Kelley Armstrong answers our burning questions…Â Â 
1) How many books will be in the Otherworld series?
I’m currently contracted to ten. Whether there will be more depends on the readers and the publishers! I’m just about to start writing #9, so I’m reaching the end of the contract, with many more ideas still in mind.
2) Who will narrate the next book?
Bit of a trick question actually. There are two narrators. While I’ve experimented with multiple narration, it’s always been one major first-person narrator plus minor third person narration (as in No Humans Involved)Â Â This book required something different. There were two major points of view that I needed to explore and it made the most sense (creatively) to do them both in first-person. I’d done that in one of my online novellas, but never in a published novel, so I was a little worried about what my editors would say. While dual first-person narration is nothing new, 
it’s not a common form. Fortunately, they’re thrilled with the manuscript and have no issues with the narrative form.
The main narrator is half-demon Hope Adams (which usually leads to another FAQ…who is Hope?). Hope was first introduced in a novella I wrote for an anthology (Dates from Hell) . I gave her a “test run” there and enjoyed her character so much that I brought her back for No Humans Involved. She plays a major role there, which sets her up to narrate book 8, Personal Demon.
 The secondary narrator (getting about 1/3 of the book) is Lucas Cortez, who’s been in the series since book 3, Dime Store Magic. I’ve written from his point-of-view before (again, in an online novella) and really enjoyed it. So, finally, we get to hear from one of the guys!
3) What ever happened to the Bitten movie?
The movie rights to Bitten were bought in 2001, and got a lot of publicity…which probably had something to do with having Angelina Jolie signed to star! The project stalled and was 
abandoned a couple years ago. Currently no one holds movie rights to any of my books, so there won’t be movie versions any time soon.
4) When will Elena narrate again?
Elena will return. I have a backlog of narrators for the novels right now, so she’s taking a rest. But she’ll return in “guest” appearances and short stories, and will definitely get her turn at narrating a novel again if the contract is extended beyond ten.
5) Why did the series return to hardcover with No Humans Involved?
The decision to publish in a certain format (mass market, trade, hardcover) lies with the publisher. There may be writers who have some input, but I’m not one of them! The first two books (Bitten and Stolen) were initially released in hardcover, and Bitten didn’t come out in mass market paperback for three years, so I’ll admit to viewing the format change with a bit of trepidation…and a lot of hope that it goes better for me this time or my publisher may not be too quick to renew that contract!
I love Lucas, looking forward to more of that POV. And I quite liked Hope as well.
I love me some Kelley Armstrong. She is the author that started my surge into paranormal and I haven’t looked back.
Ooh! Just the kind of stuff you want to know.
I’m squeeing about Lucas being one of the narrators for the next book! I love, love, love him. 🙂
I’m in the early stages of this series, so I’m not there where most of you are discussing, but I wanted to say this, I love Kelly’s voice I feel in her books!
Yes, Lucas is fun to write. I get to drag out all my five-dollar words Some voices come easier than others, and his is one of the easiest for me.
okay I have come over here 100s of times to ask this and been sidetracked…
But I keep calling you paranormal romance, which I know ‘technical’ you’re not labeled that way.
How do you feel about readers doing that and lumping you in with us nutty romance readers? Do you think that has helped your series? Has it hurt it?
Oh and I know you aren’t here right now… but when you get back… what where you teaching today? Do you like to do conferences?
Do you always schedule them during release week *eg*.
If I have any concern about my books being called romances it’s only fear of false advertising.
If “romance” can be used to describe a book contains a strong romance subplot and a “happily enough for now” ending, then yep, that’s what I write. As a reader I like romance in my stories and I like reasonably happy endings, so you can count on that from me. I’m a member of RWA and I think it’s a wonderful organization, but I’d never be able to submit my novels for consideration for a paranormal romance RITA because their guidelines state: “In this category, the love story is the main focus of the novel, and the end of the book is emotionally satisfying.” Part two I usually meet, but part one (romance as main plot) I don’t. So I’m very aware that, if I call my books romance, I could be misleading potential readers. But if someone calls them “paranormal romance” I’m not complaining!
Today I was giving a workshop on getting published. Yes, scheduling it for a release week was not exactly a bright idea. It was part of a literacy festival, and I was asked to do it way back in the fall when I wasn’t thinking “book release time”!
As I stated before, your book, Bitten, made me fall in love with Werewolves and Jeremy has always been a huge favorite of mine. I’ve particularly loved the little things you do for fans such as the novellas. I loved, loved, loved those. Do you think that has had any impact on building your fan base?
Jane,
I have a soft spot for Jeremy, and the biggest problem has always been showing him through the eyes of others. So one of the thrills for me with No Humans Involved was bringing out the rest of his character…the parts I knew and couldn’t reveal through Elena.
Not sure how much the novellas etc do for building my fan base. If they help, great! Can’t argue with that. But I’ve played enough with marketing to know that there’s no single thing that I could do that would be guaranteed to significantly bump up my readership (okay, except maybe an Oprah book club appearance…like that’s gonna happen!) Instead, I’ve settled into doing what I want to do. I love doing the online fiction, love building my website, love interacting with readers. The stuff I don’t love doing–the pure promotion–I just don’t do anymore unless I have to. I’m happier concentrating on the readers I have and what I can do to say “thanks.” I have an absolute dream career and I wouldn’t have it without my readers. I don’t ever want to forget that.