TQ: Welcome back to The Qwillery.
Piper: I’m delighted to visit you again!
TQ: What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
Piper: I write in longhand, preferably on yellow legal pads.
TQ: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Piper: I’ve done both, but I prefer to pantser. After I know where the book is going, I’ll jot down plot points on Post-it Notes, but if the story changes, I just go with it.
TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
Piper: Writing a first draft is a miserable time. Even if I have a plot, the characters might not cooperate. At this stage, I’m moving in the dark. The minute the first draft is behind me, the lights blink on, and I enjoy the revision process.
TQ: What inspired you to write the Acquainted with the Night and the recently published sequel, Hunting Daylight?
Piper: I’d always wanted to write about vampires. And I wanted to add science to the myth.
TQ: What research have you done for the novels and what is the oddest bit of information that you've found?
Piper: I have a nursing degree, which gave me a foundation in science. My youngest son is a biochemist, and he sets me straight when I make errors. A plotline in Hunting Daylight includes an expedition into a Gabon rainforest. The team is studying a bat species that hunts in daylight, thanks to a unique gene (which I called R-99). Months later, I read about a real diurnal bat that has a “low-light” gene and is a daylight hunter. This was totally cool! I love when imagination collides with real science. Author Eudora Welty once said, “When you’re writing a novel, you will attract what you need.” This is true!
TQ: Describe Hunting Daylight in 140 characters or less.
Piper: 10 yrs after Caro’s husband vanishes in a rainforest, she falls for a 1000 yr old vampire and faces an impossible choice.
TQ: Tell us something about Hunting Daylight that is not in the book description.
Piper: A thirteen-year-old girl develops unusual, and potentially dangerous, talents.
TQ: In the series so far who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Piper: Raphael came to life the minute he walked into the first book. He had a distinct voice, world view, and personality. He was an inexplicable gift from the muse. But his dog, Arrapato, was another matter. I tried planned for the dog to be a Yorkie (I have three Yorkies), but Raphael said, “No, no. He is an Affenpinscher.” So I went to dog shows and talked to owners and handlers. Then Arrapato developed his own personality, and he’s one of my favorites.
TQ: Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Hunting Daylight?
Piper: I particularly enjoyed writing the scenes in Paris, Marrakech, and the rain forest. Probably my favorite is the scene in Zermatt, Switzerland when Raphael and Caro find themselves alone in a restaurant.
TQ: What's next?
Piper: I’m presently working on the third book in a southern mystery series.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.
Piper: Thank you for inviting me!
Thanks for joining Piper on her Hunting Daylight blog tour! Follow her on
twitter here: @PiperMaitland
The Novels
Hunting Daylight
Berkley, February 5, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 560 pages
Out of the shadows…
For more than a decade, Caro Barrett has had doubts about the death of her husband, who disappeared while looking for a tribe of day-walking vampires in an African rainforest. Now, their daughter is struggling through her teenage years without a father. Waiting in the wings is an ancient vampire ready to possess Caro’s heart—and to protect them both from harm. And, with her husband declared legally dead, Caro feels it is finally time to move on…
A hemisphere away in a windowless compound, an Ottoman vampire lies dying from a rare blood disease, which has made him vulnerable to the faintest bit of light. Yet he is determined to vanquish its power over him—to feel the sun on his face one last time. And in Caro’s darkest fears he will be lifted into the light of day…
Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound
Acquainted With the Night
Berkley, November 29, 2011
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 544 pages
A woman's quest for the truth...A medieval icon that holds the clues...And an ancient book with the power to shake Christianity-and humanity itself.
London tour guide Caroline Clifford has never believe in vampires- until her uncle is brutally murdered at a Bulgarian archaeological site, and a vampire hunter who corresponded with him seeks her out.
Strange anagrams on her uncle's passport lead them to a cliff-top monastery in Greece, where a shattering revelation connects a relic Caro inherited to an age-old text on immortality-and an enigmatic prophecy that pits the forces of darkness and light in a showdown that could destroy all they know...
Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound
You may read The Qwillery's review of Acquainted with the Night here.
About Piper
Piper Maitland lives with her husband on a farm in Tennessee with three bratty Yorkshire Terriers, a Chinese Crested, and assorted farm animals. She has also written novels under the name Michael Lee West.
Website : Blog : Twitter : Facebook
The Giveaway
THE RULES
What: One commenter will win a copy of Hunting Daylight from Berkley/Penguin USA. US ONLY
How: Answer The Qwillery's Question:
What is one of your favorite novels in which a main character is a vampire?
Please remember - if you don't answer the questions your entry will not be counted.
You may receive additional entries by:
1) Being a Follower of The Qwillery.
2) Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.
There are a total of 3 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry) and Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.
Copy and paste for Twitter if you like: I just entered to win HUNTING DAYLIGHT by @PiperMaitland at The @Qwillery http://bit.ly/15p9AzbPlease leave links for Facebook or Twitter mentions. You MUST leave a way to contact you.
Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a US mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Sunday, February 25, 2013. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.
*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*
