Crossroads: Shannon Delany and Carrie Harris

What do you say to the people who think stories about vampires or werewolves are overrated? (For the record: I still love vamp and wolfie stories!)
Two things: don’t read what you don’t want to (and for heaven sakes, don’t complain about what you don’t know) AND consider the author’s reason for using a vehicle like a werewolf or vamp to tell their tale. We don’t randomly plunk a paranormal into a world because we think it’s “hawt”—the vast majority of us do it because of the subconscious meaning attributed to that vehicle.

Is Bargains and Betrayals the last book in the 13 to Life series? 
NOPE. Originally the series was set to end at three but after 13 to Life hit stores my publisher asked to add two more novels to my contract bringing our total to five. We still have Destiny and Deception and Rivals and Retributions (both releasing in 2012).

Who is your favorite character out of the series? 
Max. What?! Eh, I don’t know. I love and get ticked at them all equally most days. I want to shake Jess from time to time and throttle Pietr because they make some stellar decisions, you know? Max is easier to deal with in some ways because there’s not much subtext with Max. He’s just Max. He’s the guy I’d hang out with.

What upcoming project(s) can you tell us about? 
I’m actively developing two stories right now (both VERY different). One’s science fiction/cyberpunk and I’d like to see it as a trilogy. It connects to my short story in the Leap Books charity anthology SPIRITED: 13 Haunting Tales and is set in the future (beyond what’s popularly being termed “the Singularity”). The other one goes in the absolutely opposite direction and takes us into the past approximately 170 years to deal with an amazing moment that’s often overlooked in history. Both include rebellion. And kissing.

Would you survive the Zombie Apocolypse? 
I’d TOTALLY survive. I mean, I’m an expert on the subject! Not only do I write monster books, but I have a ninja doctor husband. No, seriously. He has a fourth degree black belt in ninjutsu, and I’ve actually seen him knock shuriken out of the air with his hands. It’s surprisingly sexy. Ahem. Anyway. I am not a black belt. I have a green belt, which means that I should be able to fall down without hurting myself, although sometimes I think that’s debatable. So my survival strategy is to stand behind my husband and yell helpful tips like, “GET IT IN THE HEAD! NO, IN THE HEAD!!!!”

What was the first idea that sparked Bad Taste in Boys? 
My books are less AN idea and more a BUNCH of ideas all mashed together like an algebra equation gone out of control. So I started off thinking I wanted to do a book about the dead football players from Beetlejuice. And I wanted to do a book about a rational person who became convinced that zombies were attacking her town. And I wanted to write a book in which the geek saves the day. And I think mad scientists are awesome. So you put all those things together, and the result is BAD TASTE IN BOYS.

Best thing about writing? 
Frankly, I still can’t believe that I get paid for making up stories about supernatural beasties. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?! My job can be hard and sometimes frustrating because I am impatient and things happen so bleeping slow. But more than anything, it’s fun. I never know what the day will bring. I might get into a heated debate with a copy editor over whether the word “awesomesauce” is one word or two (and clearly, it is ONE). I might finally figure out who the bad guy is. I might crack myself up with a scene and spit Dr Pepper all over my computer. And that is just plain awesomesauce. Which is one word, damn it.

Any new projects you can tell us about? 
I’ve just finished the copy edits for my sequel, which is called BAD HAIR DAY and will hit the shelves in November 2012. It’s about werewolves and nanotechnology and blueberry flavoured astronauts and killer coconuts, and it makes me snarf things out my nose when I think about it. I’m also working on some shorter Grable projects that I hope to release in the meantime through my website, because I AM IMPATIENT AND I’M NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT IT. Ahem. Sorry.