Those of you who know me outside of this blog will know that for
the past year I’ve pretty much been obsessed with Charley Davidson and all
things Darynda Jones. Aside from being the author of my favorite bad ass
fictional character (Grim Reaper and Private Investigator extraordinaire:
Charley Davidson) Darynda has also become a personal hero to me. Her writing; a
mixture of comedy, sarcasm, ADD, and just the sweetest hint of a tender heart,
has me searching my own technique and trying to better my own writing. The most
amazing part? She actually responds to me! Anyone who has ever had an idol
would understand how truly special that is. So instead of doing a review of her
books I wanted to do something really special. Her writing stands on its own
and needs no boasting. If any of you had any doubt about whether or not you
should pick up her books, I’m telling you now you absolutely should. They’ll
blow your mind (I guess I’ll boast a little for her). I wanted to write about
her characters, because I could never do her stories any justice by trying to
summarize them, also because (as I’ve already stated) if you have any sense you’ve
already rushed out to buy your own copies of her books).
Charley Davidson or
Chuck, as I like to call her, is pretty much how I would describe the best
womanhood has to offer. She’s beautiful (curvy in all the right places, 128lb, brown
hair, and gold eyes!), funny (though not always
intentionally), sarcastic as all get out, and yet she has the biggest heart
(but that’s our little secret). She’s also a private investigator, which pretty
much equals out to being a bad ass. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention: she’s a
Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper,
actually. She’s a giant beacon of gold light that calls those who haven’t
crossed into the light, the other light, to her so that they may cross through
her. The catch, there’s always a catch, sometimes they have a little unfinished
business to attend to. This is why the stories are so interesting! The death of
the departed is a total mystery, mysteries that Charley has to solve before
they can cross. Charley usually gets a few bumps and bruises (and sometimes
full out tortured) along the way, but with the help of Angel (a departed 13
year old gang banger), Cookie (best friend/neighbor/and assistant), and a myriad
of other colorful characters she always gets her bad guy.
On the flip side of
Charley’s PI gig and her Grim Reaper gig there’s her own personal mystery; his
name is Reyes Farrow. Aka, Rey’aziel, aka, smokin’ hot, aka the son of Satan. The song of Satan. Pretty much everyone
Charley talks to about Reyes is terrified of him, but aside from the fact that
he’s “supposedly” evil incarnate and has a total self surving sense of morals,
he’s actually not a bad guy. You wouldn’t
catch me smart mouthing him (I happen to like my spin fully intact, thank you
very much), but he’s beloved by his sister, for whom he endured physical and
sexual abuse, and also adored by his best friend Amador Sanchez, his wife
Bianca, and their two adorable children. For this reason I wonder what the
ghosts are afraid of.
True enough, Reyes was
more than willing to use Charley to lure Earl Walker out of hiding, but he also
pushes Charley to actualize her potential… something she really needs to figure out. It makes me giggle sometimes when I’m
reading how little Charley thinks of herself. She’s so clearly a strong,
powerful being, but that’s what humanizes her and makes her so loveable. She’s
insecure, just like every other woman out there, and besides, if she knew what
she could do Darynda may run out of stories to write, and that would be very,
very bad.
I do wonder, though,
what happens when the portal to heaven and the key to hell get together. Not
just to join forces, but, well… what usually happens when a key meets a lock
(aka portal)? What sort of doors might their passion unlock?
It’s definitely one of
the best parts of the stories, the passion.
I’ve written love scenes before but I’ve never written one that actually made
my girly parts tingle. The shear heat between Charley and Reyes is
unimaginable, they are so drawn to each other that the fact that Reyes is in
jail and Charley doesn’t even know who he is at one point isn’t enough to keep
them apart. Charley can hardly fall asleep without a tantalizing visit from
Reyes (aka sex God): poor girl. (At this
point any of you ladies still wondering if you should buy these books should be
opening a second tab in your browser to Amazon and ordering them, either for
express shipping or immediate delivery to your reading device. You can also get
the Audio book read by the wonderfully talented Lorelei King. Go ahead… I’ll
wait.
Okay, so now that that’s
taken care of! Darynda agreed (because she’s awesome) to do a little interview
with me. I had so many questions I
wanted to ask her but, being that I need
her to finish writing Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (available for pre order on
Amazon.com), I tried not to ask all of my questions. Hope you all enjoy!!
Animation for above created by Jesse Rissmiller
***I am in no way being paid
by Darynda Jones or anyone else to basically worship the books I have mentioned
here today, nor am I in any way paid by amazon.com (I just happen to have a Kindle - they didn't pay me either) to shamelessly promote
Darynda Jones and her fantastic novels…. Did I mention that she has a Young
Adult series coming soon?
Q&A with Darynda Jones
1. Why does Reyes call Charley Dutch?
Reyes is not really saying the name Dutch. He is actually saying another word entirely, one from ancient Aramaic. Charley perceives it as "Dutch” because the Aramaic word kind of sounds like it. I can't remember the exact spelling, but it's something like, "du'tshe" and it means seeker since that's what she is: the seeker of souls. This information will eventually be revealed to her.
2. Will we ever discover what happened to Mr. Wong and why he is in Charley's apartment?
I honestly had no intention of explaining Mr. Wong. I just thought he was a neat, yet creepy, addition to Charley's odd life. Kind of like Great Aunt Edna's ashes that have become the family heirloom nobody wants, and they're passed from one generation to the next simply because no one knows what to do with them; yet, there they are. They look great on the mantel, though.
3. Are we meant to pronounce it you-bie or oobie, for Charley’s uncle and is it Swoops or Swoaps? (Cause I think I’ve been mispronouncing it in my reading)
Reyes is not really saying the name Dutch. He is actually saying another word entirely, one from ancient Aramaic. Charley perceives it as "Dutch” because the Aramaic word kind of sounds like it. I can't remember the exact spelling, but it's something like, "du'tshe" and it means seeker since that's what she is: the seeker of souls. This information will eventually be revealed to her.
2. Will we ever discover what happened to Mr. Wong and why he is in Charley's apartment?
I honestly had no intention of explaining Mr. Wong. I just thought he was a neat, yet creepy, addition to Charley's odd life. Kind of like Great Aunt Edna's ashes that have become the family heirloom nobody wants, and they're passed from one generation to the next simply because no one knows what to do with them; yet, there they are. They look great on the mantel, though.
3. Are we meant to pronounce it you-bie or oobie, for Charley’s uncle and is it Swoops or Swoaps? (Cause I think I’ve been mispronouncing it in my reading)
I pronounce it you-bie, for Charley's uncle, pronounced
with a long ū. But others say oo-bie, which is
fine, too. And it is most definitely Swoaps for Garrett Swopes (just one “o”)
with a long ō. In reality, it happens to be the
family name of my best friend.
4. Why does Denise hate Charley so much?
Okay. The flippant, butthead answer is: Because Denise is an evil, vindictive b!*#h. The reasonable, intelligent (and somewhat psychoanalytical) answer is: Denise was a witness to Charley's abilities when Charley was a very young child. One situation in particular (a missing child) turned out to be extremely intense and disturbing. It's kind of a situation where people "kill the messenger." Charley's stepmother is an emotionally detached individual who resides in a shallow, superficial existence. It's more important to her that she, and the family, always "look good." Charley was, at the time, and continues to be a blatant reminder of reality, and it's a reality that acknowledges the scary, the unknown and sometimes the dark circumstances people find themselves in, i.e. death. Denise is unable to give sincere appreciation of and understanding to individuals who voice differing opinions, and by doing so, these individuals continually draw attention to the more socially inappropriate ideas and thoughts. That and Charley's a big fan of Motorhead. Denise totally hates Motorhead.
5. In First Grave, when Charley meets Reyes in the alley, Reyes is afraid of Charley: why was he afraid of her? Didn’t he recognize her?
4. Why does Denise hate Charley so much?
Okay. The flippant, butthead answer is: Because Denise is an evil, vindictive b!*#h. The reasonable, intelligent (and somewhat psychoanalytical) answer is: Denise was a witness to Charley's abilities when Charley was a very young child. One situation in particular (a missing child) turned out to be extremely intense and disturbing. It's kind of a situation where people "kill the messenger." Charley's stepmother is an emotionally detached individual who resides in a shallow, superficial existence. It's more important to her that she, and the family, always "look good." Charley was, at the time, and continues to be a blatant reminder of reality, and it's a reality that acknowledges the scary, the unknown and sometimes the dark circumstances people find themselves in, i.e. death. Denise is unable to give sincere appreciation of and understanding to individuals who voice differing opinions, and by doing so, these individuals continually draw attention to the more socially inappropriate ideas and thoughts. That and Charley's a big fan of Motorhead. Denise totally hates Motorhead.
5. In First Grave, when Charley meets Reyes in the alley, Reyes is afraid of Charley: why was he afraid of her? Didn’t he recognize her?
6. In third Grave Charley goes to visit Reyes’ old apartment and it has turned into an abandoned building that homeless people are living in. I was wondering if there are a lot of abandoned buildings in New Mexico, and also why Ms. Faye stayed in the complex after it was no longer an apartment complex?
There are a lot of abandoned buildings in New Mexico. We have experienced many frontier booms in our long and illustrious past. We have abandoned cave dwellings, mission ruins and ghost towns, in addition to abandoned farmhouses, barns, mines, hospitals, schools, etc. They dot the countryside as you're driving, and take up residence in our communities, alongside the "living" establishments. All of these abandoned places provide a wealth of stories and possibilities to those with the unfettered minds and imaginations of the creative souls, like myself. Albuquerque, as well as other parts of New Mexico, has its fair share of homeless individuals and squatters that take advantage of these open, unused buildings. It seemed a natural choice to make. As for Ms. Faye, she's similar to other individuals I've known. Immovable objects standing against an irresistible force. They refuse to be moved regardless of the circumstances. They are too rooted into their place and choose to remain.
7. If Reyes didn’t really start realizing who he was
until he was in prison, how was his incorporeal self able to tell Charley who
she was when she was in high school? Is Reyes’ incorporeal self always an
adult?
Okay, without getting too involved in a spiritual discussion, there is a theory that we are all spiritual beings. Our spiritual selves were in the spiritual realm waiting to be assigned into a corporeal body. At the appointed time, the spiritual body is manifested into the body of an infant and born naturally into our physical world. They are still themselves, but tamped down, and their awareness dulls with age. Periodically, awareness pops through at odd moments, such as a child being able to tell his mother about being a soldier in WWII or talking about what heaven was like before they were born on earth.
8. Will we ever learn what the dark shadow in Charley’s photos is, or are we meant to assume that it is Reyes?
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
9. If Reyes has been able to slowly remember who he is and his purpose in life, why hasn’t Charley been able to do the same?
Time will tell. Actually, Fourth Grave will tell.
10. In Second Grave Charley’s friend Pari believes she was attacked by Rey’aziel, but Reyes said it wasn’t him, so who really attacked Pari?
While she had summoned Rey’aziel, when you open that door, anyone or anything can step through it. It was a demon.
11. Where do you find your chapter opening quotes?
Okay, without getting too involved in a spiritual discussion, there is a theory that we are all spiritual beings. Our spiritual selves were in the spiritual realm waiting to be assigned into a corporeal body. At the appointed time, the spiritual body is manifested into the body of an infant and born naturally into our physical world. They are still themselves, but tamped down, and their awareness dulls with age. Periodically, awareness pops through at odd moments, such as a child being able to tell his mother about being a soldier in WWII or talking about what heaven was like before they were born on earth.
8. Will we ever learn what the dark shadow in Charley’s photos is, or are we meant to assume that it is Reyes?
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
9. If Reyes has been able to slowly remember who he is and his purpose in life, why hasn’t Charley been able to do the same?
Time will tell. Actually, Fourth Grave will tell.
10. In Second Grave Charley’s friend Pari believes she was attacked by Rey’aziel, but Reyes said it wasn’t him, so who really attacked Pari?
While she had summoned Rey’aziel, when you open that door, anyone or anything can step through it. It was a demon.
11. Where do you find your chapter opening quotes?
12. In Third Grave Ronald (the departed clown) could see Charley in her human form before he passed on, Charley mentioned that he should have gone into the “other” light and was curious why he saw her. Will we ever find out why Ronald was able to see Charley, or was this a fluke?
The first draft of Third Grave had a more detailed story regarding Ronald the clown. In that version of his story, I was able to provide more answers to his circumstances, and his place in the story held more meaning. By the time I finished writing Third Grave, it was a hefty piece of literature, and I had to trim quite a bit. His story had to be trimmed down, without totally destroying the scene or the whole of the book. Maybe one day, those answers will appear on my website. There's a page where I post deleted scenes. I’ll try to post that one day.
13. In Third Grave Rocket would not let Charley enter the asylum because he had “company”, will we ever discover who this company was?
I may have cut that, too. It was simply the little girl, Strawberry Shortcake.
14. Will we ever learn the whole story behind Rocket and his sister, Blue?
Eventually. I'd like to tell more of his story, but it is
difficult to fit in everything that I want to say. That is my predicament with
every book I write. There's too much to say and not enough room.15. The nun that turns out to be Mistress Marigold seems to know a lot about Charley and possibly what she’s capable of, will they be playing a large part in her future?
I did not originally intend on Mistress Marigold being a repeat character. She was to serve a very particular purpose and then go away. I am currently having to rethink that decision. It's just a matter of what purpose she will continue to serve and how to fit her sequences into the other books. There is honestly just so much stuff to fit into what turns out to be a relatively small amount of room. Saying all of that, I now will say that Mistress Marigold does not hold any particular power. She's not a supernatural being. She's a very human woman who was born with the ability to hear the conversations of angels. She is totally eavesdropping on heaven and that's it. Oh, and she's a tattletale. Is there such a thing as godly gossip?
16. Will we be seeing any more from Elaine Oaks?
Abso-freakin'-lutely! That particular nut is too juicy to throw away just yet.
17. I keep feeling like there’s something hinkey about the way the US Marshalls found out about Kim, I wont ask you to give anything away, but is there a good reason my spidey sense is tingling?
Kim is not gone from the stories, at this point. She plays a role in future books, especially number four. More will be revealed in due time.
18. You hinted that there might be something going on
with Kim, when Charley goes to visit her in Third Grave, will we find out what
this is? Is it more than just about Reyes?
More will be revealed in due time. There is definitely something going on. I’m just not sure when it will be revealed. I was hoping her story would be in Fourth Grave, but I already have so much going on. I'm still trying to decide what can go in and what needs to be cut, and it's such a hard decision to make, dernit! I'm not purposely being difficult or deliberately vague. Sometimes it sounds cleverer than, "I don't know.”
19. What is this huevos rancheros, and where can I get some??
Lady! My stars in the heavens, you have not lived until you've had huevos rancheros. I don't know where you could get some. Is there a Mexican restaurant anywhere near where you live? If so, that's the place to start in your quest for huevos rancheros. Generally, they are Mexican breakfast dish of eggs served on top of either a corn or flour tortilla then topped with red chile sauce, salsa, refried beans, pretty much anything you want on top. Red sauce is made using dried red chile, the kind you see in the decorative ristras. Green sauce is made from the fresh, roasted green chile. That is poured over the tortilla with your eggs on top. It's awesome. If you can't find a restaurant to make them for you, you could locate the ingredients in a store or online, and make your own. They are to die for. Pretty much anything with red or green chile is to die for. (Caveat: these chiles are NOT jalapenos or bell peppers or anything like that. They are genuine chiles and do not go by another name.)
20. Will we ever find out why Reyes didn’t fight harder to keep himself out of jail? Was it simply so that Kim would believe that Earl Walker was dead?
More will be revealed in due time. There is definitely something going on. I’m just not sure when it will be revealed. I was hoping her story would be in Fourth Grave, but I already have so much going on. I'm still trying to decide what can go in and what needs to be cut, and it's such a hard decision to make, dernit! I'm not purposely being difficult or deliberately vague. Sometimes it sounds cleverer than, "I don't know.”
19. What is this huevos rancheros, and where can I get some??
Lady! My stars in the heavens, you have not lived until you've had huevos rancheros. I don't know where you could get some. Is there a Mexican restaurant anywhere near where you live? If so, that's the place to start in your quest for huevos rancheros. Generally, they are Mexican breakfast dish of eggs served on top of either a corn or flour tortilla then topped with red chile sauce, salsa, refried beans, pretty much anything you want on top. Red sauce is made using dried red chile, the kind you see in the decorative ristras. Green sauce is made from the fresh, roasted green chile. That is poured over the tortilla with your eggs on top. It's awesome. If you can't find a restaurant to make them for you, you could locate the ingredients in a store or online, and make your own. They are to die for. Pretty much anything with red or green chile is to die for. (Caveat: these chiles are NOT jalapenos or bell peppers or anything like that. They are genuine chiles and do not go by another name.)
20. Will we ever find out why Reyes didn’t fight harder to keep himself out of jail? Was it simply so that Kim would believe that Earl Walker was dead?
Well, he is stoic, and he is a man and, similar to the
300 Spartans standing against the thousands of Persians, stoics tend to carry
the brunt of the battle on their shoulders. The greatest of his sacrifice was
for Kim.
6 comments:
Oh, my gosh! Great blog. Great interview. Great writer. Great story.
Thank you 2Shay and welcome! I hope you will continue to read and enjoy my blog! I try to keep an honest account of my opinions of books and tasty beverages here and I welcome all comments and positive criticism!
GREAT interview with the writer Cait!!!! You def have a gift for this. keep it up & keep going!! Hugs!
I added the first book to my Kindle :)
Although, I totally feel the need to say I think the cover sucks...
so ive just started reading these books and have read two this week... First Grave on the Right & Second Grave on the Left... Im going to order the rest but i want to make sure i read everything in order... where does For I Have Sinned come in or is that something else?
Richelle, welcome, and WOW! It takes me at least a week now to read because of my baby but that's fantastic that you have read 1 & 2 so quickly! I read For I have Sinned after 2, but I really think you could read it whenever with out it ruining anything or with out not understanding things. It's it's own piece of Charley and Reyes yumminess! Oh, but keep a hankey or tissues near by, I totally cried! I hope you will continue to visit Read Drink Be Bloggy!
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