10 for Tuesday! With Jody Wallace

Once again, it is my pleasure to welcome Jody Wallace who writes as Ellie Marvel to The Butterfly Blog. Jody has hosted me twice on her fabulous blog, Writer and Cat, and now I have the opportunity to return the favor. An author of fantasy romance for Samhain, her latest looks like a real fun ride, Vegas style. So without further ado, here we go.


1. If your cat had to describe you, how would he describe you? I'm going to add the restriction that he can't merely describe you in terms of what you do for him, but has to think about your personality a little.

(Since you said "he" when referring to my cat, I'll give you answers from Big D's point of view...)

She is finicky. She won't eat bugs, she doesn't like cat puke between her toes, she won't drink out of a glass that I've had my head stuck in, she is always vacuuming and complaining about cat hair, she hardly ever cooks meaty-smelling meals (or shares so-called People Food with us), she can't stand it when we sit on her laptop computer, and she thinks we'll get hit by cars or something if we go outside. Picky, picky, picky.

She is creative. Like the time she was determined to keep Meankitty and me from scratching the closed bedroom door all night. She tried all sorts of things, including but not limited to: locking us upstairs, spraying the door with Feliway, making a cardboard box "baffle", and padding the door with a comforter. Needless to say, we triumphed and now the bedroom door stays OPEN, but she was very creative.

She is soft. I love to climb on her when she's stationary and let my feet sink into her cushy, human flesh. There are certain parts of her that are absolutely perfect for kneading. However, she also has a low pain threshold, so I never get to enjoy this activity for very long. Maybe it's because I weigh 20 lbs, I don't know.

Speaking of soft, she is...let's call it dedicated. I would say sedentary but she's not quite a couch potato and rarely turns on the television. But she does tend to stay in one place, usually with the computer, for long stretches of time. I don't know what she's doing tapping away with that thing, but whatever it is, she does it a LOT. Now if only she'd grow bigger so there was enough room on her lap for me and the computer both!

2. If you had to pick four foods you'd associate with your latest release, what would they be, and why did you pick them?

My newest release is the paranormal romance Survival of the Fairest.

I'd associate chocolate, hotdogs, cola and mystery meat with that novel. Chocolate and cola because the fairy heroine Talista experiences both of these human delicacies for the first time when she goes AWOL from survival training and ends up in Vegas. Hotdogs because Tali absolutely cannot believe humans are so barbaric they created a standardized food item made out of our dear canine friends! And she doesn't try one, either. Then there's mystery meat (it's different from hotdogs, I swear!) because gnomes in Tali's world tend to eat, well, whatever they can sink their teeth into. Including people.

3. In all seriousness, what is your latest release? Tell us all about it.

Survival of the Fairest has just come out in trade paperback from Samhain Publishing. About the book:

No magic for two weeks? What's a fairy to do? Go to Vegas, of course!

Princess Talista of the fairy clan Serendipity has been sent, like all young fairies, to a remote forest in humanspace for mandatory survival training. But headstrong Tali's got different ideas about where to spend two weeks without magic. What better place than Las Vegas to learn to live like humans, a true test of survival?

Tali might not blend, but she'd like to be shaken and stirred with stage magician Jake Story. Their attraction is instant and electric.and Tali senses there's more to Jake's show than flashy tricks.

Jake always knew he was different, even before he developed an unusual flair for hypnotism. He has no trouble mesmerizing the luscious Tali during act three, but the lights that appear around them when they kiss weren't part of the program.

When the authorities from Tali's homeland track the missing princess to Vegas, Jake and Tali end up on the run. In between magic experiments, evil gnomes and astonishing sex, Tali learns what it really means to be human-by falling in lust, followed closely by love.

But Tali's not human. And Jake doesn't believe in fairies. The truth will either bind them together-or tear the fairy realm apart.

Warning, this title contains the following: Intoxicating sex, misuse of magic, gorgeous cross-dressers and flesh-eating gnomes.

4. What is the greatest distraction a cat can cause a writer?

Vomiting. Repeatedly. Perhaps in a projectile fashion while running across the room, creating an arc of barf. Big D does this because he's allergic to milk, and there may have been a time or two I got sucked into writing and forgot to empty a cereal bowl.

5. Your latest release involves hypnotism. Have you ever been hypnotized? Did you do anything embarrassing?

I have not. But I've done all sorts of embarrassing things in my life without being hypnotized as an excuse.

6. Where is the farthest away from home you have ever travelled? Any unique experiences there?

Las Vegas, actually--hence the setting for SOTF. Hubby and I got married in Vegas in full medieval regalia in the Excalibur wedding chapel. About 20 of our friends and family were able to attend--it wasn't an elopement!--and most of them surprised us by wearing medieval costumes as well.

We considered a Star Trek wedding but... Okay, Mr. Captain Wallace considered a Star Trek wedding, but when I nearly barfed on the Star Trek Experience ride (no, I hadn't had any milk) he realized it was a good thing I'd refused to dress up like his science officer for our wedding.

7. When dealing with fantasy in your writing, how do you build the elements of magic while making them seem plausible and real?

I write magic with consequences. Magic isn't some endless source of power with endless possibilities in any of my books that include that element. I just finished a story in which all magic had to be funneled through plants, which definitely limits what the practitioners of that world are capable of doing.

8. Do you have any unusual habits to avoid writing?

www.meankitty.com is probably the most unusual. Of course I was Typing Slave long before I was Jody Wallace, Published Author, so perhaps I write in order to avoid updating Meankitty's website?

9. If you had to nominate a character from film for the "Best Character Ever" award, who would win?

It's not the best character ever but it is what comes to mind. Recently I got a kick out of Paul Rudd's personality in "I Love You Man" -- the ultimate bromance! I know alpha males are practically required in today's paranormal romances, but I adore non-typical heroes. Paul Rudd was a beta, I guess, and he was so appealing I could see why the heroine wanted to marry him, even though he had his flaws.

Many would have perceived him as weak and unattractive since he wasn't the rich, dangerous, commanding CEO type, but to me his humor, loyalty and sweet nature were absolutely charming. While I understand that films and novels can be fantastical adventures with larger than life characters we'd never befriend in the real world, I find stories, including romances, with greater character realism to be equally satisfying.

10. What's your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

A cup of coffee, some fresh fruit somebody else washed and cut into bite sized pieces, and a cinnamon raisin mini bagel with peanut butter. I do spread the peanut butter on the bagel myself and brew my own coffee, though I haven't gone so far as to grind my own beans. Hey, I don't even mind the taste and convenience of *instant* coffee (barbaric, I know!) so I doubt I'll be going the whole bean route anytime soon.

Thank you for joining us here at The Butterfly Blog. It's been a ton of fun. The floor is all yours.

Right now I'm running a contest to win all sorts of things connected to SOTF, including crocheted gnome charms, copies of the book, and handmade bookmarks. You can get the details here. If you want proof that gnomes are evil, I wrote a long, photographic essay here.


Thank you a second time. Feel free to drop by any time. And for more information about her books head on over to www.jodywallace.com.