UFI welcomes Author Dani Harper. Thanks for Joining us!!
What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from
looking on your bio or reading in another interview?
I have a secret obsessive passion for Maneki Neko figurines (Japanese Lucky
Cats), vintage troll
dolls (I have a large collection), and rocks. Yup, rocks. I
always have a little stack of them on my desk in front of my PC. Right now
there’s a slab of fluorite, a palm-sized piece of labradorite, a couple of clear
quartz crystals, and a sample of golden quartzite. In a parallel universe, I
think there’s a Dani Harper who is a geologist!
What do you enjoy doing during your down time?
Down time is pretty darn rare these days, but my hubs and I are both history
fanatics and we enjoy visiting museums and historical sites of any kind. We need
a bumper sticker that says, “We Brake For Museums!”
If we’re at home, then you’ll find us in the yard. Hubs has staked out his
territory in the vegetable garden, but I’m in charge of flowers and trees. Been
drooling over bedding plants at the local nurseries already!
At night, when I really need to veg out (because my eyes won’t take another
minute of computer work), I have a number of favorite DVDs - The Avengers (plus
all Thor, Ironman, and Captain America flicks), Batman movies with Christian
Bale, Odd Thomas, The Lost Boys, Van Helsing, The Wolfman, Serenity, and
Hellboy. In my non-movie collection, I have all the Buffy the Vampire DVDs, plus
the many Supernatural seasons, Sleepy Hollow, Lost Girl, True Blood, Firefly,
and more. Right now hubs and I are rewatching our Game of Thrones episodes!
What is your Favorite part of writing?
As far as actual writing is concerned, I love the exhilarating sprint down
the home stretch to the end! It becomes more and more exciting as loose ends
get tied together and everything gets resolved. And there’s a real high in
typing that final “THE END”! (Of course, then I have to go right back to the
beginning to start editing and revising, but it doesn’t seem to diminish that
ecstatic feeling of having brought the story to completion….)
One of the nicest things about being a writer, however, is interacting with
readers. I’ve met so many wonderful people online and in person! I appreciate
their comments and ideas, and I learn a lot when we talk about their responses
to my characters. Plus I LOVE my street team, who are also readers – it’s so
much fun to chat with them every day. I’m grateful for their enthusiasm and
support. I don’t know what I’d do without them.
Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?
The only thing I MUST have is coffee. If I have that and my laptop, then I
can write anytime, anywhere. Interestingly, it’s far more efficient for me to
write at a coffee shop or even a McDonalds, than it is to write at home. Last
week I spent much of the afternoon writing in my car in a Home Depot parking lot
under a tree! No matter how much noise goes on around me in a public place, it
has nothing to do with me. I don’t have to respond to it, so I’m not distracted
at all. At home, the dogs want in and out, the phone rings, the laundry and the
housework call out for attention – you know how it is!
What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/
Paranormal Genres?
At present my favorite authors (the ones on my “must buy no matter what”
list) are Jeaniene Frost, Faith Hunter, JR Ward, Jim Butcher, Karen Chance,
Patricia Briggs, Melissa Marr, and Kevin Hearne.
How would you pitch STORM WARNED to someone who has not heard of it before?
With my new GRIM SERIES, I’m bringing ancient faery legends into modern-day
America! Storm Warned is Book 3 in the series. All the stories have their
beginning in the faery kingdom beneath the country of Wales. But past and
present, fae and human, good and evil, collide on this side of the Wide Waters!
Do you have a favorite scene in STORM WARNED?
Several! The heroine, Caris, is such a strong and self-aware character. I
enjoy it when she tells the hero, Liam, what’s what! But some of my favorite
scenes occurred between Queen Gwenhidw and Lurien, Lord of the Wild Hunt. I’m
sorry I can’t tell you more than that without spoiling it!
Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about?
What about the hardest to write about?
I have a lot of favorites, but tops would have to be Ranyon, the little
ellyll. He’s not exactly a fae creature, but an ancient elemental, and
tremendously powerful in spite of his small size. I love his delight in what the
human world has to offer (like baseball!). Plus he’s so outspoken and provides a
lot of humor! Ranyon has become close friends with the humans in my stories,
since he has ample reason to hate the ruling class of the Fae.
Most of my characters are very chatty, so I have no trouble writing about
them – it’s keeping up that’s the problem! The characters are always in charge
of the story and many times I feel that I’m running after them, yelling “Wait, I
thought we were going to do (fill in the blank)” or sometimes “Hey, you can’t do
that!” Often they take the story to places I hadn’t even imagined. And sometimes
I end up written into a corner and they won’t tell me how to get out!
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