Exclusive Interview with Author Darynda Jones
has written numerous New York Times bestsellers, perhaps the most well-known being the Charley Davidson series. Darynda has been writing for as long as she’s been able to pick up a writing implement and scribble onto paper. She has won several awards including a Golden Heart and a RITA for the first Charley Davidson book, First Grave on the Right. She took the time to Talk Nerdy With Us about her writing, much to our delight!Where did you get the inspiration for the character of Charley Davidson?
I’m not really certain. I was laying in bed one morning when she just kind of popped into my head in all her glory. If I had to compare, I think she is a little bit of Buffy, a little bit of Stephanie Plum, and a whole lot of Lorelei Gilmore. 🙂
A lot of authors skip over the little things like brushing teeth or going to the bathroom, but in your Charley Davidson books they’re often a focal point. What made you decide to give such mundane activities such a prominent role in the stories?
This made me laugh out loud! I’m not really sure. Maybe because they can be the backdrop for a funny situation? Also, just for the record, I am absolutely anal about brushing my teeth. I carry a toothbrush and toothpaste everywhere I go. That could have something to do with it.
You’ve posted on social media that you like to go to Starbucks to write. Is it awkward writing those hot-and-heavy Charley/Reyes scenes in public, or do you do that writing in a more private setting?
While I do worry about what sounds and/or faces I make while writing the hot stuff in public, I lose myself in the story, write anyway, and pray nobody records me.
Do you have certain models or actors in mind when you write your characters?
Not usually, but when I wrote a scene from First Grave when Charley was in high school, I very much had Jason Behr in mind for Reyes. He is a lovely, lovely man.
There’s a novella from Reyes’ point of view and a ninth installment of the Charley Davidson series pending. How far do you plan on taking the series?
As far as the fans and my editor will let me! The eleventh installment has sold, so at least that many, but I hope for it to continue for a while. I adore writing these stories. I don’t think I will ever tire of Charley and her antics, but when it does come to a close, I have a spinoff in mind.
Tell us about the Darklight Trilogy.
The Darklight Trilogy is my first YA Series. The first, Death and the Girl Next Door, was the second manuscript I completed, before writing the first in the Charley Davidson series. It’s about a girl whose life is irrevocably changed when the Angle of Death starts high school in her small town.
What’s the weirdest request you’ve ever gotten from a fan?
I don’t get very many weird requests, thankfully. I did have one girl doing a blog about what shoes authors wear and wanted me to take a picture of what I was wearing at that moment in time. So there’s that. I never actually saw the blog. I don’t think it was a big hit.
What’s the weirdest gift you’ve ever gotten from a fan?
I get some amazing stuff. Charley fans are the best! One reader sent me the skull of a lizard of some kind. Some would find that weird. I found it beyond awesome.
Do you have any new series/stories brewing outside the Darklight and Charley Davidson universes?
Always! I am working on two for my agent and hope to get one finished before the end of the year. Oddly enough, one is historical YA and has the usual paranormal elements, but one is straight historical fiction. I’m so excited about both of them!