Author Interview: Veronica Rossi

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Veronica Rossi's debut novel, UNDER THE NEVER SKY, will be published in over twenty international markets, starting on January 3rd 2012 in the United States. Film rights to the trilogy have been optioned by Warner Bros.

When not writing, she chases after her boys, who make her laugh every day, and who teach her about love that's "a million gazillion times bigger than the ocean."

Are you a panster (no outline) or are you plotter?


I consider myself a plotter with serious pantser tendencies. I like to have an idea of where I'm going, but some of the best story and character moments come from veering off the plan, and I try to stay very open to those detours.

What one moment made you feel like an author? (When you got the call? When you sold it to a publisher?) What has been the highlight of your writing career?


You know, in some ways, it still doesn't feel like I'm an "author"! This has all been such a whirlwind that part of me is expecting to wake up and go, "Man! That was such a vivid dream!" But I will say that seeing the final version of the book, which just happened last week, was really, truly amazing. As for the highlight of my writing career… I was pretty darn happy to get a starred review from Kirkus. That felt great.

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it? 

Right now I'm working on revising the second book in the NEVER SKY trilogy. After that, I have Book Three, and then after that, there is a project that keeps calling to me. I've been asked not to talk about it, but I will say that I'm very excited to get to it. Someday. 

Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read? 

I love to write at my mom's house. She lives about five minutes away from me. I find that it gets me away from the chores of the house (laundry, dishes, etc.) but I still feel very comfortable there. I used to write at coffee shops a lot, but I've found that my focus is better at my mom's. 

Thanks for having me on Mission to Read, Rie!

 
 

Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY.

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Author Interview: Jill Hathaway (Slide) and Giveaway

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Jill was born and raised in Iowa. As a child, she loved paper dolls, Archie comics, and writing. In her adolescent years, she wrote emo poetry and produced paper zines that she sold for $1 in local comic book and record stores.

Having earned her BA in English from the University of Northern Iowa and her MA in Literature from Iowa State University, she now teaches high school and community college courses in the Des Moines area. She lives with her husband and young daughter.

Jill spends her free time collecting cool gear for her blood elf paladin, watching Veronica Mars, and listening to angry grrl music.

SLIDE, her debut novel, will be released from Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins in 2012.

Are you a panster (no outline) or are you plotter?


I think I'm a combination of both. On my rough drafts, I'm a pantser, but I have a definite idea of where I'm going with the story--an end point. When I'm revising, I construct an intricate to-do list of everything that I want to change about each chapter.

How did you find the design process of your cover?


I didn't really have much to do with the cover, but my editor was really great at keeping me in the loop. She sent me pictures from the photoshoot and showed me the different possible covers. In the end, I totally fell in love with my cover. It captures the mood of the book perfectly. I also really love my UK cover--in a completely different way. :)

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it?


Right now I'm revising SLIDE #2. Unfortunately, I can't reveal many details about it at this time.

Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read?


My favorite places to write are Panera (a bakery/coffee shop) and the library. I love to read in bed, all snuggled up with my iPad or--even better--a hardcover.

As a reader do you read in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal obsession?


I do read a LOT of YA. A couple of books I just devoured and loved are SLICE OF CHERRY by Dia Reeves and BETWEEN by Jessica Warman. Oh, and I can't suggest FRACTURE by Megan Miranda enough!!

Thanks for having me! :)

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

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Author Interview: Brodi Ashton and Pre-order Giveaway

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Because of two parents who were Greek myth geeks, I grew up thinking the latest fashion trends were inspired by Aphrodite, and a good conversational opener was, “So, which mythological character do you most resemble?” Despite these social shortcomings, I found a great husband who’s always my first reader. We live in Utah with our two young boys, who still have no idea why I'm at the computer all the time.

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

How did mythology help you shape this book?


I never set out to write a "Persephone retelling". Instead EVERNEATH started with one scene in my head, of a girl on her first day back at school after a long mysterious absence. It wasn't until I dug deeper into Nikki's story that I realized how much her struggles hinged on only a few bad choices. One bad choice, in fact. In this way, it reminded me of the story of Persephone, and how a rash decision to eat six pomegranate seeds impacted everything about her future. I loved the idea that sometimes, if you fall far enough, there might not be a way to go home again. Or is there?

You did an amazing job of making this book about so much more than mythology. Did you pull on life experiences to write?


Thank you! I actually did pull on a couple of life experiences, particularly from two childhood friends who, for separate reasons, disappeared from life for awhile. The first scene in the book was definitely inspired by my being a witness to each of their journeys back to the life they left behind. But that's where the similarities end! There was no mythical band of immortals to mess things up. :)

The band seemed very London (60's) band to me. Did your time living in London help you form the band atmosphere?


It definitely played a role, because to me the Dead Elvises have a foreign vibe. They are from an older world than ours, and London has that similar "older world" feel to it.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in writing this story?


Keeping the timelines straight. For someone as disorganized as myself, it was quite the undertaking, and involved a lot of color-coded sticky-notes.

The cover is beautiful. Did you have any input?


I wish I could say I had some creative input, but really all I offered up was a hearty, "I love it!"

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it?


I'm currently revising the sequel to EVERNEATH. To tell your readers about it would be to possibly give away some spoilers from the first book, so I won't go into detail. Suffice it to say that when it comes to Nikki getting what she wants, nothing can stop her. Which means she is in a different place mentally and emotionally than she was at the beginning of EVERNEATH.

Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read?


Earlier this year, I designed my little study. It has a white desk, two lamps, and a space heater. I do all my writing there, so there aren't as many distractions. As for reading, I'll read anywhere. Anytime.

As a reader do you read in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal obsession?


You know, I tend to stay away from too much paranormal when I'm on deadline, but I recently read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Tayler, and it was pretty brilliant.

Thanks so much for having me!!

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Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

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Author Interview: Ellen Potter (The Humming Room)

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Ellen Potter (born 1973) is an American author of both children's and adult's books (as Ellen Toby-Potter). She grew up in Upper West Side, New York and studied creative writing at Binghamton University and now lives in Candor in upstate New York. She has been a contributor to Cimarron Review, Epoch, The Hudson Review, and Seventeen. Her novel Olivia Kidney was winner of the Child Magazine Best Book award and was a Best Book of the Year selection for 8-12 year-olds by Parenting magazine.

What made you want to be a writer? What was one of your first stories about?



I’ve always loved to read, and reading great books made me itchy to write one. I started to write stories when I was seven or eight. They were almost always about horses. Growing up in NYC, I had zero opportunity to ride a horse, so I “rode” them fictionally. Those early stories were shameless rip-offs of Black Beauty, and the heroine always looked suspiciously like me.

Tell me about one of your typical writing days...what are your routines? Favorite places to read, write. Music? post it notes over every possible surface?



I write about 2 to 3 hours a day (more when I’m getting close to the end or when I’m revising). When I’m not physically tapping out my story on the keyboard, I am often thinking about it on long walks. Creating a story is nearly equal parts writing and thinking-while-not-writing.

I’m sort of a low-maintenance writer. I’m not fussy about where I write—on my couch, in a café, in a waiting room. I can work with music or in silence. I do have lots of Post-Its all over the place but I recently got the Scrivener software, and that has helped me to cut down on my Post-It consumption.

-How active do you think you are in the book blogging community and how has it treated you? Do you have much interaction with your readers?

Fairly active. I do most of my blogging on the Spilling Ink website with my Spilling Ink co-author Anne Mazer. We mostly write about . . . what else . . . the writing life.
Are there specific reasons you chose to write in this genre?

Kids are the best and most terrifying audience out there. They are in it for the story, pure and simple, and they pay a lot of attention. You have to constantly be on your toes when you write for kids, and your pacing has to be pretty impeccable.

I personally love the style of cover art on your upcoming release - How did that cover art process go for you?



The artist is Jason Chan and he also did the cover art for my book The Kneebone Boy. I have to say that I am smitten with his work. It is so haunting and dreamy. He captures things in my characters that even I hadn’t noticed!


What is your current WIP (Work in Progress) if you have one? Do tell, do tell.


I’m working on a series for younger kids. Much fun to write!

And the most IMPORTANT question you will ever answer *drumroll please*
 What are your thoughts and feelings on the Amazingly Delicious - Canned Not quite Meat - SPAM?



Weird as it may sound, I have never, ever eaten SPAM, although I’m sure it is spectacular.

Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth.

Despite the best efforts of her uncle's assistants, Roo discovers the house's hidden room--a garden with a tragic secret.

Inspired by The Secret Garden, this tale full of unusual characters and mysterious secrets is a story that only Ellen Potter could write.

Pabkins

Countess of Crazy, Insane babbler, Giver of the Evil Eye, Walking Hazard Zone, Maker of Monsters, but above all Lover of a Zombie and those things that are creepy crawly. Step in to my library my pretties…

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Author Interview: Jodi Meadows (Incarnate)

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Jodi Meadows lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut.

*A Kippy is a cat.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? - When did you write your first novel?


Once I stopped wanting to be an astronaut, yes! In 7th grade, my teacher read WAIT TILL HELENE COMES (Mary Downing Hahn) to the class, and that was when I realized I wanted to be a writer. I wrote a "novel," which was probably only a few spiral notebook pages long. It was also a shameless copy of WAIT TILL HELEN COMES, but I was really proud of it.

My first novel-sized book happened when I was twenty.

Tell me about one of your typical writing days...what are your routines? Favorite places to read, write, music etc? I personally like to dance around the house singing with a wooden spoon.


I'm not even sure I have a wooden spoon, but suddenly I feel like I should find one. . . . 
Typical writing day: shuffle out of bed, shuffle into the kitchen for coffee/breakfast, shuffle into the ferret room where my computer lives. From there, I don't have a routine. I get to work on *something*, but sometimes it's writing, sometimes it's editing, sometimes it's answering emails, sometimes it's research, etc. 
Sometimes I have music. Sometimes I don't. (I know, this is all SO fascinating. Aren't you glad you asked this question!?)

Tell us just how hard or easy it was for you to get published. Was it something like catching a greased pig?


I started writing full time when I was twenty. I started trying to get published a year later when I'd finished that manuscript. I sold my first trilogy when I was twenty-seven. That was . . . a lot of manuscripts and rejections later.

But I really don't regret the way it happened. Even though I spent a lot of time feeling sad, and like I'd never reach this goal, it worked out for the best. I wrote a story I'm proud of, and one I think makes a great debut novel. I have an agent and editor I adore, with an imprint I love to pieces. If I'd sold earlier in my life, these things that are PERFECT right now wouldn't be how they are. They were worth waiting for.

How active do you think you are in the book blogging community and how has it treated you? Eaten you whole? 

I loooove book bloggers! You guys have done so much to help promote INCARNATE and share good news. I love that there's a community of people other than writers who are just as passionate and enthusiastic about books. I think it's easy for authors to feel like they're just tossing novels out into the voice, but book bloggers really know how to make a girl feel like a superstar.

Are there any specific reasons you chose to write in the YA genre rather than adult?


I actually tried writing for adults when I first started. When I was twenty, I'd not only started writing full time, but I'd recently gotten married and moved away from my parents. I was so desperate to BE an adult that I put that in writing, too, not realizing that my writing voice was a natural YA voice, and the stories I told were YA stories. It took me years to get over this, but I'm glad I did. YA is where my heart is.

How was the covert art process for you? - First reaction?


Understandably, a lot of authors are really nervous when they get their first peek at their cover. Authors have almost no control over it, and even if our publishers let us look at them, there's no guarantee they'll actually consider our opinions. And considering how many people DO pick up books based on the cover, that's more than a little scary!

But when I saw the first cover comp, I fell in love. I knew THIS was the cover that would do it. And when I saw the comps with the actual model they'd cast . . . I still swoon over her. She's absolutely perfect for the part.

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress) if you have one? Oh come on spill the beans - I promise to blab about it.


You mean what am I working on RIGHT NOW? INCARNATE 2 edits. *g*

I do have a couple other stories in the works, but really, if I told you about them, my agent would murder me in my sleep, and then you'd never get to read them. It's better for all of us if I keep quiet for a bit longer. :)


 

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NEWSOUL


Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL

Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART

Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Pabkins

Countess of Crazy, Insane babbler, Giver of the Evil Eye, Walking Hazard Zone, Maker of Monsters, but above all Lover of a Zombie and those things that are creepy crawly.  Step in to my library my pretties…

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Author Interview: Kersten Hamilton and In The Forests of the Night Giveaway

Website | Twitter | Blog

Just a writer.

Are you a panster (no outline) or are you plotter?

I am a total panster. I can’t follow maps in life, much less outlines for books. My favorite kind of road trip is the kind where you flip a coin at each new intersection to decide where to go. That’s my favorite kind of writing, too!

Did you have any say in the design of the cover?

No—writers generally don’t get any say at all in the cover. I am lucky that my publisher, Clarion, sends me the cover before the book appears—and I love the covers for Tyger Tyger and In the Forests of the Night!

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it?

I’m finishing the Goblin Wars, of course! And I have just sold a very fun steampunk chapter book The Mesmer Menace, set on the eve of the Great Mesmer War of 1901, featuring a boy inventor, President Teddy Roosevelt, evil hypnotists, robots, a lightning harvester, and a dashingly brave and loyal dachshund named Noodles; I am working on the second book in that series. I am also finishing a “Holes”–esque older MG dealing with suicide, Catholicism, immigration issues and one undead school administrator.
After that, I have a TOP SECRET YA project in the works…

Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read?

I read and write all over the place. I work on a laptop, and carry it with me wherever I go. In the last year, I have written in hospital waiting rooms, coffee shops, bookstores, parks in an elevator, and at the zoo. I am writing this post in the passenger seat of a car as my friend and I head back to New Mexico from Florida (where we delivered a wedding cake.)

I read the same way, and usually read several books at once. I have different books in each room—a nice mix of fiction, nonfiction, marketing and writer’s craft—and pick them up to read as I wander through. I have probably four books I am in various stages of reading by my bed, and I carry my Kindle in my computer bag so that I can read while I’m away from home.

As a reader do you read in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal obsession?

My obsession is really mythopoeia rather than paranormal. The writings of George MacDonald, my favorite author, inspired Tolkien to name and describe the genre in the 1930’s. Mythopoeia incorporates mythological themes and archetypes into newly created worlds. Authors such as Tolkien or C.S. Lewis create whole new mythologies; others, such as Neil Gaiman, use a mash-up of existing mythologies. My Goblin Wars series definitely falls into the mythopoeia spectrum.

Thank you for having me on your blog today, Rie!

Review

The battle against goblinkind continues . . . but which side will Teagan be on?

Teagan, Finn, and Aiden have made it out of Mag Mell alive, but the Dark Man’s forces are hot on their heels. Back in Chicago, Tea’s goblin cousins show up at her school, sure she will come back to Mag Mell, as goblin blood is never passive once awoken. Soon she will belong to Fear Doirich and join them. In the meantime, they are happy to entertain themselves by trying to seduce, kidnap, or kill Tea’s family and friends. Tea knows she doesn’t have much time left, and she refuses to leave Finn or her family to be tortured and killed. A wild Stormrider, born to rule and reign, is growing stronger inside her. But as long as she can hold on, she’s still Teagan Wylltson, who plans to be a veterinarian and who heals the sick and hurting. The disease that’s destroying her—that’s destroying them all—has a name: Fear Doirich. And Teagan Wylltson is not going to let him win.

Since I love this series so much I'm giving away a copy. Just comment with your email address to enter.

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Author Interview: Megan Miranda (Fracture)

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Megan is a scientist - turned - teacher - turned - stay-at-home-mom - turned - writer. She is not nearly as indecisive as she sounds. She lives near Charlotte, North Carolina, where she volunteers as an MIT Educational Counselor, does the mom thing by day, and writes by night.

Her first novel, FRACTURE, will be published by Walker/Bloomsbury in early 2012.

Tell me about one of your typical writing days...what are your routines, places to read, write. Music? millions of notes strewn all over the floor?


Well, mostly I have a writing night… typically, after I put the kids to bed, I write. I wish I had something more specific to say than this—like that I check email for 10 minutes or read 20 pages or something. But that would be a lie. The truth is, there’s no structure. I do the things I can do (email, research, etc.) in spurts during the day, but as far as writing, I need silence. So I put the kids to bed, I go to my room, and I write. This either involves my laptop or a notebook with hot-pink sticky notes. Either way, I write. Then I write some more. And when I get tired of writing, I read.

How was your experience with getting published - has it been unlike how you thought it would be? *They working you like a slave?*


Honestly, it’s been an amazing experience. That’s not to say there hasn’t been a lot of work involved, but I consider this my job. It just happens to be a job I love.  

Are there any specific reasons you chose to write in the YA genre rather than adult?


I was a reader of both YA and adult fiction, but I don’t think it was a conscious choice to write one over the other. When I started to write, I found that my voice naturally fell in YA (at least, in my opinion), and every story I imagined was about a main character around that age. A lot of YA literature resonates emotionally with me—I feel like there’s something really universal about it. There’s something so appealing about exploring those years. It’s just….pivotal, and I’m drawn to it.

I love your cover art in that it isn't a beautiful girl with a dress on the cover - How did you like the process of choosing cover art?


Thank you! I’m so thrilled with the cover, but I can’t take any credit for it. The team at Bloomsbury thought it up and designed it, and I think they did such an amazing job of capturing the feel of the book. The girl on the front is shockingly similar to how I picture Delaney. And that red coat…it saves her life. I didn’t do any choosing. All I did was jump up and down when I got it in my inbox.

and the most IMPORTANT question you will ever answer *drumroll please* - What are your thoughts and feelings on the Amazingly Delicious - Canned Not quite Meat - SPAM?


Confession: I have never had SPAM. But I appreciate SPAM’s dedication to embracing their individuality. They’re just like, hey I’m SPAM. Take me or leave me. I can respect that.
 

Review | Amazon

By the time Delaney Maxwell was pulled from a Maine lake’s icy waters by her best friend, Decker Phillips, her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead.

But somehow Delaney survived—despite the brain scans that show irreparable damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be fine, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying, and when she meets Troy Varga, a boy who recently emerged from a coma with the same abilities, she is relieved to share this strange new existence. Unsure if her altered brain is predicting death or causing it, Delaney must figure out if their gift is a miracle, a freak of nature—or something else much more frightening….

Pabkins

Countess of Crazy, Insane babbler, Giver of the Evil Eye, Walking Hazard Zone, Maker of Monsters, but above all Lover of a Zombie and those things that are creepy crawly.  Step in to my library my pretties… 

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Author Interview: Amy Carol Reeves (Ripper)

Twitter | Website | Blog

Amy Carol Reeves has a PhD in nineteenth-century British literature. She published a few academic articles before deciding that it would be much more fun to write about Jack the Ripper. When she is not writing or teaching college classes, she enjoys running around her neighborhood with her giant labrador retriever and serial reading Jane Austen novels. She lives in Columbia, South Carolina with her husband and two children. Ripper is her debut novel.

What made you want to be a writer? Aching to have carpel tunnel? a desire to poke out ones eyeballs as words pour from your fingertips?

As a child, I read everything I could get my hands on: the Nancy Drew series, the Ramona series, Alice in Wonderland. And I wrote a lot and often. By fifth grade, I had a folder filled with all of my WIPs. I have no idea what happened to this folder—it’s probably in a box somewhere next to my old retainer. In high school I read more of the classics, and I went crazy for the gothic romances of Ann Radcliffe and the Brontë sisters. 

Then, in college, I had this wonderful history professor who let us turn in a historical fiction story as our final paper. I took three different courses from him, and with each story, I found myself more and more involved in the research—one took place in a convent, so I actually visited a convent to learn more about the way nuns live. These papers turned into novellas, each one longer, wilder, and more detailed than the one before. I passed them out to the other girls in my dorm and became known as the Danielle Steele of my floor.

My English professor called me into his office, and told me point blank that he thought I should be a writer. I thought, “Hmmm…maybe in the distant future,” because at that point I thought it made more sense to be an English professor—a steady, safe day job. 

But in graduate school, as I plunged deeper into a study of my favorite writers, I realized even more how much I loved stories and being creative. Although I liked my dissertation research and conferences, I kept returning to writing, writing snippets of stories in my head and then putting them down on paper. It was a need for me, a nonnegotiable, almost like water. And I loved reading popular YA books. I have this vivid memory of sitting on a panel at an academic conference, and I just kept thinking about how I couldn’t wait to get back to the YA novels I had waiting at home!

Furthermore, throughout my coursework, I found myself drawn to the outrageous, quirky side stories of authors’ lives, true stories like the poet Lord Byron’s outrageous love affairs and the artist and poet, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, digging up his dead wife’s body in Highgate Cemetery. In many ways, truth IS stranger than fiction. It was during those years in graduate school, that the early ideas for Ripper really started taking root in my mind.

Tell me about one of your typical writing days...what are your routines? Favorite places to read, write. Music? millions of notes strewn all over the floor?



I typically start out the day by going on a long jog, teasing out plot problems in my head to the tune of the Rolling Stones. Then I come back to the house, sit down with the dogs at my feet, and write, write, write. I write for several hours until it’s time to teach, and then I go to campus to teach my classes. I love teaching. It gets me out of the house and connected with students. It’s really a wonderful combination—I write, and then I go to campus, and I get to talk about writing and literature with students.

How was your experience with getting published - hardest thing you’ve ever done?

Very hard. My first agent tried to sell my picture book and then a middle reader book that I had worked on. The market is tough, and even though she worked hard for me, she was unable to sell either book. She represented me for about three years. Then, during my third year after graduate school, I buckled down and began writing Ripper—I had a connection with Ripper that I hadn’t had with either of my previous books. I think because it was the point where I finally used my studies of the Victorian period in my creative work. My agent at the time loved it, but she mostly represented books for younger readers. Soon I began querying new agents. My current agent, Jessica Sinsheimer, sold Ripper in about a month. I think I needed to write and revise those other books before I could write Ripper. I’m very goal-oriented and it was hard for me, and existentially depressing, to invest so much time and energy into works that I knew might never make it on the shelves. But looking back, writing and revising those books strengthened my writing skills.

How active do you think you are in the book blogging community and how has it treated you? Eaten you whole?

I am just getting involved with the book blogging community, and I can’t wait to dive in further! Thus far, I am excited about the responses to Ripper that I have received from bloggers.

Where did you come up with your cover art? Or how was the process?



I love the Ripper cover. Flux did consult with me a bit for the cover. Specifically, I gave suggestions for how Abbie Sharp’s dress, collar, and hair should appear. Kevin Brown, the designer, did a marvelous job!  


What is your current WIP (Work in Progress) if you have one? Oh come on spill the beans - I promise to blab about it.



Currently, my pressing project is the sequel to Ripper (tentative title is Recluse). And although, at the moment, I don’t have much time to work on it, I’m in the early stages of a new YA series. All I can say at this point is that it is a Gothic historical thriller. So stay tuned!

Amazon | IndieBound | Flux

A paranormal mystery involving London’s most notorious killer.

In 1888, following her mother’s sudden death, seventeen-year-old Arabella Sharp goes to live with her grandmother in a posh London neighborhood. At her grandmother’s request, Abbie volunteers at Whitechapel Hospital, where she discovers a passion for helping the unfortunate women and children there.

But within days, female patients begin turning up brutally murdered at the hands of Jack the Ripper. Even more horrifying, Abbie starts having strange visions that lead her straight to the Ripper’s next massacres. As her apparent psychic connection with the twisted killer grows stronger, Abbie is drawn into a deadly mystery involving the murders, her mother’s shadowed past, and a secret brotherhood of immortals—who’ll stop at nothing to lure Abbie into its “humanitarian” aims.

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Indie Author Interview: Dean Murray

Twitter | Blog

Accountant by day, writer by night. Technology fascinates me, but I primarily write YA Romance and Epic Fantasy.

 
The pack element of Torn is one of the most important aspects. Did you do any research on pack behavior within the wild?


Really quickly before I respond, I’d just like to take a moment and thank all three of you for inviting me here to talk about Torn.  I very much appreciate you taking the time to read Torn and share your thoughts with everyone who follows Mission to Read.


On to your question, I’m not a big researcher generally speaking, which is one of the reasons I’ve ended up writing paranormal fantasy rather than historical romances or something else that tends to be more research heavy.  That being said, I’ve spend quite a bit of time over the last few years reading various fictional accounts of wolves & werewolves, so I’ve tried to stay generally true to the rough feel of what people are prepared to accept when it comes to werewolf life.  Hopefully it’s got enough of a different twist on things to keep it interesting without getting so far out into uncharted territory that it requires too much of a suspension of disbelief.


Are you a panster (no outline) or are you plotter?


I’ve bounced back and forth a bit over the last few years between the two.  My first novel or two were written pretty much by the seat of my pants, and there’s definitely a bit of excitement to just jumping into a story with only the vaguest of ideas how you’re going to get to your intended end point.  Unfortunately, that tripped me up a couple of times, and I wrote myself into a corner a couple of times and had to axe pretty good blocks of work.  Frozen Prospects and Thawed Fortunes were much more structured, and I started from much stronger outlines in both cases, which was refreshing to the extent that I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to get where I wanted to get, I just needed to concentrate on the actual execution.

With Broken (the companion story to Torn-due Dec 2011) I realized for the first time that outline as you may, there comes a time when you just have to take a deep breath and jump in.  I guess I’d say that I’d gone if anything too far down the road of trying to nail down every little detail before I started, and took a step back more to the center as it were.


Torn was interesting in that it’s the same rough story as Broken, just told from Alec’s point of view rather than Adri’s point of view.  That meant I started from a fairly structured sequence of events-more so than normal, and then got to fill in all of the stuff that Adri didn’t get to see.  It was surprisingly liberating to see what kind of craziness I could fit into the storyline while still keeping everything such that the two points of view matched up.


How did you find the design process of your cover?


The design process was pretty fun this time around.  My main criteria was that there needed to be some definite points of congruence between the cover for Torn and the cover for Broken.  It ended up being easiest to just do the two covers in parallel.  My wife, Katie has done covers for nearly all of my books (Frozen Prospects being the exception), and it was great to see all of the creative refinements she put on my original idea.


What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it?


Most of my efforts right now revolve around getting up the backlist of work that I’ve written over the last few years.  As things stand right now we have ten titles up including Torn, and are just waiting on feedback from some advance readers before putting up Broken.  I’m excited about Broken and Torn separately, but I’m even more excited about the thought of them as a package.  I tried very hard to craft them such that regardless of which story you started with, there were still some questions that would make you want to pick up the other story to get answers to.


Apart from Broken, we’re also just about to enter the final edits on Splintered, which picks up with the story where Broken and Torn left of.  I’d have to say that of everything I’ve written so far, Splintered is my current favorite.  It dives right into some of the pieces of Alec’s world that I was careful to keep Adri away from in Broken and Torn.  That gives it a bit more tension, and ultimately I think the ending there is the most powerful I’ve managed yet.


The other WIP currently in motion is what I call my “Dark Reflections” stories.  I’m taking all of my favorite characters (good and bad) from Adri’s and Alec’s world, and telling an alternate timeline.  I can’t get into too much detail right now about where the two timelines diverged, but the changes mean that there are some pretty different circumstances in Dark Reflections as compared to the world Adri and Alec currently know.  I’m especially excited about the potential of this series of stories because it lets me explore certain characters in much greater detail than I’d ever manage otherwise, and it even lets me put certain characters together that would never really have that opportunity outside of a Dark Reflections story.  Ultimately part of what I’m hoping to spark in the reader is a bit of “There but for the grace of God” feeling.  Sometimes a “bad” character really just had the wrong set of breaks in life, and sometimes a “good” character is only good because of a couple of key decisions that really could have easily gone the other way.


Sorry, that was probably a longer answer than you were after, but as you can tell, I’m pretty excited with all of the things I’m going to get to share with my readers in the next few months.


Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read?


I’m finding that the most important thing for me is consistency.  I wrote nearly all of Torn at my local bookstore.  It was nice to sit down, surrounded by books, and lose myself in my own little world, but still have people around such that I didn’t end the day feeling like I’d spent it in a cave somewhere completely isolated from human interaction.


Splintered on the other hand was mostly written later at night with my daughter asleep on my chest.  She has generally been a pretty good sleeper, but there was a spot in there where she didn’t seem to want to sleep in the bassinet.  I’d send my wife to bed, and then I’d lie down on the couch, put Sage on my chest and let her fall asleep to the sound of me typing.  It wasn’t the fastest I’ve ever put a book down on ‘paper’, but I’ve got some really fond memories to show for the time J.


As far as when I read, my favorite place to read is on the couch.  Preferably wrapped up in a blanket.

As a reader do you read in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal obsession?


I generally gravitate to sci-fi, epic fantasy, urban fantasy and paranormal, which kind of works because that’s the stuff I also tend to write.  Ultimately when I sit down to write a story, I’m trying to write something that is the kind of thing I’d enjoy reading.

I’ve got a lot of obsessions, but some of them are getting a bit dated at this point J.  I think I’ll probably have a life-long obsession with Twilight.  That’s partly because of the way that Stephenie sucked me into Bella’s world, but also partly because learning about how Twilight went from a fragment of a dream to the sensation it is today, got me writing again.

Apart from Twilight, I really enjoyed the first three books of the Mortal Instruments series, and I’m currently captivated by the Vampire Diaries (more the TV show than the books unfortunately, but that’s probably due to my not having given the books a fair shake yet).
 

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Shape shifter Alec Graves has spent nearly a decade trying to keep his family from being drawn into open warfare with a larger pack. The new girl at school shouldn't matter, but the more he gets to know her, the more mysterious she becomes. Worse, she seems to know things she shouldn't about his shadowy world.

Is she an unfortunate victim or bait designed to draw him into a fatal misstep? If she's a victim, then he's running out of time to save her. If she's bait, then his attraction to her will pull him into a fight that'll cost him everything.

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Author Interview – Elle Strauss

Recently I became acquainted with Indie author, Elle Strauss by following her blog via a blog hop.  I didn’t realize she was an author until awhile later reading her posts and realized she had a book that was soon to be released.  So Elle was nice enough to participate in our Indie week and answer a few interview questions for us. My review will go up this week.

Clockwise is available as both e-book and paperback. Buy it Here

What made you want to be a writer? Too much spare time? a desire to poke out ones eyeballs?

I'm actually a late bloomer when it comes to writing. I was one of those people who read picture books to my children and thought, "Hey, I could do that."  And I could, it just took a really long time to get any good :)

Did you try to go the conventional publishing route - beating your head against one publishing house after another? - or did you immediately decide to indie publish?

Indie wasn't really a viable option when I first tried getting published. I did manage to get an agent and go out on submission to editors but never made a sale. By the end of the process, indie publishing was suddenly a doable option.

You have your own blog - how well has the book blogging community treated you? Eaten you whole?

The blogging community is amazing. I've made great friends who have offered a lot of support along what can be quite an emotional ride. 

Are there any specific reasons you chose to write in the YA genre rather than adult? Reliving childhood fantasies? Living vicariously or wait - is there some secret you want to share - oh yes I do love a good secret! *see Pabkins’ weekly obsession with reading www.postsecret.com *

I was in the middle of writing a historical drama about a boy who grew up during Hitler Youth in 2005, when a writer friend told me it sounded like YA. I hadn't really heard of the term young adult before then, as this was pre-Twilight, and young adult wasn't yet considered "hot." I had written an earlier book with a teen protagonist, I'm not sure why I gravitated in that direction and when I realized I was already writing in a genre, I just went for it.

What made you decide on a historical / time travel type of storyline?  Honestly, I haven't read many of them myself...

I don't really know the answer to that. I find it fascinating what some people have had to live through and I enjoy turning those events onto fictional characters.

Where did you come up with your cover art? *I'm sure you'll note I have my opinions on this from my review*

I actually created a Vlog to show the process, but the long and short of it is, my daughter came up with the concept and sketch and I took that to a guy who's skilled at Adobe Illustrator.

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress) if you have one? Do spill the beans won't you?

I'm working on a sequel to Clockwise and all I can reveal is that I'm having to do a lot more research on the American civil war. And that Casey's brother is a trouble maker. :)

Do you prefer e-books over physical books? *Be warned .... your answer might cause me to go into hysterics.

I like both kinds of books. How's that for a safe answer? :)

And the most IMPORTANT question you will ever answer *drumroll please* - What are your thoughts and feelings on the Amazingly Delicious - Canned Not quite Meat - SPAM?

Well, I haven't had spam in a really long time, but if my childhood memories are anything to go by, it's not that bad fried.

Thanks for having me!

Pabkins

Countess of Crazy, Insane babbler, Giver of the Evil Eye, Walking Hazard Zone, Maker of Monsters, but above all Lover of Zombies and those things that are creepy crawly.  Step in to my library my pretties…

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Birthday Bonanza: Interview with Stasia Ward Kehoe and Giveaway

Twitter | Facebook | Website

Stasia Kehoe grew up dancing and performing on stages from New Hampshire to Washington, DC. She now writes books for young adults and choreographs the occasional musical.

Ballet is Sara's life when we begin the book, but during the course of the book we find her questioning her life goals. Are you a big planner or more of a go with the flow type girl?


I WISH I were mellow but, in terms of the day-to-day, I'm a planning type and can get pretty tense when there's lots to do.  However, I think that in the larger scheme of things, I am pretty open to changes and enjoy life's twists and turns.  Certainly becoming a published author has been a wild and surprising ride.

Audition is written in verse. How has this impacted your writing? Was it easier or harder to narrate?


Writing in verse is very challenging but I think it was a useful form for a story about dance and movement. I definitely think it posed a special set of challenges for the narrative.  You have to think hard about how to put dialogue in verse, for example, and how to approach ordinary things like eating breakfast from a more descriptive or metaphorical level.  I enjoy writing in verse and in prose--it just depends on what best serves the story.

The cover is gorgeous. Did you get much input?


I did send some photographs of dancers and a few written thoughts to my editor.  Largely, though, seeing the gorgeous models they shot for the cover and the beautiful way the lines of poetry kind of float behind the dancers was a wonderful surprise.

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it? 

I have a hard time talking about things I am still writing.  I'm superstitious, I guess.  I will say that the new book is about a teen actress and, while it is very contemporary and realistic, there is, um, what I'll call a supernatural feature. 

Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read? 

I prefer to write out of my house, usually at a coffee shop.  At home, I tend to move my desk around.  It's currently in the playroom next to my youngest son's train set.  Sounds weird but it's a big room with lots of windows, so it's sunny and bright and when he's at school, it's just me and the dog, so nice and quiet.  I have four kids so I do a lot of driving and I read books in car parking lots which is strangely relaxing!

As a reader do you write in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal obsession?

I love a well-written book in any genre.  Paranormal-wise, I'm currently reading The Jewel & the Key by Louise Spiegler.  It combines time-travel with theater and a war story.  Fascinating and full of beautiful language.

Thanks for having me stop by and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RIE!!!


October 13th 2011, Viking Juvenile
464 pages, Hardcover
Young Adult

When high school junior Sara wins a coveted scholarship to study ballet, she must sacrifice everything for her new life as a professional dancer-in-training. Living in a strange city with a host family, she's deeply lonely-until she falls into the arms of Remington, a choreographer in his early twenties. At first, she loves being Rem's muse, but as she discovers a surprising passion for writing, she begins to question whether she's chosen the right path. Is Rem using her, or is it the other way around? And is dancing still her dream, or does she need something more? This debut novel in verse is as intense and romantic as it is eloquent.

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Author Interview: Victoria Schwab

Website | Blog | Twitter | Youtube

I love fairy tales, and folklore, and books that make me wonder if the world is really as it seems. I love writing about doors, and places between, and the cracks where reality slips into something darker, stranger, and invariably more interesting.

I grew up on the west coast, but went to high school in the south, an all girls’ prep school complete with plaid skirts I used to doodle on during math.

I went to Washington University in St. Louis, where I changed course SIX times (and would have done it a seventh time, but my family and advisors said you couldn’t switch majors in your last semester). I went from Physics, to Film, to Set Design, to Art History, to English, to Communication Design.

Job-wise, I have been a clerk in a department store, where I met a very nice Erotica writer while re-hanging bras. I have been an assistant caterer and a personal chef. Because of this, I bake some mean chocolate chip cookies, can plate hors d’oeuvres, and know how to make twirling napkin towers. I was a dog daycare attendant for a few summers, and have the scars to prove it. In college, I worked in a bookstore, where I never made ANY money because I spent every check feeding my book-buying habit.

And now, I am an author. That’s still really fun to say, and I feel like I need to fact-check myself just to make sure it’s true.

I’m repped by the fiercely awesome Holly Root of Waxman Literary, and my debut novel, The Near Witch, will be released by Disney*Hyperion in August 2011.

Near Witch has such a great moral in that we should learn about someone before judging them. Have you explored other cultures very much?


I've explored fairy tales and folklore and fables, and the way those worlds work. One of the classic elements in fables is the moral, and I thought it would be fun to have one, but in a very twisted way. This is no "And the moral is..." tale, but a darker, more sinister example of what happens when we do judge, and the costs of fear. But it's certainly not meant to be preachy (that is common in classic fables and lore, and I did NOT want that), but rather one element in the larger narrative.

Near witch has such a eeriness about it, that I was pulling the covers a little tighter. Do you like ghost/horror stories?


I get asked this a lot, and I always laugh because I am the BIGGEST scaredy cat. Like, I cannot watch scary movies, especially not if I have any plans of sleeping. My imagination will take the smallest spark and run with it.

I love watching your YA Rebels vlogs. How do you feel behind the camera? Getting comfortable?


At first I was SOOOO nervous, and it showed. But over the last year and a half, I've become much more comfortable with the camera. I quite enjoy vlogging now! It's a nice way to mix things up, and lends itself, for me, more toward spontaneous posting, like the Nimbus the Narwhal post.

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it?


My next book is called THE ARCHIVED (Disney*Hyperion). I am not supposed to say much about it because it's still a ways out, but oh my love for this book. I first started playing with it almost two years ago, while waiting for my first round of NW edits, and am now in edits. It's kind of like Buffy meets The Shining meets If I Stay. With a library.

Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read?


It changes with each book. I tend to favor one place for a book though, if possible, because I start to associate the place with writing. NW was written almost exclusively in a coffee shop in St. Louis called Kayaks between 9 and 11 pm.

As for reading, my favorite place is either on my bed, or walking outside. My ability to read and walk is quite impressive. I only ran into one pole last year.

As a reader do you write in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal obsession?


I read across the entire spectrum. Right now, for instance, I'm reading a non-fiction on getting lost. Before that, I read an upcoming dystopian, Legend. So. I do enjoy fairy tales, and books with an oddness to them--The Book of Lost Things, Neverwhere--and I will say that I lean toward the supernatural, but only because I read for escapism, and I have a major weakness for magic. That said, two of my favorite books of the past year were realism--Between Shades of Gray, and Stolen.

Amazon | Goodreads

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.



And there are no strangers in the town of Near.


These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

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Author Interview: Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

Stop by tomorrow for a live chat with the authors of Sirenz tomorrow at 7-8 CST.

Amazon | IndieBound

Char: Twitter 

Nat: Twitter | Blog

MTR: Can you tell me about your book in 20 words or less?


C: 2 girls, 1 pair of designer shoes, a freak accident, and a Greek god looking for trouble.

N: Oooo that's good. Hmmm... How about,  “Fashion and feathers fly when Hades sees killer potential in two apparently mismatched teens” ?


MTR: Why did you decide to co-write and how has this relationship helped you craft the novel?


C: We had worked on a previous project. I was taking care of Nat's evil bunny Rosebud when she went on vacation and he bit me. I 'made' him confess to Nat in an email. She responded back, in the voice of her cat who was home alone and telling Rosebud to stop complaining, she had it worse. The concept, called E-Meow, was hysterical, a lot of fun, and went no where. We realized though, that we're both a little twisted and together we knew we could write a book. Whether it would sell was a different story, but it did!

N: Funny how things like this come about by accident—but that's exactly what happened with us. We didn't plan to co-author a book, but the joke that started it all got us thinking that we COULD. Even with the bunny (who is much maligned) and the cat, our individual voices came through in the writing. The first thing we were certain about when we started Sirenz was that there had to be two voices—one for each of us. In that way the relationship directly influenced the book.

MTR: One of the driving forces behind this book is their love of material items, e.g. they are fighting over shoes when they get sentenced to being sirens.

C: Kids this age tend to be that way; whether it's the newest phone, or clothes they want, living out of Starbucks, etc. It was fun to poke at that trend, especially when we see it in ourselves...

N: When the story started out, both girls were total fashionistas, and even though they had different styles, they were too much alike. Now the girls are foils to each other—but still, the “stuff” remains. Char is right—to some degree everyone—kids and adults love their stuff. It's a human thing and we're no exception... bags, shoes, sparkly pens...

MTR: What's up with the bird feet and feathers? I thought sirens where beautiful women of the sea?

C: That's the misconception!! In our research, we discovered that in true Greek tradition, Sirens were more half bird-half woman. There are mermaid stories coming out, or out already, so ours will surprise people. Makes it funnier to shock people-and the main characters. Hades explains it in the book.


N: Research for Sirenz led us to all sorts of discoveries about not only the sirens, but other myths we thought we knew so well. There are many obscure tales that inspired us to give the gods in the novel interesting traits and depth. So many gods are related to each other as siblings and half siblings...

MTR: What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it?


C: Which one? Besides the Sirenz series, we each have our individual projects. I have a an MG I'm working on revising with my agent Natalie Fischer of Bradford Lit (she represents us together and separately), plus another YA that isn't finished, and now at the suggestion of our agent, we are planning an MG series. This new series will be funny like Sirenz, but for a younger grade.


N: Together we're working on the Sirenz series; we're waiting on our editorial letter for Sirenz Back in Fashion, and we're about ¼ done with Book 3 (this one doesn't have a title yet) but we don't want to get too far ahead until we see if there are going to be big changes to the second installment. We actually proposed four books, but the last is tentative right now. On my own I'm in revisions with Natalie (the agent one—and yes, it's kinda strange—I sometimes feel like I'm emailing or talking to myself...) for my YA Victorian Fantasy—quite a departure from Sirenz...


MTR: Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read?

C: My favorite place to write is where ever I don't get distracted. I don't like to write with music on, phones ringing, being interrupted, although if the mood and the deadline strike me I can write anywhere. I do have an office and the family knows not to bug me if I'm in there. Not that they obey that rule. I can read everywhere except in my pool. Kindle, are you listening? Waterproof reading device!!!


N:  I'll write whenever and where ever I can. I do have an office, but its open to the world. When I need to I run out to the library or Starbucks, or outside if I can. That's one way that Char and I differ in our process. I LOVE having music (or even a movie) playing in the background as I write :) I also read whenever and where ever I can, so I'm always carrying books with me. I'm building up some dangerous muscle. Am seriously considering buying a Kindle. Kindle? Nook? Ipad?


MTR: If your house was on fire (everyone was safe), what one book would you rescue?


C: Forget books- they can be replaced and boost sales for authors. I would save my laptop with all my works, my books and notes.


N: Totally agree with Char on that one. Save the unfinished unpublished WIPs (Writers—always keep an off site backup. Quick-n-dirty method—email your documents to yourself). Oh and if you ever have to buy (or re-buy) books—do it at an indie bookstore!


MTR: As a reader do you write in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal obsession?


C: I love almost all genres except political stuff or anything really depressing (hence I don't read a lot of Nobel/Pulitzer stuff.) I'm waiting on the paperback version of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Retribution. She's one of many authors that I like. I go by the description on the back of the book. If it sounds exciting, dangerous, has a different take on something familiar, (she has Greek mythology, vampirism magic and romance) then I buy it. I try to read as many authors as I can, especially debut authors to give them a chance.


N: I like to mix it up when it comes to reading, although I have a thing for history—especially British history when it reads like fiction. Some of my fave authors in this area are Simon Schama, Allison Weir and Antonia Fraser. Fiction-wise I have a thing for Neil Gaiman and Phillip Pullman, but currently I've been gushing over Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone. OMGosh do I love this book! I was lucky enough to snag an ARC at BEA and I read it whenever I can (see above). I'm almost done and it is AMAZING.


MTR: Besides Hades, what is your favorite ancient mythology tale?

C: Oh, tough one. Depends on the mood I'm in. I like our twist on the Persephone tale (please, like she didn’t know he was hot for her. She manipulated him. Probably wanted to get away from her overbearing mother).  But Hera, queen of the pantheon is brutal and not to be toyed with. Then there are the tales of those innocents who tangle with the gods.


N: Hmmmm... if we're sticking to Greek, I would have to say (today) that it would be Arachne. Am revisiting future Sirenz installments in preparation for our editorial letter and I really like her tale and what we've done with her >:)


Thanks for being with us today! And I can't wait to hear more about Sirenz and your writing process during the live chat tomorrow night at 7-8 CST here at Mission to Read.

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