Interview with paranormal romance author Amanda Meuwissen

YA paranormal romance author Amanda Meuwissen is with me today and we’re chatting about her new urban fantasy, Life as a Teenage Vampire.

During her virtual book tour, Amanda will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card. 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:

Amanda has a Bachelor of Arts in a personally designed major from St. Olaf College in Creative Writing, and has been posting content online for many years, including maintaining the blog for the digital marketing company Outsell. She spent a summer writing screenplay script coverages for a company in L.A., and is an avid consumer of fiction through film, prose, and video games. Amanda lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her husband, John, and their cats, Helga and Sasha (no connection to the incubus of the same name).

Welcome, Amanda. Please share a little bit about your current release.

Life as a Teenage Vampire is my first young adult title, and despite being a lifelong vampire fan, it’s my first vampire focused novel as well. My previous titles include the adult paranormal romance trilogy The Incubus Saga. This novel is special to me because it incorporates many true stories and tidbits from my own high school years, as well as some from friends. I joke that everything in this book is true – except the vampires.

What inspired you to write this book?

Since so much of the novel is taken from my own life, that did in part inspire the book, but I was first spurred on to write this tale after finally finishing a young adult trilogy I loved when I was younger: Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez. The final novel, Rainbow Road, the TV show Teen Wolf, one of my favorite movies growing up My Best Friend is a Vampire, and what was a recent film when I started writing Captain American: The Winter Soldier, all played a role in where this story went.


Excerpt from Life as a Teenage Vampire:

“What about Lucky Number Sleven,” he said. “Lucy Liu is totally the romantic lead in that one.”

“Correct,” Aurora nodded, “but that’s first and foremost an action move, not rom-com.”

“Why does it have to be romantic comedy?”

“Because that is the tried and true genre for romance, Con-Man. Admit it, without looking it up or doing an impressive online search, you can’t think of any mainstream American romance movies with Asian leads. It doesn’t happen! I am forever shunned to the stereotyped role or cute Asian best friend.”

“Well, you are cute,” Connor said thoughtfully. “And one of my best friends.”

She mimed shoving a ketchup and cheese covered fry in his face, but he took advantage of the gesture to snap his jaws and swipe it from her fingers. She snorted and shook her head. “If this is your romantic comedy, Connor, you are doing something terribly wrong. Your leading man is completely unaware of the plotline.”

The memory of Emery’s warm hug that morning sent a shiver through him. “You think you have it bad never being cast in leading roles? Where’s the gay romance box office hit I’ve been waiting for all my life? And if you say Brokeback Mountain to me, I will punch you in the boob.” 

Aurora responded by punching him in the boob, which—ouch—really hurt. She was freakishly strong for someone so tiny. “Anyway, that isn’t even what we were talking about. I said I hate how half the time female roles are only written in to be romantic interests. No substance. No purpose. Just a tight ass and a pretty face to dress up the movie poster and give the guy some arm candy. Where’s the action film with the girl as the kickass sidekick or partner—or hey, as the hero herself—without needing to make it about sex? Why does there have to be romance in everything? Girls are just shoved into the supporting role, Asian girls even more so.”

Connor stole one of the fries from her plate while he tapped his feet on the seat he should have been sitting in. They were seniors; if they wanted to sit on the tables, they were allowed. Unless a teacher walked by. “It’s kind of funny, right?”

“What’s funny?”

“I’d give anything to be typecast as the love interest. Frankly, I’d trade spots with any girl in this school to have some of those stereotypes instead of my own.”

Aurora cocked her head at him, another fry suspended between them, having come dangerously close to getting ketchup in the long braid over her shoulder as she gestured. “You want to be an object?”

“I want to be an option.”

What exciting story are you working on next?

I think I feel this way with every new story I work on, but the novel I’m writing now, Lovesick Gods, is something I am more excited about than anything I have ever worked on before. It will be adult again with an M/M romance focus, but rather than paranormal, it’s a superhero story. While the romance aspect is important, and the world of superpowers, heroes, and villains I’ve created, the heart of the story is actually the hero’s struggles with bipolar depression, and how his nemesis (also love interest) overcomes past traumas of physical abuse and trust issues. While it can be heavy and heated and heart-wrenching, it’s been one of the most healing experiences for me as I work on this book, which I hope to have out later in 2017.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

High school. I had a profound experience with a reader at a young age, back when all I knew and wrote was fanfiction, and it made me realize how much writing can affect people, change people, mean to people. Ever since then I’ve known I had to write, and considered myself a writer, long before I had a real novel under my belt.

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?

I have a day job, but over the last couple of years I have been aggressive about finding time to write. It started with NaNoWriMo 2015, and hasn’t slowed down. I commute to downtown Minneapolis for work, and do a lot of writing and editing on the bus. I also dedicate an hour at home most nights after dinner. I have a very supportive and understanding husband. I work in marketing for a customer engagement company for auto dealers, which can often be filled with non-fiction writing tasks. I find this aids in my desire to write creatively at the end of the day.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I think my writing style is a bit like a screenplay writer. I’m very visual, I like to set the scene for people, especially what my characters look like, and my strengths tend to be in action and dialogue.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Many things. A doctor, a vet, an FBI agent, but as I got a little older I knew I would either choose to become a writer or an actress. I still miss acting, but I’m happy with my decision.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

If you want something that fits that YA vampire romance mold with none of the clichés, this is the novel for you. It’s young love, heartbreak, discovering one’s sexuality and place in the world, with fun action, humorous discussions, and memorable moments that even if you haven’t been a teenager yourself in years, will remind you of your own high school days too.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

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Interview with non-fiction writer Ryan Uytdewilligen

I’d like to introduce you to Ryan Uytdewilligen. Ryan has a passion for movies and is here talking about his non-fiction film history book, 101 Most Influential Coming of Age Movies.

Bio:

Ryan Uytdewilligen was born in Lethbridge Alberta and raised on a farm just north of the city. It was there that his family and surroundings would give him countless stories and inspiration for novels and screenplays. He grew up participating in 4-H as any good country kid should and graduated from Kate Andrews High School with aspirations to write and perform.

He studied Broadcast Journalism at Lethbridge College which led to several years as a reporter, freelance writer and blogger, On Air Traffic News Anchor, Media relations for the Vancouver International Film Festival, and a copywriter for various radio stations. He made the move to Vancouver in 2014 to pursue creative writing, studying film and television at Vancouver Film School.

Ryan sold his first screenplay in 2015 to Look to the Sky Productions. The script is currently in development and led the company to hire Ryan to write two separate scripts for development. In 2016, Ryan published two books – the first a nonfiction film history called 101 Most Influential Coming of Age Movies through Algora Publishing. His second book and first fiction work was released in mid September, a young adult novel called Tractor through Sartoris Literary.

Ryan continues to write screenplays, novels, and nonfiction works. He has written and produced two short films, Tea Time (2014) and Even the Devil Swiped Right (2015), written sketch comedy for the Vancouver television show Unfiltered, and has given creative writing lectures at Oklahoma State University, Vancouver Film School, and other media outlets. He hopes to have his second fiction novel released next year and get one of his features into production.

Welcome, Ryan. Please tell us about your current release.

The book is a film history book that explores the evolution of coming of age movies. It looks back at the past 100 years, picks the best and brightest movies about growing up, and explains why they were relevant, important, or changed how cinema/ children grew.

What inspired you to write this book?

I’m a big film nerd. I love all things movies, particularly all things John Hughes and classical fifties melodramas. This genre just seemed like a perfect fit for me and an untapped market. It gave me an excuse to re-watch all these movies and explore their pasts.

Excerpt from 101 Most Influential Coming of Age Movies:

Before George Lucas changed cinema forever with his landmark sci-fi epic Star Wars (1977), he captured the little things in life like graduating from High School, leaving town, and trying to pick up chicks. He was still accompanied by Han Solo, giving Harrison Ford his biggest role thus far, only ironically behind the wheel of a ’55 Chevy. The neat flick captures life on one last night between a group of friends who cruise around in search of futures. Loosely based on Lucas’ own experiences, the film was shot in San Rafael but made to look and feel like his home town of Modesto. Between the hip life lessons of DJ Wolfman Jack are some of the most classic songs of the era from The Beach Boys to Buddy Holly, now nearing the border of old and recent. Famously earning five Oscars and inspiring the long running fifties hit Happy Days, American Graffiti is a slice of life in young middle class America, featuring a soon to be all star cast. Fun and loosely structured, it would be fair to say if these teens didn’t come of age, there would be no Luke Skywalker or Millennium Falcon.

Originally named Another Slow Night in Modesto by Francis Ford Coppola, we follow a group of teens on a fairly slow night made exciting by their antics. Fresh faced Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss are two best friends with plans to leave their little town. Howard suggests to his girlfriend that should have an open relationship which goes over like a lead balloon. Dreyfuss on the other hand spends his last hours searching for the gorgeous Blonde in the T-Bird while trying to join the hell razing Pharaoh’s gang. Their nerdy pal Terry just wants to find a girl, blowing his chances by getting drunk and his borrowed car stolen. Then there’s the rebel of the pack John Mills, stuck with a chatty fourteen-year-old girl while putting up with a slew of insults from Ford’s character Bob Falfa, bent on racing him all night.

Shot in sequence, the film is a joy to watch as all these storylines unfold, much like a typical night on the town. A quintessential coming of age film, American Graffiti is pure fun as it quietly highlights graduation issues like high school sweetheart relationships or debating whether you should move to a new town. There is no big epiphany or plot twist to resolve — it works as a collective medley of teens from every class and social group trying to overcome a miniscule problem that is for them their biggest life challenge. These types of films have become all too popular — with a few classic teen adventures borrowing the format to showcase one crazy night in a small town. American Graffiti certainly became the most popular to utilize that format. The mix of classic tunes, believable actors, and interesting situations landed it straight on the Oscar’s Best Picture list and in baby boomer’s hearts.

The audience is “treated” to the somewhat somber epilogue that shows just what happened to the four boys. Their decisions ultimately check out but prove that early love and missed opportunity don’t lead to the best of situations. Nonetheless, the mistakes and adventures are what shape our futures and the kind of person you’ll grow up to be. For a further look, the psychedelic More American Graffiti was released in 1979, but lacked in naive innocence found in the original.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I published my own coming-of-age fiction story, a novel about a farm boy in the southern sixties called Tractor. John, the teenager, must pick up an old tractor for a crotchety farmer and drive in back across the Southern US. Along the way there’s love, adventure, danger, and a colorful coming of age story. Next up will be a nonfiction history of my hometown, Lethbridge Alberta.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I studied journalism and took a commercial writing job simply because the title of it was “creative writer.” That sounded like heaven to me and I did that job for a year. I had always written stories in some capacity but I decided to follow my dreams and become a screenwriter. I studied at Vancouver Film School and have written screenplays and novels ever since.

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?

Yes, I write full time. I get up in the morning, drink a lot of coffee, and peruse writing job boards. Then I’ll send projects out to publishers and producers all morning and get cracking on a writing project in the afternoon. Evenings are usually reserved for watching or reading inspiration.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I can name you ever Best Picture Oscar winner from memory. The majority of acting wins as well. Movie trivia, particularly Academy Award history is my thing.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be an actor. I always went to summer camps and starred in a few high school plays. But it just seemed unattainable and creating the stories for actors seemed a bit more of what I wanted to do. I still act and work as an extra in film occasionally.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Reading is important as is watching classical film. Do what you like, but understanding classic works in both mediums is one of the most important pastimes as person can do in my opinion. It gives us glimpses of past days gone by and can inspire us at any age! In other words, watch and read as much black and white as you can!

Links:

Amazon | Twitter | Algora Publishing

Thanks for being here, Ryan!

Interview with short story writer Jessica M. Starr

I’m happy to welcome short story writer and poet Jessica M Starr today. We’re focused on her collection of short stories based in the real world with fantasy elements called, Waking Mama Luna.

Bio:

Jessica M. Starr is a witch and her magic is stories (she’s great at spelling). She lives at the foot of a mountain in Wales, UK, with her musician husband and their two unschooled children. She serves her local community as a teacher, healer and doula: gathering the women; holding space and hands when babies are born; keeping the stories and passing them on.

Jessica writes poems and prose for those who know that magic is real and that stories hold the power to change the world. Her work has been featured in anthologies and magazines in the UK. Waking Mama Luna is her first solo publication. Her poetry anthology Maid, Mother, Crone, Other will be released Autumn 2016.

What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

I love that you can capture and share a whole world, in a short story, in very limited space and time. I also love reading short stories. Since becoming a mother of young children I’ve found that they offer me a way, a lifeline really, that I can still get my story fix in and around the corners of our days.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?

There are five stories in Waking Mama Luna, each of them different but also linked in their connection to our experiences as women and girls, and to the natural world. Here’s a little insight into how each of the stories came about…

            I have long been fascinated with the moon. The way she waxes and wanes and how her ebb and flow affects us and our cycles as women. I love to take full moon walks and one autumn evening the moon was so huge and close I could feel her almost touching me. That night I had “the dream” and “Waking Mama Luna”, the first story in the collection, flowed out very soon afterwards.

            In 2011 I miscarried our second child. A few weeks later it was a beautiful day and we went to Rest Bay in Porthcawl. I have always found being close to the ocean healing; the sand, the salty air. It sparked something and “The Call of the Sea”, was the bittersweet result. For me this story is about grief and loss and loving someone who is no longer here alongside us.

            I heard a story about a woman who could carry a cow. When she was asked how she managed it she said she had cared for the calf as a baby and carried it each day (I can’t remember why she needed to carry it). Each day it grew a tiny bit bigger and each day she continued to carry it, until it was full grown. Those tiny daily increases felt like nothing but they added up to something so powerful and surprising. This inspired “The Special Place”. Again, a powerful mother-daughter relationship weaves through this story.

            “Iris’s Rainbow” is one of my favourite stories because I love Iris. I see her very much like my daughter Ella – though Ella is not as loud. This would make me her Mama, the one who dies. This story, for me, explores the motherline, that invisible thread which ties our generations together, grandmother, mother, daughter. It gives me faith that my children will be fine when I am no longer here to take care of them.

            Many moons ago I worked with GCSE English students. ‘Breaking the Surface’ came after a conversation with a student who was in a dark place at the time and feeling trapped. I understood those feelings. I knew them. I also knew the way out. ‘Breaking The Surface’ is my offer of hope.

What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

Fantasy for sure, because I still feel that it’s more real than the real world in some ways.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I have started a longer piece which is essentially a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but it is unrecognisable from the Disney version! I feel that we are moving into a place where women and girls’ voices are being heard and valued like never before, even when they are stepping out of what is a traditional story for female characters. It’s an exciting time!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

In all honesty, I was more likely to call myself a writer when I was 11 years old and working on my own version of The Narnia Chronicles than I would be now. Like “artist” the title “writer” seems to be one that we wish others would confer upon us rather than claim for ourselves, though I like what Jeff Goins says, that you should call yourself a writer because “before others will believe what is true about you, you’ll have to first believe it yourself”.

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?

I know there are writers who are successfully writing to market ie. researching what is selling well right now (perhaps college zombie rom-coms) and then writing a book that delivers that, but I just can’t work that way around. For me the story idea comes first, usually from a dream, or perhaps while walking/ exercising, and then you write it and then you have to work out who would be interested in it and let those people know about it. It’s undeniably the harder way around but definitely possible. And it gets easier when you start connecting with like-minded people who enjoy what you write and want to help you spread the word. I am lucky to have a growing mailing list of amazing people who enjoy what I do.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Ha! I’m not sure I really have one. I do tend to write standing up, perhaps that’s a quirk, though I read the other day that Virginia Woolf also did this so I’m in good company.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A librarian or a bookshop owner. I also secretly dreamed of being a writer (hence the Narnia rewrite and numerous other scribblings, which I guess would be called fan-fiction today) but I “knew” that writers were people far more interesting and confident than me, so didn’t dare to dream aloud.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I’m working on an audiobook version of Waking Mama Luna which I’m going to share with my mailing list for free as soon as it’s ready. If you'd like it, I you can subscribe to my list at jessicamstarr.com.

Thank you for being here today, Jessica! 

Interview with contemporary fiction writer Hend Hegazi

Contemporary fiction writer Hend Hegazi is first up on Reviews and Interviews for this new year. We’re talking about her new novel, Behind Picket Fences.

During her virtual book tour, Hend will be awarding one copy of Normal Calm and a copy of Behind Picket Fences (U.S. and International) to lucky randomly drawn winner. 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:

Hend Hegazi was born and raised in Southeastern Massachusetts. Despite her desire to pursue writing as a profession, she graduated from Smith College with a degree in biology and a minor in religion. Shortly thereafter, the winds of life and love blew her to Egypt where she has been living for the past 14 years. She is a full-time mother of four as well as a freelance writer and editor. Some of her work has been featured in SISTERS Magazine. Her fiction and poetry focus on the human condition, often shedding light on the Muslim American experience. Hend strives to be God-conscious and aims to raise that awareness in her readers. As a common theme in her pieces, the intimate relationship between God-consciousness and love is often explored. Hend’s debut novel, Normal Calm, was published in January 2014.

Welcome, Hend. Please share a little bit about your current release.

Behind Picket Fences is a story which looks beyond the fronts of happiness and security that so many families put up to hide the truth of their struggles. It exposes the hardships in four neighboring families, revealing infertility, infidelity, and mental illness as just a few of the issues the characters face.

What inspired you to write this book?

Often times in our lives, we look to our colleagues or neighbors and feel jealous at their situation. We may look at a colleague who recently received a promotion—with a substantial salary increase—and find ourselves wishing we had her life. Or we may look at a couple who is happily chasing their children around a park, and wish that we, too, had that kind of familial contentment. But the truth of life is that no one has it perfectly; that colleague with the promotion may be battling a fatal disease, that happy family may be drowning in bills. We all struggle with something, no matter how well hidden that struggle may be. With Behind Picket Fences, my goal was to raise awareness not of the struggles we face, but of the blessings we may take for granted. The invisible blessings which surround us are what inspired me to write this book.


Excerpt from Behind Picket Fences:
“Actually,” Farris interrupted, “I’m just going to call it a night.” Farris began to walk away without saying goodbye or even recognizing the women. Faruq stood there for a second, jaw open, utterly embarrassed by his brother’s anti-social behavior. “I’ll be right back, ladies. Don’t go anywhere.”

He ran after his brother and quickly caught up with him. “Man, what are you doing?! This is the best thing for you right now.”

“I don’t want this. This has never been my scene, Faruq, and you know that. I’m just going to…”

But the sight of something beyond Farris made his brother interrupt, grabbing him by the shoulder. “That’s him! Farris, man, that’s him!” Faruq shouted, pointing in the direction he was looking.

Turning around so he could see what Faruq was pointing to, Farris narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about, Faruq? That’s who?”

“That’s him!” Faruq repeated, excitedly grabbing Farris’ shirt at the shoulder. “That’s the man I saw with Sidra!”

The words forced Farris’ eyes into focus. He saw the tall, brown haired white man so vividly, as if he were the only one in the parking lot. He didn’t hesitate for even a split second; Faruq barely blinked, and suddenly Farris was sprinting toward James. He lunged at him, punching him square in the face. The man fell to the ground as the woman who was with him let out a gasp and crouched to the floor beside him.

Looking up at the attacker she screamed, “What the hell is wrong with you?! Why did you punch my husband?!”

Farris hovered over the couple, breathing heavily, rubbing his throbbing knuckles. Faruq, now standing beside his brother, held Farris’ arm back and spoke out, “Your husband is having an affair with his wife. Isn’t that right, James?”

“James?!” the woman yelled. “He’s not James!”

What exciting story are you working on next?
Currently I’m writing a novel about a woman with undiagnosed high functioning autism who is facing divorce and the struggle to retain custody of her two children. She happens to be a convert to Islam, and with the rise in Islamophobia all around the US, this complicates her life even more. Although I am somewhat close to finishing the first draft, the story is still developing, and I feel that my main character probably has some secrets she has yet to share with me.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I have loved to write ever since I was in third grade, and although writing has been a part of me ever since then, that does not mean that I have been writing consistently all my life. About five years ago I decided that I had wasted enough time, and I began to take my writing seriously. With my first novel, Normal Calm, I had proven to myself that I could be an author. But that only led me to ask myself, “Are you truly an author, or just someone who wrote a book once?” And that self dare propelled me to finish Behind Picket Fences.

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?
I am a full-time mother of four, which means my kids make sure I don’t write full-time. I manage a two-hour writing session while they are at school, and although I would love another writing session in the evening…well…my kids always see to it that that doesn’t happen!

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Although it takes me more time to produce a draft, I prefer to write by hand, using pen and paper. Usually I write 10 or 20 pages, then transcribe them to the computer. I have sticky notes all over my notebook, which get transferred as comments on my digital document. It’s more time consuming, but I enjoy not having to be stuck in front of a screen while I’m writing.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A brain surgeon! Can you believe that?!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
You can read my poetry and blog posts on my website and follow me on Facebook. For updates on giveaways and special offers, kindly opt-in to my free newsletter.

Both of my novels are available through most major book distributors, or click here to purchase through Amazon: Normal Calm, Behind Picket Fences.

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

Thank you so much for having me. It’s been a pleasure!

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