Allison Pang ~ Fantasy Romance Faery Writing Goddess

Hello and welcome, Allison, looking forward to chatting about your Abby Sinclair series…the newest release, A Sliver of Shadow, Book 2 of the series. Before we get started, here’s a little about Allison:

A marine biologist in a former life, Allison Pang turned to a life of crime to finance her wild spending habits and need to collect Faberge eggs. A cat thief of notable repute, she spends her days sleeping and nights scaling walls and wooing dancing boys….Well, at least the marine biology part is true. But she was taloned by a hawk once.  She also loves Hello Kitty, sparkly shoes, and gorgeous violinists.

She spends her days in Northern Virginia working as a cube grunt and her nights waiting on her kids and cats, punctuated by the occasional husbandly serenade. Sometimes she even manages to write. Mostly she just makes it up as she goes.

Marine biologist…nice *smile* AND, taloned by a hawk…wow, what a life! Let’s hear more, Allison…on with the interview…

Please tell us how the idea came to you for the Abby Sinclair series. Please include all the fun details.

It’s a bit cliché to say it started with a dream, but it did. Actually, that’s not entirely true. About ten years ago I started a story with a girl who saw ghosts and an angel (Charlie and Robert, for those of you who are familiar with A Brush of Darkness. Melanie also made her first appearance there as well.) However, at some point the floppy disk I had saved my work on got eaten and I lost everything.

As far as the dream goes – I did have a dream of a character walking through an old house, searching for someone. (Which is essentially one of the last scenes of A Brush of Darkness.) For some reason, that dream just stuck with me, so I decided I needed to write about it. And when I did, all those old characters from before showed up as secondary characters and I just ran with it.

What’s Abby Sinclair’s job? What does she do for a living?

Abby  wears a number of hats in these books. On the outside, she works in a used bookstore, known as the Pit. But her more important job is that of TouchStone to the Faery Protectorate. TouchStones are essentially mortal anchors to the mystical OtherFolk beings that live in the town of Porsmyth. TouchStones allow the OtherFolk to travel back and forth through worlds via the CrossRoads.

I love the idea of TouchStones...quite a concept.
Give us some insight into Abby. What’s a bit of her back story?

When we first meet Abby in A Brush of Darkness, she’s a former prima ballerina, still recovering from a terrible car accident that took the life of her mother and left her body crippled. With her dreams of dancing shattered, she ends up in the town of Portsmyth and stumbles into the world of the OtherFolk.

In A Sliver of Shadow, we find Abby coming a bit more into her own, as well as finding out more about her own past and family history. (And how entwined her family really is with that of the OtherFolk.)

Abby's role sounds intriguing. Can you tell us about the abilities of Abby? How do they help OR hinder?

Any mortal can serve as a TouchStone to an OtherFolk being through the formal request of a written Contract. Abby is actually a KeyStone – which is a mortal who can TouchStone an OtherFolk being via touch alone – no Contract is needed. This is both convenient and dangerous, as being a TouchStone does require energy. If Abby accidentally TouchStones too many people, it could end up draining her.

More abilities for Abby means more compelling...nice.
Why this location? Anything in particular in real-life that made you select it?

I didn’t want to set the story in a real town, but Portsmyth is actually very loosely based on a mix of Old Town Alexandria (in Virginia) and Old Town Manassas. I worked in Alexandria for several years and used to imagine setting a story somewhere within, so it was a no-brainer when I decided to write A Brush of Darkness.

My sister used to live near Old Town Alexandria...beautiful townhouses, connected, yet each uniquely individual.
Is A Sliver of Shadow included in a series? If so, what series and can you give us titles and a tagline for other books in this series?

A Sliver of Shadow is the second book in the Abby Sinclair series. The first is A Brush of Darkness, and the third, A Trace of Moonlight is forthcoming, scheduled for an October 2012 release.

Can you share anything about the fantasy beings in the story?

It’s a Kitchen Sink world – anything and everything is fair game for me to pull into the book as far as mythology goes. Although my primary mythology is more Celtic in nature, I’ve started branching out a bit more into some Japanese myths as well (Kitsune, etc.)

Otherwise the main beings in the story include an incubus, a succubus, Sidhe fae, angels, daemons and one very tiny and perverted unicorn.

What a great entourage of story-stars...I want it. LOL
What are you working on now?

I’m working on the revisions to the third book in the Abby Sinclair series, A Trace of Moonlight. I’m also working on a collaborative graphic novel project that will go live in the spring. (http://www.sadsausagedogs.com)

Where can we find you? List all of your links.

Website: http://www.heartofthedreaming.com

Blog: http://mynfel.blogspot.com

Tumblr: http://ionsfolly.tumblr.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/apang

Twitter: @allison_pang, @phintheunicorn

What’s Allison’s Favorite/Preference Quickie Quiz:

Beverage?  

Coke Zero

Writing Tool?  

Netbook and an iPod

Pet?  

Cats, Parakeets and a Hedgehog named Tumbleweed

Season?  

Fall

Time of Day/Night?

Midnight

Fantasy/Paranormal Character? (ghost, witch, mermaid, shifter, vampire, etc.)  

Unicorn

Past time/Hobby?

Gaming/Reading/Cross-Stitching

What place have you never been and always wanted to go? 

I would love to visit London or Scotland.

Allison is giving away 10 signed copies of A Sliver of Shadow tour wide, fill out the rafflecopter form at this link.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YmExMTJmZmM0NTczY2U4Y2JhMWU1MGJkZGZiMWE4OjE3/

Click Cover for Buy Link

A Sliver of Shadow

Book 2 Abby Sinclair Series

By Allison Pang

Blurb:

Just when her new life as a TouchStone – a mortal bound to help OtherFolk cross between Faery and human worlds – seems to be settling down, Abby Sinclair is left in charge when the Protectorate, Moira, leaves for the Faery Court. And when the Protectorate’s away…let’s just say things spiral out of control when a spell on Abby backfires and the Faery Queen declares the Doors between their worlds officially closed.

The results are disastrous for both sides: OtherFolk trapped in the mortal world are beginning to fade, while Faerie is on the brink of war with the daemons of Hell. Along with her brooding eleven prince Talivar and sexy incubus Brystion, Abby ventures to the CrossRoads in an attempt to override the Queen’s magic. But nothing in this beautiful, dangerous realm will compare to the discoveries she’s making about her past, her destiny, and what she will sacrifice for those she loves.

Buy Links:

Amazon   Kindle  B&N  Nook  BAM  Powells Indiebound  Chapters
                   

Excerpt:

“Who’s my little man?” The unicorn crooned at Benjamin and then winced when a hank of beard became the baby’s newest form of entertainment.
“Keep that up and you’ll be a baldy chin,” I retorted. “And I don’t recall asking your opinion. Not that that’s ever stopped you before. Talivar around?”
“Nope, burned the coffee again. Ran out to get more.” A snort escaped him. “He’s even worse at it then you are.”

“Probably something about being a prince and not having to actually cook for himself. At least he’s trying. More than I can say for you.” I stooped to search for my Crocs, pushing through dust bunnies and clumps of what suspiciously looked like unicorn droppings. “Christ, Phin, use the toilet or go outside or something.” I snatched my hand away.

“That’s not me. I think you’ve got mice.” His tone became wheedling.

“I’ll bet. Just clean it up.”

“With what? Gonna turn my tail into a broom?” The furred tuft in question flicked as if to make the point.

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something. Besides, aren’t unicorn horns proof against poison? Purifying water, that sort of thing? Surely something that can bring a dead man back to life can disinfect like Lysol?”

Click Cover for Buy Link

A Brush of Darkness

Book 1 Abby Sinclair Series
Blurb:

The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares.

Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts.
Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.

Allison, thanks for making my place one of your BewitchingBook Tours stops, it’s been an awesome visit. Congratulations on Sliver of Shadow, and may you have many, many more successes.

Thank everyone for stopping into visit with Allison…don’t forget to fill out her Rafflecopter form for a chance to win.

Until next time…Warm Hearts & Hugs,

Kay Dee

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