Venom Blog Tour: Interview and Venomous Excerpt!

Thank you so much to Fiona Paul and Beth for letting me be a part of this awesome blog tour. You two deserve a ride in the canel with Falco. 

The wonderful Fiona Paul gave me the pleasure of interviewing her!
Interview: Part 1
1) What inspired you to write Venom?
I had been to Venice and liked it, and then I was taking an online class with an editor who was looking for a fun, sexy, historical manuscript. I remember telling her that I couldn't get into historical books. The ones I had tried to read seemed so proper and formal-sounding, so bogged down with details. (Since then I have discovered the awesomeness of Gilt and Born Wicked and the Rebel Angels trilogy, among others.) She said "Maybe you should write a historical book that you would want to read." So I did.

2) When do you think was the moment you decided "I'm going to be an author."?
Dude. I don't think anybody decides that, do they? If you're a writer you just write. You don't do it for money or because you think it will be your career. You do it for the same reason a swimmer swims or a math club kid does complex equations. It's what you know. It's what's inside you. What you love. What makes you feel free and alive and happy and powerful. You write because you HAVE to, because if you stop then something just feels wrong with the universe.
I do remember the point at which I said: I'm going to seriously commit to the craft of writing and try for publication. I had just gotten a gig writing reviews for a website and I got handed Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian. And it was this beautiful, perfect book. No murders, no vampires, no magic, no cancer-riddled heroines. Just this quiet story about art camp and the evolution of a friendship. And it blew me away and I was like: Someday I want to make something like this.

3) What authors have inspired you?
Siobhan Vivian, JK Rowling, Sarah Dessen, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Oliver, Maggie Stiefvater, Barry Lyga, and Stephanie Perkins all immediately come to mind.

4) If writing wasn't a job/career, what do you see your self pursuing? 
Very few authors get to just write as their career. I took a year off my 'day job' to finish grad school, but chances are I'll go back to part-time nursing, teaching nursing, being a saute cook, or tutoring people on how to ace their SATs--all of which are pretty cool jobs. I also think it'd be fun to be a baker or to do anything outdoors-related like teach kids how to kayak, rock climb, survive in the wilderness, etc. I think I would like to write full-time if I'm fortunate enough to get the opportunity, but right now I'm enjoying the publication process as it unfolds for the books I've already sold and trying not obsess too much about the future.

5) VENOM IS SO CLOSE TO BEING RELEASED. Describe your feelings in 5 words or in short sentence. GO.
What? OMG. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

6) I have already read Venom and I just --I can't even ..SO MANY FEELINGS and that ending? Ah! What do you think readers can expect in Venom?
I think the somewhat open ending will frustrate some people, but I personally get frustrated by cliffhanger endings. If you drop a hot boy you've made me fall in love with over the edge of a cliff and make me wait 13 months to find out if he's okay, we are not friends and I'm probably going to have dumped that boy for another one I like better by the time your sequel comes out. So yeah, there are some things left unresolved at the end of Venom, but that's because there are two more books. And FYI, they're coming out only nineish months apart. That's like no waiting at all, right? :)

7) WHAT I CAN EXPECT IN BELLADONNA?
Belladonna will feature more Falco, more Luca, much more about the Order of the Eternal Rose, a trip to a different city, and a stunning emotional ending.

Part 2 of the interview will be up tomorrow! :) Now for the real reason most of you are here. The next part to ...*drum roll*

Venomous!
A Secrets of the Eternal Rose short story
By Fiona Paul

The year is 1600 and the streets of Venice, Italy are ripe with intrigue and danger. In this introduction to the world of Venom, eighteen-year-old Mariabella has recently elevated herself from the rank of common prostitute to the status of courtesan, a respected high-class escort for those men in Venetian society who can afford them. Mariabella steps out to attend a party on the arm of her powerful new patron, certain that the night will be filled with glamour, secrets, and adventure.

Didn't read the last part of the story? Check it out on Citrus Reads!

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      After Joseph has his fill of dancing, he is off talking business once again. It must be nearing midnight, but the festivities are still in full swing. I catch Batista’s eye, letting my gaze linger for a moment. Then, I escape the warmth of the portego, hoping he will follow. I wander the back hallway of the palazzo, past the library and a sitting room to a narrow staircase that leads to the first floor. 

      The steps lead down to the kitchen. Two serving girls dressed in black and red turn away from their pot scrubbing to eye me curiously.

       I expected Don Domacetti’s public rooms to be majestic, but somehow I imagined the kitchen would be simple, not so different from the one in which I grew up helping my mother peel potatoes. Yet, the splendor continues. The room is open and airy, with pale wooden counters and a big iron stove. The floor is made of gleaming wood, polished so brightly that it practically glows in the candlelight. Somehow, it seems wrong that this kitchen is so beautiful, and more than twice as large as the entire flat I share with a roommate.
      But that can change. It will change.

      Thanks to Joseph’s patronage, I’ll be able to move into a nicer home someday. I’ll be able to buy food in the morning, while it’s still fresh, instead of waiting until afternoon when it’s been discounted. I’ll be able to live.

      I’m reminded then of my older sister, Aurelia. Once a week, our mother sent us to the big market on the Rialto. We would split up and hurriedly buy the things on the list. Then, heaving our sacks of vegetables and parcels of meat, we would walk all the way to the Piazza San Marco and watch the conjurers and the jugglers perform for the crowds. We’d dodge the gypsies and merchants that wandered the square peddling jewelry from the Far East and fabric so shiny that it almost seemed to be made of metal. Occasionally, Aurelia would force me to distract a vendor so that she could steal a loaf of warm bread or a pomegranate. Then we would run, sacks beating a rhythm against our spines, pushing our way into the crowds. We would split whatever we stole on the way home, but even as I ate, I always guilty. One time I told Aurelia so, and she said: One day we won’t have to steal. One day, princes will come to marry us, and from that day on we’ll be able to live.
     But princes never came. Once Aurelia was old enough to understand what our mother did for a living, she decided to enter a convent. I haven’t spoken to her in months.
     “Signorina?” one of the girls says timidly. “Do you need assistance?”
     “I just wanted to see the garden,” I explain, smiling tightly.
     “Most people go around the front way,” she says. Her fingers are cracked and raw from scrubbing, and I look away, thinking of my mother. “But you can use that door if you like.” She’s looking at me with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, as if she can’t quite believe we’re having a conversation.
      “Grazie.” I duck outside and the night sky falls around me like a cloak. The air is thick but cool. The scent of flowers almost completely masks the sour stench of the canal out front. A path of stepping stones winds through the U-shaped garden, roses bushes on one side, lilies on the other. The plants are budding but not yet in full bloom. A bronze fountain shaped like a winged horse stands guard over the flowers. A pair of steel cressets mounted on the back wall of the palazzo bathe the area in flickering light. Beyond the fountain, two silhouettes stand close together. A boy and a girl. The girl’s voice is high and clear, so eavesdropping is unavoidable.

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Want more? The next part of the story will be on Manga Maniac Café on Wednesday, 10/17. 

Come back tomorrow for my review of VENOM, part 2 of the interview and ....--wait for it.

An international giveaway for a signed hardcover copy of VENOM (sponsored by Fiona Paul)!