Interview with - Danielle Peterson Author of Our Blissful Bayou Beginnings

Interview with - Danielle Peterson Author of Our Blissful Bayou Beginnings

 

The Duck And The Doe is the tale of two immortal beings whose eternal love has soured a bit in the last two centuries. Written as memoir by the "hero," this novella is a musing on both what love is and how much America has changed since the early 19th century. The first volume deals with both the supernatural and the racism of the old American south. Told with humor and passion (and the occasional rant) the story of these strong characters, including a wealthy young lawyer and a clever courtsean, will change your idea of what "love forever'' really means.

1 - Have you always wanted to be a writer? 

I don't know if it's something I wanted or if it was compulsion, but either way, it's always been there. 

2 - What inspired you to write?

   

I would create entire stories and characters in my head, and the plotlines and the development would go on for weeks, or even months, so I supposed that I may as well write them down.

3 - Can you describe the book to your readers in 10 or less words?

Love makes you irrational but you can't get enough. 

4 - What can you tell us about your characters?

One is weak but thinks he's strong, the other is strong but pretends to be weak.

5 - Which character was the hardest to write and why?

       

The sorceress, because they don't exist and as such I have no idea as to what one would be like.

6 - Can you name a few of your favorite books and authors?

       

I've always been a fan of Steven King's books, I like the flow and the insights he gives to the character's states of mind. I read a   lot of non-fiction as well, mostly social and cultural history. 

 

7 - Is there something else you would like your readers to know? What's next for you?

     

That I write to entertain, and that behind what I tell about character there is a deeper story that will never be fully revealed or explained, yet will be given away by subtle clues via phrasing or references. It makes it more fun for me, for it to be a game like that. Although I am very busy with my education, I will try to write more in the series of The Duck and the Doe, usually in the back of my notebook during a particularly boring lecture.  

Thank you, Danielle!

Interview with Debra Anastasia + Giveaway

Interview with Debra Anastasia 

Debra Anastasia was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about her series. I hope you enjoy this interview!





1 - Can you describe the Seraphim series to your readers in one sentence?

This is what happens when a filthy-mouthed angel and a well-endowed devil fall in love while saving God.

2 - What compelled you to write about angels and the devil?

It was actually Christmas time while I was writing Poughkeepsie and I wanted to do something that didn’t have to adhere to human rules. The devil was supposed to be the villain, but when Jack entered the scene he took over the whole series.

3 - Who would you say is the hardest character to write about and why? Do you have a favorite character?

In Crushed Seraphim the most challenging character I wrote was God. There is a delicate balance between telling a fiction story and also honoring who God is for people.  I never wanted to be offensive, but if I was going to write about angels and the devil, God had to be there. In Crushed Seraphim my favorite character was Emma. I loved how easily her dialog and actions were to write. She had a solid set of morals so as the plot was changing; I knew where she would good. Plus I love her dirty mouth.

4 - If your series ever became a movie/tv series,who would you like to play your characters?

That’s an exciting question! If the Seraphim series were to be cast, I’d love for Johnny Depp to play Satan Jack, Jennifer Morrison for Emma and Ryan Gosling can be evil Everett! And for Jason I would love Andrew Garfield.

5 - What can you tell your readers about you next projects?

I’m working on Return to Poughkeepsie right now and it’s all consuming. I’m so excited to play with these boys again. I’m looking to have it in print December 2013.

6 - Is there anything else you would like your readers to know?

That I love them!  I think they’re the most intelligent, caring, kick ass people in the world. 

You can find Debra at: 

Official Website

Twitter

  

Giveaway

-One winner will get a Crushed Seraphim and a Bittersweet Seraphim e-copy by Debra Anastasia.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Link Your Reviews

We all want to promote our reviews, don't we? This is a way of letting other people know about them. Just leave a link to your review below.


Go visit the other reviews and let people know what you think about them!

This is a weekly feature posted on Thursdays. :)

Guest Post - Developing Characters According to Real Life By Lane Heymont

Guest Post - Developing Characters According to Real Life By Lane Heymont

Developing Characters According to Real Life

 By Lane Heymont

Outside of the dreaded synopsis, character development is a crushing blow authors must learn how to tackle. There’s no right or wrong way to do so. In screenwriting we connect with characters through actions, dialogue and the subtlety of thoughts. However, in prose we are able to peer into the actual thoughts of our characters, see their thoughts if you will.  

How do we create characters that are both believable and compelling? Often, I hear people say they attribute an equal amount of strengths and flaws to a character. One strength for every flaw. It works, but not for me. People aren’t so simple in real life. We are more than our strengths and flaws. In general, we don’t make sense. Whatsoever. We’re instinctual animals who have lost the ability, or will, to rely on those natural predispositions.

Carl Jung, famed 19^th and 20^th century Swiss psychotherapist, said that we become whole by integrating opposites, including our unconscious and conscious, then our behaviors no doubt clash.

I develop characters based on real world psychological theories. In my novel The Freedman and the Pharaoh’s Staff, a time travel adventure set in post Civil War Louisiana, a Ku Klux Klansman by the name of Narce is an unbelievably brutal, violent, and narcissistic ogre. Not an actual ogre, but he might as well be one.  For me, he has no redeeming qualities as a human being. However, I wrote him in that his companion—best friend—is a dog. Best friend as in the way they’d call each other up to dish about last night’s date. Not literally, of course, but you get the idea.

This certainly doesn’t seem to make sense, a man consumed by savage violence in the end tries to shield said animal from said violence. It’s Jung’s theory of oppositions. Narce survives the outside world by relying on violence. People here being the outside world, while at home, his dog, he’s at peace.

Perhaps, because those of us who write fiction always hear characters need to make sense, we assign our creations a definitive set of traits, which cause set reactions to all stimuli thrown their way. I suggest try writing your characters in a way that their personalities or desires directly contrast their actions.

If the example of Narce from The Freedman and the Pharaoh’s Staff doesn’t tempt you enough to try it, then consider Michael Scott from The Office. All Michael wants to do is find love, someone to fill that void in his life, yet all he does is drive women away. Consistently. Any way Michael can, he does. Until he meets a woman he truly loves, a woman who he really wants to be with. Then things go smoothly, for the most part, but I digress.

I’ll leave you with a Carl Jung quote: “In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.” 

Jeb, a former slave, rescues his brother-in-law Crispus from the Ku Klux Klan, pulling him into a world of Creole Voodoo, hatred, time travel, and redemption. The two brothers-in-law set out to stop Verdiss and his Klan followers from using the Pharaoh's Staff, a magical artifact from ancient Egypt. Soon, Jeb and Crispus learn Verdiss’ diabolical plan and discover that he is working for an even more evil force. In the end Jeb and Crispus must stop the eradication of an entire people and each must find redemption for his own past sins