Exclusive: ALPHA blog tour/Interview with Rachel Vincent!

Hi, everyone! I'm very excited to announce that today's the day that Lale on Lit is participating in the blog tour for Alpha, the last book in the Shifters series by Rachel Vincent. As part of the tour, Ms. Vincent very kindly agreed to an interview, which you can find by scrolling down.

However,  let's start by talking about the reason this tour even exists: the book itself.

YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE FAYTHE...


The unscrupulous new Council chair has charged Jace, Marc, and me with trespassing, kidnapping, murder, and treason. Yeah, we've been busy. But now it's time to take justice into our own hands. We must avenge my brother's death and carve out the rot at the heart of the Council.


It's not going to be easy, and loss seems unavoidable, but I have promised to protect my Pride, no matter what. With a target on my back and Marc at my side, I'm heading for a final showdown that can--that will--change everything forever. A showdown I'm not sure I'm ready for.
But life never waits until you're ready.

I was a huge fan of the first five books in the series, and I'm thoroughly excited for Alpha- I can't wait until it releases in the UK!


On to the interview!

A resident of San Antonio, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her office with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks—seriously—and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.

1. What drew you to write urban fantasy instead of stories set in a contemporary world or a completely created world?

I like the familiarity of the known world combined with the freedom of fantasy. The possibilities are endless!


2. Did you ever consider an alternate career path to writing?

I taught ninth grade English for a very short while, before I started writing seriously.


3. Has the research you’ve done for your writing sparked any new interests or hobbies?

Ha! I wish I had time for new hobbies. Instead, I seem to be losing time to work on my existing ones. ;(


4. What aspects of Faythe, Marc and Jace’s personalities are influenced by their werecat natures?

Their respective alpha traits, their tendency to "cuddle" in big cat piles, even in human form, their need to comfort through touch, and things like that. It's impossible for them to completely separate their human and cat forms.


5. Do any of your characters have quirks or habits that haven’t come up in the Shifters series so far?

Oh, probably.


6. You write books with strong female protagonists—have you ever been personally inspired by the qualities shown by a female character in a literary work?

I'm not sure what this means. But I'm inspired by strong women in real life all the time!


7. What made you decide to include other species of Shifter in the series beyond just werecats?

Logic. If cat shifters exist, what are the chances that they're the only shifters out there? ;)


8. As the Shifters series comes to a close, what do you hope that readers will have gained or learned from following Faythe’s journey over the course of the last few years?

I hope they've gained countless hours of entertainment and come to understand that no one's perfect. What's important is standing up for what you believe in and learning from your mistakes. But the series isn't intended as an object lesson. It's supposed to be fun!


9. Finally, is there a book you’ve read recently that you would recommend to readers of Lale on Lit?

White Cat, by Holly Black. It was awesome, and I'm salivating for the sequel, Red Glove.

Rachel was also kind enough to include an exclusive one line teaser from ALPHA:

 

"I was expected, of course, but apparently I was expected to come crawling on my hands and knees, bleeding and scared, begging for mercy." From pg 247 of Alpha

That sounds like the Faythe I know!

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview! To all readers- she wasn't kidding about White Cat; check it out when you go to snag Alpha.

Pre-order it on Amazon
Check it out on Goodreads
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