Hey Guys! Help me welcome UF author Allyson James to the blog! Allyson is Pseudonym to Bestselling author Jennifer Ashley! =D
Hope you enjoy the interview and the great giveaway at the end of the post…
When did you first start writing?
When I was eight years old. I realized that books were make-believe written down, so I started writing down all the little stories in my head. (I even folded the papers in half so it looked like a book and drew a cover with a title and my name.) In the 1990s, I decided to stop dreaming about being a writer and make it reality. I read books and wrote them, learned a lot, and started seriously submitting novels. I got published in 2002, and have had a great time writing ever since!
Have you always enjoyed the Paranormal?
Yes. I grew up reading fantasy: Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Barbara Hambly, and many, many more. My shelves were filled with books published by Daw, Del-Rey, Ace, Roc, Baen, and Tor.
When I started writing seriously, I wanted to put more romance in my books, so I checked out romances. About that time, the paranormal romance genre took off, thanks to authors like Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
It took me a few years to convince my publishers to let me write paranormal (I’d gotten published in historical first, and they wanted me to keep on publishing historicals). But I pitched The Immortals series and got that off the ground, then turned to Shifters. Plus the Urban Fantasy genre beckoned me, so I started the Stormwalker series as Allyson James.
Do you consider your books to fit more into Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance?
The Stormwalker series I write as Allyson James is more Urban Fantasy. There’s a romance between Mick and Janet in there, but I also have a lot of plot and fight scenes! Plus the Stormwalker series follows one couple throughout the series. The Shifter series I write as Jennifer Ashley I consider more paranormal romance. Each book is about a couple who get together in the end. There’s a lot of other stuff going on—Shifter problems, family problems, etc., but they are essentially about the romance between the two people.
Were there any Books, Movies or Writers that have inspired you?
I truly enjoy the Urban Fantasy and paranormal romance of today. I don’t watch many movies, but I read a lot! I enjoy Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Carrie Vaughan, Nina Bangs, Sandra Hill, and many others.
Favorites:
Favorite Paranormal themed Movie? Harry Potter series.
Favorite Paranormal themed TV Show? It’s a toss-up between Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Dr. Who, and Eureka (the last two are more scifi)
Favorite Paranormal themed Book? Eeek! A tough choice. I love Nina Bangs's hilarious vampire stories.
Favorite Author? Too many to pick one!
Favorite Urban Fantasy Author? Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs (I can't pick just one!)
Favorite Genre that is NOT your own? Murder mysteries. Although I write those too, as Ashley Gardner. My first choice for relaxation reading is mystery.
Favorite one of your Books? That's hard too! Um, I'd say The Many Sins of Lord Cameron (out August 7) and Stormwalker.
Who is your favorite of your own characters?
I have so many characters! I love Janet Begay of the Stormwalker series that I write as Allyson James. I also like Captain Lacey, the hero of my Regency mysteries that I write as Ashley Gardner. I also love the Mackenzies, my dysfunctional historical family. Cameron Mackenzie was a wonderful hero to write (The Many Sins of Lord Cameron will be out in August 2011).
Which was the hardest to write?
Hands-down the hardest book to write was The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. Getting his character right was tough to pin down. I rewrote every scene he was in at least ten times!
What would you be if not a writer?
A musician. I love music and would love to have the time to devote to it. I play guitar and flute, and I do OK, but I would love to be better, and play professionally.
If you Could be a Paranormal Being, Who would you be?
A wildcat shape-shifter. It would be cool to be a big cat! (But I'm not sharing my cats' litterbox).
If you could meet ay Urban Fantasy Character out there, Who would you like to meet?
Janet Begay of my Stormwalker series. And Mick from the same series. He's hot. :)
Quickies:
Vampires or Werewolves? Werewolves
Stormwalkers or Dragons? Dragons
Reading or Writing? Writing
Print or eBook? Umm, both (depends on my mood)
Hardback or Paperback? Paperback (hardbacks hurt my hands)
Pepsi or Coke? Neither. Sugar. Blech.
Mc D's or Burger King? Neither. Prefer good sandwiches at a family-owned sandwich shop
YA novels or Adult novels? Both
Library or Bookstore? Both
Summer or Winter? Summer. Don't like being cold!
The Movie or The Book? Book.
PNR or UF? Hmm. I like both. Sometimes there's not enough romance in UF for me, sometimes not enough gritty plot in PNR for me.
What is your favorite part of the writing process? Finishing.
What is your least favorite part? Re-reading my first draft and thinking it's absolute crap.
The Stormwalker Series in your own words?
Janet Begay is a Stormwalker. Raised on the Navajo Nation, Janet can draw the power of storms to feed her formidable magic. Without a storm, she's pretty powerless. Storm power makes her crazy, and only Mick, her inked biker dragon-shifter boyfriend can ease her down.Janet lives in the small town of Magellan in the middle of the high desert, where vortexes suck magic to them, dangerous magic. She and Mick stand as guardians of the vortexes, as well as solve any magical problems that come their way. They are joined by a cast of characters: Nash Jones the hard-edged sheriff; Coyote, the shape shifting god who likes trouble (and to cause it), dragons (Firewalkers), witches, skinwalkers, Nightwalkers (vampire-like creatures), and Changers (shape shifters). There's a lot going on in Magellan!
Any plans for more Books in the series?
Right now the series is: Stormwalker, Firewalker, Shadow Walker, and "Double Hexed" in the Hexed anthology. There's a prequel about Janet's friend Jamison in "A Little Night Magic" in Hot for the Holidays that come out in October 2009. Those books essentially finish the Janet / Mick arc, but I'm leaving it open-ended so I can do more books in that world.
What is coming up next for you?
Many, many things. As Jennifer Ashley, I have another Shifters book in the works (Wild Cat) and it looks like there will be more Shifters after that. I’m working the Mackenzie series (the next one The Many Sins of Lord Cameron will be out in August). There will be more to come of the Mackenzies after Hart’s book too.
In my Allyson James life, I’ve started working on my Ellora’s Cave series again (so happy about that!). Tales of the Shareem: Braden, will be out soon, and the next Shareem is in the works. Plus I have ideas for more series over there.
As my Ashley Gardner persona, I’m republishing my mystery series that went out of print as e-books (Beginning with The Hanover SquareAffair in Feb., followed by A Regimental Murder in March). I came across a never-published novella in my files, so that will come out sometime this year, plus I am working on new Captain Lacy books.
Plus I will be writing some short stories for anthologies and a novella or two along the way!
What are you working on right now?
Right now: Finishing up Wild Cat and working on the next Mackenzie historical (The Duke's Perfect Wife, which is Hart's book). I'm working on the next Tales of the Shareem book (Justin). Plus I just finished proposals for more historicals connect to the Mackenzies. And more Shifters! Those are in the works.
Do you have any advice or tip to those like me that want to become a published Author someday?
I have a blog: http://www.jenniferonwriting.blogspot.com I haven't updated it lately, but it contains two or more years of advice on agents, publishing, writing, money, and much more. Even with the changes in the industry in the last couple of years, the information is still solid.
To get started on a novel--just start. There is no magic formula for writing a book. The best thing to do is to read voraciously and then write what really speaks to you. Learning to write is a lot of trial and error. Some people sell the very first novel they attempt to write. Some people sell the tenth one. Each writer is different, as is each writer's path to success.
Once you have the manuscript done, research, research, research (which means lots of reading, and paying attention to what publisher publishes what).
Decide what kind of author you want to be as well. All publishers are not the same—you don’t submit just anything to any publisher and expect it to sell. If you want to be a star of hardback Young Adult books, you wouldn’t submit your manuscript to an e-book only erotic romance publisher. That seems like “duh” advice, but I’m constantly amazed that people send entirely the wrong thing to entirely the wrong publisher and are upset when they’re rejected!
Make your submissions “unrejectable.” Finish them and polish them, send them to agents / editors you’ve targeted who represent (and successfully sell) that kind of book.
Then write letters, submit, meet agents and editors at conferences, enter contests with agent / editor judges.
And don’t give up!
Anything you would like to say to your fans out there?
Thank you so much! I always brag that I have the best fans. I get the nicest emails. :) I want to thank everyone for their support, especially during this past year, the toughest in my career! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you so much for being here!
Thank you for inviting me!
Find Allyson James {Jennifer} Online:
Website | Writing Blog | Group Blog
Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook
Buy Allyson’s Books:
My Review of Stormwalker @ Book Lovers Inc.
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Thanks for the interview! The Stormwalkers series sounds like a really good urban fantasy read! I've not read this series yet, but they are now in my TBR list!
chibi.pooh(at)gmail(dot)com
I love the first book now all I need is to read the 2nd and the third, cool interview,though.
I absolutely love Jennifer's books I read all the Immortal series and Highland Ever After so I can't wait to read these books too.
Great interview! Thanks~ :)
great interview! The Stormwalkers series is going on my to read list :)
I absolutely adore Jennifer's books. I really enjoyed the interview.
mlawson17 at hotmail dot com
I love Jennifer's books but I've not read any of her books under her either of her pseudonymous. I would love to win one of her Stormwalker books. Thanks for the giveaway!
rootml1@hotmail.com
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Allyson/Jennifer Have so many of your books...& I LOVE Dragons too. After all they can EAT what bugs them...chomp :)
I've read lots of Jennifer's books and I'm looking forward to Primal Bonds this week. I've been meaning to read Firewalker - just haven't gotten around to it yet. I love Janet and Mick. I lived in New Mexico for awhile so I love that the series is set in the southwest and that Janet is half Navajo. Enjoyed the interview.
jen at delux dot com
Wow this series sounds awesome! How have I missed it?! I think my local bookseller is holding out on me ;)
I cannot wait to read it. Thank you for letting me know about this author.
Loved her answer to 'if you could be any paranormal being' question! I definitely wouldn't want to share my kitties litter box either, yuck.
what a wonderful interview. i love finding out more about my fave authors
Another enjoyable interview, thanks so much!
yumihamano(at)gmail.com
Great interview.
Murder mysteries are what totally got me hooked on reading in the first place. Glad to see someone else that likes them.
The authors you mention as influences or likes are all epic fantasy writers.
Have you ever tried to write epic fantasy or are you planning to do so in the near future?
Thanks for the giveaway.
Carol T
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
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Wonderful interview :) Firewalker looks great!
Great interview and now I'll have to check out her blog on tips for writers :-) !!
thank you for the giveaway. btw great interview :)
Great interview! Thank you for the giveaway :D
Great (And really long x-D) interview! I haven't read any of -Walkers but wanna totally!
Thanks for giveaway^^
Great interview! Haven't read Stormwalker yet, but it's on my tbr list! I love the Mackenzies. I can see how Ian's character was hard to write, but you did it :) I can't wait for Cameron's book!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Great interview!
I hadn't heard of Allyson James yet, but guess which author made my wishlist today? ;)
The -walker series seems really intriguing!
Jannick.
I'm the only one who didn't watch Dr. Who yet? D: And everybody loves big cats! They warm your feet more than the normal ones :P hahahahahaha
Thanks for this interview! Books look good, I wil try them!
sykorova.p@gmail.com
Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to read the book. Tore923@aol.com
Thank you!!!!
I love Eureka too- I never see or hear anyone mention it and it's such a brilliant show!
Eureka is one of my favorite shows! I'm begging for more! I hate the wait in between mid seasons!
I can't wait to read your novels, I heard such good things!
Great interview :)
I just love those covers. So powerful and good
Great interview!! Love the rapid fire questions!! I'm a huge Eureka fan as well!! Those are some awesome covers!!
Thanks everyone for stopping by today! And thanks Larissa for the interview. You're the greatest! I appreciate the Twitter follows. :-) Great comments! Will answer some below.
Bethany and Natasha: I love Eureka! I haven't seen Season 4 yet; am waiting impatiently for it on DVD. Sigh.
oh wow, I absolutely love the covers and I've heard fantastic things about your series!!! I can't wait to get my hands on them *g*
wish you all the best, Ina
-petit: I think you'll love the new Dr. Who. Start with "Rose" (episode 1). They did a fantastic job with the series (plus David Tennant is hot...am liking Matt Smith too...)
buddyt said: "The authors you mention as influences or likes are all epic fantasy writers.
Have you ever tried to write epic fantasy or are you planning to do so in the near future?"
I would LOVE to write epic fantasy. In fact, I started out wanting to write it, but when I was trying to get published, that market was very, very hard to break into. I turned to romance because I wanted more romance in my books and I fell in love with historicals. Then fell in love with paranormals and UF. So it goes.
But I'd still love to do epic fantasy--with romance!
Terrific Interivew! I can't tell how many of your answers mirrored my own. lol I can't wait to read more!
Great interview. I used to play flute/piccolo eons ago and I also tried guitar. I would love to get better on the guitar as well. Love that you write in different generes. So interesting!
I love it when authors open up about difficulties in writing certain characters. it is so easy to assume that it would be easy because it is your character.
Thanks for the great interview and giveaway!
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Would love to read the Stormwalker books! Enjoyed the interview. :)
adsanders77 at gmail dot com
Missie: Characters are never easy! They have minds of their own, and pinning them down is tough. Ian Mackenzie was very hard, because he doesn't look at anyone, and he speaks in non sequiturs (doesn't answer with the obvious comeback but with something that might be completely off topic--or so it seems.) I love the guy, but he's a challenge! His brother Cameron was equally hard, and I won't mention his oldest brother Hart. I'm still trying to get Hart to behave, LOL.
I've got Stormwalker and Firewalker on my wish list, and I enjoy your books as Jennifer Ashley as well.
Hi Jennifer!
I wanted to pop in and say hi.
I discovered Jennifer's books by chance picking up the first book in the Immortals series and I bought almost everything written by JA and AJ.
(My hubby was mad when he got the credit card bill! lol)
(by the way, you don't have to enter me in the contest)
I wouldn't be able to choose btw. Briggs or Andrews either! Great interview :)Thanks for chance to win!!
Can't wait for Shadow Walker!! :)
Oh, I like the look of these books. Definitely an intriguing read. Thanks for the giveaway chickie and a great interview. ;)
Hi...
Lookin forward to read her books...
Thanks.
Allyson's covers are so bad-ass! I cannot wait to get my hands on her books!
;)
I love the Mortal Series. So HOT!! So far I've loved everything by Jennifer!!
I keep getting recommended your books so am off to Amazon now to see if I can get any on the Kindle in NZ :)
Great just managed to purchase Stormwalker for the Kindle :D
Love the covers for these books! still have to read the first one though! They sounds super cool!
Allyson's book covers are awesome! They'd definitely attract my attention in a book store.
Great interview and what a great series this sounds. Adding to amazon wishlist as we speak. x
Awesome, added to my list of books to read!
Some difficult quick fire questions there! Not sure l could answer all of them. Would be vampires or werewolves? Such a hard question!
Thanks for making it international!!!
ok love the series of books she's made
and wondering who her agent is??
I loved the first book in the Stormwalkers series.
I'd love to read the books in the Stormwalkers series!
Oh I need to get going on this series.Sounds so great!
I love the covers! Great interview and thanks for the giveaway. Go werewolves!
I have not read any of the books yet but I'm excited to find out about them. I will be definitely adding them to my tbr list.
Thanks for the interview! (: This sounds like an interesting book! It's on my TBR list now :P
Thanks for the giveaway!
These books sound great, and the covers are beautiful.
faefever25@hotmail.com
Interesting interview and awesome covers! Looks like something I'd love to read. Thanks for the giveaway:)
sarah.setar@gmail.com
Great interview!
I'm always looking for good urban fantasy and this seems really interesting.
Great interview!! Love the Quickies!!!
Harry Potter *-*
These books sound great!
Great giveaway too! Thanks!
@desapd
I haven't read this series yet, but I hope to soon XD
I Loved this interview...I would love to win this book, but if I don't will deffinately buy IT!
I love this series and the quickies were great!
I just got the first book of this series the other day. But reading this post makes me want to get reading this series.
LadyVampire2u AT gmail DOT com
Another great interview, I really love Jennifer's books.
That was a VERY fun interview--thank you!
f dot chen at comcast dot net
Thanks for the interview and giveaway! :D
I read Stormwalker last summer, and loved it. Have been planning to buy Firewalker since it was released, but haven't gotten around to it for some reason. Can't wait to read it! And I didn't realize that Shadow Walker is coming out so soon! :D
Thanks for the fab giveaway !! and for making it international !!!! yayaya thanks !!!!!! love the cover and would love to read it !!!! have done all the requirments I already follow you everywhere !!!! ** giggles **
kat
kittee_cat@bigpond.com
I have to confess I've had your books on my wishlist for some time now, it started with me not knowing anything about your series just the fantastic cover catching my eye :-)
Thanks for the generous giveaway!
ps: love the titles too! :-)
This series has been on my personal series wishlist FOREVER! I love your other writings and this series is just calling to me :)
I have never heard of this series. Glad for the interview and thanks for the giveaway