I've always been fascinated by the concept of the succubus, so when given a chance to interview BR Kingsolver on her Telepathic Clans Saga, I took it. Little did I realize, it was a two-for-one deal.
Louisa: Brenna O’Donnell is with us today. Welcome.
Brenna: Thank you for having me.
Louisa: I notice that you brought a friend with you.
Brenna: This is Rebecca Healy, my best friend and my
bodyguard. They don’t let me go anywhere alone.
Rebecca: We don't dare let her out alone. She gets into too
much trouble.
Louisa: She doesn’t look like a bodyguard.
Rebecca: I have hidden depths.
Brenna: She’s one of the most dangerous women on the planet,
an incredibly powerful telepath.
Louisa: What is the name of the book where we'll find you?
Can you tell us a little about it?
Brenna: I’m in three books, The Succubus Gift, Succubus
Unleashed, and the latest, Succubus Rising. The Succubus Gift is
about my coming of age and discovering my telepathic powers. I'm looking for
love but also trying to deal with people who want to kill me. Succubus
Unleashed is a continuation of the story. As I become comfortable with
being a succubus and integrate into the Clan, my adventures and loves make up the
story. In the third book, Succubus Rising, I have embraced my unusual
Gifts and start work as a lobbyist in Washington, seducing politicians and
influencing legislation in favor of my Clan. But really, the third book is more
about Rebecca.
Louisa: Rebecca? Can you tell us about your part in the
third book?
Rebecca: I don’t know if that’s really true. I mean, all the
books are about Brenna. Everything’s about Brenna. (Brenna sticks her tongue
out at Rebecca, and Rebecca laughs). But yeah, I have a larger part in that
book. And I finally get a guy, which is pretty cool.
Louisa: Brenna, tell us about your family. I understand
they’re quite unusual.
Brenna: That’s an understatement. My parents died when I was
eight years old and I spent the next eight years with foster families. When I
finally found my real family, I discovered my grandfather was born in 1853 and
is the most powerful telepath in the world, as well as being wildly wealthy. My
Aunt Callie is an incredibly elegant woman, a geneticist, and President of our
Clan’s businesses. She’s also a powerful telepath. Then there's all the
cousins, aunts, uncles, my other grandparents ... It was quite a shock to
discover an entire telepathic society I never knew about.
Louisa: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew
up?
Brenna: I’m not sure what I wanted to be as a child, but as
I grew older, I wanted to know why I was so different. I could read people’s
minds, and no one else could do that. I started doing research into psychic
phenomena when I was fairly young, and that led me to study Neuroscience, how
the brain works, and eventually I earned a PhD. Looking back on it, I think I
was hoping to find someone else like me.
Rebecca: You can’t imagine what it’s like to have other
people’s thoughts in your head all the time. People think it would be neat, but
you feel like a freak. Those who grow up around other telepaths take it for
granted, but for wilders like Brenna and me, it’s terrifying at times.
Louisa: And what did you want to be when you grew up,
Rebecca? Did you want to study the brain also?
Rebecca: I wanted to be a librarian. I just wanted to be
somewhere quiet.
Louisa: Brenna, are you a morning person or a night person?
Are you grumpy or cheerful when you wake up?
Rebecca cracks up laughing and Brenna
gives her a dirty look.
Brenna: I don’t sleep very much. Four hours a night is about
the max when I’m really tired. So I’m up both morning and night.
Rebecca: She’s disgustingly cheerful in the morning. She can
stay up dancing and hunting the guys until everyone else is comatose and bounce
out of bed at 6 a.m. with a smile.
Louisa: Brenna, where do you dream of traveling to, and why?
Brenna: Oh, I could pick so many places. I’d love to spend a
year seeing Europe. I think castles are neat. Bavaria for Oktoberfest, Pamplona
for the running of the bulls, festivals and art and whatever there is to see.
The major thing is I’d like to see it all without a security detail dogging my
every step.
Louisa: In mythology, a succubus is a demon who steals men’s
souls. What is the truth about being a succubus?
Brenna: I have a genetic abnormality. I drain a man’s life
energy, but don’t do any permanent damage, and definitely don’t harm his soul.
I’m actually rather religious. We receive our talents as Gifts from the
Goddess, and the succubi are Her priestesses. We act as a conduit of men's
offerings to Her.
Rebecca: And the men love it.
Louisa: What do you know about your author's plans? Can we
expect to see you in any future stories?
Brenna: Well, I'm the main character in the first two books,
and also in the third book, but like I said, the third book is really more
about Rebecca. BR has promised a fourth book about me sometime this year, but
it might be even longer than that. After that, I think I'll take a break for a
while. There are a lot of stories about the Telepathic Clans through the
centuries, and I think some of them might be told.
Rebecca: In spite of what some people think, the world isn't
just about Brenna. Some of the rest of us might get a shot while she's on
vacation. I have a small part in a new paranormal mystery that BR is writing,
and I hear there’s a YA/NA story about a Valkyrie going to school at Oxford
university. I think there’s more stories than time to write them.
*
* *
The Succubus Gift,
Book 1 of the Telepathic Clans Saga
BR Kingsolver
Genre: Urban
Fantasy/Paranormal Romance (Adult/New Adult)
ISBN: 9781476406077
ASIN: B007X7POWW
Number of pages: 240
Word Count: 85,000
Cover Artist: Rebecca
Sinz
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available on Apple iTunes book store
Book
Description:
The history of the Clans, called the Sidhe by the Irish, stretches back to antiquity. The Goddess blesses Her people with 25 Telepathic Gifts. In addition to Telepathy, the Gifts include command over Air and Fire, Telekinesis and Teleportation. In over 2,500 years, She has never bestowed more than 15 Gifts on a single person.
Brenna Morgan was orphaned at eight when her parents were killed in a plane crash. Through one foster home after another, she carried the ornate, carved wooden box her mother had left with her, keeping it always a secret. Then one night she stumbles over a man who claims her as family.
Brenna’s life isn’t the same after she discovers her unusual and mysterious heritage. In addition to being a telepath, Brenna learns she has the Succubus Gift.
That’s just the beginning of her problems. Someone is stalking her. Then there’s the tall, dangerous woman who shadows her and hints a Goddess has linked them. And what is she going to do with a handsome, charismatic, womanizing man she knows she should avoid?
Some days a girl just wants to pull the covers over her head and stay in bed -- with a willing young man of course.
Succubus Unleashed
Book 2 of the Telepathic Clans Saga
BR Kingsolver
Genre: Urban
Fantasy/Paranormal Romance (Adult/New Adult)
ISBN: 9780985763800
ASIN: B008EMW4Q4
Number of pages: 248
Word Count: 85,600
Cover Artist: Mia Darien
Also available on Apple
iTunes book store
Book Description:
It's not easy being a
succubus.
After a crash course in
learning about her genetic heritage, Brenna O'Donnell has discovered what it
really means to be a succubus and has learned to embrace her strange Gift. Her
major concern is whether Collin will accept her for what she is. As she adjusts
to telepathic society, others in the Clan have plans that will strip the last
of her freedom. Rival Clans still hunt succubi, and discovering their dark
motives is paramount.
The social season is
also around the corner, including events that Brenna never imagined in her
wildest dreams. The succubi, representatives of the Goddess on earth, are at
the center of an ancient worship. And if a girl is going to be the center of
attention, then obviously she needs a new dress.
Succubus Rising
Book 3 of the Telepathic Clans Saga
BR Kingsolver
Genre: Urban
Fantasy/Paranormal Romance (Adult/New Adult)
Word Count: 87,000
Book Description:
The Goddess has plans
for Brenna and Rebecca, and the Goddess has a wicked sense of humor.
Rebecca Healy is a true
wilder, growing up with no contact or knowledge of other telepaths. Discovered
by a Clan member on the streets of San Francisco, she felt like she’d hit the jackpot.
Finally, she knew what she was, or at least she thought she did.
When Brenna O’Donnell,
long-lost heir of the O’Donnell Clan, and the strongest telepath in history, is
returned to her family, she and Rebecca form a tight bond. Brenna has it all, looks,
money, power, and men falling all over her.
Rebecca isn’t jealous,
but it would be nice to find someone who would really love her and stick around
in the morning. She’s intrigued by a handsome South American general, but of
course, he has his sights set on Brenna. Carlos de Vargas wants more than love.
His Clan has its back to the wall, and they hope for an alliance with
O’Donnell. An alliance that would lead to war.
The story began in The
Succubus Gift and continued in Succubus Unleashed. In Succubus Rising,
questions are answered and new mysteries are revealed.
About the author:
I made silver and
turquoise jewelry for almost a decade, ended up in nursing school, then took a
master’s in business. Along the way I worked in construction, as a newspaper
editor, a teacher, and somehow found a career working with computers.
I love the outdoors,
especially the Rocky Mountains. I’ve skied since high school and I’ve hiked and
camped all my life. I love to travel, though I haven’t done enough of it. I’ve
seen a lot of Russia and Mexico, not enough of England. Amsterdam is amazing,
and the Romanian Alps are breathtaking. Lake Tahoe is a favorite, and someday
I’d like to see Banff in Canada.
I have a very
significant other, two cats and two Basset Hounds. I’m currently living in
Baltimore, nine blocks from the harbor, but still own a home in New Mexico that
I see too infrequently.
Twitter: @BRKINGSOLVER
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brkingsolver
Web site: http://brkingsolver.com/
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