Interview With Richelle About Pronounciations And Other Fun Stuff

Lily from Shadowkissed.com and I were discussing on Twitter about how you pronounce "dhampir". We'd heard different versions of it, and we were trying to explain how we thought it should be pronounced, which is kind of hard, since there aren't really any words like it in the English language. I of course speak Swedish as well, and in that language it would be pronounced in a different way. The question is how Rose herself pronounces it. I've heard Richelle say it in a few interviews, but I'm still trying to find them again.

Anyway, while we were debating this, Jennifer sent us a link to an interview that My Favorite Author had done with Richelle Mead, where the interviewer asked her exactly this question. This interview was done while Richelle was working on Blood Promise

MyFavoriteAuthor: What is your favorite part from the first 3 VAMPIRE ACADEMY books?
Richelle Mead: Well, my favorite part would give away too much for anyone who hasn’t read the books, but I always love it whenever Rose delivers one of her witty one-liners—particularly when it’s a completely serious situation. The contrast always amuses me, but then, I’m biased.

MFA: Who is your favorite character in the VAMPIRE ACADEMY series?
RM: Rose, of course! That’s why she’s the narrator.My favorite thing about reading the VAMPIRE ACADEMY books is how strong Rose's personality and voice are.

MFA: I read that you started writing the VAMPIRE ACADEMY series when someone suggested you write a vampire story for the Young Adult genre. Did you have any idea what you were getting into and how popular vampire stories are in YA? If you had, would it have changed your mind as to whether you wanted to give it a shot or not?
RM: I had no idea what a phenomenon it was and what it would become. If I had, it’s hard to say if I would have written it. I cringe at the thought of knowingly writing something that a lot of other people are doing, so that might have scared me off. Honestly, though, it’s impossible to say for sure what I would have done, and I really do love the story.

MFA: How do you pronounce Moroi, Strigoi and Dhampir? I'm not sure I'm saying it right in my head when I read, and it's making me crazy!
RM: Honestly, I can’t say for sure either. I’ve read and researched the names, but I’m no speaker of the language. Phonetically, I’d say: muh-ROY, struh-GOY, and dam-PEER

MFA: Since this is MyFavoriteAuthor, who are some of your favorite authors?
RM: My favorite authors don’t write in this genre at all! Marion Zimmer Bradley, who wrote historical/mythological fiction, is my all-time favorite, followed closely by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman who write fantasy and sci-fi together.

These are just a few of the questions and answers. To read the interview in its entirety, click here. It's a great interview! And it also has a couple of pictures of Richelle that I don't think I've seen before.