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Interview and Giveaway with Jolene Gutierrez

Sunday, October 2, 2011

When Ana takes off flying across the high school stage, her life is forever changed. Searching for answers, Ana meets Gabrielle, her mentor. Gabrielle teaches Ana that she’s an angel and is here on Earth to help prepare for a war between good and evil. The only problem? Ana can’t always tell who’s good and who’s evil. While she’s learning, Ana meets the man of her dreams, Dylan. He’s gorgeous, sexy, and really seems to care about Ana. Even though he’s a demon, Ana’s heart tells her to trust him. Then Ana’s world is shattered and she finds herself alone and afraid. As the boundaries between good and evil blur, Ana realizes she no longer knows who she can trust and who might be out to kill her.

Goodreads Summary


What do you think are the five top qualities your book contains?

 1. Hot guys, literally!, 2. Chocolate, 3. Mind-talking dogs, 4. Amazing uses for underwire bras, and 5. Plundered squirrel treasure.  Or, if you want a more serious answer: 1. Fun, 2. Flirtation, 3. A little mystery, 4. A little action, and 5. A protest against stereotyping and judging others.

Who was your favorite character and why?
Dylan is my favorite because he’s based on my husband. Even though the way my husband and I met was totally different, I was able to relive our instant connection when I wrote about Ana and Dylan. ;)

What was your favorite scene to write and why?
The bakery scene was my favorite to write because it has two of my favorite things: 1. Baked goods and 2. Flirtation. Yum.

How did you decide to write about angels rather than, say, the common vampire?

I love all paranormal characters, including vampires. The first paranormal story I was ever exposed to was the movie of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (I was sneaky and watched some of it on TV—unbeknownst to my parents--when I was in Kindergarten and then had nightmares for months). There are so many amazing vampire books, though, that I felt like I needed to tell a different story. Religion has always been of interest to me. I grew up in a Catholic community but was one of the only non-Catholic kids. My parents didn’t go to church at all, so when I was young, I struggled with what that meant to me and with my own religious identity. With that kind of background, writing about angels and demons just felt right to me.

Did you have any inspiration for the book?
Not for the actual story, but I did have some major inspiration to write. I dedicated the book to my friend Rae. She lost her fight to breast cancer nearly five years ago, and while she was still here, we talked about writing (and horses) a lot. Her passing reminded me that any day could be my last, and it was almost like I could hear her saying, “Well, what are you waiting for?” So the main reasons I write are to honor Rae and other loved ones who have passed, to honor myself by doing something I love, and to honor my students and my own children by teaching them to do what they love.
Was there any character who was hard to develop or write about?  Shawn was a little difficult for me because the reader doesn’t get a full picture of who he really was and is. We got a small glimpse at the end, though. He truly used to love Ana, so even though his time on Earth corrupted him, there was still something decent and good left inside.

Ana was such a great character to read about, does she contain qualities from you or people you know? Do any of the other characters?
Ana is definitely most like me, although her character would surprise me sometimes. As I mentioned before, Dylan is based on my husband, and Cheyenne is named after my daughter, Shaian (pronounced the same way but spelled differently). In the book, Cheyenne’s little brother, Dakota, is named after my son Dakota. Gabrielle is modeled a bit after one of my favorite high school teachers, Mrs. Zink. I was scared of Mrs. Zink when I first met her, but I had regular classes with her and then was volleyball manager for her team and met with her independently to work on some acting monologues, so I really got to know her. She was strict and serious at first glance, but she had this wry sense of humor and was someone who really cared about her students. I’m still in contact with her; she’s one of the many unforgettable teachers in my life!

Quick Questions:

Chocolate or Vanilla ( *warning* there is a right answer to this >.>)?  Hmm. . .I hope I answer correctly. ;) Chocolate is definitely my favorite!

Seaside or Mountains? Mountains, and luckily I live near some. I can’t get my hair untangled when I go in the sea and I’m kind of afraid of water, so the sea would be wasted on me.

Ebooks or print copies? Print. I love the way print books smell and feel.

Favorite color? Green. Like a Kelly Green or an Emerald Green.

Favorite time to write?  Mornings. I’m not really a morning person, but I love how productive I feel if I get in some good writing time in the morning.

Favorite music (if any) to write too? I love music (pretty much all kinds), but I can’t write to it because I end up singing along and get distracted from my writing.

Giveaway!  This is for one print book of Devil. May. Care.  (I reviewed this book and loved it!) for USA/CAN please :) Leave a comment with your email below to enter.  For one extra entry, become or state your GFC follower name.  Thank you for stopping by, this giveaway will end October 20th.

Find this book:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

19 comments:

  1. Great interview and thanks so much for this generous giveaway opportunity too!!! =)

    Valerie Long (Scorpio1974 on GFC)
    just.val.1974@gmail.com

  1. Pabkins said...:

    Of course I'm a gfc follower! I should be called stalker haha
    GFC pabkins! tlabunski **((gmail))**
    Much appreciated~

    Pabkins @ Mission to Read

  1. I love hearing the inspiration behind the story, how things came to be. great interview.
    GFC Nicole@ The More the Merrier

    spyblue78(at)gmail.com

  1. Unknown said...:

    Sounds like an interesting read! Would love to have it :) I am also a GFC follower
    supagurlheather@gmail.com

  1. M.A.D. said...:

    One of the best interviews yet! Thank you for such a sweet giveway :D

    GFC follower Mary DeBorde
    zenrei57 (at)hotmail dot com

  1. awesome interview. i am now stoked to read this book!

    mirrormera92 AT aol DOT com

    and my GFC is mirrormera92

    ~Mera

  1. Julie S said...:

    Thanks for the giveaway. The description sounds really interesting.
    GFC follower Julie S.
    juliecookies(at)gmail.com

  1. Lori Thomas said...:

    Would love to read this!!

    gfc (Lori Thomas)

    ctymice at gmail dot com

  1. Thank you for this giveaway I am greatly interesting in reading this book.

    derangedpegasus@gmail.com
    GFC Deranged Pegasus

  1. Kara said...:

    Thanks for the giveaway.
    GFC- Kara
    klepard94(at)yahoo(dot)com

  1. Unknown said...:

    Awesome giveaway!
    GFC ...Nikki
    Viajeradelmar@aol.com

  1. Denise Z said...:

    Well I will start over again, blogger went klaplooy, so it this shows up twice I am innocent LOL I want to thank you for the fun interview and giveaway opportunity. I would love to read Devil May Care, it sounds like a taste of something different :)
    GFC - Denise Zaky

    dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

  1. Thanks for a great interview and giveaway.

    kaylalovesandrew09@yahoo.com

    GFC Follower: Kayla27

  1. Awesome interview! I love vampires, too, but I'm really glad you decided to write about angels! I'm really into angels right now for some reason:)
    GFC follower Julie Witt
    jwitt33 at live dot com

  1. Jessica said...:

    Thank you for the giveaway! I cannot wait to read this book!
    gfc - jbronderblogs
    jbronderblogs at aol dot com

  1. nayjf said...:

    Neato! I love the cover!

    GFC-nayjf

    nayjf(at)yahoo(dot)com

  1. Krystal, thanks so much for posting my interview (and for reviewing my book earlier)! Thanks also to everyone else for their enthusiasm--good luck in the giveaway!! ;)

    --Jolene @ http://writerjolene@blogspot.com

  1. Unknown said...:

    This sounds really good. Thanks for the giveaway!

    chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com

  1. Anonymous said...:

    GFC: Chelsea Carson!!!

    I'm in the USA :)

    This book looks great and I loved your review

    dakotagirl16AThotmailDOTcom