Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a full time mom, writer and I have a day job, which means I’ve learned to get by on very little sleep sometimes. I’ve been writing books and stories since I was a teenager, but I published my first paranormal romance novel, Revelations: Book One of the Lalassu, last year and the sequel this year on Valentine’s Day.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My newest book is Metamorphosis, the sequel to Revelations. There were several inspirations which came together for it. The inspiration for the series was the idea of what would it be like if we really had superheroes (or at least people with supernatural abilities) living among us in secret, forming a secret society that only a few people even realized existed. What challenges would they have? How would people feel when they discovered these powers were real? (As a comic book geek, I’d be delighted and excited, but I’m sure not everyone would feel that way.)
For Metamorphosis, I wanted to explore the challenges and difficulties of soldiers suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). My hero, Ron, has been running and self-medicating for years. I wanted to show how insidious and relentless the symptoms could be. For Lily, there were two main inspirations. First, I knew I wanted to make her a shapeshifter and since I’ve always been fascinated by bears, making her a skinwalker who transforms into a grizzly bear was lots of fun. Second, my first heroine, Dani, was a kick-butt and take-names kind of heroine, so for Lily, I wanted to show a heroine whose strength comes from personal integrity and family connections. She’s strong, passionate and protective, a true mama bear.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Because of the challenges of my life, my writing has to be extremely portable. I do most of my writing while my kids are at their various activities. I found I work well with a plot board, but carrying around a giant display isn’t always practical. So I put the cards from my plot board into a photo album which I carry with my laptop. I have a section for each character and the overall plot notes, as well as a detailed summary of each completed chapter. (Very handy for remembering what I called that guy who appeared briefly in the car rental scene in chapter four, or maybe five, or seven?) By nature, I’m more of a pantser, letting the writing flow where it will. But, I found I needed a proper plot and outline to be able to avoid spending half my writing time remembering what I planned to do next.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The first romance novel I read where I thought “I’d like to do that” was Jessica Andersen’s Skykeepers, the third book in the Nightkeeper series. It was clever, funny, sexy and used a magical system which was entirely new to me: Mayan. Since then, I’ve also become a huge fan of Jenna Black, Sherilyn Kenyon and Bec McMaster. They all have a talent for creating vivid characters who feel real, and they combine humor and tragedy. They explore the darker side of life without leaving a reader feeling worn out and hopeless.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on the third book in the lalassu series, Inquisition, and a short story set in the lalassu universe. It’s the second short story in my Spirit Sight series, which is about paranormal investigators who don’t know about the lalassu but are drawn into the strange occurrences the lalassu leave in their wake.
Inquisition will focus on Detective Joe Cabrera as the hero and introduce a new heroine, Cali, a Robin-Hood-esque thief and master of diguise.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve found my best method for promotion so far has been developing relationships with the smaller bloggers. Some authors ignore them because they don’t have thousands of regular visitors, but I’ve found a number of very enthusiastic supporters. They loved the first book and when I offered to give them advance copies of Metamorphosis, they set up features and did some great reviews.
In the end, I think word-of-mouth is still how most people find new books to read, so the goal of every author should be to start as many word-of-mouth chains as they possibly can.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have a few pieces of advice which definitely have helped me. First, be prepared to treat writing as a business. Set a budget for both time and money, including costs/time for promotion. It’s too easy to find the day slipping away on social media or emails.
Second: edit, edit, edit! Too many authors put up their first drafts, eager to move on to the next story. Without a second opinion, it’s too hard to find your own plot holes and blind spots. A good editor should rip your story to pieces (without being mean) and that kind of time and effort will be expensive and worth it. My editor sends me 20-30 pages of notes and hundreds of in-manuscript comments, which is the difference between a good story and a great one.
Third: Don’t be afraid of hiring help. Professional cover, professional formatting, professional promoters. Know your own weaknesses and then hire people to cover them. Include those costs in your budget before you publish.
Fourth: Find a writers’ group. Personally, I’ve found the Romance Writers of America (and my local chapter, the Ottawa Romance Writers’ Association) to be incredibly supportive and helpful. There are both online and local chapters. They’ve been a great source of suggestions, references and mentors. I’ve avoided so many pitfalls through the advice of my fellows and been made aware of a huge number of opportunities. Writing is lonely work so talking to someone else who also talks to themselves in the grocery store to work out plot details can help the process to feel less isolated.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I’ve ever heard is to plan for a marathon and have confidence in your own voice. There’s a lot of competition out there, which can seem overwhelming to a new writer. A few years ago, there were tons of stories selling thousands of copies a month within their first few months. Now the market has shifted and building an audience takes time. Be prepared to work for your sales, but don’t be disheartened. If it’s a good story and professionally presented, sooner or later, readers will find it.
What are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading Kim Harrison’s Dead Witch Walking. I’m a fast reader, so I usually pick up at least five books at week from the local library. I grab a romance, a sci-fi/fantasy and one fiction book at random, as well as two non-fiction books. It’s led me to discover some pretty entertaining new authors and genres as well as given me a cheap and thorough education on what works and what doesn’t.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have six books currently planned for the lalassu series (although a seventh and eighth are hazily beginning to take shape in my mind). After the sixth book, I’m going to re-evaluate and decide if I want to continue with the lalassu books or if I want to explore some of the other series ideas floating around in the back of my brain.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
First, because I am eminently practical, would be latest edition of The SAS Survival Handbook by John “Lofty” Wiseman (because I’ve seen Castaway a couple of times, but I’m not a real expert). After that, it would be a really difficult decision. I’ve got a couple thousand books in my library and I’d want to take them all. But, if I have to pick, I think the winners would be:
Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Styxx
Stieg Larsson’s Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Omnibus (okay that may be cheating, but it’s a single volume)
Robert Jordan’s A Memory of Light
Author Websites and Profiles
Jennifer Carole Lewis Website
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