Q. DARKFEVER is a notable title for several reasons: it begins a new series for you, it's written in the first person, and it contains, shall we say, fewer episodes of heavy breathing than your previous novel. We should probably address the most important issue first: Where's the sex? Will the series get sexier as it progresses (rumor has it your second book "delivers")?

A. Laughing here. I don't believe the most important issue is the sex. I believe a lot of readers are looking for the whole package: a fascinating story, mystery, secrets, sensuality, pathos, and sex. You'll find all of that and more in DARKFEVER, and the rest of the books in the series. The key thing to remember is that DARKFEVER is only the beginning of Mac's story. Because the FEVER series is a series , the pacing is different. Not the content. It's still standard KMM, just a different method of delivery. Is there sex in my new series? Yes. I think it's the best I've ever written. Does in take place in BLOODFEVER, the second installment? I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait and see. :)

Q. Moving from third-person to first-person narration is a big deal: it changes point-of-view, obviously, and the reader only gets to know what the heroine experiences, and doesn't have access to the minds of other characters. I read that Mac, the heroine of the novel, spoke to you, and demanded that you write about her in the first person—did it really happen in such an instant, decisive way?

A . Yes. Mac arrived with her entire story, every last detail of her world, from her sister's murder, to the addictive and terrifying sexual arousal caused by the death-by-sex Fae (really, how can you ask me if there's sex in these books with characters like that?) to the mysterious and increasingly fascinating Jericho Barrons, to her long blond hair and perfect pink fingernails. As for POV, as the series progresses, you get more than Mac's. I'm doing something a little different as it moves along.

Q. The FEVER series is and is not linked to your HIGHLANDER series. Can you explain the connections and not-connections?

A. The FEVER series is a kind of side-entry into my HIGHLANDER world told from a much more real, suspenseful, nitty-gritty point of view. You'll encounter characters from my HIGHLANDER series, but you'll be seeing them, primarily, through Mac's eyes. Look for a few old friends, a new MacKeltar, and a host of new and fascinating Fae, both Seelie and Unseelie.

Q. On your website, you write that the five books you have planned for the FEVER series are already plotted out, and that you've already written crucial scenes for all the books. It's striking that this series came to you so fully formed, that the narrative arc you envisioned moved through five installments. How has it impacted your writing process, to keep a whole series in mind while you work on one of its books? Do you apply the same process to your HIGHLANDER books, or do they come to you one at a time?

A. None of my HIGHLANDER books ever came to me like the FEVER series did. Although my HIGHLANDER books are all connected, each stands alone. The FEVER series is one long, intense story and the individual installments are not meant to stand-alone (although to some degree, I believe they do.) I'm not "keeping the whole series in mind", this world exists fully formed in my head and I merely visit it every day. Some days the sun is shining there. Lately it's been dark and stormy. Every single day, it's a fascinating place to be.

Q. How's married life? Has it affected your writing routine?

A. Married life is wonderful! I married a man who makes fabulous music, loves to read and collect books, and likes hanging out in the darker parts of Dublin with Mac and me. Being married hasn't changed my routine. I've always been an early morning writer. The only real difference is that now, unless I'm under deadline, I close my laptop at 4 or 5 each day, and enjoy the rest of the day with Neil.

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