I begged for an interview on my hands and knees (well maybe that is a bit much but I did beg) and she was so sweet and kind to grant me and interview.
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1. I also love to ask the authors that are interviewed why did they become authors? I do this because I have gotten some very funny answers before and some that are really moving. So, my first question is: why did you become an author?
My reason doesn't have a funny flair to it, nor is it particularly moving, but it is quite meaningful to me of course. My passion for reading goes back to my first memories, but my love of writing came a bit later. In third grade I started participating in an annual Young Writer's conference. To prepare, we got to write, illustrate and create a cover and binding for our book and I remember feeling so proud and excited to show my finished product to anyone I could corner. Then in sixth grade, we were tasked with writing a story over the course of a month. Each week we'd get together in small groups and read our latest progress to our group and the members of mine couldn't wait to hear what was going to happen next in mine. And I couldn't wait to write more. Once the assignment was done I continued writing it, until I realized it was a never ending story and capped it off around eighty pages or so.
Fast forward a decade and a half and I find my love for reading waning and I'm able to pinpoint it to the books I'm immersing myself in. I was mainly reading adult fiction at the time and found an ongoing theme that was far too realistic and depressing for my liking written in a melancholy voice. These were some solid works of fiction, don't get me wrong, but they just weren't "it" for me. So I wandered into the young adult section of a local bookstore and picked up a few titles, thinking, "why not?" and guess what? I was in love with reading again.
So much so, I decided that's what I needed to write. My passion was in escapism and fantasy and true love and happy endings, so that's what I wanted to create for others. So I put fingertips to keyboard and got after it. I didn't have any formal training as a writer; I'd taken several English courses in college before deciding a English Lit degree wasn't in the cards for me, so I picked up a ton of writing mechanics books. For the cost of a couple hundred dollars, I felt I got a very good education on novel writing 101. I finished Eternal Eden, my first book, in eight weeks. The first draft at least. I write like that, in huge bursts of creative energy where neither hungry or tired register. And once I'm done with a novel, I pay the price and have to catch up on all things of a human nature for a month or two before launching into my next one.
I became a writer because that's what I was meant to be, that's the passion that was born in me. I became an author because I took a leap of faith, didn't let the nay-sayers wear me down, and believed in myself.
2. I fell in love with the relationship between Bryn and William and when I read the second book it was so hard to see the pain that Bryn was in. Was this hard for you to write because of the bond that authors have with their characters?
It was very hard. William and Bryn are my first loves as far as characters go, and their love for one another sets the bar for other love stories I write, so I had to force myself to stick with the novel's outline or else it would have ended about two days after Bryn flew to Paris and then one or both of them decided to go get back the other. I had to create an intense playlist and listen to it over and over again while I wrote. I also had to make sure I got lots of sunshine to counteract the somber tone of the book.
3. Patrick is so funny, loving, and an amazing character. Did you mimic him after someone in your life or was it because he was just the opposite of William?
Patrick is partly mimicked after my brother, and partly created to provide plenty of comic relief as Bryn and William are a couple of serious characters. My brother is a smarty pants, too charming for his own good, and the life of a party. He doesn't surf, though (yet anyways) and he's married (sorry, ladies).
4. I know that you announced that a new book will be out soon from Patrick's point of view. Can you give us any details about the book and when it is coming out?
I'm so stoked about this book! For me, Patrick is an easier character to write than either Bryn or William because he never stops talking in my mind as I'm writing. I can't keep up with his internal dialogue. I'm about a week away from finishing the first draft. After that I'll do a couple weeks of revisions, send it off to my editor, and my goal is to have it out the first couple weeks of March. It's entitled, FISSURE, THE PATRICK CHRONICLES and highlights Patrick's life and shenanigans at the conclusion of The Eden Trilogy. The official jacket blurb will be released in a few weeks, but I can say that it's time to get out the black, ladies, because the man who loves all the women is about to fall hard for just one of them. Again.
5. What is one thing that you love about writing Bryn and William?
I love that their relationship has the potential to inspire a woman who doesn't believe this kind of love can exist. I love that it can challenge them to set standards and stand by them. I love that women can potentially see a piece of themselves in the insecurities Bryn faces and come through a gauntlet of challenges to come out stronger and more confident on the other side. I love, loved, writing their wedding night; for me, that was a thousand pages and three years coming and I couldn't wait to get that down on paper.
Bonus Question: With the popularity of werewvoles and vampires why did you choose Immortals?
I blame it on my crazy imagination and wanting to write a species of beings and a world I'd never read or heard about before. Of course there are parallel themes between the world of Immortals and other paranormal beings, but I really enjoyed digging into what purpose these beings who lived FOREVER would have other than just taking it one day at a time. So, yeah, I hold my imagination fully responsible for that one
Thank you so much Nicole for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with me!
--Mary--
Great interview! I love: "I became a writer because that's what I was meant to be, that's the passion that was born in me. I became an author because I took a leap of faith, didn't let the nay-sayers wear me down, and believed in myself."
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