Join me in welcoming my new friend and author, A.D. Starrling to "Musings" today! She's got a hot new supernatural thriller series paranormal, sci-fi, and fantasy lovers won't want to miss! She's also got some stellar advice about limiting the "time sinks" that keep us from writing. I interviewed her so we can all get to know a little bit about her, and there's a great Rafflecopter giveaway, so have fun :-) Oh, I nearly forgot to mention my review of "Soul Meaning," but don't miss that either. I'll give you the link to the review after the blurb.
Interview
AD Starrling was
born on the small island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and came to
the UK at the age of twenty to study medicine. After five years of hard graft
earning her MD and another five years working all of God’s hours as a
Paediatrician, she decided it was time for a change and returned to her first
love, writing.
Interview
First off, thank you so much
for having me on your blog today!
1.
When did you know you wanted to be a writer? What were some of your
first steps toward making your dream a reality? How would you say most of your
stories are conceived? Dreams? Research? Experience?
I knew I
wanted to be a writer when I was twelve years old. My first major step toward
making my dream a reality was doing research on the publishing industry in
2005-2006, before deciding to commit the next six years of my life to writing a
novel or two, and trying to land a traditional publishing deal. My second major
step was making the decision to self-publish last year, which was again
preceded by a period of research.
As I’m
currently writing a supernatural thriller series, experience is definitely not
part of how the stories were conceived. I don’t think anyone wants a gun-toting
and sword-wielding Pediatrician to look after their kid! *laughs*
A lot of my
ideas come from dreams. Some come from a startling image I might see or a
conversation that I might overhear.
I had to do
extensive research while plotting Soul Meaning, as well as the next book in the
series, King’s Crusade. I think most authors who write in this genre do.
2.
In addition to being a pediatrician, what 3 things would you like
readers to know about you?
I’m a bit of a
geek. Given a choice between shopping for clothes and shopping for gadgets, I
will go for gadgets every single time!
I love reading
mangas and watching animes. They have inspired the blade weapons and fight
scenes in the novel.
Very much like
my main protagonist in Soul Meaning, I also like nice cars.
3.
Tell us about your books. Genre, titles, any favorite characters? What
can we look forward to from you in the near future? WIP’s, upcoming releases?
Tell us a bit about your wolf hybrids. In your opinion do you need special
skills to raise them? Any were or shifter stories on the horizon?
Soul Meaning
is the first novel in the supernatural thriller series Seventeen. King’s
Crusade, the second novel will be out late April-early May 2013. I’ve started
the third novel and it’s scheduled for release Spring/Summer 2014.
4.
Is there a common thread in your books? How do your values show up in
your writing? Jungian philosophy? What do you want readers to take from your
writing?
The books will
form part of the supernatural thriller series Seventeen. As such, they will be
set in the same world where two immortal races, the Crovirs and the Bastians,
coexist with humans. The other common thread will be the influence of a sacred
religious text on the development of the series as a whole. The values that
show up in my writing are along the lines of friendship, sacrifice, and the
importance of family.
I want my
readers to have fun. I want to take them on a wild ride and entertain them. I
want them to close my book and think ‘This was good! I’ll have to recommend it
to my friends.’ And I want them to ask for more! Some of the readers of Soul
Meaning have been impatiently waiting for King’s Crusade release and ask me
about it at least once a month!
5.
What do you look for in a good book? In what ways would you say your books
exhibit these qualities?
I want
something that will hook me with the blurb and then deliver in the first few
pages. I am a bit of a cover snob, so a nicely designed and eye-catching cover
always gets my interest. I want to keep turning the pages. I want to forget to
eat, sleep, even go to the toilet. I
want to forget about the real world for a day or so. I like characters who
behave in a consistent fashion. Not in a predictable way, but not so wildly
different from their usual norm that I think ‘Wo! There’s no way this character
would say this or do that!’
I know several
readers of Soul Meaning who have admonished me for making them lose sleep over
the book. Some of the reviews mention that the book is a page turner. My
protagonists appear to be well-liked and I don’t think any of them behave out
of character.
6.
What are some of the best social media, marketing, and publicity tips
you’ve come across?
Don’t spend
more time on social media and marketing than on your writing! You need to write
first, write second, and write last!
7.
Now for the biggest question – how do you manage to balance your
medical career and writing? Any tips for other authors?
I’m lucky in
that I am locuming at the moment, which means that I do agency work and get to
choose my shifts. Occasionally, I just have to take what’s available. Being
paid by the hour means earning more in less time, which is why I can afford to
take about 4 months off a year to write: this time off is taken as short breaks
throughout the year. My working hours are very unpredictable and there is no
pattern or routine to my week, which does make it tough to do other activities
regularly. I could be on nights next week, free one weekend, work 70-90 hours
the week after, then have two weeks off.
When I do have
time off to write, I try to have a strict routine. I don’t adhere to it
religiously but I do my best to make sure I get my target word count in and
meet my personal deadlines.
My advice to
other authors:
1.
If this is your passion, you
WILL make the necessary sacrifices. That might mean less sleep, less time
socializing, definitely less TV, and less time for hobbies. It won’t be easy
but if you find truly yourself resenting the amount of time writing takes from
your life, then rethink whether this is for you. Despite the fact that I spend
95% of my time when I’m not working at the hospital writing or doing other
writing-associated activities, I have never thought ‘I resent this and I’d
rather be doing something else.’ Sure, there are times when you’re going to
want a break from the computer and social media for a few days; that’s normal
and healthy. You can’t be at this 24/7, 52 weeks a year; you’ll burn out!
2.
Cultivate the ability to be
able to write anywhere and anytime. I have written on trains, on airplanes, in
train stations, in airports, in my
kitchen, my living room, the garden, on the beach while on holiday, even on
nightshifts if I had a spare hour for a break! Do not be precious about ‘it’s
gotta be the right place, right time, right desk positioned in a strict
east-west orientation, right phase of the moon, sharpened pencils of all colors
of the rainbow, lucky underpants, purple bandanna’ etc, etc. I need a computer
and my music, and I’m ready to go.
3.
Have realistic targets.
Don’t overreach and then get depressed if you can’t achieve the impossible. And
remember, life will get in the way at times. Just roll with it. Tomorrow is
another day.
4. Social
media and research can be time sinks. They are both activities I truly enjoy
but I can get distracted into spending hours on each of these rather than the
actual writing. Try to be strict. Don’t research something for two hours if
it’s going to take one sentence in the book. Don’t spend four hours on social
media and two hours writing. Try different things to curb bad habits. There are
some useful apps you can download that can restrict your browsing time and
block internet sites at scheduled times.
Soul Meaning
Seventeen Series Book One
AD Starrling
Genre: Supernatural
thriller
ISBN:
978-0957282605
ASIN: B008L8IU8C
Number of pages:
420
Word Count: 108,187
Cover Artist:
Streetlight Graphics
Book Description:
A half breed immortal. An international manhunt. A race against time to
stop a terrifying plot that threatens to kill millions. The gripping,
action-packed debut novel by AD Starrling and the first in the supernatural
thriller series Seventeen.
‘My name is Lucas Soul.
Today, I died again.
This is my fifteenth death in
the last four hundred and fifty years.’
The Crovirs and the Bastians. Two races of immortals who have lived side
by side with humans for millennia and been engaged in a bloody war since the
very dawn of their existence. With the capacity to survive up to sixteen
deaths, it was not until the late fourteenth century that they reached an
uneasy truce, following a deadly plague that wiped out more than half of their
numbers and made the majority of survivors infertile.
Soul is an outcast of both immortal societies. Born of a Bastian mother
and a Crovir father, a half breed whose very existence is abhorred by the two
races, he spends the first three hundred and fifty years of his life being
chased and killed by the Hunters.
One fall night in Boston, the Hunt starts again, resulting in Soul’s
fifteenth death and triggering a chain of events that sends him on the run with
Reid Hasley, a former US Marine and his human business partner of ten years.
When a lead takes them to Washington DC and a biotechnology company with
affiliations to the Crovirs, they cross the Atlantic to Europe, on the trail of
a French scientist whose research seems intrinsically linked to the reason why
the Hunters are after Soul again.
From Paris to Prague, their search for answers will lead them deep into
the immortal societies and bring them face to face with someone from Soul’s
past. Shocking secrets are uncovered and fresh allies come to the fore as they
attempt to put a stop to a new and terrifying threat to both immortals and
humans.
Time is running out for Soul. Can he get to the truth before his
seventeenth death, protect the ones he loves and prevent another immortal war?
About the Author:
AD Starrling was
born on the small island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and came to
the UK at the age of twenty to study medicine. After five years of hard graft
earning her MD and another five years working all of God’s hours as a
Paediatrician, she decided it was time for a change and returned to her first
love, writing.
Soul Meaning is
her debut novel and the first in a supernatural thriller series entitled
Seventeen. She currently lives in Warwickshire in the West Midlands, where she
is busy writing the second novel in the series while drinking gallons of tea.
She still
practises medicine. AD Starrling is her pen name.
http://www.amazon.com/AD-Starrling/e/B008KS77GO/
Tour Wide Giveaway
8 prize packs containing a paperback, postcard and bookmark
2 prize packs with postcard and bookmark plus an ebook
10 ebooks and bookmarks
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