Author Interview and Giveaway: Shannon Delany

Shannon Delany on  Weather Witch...

 

June 25, 2013

St.Martin's Griffins

In a vastly different and darker Philadelphia of 1844, steam power has been repressed, war threatens from deep, dark waters, and one young lady of high social standing is expecting a surprise at her seventeenth birthday party–but certainly not the one she gets!Jordan Astraea,

who has lived out all of her life in Philadelphia’s most exclusive neighborhood, is preparing

to celebrate her birthday with friends, family and all the extravagance they might muster.

The young man who is most often her dashing companion, Rowen Burchette, has told her a surprise awaits her and her best friend, Catrina Hollindale, wouldn’t miss this night for all the world!

But storm clouds are gathering and threatening to do far more than dampen her party plans because someone in the Astraea household has committed the greatest

of social sins by Harboring a Weather Witch.

So recently I had the pleasure of reading Weather Witch, and being honest, first I was a bit skeptical, but page by page Shannon Delany and her awesome and imaginary view of Philadelphia earned every bit of my attention. I loved this book, the atmosphera, the characters, the story, I'm sure that you will love it too. So to know a bit more about it and the way it was created Shannon share some of her time with us, and we love her for that.

 

 

1.For you, and your writing process, how different was 13 to Life series, from Weather Witch?

 

It was very different because, in order to give proper respect to the time period, I had to do more research throughout the writing and I found it necessary to take a different voice and point of view. After writing 5 novels in 1st person POV, it would have been an easy (and probably lazy) choice to continue a brand new series that way. Weather Witch is allowing me to stretch and explore as an author and I appreciate my fans allowing me to do that.

 

 

2. Do you think, writing a historical paranormal novel was a risk? If so, why?

Absolutely! People freak out when it comes to history. You either risk having readers who will crucify you for taking too many artistic liberties with history (a subject which we are still discovering!) or you risk having readers who don't even pick it up because they think if it's history it has to be boring. Let's face it: paranormal YA with significant amounts of romance is a safe genre to write in. And I could write it forever. But what would I learn as an artist by doing that? Art is about risk. It's scary but necessary.

 

 

3. What novels do you prefer writing and reading, contemporary or historical, and why?

I love a little bit of everything and it really depends on my mood. I devour fluffy historical romances but love the spice and speed of contemporaries and the imagination of high fantasy and science fiction. Give me a good character and I'll read anything.

 

 

4.I have to say I wasn't a big fan of Jordan, because I felt her like a very spoiled girl, but I feel she will grow a lot more in the next book, did you have any real life inspiration for this character?

I believe you don't have to like a character immediately to be able to connect to him or her eventually--to understand their motivation and issues. Yes, there is plenty of real life (and historical) inspiration rolled into Jordan. Jordan's a child of privelege (and few of us can say the same). She's never wanted for anything except her parents' attention (or that of her absentee sisters) until the dramatic end of her seventeenth birthday party. Even then she reacts the way many of us would--with disbelief. She's rattled--stunned. She's sure this shouldn't have happened to her, it'll all be fixed by someone other than her--she's not even attempting to take control of her life for quite a while. In today's society that's hard for us to understand (but historically many women did just this--they waited and held out hope for rescue). Today we're big on independence and being individuals. We think we can fix everything (and often blunder our way around trying). SPOILER: I love Jordan because as much as Bran tries to break her, he fails. It's her breaking heart that Makes her in the end--it's her heart that Makes her head toward her own power.

 

5. I read a comment of yours a couple of days ago, refering to a surprise Rowen gave to you. How does it feel when you realize your characters are very much alive, sort of?

I always think of my characters as living (that's why it's so hard to hurt them the way I have to sometimes). But, because I let them take the lead in my stories it makes the writing far more interactive for me. I basically let them do what comes naturally and I record it as accurately as I can, like a news journalist should.

 

6.I love romance and I miss it in weather witch, are we are going to have a bit more of it in the sequel? If you can't answer this is totally ok, is just big fan curiosity.

I knew I was taking a big risk by separating my love birds so fast in Weather Witch (it flies in the face of the romance formula), but Jordan and Rowen wouldn't have had a real chance at growing out of being spoiled and protected except by tearing them apart and throwing them into the real (fictional) world of 1844 Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. I can tell you that in Book 3 there is romance but things for these two aren't going to be easy and in that way they are far more realistic than Jess and Pietr in 13 TO LIFE.

 

7. I like to question this to all the authors. What is the best moment for you, while writing a new book?

The actual writing--when you're zipping along throwing words on paper and seeing through another character's eyes and then BOOM they change everything and you not only discover something about them, you also learn something about yourself. It's the act of discovery that's inherent in the writing process that I love most.

 

 

Crazy Book Reader will like to thank very very much to Mrs. Shannon Delany for her kind generosity and share her time with us.

 

 

About the Author

 

 

 

 Shannon Delany has always been surrounded by books! Her aunt was a head librarian and her father was always trying some new creative endeavor. She grew up with a fierce love of history and studied social studies education and foreign language and culture in college. After substitute teaching in every grade level and subject area in Pennsylvania and Maryland she taught for five years in Florida and then moved back north to be around family. With the birth of her son she decided to become serious about writing and worked freelance jobs until she landed a contract with St. Martin's Press for the 13 TO LIFE series--all because of a contest one critique partner warned her against!


GIVEAWAY!!!

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Interview with Author Michelle Zink

Happy Halloween!!!!

And since is Halloween I'm giving you and myself a gift, an interview with the awesome Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters and Guardian of the Gate.

Hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!!

Remember soon to come some news about Guardian of the Gate, then its review, and finally a GiveAway!!!


So Michelle, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself?
Mu kids and I are big film and music fans. We spend most of our time together watching movies, going to concerts, and just talking (sometimes late into the night) about everything under the sun.It's a low-key life that I cherish on a daily basis. I love to travel, too, and look forward to doing more of that in the near future.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
If you had asked me when I was a child and teen what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would have said, “Be a writer.” But I lost it somewhere along the way as I was encouraged to get a “real” job, be responsible, etc. I really didn’t have any role models or anyone who even talked to me about being a writer or what a career as a writer would look like. It all seemed very mysterious! By the time I was 29, I was working as a Director of Sales and Marketing for a technology consulting firm. I was making plenty of money, had a house a mile from the beach, a nanny and a housekeeper – and was completely miserable. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life getting up every morning only to spend ten hours every day doing something that didn’t interest me at all. So I did this crazy thing and sold my house, quite my job, and moved myself, my then-husband, and my four children (who were between the ages of 2 and 9 at the time) 3,000 miles to a small town in New York. It was beautiful, quiet, and most importantly, cheap! The cheap part was crucial, because it meant that I could take a break from being the primary breadwinner and take some time to figure out what I really wanted and who I really was. During the 2-3 years it took me to find my way back to writing, I learned that I didn’t need as much STUFF as I thought I did. I found that I was very happy and fulfilled at home with the woodstove going, baking from scratch, reading with my children, and writing. And finding my writing again was like breathing. It was an epiphany, and I suddenly couldn’t imagine how I’d lived without it for so many years. All of my worldly cares fell away when I was writing, and I had the greatest sense of euphoria. I felt ALIVE for the first time since I was a teenager. I wanted to hang onto that feeling, so I wrote more and more and more.

When did you started to write?
I started writing seriously in 2005 and finished five novels over the next two-and-a-half years before Prophecy (my fifth finished book) sold to Little Brown in July of 2007.

How the idea of Prophecy of the Sisters was born?
I get a lot of my ideas from ancient myths and legends. Angels and demons are kind of my thing (as you can probably tell from Prophecy), so I read a lot about them. Sometimes nothing happens and I just keep reading, but every now and then, something will spark an idea, and I’ll think, “Waaaaaait a minute!” The initial seed of the story came from the biblical legend of the Watchers, a legion of angels who were said to have been sent to Earth to watch over mankind. In the legend, the angels fell in love with mortal women and were banished from Heaven, after which they were referred to as the Lost Souls. Hearing that phrase – the Lost Souls – was my dun-dun DUN! moment.

Did you scare yourself while writing it?
Lol! Sometimes! Especially since I'd write late at night and listen to the film score to the movie The Village. There's one piece that always made me jump!

Did you do any kind of research for it?
I did research as needed to maintain the authenticity of the time period, but I didn't do as much of it as you might think. This is because I've always felt Prophecy is a fantasy that happens to be set in the very dark, Gothic era of the 1890s, not historical fiction. I never wanted the story to take a back seat to period details.

Is any character based on real people?
Actually, no! My characters come to me more or less fully formed, and in this case, they weren't based on anyone at all.

How was the process of writing and editing for you?
I love the stream-of-consiousness feeling I get while drafting. It's so fun to just immerse myself in the atmosphere of my story and give myself permission NOT to worry about the details just yet. I enjoy editing for a different reason. It's more academic for me, I guess. And of course, it's always scary when you first start deconstructing pieces of your book - all the while just HOPING you're going to be able to put it all back together again. But I enjoy this part, too, because I feel like I learn so much about the craft of writing and the construction of a novel.

How many time passed between writing and publishing Prophecy of the Sisters?
Prophecy took me three months to write and ten months to edit after which it sold in a three-day pre-empt.

Was it hard publishing it?
I’m not gonna lie; it’s not easy. Prophecy of the Sisters was my fifth book, and I wrote 6-8 hours a day for two-and-a-half years before selling it. I tried (and failed) to get an agent with book #1, got an agent with book #2 but didn’t sell it, and finally went out with Prophecy (and had two books in between that no one ever read). If you want to be published with any major, traditional publisher, you really should get an agent first. They represent your interests, advise you on changes that will increase your chances of selling your book, and act as your advocate in all negotiations. After that, your agent will submit your manuscript to editors based on his/her understanding of what each editor is looking to add to their list. Then, it’s all a matter of an editor loving it and being able to sell the rest of the Acquisitions Committee on its potential.
Without spoilers, what does readers should expect from Guardian of the Gate?
Guardian of the Gate ups the action with an epic journey, a mysterious new guy, and a betrayal of unimaginable proportions.

Your favorite Book?
That's a tough one, but I'd have to say White Oleander by Janet Fitch. If you haven't read it, you MUST.

Your favorite author?
Stephen King for sure! He's had such a huge influence on my work.

This is a question I always love to do to writers, do you love writing? And why?
I do love it, but it's even more than that. I have a chaotic mind. Writing's the only thing that truly makes me feel centered. It's like breathing. I honestly don't know how I'd stay sane without it.

Finally, anything else you would like to share with us?
Just a big thank you for hosting me on your blog, Rose, and another one for all the readers out there who've been so unbelievably supportive of Prophecy!Love.


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As I've say it, Ms. Zink, is an awesome lady, and suuuper kind, and I'm grateful she took some of her time and share it with us.

Enjoy your Halloween weekend, read a book, read a Michelle Zink's book!!!

Love

RoseCBR