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Let's say there was a big battle and you and one other person was left on the planet, who out of all your characters would that be and why?

Logan Bane. He'd figure out a way to save himself - he's cunning, particularly when it comes to self preservation.

My question: what's the biggest misconception of being an author/writer?

That you have to know someone to get an agent/get published. I was really naive going into this process. I did research on the internet to find my agent, but knew absolutely nothing about the industry. My wonderful agent, Charlie, pulled my manuscript out of the slush pile.

I was just wondering what inspiration brought about Nightshade. Some author's say that they had a dream of a certain scene or one of the characters just really spoke to them. So, for you, what was your inspiration in writing this story, and were there any scenes that really stood out to you?

Nightshade is Calla's story and she was the inspiration for the book. I tend to write from characters and Calla was floating around in my head for a week or two before I started putting her story onto the page. I knew she was a girl who was also a wolf. I knew she was strong, but also in serious trouble. I couldn't figure out how someone so powerful could be in that sort of a fix. That's where Nightshade's world emerged, it was all about building a history and society that explained Calla's predicament.

Was there any part of your publishing journey from original manuscript to final, sold product, that changed your life? And if so, how do you feel about where you are now?

Great question. It's a little odd but I'd say everything has changed and nothing has changed. Here's what I mean: Everything has changed in that the dream I wanted more than anything has come true, I have a multi-book deal, I have amazing new writing and publishing colleagues, and I get to travel to meet fantastic readers. Nothing has changed in that I still have my day job, I still live in Minnesota, and I still spend most days doing the same things I always did - except now when I write without feeling guilty for neglecting other parts of my life - it's what I'm supposed to be doing, it just took me 30 years to figure that out!!

My question: when did you realize you wanted to become a writer (and a potential author)? Was it a lightbulb moment or was it one of those slow realizations over many years? Did you ever at some point think, "This may not be for me"?

I'd spent my whole life writing, but I never pursued publication. Then two summers ago I was in a horseback riding accident where I ended up with a broken foot. I couldn't walk for eight weeks, so I decided to finally go after my dream of writing a novel. I was hooked instantly and knew there was no going back. I wrote two "practice" novels that will live forever in my desk drawers and then I wrote Nightshade. I knew from the beginning it was "the one," and I began querying agents. Charlie Olsen, my phenomenal agent at InkWell, requested the full manuscript and called me to say he loved it in March 2009. I did more revisions with Charlie and we went on submission in the summer of 2009, receiving a pre-empt from Michael Green at Philomel shortly thereafter. It was amazing - and in the publishing world, it happened at record speed.

I didn't know anything about publishing going into the process and I am so grateful for the positive (and fast!!!) experience I've had. My publisher and editor and the whole Penguin team are wonderful people who I consider my friends now. They love Nightshade just like I do and we make a great team! Having said that, when I began querying it was one of the scariest things I've ever done. I knew I wanted to pursue a writing career more than anything else, but I felt like I was jumping into the deep end of a pool without knowing how to swim. At times I was sure I'd never see my dream of being a novelist materialize. Fortunately I have a wonderful husband, family, and friends who were always cheering me on.

More Answers!

Since there were so many awesome questions for the contest I'm going to post answers over the course of several blog posts. FYI if your question doesn't get answered it's because I couldn't answer it without spoilers and I have a strict no spoiler policy.

So my question is what inspired the names of Calla and the other characters in Nightshade?

I spend a lot of times on character names - I have to love the way the name sounds, it has to fit his or her personality and the meaning of the name usually has significance as well. Calla's name is related to her coloring - white blond hair and golden eyes, like a Calla lily, it also reflects the conflict in her life. She's a warrior, but too often she's expected to be delicate, like a lily and she hates that.

How the frak did you come up with the idea for this wickedly awesome and totally random yet justified contest?

So glad you liked it - I hold once monthly Q&A's on the blog and it seemed like it would be a fun twist to make it into a contest. I also love Battlestar Galactica - so thanks for the reference :)

How are you balancing teaching, promotion, and writing?

I was a plate-spinner in a past life. Of course I'm kidding. I have no idea. I think I'm juggling - I hope to make it to balancing some day.

When I read Goodreads reviews of Nightshade I found two reviews using Twilight as a sort of comparison/reference. In my mind that can turn people onto your novel or off of it. What do you think about being compared to other novels (not just Twilight but anything)? If you had a quote on your front novel saying for fans of _____, would you want that or would you rather a quote just talk about how good "your" novel is without name-dropping?

Great question. I'm delighted when Nightshade comes up in the context of any book readers are passionate about - and the more passionate a reader gets the more strong reactions to a novel or series can be, positive or negative. Comparisons are impossible to avoid and I don't mind them as long as they are gracious - opinions of books are subjective, so I think someone could love Twilight (or any other paranormal) and also love Nightshade or they could like one book and not the other. The most I can hope for is that when readers pick up Nightshade they are drawn into Calla's story and her world on its own merits.

If you could have any mythical creature for a pet, what would you choose and why?

A pegasus because I love horses and I'd love a horse that I could ride or fly on. I would have gone with dragon, but I just worry about how much control it would really have over that whole fire breathing thing.

If Nightshade is made into a movie(yay!),whom would you cast as the leads and why?

I actually did a separate blog post on this. You can see my picks here!!

Winners! Answers!

Thank you so much for the fabulous questions!!! The five questions answered below are the randomly selected winners of a signed Nightshade ARC. I will, however, try to answer all the questions asked in future blog posts.

Here they are:

AmandaJ asks

Who is cuter, Fizzgig from The Dark Crystal, or Gizmo from Gremlins? :) Because I have a soft spot for both of them and could probably never choose between them.

Fizzgig! Because Gizmo never does this:

The Itzel Library asks

Which character was the most difficult to write?

Funnily enough it's Calla. You'd think I'd be smart enough not to choose the most difficult character as the narrator of my series. Calla is tough to pin down because she tries hard to bury her feelings, worrying that they might keep her from being the alpha she should be. She's more concerned about being a good leader and a strong warrior than dealing with her fears and secret desires. Sometimes getting a read on her emotions was like pulling teeth, but I knew from the very beginning that it was her story so I didn't have much choice.

LynseyNewton asks My question is - what book do you WISH you had written? It can be any book out there in existence.

Wow - that's hard. I wish I had written Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand, which is one of my all-time favorite books. It's a brilliant retelling of the Fall of Troy from the perspective of the princess and priestess Kassandra.

@thekams asks

You're chosen to pick two books to send on the next Voyager space craft. In the hope that aliens will find it and the items - what two books would you pick and why?

Yikes! So much responsibility. Also - I wonder if the aliens are benevolent or hostile because if it's the latter I feel like I should send them scary books that make humans seem evil and best avoided like an Edgar Allan Poe or Shirley Jackson anthology so they'll stay away.

But assuming they're nice, happy aliens I'd like to send the Harry Potter series (yes, I'm cheating and calling the series one book) and Michel Rolph Trouillot's Silencing the Past, which is one of my favorite books about confronting history.

Tez Miller asks

If you're Professor Chaos, then who is your General Disarray? ;-)

Definitely my husband. While I'm an out-of-control idealist he's very sensible. So when I, like Professor Chaos, come up with vast plans for world domination my husband very pragmatically helps me sort out what's viable, what's silly, and what the Simpsons have already done.

Congrats to the winners!!! Send your mailing address to: andreacremerwrites (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll send your ARC.

Thanks to everyone who offered a question - I'll continue to post answers in the coming weeks. Also - keep an eye out for more giveaways this summer.