Women Who Rock Wednesday: Lucienne Diver

Today marks release day for one of my girlfriends from the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit, Lucienne Diver. So to celebrate the release of ReVamped, I thought we'd have her on for Women Who Rock Wednesday. (Yes, it's a big treat because WWRW is basically on hiatus until I finish the bartender book, so this may be the only interview/contest you get for another month!)

Here are the details about ReVamped, which is a sequel.

In Vamped, Gina and her minions defeated a vampire vixen, a psycho-psychic and the vampire council of Mozulla, Ohio. Gina was all ready to expose vampires to the world in all their fanged fabulosity…until the Feds arrived to sweep everything under the rug and make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

In ReVamped, Gina and her boyfriend Bobby are sent undercover to infiltrate a New York high school where some seriously weird stuff is going down. Worse than that, Gina’s new super-secret identity is as goth-girl Geneva Belfry. No color palette to speak of. More chains than a bike rack. And don't even get her started on the shoes. At least she won’t be too worried about blood spatter when kicking the butt of her newest nemesis, who’s decided that the high school makes a perfect playground.

Now let's meet Lucienne, who is a writer by night and a literary agent by day.


Q: Please tell us what your new book is about and what inspired you to write it.

Lucienne: In ReVamped, Gina and her gang go undercover to infiltrate a New York high school where some seriously weird stuff is going down. My storylines for Gina, fashionista of the fanged, all seem to start with the question “What would torment her the most?” In this case, the answer was “going goth.” No color palette to speak of, more chains than a bike rack, and don’'t even get her started on the shoes…. But, of course, there'’s a lot more to the story, including her discovery that goths are people too and her growing fear that the solution to the mystery leads right back to her new-found friends.

Q: If there was a soundtrack for your book what are five songs that would be on it and how do they relate the story?

Lucienne: Wow, that’'s a tough one, since my heroine’'s favorite singer is someone I made up for the series, Su Surrus (Think Pink, only… not). So, I guess the first would be Pink’'s “Don’t Let Me Get Me.” Alistaire’s song would have to be “Psycho” by Puddle of Mudd. Then, of course, I’'d have to include the Emo Vampire Song from The Key of Awesome. And maybe No Doubt’s “Just a Girl.” Beyond that, I'’d really have to think!

Q: Who were some of your inspirations to become a writer or the inspirations that keep you writing? Feel free to include other authors, teachers, parents, or people in other creative fields, whoever is an inspiration to you!

Lucienne: My two earliest inspirations were my mother, who was a teacher and frequently read to me before I got hooked on reading myself. In fact, I can pinpoint exactly when that happened. In fourth grade, I was stuck in the hospital, sadly, not uncommon for me as a child, and she'’d started reading me The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. When she left to go home, I couldn'’t stand to wait until the next day to find out what would come next, so I picked up the book and read it all the way through. That was the beginning of my love-affair with books.

My first writing inspiration was my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Hart, who gave free-writing assignments on an almost daily basis and kicked our imaginations into gear. Since then, I find inspiration on a daily basis from my authors, who are just so amazing. There’s a lot of feeling “I’'m not worthy,” but also a lot of awe that I get to be a mover and shaker among them.

Q: Even though music plays in so heavily into my storytelling, I rarely can actually listen to it while I'm writing. Can you? How does music fit into your writing process?

Lucienne: I love music too much to listen while writing. I actually find it physically painful not to sing or at least hum along with songs I love. Often, though, I need to know what kind of music my characters listen to in order to know them. I think the things that call to us are very revealing.

Q: What is next for you? What are you working on now?

Lucienne: I'’m playing around with a few different ideas right now in the few months I have before I need to start the fourth in the Vamped series. (Yes, there'’ll be at least four!) I’'m debating the dark, suspenseful young adult calling to me or the more fun and fantastical middle grade series I’'ve already started. Decisions, decisions….

Q: I have two questions that I always ask my Women Who Rock, the first is a two-parter. What was the first album you bought and the first concert you attended? Be honest, we don't judge, we like to see the roots of our women who rock!

Lucienne: I don'’t remember the first album I bought, but the first I ever won was INXS… for shaking my groove thing at one of our after-school dances. The first concert …honestly, Amy Smith with Michael W. Smith opening. My next, Melissa Etheridge opening for Sting.

Q: Tell us about your biggest rock star moment, perhaps it's a moment of real success in your career, a time when you met someone super cool and had that Wayne's World "I'm not worthy" moment, or just a time where you felt like you got the rock star treatment. I get a huge variety of answers for the questions, so it's pretty much whatever "rock star moment" means to you!

Lucienne: Most of my rock stars are writers. I remember the time I met Roger Zelazny when I was about twenty and made a perfect fool out of myself dropping my pen in the midst of asking him to sign my books. Then, carrying an armful of books for Donald Westlake to sign, I dropped them. (Are you seeing a pattern?) Gentleman that he was, he quipped, “Funny, I'’d always considered myself light reading.” I’'d loved him before, but after that it was more like idolization.

Today's Contest:

Now that you have learned more about Lucienne and ReVamped, you probably want the book more than anything, right? Well, you are in luck! Lucienne is giving out a signed copy to one lucky winner.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment. However you can gain additional entries:

+1 for tweeting or posting on facebook about this interview
+1 for tweeting or posting about ReVamped.
+5 for blogging about ReVamped.

Note your additional entries in your comment as well as giving me an email address or some way to contact you if you win. Because I won't be doing another WWRW for a while, I will be drawing the winner next Wednesday and more likely than not, simply emailing them rather than announcing it so please please please leave a way to contact you if you enter.

Good luck!