Slayers by CJ Hill

SLAYERS

by CJ Hill


Fantasy YA

Macmillan
www.CJHillBooks.com

3 Signed Copies will be given away on Friday, December 9, 2011!

About the Book:

Dragons exist. They’re ferocious. And they’re smart: Before they were killed off by slayer-knights, they rendered a select group of eggs dormant so their offspring would survive. Only a handful of people know about this, let alone believe it – these Slayers are descended from the original knights, and are now a diverse group of teens. When Tori, a socialite senator's daughter, enrolled in Dragon Camp, she had no idea what she signed up for.

Check out our Exclusive Interview with the Author here:

1) You chose to use a pen name for this book, why?

My Janette Rallison books have been romantic comedies and this book is a departure from that genre. Slayers still has its funny moments and a good dose of romance, but it’s an action based fantasy. As you can guess from the cover, the publisher is also hoping to attract guys to the book. I think the pen name was a good call on the publisher’s part, but it makes me nervous too. In some ways it’s like starting all over again in the book publishing world.

2) How did you get the idea for the novel?

Mostly from my own clumsiness. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and notice I have bruises or cuts, and I have no idea where I got them from. My husband gives me a bad time about this, (“How can you not realize it when you hurt yourself?) so I started telling him that while he’s asleep, I secretly fight dragons. Then, because I’m a writer, I began to wonder what that would be like. Voila, a story idea.

3) What kind of research did you have to do to bring this story to life on the page?

Lots. I didn’t know anything about what’s in the forests back east, or shooting rifles, or martial arts, or archery, so I spent hours researching things. Thank goodness for all the people who post random videos on Youtube. I easily found videos of people hiking the Shenandoah, demonstrating martial arts moves, and even found out what it sounds like to do target practice with rifles. (Besides the sound of the shot, the casing makes a tinkling noise when it hits the ground.)

It was a bit harder to find out if a dragon could fit into the Jefferson Memorial. I had to step that off while I was back in the DC area doing school visits. And no, the other tourists at the Jefferson Memorial didn’t think I was odd at all . . .

4) When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer? Have you had other jobs along the way?

I always wanted to be a writer. Some of my only memories of my mother (she died of cancer when I was six) were of her typing her stories on an old manual typewriter. So I grew up thinking that being a writer was a normal career and not just a really time consuming way to torture yourself. Sometimes it’s the latter.

Like most writers, I’ve had lots of jobs along the way—a lot of them horrible. I will forever remember the job I had as a teenager where I worked at Showbiz Pizza. I had to wear the Billy Bob costume and greet little children—some of whom were terrified of a seven foot bear, and other who tried to trip me.

I still think being a mother is the best job in the world though. Not even being an author can beat it.

5) What’s the first thing you do when starting a new book? What’s the first thing you do when finishing a new book?

It’s hard to stare at a blank page. Even after writing 19 novels, starting a new one is always difficult. I usually do a lot of journal writing beforehand to remind myself that I do know how to write.

I’m generally always pushing a deadline, so after I finish writing a new book, I sleep. And clean the bathroom. And run all the errands I’ve put off for two weeks because I was busy writing. Sometimes I also make dinner. It’s a very glamorous life.

About the Author:

CJ Hill is a pen name for a YA author who is best known for writing romantic comedies. She has five children, three of whom like her on any given day depending on who is in trouble. She has lived in Arizona for the last half of her life, but is still in desert denial and hopes that one day her garden will grow silver bells and cockle shells or maybe just tomatoes. Visit the author online at: www.CJHillBooks.com.

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