A Bigtime world

There's more to Bigtime, New York, than just superheroes and ubervillains. Here's a look at some of the city's major landmarks and attractions:

Bigtime Bay: The Atlantic Ocean cuts into the middle of Bigtime, forming this bay. The bay's waters are calm and shallow for the most part, making it the perfect place to come for a swim or a day of sailing. Some of the city's rich citizens have vacation homes on the islands in the middle of the bay. Others just like to fish off the enormous dock or visit the maritime museum housed on the shore.

Bigtime Cemetery: It's the major cemetery in the city, located next to Paradise Park. Many fallen heroes and villains are buried in its hallowed ground.

Bigtime Convention Center and Orchestra Hall: Home to the city's symphony and the site of many a society gathering. It's also where the out-of-towners come for a variety of conventions, meetings, etc.

Bigtime Museum of Modern Art: The museum is the crowning jewel of art and culture in Bigtime. More than a few ubervillains have tried to break into the museum to steal some of its priceless works of art, but none have been successful. So far.

Bigtime Observatory: Located on the outskirts of Bigtime, it's the highest point in the city. This museum dedicated to all things star-related and sits on top of a hill, along with the domed building that houses the observatory's powerful telescope and other sensitive, scientific equipment. The observatory is also connected to a nature center and park, where folks can get up close and personal with smaller, woodsy animals, like owls, otters, and foxes. A manmade river flows alongside the observatory, forming a waterfall and small lake before making its way towards Bigtime Bay.

Bigtime Public Library: The information center of Bigtime, the library takes up its own square city block in the heart of downtown. The marble building houses hundreds of thousands of books, magazines, newspapers, and more.

Bigtime Police Station: The center of police operations in Bigtime. Superheroes like Granny Cane often bring in muggers, burglars, and other criminals to the station.

Brilliance: The home of whiskey billionaire Berkley Brighton, this enormous mansion sits on a hill and offers a spectacular view of Bigtime Bay. It features an Olympic-sized hot tub, three tennis courts, and two helicopter pads. And that's just on the roof.

Bryn's Bakery: This sweets shop is the place to go if you're in the mood for doughnuts, cinnamon buns, or other yummy pastries.

The Chronicle and The Exposé: The city's two competing newspapers. Both daily publications are housed in gleaming skyscrapers downtown, and their respective staffs are always trying to out-scoop each other.

Fiona Fine Fashions: This store houses the couture creations and design lines of fashion designer Fiona Fine. The store features slick white marble falls and floors – all the better to show off Fiona's colorful couture clothes.

Good Intentions Lane: Don't let the name fool you. Good Intentions Lane is about ten miles past the wrong side of the tracks. It's one of the most crime-ridden streets in Bigtime, and the city's superheroes constantly struggle to clean out the gangs and other riffraff who populate the area.

Jewel's Jewel Emporium: As its name suggests, Jewel's is the premier jewelry store in the city. If you want something that sparkles, you go to Jewel's to get it.

Laurel Park: A relatively small area, Laurel Park caters to families and senior citizens who like walk the trails and feed the pigeons that populate the grassy lawns.

Oodles o' Stuff: The city's shopping center. The mall of malls. The store of stores. You can find anything you want in the mutli-storied building, from shoes to clothes to makeup to consumer electronics. Superheroes, in particular, love the store because of the deep discounts it offers them. In return, the superheroes try to keep their building-leveling fights away from the historic structure. Ubervillains also shop at the store, which is one of the few places in the city considered to be neutral territory.

Paradise Park: With a zoo, carousel, carnival rides, and concession stands galore, Paradise Park is one of Bigtime's major tourist attractions. Thousands of people visit it each day, and the park never closes, not even on Christmas. It's also the site of fan events where regular folks can meet and greet their favorite superheroes.

Quicke's: You'll almost always find a few heroes and villains dining at this restaurant, which is neutral territory and a shrine to all things superhero and ubervillain. Posters, action figures, and plush toys of heroes and villains decorate the inside of the restaurant, which also has some of the best food in the city.

The Skyline Bridge: This massive bridge spans Bigtime Bay and connects one side of the city to the other. Constructed from solidium cables, the bridge has withstood many a superhero-ubervillain battle over the years.

Sublime: Sublime, owned by billionaire Sam Sloane, is the largest home in Bigtime. It has a couple hundred spacious rooms full of pricey antiques, art collections, and more. The manor could house an army of people and has been the scene of several society benefits.

Superhero News Network: The round-the-clock TV station is dedicated to, you guessed it, all things superhero. From in-depth profiles to the latest action-figure and video-game releases, the station covers everything that has anything to do with superheroes. Sometimes, they even read the latest diatribes and demands from ubervillains like Mad Maria, Noxious, or Caveman Stan. But the station gets its biggest ratings from its live coverage. At least once a day, the anchor goes out to star reporter Kelly Caleb live on the scene of an ongoing superhero/ubervillain battle.

Bigtime frequently asked questions

Question: What are the Bigtime books about?

Answer:The Bigtime books are set in Bigtime, New York – a city full of superheroes, ubervillains, and other larger-than-life characters. The books are classified as paranormal romance, and they're basically female-centered comic books without the art.

Question: Why does each Bigtime book focus on a different heroine?

Answer: Writing about a different heroine every time lets me explore different perspectives on superheroes and ubervillains. Some of the heroines are superheroes; some aren't. Some have superpowers; some don't.

For example, in the first book Karma Girl, the heroine is Carmen Cole – who finds her superhero fiancé cheating on her with her best friend, who turns out to be an ubervillain. Carmen is a woman scorned. She has quite a different perspective on superheroes than Fiona Fine, the heroine of the second book Hot Mama, who moonlights as Fiera, a member of the Fearless Five. To Fiona, being a superhero is something she's honor-bound to do.

Bella Bulluci, the heroine of the third book, Jinx, has hates superheroes and ubervillains because of the nights she spent waiting up and worrying about her superhero father. Plus, there's her superpower – luck, which can either be good or bad. Bella has a different point of view than Abby Appleby, the heroine of Nightingale, the proposed fourth book in the series ... And so on and so on.

Writing about different heroines also lets me expand my world, add new characters (including more sexy superheroes), and take readers to new places in Bigtime. Overall, I think having different heroines keeps my writing and the Bigtime books fresh and interesting. I hope readers agree.

Question: Why write the books in first person? I like third person books better.

Answer: Because I'm the writer, that's why. Seriously, the first-person style of writing is the one that comes the easiest to me. It just feels natural, and the words just flow.

Plus, I love the intimacy you get with first person – you can really get inside the main character's head and discover what makes her tick, her hopes, her dreams, and her deepest, darkest fears and desires. And it's easier for me to be funny in first person. I'm a big fan of self-deprecating humor.

Admittedly, you don't get to see as much of the hero's point of view when you're writing in first person, but my books are really about a woman's journey and discovering what makes her strong, special, and unique. I think the first-person point of view helps me do that better than third person.

I may write books in third person someday, but for right now, I'm sticking with first person.

Question: Why are the superheroes' and ubervillains' real identities so easy to figure out? Do you make them that way on purpose?

Answer: I make the identities extremely easy to figure out on purpose. The transparent identities are one of the many wink-wink-nudge-nudge ways I lovingly spoof the comic book genre, along with the alliterative names, campy atmosphere, and over-the-top schemes and action. Which are all the things I love about the comic book genre.

If you think the identities are too easy to figure out and border on the ridiculous, well, they do. But I have two words for you – Lois Lane. This woman is supposed to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist – one smart cookie, in other words. But she just can't seem to figure out Clark Kent is Superman, even though his big disguise is a pair of black glasses. Is the woman blind? Can she not see?

And it's not just Lois. Lots of people (Commissioner Gordon, the Batman love interests, Mary Jane Watson, etc.) never figure out the heroes' and villains' real identities in various storylines, movies, television shows, etc.

That being said, I am mixing things up a bit in future books. The identities will either be revealed sooner or will be a little trickier to figure out.

Question: Why don't you write more serious books about superheroes?

Answer: Because I like making people laugh. I like romance, danger, and drama. One reader described Karma Girl as book candy, and I think that's the perfect description for the Bigtime series in general – a sweet treat you just can't wait to gobble up.

Don't get me wrong. I like dark, gritty books as much as the next reader. But sometimes, I think we take books and ourselves way too seriously. To me, books have always been about entertainment. If I learn something along the way, that's great, but I want to be entertained first and foremost.

Then, there's the whole angst thing. I know Batman and other superheroes have issues, but isn't it exhausting to be so dark and brooding all the time? Where's the joy? Where's the fun? What good are having superpowers if you don't really like using them?

One of my favorite superhero characters is Hiro on the TV show Heroes for the fact he loves having powers. He thinks it's the coolest thing in the world. Hiro realizes he has a responsibility to use his powers for good, but he's not above smiling and letting out squeals of fanboy delight either.

That feeling, that fun, that cool factor, is what I want to capture in the Bigtime books. Hopefully, readers will agree and think my books are time and money well spent.

Question: Will there be more books in the series beyond the third one, Jinx?

Answer: I hope so. I've written a fourth Bigtime book, Nightingale, and have ideas for several more. Nightingale focuses on Abby Appleby, an event planner whose supersenses drive her supercrazy – especially when she meets Talon, a sexy superhero who uses gadgets to fight crime.

But like everything, it all comes down to sales. If the Bigtime books, especially the mass market paperbacks, sell well, my publisher will probably want more of them. If they don't, you might not see any more Bigtime books.

So, if you like the series, I hope you'll tell your friends and encourage them to try the books.