BBB: What cartoon character best represents your personal philosophy? MBC: I’m afraid that I’m a bit like the Roadrunner–speeding along, doing my own thing, then stopping to mess with someone for fun . . . but only if they try to put a roadblock in my way.
BBB: If you could switch bodies with any author, who would it be and why?
MBC: I don’t know if I would want to switch bodies, exactly, but I would LOVE to spend some time in Neil Gaiman’s head. I would love to eavesdrop in his mind for a few days.
BBB: If you had the opportunity to live one year of your life over again, which year would you choose and why?
MBC: I wouldn’t. I am full-steam ahead, pretty much all the time. I like having lived what I’ve lived and learned what I’ve learned. I would, however, like to re-live a few conversations–but only so I could get the last word in.
BBB: What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing versus being traditionally published or the other way around?
MBC: I think the advantages of traditional publishing are having the backing of a publisher–I can draw on my publisher’s name recognition and industry contacts. In self-publishing, there’s more control over the final product (though that’s not necessarily always a good thing!). I think there’s an important place for both types of publishing, and I suspect we will see more and more hybrid authors in the years to come.
BBB: Please tell us more about Legally Undead and the storyline that drives it.
MBC: Legally Undead is about a reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can. Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer. But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire draining the blood from her fiancé Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs–not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener. As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning around to face them, Elle discovers that Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart. The story follows Elle as she begins to figure out why her fiance was turned into a vampire and what that means for her life.
BBB: How many more books will there be in the Vampirarchy series?
MBC: At least two. I have a story-arc sketched out that will take another two books to resolve. I also have piles and piles of other ideas, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the end of one story arc started a new one.
BBB: What sets Legally Undead apart from other books in the same genre?
MBC: Two things, I think: the fact that the vampires are truly horrific, and the fact that Elle Dupree is a perfectly normal woman. The vampires aren’t sexy bad boys–they’re creepy monsters. And Elle isn’t a kick-ass woman with superpowers–although she has a talent for vampire-killing, she’s scared spitless most of the time and spends most of the next day soaking her aching muscles. Oh–and Elle is snarky and sarcastic and not at all tough, really, though she wants to be.
BBB: What types of creatures/characters can readers expect in your world?
MBC: Evil vampires (no sexy vamps!), vampire hunters, and a perfectly normal woman who gets pulled into the world and has to figure out how to survive (and stay snarky!).
BBB: Please share one funniest, one silliest and one wackiest status you have put up on a social networking site.
MBC: Just in the last week, I’ve posted these three (though I’m not entirely sure which one is which):
“Holy crap, Batman. Catherine Coulter just introduced herself to me while we waited for the elevator. #starstruck”
“This morning, my four-year-old was wailing that she didn’t want to leave the house. She wrapped her arms around me and said, “You and Daddy aren’t being very good parents. I really should have said something sooner.” #badparent”
My favorite RWA line: “No. Elizabeth Bennett got to the house, took a look around, & said ‘Wow, this is a big house. I want to fuck this house.” *snort*
BBB: How many handbags do you own?
MBC: Not all of them, I’m sad to say. I actually have a nifty handbag that has covers, so I can change it out regularly. And I also have a hot pink handbag that’s currently my favorite.
BBB: If you had your own book talk show, who would your first three author guests be?
MBC: I would have Neil Gaiman, Robin McKinley, and Lois McMaster Bujold–and then I would almost certainly get instantly tongue-tied and starstruck . If any of them turned me down, I would invite Catherine Coulter, because (see above) last week at the RWA conference, she introduced herself to me outside the elevator and was amazingly gracious and lovely. (I, on the other hand, said something like “SQUEAK.” And then gushed.)
BBB: If you had to be a teacher of something, what would you teach?
MBC: I am a teacher! In my day job, I’m a college English professor. My Ph.D. is in eighteenth-century British literature, so that’s one of my very favorite things to teach. I love teaching lit classes about early eighteenth-century novels, because it was the first time that there were a lot of women publishing in England. Some of my favorite authors of the period are Aphra Behn, Delarivier Manley, and Eliza Haywood–they wrote amatory fiction and were very much the popular fiction writers of their day.
I also love teaching science fiction/fantasy courses (I don’t get to do that as much as I’d like!) and early British literature–primarily because they both deal with heroes and monsters and huge social issues. The ability to spend my life discussing the importance and value of literature is one of the things that has made me happiest–and the other is writing fiction.
BBB: Tell us about a unique or quirky habit of yours. (writing or otherwise)
MBC: I watch supernatural dramas and science fiction television all the time. Seriously–if I’m not actively writing, I have Netflix or Amazon videos running on my Kindle Fire. Even if I’m grading or editing or reading, I have Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Walking Dead, Firefly, Farscape, or something like it playing in the background. Always.
BBB: What’s coming up for you for the rest of 2014?
MBC: I am writing like crazy! I am working on the sequel to Legally Undead–I’m having a grand time learning what happens next to Elle and the gang. I am also writing the four-book Hometown Heroes contemporary romance series; it kicked off with a novella in June, and I’m working on the first full-length entry in that series.
Buy a print copy of Legally Undead from Amazon
Buy a Kindle copy of Legally Undead from Amazon
Books in the series in the Vampirarchy series order they should be read:
Legally Undead
About Margo Bond Collins
Author Bio:
After a decade of moving all around the country (Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta are a few of the places she’s lived), Margo Bond Collins has settled in her native Texas, where she lives near Fort Worth with her husband, her daughter, and several very spoiled cats. She spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them (and sometimes fight them). She writes urban fantasy, paranormal mystery, and contemporary romance.
11 Quick Things About Margo
Favorite Food? Cheese Enchiladas
Favorite Color? Pink
Favorite Movie or TV Show of all Time? Probably Buffy the Vampire Slayer, if only for its amazing impact on pop culture (and my own work).
Favorite Drink? Coffee
Favorite Book? That’s not a fair question! I have favorite books in almost every genre. Since I’m here today discussing Legally Undead, though, I’ll share my favorite vampire book: Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
Favorite Season? Summer (I love spending time in the pool!)
Favorite Online Hangout? Twitter
Favorite Animal? Cat
Favorite Band or Musician? It changes regularly! Right now, I’m obsessed with the Veronica Mars movie soundtrack.
Mode of Travel? (Trains, Planes or Automobiles) Planes
Favorite Vacation Destination? Tropical beaches
Connect with Margo
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