Julie Anne Lindsey visits with Nancy Lee Badger

Nancy: Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night, and she stopped by to share some helpful writing tips. 

Julie Anne Lindsey: About two years ago, I was in a bad place. I had a manuscript on submissions and it received wonderful compliments followed by things like: BUT we just picked up something too similar. Many. Many variations of that. It was an exhausting, infuriating time. I didn’t take it well.

Somehow my “intriguing”, “well-written,” “engaging” even “page turner” of a manuscript couldn’t find a home because I was late to the party. Well. I screamed. A lot. Eventually, I threw my hands up and quit writing. Forever. And I meant it. But it didn’t stick.

Soon, desperation took over.

I went back to the drawing board and I asked myself: What hasn’t been done a thousand times in YA? I came up with Vikings. Literally. I borrowed the term Vikings, deemed them demigods, and built a world of mythology to support them. Then, I took my hero, a boy who was mysterious because his family had mental issues circa Bates Motel and I made him a Viking instead.

Extreme. I know, but sometimes a supercharged, mega dose of creativity (or in this case a bit of a creative tantrum) helps.

Nancy: Sometimes an author needs to get out of their comfort zone.

Julie Anne Lindsey: I changed my “safe” storyline and went with something I loved, but had long been afraid to approach. I embraced my love of Thor and Loki, Odin and Zeus (Yeah, I like both Greek and Norse mythology) and I wrote my very first fantasy romance.

Vikings. Huzzah!

Plus there’s kissing. Always with the kissing.

Thanks to that act of writerly desperation, my debut YA fantasy, PROPHECY, arrived in September from Lyrical Press/Kensington, and I am one happy author, excited to share my enthusiasm for making mythology mainstream.

Fellow writers, I have to throw this out there: If you’re debating a crazy concept, I encourage you to go for it. Why not? What do you have to lose? Sure, writing outside your comfort zone can be scary, riddled with uncertainty and yes, intimidating, but if you’re not writing with passion and finding joy in the process, then maybe you’re doing it wrong (like I was) and maybe it’s time to start again. Then again, what do I know? I write about Vikings and sea nymphs in Ohio. It’s totally your call if you want to take advice from crazy o_0.

Nancy: Great advice! Now...please share Three things readers might not know about you:

Julie Anne Lindsey: Okay

1) I’m madly obsessed with Alice in Wonderland

2) I’m a shameless fangirl of about a zillion fandoms

3) My childhood dream was to marry the Goblin King from Labyrinth.

Prophecy, book 1, the Calypso series

On the other side of death, is destiny.

Callie Ingram is spending her senior year focused on one thing: swimming. Her skill as a competitive swimmer is going to secure a scholarship and her future, or so she hopes. She has big plans, and Liam Hale, her gorgeous new neighbor, isn’t going to affect them. But when Callie sees Liam beheading someone, she learns his family has a secret that will change everything. The Hales are Vikings, demi-gods who’ve been charged by The Fates to find their new destined leader.

Callie’s caught in the middle of a budding Norse apocalypse, in love with Liam Hale and desperate to protect her best friend—who the Hales believe is marked for transformation. Putting the clues together as fast as she can, Callie discovers she has the power to rewrite destiny, for herself and all humankind.

*Excerpt or excerpt link (optional: 300 words or less, no hotter than PG13) *optional

Readers can buy Prophecy at online retailers for $.99 through January 31^st!  

     Amazon    B&N               Kensington              iTunes

*What’s next for you?

Prophecy’s sequel, Goddess, arrives in 2015. I’m extremely excited about this. Prophecy allowed me to set up the world, establish characters and dynamics as well as introduce my mythology in modern day Ohio. That done, Goddess allowed me to dive in with frost giants, epic battles and more mythological players from the very first page. It was a ton of fun and I’m giddy for readers to find it.

I’ve also contracted a new YA with Lyrical/Kensington for release in early 2016. I walked away from mythology for this one, tentatively titled, In Place of Never. This is a dark, issue driven romance about a troubled girl and a traveling side show. I love it.  (Of course, I’m somewhat biased).

Outside the YA realm, I have a three book contract with Carina Press for a set of quirky, upbeat mysteries, tentatively titled the Geek Girl Mysteries. They will release in 2015 and 2016.

I have some busy months ahead. I can’t wait!

A little bit about the author

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. She’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for words and proclivity for fun. Julie lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world.

You can find more information about Julie Anne Lindsey and my book, Prophecy at:

Julieannelindsey.com

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Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Laura Browning

I invited author Laura Browning to talk about her latest book.

Broken Heart is a contemporary romance and was released on October 1st.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book. Broken Heart is the fourth book in a series about a family that is a cross between the Hearsts of newspaper fame and the Kennedys.  Each book is a stand-alone, and this one is about Stacey Barlow-Barrett. Stacey is married, but not happily. When her marriage blows up, it’s the lover she dumped who’s there to pick up the pieces. Stacey travels a very rough road to a happily ever after, but it’s also an HEA that includes some big changes on her part.

Describe the genre of this particular title, and is it the only genre you write in? Broken Heart, and its sister stories, are all contemporary romance, which is what I primarily write. I have also written a couple of paranormals involving Selkies, and self-published three vampire novels.

Why have you become a published author? I have to write. I would suspect that’s the response a lot of writers make. I suppose I could have continued to write and never have sought publication, but that would be, as my husband said, like the woodcutter who cuts and stacks his logs in the forest and then simply lets them lie there rather than warming someone’s hearth. I hope my books warm someone’s heart or just provide some relaxation and entertainment.   

What is your writing routine like?  I wish I had a routine. Right now, while I’m working on my master’s degree, there is no routine. I write fiction on those rare occasions when I have some free time. At the moment, the majority of my writing is research-based papers.

Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped? I am a member of Romance Writers of America and the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers Chapter. I cannot say enough about how helpful this has been. I have met some wonderful people, made great friends, and received invaluable craft and business information. RWA and its member chapters are wonderfully supportive to all writers.

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?  Don’t. Give. Up. I am firmly convinced that being a successful, published author is the result not only of luck, but persistence. I always think of that saying about lottery games—you can’t win if you don’t play. Well, you can’t be published if you don’t submit your work.

Please Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.
1) I have an EMMY from when I worked in television news, but the really unusual thing about it is we have the statue on the mantelpiece…sitting on top of the handmade wooden box holding my father-in-law’s ashes. Before you say, wow, this woman’s really weird…my father-in-law was gravely ill at the time I was supposed to travel to the EMMY awards ceremony. My husband insisted I go because he said that’s what his dad would want, even though I insisted I had a snowball’s chance in you-know-what of winning. I went, I won, and shortly after I returned, my father-in-law passed away. When we set his ashes on the mantel, I jokingly picked up the statue and said, “Pa, this is for you,” and set it down…the base of the statue exactly fit the lip of the box. So there they both stay, together.

2) I’ve ridden in a Swiss Army rescue chopper along with a Great Dane as part of an airlift off a mountain after a train malfunctioned.

3) I once punched a Frenchman in the face while riding a train from Zurich to London.

What’s next for you? Right now it’s concentrating on completing my master’s degree in education.

BOOK BLURB
Stacey Barlow-Barrett has the perfect life–or, at least, the illusion of one. She’s married to the man her parents approved, and she’s making it work. But keeping up appearances is wearing her down. Her husband, Jace, wants to start a family. Her former lover, Mason, is a business associate she can’t cut off, and he twists the knife at every opportunity. Trying to make everyone happy–everyone except herself–has her on the verge of a breakdown.

When Jace’s best friend moves in, everything that seemed tenuously tolerable is now completely unbearable, and Stacey realizes something is very wrong in her marriage. Jace is keeping up appearances too, and it’s at Stacey’s expense.

Mason is the only one she can turn to for help…if he can forgive her for marrying Jace while the sheets were still warm from their last encounter. And even if he does forgive her, and she does dig her way out of the mess her marriage has become, Stacey may not be ready for what he needs in return: love.

Read an Excerpt HERE
 

Other books available from Laura browning

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I live in the rolling country of central North Carolina in the middle of a small farm along with my husband and son. My background with horses and journalism was the initial impetus for this series, of which Broken Heart is the fourth book. In addition to writing, I teach high school English to at-risk students and am currently studying for a master’s degree in education. In my non-existent spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and my menagerie, now down to one horse, four dogs, a cat, and a lizard (who really isn’t the most exciting pet).

How can my readers buy your book?  

Readers can go to the publisher’s HOME PAGE

Find more information about Laura

and her book, Broken Heart, at:

 

WEBSITE     BLOG    TWITTER   

 

FACEBOOK    GOODREADS