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Interview with the Author
1. Tell us a
little about yourself and your latest/upcoming release.
I’m a lifelong writer and nerdgirl, an autism advocate,
mother of two hilarious kids and I binge watch Netflix wayyyy too much. My
debut YA fantasy novel is TRAVELER, the story of a girl who can step through
mirrors into alternate realities, and into alternate versions of herself.
2. When did
you realize that you wanted to become a writer? What was the very first thing
you ever wrote?
Whenever someone asks me how long I’ve been writing I always
answer “I’ve never not.” That’s the truth – I can’t remember a time when I
wasn’t writing. As for the first thing I wrote – I do recall writing plays for
my stuffed animals to act in, and I even wrote Star Trek fanfiction before
fanfiction was even a thing.
3. Do you read
reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?
Of course I read my reviews! And everyone gets a bad review
every now and then. I’ve been lucky so far – nothing really scathing – but I
always try to see where my readers are coming from and learn what I can from
every bit of criticism in a review. It’s really easy to get blind to your own
writer faults and miss the common traps you’re falling into. Reading your
criticism helps you see a broader picture.
4. Do you have
a book in your house that's just destroyed because you've read it so much?
For me, that would be a paperback copy of The Martian
Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury. I’ve had it since I was eight (I stole it from my
older brother) and I still love it and reread it to this day. No one could
paint with words like Ray Bradbury.
5. What was
your inspiration for the book?
I once watched an old version of “Alice Through The Looking
Glass” on TV as a kid (it was the 1974 version, which was really creepy). I
happened to pass a mirror afterward and thought it would be cool if there was
another ‘me’ on the other side. I stared at my reflection for a long time until
- I swear to you - I saw the other me blink. Scared me a lot to the point that
I still get the creeps if I catch my reflection out of the corner of my eye.
6. What do you
normally like to read when not writing?
Young adult, Sci-Fi and steamy romance. I am a sucker for
flirting and attraction and any kind of magical element or world.
7. How much of
the characters are based on your traits or someone you know personally?
Jessa (my protagonist) is an odd mix of me and my daughter.
She’s nerdy and a writer like me, but fierce as hell and protective of her
sibling like my daughter. She’s like the best of us both. Danny (Jessa’s
brother) is my son, all grown up. Every bit of him, including his autism. Finn
is a conglomeration of lots of people, but Pirate Finn (from another reality) was
somewhat influenced by a certain TV pirate on a certain primetime fairytale
show that I’ve been obsessing over. He’s a real chip off the old block.
8. What scene
was your favorite to write?
The steampunk ball that Jessa attends in another reality. It
was such fun to write, and involved one of the more intense romantic scenes – I
just love how it came out.
9. How
different would you say the final version of TRAVELER is from the first draft?
Hmmm. Very. And not. There were a lot of changes – the
removal of two major subplots and one smaller, but very hard to relinquish
subplot, and an overall change to how the entire series would end that had some
ramifications on the rewrites of TRAVELER. But all in all, the characters
stayed true to who they were, almost all my dialogue survived intact, and all
the major scenes that were the “meat” of the story stayed. My book emerged as a
much more cohesive, much more dynamic story for it, too.
10. If you
could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be? And why?
Pirate Finn, in a
heartbeat. Who doesn’t love a dashing, flirty pirate with an Irish accent?
This is or That
Cat
or Dog? Grew up with dogs, now have cats, so both.
Ice
cream or Sorbet? Both!
Heels
or flats? Flats. Life’s too short to walk in painful shoes.
Knives
or sword? Sword.
Coffee
or Tea? Tea. Most definitely.
Iced
tea or hot tea? Yes to both!
Snow
or rain? You don’t have to shovel rain.
And it’s romantic.
Movies
at home or Movie Theater? Both! And in
the same day!
Soda
or Juice? I am a Diet Dr. Pepper addict.
Twitter
or Facebook? I do both but I love
Twitter.
Actual
book or eReader? Both.
Actual
book or Audiobook? Actual book.
Spring
or Summer? Summer! Get me to a beach!
Fall
or winter? Fall – my favorite season of
all!
Long
Sleeves or Short Sleeves? Depends on the
season
Young
Adult or New Adult? Both!
Vampires
or Werewolves? Werewolves
Ghost
or Zombies? Ghosts. History is always romantic.
Action
movies or Chick flicks? Action.
Horror
movies or Mystery movies? Horror.
Mountain
views or Ocean views? Ocean views – for
the rest of my life, if I could work it.
We would like to thank L.E. for stopping by an answering our questions! :)
