Teaser Tuesday: Jack Wilson's Point of View

Meet Jack Wilson from The Makers (H.A.L.F. #2):

We met Jack Wilson in The Deep Beneath (Book 1 of the H.A.L.F. Series). He's a dirty blond, tousled hair guy that prefers flip-flops and T-shirts over dress shoes and button downs. In The Deep Beneath, readers met Jack through the eyes of Erika Holt, his on-again, off-again, on-again (sort of) girlfriend.

Some readers fell in love with Jack and rooted for "Team Jericka." Other readers didn't see the Jack attraction. One of the biggest fans of the book told me she hoped Jack would be killed off to make way for another character that's her fave!

I don't want to spoil anything if you haven't yet read The Deep Beneath, but suffice it to say that things didn't turn out they way Jack and Erika planned. Hell, things didn't turn out the way I'd planned either! The story took a turn at the end that I hadn't anticipated and it has made writing Book 2, The Makers, a lot more interesting!

Lo and behold, Jack has become a point of view character. And I'm determined to make Jack naysayers into Jack Wilson converts.

SECRET TIDBIT ABOUT JACK: Despite looking like he's just rolled out of bed, he actually uses product in his hair to get it to have that messed up look. He uses a sea salt spray and works it into his hair with his fingers to give his hair the beach look without going to the beach.

Not even Erika knows that one!

WHAT'S JACK UP TO IN THE MAKERS?

Without giving too much away, circumstances will bring Jack together with Anna Sturgis. Yep, you heard that name correctly. Anna Sturgis, as in the niece of Commander Lillian Sturgis. I'll give you more insight into Anna in another post, but for now just know that Commander Sturgis isn't the only brainy, beautiful Sturgis woman on our planet. Jack's a loyal guy and wants nothing more than to have Erika back in his arms. But will his heart remain true to Erika? Or will he find himself falling for the enemy?

LITTLE KNOWN FACT ABOUT JACK: Jack and his mom, Kathleen Wilson, share their home with a somewhat psycho cat named Tater.

JACK'S THOUGHTS ON CHIVALRY:

"I know it's old fashioned, but I hold doors open for women. My mom said, 'Girls want a knight, Jack, whether they admit it or not.' And she's my mom and a smart lady so I figured she'd never steer me wrong.

But then I met Erika. Maybe I fell for the girl who's the exception to the rule."

In my recent interview of Jack, I asked him, "What do you loathe about yourself?" Here's his answer:

"I wouldn't say I loathe anything. I don't think like that. I don't get flipped out enough about things to hate on it. So no, I don't hate myself. That's not to say I wouldn't change a few things if I could. Like being taller.

And I guess sometimes - like lately - I wish I was more … Well when that guy had Erika and was hurting her? I had a shot, but I froze. I should have been the one that pulled the trigger."

This memory haunts Jack. I wonder how it will affect him? And will he do things differently if he ever faces a similar situation?

What do you bet he'll have a chance soon to find out?! ;-)

The Makers launches May 10, 2016 on Amazon.

Preorder by May 9 and receive Exclusive bonus material only available to readers that preorder. 

• FIRST 25 Preorders receive Audiobook of H.A.L.F. #1, The Deep Beneath!!! 

• Exclusive Behind the Scenes Material including Natalie's drawings of characters and handwritten character details 

• Lost Chapters, including an adorable character that was cut from the final, only available to those who Preorder by May 9.

CLICK HERE for more details and to Preorder The Makers (H.A.L.F. #2). 

The Makers PREORDER Announcement

Do you love to see life in numbers? If so, here are some stats from my life in 2015:  I travelled over 6,000 miles; saw nearly half a million people traipse by my table/booth at events; said good-bye to two loved ones; played over a hundred hours of Dragon Age Inquisition and Fallout 4; gained 25 pounds (but I deny a correlation between pounds gained and video game hours logged ;-); and - oh yeah - wrote my fifth novel!

H.A.L.F.: The Makers (Book 2 of the H.A.L.F. Series) is available for preorder NOW! *Does a happy dance* I'm so excited, a made a video. (You'll have to watch the video to see why I look like a reproachful librarian in this thumbnail.)

PREORDER

Link to PREORDER The Makers on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PDruTp

Want to see if I'll be in a town near you this year? Stay up to date on my appearance/travel schedule here: http://bit.ly/1v50fdJ

As usual, I tend to do things a bit bassackwards so you're getting a preorder announcement BEFORE a cover reveal! Go figure. But I promise you a cover tomorrow so come back to see the lovely package your new H.A.L.F. book will come in :-)

Writer Wednesday: Announcing FREE and 99 Cent Morgan Wylie Books!

This Writer Wednesday I welcome back to the blog author Morgan Wylie. Morgan's new release, Fractured Darkness, is now available! And if you haven't already read the first two books in the series, you can snag the first one FREE and the second for only 99 cents! A true bargain. Click the Amazon links below to pick up your copies. 

Writer Wednesday is Out of the Wilderness with Deb Vanasse

Out of the Wilderness, by Deb Vanasse

Please welcome author Deb Vanasse to this week's Writer Wednesday. Deb is the author of several books but this week I'm featuring her second Young Adult book, Out of the Wilderness. This week Deb shares with us a glimpse into her writing world and her inspiration for Out of the Wilderness. Deb's book sounds like a great read and I can't wait to dig in. How about you?

Where Book Ideas Come From?

Deb Vanasse

July 17, 2013

Where do you get your ideas? Along with questions about how books get their covers, this is a question I’m frequently asked as a writer.

The question annoys some writers, probably because it’s asked so often, at some level suggesting that there’s some magical garden of ideas that grow like Jack’s beanstalk in our fertile backyards, and if only we’d reveal the secret of where that garden can be found, writing books would be easy. Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) got so tired of questions about where he got his ideas that he printed a card to hand out, with an explanation of exactly how he got his ideas: by venturing out at midnight, under the full moon on the summer solstice, into the desert, where he met with a wise old Native American who gave him his ideas. (Where the wise Native American got the ideas, Geisel couldn’t say.)

A book idea is a big thing to pin down. To truly know what your book is about, at its deepest level, you have to write it, and because of the way the subconscious works, it ends up with interwoven ideas that come from a number of places­—life, suggestion, dreams, landscape—that may or may not be identifiable. I don’t mind talking about ideas once the book is finished, as long as my readers understand that as the author, I may never be 100 percent sure of where my ideas came from.

Out of the Wilderness, my second young adult novel, began back in 1992, though I didn’t know at the time that a book idea was in the works. I was living in Fairbanks, Alaska, teaching high school. The school year had just started up when the newspaper reported that the body of 25-year-old Christopher McCandless, who called himself Alexander Supertramp, had been discovered in an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail, less than 100 miles from where I was living. When found, McCandless had been dead for three weeks. His body weighed 67 pounds.

Strong-willed and idealistic, Chris McCandless had, upon graduation from college, given away the $24,000 that was intended for law school and begun traveling the country under his Supertramp alias. He went west from Virginia to South Dakota, Arizona, California, and into Baja, Mexico, before heading north to Alaska. Grossly underprepared for the wilderness, he hiked into an area north of Denali National Park and Preserve, where he survived for 112 days until he died.

It should be noted that stories like those of McCandless tend to raise the ire of Alaskans. You don’t go into the Bush unprepared. Period. If you don’t respect this country and its hazards, you shouldn’t be here.

Still, I found the story fascinating. So did Jon Krakauer, who wrote about McCandless for Outside Magazine in 1993. Expanding on the article, Krakauer released a nonfiction book, Into the Wild, in 1996; Sean Penn directed a film version of the story in 2007.

Into the Wild
Film Written and Directed by Sean Penn

Into the Wild. Out of the Wilderness.

Yes, there’s a connection.

When I first came to Alaska, I lived in some pretty remote places, accessible only by bush plane, motorboat, and snowmachine. Then I had children and, partly for their benefit, I’d moved from the Bush to Fairbanks. As they grew, I sometimes thought of how nice it might be to return to a simpler lifestyle in a more remote place, where we wouldn’t have to concern ourselves with TV or after-school activities or getting along with the neighbors or buying the latest trend in shoes.

Then I thought of what that would be like if I were the kid, not the mom. If I were a fifteen-year-old boy who wanted his life to be normal for once. If the boy’s older brother were a guy like McCandless, idealistic and stubborn and reckless. If their father’s guilt kept him from thinking straight about the whole situation.

There you have it—the ideas that developed into a story, the seeds planted long before the harvest, the inspiration in part, as for many writers, by the work of another author. There’s a lot more to it, of course. Pieces of my own life found their way into the story—the missing mother, my affinity for place, the tension between responsibility for others and my own desires, guilt, not knowing my brother as well as I wanted to, and likely a bunch of stuff I’ve yet to identify.

Deb Vanasse (@debvanasse) is the author of several books for children and adults, including the Junior Literary Guild selection A Distant Enemy and Battle Books Totem Tale and Lucy’s Dance. Her twelfth book, Black Wolf of the Glacier, is a 2013 release by the University of Alaska Press. Her current projects (for grown-ups) include Cold Spell, a novel about a woman who’s obsessed with a glacier, and a narrative nonfiction book called Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Last Great Race for Gold. You’ll find her at www.debvanasse.com, https://www.facebook.com/debra.vanasse, and www.selfmadewriter.blogspot.com, where a version of this post ran eariler.

You can purchase Out of the Wilderness at http://www.amazon.com/Out-Wilderness-Deb-Vanasse/dp/1940320011/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1372442054&sr=8-3&keywords=deb+vanasse+out+of+the+wilderness; 

Kindle edition at http://www.amazon.com/Out-of-the-Wilderness-ebook/dp/B00D9UUZL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372442121&sr=8-1&keywords=deb+vanasse+out+of+the+wilderness

Interview with Natalie Wright at Indie Author Land

My recent interview with the folks at Indie Author Land has been posted. Come here what I'm up to :-D

Manic Monday: Do You Wattpad?

What the heck is a Wattpad?! Is it social media? Is it a place to share your writing? Is it a place to read new and often truly unique stories and poems that you won't find anywhere else?

Yes, yes and yes.

With almost 2 million registered users worldwide, and over 7 million unique visitors each month, this app is a robust and busy place.

You may have noticed my Wattpad buttons on the right side of my blog. If you haven't, scroll down now and check it out. You can see my current stats and if you click through, you can start enjoying Wattpad.

But wait! Don't go yet. I want to share with you a few things I've learned about Wattpad, and some of my thoughts about it.

First, Wattpad is social. And like with all things social, it's about give and get. You can't just go upload your brilliantly written short story on Wattpad, do nothing else, and expect to have hundreds of thousands of reads and votes. To get started, peruse the stories already there in your favorite genre. If you like something that you read, fan the author, leave them a comment, vote for them and otherwise be a good apple. Plan to spend some time with this. Get to know some people and their work. Don't expect everyone to automatically "fan you" back. Some will. Some won't. That's okay. Fan people whose work you genuinely enjoyed; start conversation with people that you truly would like to get to know better. Dance your happy butterfly dance and be the little social bee, but in a sincere way. You'll build up a base of friends and fans.

"Hey, check out the amazing story that Natalie Wright just posted!"

Second, teens are the prime users of Wattpad - for now. That doesn't mean that there are no adult readers hanging out there - there are. But Wattpad has thus far attracted a young crowd of readers and writers. If you write stories for teens, Wattpad can be a great place to attract readers - get to know them - and get direct feedback from your target audience. It's also fun to see what they are writing and to cheer them on. I've read some truly unique stories written by promising young writers. They need polish and experience. But they're writing imaginative stuff, fueled by their real-life experience and unfettered by constraints of  "the rules".

So far, all of the comments that I've received have been constructive critiques or positive comments. No nastiness or ugliness.

I want you to look at my Wattpad button on the right side again. How many views for Emily's House? When I wrote this post, it was close to 300,000. That's a lot, isn't it?!

How'd I get so many views? Because Emily's House is currently a "Featured Selection" on Wattpad. How did it get featured status? It wasn't anything I did. Wattpad contacted me, based on a recommendation by a reader. When Emily's House went to featured status, it had a little over 3,000 reads. It went from 3,000 to close to 300,000 in less than three weeks.

That's a lot of exposure to potential readers. Some read a bit and move on. But others get engaged by the story and add it to their libraries, fan me, vote, etc.

If you're a writer, especially if you write for teens and young adults, I recommend that you check Wattpad out. Post an excerpt of a story, or some of your poetry or short stories. Hang out and engage. Who knows, you just may find some devoted and loyal fans.

If you enjoy reading, then what are you waiting for?! Click my button, hop on over to Wattpad, and start enjoying Emily's House :-)

Do you Wattpad? If you do, share your thoughts on it with me here. Do you like it? Have any problems or beefs with it?

Help Me Clean Up My Potty Mouth - and WIN!

Ralphie, from A Christmas Story. At least it wasn't Lifeboy.

Today we discuss an important topic: Curse words, dirty words, bad words.

I recently received comments from my freelance editor on a manuscript written for young adults (ages 12 and up). I don't use the F-word much in the manuscript, but there were quite a few instances of the word "ass," and more than a few shits, damns and derivations thereof.

In my mind, for some of my characters, their voice comes through speaking that way. For example Fanny, one of the main characters in the Emily Adams series, one of her favorite words is ass (or asshat, asshole - you get the picture). It just rolls off Fanny's tongue. It's hard for me to "hear" Fanny speaking any other way. Not all of my characters speak that way. Jake Stevens for example (also from Emily's House), rarely curses. But for a character like Fanny, it just won't do to have her say something like "darn" or "shucks."

But the editor made a good point to me. She advised me that some parents have problems with the use of foul language in books their kids read (the younger the child, the more problem it will be perceived to be). And parents have been known to pitch a fit at a librarian for shelving books in the middle-grade of teen section that have curse words in them.

I believed the editor, but I decided to put the question to the Facebook community. I got more response to this question than any thing else I've ever posted. It proves there are strong feelings. And not surprisingly, parents (and teachers and some librarians) are pretty vehement that the F-word does NOT belong in books written for kids, EVER. (Of course, most stated the belief that their child(ren) don't use such language - *cough*.) Perhaps we'll address the issue of elitism and parent denial in another post.

The strong response I got on the Facebook page made me realize that if I want my books to have the widest possible audience (and I do), then I need to be aware of how parents will respond to cursing in books.

But what do I do about my potty mouth characters? Fanny can't say "aw shucks," or call someone a poopy pants.

I decided to embrace this challenge. I'm on a quest to build a library of non-swearword urban slang. It's time to get creative.

Here's where you come in. I want to hear your most creative slang words to replace curse words. Here are a few examples to get you going, words that I think can work well to replace asshole:

Clump nugget 

Butt munch 

Cretin

How about tart monkey? Ever heard of that? I thought it sounded naughty, though not sure what it really means?!

Do you have clever stand ins for curse words? I want to hear them!

And if the sheer joy of sharing your most original language creations with me isn't enough of an incentive to post a comment, let's sweeten the deal. 

Time for a contest! 

It's the "Help Me Clean up My Potty Mouth!" contest. 

Have fun, you little tart monkeys. Go get your creative caps on, you dill weeds, and send me some blasted words.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review Friday: LEVERAGE, by Joshua C. Cohen

Today I'm reviewing Leverage, by Joshua C. Cohen. In case you missed it, please check out my interview of the author, Josh Cohen, AND enter the Giveaway for FREE, signed copy of Leverage, by clicking here.


Let's start with the description of Leverage from Goodreads:



"The football field is a battlefield

There's an extraordinary price for victory at Oregrove High. It is paid on - and off - the football field. And it claims its victims without mercy - including the most innocent bystanders. 

When a violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war has devastating consequences, an unlikely friendship between a talented but emotionally damaged fullback and a promising gymnast might hold the key to a school's salvation.

Told in alternating voices and with unapologetic truth, Leverage illuminates the fierce loyalty, flawed justice, and hard-won optimism of two young athletes."


Okay, this is accurate description - sort of. But I found it odd that nowhere in the description of this book does the publisher ever use the word "bully." And that's odd, since this is a book largely about bullying.


Yes, there is an ever-escalating prank war, but that makes it sound like what happens in the book is somehow the shared fault of the victim of things gone too far. And that is NOT how the book is written.


Yes, there are football players - and male gymnasts. Yes, they engage in a prank war. And yes, the school's pride - in fact the whole town's pride - in their football team is at the heart of the story. It informs as to why some of the characters make the choices they make.


But in Leverage, sports is part of the setting. It's the background of the human drama. And Leverage is, more than anything, a human drama, and a story about bullying.


In our social media age, bullying these days often takes the form of cyber-bullying. But in Leverage, bullying is the old-fashioned kind. "I'm big, you're small, therefore I can do to you what I want. And because I'm seen as popular (i.e. powerful), I'll get away with it." 


Bullying is pervasive in our society and it doesn't end when you become an adult. A person can be bullied at work, in their marriage, or even bullied by media. For that reason, books like Leverage are so important. We need to discuss this topic. We need to explore it. 


Leverage is not a sports book. It's a book about bullying, choices, courage and relationships - and that's why it's worth a read. So take the cover and the cover copy blurb (chosen by a publisher, not the author), with a grain of salt.


The story is told from two different perspectives - Danny and Kurt. Danny is a sophomore, small and a gymnast. Kurt is a large, hulking football player. He's not stupid, though his stutter makes him appear so. Danny and Kurt form a strange duo and an unlikely pair.


Of the two, I enjoyed Kurt - liked Kurt - so much more than Danny. Kurt's story is entirely sympathetic. We root for Kurt and hope that it all works out for him. Kurt is a well-crafted character and one of the highlights of the story. 


The poignant thing about reading a book like Leverage is that you just know that there are Kurt's out there. People who have suffered abuse like he has. Who have been dealt shitty cards like he has. You just  hope that real kids dealt cards like that find the inner fortitude that Kurt finds to do the right thing and to lift themselves out.


I am not a fan of sports stories. If it wasn't for hearing the author discuss this book at a book festival, I probably would not have picked it up based on the cover and description. I would have judged it by its cover.


I am so happy that I picked it up, despite the cover. Leverage is a tautly woven tale about making choices, about finding courage, and about the consequences of our actions. Cohen creates wonderful tension in the book. You know from the first couple of chapters that something bad is going to happen. You don't know what and you don't know when. But you know it's coming.


The "bad thing" that happens comes at about the 40% mark. And as a reader, I felt the tension - actually began to sweat - as the "bad thing" began to unfold. Author Cohen did a great job of "showing" just the right amount. The big scene isn't for those who cannot abide any form of sexual violence (fair warning). As someone who avoids contemporary realism (I love Ellen Hopkins' writing but find her books too harsh to read), I was able to read Leverage. The author didn't resort to sensationalizing the scene to emotionally manipulate the reader. 


The remainder of the book explores the aftermath of the horrible thing that happens. The main characters, the ones involved - even the town itself - is explored.


Joshua Cohen is a bright star of a writer, giving us a wonderful first book that makes us want more from him.


I highly recommend Leverage and give it:

 5 Hawks

A WORD OF CAUTION: Leverage deals with mature themes and includes graphic violence of a sexual nature. I do not recommend this book to those under 13, and give it a PG-13 rating.

Writer Chat Wednesday: Welcome Krystal Wade!

Krystal Wade

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for Writer Chat. Today, please welcome my guest Krystal Wade. Her first novel, Wilde's Fire, was recently released. Pull up a chair and eavesdrop on my chat with Krystal.

Natalie Wright (NW): Your new release Wilde’s Fire just hit the shelves and I am loving it! You went with an Indie publishing house, Noble Young Adult, to publish Wilde’s Fire. Can you tell us a little about your path to publication?

Krystal Wade (KW): My path was short. Horror stories circulate about how people wait months, years—decades even—before their novel sees the light of day. I'm impatient—very, very impatient—so, I decided not to query an agent to reach a NY house. I researched medium-sized publishers and found one I thought was "the one", subbed to them, and never heard back. Not a word. Not, 'we've received your query and it will be x amount of days' . . . nothing. So, I kept reworking my novel, changing it up, gathering beta data, and researching more publishers. A friend of mine mentioned Noble Romance opened a YA arm. I sent them the first three chapters of Wilde's Fire, and three days later, they wanted the rest. There you have it.

NW: Wow! Three days? That's almost unheard of! But the quick response I think relates to the strength of your story. And what about your experience with Noble Young Adult – what has that been like for you?

KW: A whirlwind. I've learned so much about publication (both sides: author and publisher). I've learned as impatient as I am, I am also a control freak. J

NW: One thing I’ve noticed is that your book is very well edited – both for content and for grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. What was the editing process like?

KW: Thank you. That means the world to me. One thing I'm afraid of is that some reviewer will say "Hey! You goofed, you idiot!" Luckily, that hasn't happened yet. I work with a team of writers. Sarah Ballance and Dawna Raver are my critique partners, and they ruthlessly read and edited my chapters before I sent to beta readers. I also use a service called Grammarly. This is all before my editor got her hands on Wilde's Fire. She taught me about impossible simultaneous actions and about Noble's house style for commas. But other than that, there wasn't much for her to correct. My team is awesome!

NW: In Wilde’s Fire, your main character, Kate, accidentally ends up in another world – world full of danger. What was your inspiration for this other world?

KW: Really good question. I had no inspiration for her other world. Years ago, when I first tried to write her story, all I had was an image of her reaching out to touch something shimmering in the forest. The rest of the story was blank, dark, non-existent. So, I guess it's kind of ironic I sent her into a world without light.

NW: Do you have any news to share about your work?

KW: Wilde's Fire has claimed the #1 Best Selling spot on Noble YA's website for two weeks in a row. That's amazing. I'm next to some great talent. One of these days, maybe I'll see #1 on Amazon. What do you think?

NW: That's great Krystal! Shoot for the stars. What books have you written so far?

KW: Wilde's Army, Darkness Falls Book Two, is complete and in my editor's red-penning hands. The third book in the trilogy is near completion, but my muse told me to finish an urban fantasy (currently untitled) I started last year. So, I'm obeying. That one is coming along quickly and I already have a publisher lined up! Keeping the details mum though.

NW: Urban fantasy - I'm in! When you are ready to share the deets, come back and chat about it! 

What is your favorite scene from Wilde's Fire and why?

KW: I have so many scenes I'm in love with, but I think what I love the most, is when Kate is utterly deflated. Arland asks her to draw out what happened as a way to make her feel better. She draws a stick figure in the dirt then stabs it through the heart. His advice didn't help. And I love her attitude.

NW: What genre do you write in?

KW: I write mostly fantasy, but a few times I've dabbled in suspense. My urban fantasy might be described as a thriller/suspense/fantasy. LOL. Say that ten times fast.

NW: Which character from your books do you like most / are most like?

KW: Flanna. She says everything I'm afraid to.

NW: If you walked through a portal to dimension without books, what three books do you want to take with you?

KW: The Hunger Games . . . all three.

NW: I'd pick the Hunger Games too but when asked this question, I "cheat" and count the series as one book, LOL! Who is your favorite author and why?

KW: My favorite author is, coincidentally, not my favorite writer. Does this make sense? I love Maggie Stiefvater. Her books are good, but it's her personality I'm drawn to. Her vlogs, her blogs. She's unique, and her voice carries into everything she writes. She's quite amazing, but I wasn't happy with the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.

NW: I totally agree with what you just said. I think that for authors trying to build their "brand," they should study Maggie Stiefvater - not to copy her, but to see how she so successfully puts the "real Maggie" out there in everything she does and it is compelling.

NW: Describe your perfect Saturday.

KW: Waking up to the sound of birds singing, not kids screaming. A cup of coffee brought to me by my loving husband, breakfast in bed, someone propping pillows under my feet and feeding me grapes—Oh, wait, you didn't want reality, did you?

Thank you Krystal for stopping by my blog today and chatting. I HIGHLY recommend you check out Krystal's book and get to know her on Facebook, etc.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Author.KrystalWade

Web: www.krystal-wade.com

blog: www.krystalwade.blogspot.com

Short Stories: www.thewriterscollection.com

Noble YA: www.nobleyoungadult.com

http://www.amazon.com/Wildes-Fire-Darkness-Falls-ebook/dp/B007OWPBS8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1333037488&sr=8-3 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wildes-fire-darkness-falls-krystal-wayde/1109722758?ean=2940014268103&itm=7&usri=wilde%27s+fire 

http://www.bookstrand.com/wildes-fire-darkness-falls

Writer Chat Wednesday: Alisa Jeruconoka - London Calling!

My Writer Chat today is with Alisa Jeruconoka from London, England. Alisa is a YA fantasy writer and author of Unparallel Worlds. I had a chance to chat with Alisa recently and I was so intrigued by her description of her story and inspiration, I had to buy the book to read it for myself!

Alisa Jeruconoka: First of all I want to thank Natalie for this fantastic opportunity to spread the word about my YA fantasy fiction novel ‘Unparallel Worlds’. The future of the whole planet depends on the delicate balance of Light and Darkness. Love and Hatred, Friendship and Betrayal are the keys to open and reveal the ancient secrets.

Natalie Wright: Do you have any news to share about your work?

Alisa Jeruconoka: Having only recently put the book on Amazon I’ve had 5 reviews already and there all great! It made me really happy that people are enjoying my book and for me this was the first step and although sales are important knowing that I have managed to write a story that people enjoy is priceless!

The other bit of news is that I had a very talented video maker email me after visiting my site, he said he was really impressed that at a time when everyone else is writing about vampires and werewolves in the YA market (and I’m not saying that these aren’t good reads) it’s refreshing that someone is trying to introduce the almost lost genre of otherworldly fantasy fiction to this audience. He said that this was vital to give them the opportunity to expand their minds with such a richly imagined story (I gathered that he was a fantasy fiction fanatic).

He liked the whole idea of the story so much that he went on to create a really cool video for me which is now on Youtube and my website www.unparallelworlds.co.uk.

NW: I love this trailer for your book so much, I had to include it here for people to see.

NW: What was the inspiration for your book?

AJ: I have always enjoyed writing and from a young age I found I really enjoyed writing fantasy fiction. I could never wait to get home from school to read the latest story to my mum (who’s still my biggest fan) and we would have a real laugh acting out the characters.

This love of writing stayed with my throughout college and university where I had many of my works chosen over others to be performed by the drama students in annual productions.

Like everyone else though when I left University I went straight into full-time work as a translator/interpreter and because I was dealing with international clients from very early in the mornings to late in the evenings my favourite hobby of writing fantasy fiction was put on hold for several years.   

Then one day I visited a bookstore with my fourteen years old niece to choose a book and found that there was a lack of genres for her age group to read (strangely the same view the video maker I mention above shared). This happened about the same time I had changed jobs to one which was not so demanding, so all of a sudden I had spare time on my hands. It was then that I decided I would use this time to write a book for her age group that was completely different to anything else out there. The result is Unparallel Worlds.

Whilst writing London the city I live in also inspired me. I visited my favourite places in London to get inspiration. Top of my list were Hampstead Heath where I got most of the ideas about the forests I write about in my book, The Natural History Museum and it’s exhibits played a part when I needed ideas about either the colourful fantasy creatures or the odd and weird dark creatures that exist on the planet Adriana in my book. 

The Natural History Museum building was also a source of inspiration with all the carvings on its walls. This along with the beautiful monuments and mausoleums in Highgate Cemetery gave me inspiration to describe the two great palaces in my story. 

If anyone reading this has not been to any of the above places then please make sure you do if you visit London I highly recommend them.

I also got inspiration whilst writing the book from listening to different types of music when writing about characters. The main types of music though were classical and gothic. I would use the melodies of each to create images and characteristics in my head for the wonderful, weird and odd characters in the book.

NW: What is your favorite scene from your book and why?

AJ: My favourite scene in the book is when Aurelia the princess of Light, a main character in the book, makes her way to the deepest and darkest part of the vast palace library that has thousands of halls and rooms, a part not many visit. She goes there to read the most ancient books and also to find an ancient spider, a guardian of this part of the library that can give her the answers about an ancient prophecy, which forms the basis of my story.

NW: Which character from your books do you like most / are most like?

AJ: From all the colourful and weird characters in my book, my favourite is professor Norris Wolfidge, a bumbling but likeable and wise character (almost like Boris Johnson the mayor of London). If only Zalion the King of Darkness had listened to him, it would have prevented the mutation in his land on the Dark Side and saved a lot of lives. (but if he had listened to him then I would not have such an interesting book)

NW: If you walked through a portal to dimension without books, what three books do you want to take with you?

AJ: This is a difficult question because I have so many favourite books. But if the portal took me to Adriana then the books I would take are:

Mark Chadbourne ‘Age of Misrule’ (first three books in one volume)- Just because I love these books

Tad Williams ‘The War of Flowers’ – This because it’s about someone who becomes part of a fairy world in the end.

Martin Millar ‘Lonely Werewolf Girl'- This because it would always remind me of London I love with a bit of urban fantasy.

NW: Do you have a “day job”? And if you do, what do you do when you’re not writing?

AJ: In the day I do freelance translations for large multi-national corporations. This is not as demanding as my previous job so it gives me enough money to survive but also gives me the time to write - my favourite hobby.

NW: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

AJ: I love creating and developing new characters in my head and then trying to overcome the challenge of describing them exactly as I want on paper.

NW: What is your favorite movie – the one you can watch over and over again?

AJ: ‘Hell Boy 2’and ‘The Fifth Element’

NW: What is your favorite band or musical performer?

AJ: Umm, I love good music and it depends on my mood what I want to listen. I like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, ‘Muse’, ‘Cold Play’.

NW: What do you hope readers will take with them from your writing?

AJ: As I am aiming this book at young teens I hope they realize there is more genres that just the vampire and werewolf stories out there. I hope they read my book and really get lost in the fantasy fiction I have written. I hope that after reading my book their minds are expanded and I secretly hope my book inspires the next generation of fantasy fiction authors.

United States customers can buy Unparallel Worlds by clicking on this link:

UK customers can buy ‘Unparallel Worlds’ by clicking this link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unparallel-Worlds-ebook/dp/B00759P9KU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328734390&sr=1-1

You can also purchase from Smashwords:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unparallel-Worlds-ebook/dp/B00759P9KU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328734390&sr=1-1

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/129524

For more information about Alisa, please visit her site:

www.unparallelworlds.co.uk