Juliana Haygert

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Midnight Magic Author Interview

 

Hi friends,

 

I’m so excited about the Midnight Magic anthology because there’s an amazing array of talent represented in this collection. Not to mention so much paranormal goodness!

I’ll be highlighting an author a week on this blog to showcase some of the books featured in this anthology and first up are the writing duo, Gina Kincade & C.D. Gorri!

What’s the title of your book in Midnight Magic?

Water Witch

 

Tell us a little bit about it!

The women of the Milagros family have been cursed for two hundred years. Will Rio learn what she needs to survive at Westwood Academy or will she become too wrapped up in the lives of others to save herself?

 

What’s your main character like?

Rio Milagros is a Water Witch at Westwood Academy where she is trying to control her rapidly increasing powers before the ancient curse on her family comes true and she becomes the new weeping woman of her coven.

 

Is it part of a bigger series or world?

This is book 1 in a brand new series and we are thrilled to debut it here with you all. So far there are four young Witches who will enter Westwood with their own personal goals, but each will discover there is more to mastering magic than they thought.

 

Is there anything else you want to tell us about your book in Midnight Magic?

Yes, the Witches in this series are elementals with their magic tying deeply to one or more elements (Water, Fire, Air, Earth).

 

 

I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait to read Water Witch! Be sure to preorder your copy of Midnight Magic here: https://www.books2read.com/midnightmagic

 

 

Cheers,

Categories: A Day in the Life, Blog Memes, Interview

A Day in the Life: Delancey Stewart

Miss Dawn Pendleton came up with a cool Q&A for authors. She posts them once a week on her blog and I’m taking part on it. I’ll be posting the Q&A here every Saturday.

Today is Delancey Stewart turn!

 

Adayinthelifeofdelanceystewart

 

About the author: 
Stewart has lived on both coasts, in big cities and small towns. She’s been a pharmaceutical rep, a personal trainer and a direct sales representative for a French wine importer. Beyond all that, she has always been a writer in some way shape or form.
A military spouse and the mother of two small boys, her current job titles include pirate captain, monster hunter, Lego assembler and story reader. She tackles all these efforts at her current home in Southern Maryland.

 

Cheers,

Signature

Categories: Blog Tour, Interview, Urban Fantasy

Chatting with Suzanne Johnson

 

Q: Welcome! Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your book?

Thanks for having me! River Road is the second in the Sentinels of New Orleans urban fantasy series (with a big dash of romance), although it can be read as a standalone. It’s about the aftermath of what happens in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina tears down the borders between our human world and the world Beyond, where all the paranormals live. In this book, we have two clans of Cajun mermen feuding over territory in the Louisiana wetlands, someone is killing off New Orleans wizards (and the heroine, DJ, is on the hit list), and something is poisoning the water of the Mississippi River. And did someone mention weregators?

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always written—journals, bad poetry, horrible short stories. But I never really considered being a writer until it came time to choose a college major and I realized journalism and English interested me a lot more than biology and physics. Until that time, I’d been following a pre-med path. So I became a journalist. I only began writing fiction about four years ago.

Q: Are you a plotter or a pantster?

Definitely a plotter. I don’t have time to be a pantser. I have a full-time day job and am writing two series, plus a daily blog, so I have to maximize my time. A week or two up front plotting a novel can save months of drafting and revision.

Q: What are you working on now?

I’m finishing up revisions on the third book in the Sentinels series, Elysian Fields, which comes out next August, and working on proposals for two new projects. And I have a new digital short for Kindle and Nook, Christmas in Dogtown, that just came out. It’s set in Louisiana but isn’t tied to the series.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers?

Don’t dabble. Ask yourself how badly you want to be published, and what you’re willing to sacrifice for it. Because being an author is hard work, even after you’re published. You’re going to be working long hours, and you’re most likely not going to get anywhere near rich. I have friends who are talented writers—really, really talented—but they always have a reason for not writing. The house needs cleaning. The new episode of Supernatural is coming on. I’m tired from my day job. Honey-pie wants to go out to dinner. My head’s just not in the right space now. On and on and on. If you wait to write until you have time and all the stars are aligned, you don’t want it badly enough. It has to be the top priority.

Q: What book or series can you read over and over again without getting bored?

JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Those books are a clinic in writing flawed, emotional characters. And, um, they’re sexy!

Q: If you decided not to be a writer, what would your other dream job be?

I’d love to be a hermit and live in the mountains. Oh, wait. Guess that’s not a job. I would be a fabric artist. Before I got caught up in writing, I enjoyed making paper-pieced art quilts and loved playing with color and design. One of the bad things about writing novels is I don’t have time to do that anymore.

Q: What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done in your life?

Going through Hurricane Katrina as a New Orleanian. I was evacuated for more than six weeks, sleeping on a friend’s daybed. I had one pair of shoes and two days’ worth of clothing with me. For over a month I didn’t know if my house had survived (it was damaged but salvageable), whether my friends had made it out (some did, some didn’t), whether my job would be there when I was allowed to return (thankfully, yes), whether my city would ever come back from it. I was scared and I was heartbroken. I learned a lot about myself during those days, good and bad, and thought a lot about my life. It led to some major changes—one of which was writing my first novel. Six novels later, I say that was the best thing that came out of it.

Q: Who is the one person that has singlehandedly inspired you the most in your life?

Probably my mom. We fight like crazy, but she’s incredibly smart and strong and resilient. I hope I got my mom’s strength and my dad’s kindness.

Q: If you could take a trip to any foreign country RIGHT NOW, which one would you choose? Why?

Scotland. I’ve done a lot of my family’s genealogy, and most of my ancestors came from Scotland back in the 1600s. Some of the Clan Sandilands (Americanized to Sandlin) castles and such are still standing and I’d love to visit the area of the lowlands they came from.

Q: What is one talent that you’re hopeless at, but you wish you had?

Singing. I love music. I’m a music junkie, and love singer-songwriters. But my singing voice is somewhere between sick monkey and banshee.

Q: What TV show are you most addicted to?

Swamp People. Love that show. Ice Road Truckers is a close second. Yeah, I know. Pathetic. At least I can say I’ve never watched Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo.

Q: If you were stuck on a deserted island, name three objects and three people you would want with you.

Well, I assume there is no way to charge batteries so my Kindle and iPhone are off-limits. I’d take singer-songwriter Zachary Richard because he could sing to me and help me with my French lessons. Eustace Conway of the “Mountain Man” show because he could figure out how to survive. My BFF Dianne because she could make me laugh (once she got over being pissed off at me for dragging her to a deserted island with a Cajun songwriter and an eccentric survival dude). Objects: a guitar for Zachary; a big tent; and a bigger knife.

Q: What is one trait or physical characteristic that you are proud of/love about yourself?

I’m loyal to a fault.

 

Author Bio: Suzanne Johnson writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance from Auburn, Alabama, after a career in educational publishing that has spanned five states and six universities.  She grew up halfway between the Bear Bryant Museum and Elvis’ birthplace and lived in New Orleans for fifteen years, so she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of SEC football and fried gator on a stick.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Publisher Page

 

 

River Road
Sentinels of New Orleans, Book 2
Suzanne Johnson

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 978-0765327802
ASIN: B00842H5VI
Number of pages: 336
Word Count: approx. 92,000
Cover Artist: Cliff Nielsen
Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Book Depository   Indiebound

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.

It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Cheers,

Categories: Interview

Chatting with DL Richardson

 

FEEDBACK
Genre: YA Sci-fi/Fantasy
Publisher:   Etopia Press
ISBN: 978-1-937976-77-4
ASIN: B009LKHUQM
Number of pages: 208
Word Count: 69,263
Cover Artist: Eithne Ni Anluaine
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/vEluhYM8WNw

Amazon   Barnes and Noble  OmniLit

Book Description:

Listening to your inner voice can get you killed.

Ethan James, Florida Bowman, and Jake Inala are three teenagers who receive much-needed organ transplants. Two weeks later they are inadvertently recruited by the CIA when a spy dies halfway through his mission. Three bacteria bombs are set to detonate, spreading illness and death across the planet, and it’s up to Ethan, Florida, and Jake to deactivate them.

Except that they have no idea where the bombs are located.

Kidnapped for information they can’t possibly know, and fuelled by the spirit of a dead CIA agent, Ethan, Florida, and Jake must look deep inside themselves if they are to finish the mission and save millions of lives. But they’re being held captive in a strange place by a man who believes in Feedback, the theory that information is retained in the memory of organs–in this case those of a certain dead CIA agent donor. And their captor will stop at nothing to get the information retained in their newly transplanted organs.

 

Q: Welcome DL! Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your book?

DL: Feedback is a story of three kids who need organ transplants and when they get them, they organ belonged to a spy. The spy died halfway through a mission and inadvertently the kids get caught up in the middle of a plot to destroy the world.

The story idea came from a documentary I watched on the theory of Feedback, which is the theory that organs retain the memories of the host. It’s call cellular memory. As soon as I saw the show a light bulb went off inside my head. I thought: what if the organ donor was a spy, and what if he died halfway through a mission and the recipients were kidnapped for information that only he knew? I had the plot line and it was a matter of filling in the blanks.

Feedback has series potential. I can’t wait to get stuck into writing the rest of the story.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

DL: I was about 21 when I realized I wanted to be a writer. It took another few years for me to get really serious about it because I was playing in a band at the time. I didn’t like the direction and didn’t like being in a band. I’m not a team player. And I absolutely love the idea of writing anywhere – on a beach, at a resort, in the comfort of my own home wearing my pyjamas. I wrote short stories, I wrote novels, I wrote dozens of first chapters. I wish I’d taken writing courses earlier on, I might have saved myself a lot of rejection letters.

Q: Are you a plotter or a pantster?

DL: I am a plotter. Even in my everyday life I am somewhat of a plotter. Holidays tend to have rough itineraries of what to do and when. Trips to the supermarket have lists or at least ideas of what meals I’m cooking for the week. As a plotter I’m an organizational freak. Plus I have patience. I imagine a pantster would be more likely to see what happens. Of the two, plotters would be the type of people you’d least want to mess with or tick off. We know how to scheme.

Q: What are you working on now?

DL: I’m currently working on another YA book about a teenage girl who finds herself in an awkward situation. She is forced to steal someone’s body to return from the dead to uncover the answer to a very important question. It will be YA paranormal romance, but like everything I write, it has a deeper meaning that is threaded through the work. She will discover that the answer she sought lies within. My writing is designed to inspire the reader to look within themselves for whatever they need – strength, the truth, motivation, self-confidence…

Q: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers?

DL: Love what you write and write what you love. Look deep within and be honest that you can promote what you’re writing. If you don’t love your books, neither will your readers. Loving your book will make you all the more determining to get published and sell books. The writing business is hard work for little payment. Writing, publishing, marketing and ultimately selling a book is easier if you’re passionate about your work.

The other suggestion I’d give is to take writing courses and attend writer’s festivals. Make networks, listen to what’s going on in the marketplace, writing is a very solitary job and it can be unproductive to think you’re the only writer in the world.

Q: What book or series can you read over and over again without getting bored?

DL: I must admit, I like great literature – genre and contemporary. The Hobbit is one book I’ve read 3 times. The Outsiders, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest are other books I’ve read more than once. But the truth is, the ultimate series I’ve never grown bored of hearing about or reading is fairy tales. They were my staple diet as a kid. My imagination benefited greatly when I was given a giant book of fairy tales. I love them just as much now as an adult. I love the original stories, and I even love the revamped stories.

Q: If you decided not to be a writer, what would your other dream job be?

DL: A singer or a bass player in a rock band. Or maybe I’d take proper piano lessons and be the person who sits behind a grand piano at the mall and plays carols at Christmas time. I’d love that job. But you need more talent than I have time to perfect.

Q: What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done in your life?

DL: Skied down a mountain. I’m not athletic – I sprain and break and bruise easily – so naturally I took up skiing late in life. I love it, but it still terrifies every time I sit in the chairlift heading to the top of the mountain and look down at the run I’m going to come down.

The other thing is public speaking. Terrifies me. Hence why I’m a writer.

Q: Who is the one person that has single handedly inspired you the most in your life?

DL: Oh, tough question. I’m not sure that I’d say that he inspired me, but my father used to tell me as a teenager that I could be whatever I wanted to be, he’d also say I was better than the boys who wanted to date me. But this is the same man who I used to argue with every week so in some ways, I felt compelled to be great at everything I did just to stick it to him. It was a complicated love/hate relationship.

Q: If you could take a trip to any foreign country RIGHT NOW, which one would you choose? Why?

DL: Anywhere in the world? Wow, just the one place. I’ve love to do a round the world trip. But if I had to pick one right now I’d say I’d love to go back to Alaska. I did a short trip there last year and it was the most amazing experience – driving in the snow, walking on a frozen ocean, snow on the streets, my husband did a snow angel on the sidewalk and I filmed it from the hotel window, we skied one of the best snowfields in the world, and we had local beer around a campfire afterwards.  I’m dying to go back and explore it fully.

Q: What is one talent that you’re hopeless at, but you wish you had?

DL: Dancing. I dance like somebody has cut the elastic in my undies and I’m desperate to stop them falling to the floor. Also, contortionism is a talent I’d love. I’d love love love to do backflips. Alas, I am as unbendable as a rock. My best friend growing up was an amazing dancer. She could do tap, ballet, jazz, contortion, and everything else. I used to go and watch her at recitals. Thinking I could do the same, I went to one dance class. It was evidence my talents laid elsewhere and I did not even finish the class. Today, when work colleagues and friends suggest to go to a Salsa class, or even Zumba, I gracefully decline.

Q: What TV show are you most addicted to?

DL: There are a few TV shows I will drop everything for. Supernatural – I am in love with Dean Winchester. Once Upon a time. Star Trek – yep, I’m guilty of being a trekkie. Dr Who – more specifically the series with David Tennant as Dr Dreamy. Burn Notice because I just love the kick ass aspect, and I sort of used the CIA character as an influence for my CIA character in my novel Feedback.

Q: If you were stuck on a deserted island, name three objects and three people you would want with you.

DL: Objects: either my piano or guitar or maybe both, my kindle as it has dozens of books, and my iPod to listen to 80s music.

People: aside from the obvious which is my husband and my dog, I’d want someone who could hunt for food, someone who could build shelter, and someone who could do the other chores that needed to be done because I’ll be busy sitting on my butt reading and relaxing.

Q: What is one trait or physical characteristic that you are proud of/love about yourself?

DL: My stubbornness. It motivates me to do what I have to do, as well as what I want to do. It gives me strength to keep going when I want to give up. And it pushes me to excel because if there is ever that nagging voice in your head telling you that you can’t do something, being stubborn enables you to tell that voice to shut up. That is until I don’t want to do something, and then I’m as stubborn as a mule and I simply will not do it. Pity the fool who tries to get me to do something I don’t want to do.

 

About the author: D L Richardson was born in Ireland and came to Australia with her parents as a baby. She went to a public school in Sydney’s western suburbs and the books she read were given to her or borrowed from the library. However it was music that first captured her creative interest.

She joined the school choir at age eight and got her first acoustic guitar at age ten, although she really wanted a piano. In high school she took up lead vocals after the girl she was to sing a duet with failed to show up. After that she told her stage fright to get lost and took up singing with the school band where she performed in many concerts. When she left school she helped form her own rock band where she sang lead vocals, played bass guitar, and wrote all the lyrics. At age 26 she realized she wanted to write novels for the rest of her life or die trying so she sold her equipment, quit pursuing a music career and began writing instead.

She has two young adult novels published, “The Bird With The Broken Wing” and “Feedback” and is currently writing her third novel “Little Red Gem”.

She lives in Australia on the NSW South Coast with her husband and dog. When she’s not writing or reading she can be found playing her piano or guitars, renovating the house, or walking th dog.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

 

Cheers,

Categories: Authors, Entangled Pub, Interview

Chatting with Mallory Kane

Today, I have the honor of interviewing Mallory Kane and her new book, NO HERO.

 

A darkly handsome New Orleans detective who insists he’s no hero is blindsided by his one-time lover, a sexy investigative TV reporter, who exposes his secret troubled past to the whole world…and nearly costs him his job. When the at-risk teens he mentors start turning up dead, his vow to protect the other kids hits a major snag…his only clue to finding the determined killer is held by the one woman he never wants to see again. Compelled to work together to solve the vicious murders before another child dies, their passion reluctantly reignites, and their mutual mistrust slowly turns to respect as she realizes there’s much more to being a hero than outward appearances, and his deeply wounded heart gradually opens to the possibility of love.

Goodreads – Amazon – Barnes and Nobles

 

Q: Welcome Mallory Kane.  Why don’t you tell us a little bit about NO HERO?

Mallory: Teenagers are being murdered in New Orleans. Not just any teens, teens from Detective Devereux Gautier’s Johnson Center for Homeless Teens. Dev is determined to catch the killer before any more kids are killed, but he has no leads. Then Reghan Connor shows up, telling him she knows who the killer is. He’d be more inclined to believe her if she hadn’t exposed the past he’d worked for 20 years to hide on her TV news show. But when another teen is murdered, Dev begins to realize that Connor may have the key to catching the killer. But she nearly destroyed his career and his life once. If he works with her on this case, what will stop her from doing it again?

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Mallory: I wrote my first poem, Miss Mousie Had A Tea Party, at around age eight and my first short story, a romantic suspense about a girl who visited a dude ranch, met a bad boy, falsely accused, solved a mystery and experienced her first kiss, at around age thirteen.

Q: Are you a plotter or a pantster?

Mallory: Years ago I, like a lot of other writers, considered myself a pantser. But once I’d sold my first book to Harlequin Intrigue in 2000, I realized that I no longer had the luxury of writing a book by the seat of my pants. If I wanted to write 3 or 4 books a year, I was going to have to make some sort of plan. I worried about plotting a book out before I started writing it. I was afraid I’d lose the magic that happened when I let the book take its own path. But in fact, I don’t feel like I’m missing out on magic at all. Whether plotting or pantsing, there’s still plenty of magic.

Q: What are you working on now?

Mallory: I’m finishing up a novella for an anthology, which will be published by Harlequin Intrigue in March of 2013. I’m almost done. As soon as I turn in the novella, I start work on a novel that will be published in May of 2013, also for Harlequin.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers?

Mallory: My advice for anyone who wants to write for publication is never ever ever ever ever give up. Ever. If you truly want to write and see your book in print, you may have to go through a lot of rejections. Don’t let them get you down.

Q: What book or series can you read over and over again without getting bored?

Mallory: The book I can read again and again is Lord Johnnie by Leslie Turner White. It’s a swashbuckling historical romance written in — I believe — 1943. It was the first ‘romance’ I ever read. Re-reading it gives me a comfortable, yet thrilling feeling that no other book does.

Q: If you decided not to be a writer, what would your other dream job be?

Mallory: I would probably pursue art. I love oil painting as well as computer-generated art.

Q: What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done in your life?

Mallory: Get married. I was 27 when I got married, and I knew that I was old enough to set out on this journey rationally, instead of with my head in the clouds. Yeah, right. After 38 years, I’m happy to say that as scary as it was, getting married was also the best thing I’ve ever done.

Q: Who is the one person that has singlehandedly inspired you the most in your life?

Mallory: My daddy. He always told me that I could do anything I put my mind to. And he treated me as if I could do anything. He taught by example, excelling at everything he did in life, and he was always my biggest fan. When I published my first book, he told me that if he could write, he’d never do anything else.

Q: If you could take a trip to any foreign country RIGHT NOW, which one would you choose? Why?

Mallory: I had a remarkable opportunity this summer to visit the South of France. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Q: What is one talent that you’re hopeless at, but you wish you had?

Mallory: Gardening. I can kill just about any plant with hardly any effort.

Q: What TV show are you most addicted to?

Mallory: My acceptable answer is Once Upon A Time. The guilty pleasure answer is America’s Next Top Model.

Q: If you were stuck on a deserted island, name three objects and three people you would want with you.

Mallory: Objects: my laptop, my kindle and my coffee pot. People: my husband, my best friend from New Orleans,  and my nephew.

Q: What is one trait or physical characteristic that you are proud of/love about yourself?

Mallory: I love my brain. I spend a lot of time inside it–writing, daydreaming, night-time dreaming. I enjoy my imagination and such intelligence as I have.  I appreciate my ability to take a snippet of conversation or of a TV show and grow it into a plot for a book.

Thank you so much for allowing me to answer these questions. They are really fun and imaginative. I had a great time.

 

Find Mallory Kane: Website – Facebook – Twitter – Entangled


Cheers,

Categories: Authors, Blog Tour, Crescent Moon Press, Interview

Chatting with Avery Olive

Let me introduce you to Avery Olive and her book A STIFF KISS:

Who knew kissing a corpse would change everything?

Death always hits Xylia Morana too close to home, but she likes it that way. She hangs out with the terminally ill, attends random funerals, and every so often, when the weather is right, she sleeps in open graves.

But after Landon Phoenix, the high school hottie, dies in Xylia’s arms, she sneaks into the morgue to say goodbye. How could she know stealing a kiss from his corpse would wake him up?

With Landon returned to the living and suddenly interested in Xylia, life has new meaning. But what Xylia doesn’t realize is that by kissing Landon back to life, she’s thrown Life and Death off balance. The underworld demands a body, and it might just have to be Xylia’s this time.

Buy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or The Book Depository. 

 

Me: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Avery: A few years ago I’d broken my leg, I was on bed-rest with instructions not to do ANY walking, unless with the aid of crutches. I was pretty much stuck in Mr. Olive’s lazy boy chair, and I read. A lot. Eventually I realized that what I was writing was good, and thought maybe I could create my own novel. It’d be cheaper to write a book of my own, than continue to buy books to read. Quickly, I realized I enjoyed it.

Me: What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

Avery: I don’t really have a schedule, so to speak. I’m a stay at home mom, so I write when I can. I do find that I stay up way to late, because that’s when I can get some peace and quiet. I try to write a bit every night, though.

Me: What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Avery: Oh, wow, this is a tough one. I always write start to finish. I know some writers can skip ahead, or start in the middle, work their way to the end and move to the beginning, or start at the end and work backwards, filling in the blanks. I have to write in order, and if I get stuck, I’m stuck until I can figure out how to move forward, whereas most would just skip the hard part and come back to it later. And I can’t work on more than one thing at one. I write a novel start to finish, or if I get too stuck I have to trunk it. But I can’t flip back and forth between novels. I can’t even do that when reading books. I guess I have a once track mind J

Me: When did you write your first book and how old were you?

Avery: I wrote my first novel in 2009 and I was 24 years old.

Me: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Avery: I love to decorate cakes. I do it on the side for friends and family for a little extra cash. I also read about a book a week (if not more) and in the summer I like to camp and travel a bit.

Me: Are you a plotter or a pantster?

Avery: It might just be my worst writing quality, I’m a pantser. This makes for an interesting story, since I usually only have a few things to work with in my head, and I let the characters do the rest. It’s also why I get stuck. Since I haven’t put a lot of thought into the storyline itself, when I get to a hard part, since I don’t have anything plotted out, I’m stuck until I can come up with direction.

I do, once I get the first initial idea, work out character descriptions and traits, that’s it. And mostly because that needs to be sorted out right away. I can’t very well be half way through a novel and forget what colour eyes my MC has, or what their trademark style is.

Me: How many trunked books (if any) did you have before Publishing A Stiff Kiss?

Avery: I have two completed novels in my trunk, the first one I ever wrote, which I still love, but it needs a bit of an overhaul. And the second I got the first draft done, sent it to my critique buddy. Once I got it back I realized there was way too many things wrong with it, way too many things that needed to be fixed. I set it aside and moved on. One day I might have to pull it out, and work through edits. I’m sure there is a great story underneath that just needs to be pulled forward.

I then have three other novels that are all stuck around the 25K mark. That’s 25K is my problem area. If I can make it past I can finish the novel, but it seems, that’s where I tend to have the most problem, so a few novels never made it passed that mark. One of them I think about often, always trying to figure out how to move forward, and what should happen next.

I only allow myself a certain amount of stuck time. If I can’t manage to push through after about a month, it needs to get set aside and something new needs to be started. I’ve got a million idea’s and they all need a chance to be written.

Me: What’s something you learned from the publishing process that surprised you?

Avery: How little I actually new. I had polished my novel to the best of my ability, sent it to several beta’s and critique partners and continued to polish it with their help. I thought the novel was in pretty good shape, and it was. My editor was impressed with how smooth the novel flowed, that there wasn’t any gaping plot holes, but, BUT my grammar was atrocious. It still is, and I continue to learn ever day and am getting better.

Time, is the other thing. There’s a lot that goes into a novel to get it into publication and each steps takes time. I thought having gone with a small company it would be a lightning fast process (and in retrospect it was) but each step needs to be taken seriously, worked through, and you can’t rush it. A novel is ready when it’s ready.

Me: How long does it typically take you to write a novel, start to finish?

Avery: 3 months is about my average. And that’s including stuck breaks. If I got over my aversion to plotting, and wrote as if it were my nine to five job (if that was even a possibility) I could probably have a novel finished in a month (first draft). It then takes me about 3 months to edit. Which in part is my taking things slow, and waiting on other people J Beta’s and Critique partners are awesome, however they are helping out of the goodness of their heart and it takes time to read and worth through someone else’s work. And I tend to worry. I never think it’s ready, and will continue to pick at it until finally I get to the point where enough is enough.

Me: How did you come up with the idea for A Stiff Kiss?

Avery: This is a tough one. A few things came into play with A Stiff Kiss. I didn’t even think of it as a reverse sleeping beauty until someone had mentioned it to me, but I’m sure in the back of my mind that was part of the thinking.

Someone told me a story, which gave me idea for one of the characters, and I know how cliché, but a dream filled in the blanks.

Me: What are you working on now?

Avery: Now this is super top secret information, if I tell you I’d have to kill you… Oh wait, that’s a lie. I’m actually working on two things (I know a bit of a contradiction to what I said above) I completed a manuscript a few months back, and I’m working on the sequel while I continue to polish the first. When I went to start something new, the sequel and the characters were what came begging me to continue their story, so I caved and thought, what the hell! Maybe I can sell both scripts at the same time J

Me: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers?

Avery: Read. I think reading really helps with writing. You can learn a few tricks, and seeing how a sentence is laid out, really helps when learning how to structure your own sentences.

I also think a good community of other aspiring writers, and published ones help. I’m a huge fan of the Absolute Write Forums. I went there to learn as much as I could about the industry, found my very first beta’s and critique partners (who, some of them are still with me today) and made a few, what I am sure, without a doubt will be lifelong friendships. There are others out there learning as you are, so why not banned together and help each other out.

Lastly figure out what you want, and what you want to come of your writing. These days there are so many ways to get published, and some will work for you as a writer better than others. I don’t think there is a right and wrong way to get your book into the hands of readers. I think it’s all personal preference.

More about the author: Avery Olive is proudly Canadian.  She is married and has one child. When she’s not helping raise her very energetic and inquisitive son, she can be found working on her latest novel–where she devilishly adds U’s into every word she can. When she is looking for a break Avery enjoys cake decorating, losing herself in a good book, or heading out to the lake to go camping.

The release of Avery’s first novel proves to her it won’t be the last. As long as her family continues to be supportive, she can find the time, and people want to read, Avery vows to keep on writing.

You can find more about Avery on her blog, Facebook profile, Facebook fan page, twitter, Goodreads and on her publisher website.

Check out her next blog tour stops:

Sunday March 18th – Dan Wright , Monday March 19th – Mindy, Tuesday March 20th – Hildie McQueen, Wednesday March 21st – Jenn Nixon, Thursday March 22nd – here, Friday March 23rd – Avery’s Book Nook, Saturday March 24th – Clare Marshall, Sunday March 25th – Read 2 Review , Monday March 26th – Megan, Tuesday March 27th – Zahida, Wednesday March 28th – Tawania, Thursday March 29th – Jaime-Kristal , Friday March 30th – Cindy Young-Turner and Saturday March 31th – Steven Whibley

Now, it’s your turn to share A STIFF KISS: post a funny/sad/gritty/dark story about a stiff kiss you experienced to have a chance on winning A Stiff Kiss Coaster (pictured) and a signed bookmark and a collector card.

 

And don’t forget about the A Stiff Kiss Ultimate Prize Package that will run for the duration of the tour. For more details, click here.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Cheers,