Blog Tour - Blood Warrior/Half-Black Soul by H.D. Gordon

Dear me! It's Friday the 20th - my day of the Blood Warrior/Half-black Soul blog tour!!! I'm soo excited!!!

Anyways, since I read this book in the beginning of the month, and my review of it is already up on my blog, I'll just ask you to click here to read it :)))

My exclusive feature though, is an author interview with H.D. Gordon!!! Please continue reading to find out more about the author and her work!! Thanks!!

Hello Heather, it's so nice to have you join me here @ YA Story Teller today. What made you write this book in particular?

I think that as a writer, it would be impossible to write something that I wasn’t personally interested in. In honesty, when I began this book it didn’t even cross my mind that I would publish it when it was complete. I just got fed up with reading crappy vampire novels that I felt were written for the wrong reasons, and it became a personal challenge to see if I could do better. See, I had knocked out most of the good novels in the genre, and no matter how much I read it was never enough. I read like a writer, and that meant that I recognized what I wanted out of these books and what I didn’t want. So, really, what I’m saying is that I wrote this book for me. I was happy with it, and that was all that mattered. It still baffles me that a few other people seem to like it too.

Where did you get your inspiration from?

Oh, inspiration is a funny thing. You never know what will spark it. I get ideas for stories all the time, and if they stick in my head long enough I usually end up trying to get them on paper so they will leave me the heck alone. With Blood Warrior, I simply wanted a story that I could let myself live in; to tell a tale that I could use as a personal escape. I was going through a really rough spot in my life when I started it, and it managed to help keep me sane. I just started out with a few pages and ended up with an entire book five weeks later.

Do any of your characters represent a person you know from real life?

Nelly, the mc’s sister was taken from my little sister, Muriel. Mostly, I used my love for her to dictate Alexa’s actions. Her hazel eyes, pretty face and usually calm demeanor were what I used to build Nelly. Many of Alexa’s traits belong to me. I’m pretty sure they are the weaker and more annoying ones, but as I said, this story was really just for me in the beginning, so I imagined myself as Alexa and used that to dictate her actions as well.

If you could enter your imaginary world like a character, which one would you like to be?

Well, I suppose I would want to be a Warrior, like Alexa, as my previous answers probably indicated. I mean, I don’t know if I would be able to handle all the things she goes through quite as well, but I admired her strength and loyalty. I suppose I wouldn’t want the homicidal trait, but it’s a very big part of who she is, and I thought that if I could get people to root for a killer that would be a pretty big accomplishment. As I said, the world I attempted to create was just a fantasy in my head, and so that’s why I wouldn’t mind living in it.

How did you end up with that cool cover?

Okay, I’m blushing now. I don’t even really want to answer this, but okay… I didn’t have the money to hire someone to create a cover for me, but I did have a and a black blanket (still blushing) I wanted my sister to be the model for the cover, but she refused because she’s just as shy as I am. After a few weeks went by with me not publishing the book simply because I didn’t have a cover, I grabbed one of my dad’s swords, hung a black blanket and took a hundred pictures. I wasn’t happy with any of them. I still cringe when I look at it now, but I figured the story was what really mattered, so I chose a picture and threw it on there. Needless to say, everyone who knows me laughed at me for weeks. They said, “Seriously, you wrote it AND you’re on the cover.” After a while it was just kind of an inside joke. I’m extremely happy that I didn’t have to do this for Half Black Soul, and I hope like hell I never have to again.

Which one of your characters was the most difficult to create?

Well, I suppose I struggled with all of them in the beginning. This was my first book after all, and I wanted to make sure that the characters weren’t just cardboard cutouts. After the first few chapters, they begin to form minds of their own. And, even now they just seem to take the story wherever they please without my permission. I’m resigned. I just let them do what they want now.

Which scene gave you the most difficulty?

There were several points when I thought that I had hit a lump that I wouldn’t be able to climb over. I guess the hardest one for me was the opening scene. I think there were ten different first chapters before I finally got the one I wanted. I knew how important those first few pages were, and I drove myself crazy over them. Funny thing is, the first chapter is my favorite now. I didn’t really think about how others would take it because I wasn’t really intending to share it with anyone. It’s one of the few parts in the book that I’m still really pleased with, so I suppose all the work paid off.

Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Vanya!

Well, thank you Heather, both on my behalf, and on my readers!!

****************** You may be interested in the following information ********************

The remaining tour dates and blogs are:

January 23rd - Karla @ Book Addict

January 24th - Tt @ Never Ending Stories

January 25th - Maghon @ Happy Tails and Tales

January 26th - Erica @ Ink Spots and Roses

January 27th - Lissa @ The Book Nut

January 30th - Taneesha @ A Diary of a Book Addict

January 31st - HD Gordon

*Remember that if you stop by all of the blogs and leave a comment you will be entered to win a Signed & personalized paperback copy of Blood Warrior!!

** Don't forget to follow all the fabulous tour hosts while you are there! **