One thing I love about her is that she is honest and her writing is fresh and relatable. I know you all will love to read her books too!
You can visit her website HERE and get more information on her books.
As an Author:
What was your inspiration on writing?
I had bit of a
tumultuous adolescence, and I wanted to lives someone else’s life on a regular
basis. Reading was never something I was into much, so curling up with a book
didn’t suit me back then. Movies, though, were a big escape for me though. I
had stories of my own I wanted to explore and I found myself needing to get
them out of my head and onto paper. In high school, I thought about being a
screenwriter, but it’s very structured and directional and it sort of slows the
creative process for me too much. Eventually, I found solace in writing.
Though, now I’m an avid book reader as well.
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
That’s a good
question. Writing in and of itself is energizing and helps me to organize my
thoughts and clear my mind. I love it. But writing as a published author is
different. It’s exciting to brainstorm ideas and think of new storylines. But there’s
also a chemistry that I feel is lost when you write not for yourself but for
others. It’s a lot of pressure to consider what people want to read, what flows
and will make sense for them, the cost and effort that goes into marketing and
publishing, etc. While I enjoy writing and publishing and wouldn’t change it
for anything, the pressure sometimes takes the ease out of it.
As a writer, what or who is your mascot?
Beast, my big,
cuddly rescue cat is my mascot. He would like to be more involved than I let
him, but mostly he’s just in the way.
What kind of research
do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
Ha, research
never stops. You think you’ve outlined everything and you’ve got it all written
down, but there’s always something else to look up or read about. I do research
on anything I don’t know about. It could be how to dress a small wound to
rebuilding an engine or what the clothing looked like during a particular time
period.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters
from the opposite sex?
Keeping my eyes
on two things at once—sounding and thinking like men but making them different
from each other, too. Writing male characters is definitely more difficult, but
it helps if I can picture a specific person that I know or is in a show so I
can imagine their mannerisms, etc. For example, in my Saratoga Falls Love
Stories, Reilly’s character is Stephen Amell in my mind, from Arrow—thoughtful,
observant, and confident, and Nick’s character is based off of a goofball
friend of mine, that’s why he came so easy to me. In general, when I get stuck,
I can ask my husband, “How would you say this?” or “Does this seem realistic?”
Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or
good ones?
When I
initially release a book, I think it’s near impossible not to check your
reviews. You want to know how it’s being received. After you get a handful of
reviews though, it’s easier to not obsessively check them. By then you get the
gist of how readers are responding. As for negative reviews, let’s be honest,
they suck big time. BUT, it’s been a few years now and many books later, and I
know not everyone will like my storytelling, it’s a fact. It’s all part of the
journey, bumpy it may be.
What is your way for relaxing between writing?
Hahaha. I’m not
sure this happens often, but most recently I forced myself to take break after
Mac’s story was released. Over the holidays, I binge watched 3 season of The
100 in like 2 or 3 days. That was pretty damn awesome and I don’t think I got
out of my pajamas.
What inspired you to write After the Ending?
Lindsey Fairleigh and I were working at a
bookstore a few years ago, and we were on our way home from a tradeshow in
Oakland. I think we were high from the smell of new books or something
because we were giddy and started chatting about writing and stories and
it bloomed from there. We started brainstorming characters and story
arcs, and before we knew it, we had Zoe and Dani outlined and a title for
our project.
In your Ending series and your Saratoga Falls Love Story
series, you have main characters with the love of horses. What was your reason
for that?
So, a
little-known fact is that I was a cowgirl growing up—horses, competitions, the
whole shebang. When I was in high school, my dad moved to Hawaii and sold away
that part of my life, so I guess it’s just nostalgic now. My goal has always
been to get a horse again. Not to compete or anything, but to ride with the
wind. It’s truly magical. One day…
How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?
Well, let’s
see… I’m a part time writer in that I work 3 days a week at a nonprofit,
raising money. I have two days a week designated to writing, marketing, being
an author. I’d like to say it takes about 3 months to write a book, but it’s
hard to say. It’s taking a while to find my stride with the dystopian western
I’m working on right now, so we’ll see how long this go-around. After the
initial draft is finished there’s months of revisions and edits. It’d say no
less than 7 months for me to write a book, brainstorming to published product.
In all the books you have so far, what was your hardest scene to write?
I
would have to say in Whatever It Takes, when Sam is thinking and wanting to cut
herself was difficult. I wanted it to be realistic but not off-putting. I
struggled not with writing it per se, but how
I should write it, keeping readers in mind.
How do you select the names of
your characters?
Surprisingly,
first names and book or series titles are easy for me. It’s the last names of
main characters that are difficult for me. I want them to flow and sound
perfect, and sometimes it’s really hard to find that. I usually just scour name
lists, looking for the “perfect” one. What really sucks is having the perfect
name and then finding out you should change it because it’s the name of someone
people might have a specific association with—and actor you’ve never heard of
or person from the news. That happened with Colton’s last name. I had to change
it at the last minute.
Are there any current books that
you have planned in the future? Can you tell us if you are currently working on
one?
Yes
and yes. Dust and Shadow is a dystopian western I’m currently working on in my
new Forgotten Lands series. That will be released late this summer, I hope. I
plan on writing Nick’s story in the Saratoga Falls Love Stories, and I also
have a half written historical/adventure/romance that I’d like to get out next
year, Wrecked. It’s sort of Jane
Austen meets Swiss Family Robinson. There’s lots of research needed for that
one, so we’ll see.
What is your inspiration of the Saratoga
Falls Love Story series?
It’s
interesting you should ask because I was thinking about this when I was writing
my author’s note in Mac’s story. I have so many stories I want to write (obviously,
given my list above), but the Saratoga Falls crew is very much part of me. Sam’s
story embodies some of the darker and more inspirational parts of my
childhood—the ranch, the horses, the loss. Mac’s story is very much this
current chapter of my life—my husband, how we met, the mechanic shop. To be
clear, I am not Sam, nor am I Mac, but they have the most real parts of me in
them, and I think that’s why I needed to write their stories after we finished
The Ending Series. They were the first stories I wrote on my own, so it was
very therapeutic and explorative, I think.
What did you do with your first
advance?
As
an indie author, you don’t get advances. I can tell you that with my first big
chunk of royalties, I paid off my wedding expenses and trip to New Zealand and
it felt magical.
As a Reader:
What was the first book/series you
ever read?Not for educational purposes—The Twilight Series. Though, Pride and Prejudice in high school is what got me into reading, at least more than I’d been before.
What is your favorite bookish
memory?
Well,
before I was an author, Lindsey Fairleigh and I were at a book conference where we met Tahereh
Mafi. It was before Shatter Me got huge, and she was really sweet and down to
earth. Got a photo with her and everything. Total geek-out moment for me.
If you could live in one book
world, which one would it be?
Other
than LOTR’s Middle Earth (it would be beautiful but fraught with danger), the
first world that came to mind was the Blackdagger Brotherhood. Those vampires
are hot, rich, and pretty unstoppable. And I’d want Blay and Quinn to be my
besties.
Who are some of your favorite
authors?
Tracey
Ward (she writes a little bit of everything), Julianne Donaldson (proper
romance), and Michelle Moran (historical fiction) come to mind first.
What is your favorite genre to
read?
Dystopian
and Historical Fiction with a splash of romance.
What is your biggest bookish pet
peeve?
Ebooks
that cost the same as the paperback.
Which book to movie adaptation is
your favorite?
Gah,
the movies always seem so rushed, it’s really annoying. I think I’ll have to
say the LOTR and Hobbit series. They’re really long, but that’s why there’s so
good—world and character development are key. Not to mention the cinematography
and special effects are amazing. I feel like there was a movie I saw recently
that I thought was better than the
book, but I can’t remember what it was. Side note: I have a horrible memory.
Have you ever reread a book?
Yes,
there are very few books that I’ve wanted to re-read, but I love Michelle Moran
and have reread most of her books, The
Heretic Queen and Cleopatra’s
Daughter specifically. She’s a historical fiction author who writes stories
set in cultures all over the world—Egypt, India, France, etc. And there’s a
heroine in the heart of them all, as well as a romantic thread, which I love.
Sometimes subtle, but always perfect.
What book(s) are you looking
towards in 2017?
I
think Tracey Ward’s follow-up novel to The Seventh Hour comes out later this
year. I loved the first book so I’m stoked that she decided to turn it into a
series. I’m honestly not abreast of many upcoming novels, as I barely have time
to read what’s currently in my kindle and on my bookshelves (yes, I have MANY).
What is your favorite
under-appreciated novel?
A
short little, beautiful novel by Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. It’s precious and a lovely story. One of
the few that I fell in love with that doesn’t have a romance thread running
through it. It’s a nice palette cleanser when your usual genre gets a little
stale.
Do you prefer ebooks over physical
books, or vice versa?
I
LOVE physical books, though I have a ton and have been trying to read more
ebooks the past couple years. If space wasn’t an option, I’d choose physical
books, 100%.
Are there any recommendations you
have for your readers as they anticipate your next novel?
Paranormal/Urban
Fantasy/New Adult – J Bennett’s Girl With Broken Wings series.Historical Fiction - Michelle Moran, I’d start with Nefertiti and go on from there.
Dystopian – Tarah Benner’s Fringe series and Tracey Ward’s The Seventh Hour
New Adult/Romance – Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us
I
could go on and on…
One of the questions I had asked Lindsey was that if she is willing to share a teaser for her new book. She agreed, however, PLEASE read the disclaimer below.
DISCLAIMER: This is an unedited version. Changes may be made before book's release. I received permission by the author to publish a snippet of her new book Dust and Shadow before the book's editing phase. Material used in this post is owned by the author, Lindsey Pouge.
After a night of restless sleep, I uncurled myself from the couch and
opened my eyes. Papa was staring at the shuttered window. There was nothing to
see or do, not while the sandstorm was still ranging outside. Taking a step
outside could mean death, and it would definitely mean pain. But like I knew
Papa was, I was tempted to risk the angry storm in an attempt to find Mama.
She’s been gone all night, stuck somewhere, away from us. With the Marshall.
Papa and I both knew it, and for some reason, that was the scariest part of
it all. She’d grown up with sandstorms, but the Marshall? He was scary, even if
I didn’t really know why. I didn’t have to know why; I felt it. And Papa being
more unsettled than usual in this storm was all the indication I needed to know
something was wrong. Even restless sleep on the couch didn’t change that in the
pale light of morning.
I hope you all enjoyed this interview and her snippet of her newest book Dust And Shadow, which is due to be released 2017.
If you are interested in her books, you can check out the links below.
The Ending Series:
A Saratoga Falls Love Story:
Make sure you check out her books and stop by her website and sign up for her newsletter for any future releases!!!!!
Jenny
Thank you for such a fun, unique interview! I loved your questions, especially "as a reader" questions. Those are the hard one that made me stop to really think, which is a good thing :) I realized how little I read for pleasure anymore. Have a fabulous weekend! <3 Thanks again!
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