YA author Talia Jager is talking today about her novels, including her most recent release, vampire novel “Secret Bloodline”.
Chrystalla: Hi and welcome to my blog! Why don’t you tell us a few words about yourself first?
Talia: I’m a young adult author, wife, mother of five girls with another surprise on the way.
Chrystalla: What genre(s) do you write and why?
Talia: I’ve always read YA, maybe that’s why I write it. The teen mind is awesome. I love that it’s usually raw and passionate. One reason I enjoy writing YA is it’s filled with ‘firsts’. First love, first high school experience, first kiss, first experimentation with… (a number of different things).
Chrystalla: What can you tell us about your writing projects and recent releases?
Talia: I have five books for sale. Three are YA dramas that required a lot of research. After those three were released, I wanted to try something a little different and wrote two YA paranormals. I still consider them dramas, but with a paranormal aspect.
Chrystalla: Tell us about your latest release.
Talia: That would be my novel “Secret Bloodline”. What sixteen-year-old Kairi doesn’t know is that vampires do exist and she’s one of them. She was left in foster care when she was very little and grew up away from her world. Then she began to change. Feeling out of place and confused, she ran away from her foster home. A coven takes her under their wings and trains her. When she is told her parents didn’t just abandon her, but died protecting her, she sets off on a mission to find their killer.
And then she meets Aiden…a vampire hunter.
Chrystalla: What gave you the idea for this book?
Talia: My husband thought I should write a vampire book while they were still ‘hot’. After thinking long and hard, I came up with my own take on vampires.
Chrystalla: What is special about this book – what sets it apart?
Talia: There are so many vampire and paranormal romance books out there, it’s hard to write anything different. I tried and hope I succeeded. Secret Bloodline is about a girl who has no idea that she was born a vampire. She goes from being a nobody to being important. When she falls for a vampire hunter, her world gets turned upside down. But, I think it’s the twists and turns that come after that set it apart even more.
Chrystalla: Do you have a favorite scene in the book?
Talia: I have many, but talking about them would give away too much of the book. I will tell you that I love when Kairi finds out she has a family who has been looking out for her and I also love the tension between Kairi and Aiden.
Chrystalla: What kind of research did you do for this story?
Talia: Unlike my first three books, I didn’t do much research for Secret Bloodline. I just used my imagination and created the world I wanted my characters to live in.
Chrystalla: Where can people learn more about you and your writing?
Talia: I love hearing from fans. I can be reached at taliajager (at) att (dot) net
Thanks Chrystalla for featuring Talia! Great to meet another fellow writer — and I adore the book cover!
Thank you! I think it’s great to hear what authors have to say about their books and their art and craft. 🙂
Thank you for featuring me, Chrystalla. I enjoyed the interview.
Hi J.C. – nice to meet you too 🙂 The book cover was created by Streetlight Graphics, they’ve done all of my covers and I love their work! I hope to get to know you better in the future!