Hi guys! I’m knee deep into the first draft for Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down, but I thought I’d check in and answer a few questions on any behind the scenes or storyline bits and pieces I can part with. So now’s your chance. Post your questions here in the comments, or feel free to drop me a private message through the “contact Lisa” link. I can probably be persuaded to answer lingering questions about character backgrounds or unsolved mysteries, and possibly some spoilers on the next book, as well as any questions you might have on the behind the scenes process I have while writing the series. I’ll address the questions I get in an upcoming blog post.

Hi Guys! I am off and running with Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down, but I thought you might like a little taste of Miss Me for those of you who haven’t picked it up yet. This takes place at Anja’s parents’ place for Thanksgiving Dinner.

The whole time I descended the stairs I recited a feverish plea to the gods to let it be someone else standing on the other side of the door, but there Jakob stood, larger than life, dressed in an elegant gray suit and topcoat. “What are you doing here?” I hissed, stepping out beside him and pulling the door closed behind me.

“I’m embracing human customs. Isn’t that what you asked for?” he beamed, too pleased with himself for his own good. “You look lovely as always, petal.”

“I didn’t mean here! Those are my parents inside.”

“Exactly the reason I’ve come. I know my duty.”

“Your duty?” Why did that make the hairs on the back of my head stand at attention? What was he up to?

“Anja?” My father pulled the door out of my hand, his eyes settling expectantly on me with his best what the heck is going on look.

“Daddy, this is Jake. He’s my, um…”

“Lover,” Jake supplied glibly, an easy smile on his face as if he’d remarked upon the weather.

I stared at him stupidly, sputtering on the inside before I could make the words tumble out. “I am not! We’ve never… Daddy, I swear he’s not my…” I couldn’t even say the word.

“We haven’t shared certain physical intimacies, but make no mistake, I intend to make you mine in all ways.” The man had no shame in such a public declaration in front of my father, of all people.

Oh no… I wanted to crawl into a hole and pull the dirt in after me when I saw the bulge of my father’s eyes. “Daddy, I…”

“All is well, petal. Your father is a man of the world, he understands such things well enough,” Jakob declared confidently, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’ve brought surety so there will be no doubt my intentions are honorable.”

The mind boggled.

“Perhaps we’d better bring this inside.” My father suggested after an uncomfortable silence, turning to go up the stairs to the main living area.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Jakob snapped his fingers, and Gunnar and Isak appeared at the end of the walk, arms laden with packages.

“What is that stuff?” I whispered.

“Is it not customary to bring gifts?”

“That’s Christmas, not Thanksgiving.”

“Ah, forgive me the blunder. I mean to pay my respects to your family.”

New Anja book, so time for a new dream casting post. As you know, I ALWAYS cast these suckers in my head when I’m in the process of writing, so I thought I’d share my picks for how I see the characters in my head. I’ll include Jakob, Rob and Anja as a refresher, but you can see the rest of the cast from my last dreamcasting posts here:

Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down
Find Me When the Sun Goes Down

Anja Evans: Teresa Palmer – So I hadn’t cast a female lead as a blonde before, but since it went with the Viking ancestry link for this series, I decided to try something new. I like Teresa Palmer because she can play innocence well, but you get the feeling like she could seriously kick a little ass once she comes into her own. (see her with a shotgun in Warm Bodies)

Jakob: Alexander Skaarsgard – Okay, so I’m typecasting a little here, but who else can you picture as a Viking with flowing blonde hair? Well, maybe the guy from Thor, but he was the wrong type for this role, knowing what’s coming ahead. I couldn’t find a good picture of him with long hair that didn’t look kinda derpy though.

Rob: Jason Statham – Rob is a character I borrowed from my True Blood fanfic, and I pictured him as Handsome Rob from The Italian Job at the time and the name just stuck. He looks like he could hold his own against a vampire and I just love his voice with the accent.



Leila: Summer Glau – Okay, remember on Firefly in The Shindig when Badger held most of the crew of Serenity in the cargo hold while they waited for Mal to finish his business (duel) on Persephone and River came out and greeted him with a passable version of his own accent? That’s the voice I heard in my head when I wrote Rob’s sister, Leila.

Gunnar (left) and Isak (right) – When I started to think about two bodyguards who were close in height and size and physical characteristics, these two guys from Dude Where’s My Car popped into my head and sorta stuck there.

Terry Byrne: Jeremy Piven – Let me just start out by saying I love me some Jeremy Piven. I think he’s funny and he’s got a great smile. But when I needed a mental image for the slimy politician he just slid in there and embodied the role in my mind.



Jenessa: Rosamund Pike – She’s so classically beautiful, I can see why a vampire would turn her. Love her accent, and it’s easy to see her getting along with both Anja and Bishop, trying to become a peacemaker between them.




Marcus: Chris Pine – I started off with a completely different actor in mind to play the charismatic candidate for Elder of the West, but as soon as he started talking, Chris Pine edged him out.




Frost: Joe Flanigan – I wanted someone who could play the laid back type in tactical gear, a contrast to Bishop’s tightly wound devotion and Mason’s gung ho attitude to the Order





We’ll have a bunch of new characters in the next one (hopefully not so many it becomes confusing) so the dreamcasting for Follow Me When the Sun Goes Down should be fun.

I’m thinking of doing a Q&A for Anja’s world. So start thinking up any behind the scenes type questions you might have for me. I might even give up some spoilers.