Interview with Lyon's Legacy Author Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

I had the pleasure recently of reading Sandra's novella, Lyon's Legacy. I posted a review of it at Operation Awesome yesterday, so go check that out if you haven't yet. For today, the lovely Sandra was kind enough to answer some questions for me :)

Sometimes being a geneticist isn’t enough to understand your family.... 


When scientist-in-training Joanna Lyon learns her rich uncle plans to have their rock legend ancestor, Sean Lyon, cloned, she’s disgusted. Uncle Jack pushed her into music when she was younger, and she hated it. So it’s particularly galling that he wants her to travel through a wormhole to an alternate universe and sample Sean’s DNA. She only agrees to go so she can secretly sabotage the project. But meeting Sean forces her to re-examine her feelings about her family, including her estranged father. Can she protect the unborn clone from her uncle, and will she have to sacrifice her career and new-found love to do so? 


MM: Give us the Twitter pitch :) What’s your book about in 140 characters or less?

SUA: A geneticist is sent by her uncle to an alternate TwenCen universe to clone the rock star she hates—her ancestor.

MM: What inspired the story behind Lyon’s Legacy? 

SUA: It was inspired by a friend’s story about a woman who heard the Beatles perform in the Cavern, a club in Liverpool where they performed many times before they became famous. I wanted to add a science-fiction twist to that, so I came up with the idea of a time traveler going back to the past to listen to a concert by a famous musician. I asked myself who she was, why she was there, and how she got there, and eventually I came up with Joanna, sent on a mission to get DNA and clone the musician. Instead of using the Beatles, I created a single musician who lived in Chicago in the early sixites to be Joanna’s great-grandfather, the man she’s supposed to help clone.

MM: What was the hardest part about writing this book?

SUA: The overall plot has been pretty much the same from draft to draft, but I did wind up changing some of the characters and the settings. Probably one of the more difficult things about writing this book was making sure the changes were consistent throughout the story. Another tough thing was figuring out what to do with this story. The story felt complete at novella length, but it’s tough finding markets for novellas. For a long time, I packaged this story with the sequel, which is a full-length novel in itself, but that was then too long. Publishing this as an e-book was a great solution for me, since word count isn’t so critical.

MM: What were the challenges you faced in writing this book?

SUA: I had to research many different things for this book, including plausible methods for time travel, spaceship design, 1960s Chicago, and fertility treatments.

MM: What books have influenced you the most in your life and writing?

SUA: In life, I would have to say Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. On one level, it’s the story of a man on a cross-country trip with his son, but on another level it examines the philosophy of science and the importance of Quality and gumption. For writing, it would be the Writers Digest series of books. They cover everything from Characters and Viewpoint to Plot to Scene and Structure.

MM: What is next for you? Can you share a bit about current and/or future projects?

SUA: I’m currently juggling several projects. I have two projects in the revision stage: a fantasy standalone novella called “The Fighting Roses of Sharon” and Twinned Universes, the sequel to Lyon’s Legacy. I’m currently drafting a fantasy novel called Scattered Seasons.

MM: Fast Fun Five:

• Sweet or salty? Sweet! 
• Panster or plotter? More of a panster, but working on my plotting. 
• Ocean or mountains? Mountains. 
• Morning person or night owl? Night owl. 
• Shoes or bare feet? Shoes for medical reasons, unfortunately.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Sandra!

For more information on Sandra or to purchase her book, check out the links below :)

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Sandra's blog

Cinders - An Interview with Author Michelle Davidson Argyle

Cinderella's happily-ever-after isn't turning out the way she expected.


With her fairy godmother imprisoned in the castle and a mysterious stranger haunting her dreams, Cinderella is on her own to discover true love untainted by magic.

I am very pleased to be kicking off the blog tour for Michelle Davidson Argyle, author of the recently released novella, Cinders. I was intrigued by this book. It looks at the story of Cinderella from a point of view that I had never thought of before, and answers a question I've had since I first read the fairy tale...what happens after Cinderella marries her Prince Charming? You'll have to read it to find out :D

Michelle joins us today to answer a few questions about her book.


MM: Your book is a darker twist on Cinderella than the usual “mice friends, fairy godmother, and happily ever after” versions that we normally see. What inspired your version of the tale?

MDA: I’m a big sucker for turning things over to look at them from a different angle. That, and the regular Disney princess stories have always bothered me. I’ve never been a big believer of true love at first sight, nor have I believed that things ever end happily-ever-after, and if they do, much sacrifice and work is probably behind it. I wanted to tell a story that showed these things, and I think I accomplished what I set out to do. I’ve also wanted to write a darker tragedy-type story for a very long time, and this one seemed to fit the bill so I ran with it!

MM: While this book is more fantasy than historical, it is set in a realistic-feeling past. Did this story require a lot of research?

MDA: Technically, Cinders isn’t set in any specific time period. It may feel that way, but I never intended a specific time-period to be attached to it. I do mention France, though, and imply that Cinderella lives in an English or Scottish countryside. It did take a lot of research to get the feel of this just right. I researched everything from castle life to clothing to politics to food. It was a lot of fun, and I think that part of writing is often my favorite part!

MM: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating this book?

MDA: This was the first book I’ve ever written that was a longer piece where I sustained my more lyrical, poetic voice. It was also the first book I completely outlined before writing, and I was amazed at how quickly I flew through the writing. I will try this again with future books, but I do know that every book tends to be different, so we’ll see what happens.

MM: Your book is self-published and you’ve had several interesting blog posts on the subject lately. Why did you decide to self-publish?

MDA: I wrote Cinders specifically to self-publish it. At first it was going to be a novella I wrote for a project Scott and Domey and I were thinking of doing on The Literary Lab, but then I decided the book would sell better on its own and I went in that direction. We have a lot of readers on The Literary Lab who have asked about self-publishing, as well, and I thought actually self-publishing something would be a good way to share information about the subject. Also, Cinders is a novella, and I was afraid no publishers would be interested in it because of the length or they would want me to change too much. It really has been a project where I wanted complete control over everything. It has been a lot of fun!

MM: Can you tell us about any upcoming projects you may be working on?

MDA: Sure! I’m currently working on my suspense novel, Monarch to submit to a small press publisher. I think it may be a good fit there. I’m also planning to publish two more fairy-tale themed novellas. I’ve begun the second one titled Thirds. It’s based on a little-known Grimm’s fairy-tale about three sisters, a goat, and a magic tree. It also may end much more happily than Cinders, but I haven’t completed the outline yet so I don’t know for sure. The third novella will be based on a fairy-tale I create out of my own head. That should be interesting. Thanks so much for the interview! These were some fun questions!

Thanks so much for sharing part of your journey with us Michelle, and congratulations on the release of Cinders! Scroll down for a chance to enter some incredible Cinders prizes!!


View the book trailer - 

Click HERE to purchase Cinders

You can find Michelle:

On her website
On her blog
On The Literary Lab blog
On Facebook
On the Cinders Fan page

PRIZES!!!!! This is SO easy! Just fill out the form below for each time you comment on one of the blogs involved in the tour. Each entry is a chance to win one of the prizes. Only one entry per blog, thanks!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!!!

Author Spotlight Week - Interview with Mr. Awesome, Shaun David Hutchinson

Welcome to Spotlight Week and welcome to our spotlighted author, Shaun David Hutchinson! I met Mr. Shaun through another awesome writer friend, Cole Gibsen, who nominated her agent buddy for our Blog Chain group. It has been a true pleasure getting to know this funny and insanely talented writer. If you haven't checked out his site yet, be sure to do so. There is a truly awesome set of photos and video of Shaun celebrating his book release. You've gotta go see :D

Now on to our interview!

MM: Your book, The Deathday Letter, was recently published. Congratulations!! Can you tell us a little about the book?

SDH: Thanks! The Deathday Letter is about a fifteen-year-old boy who gets a letter telling him he's got twenty-four hours to live. The story follows him through the entire day. There's humor and pizza and hippies and pudding and a little smooching.

MM: You celebrated your book release in a fun/crazy/unusual way – by jumping out of a plane!!! I know that was a first for you. Has anything else about you or your life changed now that your book is out?

SDH: Sadly, no. I mean, I've gotten to connect with some really amazing people, but I still go to my day job and hit the gym and try to think up ideas for more books. Okay, strike that. One thing has changed, but it changed around the time I was writing the book. I spend more time enjoying the little moments in life.

MM: I know as writers we often have all these expectations about how things will be once we reach that huge goal of publication. Did you have any expectations? Have they been realized or not?  

SDH: Ahhhh, the dreaded expectations. I used to think I'd sell a book and life would be cake. I'd make enough money to live on comfortably and spend my days writing. The truth is less glamorous but still loads of fun. Writing is not the path to riches. If you want to be rich, go become a lawyer. But I have to say that it's the things I didn't expect that made all of this so worthwhile.

MM: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

SDH: That people think I'm funny. I never considered myself funny. Now that people have read my book they're always like, "Say something funny," and all I can do is stare at my shoes and try not to drool.

MM: LOL I think you are much funnier than you give yourself credit for - have you read your blog?? :D Well, what about you? Who is Shaun David Hutchinson ? What do you love to do, besides writing? 

SDH: I'm a total geek. A lazy geek. I'm really passionate about music. I always loved singing but I suck at it so I make due by listening to more music than I have a right to. I also love movies and TV. I'm a junkie for British television. Following up with the skydiving, my next step is to take the classes to get certified.

MM: Tell us a little about finding your agent and your road to publication

SDH: Finding Chris at Upstart Crow was an awesome experience. I admit to being really naive about the whole situation. I wrote Deathday in about six weeks. I was heading out on a trip to London and Paris and I decided I'd send out queries before I left. Most agents had a 3-6 week lead time so I thought I'd be safe. I hadn't even finished revising yet! I got my first response two hours after sending out my query. I got a lot of requests. Chris was a new agent then and his boss at the time handed my query to him. Chris emailed me while I was in London and we traded emails and phone calls back and forth. I was actually in a Starbucks in London when he made the offer. Of course I had to wait a little bit to talk to other agents, but Chris was (and is) such a great guy that I knew he was the agent for me. I've never regretted that decision.
As for publication, well we submitted to a bunch of houses after doing a couple rounds of revision. It was Anica Mrose Rissi over at Simon Pulse who said she had some really great ideas for this story if I was willing to do some major revisions. We talked and I knew she was the editor for me. I ended up rewriting about half of the book, but she helped me find the true focus of Ollie's story, and again, I've never regretted my decision.

MM: What was the hardest part of this journey for you? The easiest, or most fun?

SDH: The hardest part was definitely making the big changes. While I know now that they made my book a thousand times better, at the time they were a little hard to swallow. Luckily I had a great agent and amazing friends who helped me keep everything in perspective.

The easiest AND most fun has been connecting to readers and writers and bloggers. The book community is so vast but so welcoming. I'm not a social person by nature...I'm a bit of a recluse, but I've found great friends throughout all this.

MM: Quick 5: 

Dark or milk chocolate? Dark chocolate, definitely!
Even numbers or odd? Hmmm. Odd.
Swimming pool or ocean? I live on the beach, so definitely ocean.
Movie theater or DVD? DVD.
Sandals – with or without socks? Wow, okay, well my high school self would have said with socks but I know better now. Definitely without.

Thanks so much, Shaun!

Don't forget to enter our contest, everyone! We will be giving away two copies of Shaun's book, The Deathday Letter, with the added awesomeness of Shaun's shiny new autograph! All you have to do is leave a comment :D

For more information on Shaun and to order a copy of his book, see the links below.

LINKS!!

The Deathday Letter Site

Shaun's Site and Blog

Shaun on Twitter

FaceBook

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Borders

Powells

Simon and Schuster

Interview with the Lovely Lisa Amowitz

Welcome to our June's Author Spotlight Week! This week, I am very excited to introduce everyone to my very sweet friend, Lisa Amowitz. I met her several years ago, in the wee-hours of Querytracker's beginnings, and have been truly privileged to have her as a part of my life. Along with being an amazing writer, Lisa runs the Why A? blog where she reviews and highlights YA awesomeness and interviews the unbelievable authors who pen them. Lisa was kind enough to join us this week to tell us a little more about herself and her work. 

MM: Tell us about yourself 
LA: I am a mom of one high-schooler and one college student, married for—yeesh—just let’s say before the invention of the CD. I teach graphic design at a community college and this is a day job I would never give up as teaching breathes life into me. My students are an inspiration and a joy. I’m also an artist and hope to complete my very first picture book in the next year. I’ve always loved to write, but never actually pursued it seriously until about five years ago when the bug bit me. It’s had its teeth in me ever since.

MM: What inspired you to write your first book? 
LA: I started with the hopes of doing a picture book (hey—I’ve come full circle) and realized my story idea was too long for that. I filled up piles of index cards and then a bazillion notebooks. I distinctly remember sitting on the porch of our summer rental staring into the woods when my main character walked out and plopped himself into my life. That book was awful, but the mc, Will MacGregory, still holds a dear spot in my heart.

MM: What book are you reading now?
LA: Three books to be precise—The Boneshaker, by Kate Milford, my good friend and critique-mate, Claire de Lune by my other critique-mate and good friend, Christine Johnson AND Ballad, by Maggie Stiefvater, whom I don’t know at all, but who’s writing steals my breath away.

MM: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? 
LA: Kate Milford and Christine Johnson—(shameless plug, here.) But seriously. They are GOOD.

MM: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? 
LA: Hands down, my very favorite author is Suzanne Collins who wrote the Hunger Games. To me, Hunger Games is a perfect book—gorgeous language, gripping plot, unique premise, romance, great characters and a righteous cause. I simply must read those books in one sitting. I dragged out Catching Fire to a day and a half, but it was torture. I kept staring at it, able to think of nothing else. I would sell my soul to be able to write a book like that and it would be worth it.

(Totally agree with Lisa here :D I DEVOUR Suzanne's books)

MM: What do you do to keep yourself motivated when the writing business and all that it involves gets overwhelming?
LA: I ask myself if I would enjoy not writing. Then I answer myself: No, idiot, you wouldn’t. Write for the joy of it, I remind myself. Throw a ton of spaghetti at the wall. Eventually something’s going to stick.

(HA! Love this analogy)

MM: Can you give us any tantalizing hints about what is coming up on your blog? 
LA: I guess your posts about MOI seem the natural choice, no? Right now I am knee-deep in querying my lates MS, so I’ve been pretty absorbed. I just completed a month of interviews, so I guess after I catch my breath I’ll interview some more folks with books coming out. You and I know quite a few, (including yourself) don’t we?

MM: Yes we do (and thanks for the plug) ;-D It is so exciting seeing everyone's work coming out! :)

Thanks so much for being with us this week, Lisa!

Coming up, Lisa is hosting our 10 Word Tuesday and 30 Word Thursday and will be treating us to a guest pot on Wednesday. So come on back tomorrow for more of the awesome Ms. Amowitz!

Links!!! Be sure to head to Lisa's blog and give her a follow and you can find her on Twitter HERE.