Today, Author to Author is featuring Allie Jean, author of the Dreamer series. Our giveaway is still ongoing and we're getting closer to that 2,000 entries point where a second prize package will be awarded. Remember, you can enter every day. The Rafflecopter is at the bottom of the post.
Allie Jean was born with an overactive imagination. At a very early age, a child, her days were spent inventing stories, directing her sisters in made-up plays or telling elaborate ghost stories. Her mind never took breaks, or shutdown, even when she slept. When her eyes shut at night, she would have vivid dreams complete with extensive, elaborate plot lines, and good overcoming evil villains.
Now, living in California with her husband of ten years, her love of storytelling had taken a back seat with the arrival of their four children. As a busy wife, mother and working full-time outside the home, somehow she has been able to write down her relentless character’s story. Her once secret hobby and private world, is now released for other’s to enjoy.
Ten Questions
1. Who's your favorite author, and why?
I love this question and here’s why. I am a HUGE fan of authors who can create their own worlds, something original and clever, which has its own set of rules the characters living it have to go by that cannot be broken or bent. This is incredibly hard to do, for I’m attempting to do that with my own series. There are some people, however, who have mastered it. J.R. Tolkien for example, but I’d say my favorite author right now is J.K. Rowling. The world she created for Harry and the others is so intricate, inspirational, and complex that it will be hard for anyone in the literary world to match that scale, and for that, she is amazing to me.
2. If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in your most-recently released novel, which one would it be and why?
Oh, hands down, it would be Mathias. First off, we don’t learn exactly how old he is, so that would be my first question. And second, I’d want to know more about the history of his race, stories about the hunt for more females like Chantal, and exactly when he knew he was falling for her. I’d also want to know why his brother is so up-tight. He he . . .
3. Where do you get the ideas and inspiration for your characters personalities?
Oddly enough, the entire idea for this series came from nightmares I used to have frequently when I was young. I don’t know why − I never had a horrible past or anything like that − but I’d have violent, twisted dreams that would play out as if it were a story, where I was the main character. During these times, I’d wake up at night, and if I wasn’t screaming my head off, I’d be sitting in my bed terrified. One day, I saw a shadow in my room that resembled a figure of a man. At first, I was terrified, but when I realized it was just a shadow, he became an imaginary friend.
As I became older, I wondered what would happen if that shadow hadn’t been just a shadow . . .
And
Legacy of a Dreamer picks up from there.
Chantal is a mixture of myself, a bit of each of my sisters, and a big part of the kick-ass girl, Miss Buffy Summers. In fact, one of my sisters is on the cover of the book! In all seriousness, Chantal has been a part of me since I was very young. Since the idea came to me for this world many moons ago, Mathias has also been a slow work-in-progress, but I’m extremely happy with how he’s turning out, especially in the second book, which I’m writing now.
4. What is the best thing (in your opinion) about being a writer?
The ability to tell my stories is the best thing about being a writer. I have always been a storyteller. I’d make up ghost stories or write countless tales in my journals at home. Even when I became older, writing became a way of coping with whatever crap life had dealt me. The ability to have my stories out there for people to enjoy means a lot to me. It’s almost cathartic in a way. Kind of like “here, have a dish of this craziness” to the world.
*sigh*
Makes me feel so much better.
5. How did you find your agent/publisher?
I actually entered a competition through
The Writer’s Coffee Shop at the GREAT encouragement of some friends of mine. It happened to be a Romance competition, and I thought my story based on my nightmares kind of fit, so I entered the first eleven chapters, not thinking I’d win a darn thing. But as it turns out, the folks over there loved it and offered me a contract. And here I am!
6. What's the best piece of writing advice you've been given?
“Write how you see it.”
In this series, there are a ton of fight scenes and creatures that are only visible in my head – basically things that haven’t been adapted in Hollywood or anything. The person I actually asked this advice from was Cassandra Clare, the author of the
Mortal Instruments series. She’d read something I’d written at one time and said she loved it. I asked her advice and that’s what she said: “Write how you see it.”
For me it’s huge from her because she writes in the same kind of action packed, alternate universe type genre, and I’ve never wavered from it. I picture the scene in my head like a movie, slow it down, and describe it. So far, it’s helped a ton.
7. Biggest mistake you've made as an author?
In this book, probably naming the villain Damon. I didn’t realize the guy in Vampire Diaries was named Damon, but what the heck! Oh well . . .
Other than that, I’m sure I’ve made mistakes with my research when I reference things. I try to be a good investigator, but the internet can be very tricky and point you to false information. I’ve done that in the past, but not with anything I’ve published.
8. What would the lead character of your latest novel want for Christmas?
She’d probably want some new clothes. The poor girl has been an orphan most of her life, and what she did have was kind of destroyed, so I’m thinking she’d want something to wear that didn’t look like army digs worn by a seven-foot muscled man. (she needs some pretty shit-kickers)
9. Favorite Christmas music?
Anything off the White Christmas album. That movie was a family tradition of mine growing up, so those songs bring out my holiday spirit. My kids don’t get it, especially when I play “Sisters” for them. It has nothing to do with Christmas, but I sit there singing away, decorating my tree, while my kids argue with me over my song choice. Those are the moments worth living, I think.
10. What was the best gift you ever received?
I could say my kids, which is a given. But I won’t go sappy on you. I think the best gift I received was back in 2005, my in-laws bought me an IPod. Just a little Shuffle 2GB, but I was stoked. And why was I so happy? Because I had four kids, three of them still in diapers, and I had ZERO time to read. With the IPod, I could download audiobooks and listen while I cleaned up poop. That’s actually how I “read” the first Twilight book, I believe. That tiny box of miracles got me through night shifts at the hospital, late night feedings, and a mountain of laundry a day. I could pretty much say it was priceless.
Thank you, Allie!
You can find Allie Jean's
Legacy of a Dreamer series at
TWCS.
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Today, I'm taking part in the My Writing Process Blog Tour.
Why do I write what I do?
I've never used outlines. I occasionally with write myself a note if something occurs to me late at night and I think it's important enough to roll over and get the notebook out. Then I have to wonder what I meant by cryptic comments like: "Old lady coffee shop smiles," when there aren't any coffee shops in my story.
J. Molly Brown
Carly blinked when tears stung her eyes again. He already thought she was stupid. She didn’t want to add whiny to the list. “Just for a little while, can you be optimistic?”
Today's featured author on 13 Authors, 13 Days is Tonya Kappes, mystery and humor writer with more than a dozen books to her credit. Today, she's giving away two copies of her latest book, Strung out to Die.
Sydney Logan holds a Master’s degree in Elementary Education and makes her home in the hills of East Tennessee. With the 2012 release of her first novel, Lessons Learned, she made the transition from bookworm to author. She has a very unhealthy obsession with music, and her iPod is filled with everything from Johnny Cash to Eminem. When she isn't reading or writing, she enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her front porch with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat. She recently released a Christmas short story titled “Mistletoe Magic” and is currently completing her second novel, which will be released in 2013.
2. If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in your most-recently released novel, which one would it be and why?
