Author Interview: Brigid Kemmerer

Brigid Kemmerer was born in Omaha, Nebraska, though her parents quickly moved her all over the United States, from the desert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the lakeside in Cleveland, Ohio, and several stops in between, eventually settling near Annapolis, Maryland. Brigid started writing in high school, and her first real “novel” was about four vampire brothers causing a ruckus in the suburbs. Those four brothers are the same boys living in the pages of The Elemental Series, so Brigid likes to say she’s had four teenage boys taking up space in her head for the last seventeen years. (Though sometimes that just makes her sound nuts.)

Brigid writes anywhere she can find a place to sit down (and she’s embarrassed to say a great many pages of The Elemental Series were written while sitting on the floor in the basement of a hotel while she was attending a writers’ conference). Most writers enjoy peace and quiet while writing, but Brigid prefers pandemonium. A good thing, considering she has three boys in the house, ranging in age from an infant to a teenager.

While writing STORM, it’s ironic to note that Brigid’s personal life was plagued by water problems: her basement flooded three times, her roof leaked, her kitchen faucet broke, causing the cabinet underneath to be destroyed by water, the wall in her son’s room had to be torn down because water had crept into the wall, and her bedroom wall recently developed a minor leak. Considering SPARK, book 2 in the series, is about the brother who controls fire, Brigid is currently making sure all the smoke detectors in her house have batteries.

Brigid loves hearing from people, and she probably won't refer to herself in the third person like this if you actually correspond with her. She has a smartphone surgically attached to her person nearby at all times, and email is the best way to reach her. Her email address is brigidmary@gmail.com

Brigid Kemmerer, the author of Elemental and Storm, sat down and answered some questions that YABR had for her.

YABR: What inspires you when you write?

BK: Okay, so I know this is going to sound really weird, but when I'm stuck with a scene or something, I go on YouTube and look for choreographed dances that match my favorite songs. There are a lot of great amateur choreographers out there! I read once that when you have writer's block, you should appreciate an art form that's not your own. Choreography does it for me. Here's an example of what I mean:

YABR: Do you base your characters off of real people?  Do you have a process for coming up with characters?  Who is your favorite character?

BK: All my characters come straight out of my head. The closest to a real person would be Becca's mom, who is a night nurse, just because my mom has been a night nurse almost all my life. When I'm trying to create a new character, I just throw a person into some kind of conflict and see how they respond. They all grow organically from there. I can't pick a favorite!

YABR: In the Elemental Series, the Merricks and other have powers unlike anything that I have read before.  I like how the different powers deal with the different elements.   How did you come up with this concept?

BK: Just lucky, I guess. :-) No, seriously, I'd struck out with two novels: a vampire one, and a Greek mythology one. While the writing wasn't as strong in both those books, I also coincidentally went out with them while Twilight and Percy Jackson were right on the verge of going huge. I sat down and decided to write something that no one was doing, and I knew I had four brothers I wanted to play with. I had a lot of ideas in the running: four horsemen of the apocalypse, four leaf clovers (leprechaun brothers, anyone?), but the elements seemed to stick.

YABR: What do you wish was different about the book(s), if anything?

BK: Nothing! I'm really proud of how Storm came out.

YABR: What is your favorite item on your work space?

BK: Work space? I have two small children. My work space is anywhere I can hide with my laptop.

YABR: What type/genre of books do you like to read?

BK: Everything! I read from Paranormal YA to women's fiction to high fantasy to contemporary romance (YA and adult) to thrillers.

YABR: Favorite color

BK: Green. (Whew. An easy question.)

YABR: Favorite holiday/season

BK: Halloween. I used to love imagining that strange creatures would come out and frolic among the mortals. I still love wondering about it.

YABR: Word that best describes you and why?

BK: Driven.

YABR: Optimist or pessimist?

BK: Optimist.

YABR: Favorite author/book/series

BK: Impossible to answer. Two recent reads that knocked my socks off were Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi and I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella.

YABR: Favorite food/drink

BK: Popcorn and mojitos.

YABR: Favorite place to read/write

BK: For writing, anywhere I can sit down. I wrote an entire chapter of Storm while sitting on the floor of the basement of the RWA hotel in 2010. For reading, anywhere.

There are many books coming out in The Elemental Series.  Elemental and Storm are already out.  

Elemental Series:

0.5: Elemental

1: Storm

1.5: Fearless – August 2012

2: Spark – 28 August 2012

3: Spirit – May 2013

Author Interview: Aimée Carter

Aimée Carter was born and raised in Michigan, where she currently resides. She started writing fan fiction at eleven, began her first original story four years later, and hasn’t stopped writing since.

I'm really not very interesting at all. I attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and received a degree in Screen Arts and Cultures (a fancy way of saying I was forced to watch a lot of old movies) with a subconcentration in Screenwriting. I write. I watch a lot of new movies. Read a lot of books. Tweet too much. Love dogs and have two spoiled Papillons.

Aimée Carter, the author of The Goddess Test, The Goddess Hunt, Goddess Interrupted and The Goddess Legacies (released August 2012) answered a few questions that I had for her.

Author Interview: M. M. Shelley

M.M. Shelley is a storyteller, word smith and dreamer. MISHAP AND MAYHEM, a captivating story of faerie's and magic, is her debut novel. She has traveled the world extensively in search of the magic which is often overlooked in every day life. M.M. Shelley is a native of southern California, and a student of mythology from which she gets much inspiration.

M. M. Shelley, the author of The Chronicles of Orlando, has stopped by the blog and answered a few questions that we had.




YABR: What inspires you when you write?

MMS: I am inspired by various of things, I enjoy writing because its an escape into different worlds.


YABR:  Do you base your characters off of real people?  Do you have a process for coming up with characters?

MMS: The only name I used from an actual person is the character Fernie in The Zombie Story, I had an uncle named Fernie who past away several years ago. He used to tell my brothers and I stories of the days when he was on patrol as an LAPD officer. Although he was nothing like the character in my story, I just sort of borrowed his name.


YABR: What do you wish was different about the book(s), if anything?

MMS: Well, because these are a series of novella's they will always be evolving, these are stories that I believe will allow the reader to have a fun escape for a few hours. 

YABR: What is your favorite item on your work space?

MMS: I have a large map that's framed and hangs on the wall in my office, I love to travel and incorporate the places that I visit as the settings of my books and so when I get stuck on a scene I will take a look at my map and think about where I would like to be.

YABR: What type/genre of books do you like to read?

MMS:  I grew up reading Agatha Christie; Hercule Poirot is my favorite detective I enjoy a good murder mystery, but I enjoy a good romance too.

YABR: Favorite color

MMS: This changes all the time, right now I'd have to say Blue.


YABR: Favorite holiday/season

MMS: Fall!


YABR: Word that best describes you and why

MMS: Tenacious. I grab hold of an idea no matter how crazy it may sound and run with it and it has helped me pursue my dreams.  
      
        
YABR: Optimist or pessimist
MMS: Optimist  
YABR: Favorite author/book/series

MMS: Agatha Christie and her Hercule Poirot mysteries

YABR: Favorite food/drink

MMS: Japanese! There's a great restaurant near my home, it's a family owned restaurant and they are incredibly wonderful.


YABR: Favorite place to read/write

MMS: Anywhere, you never know when you will be inspired.

Author Interview – Aubrie Dionne

Aubrie is an author and flutist in New England. Her stories have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, A Fly in Amber, and several print anthologies including Skulls and Crossbones by Minddancer Press, Rise of the Necromancers, by Pill Hill Press, Nightbird Singing in the Dead of Night by Nightbird Publishing, Dragontales and Mertales by Wyvern Publications, A Yuletide Wish by Nightwolf Publications, and Aurora Rising by Aurora Wolf Publications. Her epic fantasy is published with Wyvern Publications, and several of her ebooks are published with Lyrical Press and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. When she’s not writing, she plays in orchestras and teaches flute at Plymouth State University and a community music school.

As part of her blog tour for the New Dawn series, Aubrie answered some questions that I had for her.

YABR: What inspires you when you write? 

AD: I'm inspired by watching awesome movies. I think of a book as a movie in my head. It's the best kind, because I can imagine everything how I'd want it to be, and how I'd want the characters to look. Some of my favorite movies are the original Star Wars trilogy, the Lord of the Rings movies, Star Trek Generations, all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and the recent Jane Eyre movie.

YABR: Do you base your characters off of real people?  Do you have a process for coming up with characters?

AD: Every one of my characters has a little bit of me in them. It's kinda scary when I look at them and recognize it myself! I don't base them off real people because I don't think my family or friends would like that! *wink wink*

YABR: Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it? 

AD: All of the time. If I sit at the computer for too long, I get blocked. That's when I take a walk with my dogs, do laundry, practice my flute, then it frees up the ideas. 

YABR: What type/genre of books do you like to read? 

AD: I read all genres, but science fiction and fantasy are my favorites! 

YABR: Who is your favorite character in the New Dawn series and why? 

AD: Actually, it's the bad guy, Tiff, Striker's ex girlfriend. She's the character with the most flaws, and the one that grows the most over the entire book. I loved her so much, I brought her back as a  grandmother in my YA tie in (currently being shopped around to publishers!)

YABR: The New Dawn series is something that is not mainstream Sci-Fi, where did you get the ideas for the series? 

AD: I worry about the end of the world all the time. I wonder what people are going to do when Earth becomes uninhabitable or overrun with people. What if people could live their whole lives on colony ships and pass down their DNA to future generations able to colonize other planets? 

YABR: How would you describe the New Dawn series to someone who has never read it before?

AD: It's a space opera, complete with space ships, laser battles, mysterious aliens, monstrous creatures, space pirates, desert planets, ince worlds, jungles, everything you'd expect. 

YABR: Favorite color 

AD: Blue. My eyes are blue, so when I wear blue, it brings them out. Also, my room from my childhood was blue. 

YABR: Favorite holiday/season 

AD: Summer!!! Beach bum all the way. I'd burn my snow boots if I could. 

YABR: Word that best describes you and why

AD: Creative. I chose two careers that require a lot of creative energy: flute and writing. 

YABR: Optimist or pessimist

AD: Optimist! Every one of my books ends happily for most of the characters involved.

YABR: Favorite author/book/series

AD: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte   

YABR: Favorite food/drink

AD: Pizza and coffee, but not together!  

YABR: Favorite place to read/write

AD: The computer!

YABR: Favorite pizza topping

AD: Vegetables! I'm a vegetarian and I LOVE vegetables!  

Title: A Hero Rising (A New Dawn, #3)
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Length: novella
Release Date: February 2012

Prequel to A New Dawn - Book Three

After watching his love leave on a colony ship, James Wilfred must save those left behind from a planetary apocalypse. Their salvation lies in an unfinished ship tucked away in a secret government base, and only James can break in and pilot him and his people to freedom on a nearby space station.

Skye O’Connor’s boyfriend never returns after his gang attempts an assassination of the Governor, and the State Building is destroyed. Worse, crazed moonshiners addicted to the chemical Morpheus have stormed the city, and she must find a safe place for her and her boyfriend’s daughter. When a heroic man saves her, Skye asks to accompany him on his quest to find the last colony ship left on Earth.

As the city falls around them, James and Skye must work together to build a new future, all the while rediscovering their ability to love, before the apocalypse claims them both.

Title: Tundra 37 (A New Dawn, #2)
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Length: 288 pages
Release Date: February 7, 2012

Gemme is a hi-tech matchmaker who pairs the next generation of Lifers aboard the Expedition, a deep space transport vessel destined for Paradise 18. When the identity of her lifemate pops up on her screen, she’s shocked that he’s the achingly gorgeous and highly sought after Lieutenant Miles Brentwood—a man oblivious to her existence. Believing everyone will think she contrived the match, she erases it from the computer’s memory.

Just as comets pummel the ship and destroy the pairing system forever.

With the Expedition disabled, the colonists must crash land on the barren ice world of Tundra 37 where Gemme is reassigned to an exploratory mission, led by Lieutenant Brentwood. Only in the frozen tundra does she understand the shape of his heart and why the computer has entwined their destinies.

Title: Paradise 21 (A New Dawn, #1)
Author: Aubrie Dionne
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Length: 248 pages
Release Date: August 2011

Aries has lived her entire life aboard mankind’s last hope, the New Dawn, a spaceship traveling toward a planet where humanity can begin anew—a planet that won’t be reached in Aries’ lifetime. As one of the last genetically desirable women in the universe, she must marry her designated genetic match and produce the next generation for this centuries-long voyage.


But Aries has other plans.

When her desperate escape from the New Dawn strands her on a desert planet, Aries discovers the rumors about pirates—humans who escaped Earth before its demise—are true. Handsome, genetically imperfect Striker possesses the freedom Aries envies, and the two connect on a level she never thought possible. But pursued by her match from above and hunted by the planet’s native inhabitants, Aries quickly learns her freedom will come at a hefty price.

The life of the man she loves.

Author Interview: Jennifer L Armentrout

Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you've heard about her state aren't true. When she's not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories....which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Rogers.

The Covenant series, The Lux series and the Unchained Trilogy (under the pen name of J.L. Rogers) are some of the books that have been written by Jennifer. She also has a new novel, Cursed, coming out tentatively in September 2012. 

The books that I have read that Jennifer has written are Daimon: A Prequel to Half-Blood and Obsidian.  She has graciously answered some questions I had for her.

• You have a few different series out.  Which one is your favorite to work
  on and why?  Do you have a favorite character?  If so, who is it and why?
  
  Whatever series I'm working on is usually my favorite. It has to be for me to do my best. So one moment I'm totally in love with the Covenant Series and the next I'm all about the Lux series. I think my two favorite characters are Alex from the Covenant Series and Daemon from the Lux Series. Both of those characters bring the snark and I love me some snark!
• Cursed is coming out in September 2012.  Is this book going to be a
  stand-alone book or a series?  Can you tell us a little about this book and
  where you got the inspiration for it?
  
  Cursed is currently a standalone and is about a girl who dies and comes back (thanks to her little sister) with a toxic touch. Anything she touches basically withers up and dies. Beside trying to discover how her sister brought her back and what the means, Ember has to learn how to control her ability plus discover who caused the accident in the first place and why. Of course, she has some help from an uber hot guy with his own secrets and abilities. My inspiration for Cursed was kind of weird. It all started with the opening scene, which is Ember waking up with a dead hamster sitting on her chest. Yeah, I know, bizarre. But the hamster was her little sister's pet that had died and was brought back. So it was a weird Pet Cemetery moment., kind of creepy, kind of fun. It just spawned from there.
• What inspires you when you write?
  
  It's pretty simple. Telling stories inspries me. 
• Do you base your characters off of real people?  Do you have a process
  for coming up with characters?
  
  Some secondary characters are based loosely on people I know, but the main characters almost never. The characters are usually the first thing I come up and the plot develops around them. 
• Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it?
  
  Oh, God, yes. Scary moments there. Usually I try to power through them with a sledgehammer, but if the block is real big, then I moved ahead in the story, write a scene I want and then come back to the area that's tripping me up. 
• What type/genre of books do you like to read?  What are you currently
  reading?
  
  I'm a fan of paranormal and fantasy mostly. Right now I'm reading a billion novels it seems: Immortal Rider, Hallowed, Goddess Interrupted, Legend, and Enclave.
• Favorite color
  
  Red. 
• Favorite holiday/season
  
  Halloween and Christmas are tied.  
• Word that best describes you and why
  
  Random. I'm pretty random.
• Optimist or pessimist
  
  Realist. 
• Favorite author/book/series
  
  Right now? Rachel Vincent Soul Screamers.
• Favorite food/drink
  
  Red meat and coffee (healthy, right?)
• Favorite place to read/write
  
  Living room. 

Young Adult Book Reviews would like to thank Jennifer Armentrout for answering our questions. 

Find Jennifer

Blog Tour: Wander Dust by Michelle Warren

Being that this is the first blog tour post that has been done on Young Adult Book Reviews, I have been very excited to do this.  First, there is an author interview with the author of Wander Dust, Michelle Warren, then there is a giveaway and finally there is a scavenger hunt which will take place on Michelle's Facebook page on December 18th.

Ever since her sixteenth birthday, strange things keep happening to Seraphina Parrish.

The Lady in Black… burns Sera’s memories.

Unexplainable Premonitions… catapult her to other cities.

The Grungy Gang… wants to kill her.

And a beautiful, mysterious boy… stalks her.

But when Sera moves to Chicago, and her aunt reveals their family connection to a centuries old, secret society, she is immediately thrust into an unbelievable fantasy world, leading her on a quest to unravel the mysteries that plague her. In the end, their meanings crash into an epic struggle of loyalty and betrayal, and she’ll be forced to choose between the boy who has stolen her heart and the thing she desires most.

Wander Dust is the breathtaking fantasy that will catapult you through a story of time, adventure, and love.

Michelle Warren

Michelle Warren has graciously answered a few questions for me.

What inspires you when you write?

I love, love science fiction. When I think of story lines in my head, this is usually the direction they lean, mixed with a little magic, of course. I’m fascinated by concepts that seem unreal now but may be completely possible one day. For me, these make the best stories.

Do you base your characters off of real people?  Do you have a process for coming up with characters?

I would say that my characters are Frankenstiened. They are a mish-mash of qualities in people that I know, have met, or wish that I could meet. Many qualities appeared organically as I wrote. That’s the fun of character development. They literally take on a life of their own. It seems I choose character traits based on how they will react with other characters. I love to create tension.

Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it?

Yes, I have. I like to meditate on scenes in the book before I write. There was once instance where that didn’t work and after a few months, I woke up in the middle of the night with the answers. So I guess sleep made me kick my writer’s block to the curb!

What type/genre of books do you like to read?

I read mostly YA fantasy and paranormal, but Dan Brown is one of my favorite authors. He’s amazing.

Favorite color

Pink or orange. It changes. I’m an artist. I can’t help it :)

Favorite holiday/season

Thanksgiving. I love that it’s all about family and friends.

Word that best describes you and why

Perpetual. My brain never stops.

Optimist or pessimist

I try very hard at optimism

Favorite author/book/series

My favorites right now are Daughter of Smoke and Bone and the Tiger’s Curse series.

Favorite food/drink

Chocolate, Milk

Favorite place to read/write

Read: my couch | write: my mac

Find Michelle:

There will be a scavenger hunt on Michelle's Facebook page starting on December 18th.  Here is a puzzle piece from that scavenger hunt.  The details have not been released yet, so check back here when they are.

I love giveaways!  I got a generous prize pack from Michelle to give to my lucky readers.   This giveaway is so great, I wish I could enter it myself, but that wouldn't be very fair, would it?  The giveaway is international and will end on December 31st.

The prizes are as follows:

▪One lucky reader will win the signed paperback copy of Wander Dust, the Tolkein quote necklace, and a signed Wander Dust bookmark.

▪Nine other winners will receive an autographed Wander Dust bookmark. 

Author Interview: Kelly Green

Kelly Green, the author of the Borrwing Abby Grace series, answered some questions I had for her.  There are two books is the series, The Shadow (Episode 1) and Girl Steals Guy (Episode 2).  Young Adult Book Reviews would like to thank Kelly Green for taking time to respond to my questions.

What inspires you when you write?

I am definitely inspired by coffee! I actually like writing to music I listen to Pandora. Lots of different stations. 

Do you base your characters off of real people?  Do you have a process for coming up with characters?

I think any writer incorporates parts of peple they know into their characters. I can't point to one character and say, "Yeah, that's Jim," but I know that the more influential people in my life have their personalities appear throughout this series.

Do you ever experience writer’s block and how do you get over it?

All the time! More coffee helps! Sometimes I put on old episodes of The X-Files. It relaxes me and gets my brain working again.

What type/genre of books do you like to read?

Some of my all-time favorite books are: Coraline, The Hunger Games, Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, A Wrinkle in Time, The Book Thief, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events series, and anything by Roald Dahl. 

Who is your favorite character in Borrowing Abby Grace and why?

Wilhelm—he’s adorable. I have a total crush on him. And I’m in the middle of writing the next trilogy of Abby Grace books right now and learning a lot of interesting things about him! 

In Borrowing Abby Grace, I love the whole investigative approach.  This series has been described as a “teenage paranormal Nancy Drew.”  Where did you get the idea for the series?

I got approached by my publisher to do a series of Nancy Drew-esque novellas, only modernized with a sassy protagonist and a supernatural element. I’ve always loved sassy protagonists and supernatural books so I jumped at the chance. What especially excited me is reversing the traditional ghost story setup. Usually in ghost stories the protagonist is alive and solves an old unexplained mystery, some lingering hurt, and then the ghost goes away. But with Abby, she’s dealing with the very real problems of living people. They’re going on right now, these urgent and suspenseful dilemmas.

Are there any plans for future releases?  I know that there is a third book in the Borrowing Abby Grace series coming out.

My third book in the Borrowing Abby Grace series is scheduled for a December 7th release. And I’m currently working on books 4, 5 and 6. They’re a trilogy I’m tentatively entitling “Nemesis.”

Favorite color:

Purple

Favorite holiday/season:

Halloween

Word that best describes you and why:

Wry

Optimist or pessimist:

Optimist

Favorite author/book/series:

Roald Dahl  (a/n: I LOVE Roald Dahl!)

Favorite food/drink:

Spaghettios

Favorite place to read/write:

I like writing on trains, a lot. Something about the rhythm and the scenery.