Lina Gardiner Interview

Lina Gardiner has been writing for many years, but it wasn't until her son and daughter left for college and university that she began to write in ernest. It was her way of coping with empty nest syndrome. Says Lina, "When I wrote 'Grave Illusions,' my first paranormal, it felt like my writing came alive. I loved my characters and the story exploded onto the pages." Since then she has published a sequel Beyond the Grave.

At the end of this interview look for contest information. Lina is offering a copy of both books to one lucky commenter. She will also be checking from throughout today and tomorrow to respond to questions of comments.

Lina, welcome to Patricia's Vampire Notes!

PVN: Describe the vampire world that you have created.

Lina: My vampire world is set in today’s New York City. In my world, Vampires are still unknown to most humans although there is a contingent of vampire hunters within the New York City Police Department – two vampire police officers and the rest are human. Select police officers are privy to the volatile knowledge that vampires hunt and kill in New York City and it is their job to take out these deadly night stalkers whose strength is much greater than humans. In order to keep people safe and to stop panic, the NYPD has very secret black ops unit that fights vampires in New York, they’re trained by Jess and James so that they have a chance to win against these inhuman monsters. Besides the legitimate police officers on the team, they hire disgraced ex-cops, criminals and the dregs of society who agree to fight vampires because they have to be tough and they have to be expendable.

PVN: Would you explain the complex relationship of Britt and Jess?

Lina: Tortured. ☺ Britt’s career, his marriage and his life up until he met Jess had been ruined by vampires. And even before he knew vampires existed he seemed to be drawn into their dark world. When he met Jess there was an instant connection between them, maybe because both their lives had been forever altered by vampirism (in different ways). They love each other desperately, but they have to be self-sacrificing because every time they get close horrible things happen. That doesn’t mean they’re going to give up trying…

PVN: As you know I was very intrigued by Regent, the brother of Jess who is a priest. Where did this unusual character come from?

Lina: I want to say he’s totally fictional, but I do have a younger brother and when I was in high school my best friend was Catholic. I went to church with her often and so liked the religion, I studied Catechism with the local priest. He was a priest in his sixties and we got along very well. I think I went to Catechism longer than most because we enjoyed many a philosophical chat. We even talked about exorcisms. He was a very nice man. Also, one of my very best friends from high school is a priest.

PVN: How many books do you plan for your series? When will we see the next one?

Lina: I’m not sure how many books there’ll be, but definitely more than three. Book three will be written by next spring (hopefully) and if all goes well, it’ll be out in 2009 as well.

PVN: What attracts you to the paranormal?

Lina: I’ve always been interested in the unknown. My family is very open minded, for the most part. Even my daughter, who has a science degree, is on the cusp of believing in things beyond her scientific explanation. Even though she might deny it. I had an aunt who was extremely psychic and she had a spirit guide name “Big Chief”. When she died her abilities passed on to my cousin. I guess my interest probably developed early from hearing stories about strange events within the family – psychic abilities and ghosts, mostly. But once your mind is opened to the possibilities and you have an imagination like mine, the paranormal world becomes a new horizon.


PVN: What is your writing environment like? Describe the ambience.

Lina: I have a lovely 11 ft x 11 ft. office in our home. My husband is in the process of building me beautiful floor to ceiling bookcases around the window. I like to write in my office in complete quiet, because I’m one of those writers who sees the story taking place like a movie running in my head. I don’t need music to soothe me or to take me into the writing. If things are going well, I’m already too deep into my world to hear it anyway. If I’m not writing in my office, I write on my deck overlooking our flower garden, or at the local Starbucks. I love the atmosphere there. The smell of coffee the scent of thousands of books nearby -- Very energizing.


PVN: Do you have any other writing projects planned?

Lina: Yes, I’m working on another series right now. Not vampires. (that’s all I’ll say about it at the moment) Grin.


PVN: What type of books do you like to read? or TV or Movies that you like to watch?

Lina: I love Mystery: Peter James, Harlen Coben, Tess Gerritsen; Romantic Suspense: Carla Neggers, Christina Dodd, Jayne Ann Krentz, Brenda Novak; etc. Paranormal, Cherry Adair, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Lyndsay Sands, Christopher Moore, etc. Young Adult, Scientific books, Stephen Hawking, String Theory, you name it.

When it comes to paranormal books, until my first book was published I hadn’t read any vampire books for years. I didn’t want to read other vampire books and influence my own writing. Now that my vampire world is clearly developed, and it’s all my own, I’m playing catchup -- I’m reading lots of paranormal, and thoroughly enjoying them.

Movies: I like action, mystery, suspense and paranormal and Young Adult.
TV: I’m a huge fan of British mysteries and police procedurals. I like Discovery channel, and Sci Fi, PBS, Nova, as well as Medium, Survivor, Fringe, Eli Stone. (Apparently, I’m watching too much television).


PVN: Do you have any comments you would like to address to readers?

Lina: I’d like to thank those of you who have read my first book and have taken the time to email me. It really means a lot. I especially like the emails that tell me not to dare kill Regent. He’s a very popular character and his popularity seems to be growing. He’s a dear, old priest, to be sure.


PVN: Lina, thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview!

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Contest information: One lucky commenter will win a copy of Grave Illusions as well as Beyond the Grave.


For a chance to win do one (or more) of the following:

*Comment on any subject from the interview. Each comment on a different subject counts as an entry.

*Ask Lina a question. Each question counts as an entry.

*Link to Patricia's Vampire Notes and send me the URL. Each link counts as an entry.

Be sure to include your email information so that I will be able to contact you.

This contest ends at 11:59 pm December 3, 2008.

Winners will be announced later in the week.