Interview/Giveaway with Marta Acosta

 Today I'm very excited to welcome Marta Acosta to my blog. She is the author of the Casa Dracula series. I hope everyone gives her a warm welcome.

Hi Marta, Welcome to Anna's Book Blog! I'm glad to have you here. To start off can you tell the readers a little about yourself?

Hi, Anna, and thanks for having me here. I am a world famous scientist. Okay, that’s a lie. I’m the author of the Casa Dracula novels as well as Nancy’s Theory of Style (under my pen-name Grace Coopersmith). I live in Northern California in the fog belt, which means I can never grow tomatoes, but every year I try. I am not easily discouraged, which is an essential quality for a writer.

Haunted Honeymoon is your latest release, can you tell us a little about it and the series?

Milagro De Los Santos was a rather aimless and broke aspiring novelist and gardener who was struggling to make a living as a part-time gardener and reading consultant, but she was easily diverted by parties and fabulous men -- and she has a pretty generous definition of “fabulous.” In Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, she’s accidentally infected by fabulous Dr. Oswald Grant, a vampire, and becomes the only known human to survive. The first three books cover her adventures with a snobby family of vampires and her romantic relationship with Oswald, the owner of the ranch that she nicknames Casa Dracula. These books are primarily romantic comedies and they spoof some vampire conventions.

When Haunted Honeymoon begins, Milagro is carrying on a steamy affair with decadent, enigmatic Vampire Council member Ian Ducharme, but she still misses Oswald, who she admires as ethical and hardworking.

When Ian begins shenanigans with his sexy neighbor, Milagro angrily takes off to London for business. She meets a young vamp who is a lot like her – he’s fun, bright, but also has some ambition – but when she returns home, the bodies begin piling up. Someone sets her up as a killer, and she wonders if Ian is exacting his revenge.

She escapes to Oswald’s ranch, hits her head, and loses her memory of everything that’s happened in the last few years. Will the murderer come after her, and does she have another chance with Oswald – or will she repeat her previous mistakes?

What is your writing day like?

I start with a walk along the San Francisco Bay shore with my dogs and then I write my Vampire Wire blog, which takes up way too much time, have coffee, attend to miscellaneous emails and business and finally begin to work on my fiction.

When you’re not writing what kind of books do you like to read?

My reading is eclectic. I’ll read literary novels, classic novels, contemporary mysteries, comic novels, urban fantasy, non-fiction, historical fiction, whatever. I’m interested in good stories that are well-written, more than I am in genre. Right now I’m reading Mike Carey’s wonderful Felix Castor series, because I’m in the mood for ghostly stories.

What are 3 things that are "must haves" for you when you sit down to write a book?

My mini-Slinky, because I fidget with it throughout the day, a caffeinated drink, and a pen and post-its.

Now for a hard question ;) .... Being a fan of vampires, do you have a favorite vampire?

Oh, that’s actually an easy question. My favorite vampire is Spike in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. He’s kind of a loser, quite bitter, snarky, and often heartbroken. Before he got turned, he wrote terrible sentimental poetry. He wears a black leather trench, drives an old Caddy with blacked out windows, and drinks and smokes, but he’s still got that bit of mama’s boy about him. He’s also someone who will sacrifice himself to save others.

How did you decide that Haunted Honeymoon would be the last book in the series? Is this something that was plotted out in advance or did you have plans for more.

I wrote Happy Hour at Casa Dracula as a stand-alone, and never expected to write a series. My editor wanted another and then another. I didn’t want to drag Milagro’s romances out because that gets old and tired, you know, when you see an author gratuitously breaking up a couple to wring another book out of it. I’m not a big fan of forced angst.

If anyone was interested in more books, I’d consider books about Milagro and her husband solving mysteries, going to parties, and staying happily married.

Being a fan of the series I'm definitely gonna miss these characters so I can just imagine how much you will too. What are you gonna miss most about Milagro and the gang?

I’ll miss Milagro’s happy-go-lucky optimism and her loving nature. The first book is as much about Milagro’s relationship with the vampire grandmother, Edna, as it is with Oswald, and I’ll miss Edna’s snarkiness, and the banter and affection between the two women. I’ll miss all the eccentric characters, and Milagro’s nutty conversations with her best from college, Nancy. (Milagro has a few scenes in Nancy’s Theory of Style.)

Are there any real life people that have inspired the characters in Casa Dracula?

No, however, fictional characters inspired me. I took qualities from my favorite characters and created Milagro. There’s a bit of Jane Eyre’s lonely child in her, some of Elizabeth Bennet’s cleverness, and a little of Bertie Wooster’s cheerful cluelessness. The brother and sister team of Ian and Cornelia Ducharme were inspired by the charming and amoral Henry and Mary Crawford in Austen’s Mansfield Park.

Now I know your YA novel The Shadow Girl of Birch Grove recently got bought by Tor Books (Congrats!), beside that release what is next for you?

I’ve got a story in the anthology The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance. I’d never written a romance story before so it was a challenge trying to figure out what readers expect. I’m also working on a contemporary adult gothic, a sordid tale that takes place in both 1850 and the present. While I love writing humor, it’s also a treat to write grittier, darker fiction. We’ll see what happens with it!

Readers can find out more about my books by visiting my website (which houses my author blog). I’m more often at Vampire Wire, and I’ve got a Facebook fan page somewhere and I’m on Twitter and all that. I have free reads – including an early draft of Casa Dracula Book Two Book, (before it was completely rewritten into Midnight Brunch) on Scribd. I think I may also put an early draft of Nancy’s Theory of Style there for people to enjoy.

I hope readers looking for books with funny, sexy, thrilling romantic adventures – with a bite --will check out my Casa Dracula books. Thanks, Anna, for having me here!

Marta, thank you for stopping by. It's been a pleasure have you here. 

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HAUNTED HONEYMOON
By Marta Acosta

Available September 28th

Will she get another chance with the vamp that got away?

As the only human to survive vampire infection, Milagro de Los Santos has become quite a celebrity among the blood-drinking elite. Too bad the perks of her condition—increased strength, super-fast healing—don’t pay her condo fees. There are other complications too. She feels guilty about her fling with decadent, enigmatic Vampire Council member Ian Ducharme, and she pines for her ex-fiancé, Dr. Oswald Grant . . . the fabulous man whose kiss changed her life.

It’s when Milagro—upset by Ian’s attentions to his neighbor—travels to London and enjoys a sexy flirtation of her own, that the blood really hits the fan. Suddenly, those around her are dying gruesome deaths and Milagro’s being interrogated. Who would kill to set her up as a murder suspect?

All she wants to is turn back the clock and have another chance to make things right. No sooner has she escaped to Oswald’s ranch than an accident obliterates her memory. Will the murderer come after her, and will amnesia spark a romantic do-over with Oswald—or will Milagro make all the same mistakes before she ever gets to say “I do”?

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GIVEAWAY:

One lucky winner will win a copy of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula. To enter leave a comment along with your email address. Open to everyone! The winner will be announced on September 30th.

Update:  If the winner already owns a copy of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, Marta has offered up one of the other books in the series to the winner.