Interview with Jennifer Ashley
... featuring IMMORTALS: THE CALLING

Book 1 in the Immortals Series

interviewed by Tracy Zappala, Romance Designs

What was your inspiration for your new series call The Immortals?

I've had the Immortals idea for so long, it's difficult for me to say what initially inspired it. I was toying a few years ago with the idea of heroes who become immortal and who are sent to different places helping people with various problems. I was writing so many other books, though, that I never had the chance to pitch it.

Then when I learned that Dorchester was looking for another continuity series, I resurrected the concept, changed some things, solidified the characters of the heroes, and pitched the idea. Dorchester loved it and offered me a contract for the continuity series.

I then worked out more specific ideas for the magic, the world, and the main series conflict, the heroines, and the plots of each book. The only character who remained the same from the original idea was Tain, the youngest Immortal.

It wasn't so much inspiration as a long time of fantasizing then taking that and developing something concrete. I also left the book plots and heroine characters somewhat open-ended so each author could develop it as she saw it.

How did you come up with such a great group of authors to collaborate with?

It was difficult to find authors both that I loved and who had the time to contribute a book. Authors are always busy! But Robin Popp is the perfect choice for book 2, in which I envisioned a kick-butt werewolf as a heroine. Robin writes a fun action/adventure vampire series, and her style was just right for it. The third book I wanted to be Celtic, with Sidhe and stone circles and Celtic lore. Joy Nash writes Celtic historicals and again was the perfect choice.

What types of heroes can readers expect from the Immortals?

Luscious bad boys! These heroes are demigods, sons of some aspect of the mother Goddess with human fathers. They were born during the flowering of ancient civilizations-Egypt, the Etruscan civilization, Rome. They have fought long and hard and seen much, have had their hearts broken and fought for lost causes. And partied a lot.

Tell us a little bit about the first book in the series, Immortals: The Calling?

The Calling introduces the oldest Immortal, Adrian, who is searching for his long-lost brother Tain. Amber Silverthorne is a witch whose sister has just been murdered by a demon, and she's trying to figure out how and why. While she visits the scene of the crime, the demon tries to kill her, and then Adrian comes out of nowhere and saves her. Amber finds herself face-to-face with a gorgeous warrior in black leather, whose sword morphs into a cobra. Together they hunt down Tain and Amber's sister's killer, during which the larger picture of death magic beings taking over the world develops.

I did my best to keep everything focused on the story and the romance, rather than simply world-building. I built the world through the characters and the action, and early readers have already said the book is hard to put down.

What special skills does Adrian have in Immortals: The Calling?

Adrian is the oldest Immortal, the son of Isis and a priest of Amun. He has a sword that becomes a cobra, which also coils around his bicep as and becomes an armband when not needed. The snake becomes a character himself, snarky and sarcastic. Adrian can also make people not afraid of him, masking his demigod aura and calming people's minds. He can't quite do it with Amber, though; she sees right through him.

What inspired you to create the character of Amber Silverthorne our heroine in Immortals: The Calling?

For Amber I wanted a heroine who was strong enough to give Adrian back as good as she got, but not arrogant-she's been burned in love and she's lived a long time in her sister's shadow. She's a powerful witch, and it takes Adrian to bring that out of her. She's a good foil for Adrian, bringing him down to earth, and they work well as partners.

Again, it's hard to say what inspired me-my characters always start with a seed and then grow and develop and become many-layered. I think about my characters constantly (e.g., when I'm falling alseep or driving or working out), and it's hard for me to remember way back when I first had the idea!

In Immortals: The Calling, Adrian first meets Amber as she is trying to find out about her sister's murder. What type of powers do Amber have?

Amber is Wiccan and practices witchcraft. Her power is closely tied to the power of the Earth-she's best when doing stone and crystal magic, when using the magic of ley lines, and the power of the earth itself.

Each witch has an affinity with one of the elements: Amber, earth; Lexi, fire; Christine, water; Leda, air.

In your world created in Immortals: The Calling, there is death magic and life magic. Who holds the death magic? Who holds life magic?

I had fun playing around with this concept. Death magic is wielded or possessed by beings who are either dead themselves (the undead) or who feed off death. So death magic creatures are vampires, demons, zombies, banshees and the like. Life magic is the opposite-creatures who are alive or who wield life-giving magic are life-magic creatures. They include werewolves, dragons, Sidhe, merfolk, and so forth.

Witches, because they are human and not inherently magical, can choose to wield either life or death magic. Death magic is very dangerous to witches, but it is also quite powerful. Amber's sister is killed because she dabbled in death magic, and Leda, the heroine of The Gathering chooses, for reasons that will be revealed, to use some death magic.

Without giving anything away, can you tell us a what "The Calling" is?

The Calling spell is the summoning spell that "Calls" all the Immortal warriors to a place and time of trouble. A witch or group of witches are the only ones who can do the spell. Unfortunately, the spell has been lost for centuries.

Can you tell us a little about the different Goddesses that are mothers to these Immortals?

Isis is the mother goddess of Adrian. She is an ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, the moon, and motherhood, as well as the sister and wife of Osiris, the ruler of the underworld.

She is a very powerful goddess, and it was her idea to create the demigod Immortal warriors to help the fledgling Egyptian people against the forces of death magic, which at the time was very powerful. Ancient demons and vampires were extremely strong, and Isis and Adrian tried to wipe them all out. The death-magic creature that managed to survive are now known as Old Ones, and are far more powerful than modern-day demons and vampires.

Darius's goddess is Sekhmet, a goddess you don't want to mess with. She was born of the anger of Re, the first Pharoah-god, who created her as a goddess of war to punish his disobedient people. She is often shown with the head of a lion. She can be loving, but you don't want to piss her off.

Kalen's mother goddess is Uni, the goddess of the Etruscan peoples. I actually don't know much about Uni-this is Joy's area of expertise. But she was the Etruscan Goddess who eventually became Juno as the Romans took over.

Hunter's goddess is Kali. Kali might seem like a strange choice, but she is a mother goddess, a patroness of women in childbirth. She is goddess of both creation and destruction. I wanted someone a little darker and more dangerous for Hunter, who is dangerous himself, but has a big heart.

In Immortals: The Calling we meet some great secondary characters, including Sabina, Valerian, Kelly and Septimus. Can readers expect to see them in upcoming books?

Yes, all of the characters in The Calling will reappear in The Gathering. Joy and Robin have both come up with some great secondaries (watch for Ricco and Mai, Mac and Pearl), which I had the fun of writing into The Gathering.

When will we meet the other brothers-Kalen, Darius, and Hunter?

You will meet Darius (who has tattoos all over his body that change to weapons at his touch) in The Darkening by Robin Popp (June 2007). Kalen (sexy man in a kilt!) appears in The Awakening by Joy Nash (August 2007), and Hunter (a bad boy who can communicate with animals) in The Gathering by Jennifer Ashley (Sept. 2007).

How did you decide on the storyline for each of the books in the Immortals series?

I first came up with the entire arc of the series-there is a definite beginning, middle, and end. Then I did a rough storyline for each book, wanting Robin and Joy to have full rein for their individual stories. My book The Calling sets up the world and the problem, plus tells the story of Amber and Adrian. The Gathering (book 4) brings the arc story to a conclusion, as well as tells the romance of Leda and Hunter. As for how I got the individual storylines, I did that like I write all my books-I lay in bed at 5 am and just let my imagination go!

Do you have an other books your working on? When do they come out?

As always I have many, many projects going at once.

As Jennifer Ashley I'm continuing the Nvengaria series with a book about Egan McDonald, the Highlander who appears in Penelope & Prince Charming and The Mad, Bad Duke. Egan's book will be out in April 2008. I'm also developing some new books after that, which are in preliminary stages.

As Allyson James I have a paranormal dragon shape-shifter series coming out in July of 2007 from Berkley. The first is Dragon Heat. These books have absolutely nothing to do with the Immortals, different world, different characters, different problems. And I'm continuing to write erotic romance for Ellora's Cave as Allyson James.

Do you have plans to feature other characters from the Immortals world?

I am putting together an idea of a book on Tain, the youngest Immortal, whom you'll meet in the first four books.

Where can readers go to find out more about the upcoming Immortals books?

The official Immortals website is www.immortals-series.com. There you'll find information on each book and each hero, a series video, links to the myspace site (www.myspace.com/immortalsseries), and links to each author's website. I have information and links on my main site as well: www.jennifersromances.com.

To learn more about this author and the Immortals Series be sure to visit Jennifer's website at: www.jennifersromances.com