Who The Monsters Are received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Nadine Little.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The book is called Who The Monsters Are and is the first book in the Hunters & Dragons series. It was published on the 11th of August 2022, nearly two years after I published my debut from a different series. You can check it out here.
What’s the book’s first line?
‘The bleak and wind-swept Scottish coastline is a world away from the dusty heat of Black Rock City and the Burning Man festival in Nevada.’
In my early drafts, the first line was ‘Dragons ate my parents when I was fifteen.’ Though the new first line is longer and less dramatic, it sets the scene and tone better. The parents-getting-eaten bit is subtly fed into the text later rather than bludgeoning the reader when they open the book.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
If I can steal IndieReader’s own quote here, the book is ‘Part monster-hunting urban fantasy, part read-it-in-a-tub-by-candlelight shagfest.’
Raine Waller is an orphan who hunts dragon shifters for the Vanatori. Jay could be the key to finding the monsters that murdered her parents. The book is about their fateful meeting and the events that follow, where Raine’s loyalties will be put to the test. Is the mysterious Jay as shy and innocent as he appears? Or will he be the biggest monster of all?
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
A dream! Most of my story ideas come from dreams where I’m either being chased or I’m trying to save the world. I’m not sure what that says about the state of my subconscious, especially when thousands, if not millions of people always die in my stories. Let’s just say I have an active imagination, whether awake or asleep.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Entertainment, hands down. It’s an action-packed paranormal romance with characters you’ll fall in love with. Also dragons. Enough said.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
She’s a little geeky while still being a badass who can handle a sword. Small but fierce. I love IndieReader’s description of her being a cross between Carrie Bradshaw and Harry Dresden. She reminds me of Anita Blake from Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series (where I take a lot of my writing inspiration from) and, dare I say it, a little bit of me as well. I’ll leave you to guess which parts. Hint: I don’t know how to use a sword.
When did you first decide to become an author?
Like most authors, I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. My first publication was a short story about a woman whose husband never returned from a fishing trip so she threw herself into the sea. I was about ten. I wrote the first draft of my published Scottish dystopian series when I was thirteen and a lot of people die in that. I decided I wanted to become a published author when I found the half-written manuscript languishing on a USB about five or six years ago and started taking it seriously, learning all I could about the craft and how to publish.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Who The Monsters Are is my fifth book. I published my debut novel Captivity in 2020, along with three other books in The Faction War Chronicles series. It’s set in a dystopian Scotland and follows Anita Carmichael in her quest to learn the truth about who murdered her sister and started a war. You can try Captivity for free if you join my mailing list at https://nadinelittle.com. It’s definitely for fans of brutal dystopia, military adventure and romance (eventually—you have to get through all the torture first).
I also have many, many works in progress:
- To Tame a Monster (paranormal dragon shapeshifter romance, Hunters & Dragons #2, just back from my editor)
- We Are Not Angels (paranormal angel romance, The Warrior Angels #1, complete and will be published late 2022)
- Verdana (science fiction romance, complete and will be published early 2023)
- Better the Devil You Know (paranormal demon romance, Divine Demons #1, just back from my editor)
- Give the Devil Her Due (paranormal demon romance, Divine Demons #2, currently writing)
- The 5500 (urban fantasy, currently writing)
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
When I’m not writing, I can be found falling over in bogs and into the occasional pond. I’ll take your answers on a postcard for my current job (though the contact form on my website is also fine).
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I work four days a week in my non-writing job so evenings, Fridays and weekends are when I’ll be writing or doing writing-business tasks. I don’t write every day but I do think about writing every second of every day, so that counts.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
Having complete creative control is the best part of being an indie. I decide what I’m going to write and how the story is going to go, with feedback from a professional editor, of course. I choose the cover and retailers and blurb. This suits my control-freak personality. The hardest part is letting readers know your book exists, otherwise known as marketing.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
You cannot fail unless you quit. Being an author can be disheartening at times, especially when you’re not making any sales despite your best efforts. Screaming into the void. But perseverance is key because publishing success is a marathon, not a sprint. Everyone who seems to be an ‘overnight bestseller’ has done a tonne of work in the background to get them there. You just have to keep fighting through the lean times and hope your success (whatever that looks like for you) will come, too.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I’d consider going hybrid if the deal were right i.e. having some books that are indie published and some books that are traditionally published. For me, it makes more sense to have lots of different avenues to reach readers rather than putting all your focus on one (something about eggs and baskets if we want to be cliché about it). I’d retain creative control for some books while also having the advantage of a traditional publishing team and distribution network for others.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I just want to find people who love reading and talking about my books as much as I love writing them. And if I make enough to write full time as well then that’s all the fame and fortune I need. That’s the dream.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Laurell K. Hamilton has definitely been a strong influence on my writing, particularly as her books don’t fade to black on the sex scenes, either. In honour of her influence, there’s a nod to her main character, Anita Blake, in my Faction War Chronicles series. My main character is also called Anita (and is as stubborn and mouthy as her namesake). A character featuring the surname may also appear but… no spoilers.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
None. Is that weird? I’m a prolific reader but I’ve never come across a book I wish I’d written. I love that I’ve written my books, never mind anyone else’s.