LoveVampires. The Website Dedicated to Vampire Fiction - with vampire book reviews, information and author interviews.

J. R. Ward Interview & Bibliography

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series (in reading order)

• Dark Lover - Reviewed by LoveVampires
• Lover Eternal - Reviewed by LoveVampires
• Lover Awakened - Reviewed by LoveVampires
• Lover Revealed - Reviewed by LoveVampires
• Lover Unbound - Reviewed by LoveVampires
• Lover Enshrined - Reviewed by LoveVampires
• Lover Avenged - Reviewed by LoveVampires
• Lover Mine (2010)

The Fallen Angels

• Covet: A Novel of the Fallen Angels - Reviewed by LoveVampires

Related Work

• The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide - Reviewed by LoveVampires
• The Story of Son (Dead After Dark anthology) - Reviewed by LoveVampires

LoveVampires Interview With J. R. Ward

J.R. Ward on the Black Dagger Brotherhood (tell us about the Brothers)

OMG where to start!  They are a group of warrior vampires who serve and protect their race against the Lessening Society (which is tasked with eliminating the vampire population.)  The Brothers are not perfect.  They are very alpha.  They are sexy as hell.  And the books focus on the Brothers's relationships with each other and their mates.

You were already an established romance author (writing under the name of Jessica Bird) before you moved into to paranormal romance.  What motivated the change and gave you the inspiration for the Black Dagger Brotherhood?

Well, it was time for a change… and Wrath showed up in my head!  True to form, he took over and BOOM! there were all the Brothers and their stories.  I outlined DARK LOVER, wrote the first three chapters, and did the overview of the whole series in two weeks.  The scenes were just that vivid and undeniable.  I worked around the clock for those 14 days- it was an incredible experience.  I just had to get what I saw out.  So I guess you could say Wrath is my inspiration.

What were the biggest writing challenges and obstacles you faced when making the change to paranormal romance?

Actually, it was liberating.  My voice is better suited to more raw and dark content and the pictures in my head drove the stories.  The challenges have remained the same- my job is to get what I see down on the page in such a way that readers find it vivid and engaging.  That is true no matter what sub-genre I'm in.  I will say, that my true love is paranormals.

When you first started writing DARK LOVER did you ever expect that the BDB series would achieve the huge following that it has now?

NO!  God, I was afraid no one would get it.  I mean, the mating ceremony in the first book involves the hero getting the heroine's name carved in his back.  I was worried the stuff was just too out there- but I had made an agreement with myself when I started drafting Wrath's book: I would be faithful to what I saw and throw all the rules and regs out the door.  I never would have predicted that so many other people would find the Brothers as compelling as I do.  I am very grateful, however!

Your writing has an amazing ability to provoke strong emotions and reactions from your readers.  In particular, reactions to LOVER UNBOUND range from readers who raved about it to people who were extremely upset about the ending – how do you feel when fans express that you haven’t written the story they wanted to read?

Well, I can understand and respect where they're coming from.  I have things that I wish happened in the books also.  The thing is, the stories run themselves.  I have no control over them and the best I can do is just represent what I see.  There have been a couple of instances where I've tried to determine plotlines or outcomes or scenes, and the instant I try and muscle anything, the voices in my head dry up.  So I know how readers feel when they say they wished something had ended differently, but I have no input when it comes to stuff like that.

In your latest novel LOVER ENSHRINED you write about Phury whose feelings of inadequacy have lead to drug addiction and left him a vampire on the brink of self destruction.  Was it hard to turn this difficult subject matter into the background of a romance?

It's just what it was.  So I didn't have any choice.  I'd known all along where Phury was headed and the dark places his addiction was going to take him- I also knew that he was going to get out of it though.  His redemption, like his twin Zsadist's, is all the more compelling for the depths of his strife.

All of the Brothers have complex personalities and have had their own personal challenges to overcome.  Whose story has been the hardest for you to write?

They're all hard, in different ways.  Some, like Z's LOVER AWAKENED, have a lot of tragic things go down in them- and it effects me.  The Brothers and their shellans are real to me and seeing people you care about going through hell?  How can it not screw with your head and your heart.  Other books, like Butch's LOVER REVEALED, are very tricky because there are a lot of different plotlines to balance.  Finally, there's the V sitch- LOVER UNBOUND was the worst writing experience I've ever had.  He and I have never gotten along and getting his story on the page was like pulling teeth.  I stand by the book, and I'm proud of it, but it nearly killed me.

What can you tell us about LOVER AVENGED, the next book in the BDB series?

LOVER AVENGED is Rehv's story- it focuses on him, his shellan and the Brothers.  As he is half symphath, that whole subspecies also comes into play.

How many novels are you planning to write in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series?

It started out with ten books, but now, with so many other folk coming on board, it's open ended.  As long as I get more pictures and see more people, and I'm able to, I'm going to keep going with it.

You have a BDB series companion (The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide) due out in October - what can fans expect it to contain?

The Insider's Guide is just that- it's got a ton of commentary by me on the books, new interviews with the Brothers, a long story featuring Z and Bella, and a section for writers which includes the actual proposal for the Brotherhood series that went to my publisher back in… jeez, must have been 2004.  I'm really excited about all the secrets and the insights and special extras- I think readers are going to enjoy them!

The BDB universe is huge - do you have plans to write any spin off novels and would they be in the romance genre? 

I'm busy with the Brothers and I have another paranormal series I'm starting to write in November- so right now my plate is full.  But I wouldn't rule out spin offs.

What are you currently working on?

Right now I'm all about Rehvenge.  I've just started his book, LOVER AVENGED, which is due out in May '09.  Going to be one bumpy ride, let me tell you- but I wouldn't expect anything else from him! 

Which authors and books have had the most influence on you as a writer?

Hmm.  Well, I can tell you who I like.  To be honest, no one influences me in terms of content- the pictures in my head rule that realm- and my voice is my voice so there's nothing to sway there.  I love Suzanne Brockmann, Lisa Gardner, my critique partner, Jessica Andersen.  I like them because in their work they all have mainstream voices, fast pacing and a ton of credible surprises.  I can't say enough good things about Christine Feehan- I don't read her work because I don't read other vampire authors for the most part- but she is an amazing person and friend and writer.  Love Stephen King.  Sue Grafton.  Elizabeth Lowell.  I don’t have a lot of time to read so I'm choosey- but those authors I like I'm very loyal to.

I feel mean asking you - it’s like asking a mother which is her favourite child - but do you have a favourite Brother?  Who is he and why?

Zsadist.  I love them all, but he's my favourite because he's just too compelling for words.  He's just… amazing.  When you think about the torture he endured, and then think of how far he came, it's just arresting.  Plus he's off the chain hot.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I'm a runner!  I love to run.  Other than that I like to write.  The thing is, I'm actually quite boring.  It's what's in my head that's interesting!

Who is your favourite fictional vampire and why?

Bram Stoker's Dracula- played by Frank Langella in that 1970's or '80's film version.  Langella brought that bad boy sexiness to the role- he was dangerous and irreverent and hot.  So that's my favourite!

A big "thank-you" to J. R. Ward for taking part in the LoveVampires author interview. Visit J.R's website for more information about the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.
1st June 2008