Author Interview with Jennifer L. Armentrout!

It seems to be raining author interviews lately here on Bookfever. Not complaining though! 

So excited to say that today I have an interview for you all with no one other than dum dum dum... 

Jennifer L. Armentrout! :D

Special thanks to my friend Em for helping me get this interview. ^^ Love ya, girl!

First of all welcome to Bookfever, Jennifer. I'm so honored to have you answering some questions!

1. What was one of the most surprising (bad or good) things you learned in creating your books?

The good thing that I've learned is how caught up I can get in my characters. Sometimes they feel like real people. Another surprising aspect that's not necessary bad, but something an author can't control, is how people perceive your books. You never know what someone is going to take away from it.


2. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I CANNOT write in a room full of people or really in a room with anyone in it. I'm too easily distracted, so I doubt that I'd ever go to a writing retreat.


3. Which author would you love to co-author a book with someday?

Oh, wow. There are too many to pick from. A few would be Rachel Vincent, Jana Oliver, Jeri Smith Ready, etc.


4. What three books would you recommend people to read?

Losing It by Cora Carmack, Demon Trappers series from Jana Olivier, and Soul Screamers Series from Rachel Vincent.


5. What are some of your current or future bookish projects that you can share with us?

I have a NA novel coming out on March 4th 2013 called Wait for You that I'm very excited about and there is a YA paranormal series that I hope I can share info on soon.


Jennifer, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and I'm looking forward to your upcoming books! :D

Thanks for having me!

~About Jennifer:

USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.

Find her also on:

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

To read more about her visit:

http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com

Interview with Suzanne Sullivan + Giveaway! (INT)

*squeeeeee*

I can barely contain my excitement for this interview I did with Suzanne Sullivan, author of Christabel. Find my 5 star review of the book here. To say I loved this book is an understatement. It's one of my all-time favorites now and all I can say is everyone has gotta read it. So don't forget to enter the giveaway below because one lucky person can win the book! :D

1. What inspired you to write your first book?

So many things. I've written for magazines and had poems and short stories published but a few years ago I took a seminar in British Literature that was required for my Master's degree. (I'm a former English teacher). The first time I read Samuel Taylor Coleridge's original poem Christabel and his bio, I knew I had to write this. I had a YA Book review blog and loved YA fiction so much and this story was so unique, it just demanded to be written. Coleridge died before he was able to finish the poem and the way it ends...it made me so sad to think of a main character being left hanging (figuratively) that way. I keep waiting for his ghost to show up and demand I stop butchering his work! ;)

2. How would you describe your novel Christabel in 1 or 2 sentences?

The only way for a normal sixteen-year-old girl to defeat a centuries old demon is to unlock the secret the women in her family died protecting.

3. What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

Oh gosh. I think it would be a tie between Sam and Christabel's first meeting in the woods and the first time readers see Geraldine. I love writing scenes with tension and those are probably the two most intense.

4. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what music?

Sometimes I do, unless I'm writing a creepy scene then I sit alone in the dark and quiet in the middle of the night and let all the little noises freak me out. For this book I played The Pistol Annies' Run Daddy Run on repeat. ;) For the book I'm writing now, a New Adult Sci-Fi Romantic Thriller called Above the Underground, I'm listening to a lot of rock and heavy metal like Red, Killswitch Engage, Fireflight, and whatever else my brother suggests. This isn't my usual but my character is in a band so music plays a big part in the story.

5. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

This is a tough one because I read so many different genres. For YA it's Jennifer Echols hands down. She's a local author and her books are like cupcakes laced with cocaine. Sweet and addictive. (I don't actually know about cocaine but you get the idea). I've just started reading romance novels and I'm a new fan of Rachel Gibson, Laura Kaye, and Cherrie Lynn. And of course, my English teacher heart will always belong to the classics. ;)

6. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I love you. I love you so much. I feel like I should pay you to read my books instead of the other way around. And those of you who post reviews or drop me an e-mail to say you loved what I've written, you have no idea what that means to me. Thank you. A million times.

7. If you could jump in any book and live in that world. Which book would it be?

These are so hard. I wish I could've known you when I was writing quiz questions for ninth graders! Today I'd probably say Veronica Roth's Divergent world because it's so intense and revolution is just around the corner. I love the idea of changing the world, making history. If you ask me tomorrow it might be some sappy Nicholas Sparks love story. ;)

8. If you could have any superpower at all, what would it be?

Just one? I'd have to say the ability to heal. I've lost a lot of loved ones to car accidents, cancer, and heart disease. Some on long suffering roads, and there's not much I wouldn't give to be able to able to relieve their pain if I could.

9. What 3 books would you recommend people to read?

1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo will change your life.

2. At least one novel by a Bronte sister. Forbidden affairs, struggle, revenge, crazy women in the attic--what's not to love?
3. Something shameful that they buy only on eReader so no one will see what they've got. A guilty pleasure book is a must! Whether you're all grown up and it's the most recent Pretty Little Liars novel, or Fifty Shades, or whatever, everyone should have that one book that they can't get enough of.

10. Tell us a random thing about yourself.

I collect books about random road trips. If a road trip appears, with convenient store snacks, bootlegged music, and a cute boy, I have to have it. Regardless of genre. ;)

Thanks for having me Stephanie! And thanks again for the review, I will treasure it always!
For more on what I'm working on, you can visit www.suziesullivanwrites.tumblr.com/mybooks.

~About the author:

Suzanne Sullivan lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband and daughter. Formerly a high school English teacher, she can now be found conducting baking experiments by day and writing stories in the dark by night.

Christabel is Book One in the Soul Seekers trilogy she has written.

~About the book:

Sixteen-year-old Christabel Baron has always been close with the single father that raised her, until he decides she needs a live-in math tutor. As if being a teenager with a babysitter isn’t bad enough, Christabel’s new houseguest is beautiful but terrifying Geraldine Giroux, a redhead with a dark past who possesses an eerie ability to control Christabel’s father.

Soon Geraldine snakes her way into every aspect of Christabel’s world in an attempt to destroy it. If Christabel can’t get everyone else to see Geraldine for the soul-sucking succubus that she is, her life might be over--literally.

How I loved this interview and answers!

Now on to the giveaway!

PRIZE:

Winner's choice of mobi or epub format of Christabel by Suzanne Sullivan!

There will be 5 winners! :D

Open for everyone!

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Interview with Michelle Diener + Giveaway! (INT)

Hi everyone! :D

I got to interview historical fiction author, Michelle Diener.

I'm so glad I got to do this because she's one of my all-time favorite authors.

And don't forget to enter the giveaway below! ^^

Enjoy!

Hi Michelle!
Welcome to Bookfever for this interview and thank you, I'm very honored! :D
Here are my questions...

1. Have you always wanted to be a writer? Where did the inspiration for your books come from?

Hi Stephanie

Yes, I always wanted to be a writer. And my inspiration comes from all around me. The books I read, the movies I watch, the songs I listen to, the people I observe, and in my historical novels, in the history of the time I'm writing.

2. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Interesting writing quirk? Mmmm. I can't stand anyone looking over my shoulder while I'm trying to write. I just freeze up.

3. Do you have any favorite characters in your books, if so, who and why?

It is more a character type that I love. I can't really choose favorites. I love them all. But I especially love characters who are out of their comfort zone, trying to cope. And I love writing villains who the reader can identify with and understand. I love a little grey, rather than plain black and white.

4. Since your books are historical fiction, can you tell us which era is your favorite?

I love the Tudor period, it is so lush and rich in stories for a writer to use, but I love the Victorian period, the Georgian / Regency period, the Middle Ages. I really find it difficult to choose.

5. What's next for you? Are you working on something new?

I just turned in a new book to my editor, Banquet of Lies, which is connected to The Emperor's Conspiracy, although Charlotte and Edward are secondary characters in this one. It should be out in October of this year. At the moment I'm working on putting the final polish on a Victorian era historical set during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. I grew up in KwaZulu-Natal, so this one's a bit more personal for me, and has romance, action, danger, betrayal and redemption and I really love it. It's called Daughter of the Sky, and I'm hoping it'll be out by May this year.

6. Which author would you love to co-author a book with someday?

I'm just not the co-author type. I see a story in a very specific way, and I don't know that I'd be able to compromise enough with someone else to work with them like that. Never say never, though :).

7. Which male character from your books do you personally prefer more, John Parker or Edward Durnham?

No mother can pick favorites! I love Parker for the way he never hesitates from doing. If he sees a course of action, he takes it straight away without second-guessing himself, and that includes violence. And yet, though he is a formidable enemy, once you have his loyalty, you have it for life. And I love Edward for his inner strength. He has chosen a path that seems honest to him, no matter what it may look like to others, and he isn't afraid to follow it.

8. If you could jump into any book and live in that world. Which book would it be?
One of the book worlds I would love to jump into is the world of Eve Dallas from the In Death series. I find Nora Robert's world-building in that series so well done I can really picture it, and I love spending time there. But I don't know that I could pick just one. That's why I love reading, so I don't have to choose. I can dip in and visit anywhere, whenever I want, and it's just waiting for me.

9. What three books would you recommend people to read?

My personal favorites are legion, and I would first find out what the person likes to read, because some books just don't work for some people, no matter how well written. But if I were to throw out a three book list at random, I'd say USE OF WEAPONS by Iain M. Banks, ALPHA AND OMEGA by Patricia Briggs, and ALIAS GRACE by Margaret Atwood. By no means my definitive favorites, but they are up there, and they sprang to mind first.

10. Tell us something random about yourself.

I love fantasy and science fiction novels, and because I couldn't find enough sci-fi and fantasy that I personally like to read, I've started writing my own between my historicals when I can. I'm so desperate I'm writing stories for myself. :) But hopefully, they will get published (one may even be published this year! I hope!) so other people can read them, too. :)

Thank you, Michelle! I loved your answers and I can't wait to read your upcoming books this year. :D

Thanks for having me over to visit, Stephanie!

And now on to the giveaway! :D

It's open internationally, so anyone can enter.

~Prize:

Winner's choice of any book written by Michelle Diener! (send by Michelle herself.)

Books I've read and reviewed by Michelle:

 

The Emperor's Conspiracy

In a Treacherous Court (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker #1)

Dangerous Sanctuary (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker #1.5)

Personally I loved loved The Emperor's Conspiracy the most but her Susanna Horenbout and John Parker series are amazing too! I still have yet to read the second book in that  series but I definitely will readit soon, so look out for my review of it. ^^

To view all the books Michelle has written click here.

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