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
Website: http://www.petacrake.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/petacrake
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!***
***Peta's winner is Fiona Yuile! Fiona, please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing address. Thanks!***
16 comments:
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!
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 :)
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.
I don't like scary movie or horror :(
Congrts on your new release book :)
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.) :)
I don't watch scary movies since they are not appealing and give me nightmares. Congratulations on your release.
Peta, nothing better than an angry god to get me to read a book. Congratulations on Harbinger
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.
Hi Erin. I have to admit I still avoid watching scary movies, they make me jumpy.
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.
Thanks Eli. I have to admit I do not watch a lot of horror or scary movies either.
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).
Thanks for dropping by Traveler. Nightmares are definitely not fun :( I try to avoid movies that I know will scare me too much.
Thanks Sasha :)
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.
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.
Post a Comment