YA Feature: Introducing YA author Lisa Nowak

I would like you all to welcome author Lisa Nowak to Reading Away The Days. Lisa is the author of coming-of-age story Running Wide Open. Please welcome Lisa by checking out her book, Running Wide Open and by leaving a nice comment below!

A little about Lisa and her writing career so far:

Lisa is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. Lisa's books are coming-of-age stories about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are.

Lisa started out pursuing the traditional publishing route about six years ago. After lots of "you're a strong writer, but this book isn't right for our list" responses, she finally found an agent. Lisa was with her for a year, and she got the same sort of replies from editors. At that point Lisa realised her series wasn't considered marketable by the Big Six, but she wasn't ready to give up on her series yet. Lisa had just decided to go indie, and was heavily into research, when a small press said they wanted her book. Lisa says, "It was very flattering to sit down with a team of people who loved her characters and story." But ultimately Lisa decided she wanted to publish it herself. Lisa has been self-employed most of her life, and loves running a business, so it was a natural fit.

Lisa says, "The beauty of the indie route is that it gives you complete control." For example one of Lisa's marketing tactics was to sponser a 12-year old race car driver. That's not something a traditional publisher would be likely to allow, considering the risk of liability. Lisa says: It is empowering to be able to make all her own decisions on the spur of the moment without having to ask permission or go though a committee.

Can you tell us a little about your book, Running Wide Open?

Running Wide Open is a coming-of-age story about 15 year old Cody Everett. After a lifetime of abuse from his manipulative mother, he gets busted for vandalism and shipped off to live with a laid-back uncle who calls himself Race, eats Twinkies for breakfast, and drives a stock car at the local track. Cody's sure Race will hate him like ever other adult has in his life, and he's not to crazy about watching a bunch of rednecks drive around in circles every Saturday night, but he finds himself drawn into the racing community. More importantly, Race becomes the friend and mentor he has always wanted. People who enjoy emotionally-charged contemporary realistic books by authors like Laurie Halse Anderson, Joyce Sweeney, Chris Crutcher, and John Green should enjoy my writing. Reviewers always seem a bit surprised that the book really isn't about racing.

Where did you get the idea for, Running Wide Open?

I've always enjoyed reading books about kids in troubling situations who find the community they need or discover strengths they didn't know they had. None of the stories I wrote really went anywhere, though, until I started racing and found something I felt passionate about. The stock car racing community totally impressed me. They're so loyal and family-oriented, and they don't hesitate to take you in and treat you as one of their own. I knew that would be a prefect backdrop for the story of a troubled boy who needed to learn how to trust others and love himself. I also wanted to give the rest of the world a peek inside this microcosm of American culture.

What genre would you class your book as and who is the target audience for, Running Wide Open?

Running Wide Open is listed YA, however it's really one of those cross-over novels that adults enjoy as well. In fact I've had serveral people tell me, "this isn't just a kids book." I see teens who like stories of kids in difficult situations as one audience, and NASCAR fans as another. Though, really, anyone who's a sucker of coming of age stories would probably enjoy my books.

Running Wide Open is the first book in the Full Throttle Series. How many books will be in the series?
Five total, but the set-up of the series is kind of unique. The first two are told from Cody's perspective, the next two are told from the POV of Jess,  girl who wants to be a mechanic and becomes Cody's girlfriend, and the last book is a spilt narrative between the two characters.

Are you currently working on any new projects at the moment?

I'm in the final edits and formatting of Getting Sideways, the second book in the series. I plan to release it on December 11th. I also have a stand alone novel that's in first draft stage. It's a lot darker and has a paranormal aspect. That one was written in a response to an agent who said he couldn't sell my books because they weren't edgy enough.

Lisa's Book History

Favourite book as a child and why?

Questions about favourites are always tough for me to answer. Besides, childhood is a long time. Just ask a kid :) One book I remember reading many times, however, is Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones. It's got a sci-fi/paranormal backdrop, but it's also a great dog story and an absolutely beautiful story of love and loyalty.

Favourite book as a teenager and why?

Another toughie, but I'm going to go with The Changeling by Zilpha Keatly Snyder. It was such a beautiful, haunting story of friendship and the magic of imagnation.

Favourite book you have read this year and why?

I haven't had a lot of time for reading lately, but a book that stands out in my mind for a few years ago is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It's told from a dog's POV, explaining his master's story, and it's pulled of perfectly. I'm not a dog person and I loved it. Okay, I'm sensing a pattern here. What I love about each of these books is the devotion the characters have to one another. That's what I like to read about and that is what I like to write.

An author/book you would reccommend to my readers?

Any of the ones I mentioned above. If they're not your thing, try Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher. That's a historical YA with an amazing voice.

Thanks to Lisa for the awesome inteview! Check out her book Running Wide Open!

Buy Running Wide Open:

http://amzn.to/RWOAmazon
http://bit.ly/RWOBarnesandNoble
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/63863

Check out Lisa:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lisa_Nowak
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LisaNowakAuthor
Google+: http://bit.ly/LisaNowakGooglePlus
Blog: http://lisanowak.wordpress.com/
Subscribe to Lisa's newsletter for updates about coming attractions:
http://bit.ly/LisaNowakNewsletter

Breaking Dawn: Part One- Movie Review!

This time last week my sister, Kerry-Ann, my best friend, Kirsty and myself where looking forward to go to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn: Part One. I thought it was about time I gave you guys my review! Be warned *SPOILERS*

We were all very excited  to see Breaking Dawn. It is my favourite book in the Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer. It didn't disappoint! What I loved most about the movie is it really stuck close to the book, watch I was thankful for. A big thumbs up to director Bill Condon and script writer Melissa Rosenburg.

The Wedding!

First off I have to let you all know I am Team Jacob, I do like Edward and agree him and Bella should be together but I love Jacob (and Taylor Launter who plays him). I was really looking forward to Edward and Bella's wedding, I am a sucker for romance and weddings. Bella and Edward's wedding was beautiful! Kirsten Stewart looked beautiful in her wedding dress and the setting for the wedding was perfect. The ceremony was beautiful as well. It was awesome to see Stephanie Meyer in the wedding party and Bill Condon as the minster at the beginning of the ceremony.

The Honeymoon!

AMAZING!! This is one of the scenes everyone was really excited to see, and what a great scene it was. I think there was just enough "lovemaking" as it needed but it was good "lovemaking" LOL. When Edward breaks the bed everyone in the cinema got really excited. I have to  say I think Robert Pattinson has put on alot of muscle and was looking GOOD! The rest of the honeymoon was great with Edward doing all he could to distract Bella. I loved Edward and Bella playing chess. It really pays homage to the Breaking Dawn cover.

The rest of the movie from when Bella realises she is pregnant till the anticipated birth scene was great. I was really unsure how it was going to play out as most of the middle of the book is Jake's inner monologue. However it was really great to see it come to life. One thing I have to mention is the wolves. This time I thought they looked terrible. They looked really freak, like bad animations. I don't know what happened there!

The Birth Scene

Finally we got to the birth scene. I really thought part one was going to end when Bella went into labour but we actually got to see the birth and Jacob's imprint as well. The birth scene wasn't as gory as I thought it was going to be. We saw the birth scene from Bella's perspective, so she was in and out of conciseness. After little Reensemee was born Bella died. It was so emotional. When Jacob breaks down it is the saddest thing ever. I felt bad for Edward as well, he was begging Bella not to die. Some emotional stuff!

We all know of course Bella doesn't die, and it was great to see her "changing" into a vampire. It is hard to explain if you haven't seen it, but it was great. Jacob's imprinting was not as creepy as I expected. When he "imprints" I loved how if flashed to Reensemee all grown up and them together, the whole imprinting thing wasn't as creepy then.

I loved the way it ended with Bella opening her eyes and they where bright red. Such a sudtle but dramatic ending!

I can not wait for Breaking Dawn: Part Two. The next stage with Bella as a vampire is going to be awesome to see. Well done to Bill Condon for a great movie and a thanks to the wonderful Stephanie Meyer for creating a world I know we all love.

What did you think of Breaking Dawn? Are you team Edward or team Jacob. Comment Below!

*I do not own the pictures. All pictures owned by Summit Entertainment!

Author Interview: Audrey Hart

Can you tell me a little about your self and your writing career so far?

This is my first novel. I had always wanted to write a coming of age story about a strong, independent girl learning about her strengths, her weaknesses and her capacity for love.  And it has all finally panned out in The Dig!

Can you tell us a little about your novel The Dig?

Of course! The Dig is the first book in a trilogy that follows outsider Zoe Calder on her travels through time to Ancient Greece where she discovers that she has special powers. She meets Zeus. Hello crush! And then she endures trials and heads to Mount Olympus with Zeus where she clashes with the clique of gods. They’re all pretty rankled by her budding relationship with Zeus. After all, where did this Zoe come from? Why does she have powers? At school, Zoe understands that her outsidery status is her own doing. But here, the tables are kind of turned. And ultimately, she learns a lot about her own power, the power that we all have, whether or not we can, you know, move actual mountains.

Where did you get the idea for The Dig?

Last year, I was lucky to visit the Minoan ruins in Crete. I was in awe of everything. Imagine, people lived here 4000 years ago. One afternoon, my iPhone buzzed and slipped out of my pocket. I gasped, thinking it had fallen between the cracks. And I freaked out and was really surprised about my reaction.  And as I was hunched and reaching under the stairs for it like it was a life or death situation, I started to feel really silly. I mean, it’s a phone, right? It’s just a phone! (Side note: I found the phone. Of course.)

Anyway, the next time I sat down to work on my first novel, I kept going over that moment in my head. And then I knew that I wanted to write about a girl who lost her phone in a symbolic way. But this girl wouldn’t be your average teenager who texts and tweets 24/7. She would be a girl who likes to think that she’s sort of immune to all that. That was my a-ha moment, I guess. I can tell a story about a girl who will learn that she’s not the disconnected person she thinks she is.

I love the cover of The Dig. Its' beautiful. Who designed it and did you have much say in the designing of the cover?

 

Thank you! I’m in love with it too.  My publisher, Backlit Fiction, took care of designing the cover.  I got to have a say about the initial concept, and then the artists took it from there!

The Dig is the first in a trilogy. How is working coming on the second book?

It’s coming along really well!  I think I’m just about done with the bulk of it, but lots of editing and re-editing to come.  It is set to release in early 2012. 

Why should we read The Dig?

Because it’s amazing.  But in all seriousness, I think The Dig has some important messages, especially for girls like Zoe.  Zoe is a fighter, sometimes a little too passionate for her own good. She’s special because she’s very self-aware and analytical.  This is a girl who’s hard on everyone, and hardest on herself. And the contradiction is that she’s not great at opening up with people her own age, so they don’t see that, deep down, she’s got her own insecurities.

Favourite book as a child and why?

I love Mark Twain because of the way he writes friendship and travel. You can pick up Huck Finn and open any random chapter, and immediately, you’re just right there, on that journey.

Favourite book as a teenager and why?

Judy Blume, because she’s funny and understands what girls go through as teenagers.

Favourite book you have read this year and why?

 

I’m obsessed with Hunger Games, just like you, no doubt…

A book or author you would recommend to my readers?

 

Sadie Hayes, another author at Backlit Fiction, has just released an awesome new series, called The Start-Up.  It’s smarter than Gossip Girl, and sexier than the Social Network.  Definitely worth checking out!

Thanks to Audrey for the interview!

Follow Audrey (and Zoe) here:

audrey@zoeandzeus.com

@ZoeandZeus

http://www.zoeandzeus.com/
Goodreads.com/ZoeandZeus

IMM #22

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren were everyone puts up the books they have bought, received or got from the library!

 

 

 

Hey! This week in my mailbox I received just one book. I usually don't do an IMM for one book but this was so awesome I wanted to share it with all you guys!

 

 

I received a signed copy of The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton plus some awesome swag!

 

I received this book from the author as I am organising the UK blog tour for The Faerie Ring. The tour runs from the 17th-23rd December and will include many awesome UK bloggers with giveaways, guest posts, author interview, character interview and a book excerpt! I hope you will all check out the tour! For more info on the tour: http://readingawaythedays.blogspot.com/p/faerie-ring-blog-tour-17th-23rd.html

 

I am in the middle of organising more blog tours for various authors in the new year such as Elizabeth Issacs, Patti Larsen, Natalie Starr and that's just the January tours! If you are interested in participating in these tours contact me by Email

 

What did you get in your mailbox?

 

 

Gratitude Giveaway 17th-27th November (International)

Thanks to I am a reader not a writer & co host All Consuming Books for hosting this hop!

This giveaway is to thank all our awesome followers! I just want to say I really appreciate everyone who follows, comments or even just reads my blog. You are all awesome.

This giveaway hop will be easy to enter with just one entry!

So you all want to know what is up for grabs. I am giving away a copy of The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen:

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

*Giveaway is International

*Giveaway Ends on November 27th & winner will be announced soon after this date

Simple to enter:

You must be a GFC Follower and that is it.

Leave your GFC Follower name, where you live and an email so I can contact you if you win!

Good luck!

Enter all the other awesome particpates:

Winners!

Hey! Two of my awesome giveaways ended in the last few days! So now it's time to announce the winners!

First up the winners of the swag packs of Shade & Shift goodies by Jeri Smith Ready are:

Prize one pack goes to Diana! Congrats you have won:

*A signed Shade bookmark

*A signed Shift bookmark

*A signed sticker of Shade

*An Enthralled postcard signed by Jeri Smith Ready

Prize two pack goes to Molly Gibson-Mee! Congrats you have won:

*A signed book with Shade on one side and Shift on the other

*A signed sticker of Shade

*A Keeley Brothers Sticker

 

*Winners will be contacted shortly*

 

The winner of the Ebook of Pyxis by K.C.Neal  is:

 

 

 

#64: Michelle Adams

 

Congrats Michelle. The author will contact you to give you the Ebook!

IMM #21

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren were everyone puts up the books they have bought, received or got from the library!

 

 

 

Hey my awesome followers :) This week I bought two books and got two books from the library. So four awesome books to share with you guys!

 

First up the books I got from the library:

 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

 

 

Goodreads

 

I have seen this book around the blogsphere for a while now and have always been apprehensive about reading it as I hate circus' they freak me out, clowns in particular. But I though I would pick it up as the hype surrounding it sounded exciting. I am so glad I did, I just flicked the first few pages and it sounds like a good read. I will probably read this one in the new year!

 

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

 

 

Goodreads

 

OK, I know you guys are all thinking, what she hasn't read this book yet? Yes I am sad to say I haven't. I have heard great things about Sisters Red and I saw the hype surrounding the release of the second book in the series, Sweetly a few weeks ago and though I need to get round to reading this. I know it's about wolves which I like so I am hoping I like it. Sisters Red is on my TRL for December!

 

I bought two great books this week. Which are:

 

The Vampire Stalker by Allison van Diepen

 

 

Goodreads

 

This is a new release here in the UK and I just had to buy it. It is about a girl who is in love with a fictional vampire stalker from a book, but as it quotes "What if the characters in a vampire novel left their world--and came into yours?" I think this is a story all us girls would love! What we do if Edward Cullen, Damon Slavatore or Eric Northman where real and suddenly in our world!! P.S. I love Eric Northman (True Blood) Can't wait to read this book. I think I might give a copy of this book away for the Gratitude Giveaway!

 

 

The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor (The Governor Trilogy #1)

by Robert Kirkman, Jay Bonansinga

 

 

Goodreads

 

I am a big fan of the TV series The Walking Dead! I didn't know the TV show was based of comics/graphic novels series The Walking Dead till I was doing this IMM. This new book is the first in a standalone trilogy with new characters and new story lines. I think if anyone like's the show they will like these books and also anyone who likes Zombies. Just to note I hate scary things but for some reason I am always drawn to Zombie movies and books!

 

The Dig by Audrey Hart

 

 

Goodreads

 

I was kindly sent an Ebook of  The Dig for review from the author. Look out for a review later this month as well as an author interview.

 

What did you get in your mailbox?

 

 

 

 

 

YA Feature: Introducing YA author Matthew. R. Merrick

Hey! This week on Reading Away The Days I would like to introduce to you all the awesome Matthew. R. Merrick. Matthew is the author of Exiled a YA Fantasy series. Please welcome Matthew to Reading Away The Days, by checking out his book Exiled and showing some comment love!

A little about Matthew and his writing career so far:

I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I’ve never been a storyteller. I stumbled upon writing fiction by complete chance. I’ve worked all sorts of jobs. I was a chef for ten years. I managed kitchens. I’ve done project management, deliveries, and sales. A little bit of everything. My hours were always erratic, but one thing that I always promised to remain constant, is I would always be around to make sure I tucked my little ones in. This routine was one of the best parts of my day. We started out reading stories, but it quickly turned into me telling stories and after a while, my wife started pushing me to write children’s books. She felt I had an imagination that would work great for them.  I never gave it much thought, but then one day, in need of an escape, I created a new world, with wicked magic, and cool monsters.

Exiled, is a Young Adult novel, not exactly for children, but this bed time routine showed me a passion I never knew existed within me. I have job ADD, in which I have a lot of trouble staying challenged at work. I jumped around from job to job, trying to find something that could keep my attention. I have yet to find that job, but in the meantime, writing has provided a constant challenge for me. I’ve only been doing it for a few years, but my focus and determination now, is stronger than ever. All because of a few short bedtime stories.

Can you tell me a little about your novel, Exiled?

Exiled is about a young guy, whose entire world gets turned upside down. I know that sounds cliché, but it really isn’t. Chase Williams is a seventeen-year-old kid, who grows up in a secret society of demon hunters. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase is involved in a ceremony every hunter goes through. It’s the moment they discover what type of elemental magic they’ll have. Chase’s father, Riley, is a very powerful, and well respected hunter, so when Chase doesn’t get any magic at all, he’s furious, and has him Exiled – along with his mother – to live a life among the mortals. The Underworld is full of demons who want to kill him, for the sole reason that he’s the son of Riley Williams, so unfortunately for Chase, he doesn’t struggle just to pay rent, but he has to keep himself and his mother safe.

This story isn’t just about a boy who has to saves a world, or many worlds. It’s about a guy who loses his life, his father, and everything he’s ever known in a matter a moments. Sure he’s given the duty of saving worlds, but in the middle of that, he’s trying to figure out who he is, and what his purpose in life is. On this journey he comes to realize things aren’t all black and white. All demons aren’t bad and hunters all good. There’s a massive gray area in between, and in that area, Chase finds friendship among the very people he was taught to destroy – demons. And again, his life is changed forever.

Where did you get the idea for Exiled?

Like I said, I stumbled upon Exiled, but I’ve always had this strange obsession with magic. Especially power that was elemental based. I mean really, how cool would be if you could create and control a flame in your hand, or connect with the earth on such a level, that everything came to life in an entirely new way? Those ideas have always excited me, and I’ve watched movies and read books where they were a reality, but they didn’t deliver it the way I wanted it done. I wanted a strength and uniqueness to the magic, in a story that was beautiful, and anyone could enjoy, while at the same time, if you look closer, it’s darker than it appears on the surface.

I took all those ideas and built on them, and when the moment came for me to escape, I disappeared into that world head on, knowing exactly what I wanted to see and dead set on executing it that way.

Exiled is a YA Fantasy series is there any other genre you would like to tackle in the future i.e. dystopian, contempoary etc

Possibly the Mystery/Thriller genre, but I have such a connection and imagination for Fantasy; it’d be difficult to get me away from it. I prefer to try and incorporate those genres into my Fantasy stories.

It’s hard to say where my creativity will be headed in the future, but at this point in time, I like what I’m doing. I write all my stories geared to be appropriate for a YA audience, but I want it to span straight across the board to adults too. I try to put something in my stories for everyone. Whether it be myths, characters, magic, suspense, a touch of humor, anything. I want anyone who picks up EXILED to be able to enjoy it on some level. 

How is work coming along in the next book in the series, Shift?

I just got SHIFT back from my critique partners, and it’s nearly ready to go. I’m going through a final edit now, just to tighten things up, and smooth out some of the flow. That’s what I’m working on over the next few weeks. My goal is to have it to my copy editor by December 1^st, 2011, and ready for everyone February 1st, 2012.

How many books will be in the series?

I originally plotted the books to span into a trilogy, however, in recent inspirational developments; I’m looking at expanding that. It could go anywhere from three to six books. One thing I will not do is run the series longer than it needs to go. Everyone has that one series they love, that took it a little too far. I don’t want to do that. I want to deliver an epic story without sacrificing content. Right now, I have some major plotting to do, to see how the books will play out. Until that’s done and I know what direction the story is going, I’m only committing to three. 

Why should we read Exiled?

Because everyone needs an escape. That’s why we read isn’t it? For the love of diving into another’s world and exploring their imagination?

Exiled will take you on an incredible adventure. It’s filled with magic, monsters, and an emotional journey that’s only just beginning. There are characters you’ll love, characters you’ll hate, and characters like Willy, that will just make you smile. If you’re looking for a story that’ll suck you in and take you to places you never knew existed, Exiled will do just that. It might even leave you teary eyed…maybe.

Matthew's Book History 

Favourite book as a child and why?

I think James and the Giant Peach is definitely up there. Actually, it’s been so long since I’ve read it; thinking about it makes me want to read it again. I just remember loving the story. I was never big on reading growing up, and that was a story I never seemed to get tired of.

Favourite book as a teenager and why?

I skipped reading throughout my entire teenagerdom…but two books that stand out in my mind were assigned reading in school, Lord of the Flies and The Giver. Hrmm….I might have to go with The Giver, but both of those stories had a raw power to them that I can’t explain. I just remember finishing them, and being like “Wow, I should read more books, this was incredible.”

Favourite book you have read this year and why?

I’m slacking a bit on my reading this year. I’ve been so busy with writing/editing/publishing EXILED, and writing/editing SHIFT. I’ve beta read a lot of unreleased book…some that I loved, but I suppose that doesn’t count.. I think I’d have to go with Wildflowers Come Back by Sarah Spann. She’s a fellow indie author, and I have a new obsession with her writing. Her voice, her story telling, everything, I connect to it on some personal level and I disappear into her world.

An author/book you would reccommend to my readers?     

     

As I said above, Wild Flowers Comback was awesome. Also, I think the entire Harry Potter series is worth reading over and over again. JK Rowling has such an incredible talent for world building. She doesn’t even need promotion from someone like me, but anytime someone asks me this question, or asks me an author I look up to, the answer is always the same. I love the stories, I love the movies, I love everything about her creation.

To go in a different direction, there is this AMAZING book that each and every one of your readers needs to have. It’s called EXILED, and it’s by this super handsome Canadian, who is funny, handsome, clever, creative, and did I mention handsome?

Thank you to Matthew for this awesome interview!

M.R. Merrick’s Website: http://matthew-merrick.blogspot.com/

Buy Exiled!

Amazon UK (Kindle/Paperback): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Exiled-The-Protector-ebook/dp/B0058OMWYU

Amazon US (Kindle/Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Exiled-The-Protector-ebook/dp/B0058OMWYU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319664291&sr=8-2

Barnes & Nobel (Nook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/exiled-mr-merrick/1104808776

Barnes & Nobel (Paperback): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/exiled-m-r-merrick/1033599176

Smashwords (All eReaders except Kindle): http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/69979

Createspace (Paperback): https://www.createspace.com/3647706

Author Interview: Dougald Lamont

A little about Dougald and his writing career so far:

I’m married with kids and I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, right in the middle of North America. If you’ve seen the movie Fargo, it’s straight north of there. 

I’ve been writing for about 20 years, as a humorist, journalist, and doing P.R. and advertising. I started my own student newspaper in university, and I have a Master’s degree in English Literature. The Jinx is my first work of fiction. 

You are the author of The Jinx. Can you tell me a little about it?

It’s the story of an average kid who finds himself having such a run of bad luck that he starts to wonder whether he is cursed - or is a budding supervillain. When his bad luck starts to threaten the lives of his family, he runs away in hope of keeping them safe and finding a “cure.” That’s when he finds out he is in the middle of something bigger than he could ever imagine.

Where did you get the idea for The Jinx?

The core of the story came from a very vivid and cinematic dream I had a couple of years ago. I was the one having bad luck, and then it started to affect my family, and I had to run away to keep them safe. In my dream I was going up a mountain road and a huge monster made of boulders came stumbling out of the darkness. I woke up and the dream stuck with me, and I built the story around that idea. 

The Jinx is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy adventure. Is this a genre you like to read yourself? If so what are some of your fave Sci-Fi/Fantasy adventure reads?

People often say “write what you know” but I saw someone else suggest “write what you like.” I had written some spec scripts for TV, and a movie, but when you are unknown and have no track record persuading someone to spend millions of dollars to make your project is asking a lot. When I would write these things, I would sometimes have this idea in the back of my mind that “uh-oh, this will be an expensive scene” but then I thought, “if I just write a book, there is no special effects budget. I can just describe it.” So that was freeing. 

 

I do like science fiction and fantasy, though I prefer sci-fi. I grew up on Robert Heinlein, and I still like some of his books for young people. Stanislaw Lem, who was a Polish sci-fi author is one of my favourite authors, especially his books The Cyberiad, Peace on Earth and the Futurological Congress. I love The Lord of the Rings, and I enjoyed Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, and classics like Watership Down. 

One of my favourite books is The House with A Clock in Its Walls, by John Bellairs. It’s funny, scary, exciting and was a big inspiration to me for writing The Jinx. I read it to my kids and it still holds up.

Is there any other genre you would like to tackle? I.E. Dystopian, horror, paranormal etc!

I don’t really think about writing in a particular genre. I just have ideas for stories, and then I write it. The script I wrote for a film was a rock musical. I had a couple of ideas for TV shows that were both comedies. 

That being said, most of my ideas right now are in science fiction / fantasy. Just enough science to make it believable (or at least grounded), and enough fantasy to keep it exciting.

If I were to write something in dystopian, horror or paranormal, it would have to be real a twist on the genre, or be different. When I wrote The Jinx, it was important to me that the main character be an average kid. I didn’t want it to be the story of a kid who seems ordinary but then finds out he has extraordinary powers because he inherited them from parents he never knew, like Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter. I don’t mean that as a criticism of those stories - I love Star Wars. I just wanted my story to be different. I wanted a character who wasn’t born special - who wasn’t a “chosen one” but someone ordinary who rises to the occasion. 

I haven’t figured out an angle on those other genres yet. 

Are you currently working on any new projects?

I am! It’s another science fiction fantasy book for children aged 8-13, also inspired by dreams. I’m over half done the first draft, and I am pleased with the way it’s going. If you like The Jinx, I think you’ll really like this book as well!

Thanks to Dougald for the interview!

Readers can read the first chapter of The Jinx free - and get links to purchase ebooks (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad) as well as softcover versions at: http://thejinxbook.tumblr.com/

Facebook Page for The Jinx is: http://www.facebook.com/TheJinxbyDFLamont

Douglad's author page on Goodreads is: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5134556.D_F_Lamont

* I will be reviewing The Jinx next month :) *