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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Peta Crake: Fear: Friend or Foe?



Firstly I want to thank Lee for inviting me to Tote Bags ‘n’ Blogs, just looking at the list of past and future guests makes me want to hide in the corner chanting “I’m not worthy”.

I’m Peta Crake and I write urban fantasy and paranormal romance. The funny thing is, until about five years ago I had never heard of the genres let alone read any of them.

You see, since my childhood I had had an illogical fear of supernatural/paranormal creatures, particularly vampires and werewolves. I knew they weren’t real but it didn’t matter. I would sleep with my covers scrunched around my neck or pulled over my head, because monsters could not possibly penetrate thin cotton sheets. I blame it on my parent’s friends having kids who were a lot older than me. On those nights when the adults got together to play cards or have a barbeque, us kids would be holed up in the family room watching television – cue horror movies.

As a result, I did not touch books that I thought might scare me...anything involving people with fangs or fur. I devoured fantasy and sci-fi books though, because they weren’t based on earth so there was nothing to worry about. I could read thrillers and suspense, because the bad guys were always caught in the end. But anything with the hint of the paranormal on earth? No way.

Then a friend dragged me along to a little movie called Twilight. Maybe vampires and werewolves were not so bad after all. She also introduced me to the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. That was it. I was hooked! I scoured my library for any urban fantasy and paranormal romance books I could get my hands on. I would read one, if I liked it I would go out and buy the whole series so I wouldn’t have to wait. My bookcase became overladen with books by Laurell K. Hamilton, Patricia Briggs, Illona Andrews, Keri Arthur, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan and Tracey O’Hara. I even found myself lingering in front of the horror section in book shops because a lot of paranormal romance gets placed there too.

My muse, which had been hiding while I slaved over a fantasy novel for ten years, suddenly leaped out of the shadows yelling, “Hey babe I have a great idea.”

That idea became Harbinger my debut novel, released by Destiny Romance in August 2012. Sadly, it contains no werewolves or vampires (I left that for my next book, Revelry, scheduled for release in August 2013) but it does contain ancient gods and weird invisible demon thingys.

So what about you? Have you ever had a fear that has transformed into something you tolerated, enjoyed or even loved? Has reading a book or watching a movie helped you face a fear? Leave a comment to win a paperback copy of Harbinger.

As a messenger for the all-powerful and sometimes frightening gods, suburban Aussie girl Ophelia Lind is used to being at their beck and call. But when gorgeous demigod Aden moves into her neighbourhood and starts taking advantage of her services, she believes life could not get any worse.
She's about to be proven very wrong.
Without warning an odious creature - evil incarnate - begins to stalk her. Ophelia is accustomed to adventures and scrapes but this is different. Even Aden, finds it difficult to protect her. Suddenly Ophelia is in a battle for survival and begins to question everything - her upbringing, her identity and her true feelings for the alluring and entirely frustrating Aden.

Peta Crake
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6518162.Peta_Crake

***Peta's winner is Fiona Yuile!  Fiona, please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing address.  Thanks!***

16 comments:

Carla said...

That is so funny that you hated scary stuff before finding Twilight and True Blood! I feel the same. Can't watch CSI and used to think Murder She Wrote was scary as a kid. Fab post!

erin said...

Thanks for the fun post and congrats on the newest release! I hate scary movies but it's not enough that it affects real life. Things that jump out or are very realistically gory are too hard for me to watch so I usually avoid but reading it is ok... I don't know why :)

Unknown said...

I grew up with a massively overprotective mother, which led me to be fearful of doing anything out of my comfort zone. I've spent my adult years pushing myself to do things I was never allowed to do as a child, even things that really scared me. I took up horse riding, which at first scared the Hell out of me but which I grew to love. I found pushing myself to try things I wouldn't normal try has helped me grow as a person. It's also led me to read books I wouldn't have touched beforehand, and by doing that, I've discovered new authors and different genres I now love that I wouldn't have otherwise ever known about.

Eli Yanti said...

I don't like scary movie or horror :(

Congrts on your new release book :)

Lory Lee said...

I admit, before I'm really scared of blood. But after watching "Interview with a Vampire", I no longer care if I'll be bitten by a vampire if the vampire is hot as Brad or Ian (Somerlahder maybe.) :)

traveler said...

I don't watch scary movies since they are not appealing and give me nightmares. Congratulations on your release.

Sasha Cottman said...

Peta, nothing better than an angry god to get me to read a book. Congratulations on Harbinger

Peta said...

Thanks Carla. I used to love watching Murder She Wrote probably because there were no non-human monsters involved. I like the sleuthing in CSI but am not so keen on some of the more graphic scenes.

Peta said...

Hi Erin. I have to admit I still avoid watching scary movies, they make me jumpy.

Peta said...

Thanks for dropping by Fiona. I think stepping out of ones comfort zone can lead to some incredible discoveries and some epic fails LOL. At least if you try new things you will not have the "what if?" regrets later in life.

Peta said...

Thanks Eli. I have to admit I do not watch a lot of horror or scary movies either.

Peta said...

LOL Lory. I hear you about Brad or Ian :) Although my favourite vampire character would have to be Eric in the Sookie series (Alexander Skarsgard in True Blood).

Peta said...

Thanks for dropping by Traveler. Nightmares are definitely not fun :( I try to avoid movies that I know will scare me too much.

Peta said...

Thanks Sasha :)

Unknown said...

For many years now whenever I find that something scares me, I try to just go out and do it. I'm not a fan of needles, so I donate blood whenever I can, which has started to somewhat desensitize me to the unpleasant feelings towards needles. I was scared of driving my own motorcycle even though I loved the feeling of being a passenger on my dad's bike, so I took a motorcycle course, and I've owned/rode my own bike for the past few years.

Peta said...

I think it is wonderful that you donate blood, Danielle, I haven't for a while but I must do so again. I agree that sometimes the best way to combat your fears is to face them head on.