Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Interview with Stephanie Amox



What is it about the paranormal, in particular vampires, that fascinates you so much?

I think most people are intrigued by them. What isn’t appealing about a creature that is immortal – to be able to hear history from someone who actually lived through it all. It’s an incredibly unique perspective. Most vampires are portrayed as lonely and searching through life for someone to fill the void. What woman doesn’t want to be needed and appreciated by someone like that?

Do you have a special formula for creating characters' names? Do you try to match a name with a certain meaning to attributes of the character or do you search for names popular in certain time periods or regions?

This is a great question. There are a number of things to consider. Where is your character from, what is their personality/temperament? First and foremost I like to make the names consistent with where the character lives. From there I will sometimes pick a dominant trait and look for a name that works along those lines. It’s different every time.

Do you have a formula for developing characters? Like do you create a character sketch or list of attributes before you start writing or do you just let the character develop as you write?

I’ve tried both ways. Honestly the only thing that works for me is to simply write and let the character develop. I usually have an idea of what type of person they should be and then I learn more about them as I write. One thing I CAN’T do is write more than a couple of sentences about them before I have to name them. Once I give them a name the personality seems to just pop!

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? How do you deal with it?

All the time! The only true solution to writer’s block is to step away and do something else for a while. I will work on another work in progress or jump on Kinect with my kids or watch a movie. Sometimes writer’s block can last for weeks. You can’t force it – your writing will suffer if you do. It will sound disjointed from the rest of your book. Usually inspiration will hit you at the strangest moments. Some of my best story arcs have come while I was waiting for my son to get out of hockey practice.

Do you have any weird writing quirks or rituals?

Absolutely. I think all writers do in some way or another. I do all my writing in a composition notebook with a mechanical pencil (I’ll use the same pencil for the entire book). Every so often (sometimes when I have writer’s block) I’ll transcribe it onto my computer. For some reason, the story flows better when I write it out by hand. The composition books are easy for me to carry around with me to jot something down when I get a good story idea.

Do you write in different genres?

Not many people know, but I do write in different genres. I have an adult romance that I wrote under a pseudonym – S.C. Wise. I’ve also got a couple of other works in progress that are pretty dark fiction, but right now YA is my favorite genre because I can do so much with it and people can still relate to the characters and the challenges they face every day.

Other than writing, what are some of your interests, hobbies or passions in life?

I’m a huge hockey fan which comes through my books from time to time. I really enjoy spending time w/the family. If we aren’t watching Brady play hockey or lacrosse, then I’m probably visiting Caitlin at college. I love to sit down with a good book, but I tend to read them from cover to cover in one sitting so I don’t get to read as much as I would like. I don’t watch a ton of TV, but I do have several shows that I really like. I’m particularly attached to Psych, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, and then Game of Thrones and True Blood on HBO.

Where is your favorite place to read?

Do you have a cozy corner or special reading spot? I can read just about anywhere, but if I really want to remain undisturbed, I head to my office. I took our guest bedroom and transformed it into an office. I have a large papasan chair in the corner of the room and it’s the perfect place to sit and enjoy a good book.

What can readers expect next from you? 

Right now, I’m trying to stay focused on writing the fourth book in the series. Currently it’s titled Rushing Calm. I keep telling myself that it will be the final book in the series, but then again – Painfully Ordinary was originally just one book and it grew as I wrote. Who knows if I will be able to wrap up all the loose ends in one book or if it will spill over into a 5th. I’m also getting a lot of feedback from fans of my adult romance who would like to see it turn into a series.  There are also two additional works in progress, but they will be single books and are quite a bit darker than my other works.

Would you like to leave readers with a little teaser or excerpt from the book?

This is one of my favorite scenes between Caitlin and Leah in the 1st book Painfully Ordinary:

I chuckled and stepped out the back door. “Okay, so what happened that has you so fired up? I can’t remember the last time I saw you so frustrated.”
She grumbled. “I tried explaining things to Jace as simply as I possibly could without using puppets! He still didn’t understand why Talon’s ‘eating habits’ bother us. I swear I’m going to have to grab someone and bite them on the neck to make him understand. He admitted he didn’t like the idea of me feeding that way. However, he says it’s ‘different’ and ‘this is Talon’ we are talking about. Then he said something about the fact that at this point Talon couldn’t care for anyone else even if he wanted to, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean. When I told him I didn’t see what the difference was, he threw his hands up in the air and walked away from me. He walked away! Can you believe that?”
I glanced at her innocently. “Puppets? Really? Maybe you should try it next time. Maybe it would help.” I was fighting back my amusement.
Leah’s eyebrows came together. “Knock it off. I am being serious. I swear, if you start …”
Just then, a trill escaped my lips. I quickly stared at the ground. I knew if I made eye contact with her at this point, I was going to be completely lost.
“Caitlin,” she warned. “I mean it. I may just kill you.”
I made the tactical error of looking in her eyes and burst into laughter.


April 5 Spotlight- tour launch
Lisa’s World of Books
www.lisasworldofbooks.net

April 6 Spotlight
Total Book Geek

April 7 Interview
Michelle @ Mom With A Kindle 

April 8 Interview
Books in the Hall – 

April 9 Spotlight/Excerpt 
Brianna Lee Book Reviews

April 10 Interview
Fang-tastic Books

April 11 Guest blog

April 12 Interview
Roxanne’s Realm

April 13 Spotlight
Brooke Blogs

April 15 Interview
Bewitching Book Tours Magazine

April 17 Guest blog
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom

April 18 Spotlight
Shut Up & Read 

April 20 Guest blog (review later)
Offbeat Vagabond

April 25 Guest blog and review
4 the LUV of SANITY

April 26 Spotlight and review
Teen Blurb

April 29 Guest blog
Regina May Ross's

April 30 Spotlight
A_TiffyFit's Reading Corner
http://tiffyfit.blogspot.com

May 1 Guest blog
So Much To Write So Little Time 

May 1 review book 1
Sara In Bookland

May 2 Interview
Pembroke Sinclair.  

May 2 Spotlight and review

May 3 Interview
Jodie Pierce




Painfully Ordinary
The Lumina Saga Book One
Stephanie Amox

Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: CENA

Date of Publication: Jan 2013             
ISBN: 148194780X

Number of pages: 225
Word Count: 86,175

Cover Artist: Photography by Nikki Nichols Photography

BN   Amazon   Smashwords  

Book Description:

Two teenager's lives become not so ordinary...

Caitlin and Leah are content with the slow and steady pace in their small Texan town. They have the typical challenges of any American high school - evil girl cliques and oppressive ex-boyfriends. They see themselves as painfully ordinary...but that soon changes. The arrival of two newcomers at school sets Caitlin and Leah on an explosive path of magic, betrayal, secrets and forbidden love. The discovery of Caitlin's true identity causes tremendous upheaval in her painfully ordinary life. Caitlin must learn to embrace her birthright and trust in her friends or she risks endangering them all.

Family Secrets
The Lumina Saga Book Two
Stephanie Amox

Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: CENA

Date of Publication: Jan 2013             
ISBN: 1481956841

Number of pages: 232
Word Count: 65,120


Book Description:

Wailea, Maui would be a paradise by just about anyone’s standards. Caitlin and Leah are no different. They are living like rock stars with Talon and Jace in one of the poshest hotels on the island. Just when they think things can’t possibly get any better—everything falls apart. Their short lived paradise is ripped out from under them. Once again, they are on the run.

A mysterious man appears and attempts to drive a wedge between Caitlin and Talon. He whisks her away to an ancient world where she is treated like a princess yet held completely against her will. She is shown events, consequences and affairs she never dreamed possible. Will the secrets of her family destroy her happiness, or will she rely on her instincts to find a way back to the life she found with Talon?


New Beginnings
The Lumina Saga Book Three
Stephanie Amox

Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: CENA

Date of Publication: Jan 2013             
ISBN: B00AX0L2L8
Number of pages: 312
Word Count: 83,740

Amazon   BN

Book Description:

What happens when the extraordinary fades into ordinary?

Caitlin awakens to find herself back in the normal life she shares with her best friend, Leah, in their small Texas town. Caitlin has no memory of the fantastic events of the last several months save a mystery man who haunts the shadows of her dreams. Constantly taken aback by strange occurrences: the sudden attention of the two most popular guys in school; Caitlin’s toe-to-toe showdown with Tami; and the constant coincidental run-ins with two mysterious strangers, keeps Caitlin’s nerves raw and on edge. Will she solve the mystery behind the strange events, or will the dreams be all that remains?

About the Author:

Stephanie Amox attended the University of Texas at Arlington, where she met her husband. Her life did an about-face in January 2009 and the future of her career looked bleak. Her husband encouraged her to follow her dream and finally write the story which had been buzzing around in her head for a number of years, thus The Lumina Saga was born.

These days she spends her time in Flower Mound, Texas with her husband, two children and a couple of crazy Jack Russell Terriers. When she's not writing she enjoys spending time watching her son play hockey or visiting her daughter at Oklahoma State University.




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