I can’t last much longer. It’s been one week, three days, and I forget how many hours.
My belly cramps, and I curl on my bed, staring out at the stars. A delicious breeze glides through my window and cools my sweaty forehead. The air smells of summer–mowed grass, recent rain, lingering barbecue–and tempts me more than I want to admit. Shards of moonlight and shadow shift on the wall. I clench my teeth and toes and try to ride out the pain. My bedroom drifts counterclockwise, and I shut my eyes.
It can’t be good for me, not shapeshifting.
Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.
When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate–into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and–most importantly–stay alive.
Please welcome fellow Flux debut author Karen Kincy for a special edition of the Friday Five. I’ve known Karen ever since I started blogging on LiveJournal at the start of 2007. She is young, talented, and dedicated to her craft. I’m happy to see her launch her career with a book like Other – I read some of a much earlier version years ago, and I can’t wait to see what it has become. I’d like to bill this as Karen vs. Kaz, just for a bit of drama, but it’s not like that at all. *g*
Ladies and gentleman, I give you… Karen Kincy! (Stick around until the end for a giveaway, too.)
Karen Kincy
1) First of all, everyone LOVES hearing about an author’s Path to Publication. Please tell us about yours, and don’t leave out any of the juicy (i.e. difficult) bits. 
My path to publication involved (1) writing a manuscript (2) querying (3) getting rejected (4) writing a better manuscript (5) rinse and repeat. Sending out query letters was rather exciting, like gambling on slot machines. Losing over and over again wasn’t as bad as the several close calls I had, which tantalized me with their nearness. When I finally hit the jackpot, and my editor at Flux, Brian Farrey, wanted Other, I joined forces with my literary agent, Sara Crowe, who negotiated the best possible deal for me. For the curious: yes, Brian was the only editor I queried, since I was trying to sign with a literary agent first. Publishing works in mysterious ways!
2) What made you want to write about a girl who is half-pooka in OTHER? It’s different and cool, so tell me more!
I had read one too many books about a human girl too busy falling for some hunky paranormal dude to have a life of her own, so I decided to write about a girl who was paranormal herself. And she sure wasn’t going to be a vampire, werewolf, or other undead that had been done to death. Though I do have a soft spot for shapeshifters. Gwen being half-pooka only seemed natural, since I hadn’t really seen that many pookas before, and loved the idea of a shapeshifting spirit that’s sometimes mischievous, sometimes malicious. Gwen, of course, does have her human side to temper her wilder pooka urges.
3) OTHER has a real mixture of supernatural/paranormal races in it. Was it hard to balance writing about pooka, werewolves, dryads and Japanese fox-spirits? How did you approach the process, and did you have to do a lot of research?
I did do a lot of research for each of the paranormal creatures—or, as I dubbed them, Others. Rummaging through books of folklore and myth solidified my desire to write about diverse Others from around the world. They mingle in an America where everybody knows they exist, but not everybody is sure they like that fact. I had great fun mixing different Others together, like Gwen befriending a dryad (tree spirit from Greece) or having her own prejudices and preconceptions about werewolves.
4) I think that covers are very important, and once again Flux have come up with a brilliant one for OTHER! Can you share any info on the design process? Did you have any input?
Flux asked me what covers I liked/didn’t like, as well as if I had any ideas. I may have gone overboard, since I compiled a long list and commented on each of the covers, then slapped together a mockup cover for Other in Photoshop. If I recall correctly, I asked for Gwen in the image, a forest background, and no curly font that looked too much like a pure romance novel. The art department at Flux took my suggestions and ran with them, stunning me with the final design. I’ve definitely gotten a lot of compliments on it since!
5) What are you working on at the moment? I know there’s a sequel/companion novel in the works, and I think you have a 3-book contract with Flux. Will they all be set in the world of OTHER?
Yes, Other is the first of three novels in the Other series. Next up: Bloodborn, a companion book/sequel coming out fall 2011, starring Brock, a guy who hates and hunts werewolves until he gets bitten by one himself and becomes a bloodborn werewolf. Ingredients of Bloodborn: angst about identity, running from police hot on the werewolves’ tails, and a tangled romance with a girl who broke up with Brock but discovers he’s changed in more ways than one. A year after that, there will be Foxfire, which focuses on the Others of Japan, particularly the fox-spirits known as kitsune.
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Sounds awesome! I can’t wait to read the next books. 
***GIVEAWAY***
Karen has very generously offered to mail a signed copy of OTHER to one lucky winner.
To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below letting us know what your favourite type of ‘Other’ (supernatural being/race) is… Comments will be closed at the end of the day Friday, 9th July – with the winner announced shortly after. Giveaway is open to all.
**Giveaway closing date extended to Monday, 12th July**
Get commenting, and thanks again to Karen!
OMG I WANT IT! It’s so pretty! Flux DOES have the best covers! (lol, but since you know I just went to ALA… it’s probably unfair of me to even enter!)
So my favorite kind of “Other” is faeries
(And no I’m not sucking up to you guys! They are actually my favorites, have been ever since I discovered Holly Black wayyy back when TITHE came out!)
Any non-wolf shifter. Not that wolves are bad, but if we’re going to talk about favorites.
Particularly large cats. I love large cats, lions in particular. But that’s not a group of shifters you see done very often. Though the female lions being the hunters and protectors of their species you’d think it would be a perfect match for urban fantasy.
I like them all! I honestly can’t think of any one I prefer over another. It’s the story that matters most, and since I tend to be drawn to things that are new or that I haven’t seen done before, it could just be that my favourite ‘other’ is the one I don’t know anything about yet.
If that makes any sense.
I don’t know much of anything about pookas, so they fall into this category right now.
My favorite ‘Others’ are dragons who shift into humans; loved them since reading The Dragon DeleSangre years ago.
Like someone else said before me, I like non-wolf shifters the best. My favorite is were-ferrets. I have only read one story with a ferret changer, but maybe they will grow in popularity!
Thanks!
Katie
Oh, well, that’s easy! A nagini! (A female naga, or half-snake, half-human.)
ooh a contest! awesomness!
werewolves!!!!! there the best!
I really like the shapeshifters
but especially feline shapeshifters
Oooh! I’ve been waiting for “Other” to be released! There has been much talk around the blogosphere and word has it that this is going to be a great read! Congratulations Karen!
My favorite type of “other” is the werewolf. Not the mean ‘n nasty kind, but the HOT, caring, protective, HOT, muscled, kind that you would find in great paranormal romance. A were like Vane Kattalakis from Sheryilyn Kenyond “Night Play!
Have a great day every one!
Kate (aka YzhaBella’s BookShelf)
mleger0546(@)rogers(.)com
Wow, Other sounds really cool. I’m not sure I’d known much about it before this, other than that it was about a pooka (or half-pooka, as it may be).
Shapeshifters (any kind) are still the ones who have my heart.
Kaz K, I love how you include international paranormal creatures!
So I’d love to read about the kitsune, mainly because I can’t remember reading about them before. Educate me, Wise One! 
This is unoriginal, but I do really love werewolves, I think because I always secretly wished I could be one!
I can’t wait to read Other – thanks for running this giveaway!
Don’t enter me in your drawing, Kaz, since I won recently.
But I wanted to say how much I enjoyed the intereview and congratulations to Karen. I can’t wait to read Other!
Nice interview, I’ve been waiting to read Other for some time now so I’m really excited to see all these contests going on!! It’s tough to get these books in the UK. I think that wolves and witches are my favourite kind of OTHER.
Thank you for the contest!
Awesome interview. Loved the cover, and the book sounds great!
As for my favourite ‘other’…well, it’s too hard to choose. They’re all great in their own way, and even better when written convincingly.
My favorite paranormal creature is a shapeshifter, specifically one that turns into any sort of cat. I love cats.
What a great interview and a great a contest!
I like shifters the best, especially non-wolfy ones.
Thanks,
Angela
I was so sad to miss Karen’s signing at ALA =( I’m dying to read Other!!!
My fave type of “Other” varies… I love faeries, dragons, and I also like Valkyries =)
Ooooh I’m so excited to read Other! I love shapeshifters and I think this book is going to be great and refreshing. Can’t wait to read about Gwen!
Thanks for a chance to win!
Other sounds like an amazing read! Count me in! Oh, and my favorite supernatural being…? That’d have to be shapeshifters; no contest.
Best,
Rachel
My favorite other? Geesh that’s so difficult! As usual I can’t just name one: there’s a recently discovered love of werewolves, but I’m a big fan of werecats (jaguars, leopards, lions, tigers, etc.) too; I love the huge variety of fae from the gruesome and wicked, to the helpful and ingenious, to the ruthless and devastatingly beautiful. I love all the various spirits & creatures in eastern folklore (from Europe – a la Romania, Russia, Poland, etc. – to the middle eastern & Asian countries). Cripes, can I just change my answer to “all of them!”?
Oh, that sounds like an awesome story. My favorite other (as much as I like vampires) are the were creatures. I’m not really sure what kind though. Wolves are pretty close to my heart though.
What a cool concept, and SO different! I actually love shifters in general. My latest addiction has been Moira Rogers e-books. Werewolves, but MUCH more mature than some. LOL
I have a Polish background (great grandparents) and I never thought of looking into their legends. I just keeping picturing little old ladies with high pitched voices (my grandma- *snort*) Thanks for a cool interview.
Hoping ‘Other’ will be in Australia ASAP!!
My favorite Other would have to be….
Well, I’m guessing superheroes don’t count at all, so I’m going to say,
The SwaneManes from Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake Series.
The full blooded SwaneManes have feathers instead of hair and they seem so very poetic to me.
Thanks so much for the interveiw and the giveaway! ^-^*
You’re awesome!
My favourite kind of ‘Others’ are kelpies. What can I say, the idea of beautiful Gaelic horses luring people to their deaths appeals to me… it probably shouldn’t
I have a thing for werewolves….they are so sexy ! xD
But any book with “others” is great for me. I just love paranormal
I like vampires. I’m not sure why.
I think my concept of “others” was originally limited to werewolves. And then as I have been reading more I realized that there were so many possibilities. I think that is why I want to read “OTHER” – just to see how Karen Kincy explores the world/possibilites. However, I think if I was wanting to create some kind of other it would be something “cat-like”.
That’s a tossup between various shapeshifters–there are so many varieties, including the ones I made up.
I think my favourite kind are the Cait Sidhe (Cat Shee), who are witches or fey depending on who you ask. They’re from Scottish folklore (and some Irish as well). Basically, they’re witches/fey that can transform into a black cat with a white spot on its breast. Not that exciting, but I like them enough to have written about them and fleshed out the mythology a bit. The Cu Sidhe (same thing, except they’re dogs) are also fascinating but freak me out–I read some scary stories about them as a kid. With illustrations.
How fun! I do so love this cover. My fav Other has to be the fae. In any form. I love their witty cruelty and smarts. Very cool. And I might be partial to skinwalkers (a la Mercy Thompson) cause Mercy is so DANG cool.
This book sounds fantastic, I love that the shifting element is different from other stuff out there, and the whole “coming out” bit.
I really can’t chose a favourite supernatural type of other. I love vampires, but only when they are creepy. Shifters, especially Rachel Vincent’s cats and Ilona Andrews’ lion. Oooh and Fae, because there is usually a great political element to those stories, with the Courts etc.