Farewell, and Thank You for All the Interviews

After three years, 127 contests, and 149 interviews, I am retiring Number One Novels.

The first author NON interviewed

I started the blog as a writer looking for inspiration and hope: The 2008 economy was spreading panic through the publishing industry, publishing houses were collapsing, imprints being absorbed or disappearing, and the layoffs were snowballing. Wild, fear-riddled claims surfaced that publishing houses weren’t buying new authors, that the market was harder than ever to break into. Panic was presented as often as facts.

I wanted to create a place where panic didn't exist and where there was a positive, hopeful voice for aspiring writers. I wanted to celebrate the successes I knew were being experienced. So I went in hunt of debut authors…and found them by the handfuls. Across all fiction genres, in all publishing houses, debut novels were cropping up. Even better, all these authors were nice enough to chat with me about their books! 

The most popular post

Every author I met was kind, courteous, and often funny. Somewhere along the way I lost my perception of a platform raised beneath published writers and began to see authors for who they are: real people, and really nice ones, at that. I greatly appreciate every author who took the time respond thoughtfully and engagingly to my questions. Thank you so much for all your wisdom and candor!

Like the authors, all the fans of the blog I talked with were enthusiastic and charming. I would not have maintained my energy and passion for the blog without your support. Thank you to each person who followed the blog, friended NON on Shelfari, and followed or liked NON on Facebook!

NON gained 300 followers

The decision to end the blog was not easily made. I have enjoyed these three years of new interviews, meeting new authors, and spreading the word about debut novels. I've taken inspiration from each interview and came away with renewed energy to devote to my own writing. 

However, I can no longer supply the time and energy to both the blog and my goal to become a published author. Number One Novels has inspired me, given me hope for my own success, and served as a cattle prod when laziness was far more attractive than a daily writing session. It’s now time for me to devote my full energy to writing. Hopefully one day soon, you’ll see my name on a book cover at your local bookstore. 

If you’re a writer, I hope Number One Novels has inspired you with optimism and ideas for your own success—and I’m sorry I won’t be able to interview you in the future. If you’re a reader, I hope you’ve found a plethora of new authors. Thank you so much for returning to the blog each week to learn about authors fresh off the presses!

Thank you,

Rebecca Chastain

As a final note: I was not the first person to have the idea to interview debut authors. I took the idea from Scott William Carter, starting Number One Novels when he retired The First Book. I would be delighted if someone were to take up the gauntlet after me. If you’re interested in running Number One Novels, please contact me. I would be happy to hand over the blog, relinquish my claim on the domain name, make you admin on the Facebook and Shelfari accounts, and send you my extensive tracking sheets on authors I’ve interviewed or planned to.

Tricia Fields: The Territory

Enter for a chance to win two copies of The Territory. Contest open in the United States only.

Number One Novels: Congratulations on the publication of your first book! Tell me a little about it—what's your pitch?

Tricia Fields: Thank you! It’s been a long time coming, so I’m thrilled to finally see all the pieces falling into place. Here’s the publisher’s brief synopsis of the book:

At the end of State Road 170 and just past a ghost town lies Artemis, population 2,500. The townspeople sought out this remote corner of Western Texas in hopes of living lives of solitude and independence. None of them realized that their small town would become a hot spot for Mexican drug runners, whose turf battles have turned both sides of the Rio Grande into a war zone. After arresting one of the cartel's hit men and killing another, Chief of Police Josie Gray finds her life at risk for doing a job that some would rather see her quit. And when the town's self-appointed protector of the Second Amendment is murdered and his cache of weapons disappears, it's clear that she doesn't have to pick sides in this war. She's battling them both. 

Set in a desert landscape as beautiful as it is dangerous, The Territory captures the current border issues from the eyes of a tough, compelling heroine and richly evokes the American Southwest.

NON: How did you get the idea for your novel?

TF: I fell in love with the southwest in the '80s after reading Edward Abbey’s, Desert Solitaire. While having never lived in the desert, I’ve spent years there in my mind, drawn to authors such as Tony Hillerman, Elmore Leonard, and Larry McMurtry. Over the past ten years I’ve been drawn as well to the story in northern Mexico: the spread of the cartels, the chaos along the border, the inability of local and national authorities to gain control, and the destruction of lives on both sides of the border. Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas is considered by many to be the most dangerous city in the world. It is terrifying - and it is on our doorstep.

The following questions framed almost everything I read concerning the southwest over the past few years: How are people’s lives affected when their town is overtaken by criminals and their lives consumed with fear? How are the good people of Mexico, the good people along both sides of the border, holding it together in the middle of such chaos? How would a female chief of police protect a town facing the fear of anarchy when resources are scarce to nonexistent? The search for answers to these questions ultimately led to the development of a female cop who is tough enough, and flawed enough, to take the job, and was eventually the impetus behind The Territory.

NON: No two authors seem to take the same route to publication, but almost every author has an interesting story about their journey. How did you get published? Did you use an agent? How did you find out that your book had sold?

TF: I submitted my manuscript to the Tony Hillerman contest for Best First Mystery set in the southwest. My story is set in West Texas, so it was a good fit, but I really didn’t expect anything to come of it. Four months later, I received a phone call from an editor at St. Martin’s asking if I had placed my book. He explained that I had won the Hillerman prize. Within two weeks I had received a book contract and was working on my first edit. Two months later I attended the Wordharvest conference in Santa Fe to accept the award and to meet with Peter Joseph, editor from St. Martins.

Because I was signing a fairly basic publishing contract for the first book I didn’t sign with an agent. And, Peter was a great support, and walked me through the various expectations for an author during their first year of publication. I recently signed with agent Dominick Abel for my second book. There’s a blog on my website that details that story (too long for this post) but it’s a nice series of connections. I’ll just say this – I had received 26 agent rejections prior to winning the Hillerman. Since then, things have fallen into place like I had always imagined. I didn’t sign a publishing contract until book number six – so if you’re reading this and have only written a book or two, don’t give up. It takes lots of patience and perseverance!

NON: I think that names say a lot about a person, especially a fictional person. How did you decide on your protagonist’s full name? Did you have any other names that were in the running?

TF: I’m a huge Clint Eastwood fan. I love his old westerns, especially The Outlaw Josey Wales. So, in my own mind, my protagonist, Josie Gray, is a modern-day female version. And, her last name seemed fitting in light of the desert setting and the bleak outlook on life that she has – one that she constantly battles. Josie, like her male counterpart, is complicated, deeply private, and introspective; the kind of character I think about long after the movie is over… or the last page is turned.

NON: Do you have another book in the works?

TF: Yes, draft one of book two is complete. I’m just entering the editing phase. And, the first scene of my third book has morphed into something I’m really excited about exploring. I sat down at the computer a few days ago and was able to spin out a basic plot outline based on my mental image of that scene. I have no doubt it will all completely change, but at least I have something to focus my energy on while I’m editing my second book.

NON: What's your writing routine? Do you write in the mornings, nights, daily, or when the mood strikes you?

TF: I am a curriculum coordinator for a public school corporation during the day, and I have two high school–aged girls who are active in sports and band. I’ve learned to write whenever I can. As I mentioned before, I typically write in the living room or at the kitchen table, on my laptop, in the evenings or on the weekends. I also have school holiday breaks that come in handy for writing marathons.

I’m a procrastinator my nature, so I’ve learned to set writing goals for myself, and to stick with them. Otherwise, with my day job and kids' schedules I wouldn’t get anything accomplished. It would be too easy to slack off. I set weekly and monthly writing goals, and I log them on an Excel spreadsheet. It’s a great motivator for me.

NON: What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?

TF: I procrastinate with little things: meaningless house chores, a third cup of coffee, checking the online bank statement, checking email (a huge time-sucker but it’s awfully tempting), starting something for dinner, giving the dogs fresh water, starting a load of laundry. Really, you’d think I’d rather just sit at the computer and write!

NON: What’s your favorite non-essential item on your desk?

TF: I don’t have a desk. I write all over the place with my laptop – the car, the porch swing, bed, the couch. I typically harass the kids into turning off the TV so that I can work on my laptop in the living room. I love to write surrounded by my kids and husband, but the TV can be distracting. My husband, fortunately, prefers sports when he has the TV on, so I’m happy with the football season right now. Sporting events are like white noise to me. I can get lost in my writing, and not miss a thing going on with the rest of the family.

NON: What are you currently reading?

TF: I just finished an excellent book by Tom Zoellner called Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock that Shaped the World. I read it while researching for my last book. It’s a fascinating account of the bizarre history of uranium, from secret mines in the Congo all the way to the bombs that destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Most amazing to me were his accounts of the scientists who unlocked the secrets inside the heaviest natural element on earth. Once they understood the instability of the atom, there were an amazing number of discoveries that led directly to the atomic bomb – and what a ride it was. Zoellner illustrates the capacity for horror locked inside this rock without ever becoming melodramatic or using scare tactics. The facts do that just fine on their own! It’s a fascinating book.

Title: The Territory

Author: Tricia Fields

Publisher: Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books

Hardcover: 278 pages

ISBN: 978-0-312-61378-5

eBook ISBN: 0312613784

Cate Morgan: Brighid's Cross

This contest is closed. The winner is:

Pamk

Enter for a chance to win an ecopy of Brighid's Cross. Contest open worldwide.

Number One Novels: Congratulations on the publication of your first book! Tell me a little about it—what's your pitch?

Cate Morgan: In the year 2025, humanity is on the cusp of the next big evolutionary stage--and the apocalypse. Elements of different belief systems are beginning to show themselves--angels, demons, champions for humanity born of the fae--but hardly anyone is noticing. Parts of London have been destroyed in a second Blitz, and one of these champions struggles to protect the dregs of society that live in the wake of destruction from the all-seeing eyes of ruling mega-conglommerate, Dreamtech.

Then she’s found--by a hacker who needs her help in taking down Dreamtech and also by Dreamtech’s security chief, an old friend-turned-antagonist. Dreamtech either wants her as a weapon, or they want her dead for being a liability. And she has to make tough decisions regarding the sacrifice of what she wants for a greater cause--as long as she can take Dreamtech down with her. It’s all about the freedom to make choices, even if those choices aren’t particularly pleasant.

*laughs* If ever there was a kitchen-sink sort of a story, this is it. Apocalyptic, yes, but it also encompasses urban and paranormal fantasy, with cyberpunk elements spiced up with a bit of romance.

NON: How did you get the idea for your novel?

CM: Every few months or so Samhain Publishing, Ltd sends out a special call for a themed anthology. I’d toyed with the idea of trying for one before, but I never seemed to get past the finishing line--nothing ever seemed quite right. But I loved the idea of letting the central theme spawn ideas--and pushing myself out of my comfort zone while still remaining true to my voice.

That was the first inkling. I think most writers will say that ideas are the easy part.  It all starts by asking “what if” a lot, rather like a determined three-year-old. Insatiable curiosity carries with it a great deal of momentum. I had to research theories regarding the purported End of Days in 2012 (i.e. watching a lot of Discovery Channel). I talked with my husband, one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. Writers don’t usually have to go far in search of inspiration at this stage of the journey--ideas are everywhere.

It all boiled down to: what did I think was going to happen in the near future, not just in 2012 but after? That is, after all, what Samhain’s special call was asking me to do.  Was it going to be Bladerunner or Matrix? Or something else altogether? When I realized 2025-ish wasn’t so far away as all that, I also realized I had to look at what was happening  now as a springboard to what might happen then.

This also got me to thinking about the past and the strange similarities in the beliefs of ancient cultures.

For instance, the Flood story is found nearly everywhere, from what I can tell. What the ancient Greeks and Romans believed wasn’t so different from the Norse or Celts. The Greeks had the Titans and the gods duking it out. The Celts had Fomorians and Tuatha de Danann doing the same. Only the Celts didn’t believe either were gods, but a race of specially powered, human-like beings capable of great feats. They were heroes, and it was considered the height of good form to emulate them as much as possible.

And, of course, being rather keen on the drink and a good party, they often got out to cause havoc and inexplicable babies among their worshippers. When Christianity came along with the old “Repent ye” dog and pony show, many of the old beliefs were integrated into the new as a method of conversion. As a consequence, folks like Brighid were canonized into sainthood.

Now, Brighid has a church in Co. Kildare, Ireland. The original is long gone, but at the time it housed
a fire tended by nineteen priestesses so that it never went out. And it never did, for centuries.  Brighid’s Flame is still lit today, with one or two interruptions in recent history, and newish digs still in Kildare.

That really got me to thinking. What if the priestesses were still around current day.? What if they weren’t necessarily priestesses in the traditional sense, but champions directly descended from Brighid? What if, in the near future, the Danann and all the rest of them start showing up again to claim a stake in humanity’s destiny and the apocalypse? Not only was my protagonist born, but so was the concept for a potential series.

You see what I mean about insatiable curiosity.

NON: No two authors seem to take the same route to publication, but almost every author has an interesting story about their journey. How did you get published? Did you use an agent? How did you find out that your book had sold?

CM: I got very, very lucky. Seriously.

I mentioned Samhain’s Special Calls for themed anthologies, and how I really wanted to try my hand at it. Well, the Cyberpunk anthology was announced, so I got right to work. I have so many ideas, you see--I literally have a Little Black Book of them--but not all of them were necessarily appropriate, length-wise, for full novels. And I am complete rubbish when it comes to short stories--it’s a skill I’ve never honed. But e-pubs really opened up the novella market, and fantasy had finally hit mainstream. The stars, I figured, were just about aligned.  Here was my platform. It was time to get to work.

Turns out I was a wee, teensy-bit wrong. I did my research, developed my characters and plot, but then I suffered a couple of false starts and new something wasn’t right. I was doing something wrong, but damned if I could figure it out. I broke a sweat, I think.

Here, I think, is where a lot of writers get frustrated and give up. But I couldn’t.  There were too many stories to tell, and too many voices in my head to give me any amount of peace. I don’t think I was telling the wrong story, per se, but there were aspects that weren’t true to it, if you see what I mean. It was coming out much less cyberpunky than I intended. I’d imagined something a bit Bladerunner-y or Shadowrun, but it wasn’t fitting into that framework. It was, quite frankly, giving me an awful lot of trouble. I didn’t have a block--I was still writing--it just wasn’t right.

Everything happens for a reason. I was slogging along, trying to navigate my way past the proverbial pickle, when in my desperation I went back to the Special Call announcement to see if I’d missed anything, or if there were key words or phrases that might trigger my Creativity Response System.

What I found instead was a new call--for the End of Days anthology. Reading about the editor, Bethany Morgan, and her passion for all things apocalyptic, I knew in my gut this was the right venue for what I was trying to do. Here, I wouldn’t have to stuff tissue paper into the heel to make this shoe fit, as I’d been trying to.

I reworked character and story. Rewrote some stuff. Wrote other stuff. Typed until my fingers bled (kidding). In other words, I worked my rosy red Irish butt off, scribbling my heart out. I had to force myself to rebalance, to take a break to refill the well. I used all my breaks and lunch hours at work. People were baffled and concerned when I stopped showing up places I would normally be found. I told them any number of things--I was taking a class, my schedule had changed, I’d taken up lion-taming--anything but that I was writing. Not because I was embarrassed by it, but because I didn’t want to waste precious time talking about it--I just wanted to do it. I was like a freight train with rocket boosters in the back: I knew I was going to be a wreck once I reached my destination, but reach it I would, even if it killed me.

I also nearly ran out of time. Submissions were due March 30, 2011. I had something like three days to polish and submit, and I hadn’t even gotten to writing the synopsis yet. I did the only thing I possibly could: my very best. I was determined to see it through. I submitted everything one or two hours to spare, quite literally, a little wild-eyed and drooling to be sure. *laughs*

A decision was to be made by April 15. I played the Waiting Game, and I was losing badly. Rejection I can handle--it was the waiting that was killing me by inches.  I waffled like a Denny’s special breakfast between being elated that I’d done it and pragmatism I would get a “good” reject--meaning a reject letter with some personal note. The editor enjoyed this or that, wasn’t so keen on this other thing or would have preferred kangaroos to elephants. Anything, really, to indicate I was on the  right track and I could move forward instead being banished back to the drawing board.

The week the decision came was Epic in bad karma. I mean, nothing seemed to go right and I found myself ass over tea kettle more often than not. On April 15 I came home from work in an absolutely foul, talk-to-me-and-die-a brutal-horrible-death mood. When I opened my email and saw the response from Beth I couldn’t bring myself to open it. The very last thing I needed at that particular moment in time was a reject. Any other day, sure, it would suck but I could handle it.  Re-evaluate, come up with a Plan. But not today, not after the week I’d had. I found myself more interested in penis enlargement advertisements than that email.

Needless to say, the email was actually an acceptance letter, and my first. Ever. I read it like I was tiptoeing through a mine field waiting for the “but” to hit me. I reread it something like eighteen times to be sure I hadn’t missed anything, and then the stress I’d been experiencing didn’t so much as melt as explode. I think I screamed, because the cats scattered and my husband came running to find me in tears.

Yep, right over the edge.

NON: I think that names say a lot about a person, especially a fictional person. How did you decide on your protagonist’s full name? Did you have any other names that were in the running?

CM: I always try a couple of different names until one sticks.  I tend to gravitate to “A” and hard “C” names for my main female characters, I don’t know why. Aika is shortened from the Greek Aikaterine and has a certain near-futuristic, almost anime taste to it I think worked well. I lifted Lareto, quite shamelessly, from the author of the book of Celtic names I use, because it paired nicely with Aika. Aikaterine is thought to mean  “clean” or “pure.”

I think there’s certain amount of assumption anyone Irish must meet certain naming conventions to be identified as Irish, but it simply isn’t true--there’s actually a significant Muslim presence in Ireland I don’t think gets talked about much this side of the pond. The world is a much, much smaller place these days, and it’s only going to be smaller in 2025.

NON: Do you have another book in the works?

CM: Currently I’m working on the second book of the series that was spawned by Brighid’s Cross. The series I’m calling "Keepers of the Flame" after the priestesses of Brighid that tended her fire in Kildare for so many centuries. The working title of Book 2 is Marked and takes place in New Orleans, one of my favorite cities ever. It has soul, and passion--and I’m not just talking about the food. And I’m not just saying that because I got engaged there! It takes place in the same universe as Cross but with different characters. I’m working on the first draft now.

I’m also mid-first draftery of a more traditional, full-length fantasy novel I hope will help in getting me an agent. I’d love to sell this one to DAW, but that’s just high hopes on my part. Fantasy is my first love reading-wise, so naturally that’s where my writing gravitates.

NON: What's your writing routine? Do you write in the mornings, nights, daily, or when the mood strikes you?

CM: I have a full-time day job so writing tends to take place in the evenings and the majority of weekends. I tend to do a great deal of prep work, so I do a lot of that during my lunch hour and during the first few months of a new story before drafting a single word. However, a significant amount of that prep work ends up as text or world-building. Then I break the story up into scenes and scenes into components, and then I take a draft scene by scene. I really feel the key to writing a lot is to master writing in scenes. Other writers feel this is a bit rigid, but it helps me hone my craft, and is more conducive to discovery than one might think. I do a lot of brainstorming--the planning part just helps me get to the destination.

NON: What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?

CM: Hoo-boy. I’m addicted to any kind of storytelling. Books. Movies. TV. Computer games are especially dangerous in my hands. I love creating a character and adventuring in a different world. Netflix is my crack--so many stories, so little time.

NON:What’s your favorite non-essential item on your desk?

CM: Do the cats count? I also have a rather large stuffed Hedwig eyeing me balefully from a stack of books. Probably because I’m not writing. We have interesting and strange conversations, mostly in my head. Harry would be appalled.

NON:What are you currently reading?

CM: Gail Carriger’s “Parasol Protectorate” series, which I’m loving all the way down to my little fuzzy storyteller’s heart. Also, Kait Nolan’s Red, which is remarkable in so many ways.

Title: Brighid’s Cross

Author: Cate Morgan
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd
eBook only: 56 pages. (The entire End of Days anthology will be in print December 2012, just in time for the apocalypse!)
eBook ISBN: 9781609286316

Lia Habel: Dearly, Departed

This contest is closed. The winner is:

JenM

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Dearly, Departed. Contest open in the United States only.

Number One Novels: Congratulations on the publication of your first book! Tell me a little about it—what's your pitch?

Lia Habel: Thanks! I pitched the book mainly as a star-crossed-lovers story, set in a futuristic Victorian world – but I was also very open about the fact that it’s about zombies. To tell the truth, I’m amazed it got as much interest as it did! I wrote it for my own amusement, and I know I’m weird.

The story itself is set in a sprawling tribal territory known as New Victoria, in the year 2195. The New Victorians are quite open about the fact that they’re modeling themselves after the “First Victorians,” and use high technology to achieve that goal – holographic Victorian building facades, electric horseless carriages, etc. A splinter group, known as the Punks, was driven out of New Victoria a few decades back. The Punks were branded as terrorists, dangerous neo-Luddites, although their anti-digital, anti-aristocratic views are a bit more complicated than that. They formed their own civilization, and the two tribes are still duking it out over the Border.

So my hero, Bram, and my heroine, Nora, basically have nothing going for them. He’s Punk; she’s New Victorian. He’s from farm stock and started mining to help support his family; she’s an upper-middle-class girl who gets to go to the best school in the Territories. He’s a zombie, and she’s alive. I wanted to emphasize all of their differences, because they’re in synch in almost every other respect. They’re both incredibly strong characters, and they’ll fight to the ends of the earth to stay together as long as they can – but it can’t be forever. That’s a big part of it. This is not a “and then they were magically happy forever” type of story – it’s a story that emphasizes the ride, because the destination is perfectly clear. My zombies are not immortal.

Additionally, I set out to sell a book that included romance, but wasn’t just about the romance. There’s action and adventure and comedy – it’s a big book. It’s hopefully going to be a big series.

Looking at it all now, I have absolutely no idea how my agent convinced anyone to buy it! I feel so incredibly lucky.

NON: How did you get the idea for your novel?

LH: I started writing the novel for fun! I never dreamed it would get this far. So it’s definitely me there on the page – all my likes, all my pet peeves, my sense of humor. I’ve always identified as an anachronist – even as a little girl, I felt like I’d been born in the wrong time period. And yet, I love modern technology. I like to blend the two together, at least in my personal life. So I don’t feel creative at all, there – I feel pretty lazy for going that route!

Additionally, I was raised on horror, and I have a deep, deep love of monsters. I’ve always been sympathetic to the plight of the “hideous beast” the hero was determined to slay – and I’ve almost never found myself attracted to the men that everyone else thinks are hot. I love the ability of monsters to tell us the truth about ourselves – our prejudices, our fears, our lack of understanding. To me they’re beautiful, and as a set of characters they have some of the most touching histories, amazing personalities, and incredible gifts. So I wanted to tell a story about characters like that – characters that have monstrous limitations as well as inhuman abilities and experiences.

That’s probably what I most wanted to do. I wanted to tell a story about a monster that I identified with. Zombies are incredible metaphoric devices, and are capable of doing so much more than wandering about and chomping limbs. They’re tragedy on wheels, and they can live lives of total honesty. I love zombies when they’re allowed to be human – because they are.

NON: No two authors seem to take the same route to publication, but almost every author has an interesting story about their journey. How did you get published? Did you use an agent? How did you find out that your book had sold?

LH: I really feel like I stumbled into it. I knew I was good at academic writing, but I never imagined I was talented enough to create or sell a piece of fiction like this. I still wouldn’t call myself talented!

Everything went insanely fast. I wrote the entire first draft in about 45 days – again, it was for fun, so I wasn’t holding myself to publishable standards. After I finished it someone suggested I look into publishing, and I thought, “Sure! Let’s see how far this joke can go!”

So I went to AgentQuery and read all about querying, drafted a letter, and sent it off. I think altogether I queried about 17 agents, and got several bites. One of them was my agent, who signed me about two months later. He told me over and over again that he wasn’t an editor, but together we made some fantastic preliminary revisions. That took about seven or eight months. He then began work on his end.

The Sale Call was wild. If I remember correctly my agent was in Budapest, of all places, and he was already handling a bidding war. That first night was kind of fraught, because one of the deals had some wicked stipulations. So we decided to gamble on waiting. A few days later the war exploded, and a final deal was decided on.

When he called to tell me about it, I was literally shaking. Outright trembling. I’d never been very good at holding down a job, working outside the house – I sucked at being an adult, frankly. I had to take minimum-wage job after minimum-wage job just to try to pay my bills. The idea that I’d done something that big was really overwhelming. I didn’t believe it was real for the longest time – I think that’s what contributed to me losing my hair! (Which was awful, but now I love my wigs. Everything happens for a reason!)

NON: I think that names say a lot about a person, especially a fictional person. How did you decide on your protagonist’s full name? Did you have any other names that were in the running?

LH: Nora Dearly’s name story is rather boring. I just love the name Nora. However, the name itself is related to the name “Honora,” which fits her perfectly – she’s tough and honorable. Dearly was necessary in order to fit the title, but I also like it as a play on the Darling family of Peter Pan.

Bram Griswold’s name has more meat behind it (ha, ha). I chose the name Bram as a nod to Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula – and his full name, Abraham, is a personal in-joke. I like to refer to the characters of Bub and Big Daddy from the Romero zombie-verse as the Adam and the Moses of the “heroic” zombie world, so I thought, “I’ll make an Abraham!” Griswold means “gray forest” in German, which fits him, and there’s a sizable German population in modern-day Brazil, where he was born.

There are a lot of other characters that have deliberate names, too. Baldwin Samedi is a nod to Baron Samedi of voodoo lore; Vespertine Mink gets her last name from the description of Hannibal Lecter that refers to him as a “cemetery mink”; Pamela Roe gets her name from the novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded…I could go on for pages!

NON: Do you have another book in the works?

LH: I’m working on the sequel now, which is entitled Dearly, Beloved. I’m hoping to have the chance to write more Dearly books after that! I’m also working on an unsolicited idea, just on my own – I need to write for my own amusement. It’s the only way anything gets done. It doesn’t involve zombies, but it does involve monsters.

NON: What's your writing routine? Do you write in the mornings, nights, daily, or when the mood strikes you?

LH: When I’m “on” (working on an idea, or on deadline), I usually write from the moment I wake up to about midday, but it takes however long it takes. I can’t just write when the mood strikes me – I’d never write! I really push myself to produce, even if what I produce is horrible – all that work could plant the seeds for future awesomeness. You never know what’s going to happen between you and the keyboard.

NON: What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?

LH: Video games! I’m currently (September) playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution and loving every second of it – in fact, the aesthetics of the game feel very familiar to me. The blend of cyberpunk tech with Victorian and Elizabethan textiles and rococo furniture – fantastic. I love games that are like big, amazing interactive texts for me to explore. The level of metaphor in this game is astounding. Now I sound like a total fangirl – but I really want to live in this game!

I also like to read articles online (Reddit is great for that), and chat with people. But I’m not very social, even online. I’m very shy and introverted. Which is why I’m always grateful when people approach me first!

Oh, and shopping. With my style of dress, you can’t just walk into the mall and find what you want. So I actually spend a lot of time browsing clothing and accessories online and planning outfits – all of which have to be bought far in advance of events for the inevitable tailoring. But I wouldn’t call that my “favorite” way to procrastinate – I feel guilty every time I hand over my credit card number! Even if I do enjoy the end results.

NON: What’s your favorite non-essential item on your desk?

LH: My skull-shaped USB hub. I love the idea of plugging my tech into a skull. I’m dark, I know.

NON: What are you currently reading?

LH: The Red Market by Scott Carney. I read a lot of nonfiction – this book is about the international trade in human flesh and bodies. I tend to read a lot of stuff like this – books on medicine, disease, science, the funeral business, grieving and dying, etc. It all goes into the zombies one way or the other. Strangely enough, I don’t find it depressing. There’s probably something deeply wrong with me – I pray I never find out what it is. It’d spoil the fun.

Title: Dearly, Departed

Author: Lia Habel

Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine/Random House

Hardcover: 480 pages

ISBN: 0345523318

eBook ISBN: B004J4XA2I

Linda Poitevin: Sins of the Angels

This contest is closed. The winner is:

Pamk

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Sins of the Angels. Contest open in the United States only.

Number One Novels: Congratulations on the publication of your first book! Tell me a little about it—what's your pitch?

Linda Poitevin: Thank you so much for asking me here today, Rebecca! Sins of the Angels is the first in a dark urban fantasy series that brings traditional angel mythology into a real-world suspense/thriller. The book is part paranormal, part mystery, part police procedural, and all action.

NON: How did you get the idea for your novel?

LP: I started writing what I thought would be a paranormal romance about an angel, but when I began doing research, I got caught up in the mythology and Lucifer’s story, and the whole angel-hierarchy thing. The storyline kept growing and evolving and next thing I knew, I had a whole series mapped out. And, while a strong romantic element remained, the story is definitely no longer a romance!

NON: No two authors seem to take the same route to publication, but almost every author has an interesting story about their journey. How did you get published? Did you use an agent? How did you find out that your book had sold?

LP: The road to publication was a long one for me, as it is for many writers. I did previously publish a contemporary romance through a small press, but my real dream was to see my stories on bookstore shelves. Sins of the Angels actually took me almost ten years to complete—mostly because life had a habit of getting in the way. LOL Once it was polished, I began submitting to agents. I ended up having two simultaneous offers of representation, which was both amazing and traumatizing…I was terrified of making the "wrong" choice. I realize now that both choices would have been good for different reasons, but I’m thrilled that I chose the path I’m currently on. The work was far from over at that point, however!

Once I’d signed with my agent, she requested a full rewrite of the book…which traumatized me all over again! It took me weeks to quit sulking about the idea of giving up certain elements of my story, but once I got started on the revisions, I had to admit that my agent’s observations had been right. The story was so much stronger after her input—and she challenged me in ways that have made me a much, much better writer.

When the rewrite was done, we began submitting, of course, and in May 2010, Penguin USA made an offer for the first two books in the series. My agent called with the news, and “the call” was every bit as exciting as I’d dreamed it would be.

NON: I think that names say a lot about a person, especially a fictional person. How did you decide on your protagonist’s full name? Did you have any other names that were in the running?

LP: In the very early drafts of the book, Alex Jarvis (the heroine) was supposed to be Meghan Butler; if the book had remained a romance, she would probably have remained a Meghan. When I knew the story had become a dark urban fantasy, however, I wanted a stronger name for her—and I also wanted the name to have some kind of meaning within the story. I keep a baby name book on hand for researching character names, and when I found out that Alexandra means "defender of man," I knew it was perfect for her. The name really helped define her entire character.

NON: Do you have another book in the works?

LP: Book 2, Sins of the Son, is just going through its final editing processes now. It will be released March 27, 2012. While I’m only contracted for the two books at the moment, I’ve started working on book 3 in the series—with fingers crossed for its sale!

NON: What's your writing routine? Do you write in the mornings, nights, daily, or when the mood strikes you?

LP: I generally start at about 9:30 a.m. and go for as long as I can. In the first draft stage, that can be anywhere from one to several hours, depending on how well the story is unfolding for me at any given point. I have to stop at 1:30 no matter what so that I can pick up my youngest daughter from school—and yes, I have been known to be late on occasion (fortunately she’s not the panicky type!).

NON: What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?

LP: OMG, I am so addicted to Twitter and Facebook and my email…it’s really sad, especially given that I hated them all when I first started using them.

NON: What’s your favorite non-essential item on your desk?

LP: A wooden file organizer that belonged to my mother. It’s actually counterproductive for me as I use it as an excuse not to deal with paperwork as it comes in, but it was Mom’s, so it stays. And I’m pretty sure it would make her shake her head at me!

NON: What are you currently reading?

LP: The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces by Frank Wilczek. It’s research for a potential new series.

Title: Sinsof the Angels

Author: LindaPoitevin

Publisher: Ace (Penguin USA)

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

ISBN: 978-0441020911

Sandy Williams: The Shadow Reader

This contest is closed. The winner is:

JenM

Enter for a chance to win a copy of The Shadow Reader. Contest open in the United States only.

Number One Novels: Congratulations on the publication of your first book! Tell me a little about it—what's your pitch?

Sandy Williams: Thanks for the congrats! It’s incredibly exciting to see my first book on the shelves. The Shadow Reader is about McKenzie Lewis, a normal human who has been pulled into a civil war because of her ability to see and track the fae when they fissure (teleport) from one location to the next. She’s been reading the shadows for the fae’s king for ten years, helping him track down the rebels who are determined to overthrow him, but when we first meet McKenzie, she’s finally had enough of the fae interrupting her life. She’s going to get her bachelor’s degree and retire. All she needs to do is pass one last test, a test which is interrupted when the rebels kidnap her from her college campus. McKenzie is determined to stay loyal to the king and to escape, but the rebel’s leader, Aren, a charismatic and extremely attractive fae, has other plans for her.

NON: How did you get the idea for your novel?

SW: I had a scene written down in my notes file for a couple of years. It was an image of a girl hanging onto the edge of a metal platform, staring up into the grinning face of her enemy. That enemy was offering her his hand, and even though he was the only thing that might keep her from plummeting to her death, she told him to go to hell. That’s all I had to start with, but it was incredibly vivid in my mind. Once I made it through the first chapter of the book, I discovered the rest of the story a page at a time. It was extremely fun to write!

NON: No two authors seem to take the same route to publication, but almost every author has an interesting story about their journey. How did you get published? Did you use an agent? How did you find out that your book had sold?

SW: I do have an agent, the fabulous Joanna Volpe over at Nancy Coffey Lit!

How did I find out my book had sold? I don’t think I’ve written about this before. I don’t even think my agent knows, but in August of 2010, I was having one of the most horrible days ever. I’d just gotten off the phone with a doctor and was an emotional wreck. (Nothing serious; just an extremely frustrating condition!) I was attempting to copy a CD of medical records to send to another doctor and the stupid CD burner on my laptop wasn’t working. I called my husband and asked if he knew any tricks; he just told me to use the other computer. In the middle of using that other computer, my phone rang.

It said New York was calling. I almost didn’t pick it up. I knew it was probably Jo, but I really wasn’t in any condition to talk. But then, some little part of my brain was like, “It’s your agent! Pick up the damn phone!” So I did.

And she said we had an offer.

An offer!

OMG, my book had an offer!

I think the only coherent word I managed during that conversation was, “Really? REALLY?”

As soon as we hung up, I called my husband at work. This is when I started bawling. Seriously, I was crying so hard I couldn’t talk. I was afraid he was going to think I was dying or something, so I finally managed to get out, “I’m okay.” *sniff* *sniff* *cough* “I’m okay.” *sniff* *sniff* *cough*

He gently asked, “Is it the CD burner?”

I laughed/cried. “No. Jo called.” He pretty much figured it out from there.

NON: I think that names say a lot about a person, especially a fictional person. How did you decide on your protagonist’s full name? Did you have any other names that were in the running?

SW: I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I have this terrible habit of using placeholder names when I write a book. McKenzie was one of those names. I don’t have a clue why I chose it for a placeholder, but after writing the whole book using it, I couldn’t find a name I liked better. It just fit.

NON: Do you have another book in the works?

SW: I am currently working on the as-yet-untitled sequel to The Shadow Reader. After that, I hope to write another book from McKenzie’s POV, then I’d love to finish up one of the sci-fi romances I have in the works.

NON: What's your writing routine? Do you write in the mornings, nights, daily, or when the mood strikes you?

SW: Right now, my writing routine is to write every spare second of every day. I’m a bit behind on book two due to the pregnancy-from-hell and then the birth of my twin boys in July. Funny how newborn babies take up so much of your time!

NON: What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?

SW: I have a new favorite way to procrastinate! Couponing!

Nope. I’ve never watched Extreme Couponing, but after going to the store after my twins were born and spending over $100 on diapers and formula that would barely last a week, I just about died. If I want to stay home with my boys and write, I knew I had to get our finances under control. I started reading sites like Southern Savers and Money Saving Mom and learned how to shop sales and stack coupons. I’m by no means an expert yet, but I have saved a ton of money. I cringe now every time I think about how much money I wasted buying things when I needed them at full price instead of stocking up on the things I use when they’re on sale. Plus, couponing is fun and therapeutic!

NON: What’s your favorite non-essential item on your desk?

SW: Non-essential? Hmm. Diet Coke? But I don’t function so well without it.

NON: What are you currently reading?

SW: Nothing and I hate that! As I mentioned before, every spare second I have is devoted to finishing up book two. When I’m not writing, I’m hanging out with my boys or trying to catch up on some sleep (they’re still not sleeping through the night). The last two books I read (and absolutely loved!) were Jenn Bennett’s Kindling the Moon and Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran (I adore her books!). I have a huge TBR list and am dying to get back to it.

Title: The Shadow Reader

Author: Sandy Williams

Publisher: Ace

Mass Market: 307 pages

ISBN: 978-1937007010

eBook ISBN: B0052REUJI