lilysreviews

Today, Lily's Reviews has a guest interview with Sarah Nicolas.......

Lily's Reviews: What is the biggest accomplishment you have achieved as a writer to date? The thing that made you feel like you hit a big goal?

Sarah Nicolas: For me, I think it’s always the most recent achievement that feels like the biggest. I don’t think I’m alone in this. It started with actually finishing a book, then sending my first query letter, then getting my first request, then getting my first personalized rejection, then writing another book and so on through getting an agent, getting multiple publishing contracts, getting a contract with an advance, hitting #1 in my category on Amazon. Mainly, I’m most proud of myself for not yet giving up because this can be a difficult business.

LR: How do you come up with character names?

SN: OMG, I am OBSESSED with character names. I think I spend more time on this than on plotting (don’t tell my editor). Every now and then I get a name stuck in my head that I just love (like Riya from KEEPING HER SECRET) and it’s quick and easy, but most of the time it is a process. I create excel spreadsheets with lists of names and research their origins and meanings and references in literature, TV, and movies. I scour baby name websites and check their historical and geographical popularity.

LR: If you could bring one character into real life and have a conversation with them which one would it be and why?

SN: No character has ever fascinated me as much as Bartimaeus from Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy. I read those books ten years ago but still haven’t found anyone else I’d rather have a conversation with in fiction. He is an ancient demon full of snark and wit.

LR: What does your writing day look like?

SN: I’m more of a marathon writer than an every-day writer. I work a full-time job and have a very active life, so I have to schedule writing sessions into my week. I work best with several hours at a time set aside for writing. I have friends who write an hour a day and it works wonderfully for them, but it’s not for me.

I have to have caffeinated beverages and snacks, unless I’m working late at night, then I love to have wine when I write. My writing brain works best from about 9 PM until about 3 AM.

LR: Is there any book that you would rewrite if you could?

SN: Like completely rewrite?

LR: When you are writing and you feel a bit stuck, what do you do for inspiration or to reset yourself back into the groove?

SN: It depends on whether I’m on deadline or not. Ha! If I’m on deadline, I usually just write through it, knowing that I can go back and rewrite or cut the stuff that’s not good. Honestly, it usually takes just a page or two of forcing it to get me back in the groove.

Having said that, I should probably do the same thing when I’m not on deadline, but I don’t. I often take long walks with my dog to reset my brain. Or I get distracted by twitter and lose a lot of writing time. Don’t do that. It’s not helpful.

LR: Who or what (if anything) do you listen to when writing and who is your favorite musician/genre of music to listen to?

SN: My writing music preferences are basic AF, because I find it helpful to listen to music where the emotions are really on the surface and also music with a strong, dancy beat. So I’m all about pop like Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, and Selena Gomez.

LR: What is coming up next for you, writing wise?

SN: I’m working on a new Young Adult about a girl who does high school robotics. It’s a romance :-P

Thank you so much for the wonderful interview!

Sarah Nicolas may be found at the following places:
Sarah Nicolas Site
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Book Riot

Today, Lily's Reviews welcomes author KC Burn.

From KC Burn's website: "I’ve been writing for what feels like my whole life. I’m a sucker for a happy ending (get your mind out of the gutters!) so it’s been romance almost all the way. After moving from Toronto to Florida for my hubby to take a dream job, I discovered a love of gay romance and fulfilled my own dream — getting published. After a few years of editing web content by day and at night, neglecting my supportive hubby and needy cat to write about men loving men, I was uprooted yet again, and now reside in California.

Writing is always fun, despite the hard work, but writing about my guys is more fun than I’ve had in a long time. Love between consenting adults is a beautiful thing, and should be celebrated, regardless of sexual orientation. I hope you enjoy reading my stories as much as I love writing them."

Now, the fun part :) :

Lily's Reviews (LR): Do you listen to music while writing?

KC Burn: Absolutely. The music doesn’t in any way inspire or influence my stories, but it definitely helps keeps my butt in the chair!

LR: If you could live near any of your characters or within any of the worlds you create, which would it be?

KB: LOL. Well, most of my contemporary stuff is located near places I’ve lived. However, as for my paranormal and sci-fi stuff, I’d definitely have to say probably the world of my Galactic Alliance series. Interplanetary travel and sentient aliens would be the coolest thing.

LR: Out of all your works, which pairing (only one) would you choose to and why?

KB: What a difficult question! Probably Tyler and Maxwell from Illusion of Life. It was such a challenge to write that story, since the two don’t actually meet until well after halfway through the book, that I have a real soft spot for the two of them.

LR: Who is your favorite character to write?

KB: Most of my characters are dear to me, and the answer to this question would probably vary depending on which day you ask me but today I’m going to say Gideon Arcturus from Voodoo ‘n’ Vice. He was so buttoned up, so rules oriented that he almost causes a galactic incident in Alien ‘n’ Outlaw, and I need to redeem him to the point of being a sympathetic hero deserving of love in Voodoo ‘n’ Vice. I definitely adored writing him.

LR: What’s your favorite series to write?

KB: All of them! That may sound weird, but there are reasons why I like all the series I write. But if I’m forced to choose, I’m going to say MIA Case Files. A little bit campy, a whole lot of fun, and a lot of sex. I had a blast writing those.

LR: What makes you decide to end a series?

KB: My problem is too many ideas, too little time. After about three books, I certainly have plenty of ideas with which to continue a series, but other plot bunnies usually start screaming about that time. I do intend to continue my Galactic Alliance series, though, and I could easily go back and pick up any of my existing series, no problem.

LR: What was your job before being a writer? What did you study in college?

KB: Ha! How about what’s my job WHILE being a writer! My day job is website development, and while I might at some point be able to ditch the day job, at the moment I need to keep my health care. As for university, I have a degree in Physical Anthropology and another in Medieval History. Neither of which have been particularly useful since, although I used the evolutionary biology aspects of the first degree to help develop my aliens in my Galactic Alliance series.

LR: It must have been interesting to study. I love Medieval History myself (and my own 'research section' proves it). What made you become a writer?

KB: I’ve always been a reader, and when I was ten my dad gave me a copy of The Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings. That was it. Game over. I knew then I wanted to be a writer.

LR: Do the seasons have any influence on what you want to write?

KB: Nope! I live in California now, and seasons are apparently nonexistent down here. I’m working on a Christmas story now, and writing about snow and sleet when it’s been years since I’ve lived in that sort of environment is always a bit challenging.

LR: Who is the most challenging character to write and why?

KB: R’kos, my alien protagonist from Alien ‘n’ Outlaw, hands down. One of the trickiest things is to create an alien that is sexually appealing, with enough differences to be “alien” but with enough similarities to enable them to create relationships with humans. Tricky, tricky. He was definitely a challenge.

LR: Which perfume/scent matches each main character?

KB: Generally, I don’t consider scent much. Adam, from Wolfsbane, though, had a particular scent that I had to scour the cologne counters to get just the right one. However… since colognes aren’t MY thing, and I didn’t name the scent in the book, I can’t remember exactly which one it was. It came in a blue bottle. If only I’d made notes… But I’m just not that organized.

LR: Describe a day in the life of KC Burn.

KB: Super dull, unfortunately. Feed the cat, feed the hubby, fire up the laptop to start my work day. Once that’s done, I try to do some writing, then start dinner. Feed the cat. After dinner, if I’m not on deadline, hubby and I will watch TV or play board games (our current favorites are Castles of Mad King Ludwig and TIME Stories). If I’m on deadline, then it’s back to the computer for more writing. That’s about it.

LR: Which character do you most relate to?

KB: A lot of my characters are fish out of water, and that’s often how I feel. However, the one that is absolutely closest to me is Dean Murphy from Three Dates of Christmas. I’m definitely a Christmas Grinch, because I also spent many years in retail, and it’s really, really hard to retain goodwill after that.

LR: Do you compile any playlists while writing a book that is specific to that book?

KB: Nope, just listen to my regular collection of music. I have such narrow musical tastes that there’s little point in separating things out into playlists.

LR: Huge thank you to KC Burn for stopping by Lily's Reviews!

KC Burn may be found at:
KC Burn
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