J.A. Saare Guest Post and Giveaway

I am so excited to have J.A. Saare here to talk about her book "Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between" in a Q and A here at Razlover's Book Blog.

J.A. Saare. is currrently touring to promote her new release “Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between.
For more information about the book, please visit:

http://jasaare.com/

Thanks so much Goddessfish.com for connecting us on this blog tour!

Please take it away, J.A.!

1. What is your book about?

Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between is an urban fantasy, told through the voice of a bartender who works in a strip club and happens to see the spirits of the deceased. Unfortunately, she can also the “twice-dead”, vampires who have passed over. When her secret comes out, she gets involved with the very creepy crawlies she fears.

You get a bit of everything with Dead, including suspense, mystery, and romance.

2. How did you first become interested in writing?

I remember reading my first horror story, Stephen King’s Firestarter, when I was thirteen. Of course, I screwed with that mentality by following it up with Kathleen Woodiwiss’s The Flame and the Flower. Ever since then, I’ve always wanted to write both. It wasn’t until I was introduced to Laurell K. Hamilton and Anita Blake that I realized you can have your cake and eat it too. I was too frightened to branch out and attempt it for myself (and would never dare compare myself to either) but their work is my brand of heroine, and I wanted to attempt to create something similar.

I wrote off and on in high-school, mainly poetry and lyrics for my cousin’s band. The stories I attempted to construct were panned very early on, and never saw the light of day. It wasn’t until I had the idea for Crimson Moon (a paranormal romance available at The Wild Rose Press on June 25th) that I finally sat down, started writing, and didn’t stop until I was finished.

3. Who is your inspiration?

I’m going to sound so sappy for saying this, but it’s my eldest son. When he was two, we started to notice he acted different from our oldest child (our daughter). He was withdrawn, quiet, and preferred to be left alone all the time. What we assumed was a hearing impairment (he stopped responding to noises all together) turned out to be Autism.

Watching him go from a vocabulary of 8-10 words at the age of four, forced to use visual prompts to communicate, to full sentences without verbal cues, has been the most inspiring things I’ve ever witnessed. I affectionately refer to him as my wonder boy, because he is. He’s special in ways no one else but his father and I can see, and it’s enough to keep things in perspective. Success is measured in various ways – his being the one I aspire to.

4. Do you write on a schedule?

I used to…until my children got tired of Mommy “working all the time”. Now, I write at night when I can, or on the weekends when time permits. I made a promise to return to a schedule when I get the edits completed on upcoming projects and focus on wrapping up the numerous WIP’s that are just begging to be resolved.

To keep sharp, I write daily. That doesn’t necessarily mean I write stories, but I’ll focus on a blog entry, a review for a movie or story I’ve enjoyed, or perhaps I’ll write a stanza of poetry.

5. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what type of music do you listen to and why?

I always listen to music. In fact, I have Buddy Holly serenading me right now (just started playing on random on itunes). The music I listen to varies according to what I’m writing or doing at the time. When I’m writing something dark and gritty, I’ll turn to Nine Inch Nails, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Faustrecht, or KMFDM. If I need to edit, compose, or hit those emotional places, I’ll turn on some M83, E.S. Postumus, Enya, Sarah Brightman, or one of the numerous movie scores I keep handy just in case.

To say my musical tastes vary is putting it mildly. My husband jokes that I’m the only person you’ll meet who’ll have The Grateful Dead and Panthera side by side of a CD shelf.

6. Are you an avid reader?

Very much so. The one thing I always tell people who ask about writing better is this – read better. What I mean by that is to read outside of what you like. Consider it self-imposed homework. The only way you can learn is to stretch, and the only way you can stretch is to taste different flavors.

A good example – I’m not big on chick lit. It’s just not my thing. But I’ve forced myself to open up the TBR list, make a few selections, and put time on the calendar to give them a go. If you remain steadfast to one kind of writing – be it style or genre – it’s impossible to branch out and expand your own voice when you take a seat at the PC or laptop and get to work.

Thanks for having me by!! I really appreciate it!

Jaime

Thank you J.A. Saare. for being here today to talk about "Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between", I greatly appreciate it!

J.A. Saare will be giving a $10 Amazon gift certificate to a random commenter on her blog tour so please don't forget to comment here to have a chance to win.

Please follow the rest of J.A Saare's blog tour here:
 
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2010/01/virtual-tour-dead-undead-or-something.html