Author Spotlight: C.C. Hunter

Please Welcome 

C.C. Hunter

Author of Born at Midnight

1) Could you tell us a bit about yourself.

CC:  I’d be happy to.  First, C.C. Hunter is a pseudonym.  My real name is Christie Craig.  In addition to writing freelance non-fiction and book-length non-fiction, I also write adult fiction, specifically humorous romantic suspense novels.  (Shameless Self-Promotion Moment Here:  My next Christie Craig novel is Don’t Mess With Texas, and it’ll be released through Grand Central Publishing in August of 2011.)  I’m married, have two children, and live with my hubby, four rescue kitties, a puppy who sometimes thinks my furniture tastes better than his kibble, a rabbit named Floppy Skivvies whom the cats think is just a funny-looking cat,  and a wild assortment of outdoor critters, like raccoons, opossums and the occasional turtle.  Now, that may sound like a lot of crazy, what with all the animals, but you know, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

2) What was the inspiration for writing Born at Midnight?

CC:  I get asked this a lot and I always say that I wish I could tell you that it was all my idea.  But it wasn’t.  What actually happened was my editor at St. Martin’s Griffin planted the seed of the idea in my mind.  She did it with two words, too:  “Paranormal Camp.”

Those two words got my imagination revving, so I asked her, “What kind of paranormals?”  She said, “That’s up to you.”  I then asked, “Who is the main character?”  She goes, “That’s up to you, too.”  So, I go, “Is the main character a paranormal?”  Now, I bet you know what she said, right?  LOL.  If you guessed she said, “That’s up to you,” you’d be right.  Anyway, we went on like that for a while but in the end, I took those two words, “paranormal camp,” and went to work on creating the world that is now Shadow Falls.


3) Were there any personal experiences that went in to writing Born at Midnight?

CC:  Oh, this is a great question.  And the answer is, “Absolutely!”  When asked to write a paranormal I quickly related to my some odd things in my family tree—and things that sort of still haunt me.   I come from Alabama and one of my great grandmothers was known throughout the county as a natural healer.  When people were badly burned because of an accident, the hospital would have her come in a talk the burn out of them.  It must have worked, too, because she did this a lot.

She was also sort of known as a bit of a psychic, too.  People came to her to read their fortunes.  And in some small ways, I sort of  inherited some of that sixth sense  from her, which has freaked out my hubby and my friends over the years, believe me.  It’s never something that I can control or even predict.  We could be sitting in a restaurant, having dinner, and all of a sudden, I get this strong feeling that something has happened and that I need to call my mother.  When I do, I find out she twisted her ankle or that a family member was in an auto accident.  Something odd like that.  I’ve also had some crazy experiences when I felt I’d been visited by spirits, too, which I used for fodder  when I wrote the scenes where Kylie experiences the ghosts. .

4) Was Kylie's characters based on anyone or was she a purely made up character?

CC:   Well, that’s a hard one to answer.  You see, all of my characters have traits that either come from me or from the people I know.  They are bits and pieces of my own experiences.  I start with the kernel of an idea about the character.  For example, when the book opens, Kylie’s parents are splitting up.  That happened to me when I was a teenager, too, so I used my experiences to flesh out hers.  But then Kylie became real in my mind, and she began to fill in the blanks, so to speak.

Here’s where I have to say that I’m not crazy.  All writers feel their characters are “real” and we have conversations with them.  Lucky for me, my hubby has gotten used to it.  LOL.

5) What was your inspiration in the cover art for Born at Midnight?

CC:  I wish I could also take credit for the cover art but I can’t.  The wonderful people over at the art department at St. Martin’s Griffin created the cover.  They did an awesome job, too.  I love the cover!  And not just on the first book, but on the second.  I love the cover for Awake At Dawn.  It’s due out October 2011.


6) How many books do you plan on having in The Shadow Falls series?

CC:  Well, I’m currently working on Book 3 and, right now, my publisher and I don’t have any plans to end the series.  A lot really depends on how well Born At Midnight does when it releases.  Let’s just say I see so many possibilities for expanding the Shadow Falls world, and I’d love to stay with these characters for as long as the readers want me to do so.

** I absolutely love this cover... just sayin' 
OK back to your regularly scheduled interview :)

7) What do you plan on doing in the future?

CC:   Oh, that one is easy.  In the future, I plan to be writing more books.  Both as C.C. Hunter and as Christie Craig.  Sure, juggling two contracts for two different publishers can be hard but, you know what, I love every minute of it!

8) Do you listen to music when you write? What kind?

CC:  Normally, I don’t listen to music when I write.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy music – I do.  I like all kinds of music, too, from country to classic rock, to some pop and alternative rock.  It just depends on my mood.  But when I’m writing, I can’t listen to music with lyrics.  Songs with lyrics tell stories and it’s just too distracting for me when I’m trying to write one myself.

9) What are you reading right now?

CC:  Actually, right now, I’m reading a new book by a debut author.  It’s called Shattered Dreams by Ellie James .  It’ll be released in 2012 and I highly recommend it!

 10) Who are a few of your favorite authors?

CC:  Oh, wow.  I really enjoy reading so many YA authors.  There is Stephenie Meyer – I love her Twilight series.  Plus Alyson Noel, Sophie Jordan, Tera Lynn Childs, Jenna Black, P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, Rachel Caine.  Trust me when I say, I have a huge TBR stack!

11) If you could jump into any book and live in that world, which would you choose and why?

CC:  Well, there are a lot of great dark paranormal books out there but I don’t know if I’d really like to live in that world, so I’d probably go with something like The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot.  I mean, what’s not to love about Mia and her life?  Sure, she’s got all the problems a typical teenager has but she’s also a princess.  How totally cool is that?  Now, I’ll be honest.  I’d love to be a princess for a day . . . if only I could convince my family to go along with the plan.  LOL.

 12) Anything you would like to add?

CC:  First, I’d like to thank you and your readers for having me visit you at your Blog.  I’ve really had a great time.  I’d also like to add that if anyone wants to learn more about my book and the Shadow Falls series, they should swing by my website, www.CCHunterBooks.com. They can watch my book trailer, read some of my blogs and even sign up for my newsletter.

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