BRoP Interview with Pippa Jay

Hope everyone gets out/ got out and voted today.

Today's guest is Pippa Jay, A stay-at-home mum of three who spent twelve years working as an Analytical Chemist in a Metals and Minerals laboratory, Pippa Jay bases her stories on a lifetime addiction to science-fiction books and films. Somewhere along the line a touch of romance crept into her work and refused to leave. In between torturing her various characters, she spends the odd free moments trying to learn guitar, indulging in freestyle street dance and drinking high-caffeine coffee. Although happily settled in historical Colchester in the UK with her husband of 19 years, she continues to roam the rest of the Universe in her head.
 
Blurb: Outcast. Cursed. Dying. Is Keir beyond redemption?

For Keirlan de Corizi--the legendary 'Blue Demon' of Adalucien--death seems the only escape from a world where his discolored skin marks him as an oddity and condemns him to life as a pariah. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise: Tarquin Secker, a young woman who can travel the start with a wave of her hands.
But Quin has secrets of her own. She's spent eternity searching through time and space with a strange band of companions at her back. Defying her friends' counsel, Quin risks her apparent immortality to save Keir. She offers him sanctuary and a new life on her home world, Lyagnius.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes his dormant alien powers and earns instant exile from Quin's home world, will she risk everything to stand by him again?

Part 1 @ Teresa - Thursday, November 1st
Part 2 @ Emily - Friday, November 2nd
Part 3 @ Sandra - Monday, November 4th
Part 4 @ Dean - Tuesday, November 6th
Part 5 @ Terri - Wednesday, November 7th

Today we will visit about about Pippa's current work.  So, welcome to The Write Time and pull up a chair.
 

Tell us about your new book and when it is out? 

Where can people purchase it? Keir came out in digital format in May 2012, and as a print version in August. All the main digital retailers have it, like Amazon, B&N and Kobo. You can find the links on the Lyrical Press page here - http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_32&products_id=513 (pssst, if you buy the print version from The Book Depository, shipping worldwide is free!) 

Is there anything new, unusual, or interesting about your book? How is it different from other books on the same subject? 

I try not to make my scifi too tech heavy, and I use a lot of fantasy elements, so Keir isn't your average science fiction romance. Also my main characters have some unusual talents which have both good and bad consequences. 

What was the hardest part of writing this book? 

Finding the time to spend on it. When I started it, my youngest wasn't even at nursery and my middle child has only just started school. Plus I did most of it by hand to begin with, then transferred it onto the computer, so really I doubled the time it took.  

What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why? 

Oh, tough one! Um, I think the sections where my two MCs are stranded on a tropical island and have to face some truths about themselves - and each other. Because I don't plot, I didn't really know what was going to happen with them myself until I wrote it, so I was pleased with the result. 

Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it? 

That I'm pretty good at world building but needed to work on dialogue and on romantic tension. 

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in this book? 

Yes. I'd remove their ability to time travel. It made it too complicated in the end, and also a couple of people said it wasn't explained well enough. I realised afterward that one of the key conversations about the time traveling rules got edited down, so that's why.  

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? 

That beauty is not all about looks, and there's always a light in the darkness. 

Tell us about your book’s cover – where did the design come from and what was the design process like? The cover was created by Renee Rocco, the owner of Lyrical Press Inc. I had a form to fill out with a brief summary of the story, what the main characters looked like, the overall theme, and what ideas I had in mind. I was also allowed to send various images I'd collected as inspiration. The original draft didn't have any tattoos, though, which is an essential part of Keir's appearance, so my editor worked with some images, then ran them past myself and Renee. 

More places to find Pippa on the web:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60031 

Blog: http://pippajay.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Keir-Beyond-Redemption/114058821953752?ref=hl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pippa.jay.9

Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5054558.Pippa_Jay

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pippajaygreen

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pippa-Jay/e/B0080QVWEE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/happarose

Other: Google+ https://plus.google.com/app/plus/mp/828/#~loop:a=g%3A101080630877126516448&view=profile

Lyrical Press http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_32&products_id=513

What format is your book(s) available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)? 

Keir is available in all digital formats and print 

The Bones of the Sea is available in digital formats only via Smashwords.com

BRoP Interview with Rebecca Hamilton Part III

Well my blogging friends within our Blog Ring of Power have another author interview on our blogs.  Today Rebecca Hamilton visits The Write Time and we will talk about where she gets inspiration and the creative aspect of how she writes.

You can read Part I at Em's Blog

Part II is over on Sandra's Blog

Today is Part III

Tomorrow Part IV is over on Terri's Blog

Part V wraps up the interview with Teresa on her Blog.

First off welcome to The Write Time, Rebecca.  Glad you agreed to join up with our Blog Ring, we like to call it The Blog Ring of Power.  So pull up a chair right here and lets talk shop and your creativity.  

Where do you get your story ideas?

This is such a crappy answer, but the truth is, “they come to me.”

Do you have a specific writing style?

I like writing from a deep point of view.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

I am not sure how much I believe in writers block. Sure you get stuck, but a true writer’s block implies something else to me. It’s like the difference between having lost something or just having not found it yet. If you don’t look, you definitely won’t find it.

How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?

They also “come to me”. Sometimes I will put thought into the shallow details, after the fact, because it seems most readers care about things like what a character looks like or what car they drive, but to me, personality is the key. So I just write the character as I FEEL them. Then sometimes I take a personality test to see what their personality is if I need to get more depth into what kind of person they are.

Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser” (do you plan/outline the story ahead of time or write “by the seat of your pants”)?

I was a pantser. Plotting still doesn’t work for me. Usually I have some general ideas, but that’s it. What I’ve taken to doing (to make writing easier) is to keep handy some outlines of plot structures, but more “fill it in as I go”. In other words, I know I have to write an inciting incident at the opening. I don’t decide what it will be, but I make sure it’s there by time I’m through. I know I need to set up questions in the first act, develop character, and make sure the problems of the story and goals of the character are clear. I don’t know ahead of time what those things are, but I know to be aware of them when they come to me and to include them as I write. When I hit 25%, I know that I’m going into act 2 and that I need to build on conflicts. I don’t know what those conflicts are, but as I write, I look for them and include them. So I guess there is structure there, but it’s more like following a map without knowing what I will see or where I will turn as I walk the paths.

For Rebecca's fans, or new fans here is where you can find her online:

Blog:

Facebook page:

Goodreads author page: 

Twitter:

Amazon US: 

Amazon UK:

Smashwords: 

iTunes: 

CreateSpace: 

Amazon Print:

Oh, one last question:

Is your book in print, ebook or both? 

 Both.

Thanks for having me :)

Thank you for coming over and being a part of our interview.  It has been a real pleasure having you with us.

Book Blurb on The Forever Girl:

Publication Date: January 26, 2012

Sophia Parsons’ family has skeletons, but they aren’t in their graves...

Solving the mystery of an ancestor’s hanging might silence the clashing whispers in Sophia's mind, but the cult in her town and the supernaturals who secretly reside there are determined to silence her first.

As Sophia unknowingly crosses the line into an elemental world full of vampire-like creatures, shapeshifters, and supernatural grim reapers, she meets Charles, a man who becomes both lover and ally.

But can she trust him?

It’s not until someone nearly kills Sophia that she realizes the only way to unveil the source of her family's curse: abandon her faith or abandon her humanity. If she wants to survive, she must accept who she is, perform dark magic, and fight to the death for her freedom.