Hey there everyone! Today I'm taking part in the Blog Tour for Hunting Season by Nikki Jefford, organized by Xpresso Book Tours!
I will be sharing an interview with Nikki herself & a Blog Tour wide giveaway, so click HERE for the full tour schedule! But before that, let's get you some more information about the book & author, shall we?
Hunting Season by Nikki Jefford
(Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #4)
Publication date: March 3rd 2015
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
(Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter #4)
Publication date: March 3rd 2015
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Better to be a hunter, not prey.
Ever
since her partner was kidnapped, Aurora Sky has been on a personal
mission to get him back. To do that she needs the vampire responsible
for destroying her life.In order to have a snowball’s chance at success, she’ll have to team up with her most loyal friends—including a certain vampire in black with a provoking talent for distraction.
Old cravings aren’t easily quenched, nor past passions. With knowledge comes danger and Aurora is at risk on all sides.
Bookaholic, nature girl, and animal lover.
Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who found paradise in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands (WA) where she is, once more, neighbors with Canada in a town without a single traffic light.
She married the love of her life, Sebastien, while working as a teaching assistant in France. They reside with their Westie, Cosmo in Friday Harbor.
Loves fictional bad boys and heroines who kick butt.
Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who found paradise in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands (WA) where she is, once more, neighbors with Canada in a town without a single traffic light.
She married the love of her life, Sebastien, while working as a teaching assistant in France. They reside with their Westie, Cosmo in Friday Harbor.
Loves fictional bad boys and heroines who kick butt.
Interview
Hi Nikki! Thank you for dropping by my blog and answering some questions!
Thank you for having me! :D
1.- I know you are a born and bred Alaskan, but I've quite wondered on what made you choose Alaska and Anchorage to be the centre of the action in your books, because the great White North might not seem a very typical vampire friendly place!
But it so is! It’s cold, it’s dark; it’s like Florida for seniors. (Summer’s another matter.) ;-) There are so many reasons Alaska makes an ideal paranormal/sci-fi setting. The Northern Lights look like something from a fantasy realm when they’re weaving across the night sky. Alaska is an insanely gorgeous and wild place. The climate is harsh, the citizens bizarre, and there’s an element of danger. I couldn’t dream up a better setting.
2.- I loved how you decided to give a new twist to the vampire myths and origins. How did you choose mixing blood types and virus as the way to develop vampirism?
Thank you. I knew I had to do something different, but I didn’t know what, so I began reading about vampirism hoping for a lightbulb moment. It came while reading “Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend” by Mark Collins Jenkins.
Thank you for having me! :D
1.- I know you are a born and bred Alaskan, but I've quite wondered on what made you choose Alaska and Anchorage to be the centre of the action in your books, because the great White North might not seem a very typical vampire friendly place!
But it so is! It’s cold, it’s dark; it’s like Florida for seniors. (Summer’s another matter.) ;-) There are so many reasons Alaska makes an ideal paranormal/sci-fi setting. The Northern Lights look like something from a fantasy realm when they’re weaving across the night sky. Alaska is an insanely gorgeous and wild place. The climate is harsh, the citizens bizarre, and there’s an element of danger. I couldn’t dream up a better setting.
2.- I loved how you decided to give a new twist to the vampire myths and origins. How did you choose mixing blood types and virus as the way to develop vampirism?
Thank you. I knew I had to do something different, but I didn’t know what, so I began reading about vampirism hoping for a lightbulb moment. It came while reading “Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend” by Mark Collins Jenkins.
Throughout time, vampire scares almost always follow an epidemic of some sort.
What if vampirism really was triggered by disease?
The first problem with that is the world would be full of vampires. I fixed this by making only people with the rarest blood type in the world capable of turning.
3.- I also love that instead of vampires being a secret to all of society you decided to go with a more government conspiracy angle. How did you choose to make an agency of special forces of vampire hunters?
What if vampirism really was triggered by disease?
The first problem with that is the world would be full of vampires. I fixed this by making only people with the rarest blood type in the world capable of turning.
3.- I also love that instead of vampires being a secret to all of society you decided to go with a more government conspiracy angle. How did you choose to make an agency of special forces of vampire hunters?
Come on, you know the government is hiding all kinds of goodies. Aliens and vampires are just scratching the surface. ;-)
I’m an action junkie (Charlie’s Angels, Alias, Buffy, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1…) and a sucker for good battling evil and the blurred line in between.
4.- Female characters abound in your books, and they are all quite different and their relationships go beyond the topical ones. Aurora and Valerie are what can be considered antagonists and even frenemies, but it is way more complex than that. My favourite though have to be Aurora's relationship with her mum and grandma. Did you plan that relationship like that or did it evolve organically?
That’s nice to hear! Aurora’s relationship with her mom was planned out for book one. As with my witch novel Entangled, the mom’s been cornered into making a life and death choice for her daughter. It might not be the right one, but what mother wouldn’t make it if given the option?
Aurora’s Gran wasn’t planned. As things fall further apart in Aurora and Mrs. Sky’s lives, she hops a plane from Florida to Anchorage to whip her girls into shape. LOL I love strong, bossy grandmothers.
5.- I'm usually not a fan of love triangles in books, but I'm finding the one in the series quite intriguing and genuine, so kudos for that! Did you always plan to confront Aurora with two different guys that would represent two sides for her to choose, the vampires or the hunters?
I love how you put that! But, no. I loathe love triangles. But I do love Fane and Dante. I love them both equally for different reasons. Unexpected situations keep cropping up… and continue to surprise me. (Just wait until Whiteout releases next month!)
Dante was never meant to be a love interest. He was there for comic relief. But he can be maddeningly sexy when he chooses. It’s difficult to prevent hormones from taking over when he and Aurora are working together so closely on missions.
Probably the biggest challenge, and biggest complaint I hear from fans, is giving Fane more page time. In Hunting Season, he and Aurora get to team up a bit… and finish car rehabilitation. Finally!
Back in the saddle. J
Thank you for the fantastic questions!
I’m an action junkie (Charlie’s Angels, Alias, Buffy, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1…) and a sucker for good battling evil and the blurred line in between.
4.- Female characters abound in your books, and they are all quite different and their relationships go beyond the topical ones. Aurora and Valerie are what can be considered antagonists and even frenemies, but it is way more complex than that. My favourite though have to be Aurora's relationship with her mum and grandma. Did you plan that relationship like that or did it evolve organically?
That’s nice to hear! Aurora’s relationship with her mom was planned out for book one. As with my witch novel Entangled, the mom’s been cornered into making a life and death choice for her daughter. It might not be the right one, but what mother wouldn’t make it if given the option?
Aurora’s Gran wasn’t planned. As things fall further apart in Aurora and Mrs. Sky’s lives, she hops a plane from Florida to Anchorage to whip her girls into shape. LOL I love strong, bossy grandmothers.
5.- I'm usually not a fan of love triangles in books, but I'm finding the one in the series quite intriguing and genuine, so kudos for that! Did you always plan to confront Aurora with two different guys that would represent two sides for her to choose, the vampires or the hunters?
I love how you put that! But, no. I loathe love triangles. But I do love Fane and Dante. I love them both equally for different reasons. Unexpected situations keep cropping up… and continue to surprise me. (Just wait until Whiteout releases next month!)
Dante was never meant to be a love interest. He was there for comic relief. But he can be maddeningly sexy when he chooses. It’s difficult to prevent hormones from taking over when he and Aurora are working together so closely on missions.
Probably the biggest challenge, and biggest complaint I hear from fans, is giving Fane more page time. In Hunting Season, he and Aurora get to team up a bit… and finish car rehabilitation. Finally!
Back in the saddle. J
Thank you for the fantastic questions!
Thank you so much for all your even more fantastic answers Nikki, I'm so excited now to continue reading and Whiteout too!!
Giveaway
Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)
Signed Aurora Sky Paperback of choice
Signed Aurora Sky Paperback of choice
Oh this sounds like such an amazing book just from your interview, I really want to read it now. I haven't read a good vampire novel in such a long time so I will keep this in mind. Great post, Pili! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's my must read vampire series along with Chicagoland series! I hope you'll give it a try Emma!
DeleteI love the title of this book! Aurora is such a pretty word ;) I've not heard of this book - good luck to the entrants!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Thank you Alyssa!
DeleteThanks for hosting today, Pili! :)
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure Giselle!
DeleteHow cool (and also terrifying) would it be if the government was actually keeping vampires under wraps? Okay, in reality it would probably be far more terrifying than cool, but in my head all vampires are sexy and brooding and book boyfriend material ;-) Looking forward to meeting Dante and Fane!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jenny, the idea of vampires being one of those government secrets is both cool and absolutely terrifying!!
DeleteThank you for hosting Aurora Sky again, Pili, and your creative and fun interview questions! I always enjoy In Love With Handmade stops! <3 Nikki
ReplyDeleteThank you Nikki for your awesome answers and for creating a Vampire series that has me all hooked!!
DeleteI love that these vampires have a scientific explanation for their exitence. That hasn't been done nearly as much, but my brain needs to know how things happen. A scientific explanation is much better than a mystical one.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Maja!
DeleteLovely interview Pili :D Yay for getting to be a part of this blog tour. <3 Thank you for sharing about this book sweetie :) Not for me, but curious about it. <3
ReplyDeleteThank you sweetie! Yeah, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be too happy about the triangle in these books unfortunately...
DeleteI do agree that an Alaskan setting would be interesting for a paranormal/sci-fi setting. Plus, I keep thinking that that would be the best place for aliens to land, if ever. Don't know why I actually thinkg this but IT JUST FITS SOMEHOW haha! Would love to get a copy of this!
ReplyDeleteFaye at The Social Potato
I do hope you'll win one Faye! ;)
DeleteAnd yeah, Alaska seems the perfect place to hide things with so much isolated space everywhere!
I was just thinking the other day that I was ready for vampire books again. Maybe I will try this!
ReplyDeleteJen at YA Romantics
I can recommend this series and the Chicagoland Vampires, because are the two vampires series I'm continuing to love, Jen!
Delete