Heather Adkins is here with us today. Her novel, The Temple, is being released this week. I will have more for you on its release later this week.
First a little about Ms. Adkins:
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where I am still stranded as long as I remain poor and underpaid.
Where's your favorite place in the entire world?
Ireland. Anywhere in Ireland. My ultimate dream is to move there; to buy a cottage in the countryside. I will raise sheep, write books, and probably single-handedly keep the local pub in business.
What's your favorite movie?
The Boondock Saints and The Departed are head to head as all-time favorites.
What are the last 5 books you have read?
Seed by Ania Ahlborn, The Book of Lost Souls by Michelle Muto, Hit List by Laurell K Hamilton, The Readers Companion to Ireland edited by Alan Ryan, and Coexist by Julia Crane
Let's talk about your beginning as a writer:
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Vividly. My mother is a police officer. When I was ten years old, she was promoted to Detective (she is now a Major!) and was transferred to the Crimes Against Children Unit. For about three years, she worked 4 pm to midnight, and I was stuck home alone and entertaining myself. Without my own income to keep buying new books, it was read the entire Goosebumps series over and over and over or find a hobby (I've never liked TV). My daddy has written his entire life, so it felt natural when I started doing it. The stories began to come swiftly. I wrote eight novels during that time frame, none of which will EVER see the light of day.
What do you consider most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general?
Making myself do it. I get so frustrated when I stare at a blank page and can't move forward that I end up procrastinating for days at a time. Once I do begin writing, it just floods out; it's getting to that point that's tough.
Have you ever had writer's block? If so, what did you do about it?
All the freaking time. I drink a lot, b&*ch at my boyfriend, and moan about writer's block on my Facebook status. All very motivating, of course.
Your book, The Temple, is being released this week. Let's talk about that.
How did you come up with the title?
The Temple is (despite being an inanimate object) the ultimate main character of the novel, so the name just makes sense. Now that I think about it, there are more scenes taking place in or around the Temple than anywhere else...
Can you tell us a little about the main character, Vale Avari?
Vale Avari is fearless, sarcastic, and completely insecure. She threw a dart at a map and ended up in England, so she's either brave or insane, and she has absolutely no idea what she's doing. She has multiple superpowers including super-strength, telekinesis, the ability to talk to ghosts, and she can give an orgasm with just a touch. She doesn't like to talk about that last one.
Why did you choose to write this particular book?
A dream. It was so vivid and clear. It's actually in the novel at Chapter 10, I believe. It was me in the driver's seat for the original, but I put Vale there in the book. Her story needed to be told or my brain was going to kill me. It had the poison ready and everything.
You write about people with supernatural powers, if you could have any power you wanted, what would it be?
Telekinesis. I'm extremely lazy.
The future...
Can we expect any more books from you in the future?
Of course! I have four more novels finished that I'm hoping to release before the end of the year, and in between those I'll be releasing free short stories. I'm currently working on five new novels, and I also have a list of ideas for next year's projects. I'm going to be all over the place. I am a hurricane, coo coo ki choo. When I make a decision, i.e. to self-publish, I rush headlong with reckless abandon into said decision.
Have you started another book yet?
If I'm not always in the middle of four novels and eight short stories, then I'm dead. Send EMS.
Do you have any specific last thoughts you want to say to your readers and fans?
I love to write; it's almost a prerequisite for being a novelist. It is necessary for my general health and well being to write. I don't pretend to be a great literary mind, so all I hope is that people enjoy the escape my novels can give them.
That's all for now, folks. But, keep tuned... Ms. Adkins will be returning later this week with a guest post and links to where you can buy her book, The Temple. In the meantime, here's where you can connect with her online and read one of her short stories for free:
My blog : http://heather.bishoffs.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/heathermarieadkinsauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hmarieadkins
Underneath, my free ebook short story at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/65758
Two 5-star reviews and one 4-star!
You can also find many examples of my writing on my blog, where I've posted short stories for the past few years.
