what to expect?
Tiffany: Love, murder, and mystery—a scream of a read. Haha! I'm terrible at taglines. Please don't let this one dissuade you from reading .
Stella: Do you have any other plans, projects you'd like to tell us about? What can we next expect from you?
Tiffany: The sequel for is currently slated to release in April. I also have a novelette called Once Prey, Twice Forsaken coming out in June. It's about a newly made vampire running from a witch hunter, who turns out to be her lost love.
Thank you so much for having me here today!
Stella: Thank you for stopping by Tiffany! :-)
When she’s sent to a crime scene and finds her second dead woman in as many weeks, half-banshee detective Kiera “Mac” McLoughlin is convinced a serial killer is on the loose. Incubi are extinct, her boss insists. But what else can kill a woman in the throes of pleasure? When her partner is murdered after using witchcraft to locate the killer and Mac is thrown off the case, her frustration turns to desperation.
Certain the killer is an incubus, Mac works behind her department’s back to chase down slim, sometimes perilous leads. While the killer eludes her, she does discover handsome Aidan Byrne, an investigative counterpart from the enigmatic Otherworlder Enforcement Agency. Mac typically runs her investigations fast and hard, but with Aidan at her side, she’s running this one “hot” as well. But Aidan knows more than he’s letting on—something that could shatter their blazing romance and add Mac to the killer’s growing body count...
Available at and Barnes & Noble
Tiffany Allee currently lives in Phoenix, AZ, by way of Chicago and Denver, and is happily married to a secret romantic. She spends her days working in Corporate America while daydreaming about sexy heroes, ass-kicking heroines, and interesting ways to kill people (for her books, of course). Her nights are reserved for writing and bothering her husband and cats (according to them). Her passions include reading, chocolate, travel, wine, and family.
Tiffany's Website: /
Facebook Fan Page:
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GIVEAWAY RULES:
Entangled Publishing generously offered one ebook copy of to a lucky commenter.
All you have to do is
1) leave a comment or question for Tiffany (either regarding the interview, her novel or banshees or other supernatural creatures in general :-) AND
2) leave me a way to contact you in case you win (e-mail address, Twitter handle, etc.)
Entangled Publishing generously offered one ebook copy of to a lucky commenter.
All you have to do is
1) leave a comment or question for Tiffany (either regarding the interview, her novel or banshees or other supernatural creatures in general :-) AND
2) leave me a way to contact you in case you win (e-mail address, Twitter handle, etc.)
Giveaway is open worldwide and ends on 5 February 2012.
Good luck!
