Friday, August 15, 2014

Interview with YA fantasy romance author Nancy Pennick

Nancy Pennick is here today! I'm chatting with her about her new YA fantasy romance (with time travel elements) novel, Waiting for Dusk: Book One of Waiting for Dusk Series (Young Adult Novel).

Nancy will be awarding a $10 Amazon gift card and a PDF or mobi copy of Waiting for Dusk to a randomly drawn winner during the tour. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Nancy currently resides in Mentor, Ohio with her husband and their college-age son, plus a delightfully entertaining lovebird. Her writing is influenced by all the years of working with young people as a teacher and raising her own son. When not writing, Nancyloves to travel with her husband and enjoys a good cup of tea. Waiting for Dusk is the first in her three book series. Call of the Canyon and Stealing Time continue the story of Kate and Drew.

Welcome, Nancy. Please tell us about your current release.
Katie Roberts is a sixteen year-old-girl in this book…a little bored, somewhat naïve and needing to find herself. After reading a book her mom gives her, a dream transports her back in time. She ends up having a great summer. If she could choose, she’d live in 1927 instead of her present world. Suddenly her book goes missing and her world crashes around her. How does she return to the past without the book? Katie has come to realize the book has something to do with these dreams…or are they dreams after all?

What inspired you to write this book?
Visiting National Parks became a recent passion. My husband and I had just returned from the Grand Canyon. A PBS series about National Parks was going to air and we decided to watch. My mind drifted to another place. I began thinking about the recent park visit, the history I just watched and how fun it might be to have a young girl move between the past and present. I had no intention of writing a novel. So it literally happened overnight.

Excerpt from Waiting for Dusk:
“Drew!” Katie felt butterflies in her stomach.
He held out his hand. “Come on. I won’t let you fall.”
She slowly stepped onto the rock, and inched towards him. Her heart pounded but she felt safe. He put both arms around her, holding her tight as they both faced the canyon.
“There is nothing like it, is there?” He whispered softly in her ear.
Katie could have stayed like that for the rest of the day, but knew she had to get back to work. The magic had to end. “I have to go.”
“Yes, I know.”
They stepped back a few feet until they were on what Katie thought was more solid ground. She knew the rock was just an extension of the land but it felt as if she was miles from El Tovar. She turned to run back to the hotel, then stopped.
“Drew, I…” She looked into his eyes, his sparkling emerald eyes. Her heart flipped. “I hope to see you later.”
“You will. You definitely will. Tomorrow is Saturday.”
Katie ran up to the brush next to the hotel, grabbed the pails and headed to the back of El Tovar. Saturday couldn’t come soon enough. For now, she needed to finish her shift and then head to the boardinghouse and go to sleep. She knew the only way to get back here was through her dreams. How confident am I? Will I be able to return? I’ll just have to believe, like in all good fairytales.


What exciting story are you working on next?
Broken Dreams. It’s a historical romance novel and a prequel to the Waiting for Dusk series. Many readers love the character Anna in the series. I decided to write about her earlier years, her friendship with Lucinda and their falling out. It follows the girls from Chicago to the Grand Canyon. They meet and fall for the same cowboy and that’s when the trouble begins!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I always wrote, even as a child. I’d journal and write short stories. I really didn’t think of it as being a writer. When my first book was published and I held it in my hands, I started to believe.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Since I am retired from teaching, I have time to write so I guess I can call it my full-time job! Besides writing, there are other things I like to do and things I don’t…like housework. Time has to be set aside for promotion and writing my blog, also. I like to write in the morning and then take a break. Mornings always seem peaceful to me. I make a cup of tea or an iced latte and take it to the computer.  Late afternoon is another good time. I’ve had time to think about the characters and plot—where everyone is heading or changes that need to be made. I spend that time rereading what I wrote and editing.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Silence. I like to write in total silence. I know some authors like to have music playing, but I do my best thinking when it’s quiet.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A teacher. Never changed my mind from third grade on. I was totally in love with my third grade teacher and wanted to be like her.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I would like to say, if you got this far, thank you for reading this! I appreciate it. Readers are special people. No matter how you read novels…on your Kindle, paperback in hand, on your phone or iPad…keep on reading. There are so many great books out there. They can take you wherever you want to go without leaving the comforts of home.

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Thanks, Nancy!


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4 comments:

  1. I had to laugh when I read the part in the interview about the third grade teacher. It sounds like I wrote it. My third grade teacher was wonderful and I wanted to be just like her. She looked like Queen Elizabeth, she had a picture of her on her desk. By the way I went to school in Australia.

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