Interview: Kathleen S. Allen

Hey everyone! We have Kathleen S. Allen, author of Lore of Fei, here with us today to answer a few questions! Please welcome, Kathleen. 

_________________________

1) Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Sure. I am a YA author but I also write in other genres. I have been writing since I was eight years old but it might’ve been younger. I started writing poetry, then short stories, then novels.

2) What was the inspiration behind Lore of Fei for you?
I wanted to write about faeries.

3) Do you have a character from Lore of Fei that you enjoyed creating the most?
I enjoyed writing both Ariela and Rion. I found it interesting to write from a male POV, even if that male is a faerie. I also tried to make the human characters different from the faeries.

4) Ariela is such a strong character in your book, even though she is faced with some pretty impossible odds. Did you find writing her character to be difficult at all, or did that particular character just develop naturally as you were writing the book?

No, she developed on her own. I began to write the story and the characters developed from there. I usually write as I go, more of a “pantser”---writing by the seat of my pants---than a plotter but for this book I plotted it out first with a timeline and did a chapter by chapter synopsis. I didn’t write dialogue just a general sense of what I wanted to happen. For example, in chapter one I wrote: Ariela is mistaken for a human child and is kidnapped by the human warriors. How did I want the kidnapping to take place? What happens when Ariela is no longer in her homeland of Fei? This is what the rest of the chapter is about. How would she feel being out of her own land? She has never been in the company of humans, what does she think of them? And so on.

5) Is there something specific about faeries that makes you enjoy writing about them?

Their magos or magic fascinate me. I took a class at Eastern Michigan University when I was working on a Master’s in Children’s Literature called Legends, Ballads and Myths, taught by Dr. G.B. Cross (Professor Emeritus) and I learned about different types of faeires and I wanted to write about them.

6) Your website says that you write in several different genres, but that the young adult genre is your favorite. Why is that?

Well, I took a fun test called find your mental age and mine was 23 even though I am clearly not 23. LOL.

7) In your book, Lore of Fei, you use several different words that are clearly your own creations. How did you manage to come up with them?

Ah, I perused medieval dictionaries, etymology dictionaries (meanings of words), the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) and foreign languages to find similar or odd words I could use. I had fun finding the words to use. Some, of course, I made up! I put a glossary at the end of the book in order to help readers figure out what the words mean.

8) Was there anything in particular that served as your inspiration when creating the world of Fei in your book?

I wrote it two years ago during my first NaNoWriMo competition. That’s the competition where national and international writers attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days during the month of November. It was my first time doing NaNo and I wrote LORE OF FEI over the course of the month. I ended the month with just over 50,000 words and the final novel is 86,000 words after editing several times. I edited over the course of several months before I submitted it to the publisher and then went through five edits with the editor. This past NaNo I wrote WAR OF FEI, the second Lore of Fei book coming out in Feb. 2013 and this coming November I plan on writing VEIL OF FEI, the third and final book in the series.

9) Speaking of other worlds, Hege, the human world in Lore of Fei, is very different from the world we live in today. It’s almost as if it was set in a different time period. Was there anything that served as a strong influence for you when creating Hege?

I had just finished writing a space opera with a planet similar to earth and I wanted Hege to be more medieval rather than more modern. I based it on medieval villages during the time when countries had small fiefdoms with warlords running their kingdoms. So, not exactly medieval but not present day either.

10) Are you working on anything new right now?

I am always working on something new! I have a YA zombie book I am querying to agents, I have a YA contemporary out to publishers, I have another YA book I have a premise for but haven’t started writing yet. I have the space opera out to possible publishers/agents. I have a murder mystery (not YA) that just got accepted to the publisher who did the first one (IF IT’S MONDAY, IT MUST BE MURDER). The new one is called IF IT’S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE TROUBLE. It’s the story of female cop turned P.I. after being shot. It’s the Mel Thompson, P.I. series.

_________________________

Thank you so much for joining us today, Kathleen. Be sure to check out her book, Lore of Fei! 

Feature Friday: Interview with Dana Michelle Burnett

Today we have Dana Michelle Burnett here with us to talk about her new book, Haunted. Everyone, please welcome Dana...

In your book, Alastor Sinclair is a ghost from the Civil War-era. Is his character modeled after a real-life Civil War soldier or is he completely your creation?  He is completely my own creation.  While I was dreaming him up and researching the Civil War, I was always looking at pictures of the soldiers from both sides.  It didn't matter which side they fought on, they all had this same intense look and in those old photographs, blue eyes look almost white and really draw your eye.  I think if there is anything about those pictures that stuck in my head, it was those eyes, so of course, my fictional soldier had to have those same eyes and intense look.

While Spiritus was narrated solely from Becca’s point of view, parts of the story are told from the point of view of a new character. What made you decide to write the story of Haunted from the perspectives of two different characters?  For Haunted, I really felt that the story of Becca and Alastor needed an outside observer to push it forward.  It's one thing to read about Alastor coming to Becca, but what does it look like from the outside?  I wanted the reader to experience that mystery and see the effect this relationship has had on Becca from the outside as well.

Why did you choose to add the element of voo doo to the story of Haunted?  I've always loved the idea of voodoo and New Orleans.  It's all so mysterious and romantic at the same time that I couldn't resist putting it in the story.

What inspired you to write such a ghostly series?  The old houses of Corydon were my inspiration.  I have to drive through Corydon to go to the grocery, so I'd see those old houses and wonder who used to live there, bit by bit the story took shape.

Becca’s struggle to keep a strong grip on her sanity in Haunted is something that I didn’t expect to encounter, especially after I read Spiritus. What made you decide to turn the story in that particular direction?  How could you have a relationship with a ghost and not go a little crazy? 

Your descriptions of Alastor as a ghost are incredibly vivid and make the reader feel as if he is real. Do you find it difficult to write such striking descriptions?  Not at all.  Alastor was easy to write for because he is so dashing and teasing.  It was really easy to picture how he would move and react.  I consider him to be almost a force of nature and I guess that's why I compare him to thunder or clouds so often.

What motivated you to create a character like Becca?  Becca seemed a perfect match for Alastor.  I couldn't really picture one without the other.  There might even be a little bit of myself in her as well.

Becca is Alastor’s wife from over a century ago. Why did you decide to include the aspect of reincarnation in both Spiritus and Haunted? I loved the idea of a ghost coming back for a lost love, but that had been done again and again.  I was waiting for my daughter one day at her dance class and heard the term "old soul" in a conversation.  I began to think more about my Alastor and Becca, why couldn't he come back because she is his wife reincarnated, but then why wasn't he reincarnated?  That's when I came up with the twists and turns in their relationship.

It’s very obvious that Becca and Alastor share a love that surpasses the span of time. Do you think a happy ending is possible for them?  It won't be your typical happy ending, but yes, there will be a happy ending for them in the next book.

Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with us today, Dana! I hope you all enjoyed that interview. Be sure to pick up a copy of Dana's Haunted, too. Click here to see our review of the book.

Feature Friday: Christopher Walker

Today, I’m really excited to say that we have Christopher Walker, author of The Lightforce Rebellion, here with us. Everyone, please welcome Chris…

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 
Hi, my name is Christopher Walker and I currently am a technical writer for a computer storage company up in Washington state. I'm a Star Wars fan, enjoy reading fantasy and sci-fi fiction, and this book represents my first step to becoming a full-time writer.

What is it like to self-publish your own book? 
It's empowering because I don't have to wait for a large publisher or agent to accept my work. Although my eventual plan is to publish a few of my novels through New York. So the upside is that it's very easy to do. But the down side is that it's, well, very easy to do. That's why if you've browsed around any of the major eBook retailers you'll see a glut of self-published novels with horrible cover art, and probably even worse writing. 

Where did you get the idea for Foronar, the world that Zach finds himself in for most of the story in The Lightforce Rebellion? 
The name just popped into my head. Not sure where it came from. But the world itself was based on a place some of my friends and I built up online in this virtual world called SW City (swcity.net). It's miles and miles of virtualized terrain we made while we were growing up in high school and college. SW City is a little more light-hearted and whimsy than Foronar, but some of the elements of SW City found their way into Foronar. 

There are obviously a lot of fantasy elements in your book, such as the races of cloud- and rock- people that inhabit Foronar. Where did you get the idea for these two unique races? 
The cloud people, the Cirrans, actually came fairly directly out of SW City from a race of cloud beings I had invented called Nimbusians. And those were based on a Nintendo character named Mallow. One of my friends from SW City also invented a counterpart race called the Submins who were very physically similar to Nimbusians. I toyed with using them, but eventually I ended up creating an entirely new race of volcanic beings and named them the Fyros, and they fit right in with the story I wanted to tell. 
And I justified using the fantasy characters by saying that the Cirrans the Fyros are both made out of the four basic greek elements of earth, air, fire, and water. The Cirrans are made out of air and water and the Fyros are made out of earth and fire.

You put a lot of detail into describing the worlds of Foronar in your book. Do you plan to write other stories set in this same world?   
I would certainly like to. I left the door open for more adventures, so hopefully it won't be too long before I can write another.

Your main character isn’t exactly the typical hero that is seen in most novels. What inspired you to create a character like Zach?
Zach is a 14 year old Kansas boy who is the protagonist of the story. Zach kind of came up out of combination of elements. I wanted to do a story about bullying, but there's also a bit of me in there at 14. For example, he's from Kansas. I'm from Kansas. He goes to my school. I went to my school. As an aside, I actually put in those demographic elements because I figured that I won't be writing too many stories set in the modern world and I wanted to do an homage to where I grew up while I had the chance. Hopefully I didn't make Zach a Mary Sue because I tried to give him characteristics that I didn’t have at that age. For example, I never would have gone through that door in the tree. 

The characters in your book are really fun to follow throughout the story. Do you have a favorite character from the book or one that you relate to more than the rest? 
Erika was really fun to write. I approached her with some trepidation because she's female and I'm not, and she's 14 and I'm not. And I think she turned really well! 

Do you have a certain process that you go through when you’re writing?
I plotted the story out ahead of time on note cards, using various methods like Dramatica and a few of Holly Lisle's tricks. I then used the note cards as a guideline while writing the story. I set a goal to write about 4000 words a week, because I figured I had four evenings a week that I could write. So I wrote 1000 words a day. By the end of it I was writing two days a week and 2000 words a day. 

Where do you do your best writing? 
I did a lot of it out on my balcony, and a lot of it on my couch. And only some of it on the new writing desk I bought. 

Are you working on anything new right now?
I'm noodling around an idea involving space Nazis. It'll be science fiction/fantasy, but not young adult. 

What do you do when you aren’t writing? 
I'm probably working, watching Survivor or some random movie, or playing a game with my friends. 

I’ve heard that you’re a fan of Star Wars. If you could be any character from Star Wars, who would you choose to be?
Well, I'll be playing a Jedi Consular in the new Star Wars MMORPG "The Old Republic". I wouldn't want to be any of the named characters. Their lives are much too harsh and exciting.

I’ve read that you are also working on a voice acting career, in addition to writing novels. Can you tell us a bit about what that’s like? 
Voice acting is great fun because you get to do all these crazy voices, and you really get to act. I actually play the lead in an audio drama you can find on Amazon and Audible called "Stitched Crosses" about a knight named Marcus who's become disillusioned with the Crusades. 

Has any of the work you’ve done as a voice actor inspired your writing at all?
So far they haven't crossed over, because typically I'm voicing someone else's writing. However, having multiple voices is very useful when reading your work aloud. And kind of fun.

Thanks for joining us today, Chris! I hope you guys enjoyed that interview. Be sure to check out Chris’s book, The Lightforce Rebellion. And, if you want to get a glimpse at the virtual world that was the basis for the world in book, give swcity.net a look. 

Spooky Stories with Liz Schulte

Today we are very lucky to have Liz Schulte with us in wonderful embrace of her book Dark Corners. Here's a small summary of the book provided by Amazon to get us started.

"Ella Reynolds knew from the first moment she walked into the old house someone or something was watching her. Waiting. Her husband's violent murder sent her spiraling into a world of grief and isolation, but Ella isn't alone. Who or what is responsible for her husband's death is still with her. Darkness has engulfed the past year of Ella's life. Everyday reality slips a little more between her fingers as she struggles to break free from her memories. She must look deeper into her past as well as the present to discover truth of her husband's homicide. A string of uncanny events takes place and practical explanations run thin as Ella follows the terrifying road to closure. As the past and present come to a head, Ella must decipher who or what the murderer is before it takes her as well."

Throughout the beginning of the book we question if Ella is being haunted by a ghost or if someone is messing with her head. So today we ask Liz if she had any ghost stories of her own to tell.

Liz: 

I want to start with thanking you for having me on your blog and reading my book. I was asked to share a ghostly experience of mine with you guys today. Let me first start off with saying I, unlike my character, am an open-minded skeptic. I do not have a lot of ghostly experiences, but I have one that is up in the air. I, honestly, don’t know what happened. Maybe it was a ghost (that’s the more comforting thought) or maybe it wasn’t. Some who have already read the books may recognize this experience, but here I go!

Was home from college doing what college students do best, napping, and all of my family was out of the house. Our family’s one dog was sleeping next to me. The dog and I heard the kitchen door open, and the dog hopped up and ran out barking. I heard someone greet the dog and our dog stopped barking. A few seconds later I heard footsteps coming down the hallway towards the room I was in. I assumed it was my dad or one of my brothers, but I didn’t open my eyes because I didn’t want to get caught in conversation and ruin a perfectly good nap. The footsteps went past the room and to our library. I heard something like a paper bag crumpling, but I didn’t really think anything of it.

About an hour later my mom came home and woke me up. She told me to get ready because we were going to meet the rest of the family for dinner. I told her dad was already home. She argued with me then I searched the house and couldn’t find anyone. I told her what happened and she told me I hadn’t locked the front door. So here is my dilemma, either someone randomly came into my parent’s house to throw away a paper stack in the library or it wasn’t a person at all. I have no idea, but I was thoroughly creeped out for a few days after that, and I never again forgot to lock the front door. There were always other things that happened around our house normal bumps and noises that could be excused as settling, but never anything quite that blatant. 

That is pretty spooky.. Thanks Liz for joining us here at The Ink Puddle! You can click here to see our review on Dark Corners.
So do you guys have any ghost stories to share? Any creepy occurrences or haunted houses we should know of?

Interview with Elizabeth Sharp

Today is our last day with Elizabeth Sharp and she has provided us with a fantastic interview about her and her book Natural Selection. Don't forget to at least answer the question at the bottom to be apart of our giveaway!

What was the inspiration behind your story, Natural Selection?
Natural Selection was actually a perfect storm of ideas. Three separate ideas came together one day. The first was a young adult novel about a teenage girl discovering she was more than human. The second was about a teenage girl and her unique family structure that focused on issues teen dealt. Many of the people who read it felt it was too dark and depressing, but I loved the characters and their relationship. The final idea dealt with a society filled with hatred and mistrust, though this one isn’t quite as dominant in Natural Selection as it is in the sequels.

How did you go about deciding what age Amelia would be?
I can’t even begin to tell you how many times Amelia’s age changed I the course of writing this story. I had her as old as seventeen at one point and as young as twelve. In the end I decided to start her at fourteen simply because I liked showing her dealing with these deeper issues at the same time she is struggling with the very normal teen issue of starting high school. It just seemed like a good place to start.

I LOVED how you followed Amelia and her mother’s reading selections! (Who doesn’t love H.P. Mallory after all?) What gave you that idea to subtly bring up other books and authors instead of just saying that she was reading a book about a sparkly vampire?
It started off as my attempt to give some depth to Amelia, showing her tastes. I also liked the idea that if the reader liked the idea of something she is reading they can go look for it and actually find it.

Will there be more to Amelia’s story?
Oh, definitely. There is a second novel already being edited and a third being ploted. Some of the other characters introduced will also be getting their own stories. So you haven’t seen the last of Amelia.
Who is your greatest influence in the writing world?

When is the best time to write? Where is it that you do your magic?
First thing in the morning is the best time for me. I am most productive then. I usually start at my desk in my office, but often migrate to stretching out on my bed with either my Live Scribe pen or my laptop.

If you were one of the species you mention in your books, which would you be?
I’d want to be a djinn. At least the half-breed kind.

I feel like I’m constantly saying, “this book took unusual yet fascinating turn” when it comes to reading indie paranormal books, but its true! It seems like most of the traditionally published books I find end up being about faeries or vampires and occasionally witches, but indie books exceed those limitations, truly creating new worlds and characters never thought of before. Do you agree? Why do you think that is?
I think the traditional publishing world is limited by their constant market analysis and bureaucracies. They have a line of people to answer to and are so concerned with the bottom line that they can’t take the chances that independents can.

Thanks Elizabeth for coming by! It's been fantastic having you here this week!

Veronica Mason Interview- Rock 'n' Roll is Undead

Today we are lucky to have Rose Pressey's Veronica Mason from Rock 'n' Roll is Undead to join us for an interview! Everyone please welcome Veronica!

So, you love the 50’s: your style, the music your band plays, your car… what draws you to that era?

Oh wow, I don’t know for sure. My mother loved the era too, so maybe I got it from her. She talked about it a lot when I was growing up. The clothing is so cute, though, it’s hard not to love it. The cars, the music, the clothing… I love it all.

When did you know that you wanted to sing for a living?

At a very young age, I sang at the top of my lungs in the bathtub when I was as young as three. By ten, I’m pretty sure I knew I wanted to sing everyday for the rest of my life.

Vampires and witches have quite a bit of tension with each other; do you think their ties will ever be mended?

Anything is possible. Its’ nice to think that tension could disappear, but as of right now, it’s not going anywhere. I think the witches need some sense of protection against the vampires. It makes them feel safer- that tension provides the safety.

Does it get to you much that when you do spell your magic tends to go awry?

Sometimes, I brush it off… laugh about it. But other times I get really frustrated.

Speaking your mind doesn’t seem to be a fear of yours, what are you afraid of?

Clowns freak me out. I guess I can admit I’m a little afraid of the dark. Darkness means sleep and dreams… and the visions.

Speaking of visions, this is a new power you’ve never experienced as a watch. How hard is it to tone your abilities so you can control them instead of them controlling you?

Right now I’d say I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m trying though with the help of my grandmother and some of her friends. I take it one day at a time.

You have tattoos all over your body, do they have meanings or just cool designs that you liked?

Some have meanings and others I just think are cool. The roses are for my mother. She loves roses so much. I finally got a tattoo for my bother. It’s a small cross on my shoulder blade. I think it’s awesome. Something tells me he would have wanted me to get a tattoo that said “half-ass witch” but I won’t give him the satisfaction.

How did you and Kitty, your best friend who happens to be a werewolf, become friends?

We met in high school. She was behind me in the lunch line and saved me from the turkey tacos. After that, we’ve been inseparable.

So you’re determined to not date band members, with being the lead singer of your band, you think you’d have men lining  up to hae a chance to be with you. Where are you with your love life?

Um, well… it’s complicated. I’ll talk more about it soon, but right now… well it’s complicated. Buzz is… well, he’s Buzz.

Lastly, I loved Rock ‘n’ Roll is Undead. Do you think you can convince Rose to write more of your story?

Rose is easily persuaded. LOL. She’s agreed to write at least two more books. Hey, if readers are interested in my crazy life, I’m sure I could talk her into more.

That sounds like awesome news to me. Thanks for stopping by Veronica! It was a ton of fun having you here! And if any of you readers have not read Rock 'n' Roll is Undead, surely now you can tell how much you're missing out! You can click here to see what we had to say about the book.

 

Please Welcome Wenona Hulsey!

Today we have something special in store for you guys, an interview with Wenona Hulsey herself! I'm lucky enough to be friends with her through H.P. Mallory's Book Club and I am pretty pumped to have her here today. You can find my review of her new book Blood Awakening in the post below the interview. And trust me, it is one you're going to want to read! So without further ado... Here's our little Q&A with Wenona Hulsey!

What was your inspiration behind Burden of Blood?

I've always loved a story about someone who just didn't fit in anywhere but triumphs in spite of it. Finding out that their differences are what makes them strong has always left me, as a reader, more in love with the characters.  I wanted to write a story that would give people that feeling too. So much so that I started writing my first novel Burden of Blood.

What were you feeling about it being released?

On release day I was so nervous! I knew I loved my story and that my friends loved it too but there is always that self-doubt eating away in the back of my mind. Tons of 'what ifs' almost caused me to put off releasing my novel for a few more months, until I could go over it again with a fine tooth comb for the fourth time, but I made myself push forward and I'm so glad I did.

What made you want to become a writer?

I can't really pin it down to one thing. I've always been an avid reader and a bit of a dreamer, so writing a novel has been in the back of my mind since I was a teenager (a long time ago). I just love to explore what my mind is capable of coming up with and the best place for me to do that is in stories. Sometimes I make myself laugh and other times I say "Dang girl! You have one twisted mind!" but either way, it makes me happy.

Are there certain writers that inspire you specifically or perhaps influence your style of writing?

H.P. Mallory has been my number one influence.  Her success as an indie author, who was turned down over and over by publishers, has made me realize that just because one person said no, it doesn't mean you work won't be loved. She is also the reason I started reading paranormal romance which is the category my novel, Burden of Blood, somewhat falls into.

Burden of Blood part of a series or single book?

There will be a second book to follow Burden of Blood, called Blood of Fire. This is planned to be the final one of Nicole's story. I also released a short story called Blood Awakening which gives you the back story of best friends, Nicole and Kat.

Are the settings in your book based off where you grew up?

Actually yes! It is loosely based on the small town I grew up in and the surround towns. The description I give of the town is a mix of  how it was when I was a teen and how it is now. Biggest difference between the two time periods is that Double Springs has TWO red lights now!

What is the best tip you could give an aspiring writer?

Don't give up on your dream. After all, in the end, we all feel either a great sense of fulfillment or disappointment in the way we spent our time on this earth. You only have right now so make the most of it!

What is your biggest writing/ reading pet peeve?

I don't guess I have a pet peeve. I'm trying real hard to think of one but nothing really bothers me. I just love a good story. Entertain me and I'm happy.

What is the most tedious part of the publishing process?

Publishing is a whole new world to me! I had to learn so much so fast I felt like my head was spinning. I kept looking for the easy button for publishing so I could get back to writing but there isn't one. I think the hardest part is when you self-publish is figuring out the dang formatting for e-books. That was enough to give me gray hair!!

Favorite weird food?

Does peanut butter and banana sandwiches count as weird? Wish I had one right now!

Color?

Favorite color is blue.

As a child, what did you want to grow up and be?

An astronaut! I wanted to meet aliens!! Outer space is where everyone said they lived so I started making plans to get me to NASA.  

Thank you so much Wenona for visiting The Ink Puddle! We loved having you.
And I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend. :)