Fallen Angel Reviews is happy to welcome best-selling author, Kim Harrison. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us.

I'd like to start by asking you a little bit about yourself. You mention being the only girl in a family of boys, can you tell us how that influenced you both as a writer and a person?

I'm sure being the only girl had a big part of how I grew up, and that in turn would reflect upon my writing, certainly. Just being the only anything is a source of individuality that I carry with me to this day. Growing up with boys might have made me more willing to get down and dirty, but it's hard to second-guess stuff like that.

Of all things you have accomplished, is there one accomplishment you are most proud of?
Since everybody needs a break, even when doing something they love, how do you like to spend your time away from writing?

There really isn't any one accomplishment that I can say I'm most proud of. My goals are usually broken down into small bits, and when I get close to my goal, I push the bar out farther. It's the journey that I enjoy more than the arrival, it seems. ;-) But when I take a break, it is usually something quiet and solitary to let my mind settle. Herb gardening, landscaping, shopping in home-improvement stores are a few of the things I enjoy when I take some down-time. Baking is another when the weather gets cold. I like making things, and because my day-to-day work is often so long-term oriented, when I can invest a little time to make a big change is a big pick-me-upper.

Why action movies? Which is your favorite movie? Favorite actor and actress?

Why not action movies? I love action movies, especially those that make me think. Anything that can pull me successfully away from my work ranks high in my book. Right now, my favorite movie would be The 300, but I enjoyed Pirates a lot. As I write this, I'm trying to get to the latest Harry Potter movie. My favorite actor and actress I really can't answer. I've never thought about it!

What is a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me revolves around what's currently on my desk, which can be writing rough draft, editing materials, or working on promotion, but a good bet would be that it starts with 1-2 hours online, hopefully 1, where I update my website, answer questions, and keep up with my Yahoo! group. I can spend up to an hour at night wrapping up my personal emails with NY or special readers, and lately, arranging conference appearances. Other than that, I write, edit, or rewrite. I usually get out once a day for errands, but it's rarely for longer than an hour, making my 6-10 hour days pretty long. If I'm on deadline, I'll work on the weekends or extend my usual work day into the night hours, but I work hard to avoid getting myself in a situation where I'm pressed like that.

When did you decide to take "pen in hand" and write with the intent to publish?

I never took up my pen with the intent to get published. I probably had some vague idea, but not knowing the first thing about becoming published, I just concentrated on the writing. This was about twelve years ago, I'm thinking? It wasn't until later after I got a lot of kudos from family and friends that I decided to look into trying to get published, and even longer before I found the contacts and tools to even hope to achieve it. When I first picked up that pen, all I really had was a want to tell a story, to make someone's eyes widen and them to say, "ooooh." I still carry that with me.

Rachel definitely has a distinct personality, how much of you is in her?

Because Rachel is written from a first-person point of view, it is really hard to keep parts of my own personality out of her. There is a lot of me in her, but there is at least as much of her that is not me and is unique in its own right. I would not want to live in a church with a vampire, but having a pixy in my garden might not be too bad. ;-)

You have a fantastic cast of characters in your books. They are all well rounded and have a distinct 'feel' to each. How do you keep track of their foibles and little idiosyncrasies?

I keep track of the physical characteristics of my characters with a page of notes, but much of their personalities I keep up in my head. I came to know them as anyone would come to know a new person, little by little, as you spend time with them. Building a character like this not only lets me build a strong picture of who they are, making it easier to keep track of them, but it also keeps me interested when the little surprises pop up, like that David collects Civil War sabers, and Kisten ran track and field in high school.

The mythology behind your vampires is a bit different than the 'normal' view. Can you tell us how you came up with the differences?

I really can't say that my view of living and dead vampires is solely mine, as I think it had been done before, but the reason I settled on using this way to define my vamps was because I love the idea of the classical Stokers vampire that can't come into the sun and needs human blood to survive. But that makes for a very limited character where any vampire action has to be in the dark. To balance it out, I let the living vampires evolve. Not only did they bring with them a portion of the undead vampire's strengths and bloodlust that is so fascinating to read about, but they are terribly tragic in that they have a soul but are doomed to lose it. Having the two types lets me eat my cake and keep it too. The best of both worlds with no rules broken.

Do you have any special rituals to help you get in the mood to write?

I have tried very hard not to fall into a ritual to get into the mood to write. I do spend time on the internet first thing most days, but I don't need to in order to get going. One of the traps that an aspiring author can fall into is thinking that you write only when you feel like it. Writing is a job, like any other job. You sit at the computer whether you want to or not, or nothing ever gets done and you never get past page sixty five.

Your latest book, For a Few Demons More, delves deeper into the artifact that was introduced in A Fistful of Charms. How did this story arc come about?

The story of FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE involving the focus evolved as an extension of me not yet being done exploring the Were society. It was also a great way to show that even when Rachel thinks she's got the situation under control, that there is often something that she's overlooked.

Are there any sneak peeks you can give us into your newest work-in-progress?

Sneak peeks? (grin) Well, about all I'm saying right now is that THE OUTLAW DEMONS WAILS continues Rachel's new mindset that no good deed goes unpunished. We see a little more of Trent, and delve deeper into the demon world, but I don't want to give anything away.

Is there anything else that you'd like to add?

No, just to thank you for this time to chat with your readers. ;-)

Thank you again for taking the time to talk with us. I look forward to hearing more about The Hollows and all of the fantastic characters that live there. If you'd like to find out more about Ms. Harrison and her books, you can check out her website at www.kimharrison.net.

Interviewed by: Serena