Hi Anna! First I want to say welcome back to Two Chicks on
Books! It feels like forever since I’ve had you or your characters here to
visit! Thanks for stopping by to answer my questions!
How does it feel knowing the end to your series will be in
readers’ hands soon?
I’m more nervous than excited, really. There’s a
lot of pressure to wrapping up a trilogy the right way, and I’m not sure if the
path I took was the right one—but I’ll let the reader decide. It’s out of my
hands, and if I made the reader feel, then I’ve done my job.
Were any of the characters in the book inspired by people from
your real life?
I have the most boring answer to this
question—No. The characters are all people I’d like to know, so I made them up
in my head. Even in the case of the villains (yes, there are multiple
villains!), I didn’t draw from experience. It’d be pretty scary if I actually
knew someone that evil.
Has your writing changed at all from OF POSEIDON to OF NEPTUNE?
I think so. OF POSEIDON starts out as a light,
romantic read, but by the time you get to OF NEPTUNE, you have what I would
call a romantic thriller (Is that a thing?). The mood of my writing changed
from each book, but what I’m hoping is that my writing improved each time. I
think that’s the goal of every author, to step it up with the next book.
What can readers expect in this final installment are we going
to cry or want to kill any of the characters?
You might cry. You might want to kill some of the
characters. You might want to kill me.
You’ll want to high-five Rayna. You’ll want to hate Reed, but you won’t
be sure if you should. You’ll want to shake Galen and say, “For real???”
What is for favorite passage/scene in OF NEPTUNE?
The very last scene. That’s all I can really say.
But it’s been a long time coming.
What kind of research did you have to do for the story?
I didn’t have to do a whole lot of research here
because I laid the foundation for everything in the first two books, it was
just a matter of tying them all together.
Now that the Syrena Legacy series is over what are you writing
now? Something that involves a Yeti perhaps? ;) ;)
Ha! I’ve got Sasquatch on my back burner always.
As soon as I come up with a plot that wouldn’t be entirely silly, you can
believe I’ll be writing it! Until then, I just finished edits on my YA
Contemporary called JOYRIDE (think Bonnie & Clyde meets Pretty In Pink),
which will release next spring. Now I’m writing a very complicated YA Sci-fi
that I’m stupid excited over. Like, even if it never gets published, I’m going
to finish it and pet it and feed it at night and snuggle with it during the
day.
What are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR
that you’re dying to read?
Like the rest of the world, I’m awaiting RUIN AND
RISING by Leigh Bardugo. I’ve been holding off on starting THE SELECTION series
because I’m not good at waiting for books to come out, so I’m really looking
forward to reading that. And I have yet to delve into the world that is
Jennifer Armentrout, but this summer I shall remedy that.
Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?
I want to say Four because Theo James, but really
Four is too tough for me. I’d have to go with Mr. Darcy. He likes feistiness,
but I don’t have to jump from trains and crap.
What inspired you to write YA?
I was working two jobs and that was starting to
take a toll on my health and family life, soA I ended up quitting my evening
job. THAT left me with too much time on my hands, so I started reading. It had
been years since I read a book. And what did I pick up? The Twilight series by
Stephenie Meyer. After I read the whole series (devoured, really) I thought to
myself, "If this writer can get published, then surely I can
published!"
Now don't get me wrong, I know how bad that
sounds. I'm not dissing Stephenie Meyer or her series or her writing. The point
is, she made it so easy to read and enjoy her books, that I thought I could do
the same. (Please note, I now know there is a saying among writers: Easy
reading is damn hard writing.) And so I started writing. And it was...hard. Way
harder than Stephenie Meyer made it look. But by then I was hooked. I wanted to
get published so badly. So I pushed and pushed and pushed.
So I
guess I should send Stephenie Meyer a thank you card!
I love that Hebel Design has done a jewelry line for the books!
What is your favorite out of the collection?
I adore the Syrena Bracelet and the Midi Rings,
but I think my favorite is Nalia’s pearl necklace.
Thanks so much Anna for answering my questions! I can’t wait to
read OF NEPTUNE and I’ll have my tissues at the ready
