Author Spotlight: C.C. Hunter

When St.Martin’s sent me the advanced reader copy for C.C. Hunter’s Whispers at Moonrise, I almost squealed with delight. Then, to even get the opportunity to ask C.C. some questins about the series? Yes, please.  

MSNR: Christie, thank you so much for agreeing to do an interview with A Midsummer Night’s Read! I loved Whispers at Moonrise and will be crossing my fingers that I get an ARC of the final book, Chosen at Nightfall. My first question is how you came up with the idea for the Shadow Falls series? It is inherently different than a lot of other YA Paranormal series on the market.

C.C.: First I’d like to say thank you for having me Jessica! I love bloggers. I think they have a special place in Publishing Heaven. And yes, I think that it exists. It’s where you have all the time in the world to read each and every book you want.

Now for your question: The idea of the paranormal summer camp actually came from my editor Rose Hilliard at St. Martin’s Press/Griffin. And that’s all she said to me, too—”paranormal camp.” She expected me to come up with the rest. But you know what? Those two words were enough to get my imagination going. Once I got Kylie figured out, the rest of the characters sprang to life, and each of them brought a piece of the plotline with them. Now, I’ll be honest. When I started Born at Midnight, the first book in the Shadow Falls series, I had no idea how the story would end. And now that I’m writing the final book, Chosen at Nightfall, I’m still figuring things out. But that’s okay. That’s how my writing process works—I learn the specifics of the book as I write it. And I gotta be honest, I think that’s why I love writing so much—I love finding out how the story ends, right along with my characters. As for what makes Shadow Falls different? I might have to point to my little flaw/gift. You see, down deep inside, I’m a nonconformist. It was probably the reason it took me so long to sell my second book in 2006, which was a humorous romantic suspense novel. I had decided to write the way I wanted to write—which meant breaking a few of the general rules for writing romance novels. For my Christie Craig books I was writing a romantic suspense, but it was also a mystery, and a romantic comedy—sort of a blend of genres. I wanted my readers to both laugh and cry in my books. I decided I wanted to tell the story of more than just the hero and heroine. So not only did I include lots of characters, but every character I wrote had their own story going on. And when I was asked to write a YA series, I believe my editor knew I would bring the same techniques to my young adult series. So, in the Shadow Falls series I include both humor and heart. I write a blend of paranormals elements along with a touch of a ghost story. I write action, romance, and I include topics about family and friendships, and you’ll also find a mystery in every book. I’m not the only one who adds these elements. However, I think my blending of genres, adding the vast emotional landscape, as well as introducing a wide cast of characters is a part what makes my series a little different.

MSNR: When it comes down to Kylie learning exactly what she is, you did an excellent job building suspense and tension. What do readers have to look forward to in Whispers at Moonrise and Chosen at Nightfall with her development?

C.C.: Thanks. I love teasing my readers. It’s so much fun. LOL. And for your question, I’m not going to spoil it for you. 😉 But I will say in Whispers at Moonrise, Kylie is stumbling across powers that scare the bejeebies out of her. And in Chosen at Nightfall, she discovers even more. She also learns how to control all those powers to protect those she loves. In Chosen at Nightfall Kylie’s journey is finally complete. It’s both sad and thrilling at the same time.

MSNR: You sure you won’t consider expanding the series? I just don’t want it to end yet!

C.C.: I have learned the hard way to never, ever, say, “NEVER.” And again, I can’t tell you how hard it is to write this final book. It reminds me of when I moved away from my childhood home and knew I was going to miss all my hometown buddies. And while I’d love to return to Shadow Falls somewhere down the line, what I can tell you is that I have already sold my next series and it’s not about Kylie or anyone at Shadow Falls. However, I think my readers will find all the things they love about Shadow Falls in the new series: a unique paranormal world, characters you can easily fall in love with, a book about friendships and family, hot guys, lots of emotion, and tons of laughter. I’m going to have a blast writing it.

MSNR: I can’t let you get away without asking for some information about Lucas and Derek. Both boys have such interesting qualities that could benefit Kylie in the long run, will we finally get our answer in the final installment?

C.C.: Yes, readers will get the answer. I’m still writing it right now. And would you believe me if I told you Kylie and I are still wavering on who it will be? I really did myself and Kylie an injustice by creating two great heroes. This was my first real love triangle to write and no one told me that one of the guys really had to outshine the other. So now I have two wonderful guys and Kylie and I are going to have to break someone’s heart. And that breaks mine just a little bit.

MSNR: Which character in the series do you relate to most? Della is one of my personal favorites.

C.C.: Oh, this is a tough question. Each of the characters in Shadow Falls has a little bit of me inside them, which makes them so relatable to me. Della is my rebellious side and don’t we all have one of those? However, Miranda is dyslexic, which means she gets her spells wrong sometimes. And I relate to her because I’m dyslexic, too. But of all the characters, I think I relate to Kylie the most. I based a lot of her back story on things that happened to me when I was a teenager. I had a family member die when I was around her age, and my parents got a divorce, too. That was so hard for me. Plus, I had girl friends making some bad decisions where boys were concerned, just like Kylie’s friend Sara did. I used all of the emotions I felt, all of the insecurities and uncertainties I experienced as a teenager when I molded Kylie’s character, and I think it helped bring her to life. I guess you could say I plagiarized my life to create Kylie. However, Kylie is a lot cooler than I ever was. Thank you again for the interview. I hope everyone enjoys Whispers at Moonrise. And I love hearing from readers. Maybe your readers could tell me in the comment section which of my characters they relate to the most. 

Did you hear that readers? Let’s give C.C. an idea of which Shadow Falls character you relate to most!

Check back on Monday for a Whispers at Moonrise newsletter from C.C. Hunter!

Special thanks to C.C. and St. Martins/Griffin!

Author Spotlight: Jennifer Nielsen

Jennifer lives at the base of a very tall mountain in Northern Utah with her husband, three children, and a naughty puppy. She loves the smell of rainy days, hot chocolate, and old books, preferably all at once. She is a former speech teacher, theater director, and enjoyed a brief but disastrous career as a door-to-door pollster. In her spare time, Jennifer tends to panic, wondering what she has forgotten to do that has allowed her any spare time.

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR):  All of us here at A Midsummer Night’s Read would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to interview you and for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us!

First and foremost, we want to congratulate you on the success of The False Prince and tell you again how much we enjoyed it! So the first question here is how did you come up with Sage’s story?
Jennifer Nielsen (JN):  Thank you very much for having me here. I’d actually had the seeds for this story in mind for some time, but never could get the right protagonist. One day I was listening to the song, Guaranteed, by the amazing Eddie Vedder. A line in that song, “I knew all the rules, but the rules did not know me, guaranteed” caught my ear, and my imagination. Sage was born in that line, and once I had him, I had his story.

MSNR: Was his story essentially the same when you first started writing it? Or did certain aspects change through the writing and editing process?
JN: Minor things changed, as always will happen in a story. But The False Prince was actually the most linear, quick manuscript I’ve ever written. Sage came to me complete, so writing this book wasn’t really about creating his story, but rather it was about getting the words down to let the story unfold.

MSNR: Is there any real life inspiration for Carthya and the situation concerning Sage and the other orphans?  Was it hard to create your own world rather than use other historical events?
JN: Sage is a completely unique character, but I do confess this: many years ago when I was a high school debate teacher, I had a student who was popular, brilliant, and talented…and also a bit of a thief. He used to steal wristwatches from our bus drivers before tournaments. Luckily, he always returned them at the end of the ride, usually with the bus driver thanking him for his honesty. I did think of this student a few times when Sage was stealing something.

About the world creation, I love the freedom of basing my settings on actual history but then adding in original details that give it a fantasy feel. I do a lot of research to ground the story in events or traditions that could have happened, though of course, much of it never did.

MSNR: Speaking of which, do you know if the purchase of orphans as servants happened in reality? I was wondering that the entire time!
JN: From my understanding, there were many instances of the wealthy purchasing people as indentured servants (my great-grandmother actually came to this country after buying her freedom as an indentured servant), but I think in most cases, both parties entered willingly into the contract. In my research, I never found an example of servants being taken against their will. So what happened to Sage is a sort of combination between indentured servitude and slavery.

MSNR: What can you tell us about the upcoming sequel?
JN: I can tell you the title, The Runaway King, and that it should be out next spring. I can tell you that for Sage, things will get worse. And um, I can’t say anything else.

MSNR: Will readers see Imogen and the betrothed battle for his attentions and his affections?
JN: There is a definite chance of this possibly happening. Or not. (Cheeky grin)

MSNR: Will Connor be returning as a foe in the future? Or will Sage be facing new enemies?
JN: See my snarky, unhelpful answer above.

MSNR: Will we find out who really killed the royal family?
JN: Other than what is revealed in The False Prince? Hmm, that’s a great question!

MSNR: We could keep asking questions about this wonderful book all day, but we know you need to keep some secrets for the upcoming installments! So just a few standard questions for our readers.  What made you want to become a writer?
JN: When I was choosing a career, I never actually gave any serious consideration to becoming an author. I’d never met any authors, and so it never felt like a real career choice. (This is where I pause to give a plug for schools bringing in authors, or for parents taking their children to local book signings – it’s invaluable to young writers!) Then one day I was reading a book by an author I had always loved. All of a sudden, it wasn’t enough to live in someone else’s fictional world. I wanted to create my own. That was when I knew I wanted to turn my hobby into a career.

MSNR: Do you have any advice or suggestions for readers who are interested in becoming authors?
JN: My advice comes from a quote by Winston Churchill: “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.” There are so many talented people who abandon their dreams because they become discouraged too soon. Success may not happen on your first or second or third manuscript. It may not happen in the way you expected, or as quickly as you’d hoped. But if you keep writing, keep improving, and keep submitting, you will one day find success.

MSNR: Thank you so much again, Jennifer, for stepping away from Sage and his friends to discuss their trials with us!  We can’t tell you enough how much we enjoyed The False Prince and how invested we are in Sage’s future.  We will try to wait patiently to find out what happens!
JN: Thank you. It’s been an honor to visit here, and I very much hope you’ll find that The Runaway King was well worth the wait!

Check out our review of The False Prince
Buy The False Prince

Author Spotlight: Diana Peterfreund

Diana Peterfreund has been a costume designer, a cover model, and a food critic. Her travels have taken her from the cloud forests of Costa Rica to the underground caverns of New Zealand (and as far as she’s concerned, she’s just getting started). Diana graduated from Yale University in 2001 with dual degrees in Literature and Geology, which her family claimed would only come in handy if she wrote books about rocks. Now, this Florida girl lives with her husband and their puppy in Washington D.C., and writes books that rock.

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR):  Welcome to A Midsummer Night’s Read, Diana!  Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy promotion schedule to stop by.  Congratulations on the success of your most recent release, For Darkness Shows the Stars, we loved it!

MSNR: I have to say that For Darkness Shows the Stars was nothing like I expected, and I love what you did with Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Why Persuasion out of Austen’s works?
Diana Peterfreund (DP): I love Persuasion and I feel like it’s one of Jane Austen’s novels that doesn’t get the same amount of attention as, say, Pride & Prejudice. There have been dozens of retellings of that one, and Emma, of course, has Clueless, among others. I wanted to see what could be done with my favorite.

MSNR: Can you tell us a little bit about the world building you did to create Emma and Kai’s rebuilt society? Why choose that setting to retell Persuasion?
DP: My first concern was creating a society where the notion of class was a real, quantifiable thing. I also wanted to make sure this was a society whose class system was about to break down, even if the Powers-That-Be weren’t entirely aware of it yet. That’s what you have in Persuasion: a landed nobility that thinks they’re better than everyone, even though they might be in debt to an up and coming, industrious middle class. Everything else sort of built from that need, and when I came up with the concept of the anti-technology Luddites and the world that made them that way, I realized it would be an excellent way to incorporate the sort of pastoral, historical feel of Austen into my futuristic world.

MSNR: Not going to lie, I desperately want to have more from Elliot and Kai’s world, especially with the way For Darkness Shows the Stars ended.  Is there a possibility for more? Or is it definitely a stand alone?
DP: There’s always the free prequel, “Among the Nameless Stars.” It’s funny; I specifically set out to write this book as a standalone because I haven’t done that before and because there’s a real dearth of them in the YA market now. But I’ve been asked about a sequel so often I understand why everyone else likes to write series! I will never say never. Besides, I’ve kind of got a reputation for writing short stories set in my book worlds, so…

MSNR: I have to say I enjoyed the tortuous relationship between Elliot and Kai, and as much as I wished there was more KISSING in For Darkness Shows the Stars, I think that the payoff was much better this way. Were you tempted to throw some in there that eventually didn’t make the final draft?
DP: Ah, the kissing. Well, there were a few thoughts going into that one. I thought not shoving in a big make-out session was probably more true to Austen. Additionally, Kai and Elliot are extremely private people, so a big public makeout session wouldn’t be on their to-do list under any circumstances. There was a question during edits about whether she was in his cabin there at the end (which I guess means Ro would be there too?), and I decided to leave it as “cabins” and let the reader draw the conclusion that felt most comfortable to them. And of course, I’ve gotten a lot of question about what exactly happens in the letters after Chapter Nine!

MSNR: What inspired the beautiful Star Cavern in the novel?
DP: The star cavern was inspired by the beautiful glow worm caves found in New Zealand, where For Darkness Shows the Stars is set. When I visited New Zealand in 2004, we visited these caves in the North Island and I was utterly enchanted. I felt like a natural miracle was one that would mean a lot to the nature-loving Luddites in my book, and it had a beautiful resonance with the story of Noah and the rainbow and the olive tree, so I made it a sacred space for them.

MSNR: Can you tell us scientifically what caused the Reduction? Or is it something left to the imagination and God?
DP: I actually did a ton of research on epigenetics and endogenous retroviruses that didn’t make it into the novel because it wasn’t part of Elliot’s story or Elliot’s POV. The former is truly a fascinating field, less about genetic changes (which rely more on inheritability, which of course is not 100%) and more about the expression of genes we already have. As for endogenous retroviruses, our DNA is full of both genes that don’t work, and remnants viruses that our ancestors have fought off but have somehow become incorporated into our DNA — “junk” that we think isn’t useful to us anymore, like resistance to diseases that no longer exist. But they aren’t really junk, as occasionally, they unexpectedly “switch on,” and scientists still aren’t sure exactly why, or how to get them to “turn off” again. One example of this is that a gene that makes people susceptible to Crohn’s disease is suddenly switching on in people again after thousands of years. Is it modern diets? Genetically modified wheat? A retrovirus? There have been other studies that show levels of ERVs (endogenous retroviruses) in people with certain mental disorders are higher than in the general population. At it’s very, very simplest, my story imagines a world in which genetic engineering centered on using enhanced forms of artifically induced retroviruses to switch on “good genes” to make our bodies stronger and better– but it went terribly wrong, and activated swaths of “bad genes” in the process.  And I could go into more detail, but it would take charts and scientific papers.

MSNR: If you could choose any Austen novel, besides Persuasion, which would you recommend to readers, and why?
DP: If they haven’t read any Austen, I definitely recommend Pride & Prejudice. There’s a reason most people read that first, as it’s the one most suited to our modern tastes in terms of character and pacing. The heroine, Lizzy, is hilarious, and her story is one that will resonate with modern readers a lot.

MSNR: Would you consider adapting another classic novel into a modern YA story? (I mean you did so wonderfully on this one!)
DP: Thank you. And yes. And my lips are sealed. 🙂

MSNR: You have been in the publishing world for a while, so what advice would you give to young adults that would like to become an author?
DP: Do not be in too much of a hurry to become “an author.” The day you do, your writing stops being for YOU, and you want to make sure you have a very clear sense of what you are a writer are before that happens. If you want to write, then write. Write anything and everything (journals, limericks, a rock opera!), read as much as you possibly can, but also learn a whole lot outside of reading and writing so that you have something interesting to write about. Travel and talk to people and study some completely unrelated subject. I learned very little in the creative writing classes I took that I use in my work, but I can point to several stories that arose directly from stuff I learned in a (non-writing) class at school – geology, history, sociology, even linguistics!

MSNR: Any hints on upcoming projects? J
DP: My next book is really frocktastic. Frocktacular. Frockalicious. After four books where my heroine wears essentially jeans and sneakers (with the occasionally black robe), two where the heroine wears hunting camos the whole time, and one where poor Elliot’s never heard of velvet or touched silk, and is shocked by anything in bright colors, it’s nice to write one about a real clotheshorse. I love clothes myself, so I really went to town. And that’s all I’m going to say.

MSNR: Thank you so much for stopping by A Midsummer Night’s Read! I can’t wait to read what you have next, and I will definitely be re-reading Persuasion (it’s been a while) soon.
DP: Thank you so much for having me! I hope you enjoy your re-read of Persuasion. I am curious if, coming into it after For Darkness, you’ll see something different in the characters, or make connections between my characters and their Austenian counterparts that you hadn’t before. I’ll admit, if my book can get more people interested in Persuasion, I’ll feel like I’ve done my duty!

Check out our review of For Darkness Shows the Stars

Purchase For Darkness Shows the Stars

Purchase Persuasion 

Author Spotlight: Josephine Angelini

A Midsummer Night’s Read is happy and proud to be hosting one of our favorite YA authors, Josephine Angelini here on the blog today for an interview! Just a little bit about Josephine before we start:

Josephine Angelini is a Massachusetts native and the youngest of eight siblings. A real-live farmer’s daughter, Josie graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in theater, with a focus on the classics. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR): Thank you so much for agreeing to do an interview with us and welcome to A Midsummer Night’s Read!  I know that I personally read Dreamless in a day, and I was even more invested in Helen’s trials than in Starcrossed. So congratulations on another successful novel, and thank you for sharing such a unique and powerful story with the world!
Josephine Angelini (JA): Thank you so much! 

MSNR: I mentioned in my review about how much research must have gone into the planning of these novels, especially after the expansion of the character world in Dreamless.  Can you tell us a little bit about your research process?
JA: For me, the research was more of a refresher course than a start from scratch process.  I grew up reading and loving mythology, and I studied classical theater at NYU so I was already pretty familiar with the source material.  When I came up with the idea to write Starcrossed I just dipped into my good old Edith Hamilton to clear the cobwebs and make sure I wasn’t going completely off the rails.  Most of my research (when I wasn’t getting sucked into re-reading the myths instead of writing my story) was fact checking.

MSNR: Which text really influenced the world you’ve created for the Scions in the Starcrossed trilogy? (Maybe we should check it out!)
JA: My source materials were the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and the story of Orestes and the Furies.  I also threw a Romeo and Juliet spin on it by making Helen and Lucas from families that fight each other and that try to keep them apart.  Oh, and I modeled the first meeting of Helen and Lucas after Jane Austin’s amazing and gorgeous Pride and Prejudice.  I love the chemistry of a hate-at-first-sight love story.  (I’m totally laughing at myself right now, because it seems like pretty much every book in Western culture influenced my story!)

MSNR: I assume that the absence of Lucas was important to establish the relationship/friendship between Orion and Helen.  But will he be getting more “page time” in the third installment?
JA: Lucas gets tons of page time in the third book!  I wouldn’t torture you all like that.

MSNR: Speaking of the other hot demigod, will we eventually learn more about Orion’s past? Or will that be something left to the imagination of the reader?
JA: We learn all about Orion, his family, how Daphne got involved—everything.  I don’t leave any unexplained backstory in the third book. 

MSNR: Back to the story-world for a second, did you use any of the classic descriptions of any of the Gods’ personalities when you were characterizing the Gods we see in Dreamless? (i.e. Morpheus, Ares, Persephone, etc)
JA: I did use some classic character description, but the way the gods are described depends on which myth you’re reading.  In some stories Apollo comes off as this sensitive youth and in others he comes off as a predator.  There is a lot of latitude when it comes to the personalities of the gods.    

MSNR: Will readers ever get to meet the illustrious Zeus in the Starcrossed trilogy?
JA: For sure.  I don’t think many readers will find my take on him illustrious, though!  In GODDESS I take out all the stops.  I figure since I wrote about such an epic topic that includes gods and monsters, I’d better go all the way with it. 

MSNR: So a love triangle was clearly established between Helen, Orion, and Lucas…and most of the time someone involved will end up painfully heartbroken or dead. Please promise you won’t break our hearts like that! (She says as she realizes it’s almost impossible at this point)
JA: As a reader, I’ve always felt cheated when a writer kills off a character to avoid an emotionally or morally messy situation for the protagonist.  I try to avoid the “easy out” and make my characters make the tough choices.  That being said, I still kill off a few characters in the third book, so be prepared. 

MSNR: It’s killing me not to mention the ritual at the end of the novel that Ares performed… so I’m giving in. Will Helen and her family and friends realize that ritual means for the future of the Delos clan, and Helen?
JA: Oh, certainly!  The third book picks up right where Dreamless left off and Helen has to deal with a lot of consequences.  And I’m going to shut my mouth now, or I’ll give the whole book away.   

MSNR: What can you tell us (if anything) about the third installment? When does it come out? Do we have a title yet? When can we see what I’m sure will be another gorgeous cover?
JA: The last book, Goddess, comes out in the US in May, 2013.

MSNR: What inspired you to write Helen’s story?
JA: I saw a copy of the Iliad sitting next to a copy of Romeo and Juliet on my bookcase and wondered why no one had tried to tell the Helen of Troy story from her perspective.  I wanted to find a way to make her sympathetic.  Like Eve, Helen of Troy is blamed for a lot of terrible stuff, and that intrigues me.

MSNR: Do you think that aspiring writers should stick with what interests them for subject matter? Or should they step out of their comfort zone?
JA: The first time you try to write a book just getting to the end can seem like a nearly impossible task, so I would suggest that new writers stick to their comfort zone and write what they know just to make sure they finish.   But once you’ve gotten into the swing of things, and are confident that you can deliver a solid story on or before your contract due-date, then I suggest taking as many chances as you can.  Go crazy!

MSNR: Do you have any other advice for the aspiring writers in our audience?
JA: Finish that book.  Finish that screenplay.  Whatever it is that you are working on right now, just finish it!  Don’t judge yourself, or cut yourself down before you have a chance to get all the way through.  The most important thing you can do for your career at the beginning is to have your work completed so you can start sending out to agents.  And good luck!

MSNR: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to interview with us here at A Midsummer Night’s Read.  We will be waiting desperately for the third installment, and we commend you on creating such a loveable cast of characters and such a unique story.  Best of luck, and we hope to host you again upon the publication of your next book. Thank you so much again!
JA: Thank you so much for the great questions!  I’d be happy to come back any time.  J

You can check out our review of Dreamless HERE.
Be sure to purchase Starcrossed and Dreamless.
Check out Josephine’s website!

Author Spotlight: Aimee Agresti

Aimee Agresti was voted “Quietest” of her high school class–probably because she spent too much time with her nose buried in books. Clearly, becoming a writer was the only possible choice. She now happily toggles between the realms of fact and fiction. The author of the young adult novel ILLUMINATE, she’s also a former Us Weekly staff writer and entertainment journalist whose work has appeared in People, Premiere, DC Magazine, Capitol File, The Washington Post, Washingtonian, The Washington City Paper, Boston magazine, Women’s Health and the New York Observer to name a few. Aimee has made countless TV and radio appearances dishing about celebrities on the likes of Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, E!, The Insider, Extra, VH1, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Headline News, A&E, and ABC News Now. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism and lives with her husband and son in Washington, DC, where she can often be found skulking around the Smithsonian museums on slow writing days waiting for inspiration to strike.




YOU CAN SEE THE REVIEW OF AIMEE’S NOVEL, ILLUMINATE, HERE. 

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR):  Hello, Aimee! I want to welcome you to A Midsummer Night’s Read, and thank you for giving us the honor of interviewing you for our readers!  Congratulations on the release of your first Young Adult novel, Illuminate!
Aimee Agresti (AA): Thank you so much! And thank you for having me, it’s an honor to be featured!

MSNR:What made you make the transition from Journalism to creative writing?
AA:  That’s a great question! I absolutely love the magazine world. I went to journalism school and I’ve been working in magazines ever since. Most recently I was at Us Weekly, which was tons of fun—how could it not be?!–and I still miss it. But I always dreamed of writing novels and even during my magazine days, I was always writing fiction on the side, just for me. So to have ILLUMINATE on the shelves has been so exciting for me!

MSNR:Do you prefer one over the other? Or do they go hand in hand for you?
AA:  I love them both! They’re apples and oranges, they’re so different in such wonderful ways. Journalism gives you a chance to meet so many fascinating people. I love interviewing, finding out what makes someone tick. But then fiction lets your imagination run wild. There are no constraints, you get to just create, which is so thrilling and freeing–especially when you’re so used to dealing with facts all the time!

MSNR:Was the transition rough? Meaning, did you have to be careful not to sound too analytical or professional when writing Illuminate?
AA: I definitely notice that the process of writing nonfiction is much different than writing fiction. When I’m writing for magazines, I’m writing in the voice of that magazine, I’m thinking of those readers. But when I was writing ILLUMINATE, I had to really become Haven, my protagonist. For fiction, I have to listen to the right music, I have to get away from email and Facebook and Twitter, it requires a different kind of focus. You have to fall down the rabbit hole into the world you’re creating when you write fiction.

MSNR:Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration for Illuminate?
AA: Of course! Well, I’ve always adored The Picture of Dorian Gray and I loved the idea of updating it. I just kept thinking: high school is such a tumultuous time, what would you have given your soul for back then? That was the first germ of the idea. Then I added some twists and turns and, of course, some angels and devils to up the fantasy quotient even more! 

MSNR:Did you do a lot of research on 1920s Chicago and Al Capone for this novel, or did you already have a plethora of knowledge about the subject?
AA: I went to college in Chicago and picked up a lot of the background during my years there. I just fell in love with Chicago’s great history from the gangsters to prohibition to those tunnels that ran beneath the city. I tucked it all away in my mind until I decided to write ILLUMINATE and then pulled it all out. I just always knew it was the perfect place to set a mystery. I brushed up on some of the details and did a little more digging into Capone’s old hangout, the Lexington Hotel, and then I was good to go!

MSNR:  I really like that the story isn’t focused on a love triangle or a main relationship, but can you give us any details about Haven and the men?
AA: Thank you! I really wanted all of my characters to have depth and to be full of surprises, including the boys. I wanted them to keep you guessing. And to keep Haven, herself, guessing!

MSNR:What about the person writing in the empty journal? Will readers find out their identity in the second novel?
AA: I’m so glad you asked! I promise you WILL find out who it is—and it’ll surprise you!–but…I won’t tell WHEN you’ll find out! Stay tuned. And in the meantime, here’s a fun scoop: I briefly entertained putting that person’s identity in ILLUMINATE, but quickly changed my mind. I can’t give it away too soon!

MSNR:What can you tell us about the second novel, without giving too much away? Don’t want to get you in trouble with your publisher!
AA: That’s very sweet of you to not want to get me into trouble, thank you! Let’s see, I can tell you that the gang heads to New Orleans in the second book and they’ll encounter some new devils!

MSNR:How does it feel to be a published author in the YA genre?
AA: It feels like I’m dreaming! I feel so lucky to have my book on shelves and so grateful to readers like you for taking a look at it!

MSNR:Do you have any suggestions for aspiring creative writers or journalists?
AA: Write, write, write! What I love about writing is that the more you do it, the better you get, and you can always improve. Whether you’re working on short stories or writing articles or keeping a journal, all of that writing makes you stronger and it will all help bring you closer to whatever your ultimate goal may be. I wrote so many short stories and none of my fiction was ever published until ILLUMINATE but I know that all that writing made me better. And I like to think I continue to improve with every day I spend at my laptop.

MSNR:Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy promotion schedule to stop by A Midsummer Night’s Read!  I really enjoyed Illuminate and am looking forward to the sequel!
AA:  Thank YOU so much! I’m so happy to hear that and I so appreciate getting to be part of your lovely blog. By the way, your “bard” rating system is just fabulous!

Author Spotlight: Kady Cross

Kady Cross is a pseudonym for USA Today best selling author Katheryn Smith. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and a pride of cats. She likes singing with Rock Band on the 360, British Guys, Vietnamese food, and makeup (She’s hopelessly addicted to YouTube makeup tutorials!). When she’s not writing, Kady likes to catch up on her favorite TV shows, read a good book, or make her own cosmetics. 

The Steampunk Chronicles: 

The Girl in the Steel Corset –  2011

The Girl in the Clockwork Collar– May 2012 

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR):  Hello, Kady! I want to welcome you to A Midsummer Night’s Read, and thank you for giving us the honor of interviewing you for our readers!  Congratulations on the upcoming release of your second Young Adult novel, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar.
Kady Cross (KC): Thank you! And thanks for wanting to talk to me!

MSNR: Now, you are already an extremely successful author of fiction novels.  What made you decide to write a series for Young Adults?
KC: In 2001 I wrote a YA romance called Anna and the Duke. It was followed up by Emily and the Scot. I had so much fun writing these books that I knew I wanted to do more YA books. However, it was 2009 before editor Krista Stroever (she’s responsible for me becoming published in the first place) approached me about writing for Harlequin Teen. I jumped at the chance.

MSNR: Can you tell our readers a little bit about the inspiration for the Steampunk Chronicles?
KC: I love the Victorian era. I also love fantasy and science fiction. When Krista and I spoke it was just before Steampunk started to become popular again. I told her I had this idea for teen X-Men meets League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. She was the one who called it Steampunk. It just seemed natural to combine two of my favorite things – fantasy and history.

MSNR: Clearly the story of Jekyll and Hyde was a huge influence on the creation of Finley as a character.  Will there be any more references to the original novel in The Girl in the Clockwork Collar?
KC: Not really. Maybe a couple? Finley’s moving forward, becoming more and more of a union of her two halves. It’s a bit of conflict between Griffin and her, because the *real* her is neither completely good or completely bad. Griffin is such a powerful character – more powerful than he may never know – that he has to have a strong partner. Likewise Finley is such a strong character, she needs someone who can match her as well, support her and sometimes challenge her. But there will be more literary references in the books, I’m sure. I hope!

MSNR: John Gardner specifies in The Art of Fiction that the most important task for an author is to make the story world believable for the reader.  How do you blend reality and fantasy together in this series? Are you careful to remain within the confines of history as we know it?
KC: I try to hang on to a bit of reality in the books to ‘ground’ them. But I think the believability comes from the characters. You have to relate to them on some level. Finley might be able to kick serious butt, but she is still a teen age girl. I hope a lot of readers will see a bit of themselves in her or Emily – or in Sam, Jasper, Griffin or even Jack! As for remaining in the confines of history, I will if it suits the story, but I have no problem jumping out of it. It’s funny, because some people have very strict ideas of how things should be. I had readers get upset that Finley or Emily wore pants, but they had no trouble with sentient automatons!

MSNR: There is an interesting Wickham/Darcy dynamic between Jack Dandy and Griffin.  Did you play on the Victorian use of foils when constructing your characters?
KC:  Not really. I just knew that Jack had to appeal to part of her, and so did Griffin. Both of them will play a part in Finley figuring out who she really is. One is destined to be her best friend and the other is going to have her heart. On the surface Jack seems dark and Griffin seems light, but both are more complex than that. With Darcy and Wickham, Austen wrote both of them to prove the point that no one is ever exactly as they present themselves, and I think that might be the best way to think of Griffin and Jack, though Jack is a lot more honorable than Wickham, and Griffin is a bit more relaxed than Darcy.

MSNR: Can you give us any insights into The Girl in the Clockwork Collar?
KC: Nope. LOL. Sure. It’s set within weeks of the end of Steel Corset. It starts with them arriving in New York looking for Jasper, and then quickly jumps to Jasper’s point of view. You’ll learn a lot about Jasper’s past and what kind of person he has been and has become. Finley and Griffin’s relationship changes as well, and there is the beginning of a new arc involving Griffin that will take a couple of books to bring to fruition.

MSNR: Why decide to remove our heroes from England and place them in 19^th Century America?
KC: I thought it would be fun – and it was the perfect place to tell Jasper’s story. A lot of Steampunk stories are set either in England or the Old West, so I wanted to set it somewhere between. What’s interesting to me is that an early reviewer said that she didn’t think this book was as Steampunk as the first, and I wonder if it was the different setting – so many people think London when they think Steampunk. That’s the only explanation I can think of when there are airships, personal flying machines, automaton horses, mysterious gadgets and Tesla involved!

MSGR: How many novels will there be in the Steampunk Chronicles?
KC: I’m hoping to write 5. I know for certain there will be 4.

MSNR: Since you are such a veteran of the industry, could you give our readers a little advice about breaking into the publishing world?
KC:  It sounds trite, but you need to read like mad and keep writing. Study the authors you love, learn from them and then find your own way of doing things. You have to be tenacious. In my opinion, publishing is not a job you should get into unless you eat, sleep and breathe writing. It’s a hard business, and your ego will take a beating at times, but it is also so amazingly rewarding! So, read and write – and most importantly, finish the book!

MSNR: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to drop by A Midsummer Night’s Read!  We really appreciate it, and we love your novels!
KC: Thank you so much for having me! People like you and your readers are what makes this job so fabulous!

Author Spotlight: Gretchen McNeil

After I read Gretchen McNeil’s Possess (You can check out the 4.5 Bard Review HERE), I knew I had to jump at the chance to speak with her about Possess and her upcoming novel, Ten.

Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown. Her YA horror/paranormal POSSESS debuted with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins in 2011. Her second novel, TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – will be released September 18, 2012. Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4’s Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen is also a founding member of the vlog group YARebels where she can be seen as “Monday.”

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR): Thank you so much, Gretchen, for taking time out of your busy schedule to indulge some of your fans here at A Midsummer Night’s Read!  We loved Possess, if you couldn’t tell!

MSNR: You seem to be somewhat of a “jack of all trades”! Opera, Voicing characters, AND Writing? Is there anything you can’t do?

Gretchen McNeil (GM):  Please don’t ask me to draw anything.  Stick figures are a challenge.  And I’m not great with anything that involves power tools.

MSNR: Possess is a story about demonic possession and the act of exorcism. What drew you to this subject matter?
GM: Some of my fondest reading experiences from my childhood and teen years involved scary stories.  Horror, gothic, ghost stories – anything that would send a chill down my spine, make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and force me to sleep with the light on.  I wanted to write that kind of story.  And when I thought about what scared me the most, exorcism and demonic possession were at the top of the list.

MSNR: Did you do a lot of research into the Catholic Church and its doctrines on performing exorcisms during the writing process?
GM: I did a ton of research.  “First hand” accounts of exorcisms and possessions, demonology and angelology, the Apocryphal texts from the Bible.  I’m kind of a research junky, and I find that the nonfiction always inspires the fiction for me. 

For example, I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of exorcism and demonic possession, and by the fact that the Catholic Church is the only western religion with a codified exorcism ritual.  But what I didn’t know is that Pope Benedict the XVI issued an edict instructing all archdioceses around the world to send one priest to the Vatican for official exorcist training.  How freaky is that?  Absolutely inspired some of the story line in POSSESS.

MSNR: Bridget’s narrative voice is extremely strong. Does her personality and sarcasm reflect on any of your personality traits?
GM: Heh.  I’m probably not the best judge, so let me put it this way: a lot of my friends in real life said, “Wow! I could totally hear you in Bridget.”  

MSNR: Is Possess currently a stand alone, or will there be a follow up?
GM: It was written as the first in a series, but so far, the second and third books have not been picked up.  (Psssst – if you’d LIKE to see the sequels, I suggest you contact HarperCollins.  Just sayin’.)

MSNR: I know you have mentioned that And Then There Were None is one of your favorite novels.  How influential was Christie’s text on your next novel, Ten?
GM: The books are very different, but clearly I was inspired to write a YA homage to one of my favorite books of all time.  The set up is similar: ten teens brought to an island for a party soon discover that things aren’t what they appear.  I love the idea of being trapped on the island, which is practically a character in itself in both novels.  Add stress and stir.  Paranoia and distrust begin to influence decision making, and things go from bad to worse very quickly. 

So in that regard there are similarities.  Narrative and plot, however, are unique in TEN. 

MSNR: Is there anything information beyond the synopsis that you can give readers about Ten without giving away any major plot elements?
GM: Yikes.  TEN is one of those stories that starts quickly and moves fast.  There isn’t a lot of set up beyond the pitch – ten teens trapped on an island with a serial killer – and the mysteries and clues (and body count) start piling up quickly.  I can, however, tease the trailer that HarperCollins and I are working on. 

There is a scene early on where the teens discover a DVD marked “Don’t watch me.”  They do, of course, and the experience is kind of The Ring-like.  The DVD is described shot-by-shot, and we’re recreating it for the trailer.  Which should be awesome and ridiculously creepy.

That full chapter will also appear in the paperback version of POSSESS as a tease for TEN.

MSNR: Are you currently working on another novel? (If so, can you tell us a little about it?)
GM: Novel #3 is underway!  This is something completely different yet again.  YA sci-fi horror, tentatively titled 3:59, which I pitched to my editor as Sliding Doors meets Event Horizon.  It’s about a girl who starts having dreams every night at the same time, of a girl who is her but not her, and who’s life appears to be everything she wishes hers was.  She thinks they’re just dreams until one night she wakes up and finds her doppelgänger standing at the end of her bed.

Things…go wrong from there. 

MSNR: How does it feel to be a published author?
GM: Freaking crazy!!!!  Especially when fans getting excited to meet me. I feel very undeserving.  There’s nothing special about me!  I’m just Jenny From the Block!

MSNR: Do you have any advice to readers who might be interested in the world of publishing for a career?
GM: First off, if I can do it, anyone can do it.  I firmly believe that.  There’s a lot of work involved – usually of the introspective and deeply self-critical variety – so if that’s not your bag, run away now.  And there is an element of luck.  You need to write the right book at the right time.  That said, if you stick with it, I’m convinced you’ll find success.

MSNR: Thank you so much for stopping by A Midsummer Night’s Read and answering some of our questions!  We look forward to reading Ten, and wish you all the best!
GM: You guys rock.  Thank you so much for having me!

CONTEST: Author Spotlight: Leanna Renee Hieber

Leanna Renee Hieber, author of Darker Still, has kindly taken time out of her busy schedule to drop in and answer some of our questions about her wonderful book! Before reading the interview, you can read the review of the book HERE.

I was obsessed.

It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I’d ever seen–everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable…utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.

There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.

I’ve crossed over into his world within the painting, and I’ve seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked–bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone streets of Manhattan. Unless I can free him soon, things will only get Darker Still.

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR): Leanna, thank you so much for taking time to answer some of our burning questions about your Young Adult debut, Darker Still!

Leanna Renee Hieber(LRH): Thank you! I am thrilled to be here!

MSNR: It is clear to me, as a huge fan of Victorian Literature, that a lot of the gothic novels published in the nineteenth century were very influential on your creation of Darker Still. Is there any particular works that really influenced the text?

LRH: Absolutely! My most formative influences as a reader were classic, 19th Century stories and paranormal novels (Poe, Wilde, Stoker, Shelley) and classic fantasy novels (Tolkien, Lewis) and horror novels (Stephen King), all these informed the stories I wanted to write. I loved the paranormal and the fantastical; I have very early memories of telling ghost stories to scare my friends and my girl scout troupe and loving every minute of it. I started my first novel when I was about 12 years old, it was a sequel to The Phantom of The Opera, set in 1888, so the Victorian era has long appealed to me. I adore the rich and delectable language of the Victorians. Big words are sexy. I also like making up magical things. Put those sexy big words and rich language alongside magic and ghosts? Music to my ears.

MSNR: What is your favorite Victorian/Gothic novel? What would you say to convince someone to read it?

LRH: The Picture of Dorian Gray. It’s creepy, sensual, unexpected, rich, and it’s short, so don’t be daunted!

MSNR: Did The Picture of Dorian Gray influence the plot of Darker Still?

LRH:
I suspect my above answer indicates yes! 🙂 A novel about a haunted, changing painting? Oh, yes, Dorian Gray and stories by Poe introduced haunted paintings beautifully. Oscar Wilde is a formative influence for me, as a playwright, actress and author. I asked for his blessing at his grave-side in Paris. As I listed him first in my acknowledgements, I’d like to think that considering my life in the theatre and as a novelist mirrors his interests, and that I have my own very distinct style, that he and I would have been friends. 🙂

MSNR: What made you decide to venture into the wild world of Young Adult literature?

LRH: My Strangely Beautiful saga is YA friendly with a teen heroine and PG-13 content, so my voice was already leaning this direction. Harry Potter got me obsessed with reading and writing again after a bit of a dry spell, so I wanted to pick up with something as magical, epic yet immediate and intimate as YA can be.

MSNR: Did the (internal) voice of Natalie speak to you? What made you decide to make the main character of your novel mute?

LRH: Yes, I can’t say what exactly influenced me to write her, it’s more that she sort of wrote me. There are certain characters that hit me like a ton of bricks. Miss Percy Parker was like that in Strangely Beautiful, but entirely opposite as she’s so shy. Natalie is a spitfire despite her odds, and I love her for it. All I can do is sit back and let her drive the carriage. I knew I wanted Natalie’s world inside and outside of the painting to be profoundly different, and so her speech was a way to do so. I also think the theme of “finding one’s voice” whether literal or figurative is something we can all relate to.

MSNR: There is some interesting information about the occult and the use of Egyptology in the magic that imprisons Lord Denbury. Did you have to do a lot of research on this, or did you combine the mythical elements in your own fashion?

LRH: I worked and created the magic system entirely on my own, following some of my own particular interests. I believe in the supernatural and I also believe in negative forces. I did not want to consult specific dark occult texts because I actually don’t want to mess with that stuff directly, it has negative energies I don’t want to associate with. I am a woman of faith (I’m Lutheran, protestant like Natalie) but I am of an open-minded faith that allows for different viewpoints and for the validity of all world religions. I do believe in darkness and evil, so if I was going to spend time writing it, I wanted it to be a system that I directly controlled and could change at will, a system that I had power over. I enjoyed pulling the different aspects together to create my own system from existing, “real” pieces and letting my characters work the mystery of each of them out.

MSNR: You just released the title for the sequel to Darker Still, which is The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart. Can you tell us a little bit about the sequel?

LRH: I’d love to, thanks for asking! Our intrepid heroine Natalie continues to lead us on yet another adventure, alongside our dashing hero Lord Denbury, who has to play his evil doppelganger to shed light on the shadowy organization who cursed him and who has ensnared another vulnerable young woman. There’s adventure on trains, in carriages, morgues, in nightmares, theatres and of course, lots more pretty clothes. And more kissing. 🙂

MSNR: Will the Point of View stay the same? For instance, will the story be told through another journal of Natalie’s?

LRH: Indeed it will. A fresh journal for fresh adventures. This time in addition to letters there are also telegraphs, which are like the 19th century version of Text Mesages.

MSNR: Can you tell us a little bit more about Mrs. Northe? Will we see more of her and her neice, Maggie in the sequel?

LRH: Mrs. Northe is an important archetype, the mentor character. Much like Dumbledore in Harry Potter, Mrs. Whatsit in A Wrinkle in Time, these mentors become almost mythic, and I can’t imagine my stories without them. As a child who always got along better with adults than with people my own age, they’re vitally important for our young characters’ growth, sanity and perspective. I adore Mrs. Northe, she’s the culmination of all my favorite role models, teachers and elder friends in my life. There were many unconventional women like her in Victorian society, chafing against society’s boundaries and I find she continues to be terribly useful in the saga as it continues, though her and Natalie go through some trouble and strain in the sequel. And yes, you will see Maggie again, outrageously. Poor Maggie…

MSNR: Since you are such an experienced author, can you give any insight for aspiring writers on how to break into the publishing world?

LRH: One word: persistence. My first novel took 9 years from inception to publication and I had a thousand crises along the way. Keep reading, keep writing, surround yourself with encouraging and successful people and see how they deal with the business. Steel your heart, you have to have a thick skin. Prepare yourself for rejection, you have to want your work to reach an audience more than your fear of rejection.
Your work is not perfect, accept editorial suggestions, always, always, always hone your craft. If you can’t collaborate with an editor get out of the business. Always strive to improve.

MSNR: Leanna, I know you are extremely busy and I really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to speak to A Midsummer Night’s Read and our readers! I know I personally cannot wait to read The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart. Thank you again.

LRH: Thank YOU, Jessica! Your questions were wonderful and I had a lovely time answering them, thanks for your blog and for your time and consideration! To keep track of me: I’m on Twitter: http://twitter.com/leannarenee on FB: http://facebook.com/lrhieber and of course on the web at http://leannareneehieber.com – Happy reading, happy haunting!

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Author Spotlight: Andrea DiGiglio

Andrea DiGiglio, the author of the paranormal young adult book, Finding Alice, has the honor of being our third featured author here on A Midsummer Night’s Read!  You can find our review of Finding Alice here and you can visit DiGiglio’s website here.

Cursed with an intense version of empathy Alice runs from a wasted life to start a new one somewhere no one will know her; Hell, Michigan. Alice works at a hole-in-the-wall bar in the middle of nowhere mostly keeping to herself to avoid the overwhelming emotions of those around her. Alice allows her best friend to convince her into taking a few college classes without realizing it would drastically change her life forever. From her first day of class she was hooked on him; his scent, his eyes, the way he talked to her inside her head.

Throughout her struggles she learns about true love, true pain and the truth of her own heritage. Alice must quickly find out who she is because after all everyone else is out to find her. With Angels and Bounty Hunter’s in constant pursuit she finds protection within a group of Fallen Angels. These Fallen Angels vow to do anything to protect her; for it is their belief she will save their kind and all of mankind.

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR): Hello, Andrea! Thank you so much for providing me with a review copy of Finding Alice and taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions for your readers.  I really enjoyed reading your debut novel and am excited to pick your brain!

Andrea DiGiglio (AD):  No thank you! I am so glad you enjoyed my debut novel.

MSNR: I noticed in your author biography that you have written several screenplays.  What made you turn to writing novels?

AD: When I was little and all through grade school really I was always writing stories.  Around sixteen I found my love for acting and naturally paired the two loves into screenplay writing. When my son was born I wanted to devote as much time with him as I could. I would go stir crazy without some form of creative outlet, coffee in hand I just started writing and after a few ideas that I didn’t feel were much of anything Alice’s world came about.

MSNR:  I am a huge Alice in Wonderland nut, so I adore the name of your main character.  How did you go about choosing Alice for her?

AD:  It is one of those names that I have always loved. When I changed her name I knew it had to be Alice. Everything about her personality I feel is a reflection of the name.

MSNR: Do you identify with Alice as a character? What about Cole?

AD:  Yes I do indentify with her. I wanted her to be the kind of girl who is strong, independent and unique. Traits I’d like to believe she and I share. As for Cole, no comment. J

MSNR: Did you ever take a Religion course like Alice and Cole? Did you do a lot of research into the Book of Enoch and the Old Testament?

AD: I have not taken a religion course like the course they took solely because it isn’t available, but I would. Yes! I seriously felt as if I was researching for years. I have a hardcover copy of The Book of Enoch filled with notes and highlighters. I also studied the Old Testament (but I didn’t mark it) mostly for reference from The Book of Enoch.

MSNR:  I noticed in the excerpt from Alice’s Sacrifice that her story will no longer be told in First Person Point of View.  What made you change this?

AD: I felt book one was about Alice in every sense that it could be. To me first person seemed natural for her to tell her story. In book two I have decided to alternate POV’s but I assure it is not confusing or annoying. (Don’t you want to know what Cole is thinking in that beautiful head of his?) In book two it is still all about Alice and the other main players from book one. I feel that people are always changing and evolving and the way to share the changes of these characters I felt was best in third person POV.

MSNR: Can you give us any intel on Alice’s Sacrifice? What about Alice and Cole’s relationship? Will we learn more about Alice’s history as a special Nephilim?

AD: We will be learning about everyone’s dirty laundry and yes Alice’s special nephilim abilities.  Alice and Cole’s love will still beat strong. There will be plenty of conflicts, happiness, turmoil, lies and truth alike.  All your favorite personalities come back to shine along with some new Angels, Fallen and more Bounty Hunters.

MSNR: What was your experience with the road to publication? Is there any advice you have for aspiring writers?

AD: Difficult is truly the only way to sum it up. I submitted for months hoping for my big break. I always knew I would self publish if I didn’t get picked up. All I had to do was research and find the best routes. I am still learning and I know things are always changing but at this stage in my career I am working as hard as I can to give the best possible product. Though I would much rather just write and stay out of publication! As for aspiring writers, keep writing. No matter the struggles of publishing always keep writing it’s what you wanted to do in the first place. Write what you want to write and write for yourself. Writing is done? Beta test, search for a writers group and ask writers (not your family or friends) to read your book and give back constructive feedback. Research, regardless if you plan to submit your MS (manuscript) to a Literary Agent, Publisher or self publish. Do your research and find the perfect fit for you.

MSNR: Thank you again, Andrea for taking time to talk to me and our readers! I am looking forward to Alice’s Sacrifice and I wish you luck as you continue to finish working on that and all your other projects!

AD: Thank you so much!

CONTEST: Author Spotlight: Cory Putman Oakes

Cory Putman Oakes, author of the newly released young adult novel, The Veil, has given A Midsummer Night’s Read the pleasure of interviewing her about her debut novel! Be sure to read through the whole interview and enter to win a copy of The Veil!

Seventeen-year-old Addison Russell is in for a shock when she discovers that she can see the invisible world of the Annorasi. Suddenly, nothing is as it appears to be — the house she lives in, the woman who raised her, even the most beautiful boy in town all turn out to be more than what they seem. And when this strange new world forces Addy to answer for a crime that was committed long ago, by parents she has never known, she has no choice but to trust Luc, the mysterious Annorasi who has been sent to protect her. Or so he says . . .

A Midsummer Night’s Read (MSNR): Hello, Cory! I want to welcome you to A Midsummer Night’s Read, and thank you for giving us the honor of interviewing you for our readers! Congratulations on the publication of The Veil, I really enjoyed reading it.
Cory Putman Oakes (CPO): Thanks, Jessica! I really love your blog – especially that fact that you give “bards” instead of stars! That is very cool.

MSNR: I read in your acknowledgements that The Veil was not the first novel that you wrote, what was? Will we ever get to read it?
CPO: The first novel I ever wrote is locked firmly in a drawer where no one will ever read it. It’s not that it’s terrible, it’s just very clearly a first attempt. Aside from The Veil series, I have also been working on a middle grade high fantasy series called The Avannia Prophecies. Hopefully you’ll be reading it one day!

MSNR: Tell us about the inspiration for The Veil.
CPO: The Veil was inspired by the San Francisco Bay Area, where I grew up. There is something about the fog, the hills, and the general feel of the area that made me always want to set a fantasy book there. Growing up, I had a lot of ideas of certain “scenes” I knew I wanted to write – a love scene up at the Headlands, an intense moment on the Golden Gate Bridge, etc. But I couldn’t find a story to bring all of these elements together until I moved to Texas. Maybe I was nostalgic for my hometown.

MSNR: How did you come up with the name of the Annorasi? It is so unique!
CPO: Great question! It was important to me that the name mean something, if only in my own head, so I played around with a lot of prefixes and suffixes before I settled on putting together two Greek words: “an” is a prefix which means “without” or “out of” and “orasi” means “sight or vision”. Now, I don’t actually speak Greek so I’m sure that the word is really just gibberish. But to me, very loosely translated (in Crazy Person’s Greek), Annorasi means “out of sight”. Which makes sense because humans cannot see the Annorasi world.

MSNR: Can you give readers any more background on the Annorasi without giving away any major plot points?
CPO: There will be some more back-story on the Annorasi in the second book, but the general theory in the Annorasi world is that the Annorasi were created in order to inspire and guide the human world. Not every Annorasi agrees with this theory, however – it is a source of tension in their world.

MSNR: There are a lot of twists and turns in Addy’s life, did you have to create a timeline or outline to keep track of it all?
CPO: I actually wrote The Veil without an outline, believe it or not. That was very unusual for me – I am generally an outliner. But the story began as a writing exercise – I never contemplated that it would turn into a book or that I would even finish it. But now that I’ve decided to turn it into a series, I have an outline for the next two books.

MSNR: As you probably noticed, I loved Addy’s voice as a narrator. Did you base her voice on anyone you know, or was it a voice that “spoke” to you while you were writing?
CPO: Thanks! Addy came to me as a very complete character, voice and all. I see her as a very thoughtful (in that, she thinks a lot – not that she buys nice presents for people), self-deprecating, skeptical and loyal person. Those were the qualities I wanted to come through in her voice.

MSNR: Can you give us some insight into the second novel? (For example: Do you have a title selected? How many novels will there be in this series? Will we see more of Addy and Lucas’ relationship?)
CPO: The title of Book 2 is going to be a secret until the book comes out, but I have three other books planned for this series – Book 2, Book 3, and a Prequel. I don’t want to give too much away, but I can tell you that Book 2 was very inspired by elements of Peter Pan. There is also a new character named Julia – she is an Annorasi. And she is Luc’s ex-girlfriend. (!). (There is a sneak peek of Book 2 on my website, if you want to take a look: http://www.corypoakes.com/the-veil/the-sequel/).

Book 3 will conclude the series. The Prequel is the story of what happened before The Veil, and it will be told from the point of view of Maggie (Addy’s mother).

MSNR: How does it feel to be a published author?
CPO: Awesome! I have been an “aspiring author” for so long that it’s still sometimes hard for me to believe that I now have a book that is “out there”! It’s been a very big year for me!

MSNR: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
CPO: I firmly believe that the writers who eventually become published authors are the ones who never give up. The writing world is tough – there is lots of competition and tons of rejection. But the process ultimately makes you better, as long as you keep at it. Keep writing, even when you think you are out of ideas, because something else always comes along.

MSNR: Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer our questions about The Veil! I really enjoyed reading it, and am looking forward to the continuation of Addy’s journey. Thank you again!
CPO: Thanks Jessica! I really appreciate you having me! Congratulations and best of luck on this awesome blog!

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