13 Questions with...Adrienne Jones

1. You’re hosting a dinner party. What is the menu, and do you cook it yourself, or do you call a caterer?

I’m primarily a vegetarian but if hosting a dinner party I’d cheat and go with seafood(cooked myself!) Probably shrimp.

2. What is your beverage of choice?

Wine, wine, and sometimes wine.

3. Physical book Vs an E-Reader. Your preference and why?
My opinion wavers on this – I usually prefer curling up with a paperback rather than ebook, but E-readers appeal to my impatience when I want to read a certain book NOW. Plus holding an E-reader makes me feel all Starfleet.

4. What kinds of books make up your personal library?

Oh man, it’s a totally chaotic, overflowing mix with no rhyme or reason! There is a lot of science fiction and paranormal but also plenty of classics and nonfiction. I read everything.

5. How and when did you catch the writing bug?

I’ve been writing since first grade when I won a district poetry festival contest in my town, and I’ve done varied forms of freelance journalism over the years. But I didn’t get serious about fiction/novel writing until much later. There was no transition or Eureka moment, I just started waking up with these stories in my head, and the characters wouldn’t leave me alone until I gave them some attention.

6. What is your writing routine?

Ah…um, ROUTINE, yeah, I’ve been meaning to get me one of those.

7. If you ever encounter writer’s block, what steps do you take to get past it?

Cursing, drama, self-flagellation. But usually it just means I’m not thrilled with what I’m working on at the moment, so I either have to change it up or switch to another project for a while. I’ve found working on multiple projects at once is a godsend when it comes to stalling out, because you can always take a breather and focus on something different for a while.

8. Do you have a hidden talent?

I don’t think so! Though I’ve always wanted to be telekinetic and toss people across the room with my mind.

9. What was your best subject in school?

Definitely the Literature classes, loved them. Math still makes me want to cry and curl into fetal position.

10. As in any entertainment, there are current trends. How much do these “current trends” influence what you write?

I’m aware of trends and pay attention to what’s selling etc., but I write my best work when I just do my own thing, regardless of genre or categorization. If people want to call it paranormal mystery, science fiction, fantasy, it makes no difference to me as long as they enjoy the ride. People always say my work is diverse or without genre (or cross-genre), but I think there’s an upside in that it can fit snugly into a lot of categories.

11. Mac or PC?

PC

12. Where do your ideas come from?

A small purple alien from the Omega Centauri galaxy delivers them to me in an orb every six months or so.

13 What advice would you pass on to an aspiring author?

Learn to edit your own work. I don’t mean just spelling and grammar, though that’s obviously crucial. But when you first start, you’re going to say in five sentences what you could say more eloquently in one, and professional editors will notice. Read as many reputable books on editing your fiction as you can find, practice, be willing to sacrifice words, sentences, entire chapters if it’s for the good of the story.

13 Questions with...Rebecca Carter

1. You’re hosting a dinner party. What is the menu, and do you cook it yourself, or do you call a caterer? 
Pasta and french bread pizzas. I'm a horrible cook but, if I do say so myself, I can make some awesome pasta dishes. I wouldn't hire a caterer, that's just not the kind of person I am. We even had Chick-Fil-A trays at my wedding instead of hiring someone to cater it.

2. What is your beverage of choice?
Mountain Dew. I'm addicted. 

3. Physical book Vs an E-Reader. Your preference and why?
Nothing can beat the way that a physical book feels and smells and flipping pages is satisfying in a way that scrolling on a screen can't be. I appreciate eBooks but there are things they can't replace. 

4. What kinds of books make up your personal library?
Unfortunately my library is understocked at the moment, but we were very tight on space until recently. If you looked at my bookshelf you would see lots of Accounting and Networking textbooks alternating between non fiction books on religion, mythology, history and art/film history. I love non fiction. Most of the fiction I read are shorts downloaded online, even though I prefer a physical book sometimes it isn't practical. 

5. How and when did you catch the writing bug?
I have been writing since I could remember but I only decided to continue to pursue writing in 2010. I was really disappointed in the horror genre and knew I had better stories to tell than what was coming out so I self published as a (successful) exercise. Now thousands of people own something that I wrote and that is very, very addictive. I couldn't stop now.

6. What is your writing routine? 
I don't have one. When I get an idea or the urge to write I just do it. My brain works at a thousand miles a minute so I have to let it go where it wants or I will lose the thought. 

7. If you ever encounter writer’s block, what steps do you take to get past it?
I just walk away for as long as it takes for me to want to finish a story. That probably doesn't work for someone on a deadline, but that's what it takes for me.

8. Do you have a hidden talent?
Is balancing ledgers a hidden talent? No? I guess probably not. Writing really is my "hidden talent". Sales Manager by day, horror author by every other waking minute.

9. What was your best subject in school?
Accounting. I was getting a business degree and in my first accounting class I realized that I liked it-and everyone else hated it. I switched to Accounting and got my degree in it.

10. As in any entertainment, there are current trends. How much do these “current trends” influence what you write?
I try not to let them influence me greatly but I have to admit that the reason I wrote "Hunger" for Moonlit Daydreams is I knew that there were people really into vampires and that if I left out a vampire story I would be isolating a big customer base. In the end I think I made sure it wasn't a paranormal vampire romance and I made the story mine.

11. Mac or PC?
PC! Mac's were great back in the day when you couldn't do what you needed on a PC. Now a Mac is just three times the cost with none of the customization. Then again I used to work in networking technical support, so my needs may be different than some other peoples.

12. Where do your ideas come from?
My brain. All kidding aside, I really don't know how to answer this one. I try and make my stories female centric because no one else does. Women are really overlooked as the "bad guy" or "the monster" unless there is a man romantically involved; we really deserve an equal run as the antagonist. 

13 What advice would you pass on to an aspiring author? 
Write for you first, your genre second, your fans third and the publishers last. If you can't get your work out with a publisher you can do it yourself. I didn't even try with a traditional publisher because that wasn't the vision I had. Don't compromise your art but don't forget the genre you are writing for. If you want genre fans to accept your work you have to respect their lines (or blow them out of the water if you're writing horror).

Review: The Hoax

The Hoax
by
Adrienne Jones
Available through Amazon in paperback and Kindle e-book, through
Barnes & Noble as a Nook e-book, on Kobo as an e-book, and Mundania Press in paperback.

Good evening constant reader.
In a nutshell, if you like off the beaten path stories, with characters so well drawn they leap off the page and help you keep turning the pages until you find out what their ultimate fate is, then this book is for you.

Part horror, part science fiction, and all compelling, The Hoax starts off with an attention getting prologue that jump starts the action and then starts revving to full throttle.

How well do any of us really know our "best" friends? That's one question The Hoax poses, as it explores the friendship of three men: Patrick Obrien, Joey Duvaine and Melvin Shepherd.  Their friendship seems genuine and honesty bound, until little by little, layers start to flake away and cracks begin to appear. It all seems so innocent and unremarkable at first, the result of a recent tragedy. Joey, in the space of a year, has lost his entire family and is now on his own, trying to decide what direction his future holds. Patrick and Shepherd (he hates to be called Melvin) are there to support their friend, onlooking bystanders to the melt down Joey has at a local bar after the funeral of his father. Fists fly, shirts are taken off, drinking accelerates and this is where the story takes off, when we are given a glimpse of Shepherd's back and the horse shoe shaped scar he has...a result he says, of an abusive father.

That's round one

Round two has our three friends at Joey's apartment, hanging out, with Joey trying to decide what his options are. Joey laments he has no family to the extent Shepherd blows a gasket, asking what are he and Obrien? Chopped liver? Words fly fast and furious until it gets physical and blood is drawn, with Shepherd sneering that Joey doesn't think anyone is "family" unless they're blood family. A knife surfaces and all three cut themselves and make a blood bond, with Shepherd uttering some strange words, words he claims the ancients used to bind themselves together before battle: unity and brotherhood.

And it's with this sharing of blood that things really take a turn into Weirdville.
If I say too much more, I risk giving too much away.
I will say Shepherd manipulates Joey and Patrick into staging something miraculous at a church, which sets the rest of the action in motion, heading into a hell of a climax.

Jones has crafted an absorbing tale, whose characters come alive. As you read, you feel like these are people you know. The dialogue perks along and never seems forced - the characters actually say what you'd think a real person would say in a situation like they're in. A situation, which constant reader, as you read along, starts to take some really fantastic turns.
The story is paced well with suitable down times, and packed at the right time with action.

I loved every minute of reading this book, and that's not something I say too often.
My only complaint is there's no sequel...yet...it's in the works.

Adrienne Jones is a writer to watch.

For more on Adrienne Jones:
Author Adrienne Jones
Mundania Press
Smashwords