Jessica Spotswood

1.    Are you a plotter or a pantser?  I’m somewhere in-between. I don’t like doing a full, detailed outline – I tried that with STAR CURSED and it was disastrous. But I make a loose outline for the next few scenes or chapters so I know where I’m headed.

2.    What does your daily writing routine look like?  I’m actually working on creating a more consistent writing routine! I’ve never been a steady, 1k-a-day writer; I may not write for several days in a row, and then I’ll write 2-3000 words. I usually write for a few hours in the late afternoon (I rarely start before 3pm), and then if I’m on deadline I’ll write again late at night, from about midnight until 4am. I’m very much a night owl.

3.    Where do you find your inspiration?  Everywhere! I’m inspired by dreams, by snatches of conversation I overhear, by music lyrics. For the Cahill Witch Chronicles, Snow Patrol and Mumford & Sons and Florence + the Machine featured prominently in my playlists. I’m inspired by books I love – and books I don’t love, when I think about how I would write it differently!

4.    How did you come up with the plot for The Cahill Witch Chronicles?  Did the story come first, or did the characters?  The characters came first. I had a dream in which my sisters and I were fighting over a magical locket from our mother, and the idea of writing about the mix of love and rivalry between three sisters with a complicated magical inheritance stuck. The plot evolved from there, and it changed so much in edits. In the draft that sold, the dire prophecy that one Cahill sister would murder another wasn’t even in place yet.

5.    What about witches fascinates readers and writers alike?  Well, historically, women accused of witchcraft were often marginalized in some way – they were eccentric, they were poor, they were too educated, they were unmarried, they lived outside town. I think readers like to root for underdogs, and writers like to explore that notion of powerful women in societies that fear them.

6.    Discuss your research process about historical witchcraft practices.  Which part of the Cahill witchcraft lore is historically accurate and which part did you create?  My research focused mostly on the history of persecuting innocent women, rather than witchcraft lore. I drew more from literary influences like Harry Potter and Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle series to create the magic in the series. The history of the Daughters of Persephone, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood, and the witchery that Cate and her sisters do is all invented.

7.    Without giving too much away, when you first started developing the idea for the romance between Cate and her two very different and very swoon-worthy suitors, Finn and Paul, did you know who she would end up with (if she ends up with either of them) or did it change as you wrote?  I definitely knew that Cate’s heart belonged to Finn. Paul is there to illustrate how much Cate has changed since her mother died, how she can no longer follow the traditional path that’s expected of her, how she’s outgrown her childhood dreams. He’s a good man, but he’s not right for Cate.

8.    Did your process change when writing Book 1 to Book 2 to Book 3?  If so, how?  I wrote BORN WICKED over about 9 months without any editorial input. I had four months to write STAR CURSED and my editor made me outline it first, and it didn’t work; I felt too constricted by the outline and followed it to the book’s detriment instead of following the characters. We ended up throwing out 75% of that first draft and starting over. For SF we identified the major stakes of the story and I went from there, and I had six months, and it was a much more solid first draft.

9.    Speaking of Book 3, is there anything you can tell us about it? (book cover, release date, synopsis, ANYTHING?)  Yes! That’s all been revealed since you sent me these questions. SISTERS’ FATE will be released on August 14, 2014. Here’s the synopsis (warning: major spoilers for STAR CURSED!!):

 A fever ravages New London, but with the Brotherhood sending suspected witches straight to the gallows, the Sisters are powerless against the disease. They can’t help without revealing their powers—as Cate learns when a potent display of magic turns her into the most wanted witch in all of New England.

To make matters worse, Cate has been erased from the memory of her beloved Finn. While she’s torn between protecting him from further attacks and encouraging him to fall for her all over again, she’s certain she can never forgive Maura’s betrayal. And now that Tess’s visions have taken a deadly turn, the prophecy that one Cahill sister will murder another looms ever closer to its fulfillment.

 You can see the cover and add it to your Goodreads shelf here.

 10.How does it feel writing the last of a trilogy?  Is there any way we'll see these characters again?  It’s bittersweet. I wanted to give them the exact perfect right ending, and I hope readers will be satisfied. I don’t think I’ll write anything else from Cate’s point of view; I feel like her story is complete at the end of SISTERS’ FATE. I could see myself doing a short story from someone else’s point of view  – perhaps about one of her sisters, or Sachi and Rory, or Rilla Stephenson. That would be a fun extra. We’ll see. 

11.The covers are absolutely stunning. How much of a say did you have in creating them?  Thank you! I had absolutely nothing to do with it (most authors don't), but I’m really pleased with them.

12.How did you market your series?  I was part of Penguin’s second Breathless Reads tour in February 2012, and then part of the third tour in February 2013. I’ve also done local events in Washington DC and joint signings with other 2012 debut authors in Philadelphia and Boston. Mostly, though, my efforts are online. I blog, though somewhat infrequently; I tweet; I update the Cahill Witch Chronicles Facebook page. I’ve done a few twitter chats and blog giveaways leading up to releases on my blog. I’ve been lucky that Penguin has also done some fantastic marketing, including creating a really stunning book trailer (Preview) for BORN WICKED. Honestly, it’s hard to say what works and what doesn’t. I love meeting readers on tour or at events and interacting with them online, but otherwise I try to focus on writing the next book.

13.Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?  My biggest advice is to take your time. Make sure that your work is the absolute best it can be before you query or submit it. Set it aside for a bit and then go back to it with fresh, more objective eyes. Better yet, ask friends who are voracious readers or fellow writers to read it for you and give you feedback. Ask them what they like and want to see more of as well as what confuses them or doesn’t quite work. Try to listen with an open heart. You don’t have to follow all of their advice, but if two people say the same thing, it’s probably worth consideration. 

14.On your blog, you mentioned you're working on something.  Can you give us a clue as to what that might be?  Sure! I’m working on a sort of Southern Gothic ghost story. It’s very new, but I really love it. I’m not sure yet if that will be my next official book or not; I’ve got several ideas percolating right now!

15.Do you have any book recommendations, anything you're currently working on?  I just read Andrea Cremer’s THE INVENTOR’S SECRET, which comes out in April. It’s a wonderfully imaginative steampunk adventure set in a world where the British won the Revolutionary War. The heroine, Charlotte, is really clever and plucky, and I don’t quite know who else to trust, which I love! I also just read and love love loved ROSE UNDER FIRE by Elizabeth Wein, the companion to CODE NAME VERITY. It’s not an easy book – set partially in a women’s concentration camp during WWII – but it’s beautiful and Rose is so winsome.

Jessica Spotswood is the author of the Cahill Witch Chronicles: BORN WICKED (2012), STAR CURSED (2013), and SISTERS' FATE (August 2014). She grew up in a tiny, one-stoplight town in Pennsylvania, where she could be found swimming, playing clarinet, memorizing lines for the school play, or - most often - with her nose in a book. Now Jess lives in Washington, DC with her playwright husband and a cuddly cat named Monkey. She can be found doing yoga, teaching writing workshops for teens, or - most often - with her nose in a book. Some things never change. 

Find Jess online: blog | Twitter | Facebook | Cahill Witch Inspiration pinboard

Kasie West

First and foremost, please tell us a little bit about yourself.  About myself....hmmm....I'm pretty boring. Most of the time I'm busy doing mom stuff which these days includes a lot of driving. I feel like a taxi driver. I have 4 kids. My oldest is 15 and my baby is 6. They keep me busy. When I'm not doing mom stuff, I love to read, watch movies, and eat chocolate. (Yes, sometimes I do all of those things simultaneously) 

You tend to write various types of genres.  What's your favorite to write and why?  What are you most comfortable to write and why?  I write both paranormal and contemporary in the YA genre. I really like to write both a lot. Although my paranormals feel very contemporary so maybe that's where my heart lies. I love the characters and emotions of which tend to take center stage in a contemporary.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?  I'm mostly a pantser. I say mostly because I do have the key points plotted when I sit down to write. I generally know my characters when I sit down to write. And most often I know the end. Everything else I discover as I write.

What is your writing routine?  I really don't have one. I write when I find time. With 4 kids, being a mom always comes first. Although, this year, for the first time, all of my kids are in school, so that has become my main time to write these days. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty awesome.

Where do you find your inspiration?  I get inspiration when I get out from behind my computer and do something, anything. My husband and I went on vacation recently and an idea for a story came to me while grabbing my suitcase off the cart. This happens a lot when I let my brain relax and just get out and live.

In THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, the story is essentially Pride & Prejudice meets Pretty in Pink.  Why did you mesh these two iconic stories?  I didn't set out to mesh these two stories. That description actually came about after the story was written. :) But I love those two stories so I'm perfectly fine that mine is a mash up between the two.

On that note, how do you make your story unique while sticking with the general concept?  I think that two writers given the same idea would write two completely different stories. We each bring our own experience, our own voice, and our own spin on every story. So I didn't consciously try to make it different, I just wrote the story.

Where did you get the inspiration for PIVOT POINT?  Pivot Point was inspired by the movie Sliding Doors. I love the idea of alternate realities and exploring how choice can change an outcome.

What can you tell us about SPLIT SECOND?  Split Second, the sequel to Pivot Point, is a continuation of Addie's story. She learns a lot of things about the Compound where she lives. She also gets the chance to see and get to know Trevor again. This story also has another POV character--Laila.

What type of relationship is your favorite to explore and develop?  I love the best friends falling for each other relationship. That's fun for me. But I also love getting to know the mysterious stranger.....yeah....I guess my favorite is whatever one I'm working on at the moment because they are all so fun.

 What type of person is your ideal hero when you're both reading and writing?  Are they the same?  Why or why not?  I like humor when I both read and write. I think humor is such a good way to offset tension. I think lighter moments make the darker ones feel darker and vice versa. So I love a funny or sarcastic main character.

What type of person is your ideal heroine when you're both reading and writing?  Ah, I thought the last question was this question. Maybe because I always think of the main character as the hero. Ha. Okay, so, my answer to this one is pretty much the same. But I do like characters that complement each other. I think that if a hero has a weakness, that should be the heroine's strength and the opposite. It makes for a strong couple. This doesn't always have to be the case, but some of my favorite stories are when this is the case.

What has the publishing process been like?  Long. :) It's been a long, sometimes frustrating, but very rewarding journey. There were times I wanted to give up, there were times I didn't. It took years of writing, years of querying, and then months of submitting before I got my first publishing contract. 

Would you recommend advertisements or did you market your books through a different venue?  I am an awful marketer. This is one reason I really wanted to go traditional--because I'm so uncomfortable with self promotion. I do what I feel comfortable with, which is twitter, Instagram, and a blog, and I focus most of my energy on writing.

Are you working on anything now?  I'm always writing something. :) And also, right now I'm critiquing for a friend.

Any upcoming releases?  I have two books coming out in 2014. The first is SPLIT SECOND, sequel to Pivot Point. It is available for preorder now: 

http://www.amazon.com/Split-Second-Pivot-Point-Kasie/dp/0062117386/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380999961&sr=8-1&keywords=split+second+by+kasie+west

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/split-second-kasie-west/1115554619?ean=9780062117380

And then I have another contemporary coming out in the summer of 2014 called ON THE FENCE. 

Contact info:

www.kasiewest.com

https://twitter.com/KasieWest

Inara Scott

You have 4 books coming out in the next 6 months.  How does that happen and how do you find the time to release the books as well as write new ones?  That sounds very intimidating, doesn't it? LOL! Here's the crazy thing--I'm also a full time law professor, so I teach and write academic papers during the school year and generally write my fiction over the summer. This year is a bit of an anomoly, because some deadlines got moved around and I wrote a lot over the past eight months. But for me, writing is like TV, or candy, or movies...it's my downtime and the thing I most love to do. I will admit that I write in spurts. For example, this summer I wrote two books because I wasn't teaching or publishing. But I can't write like that all year long. I need breaks in between books to regain my energy and creativity. I think the most I could write would be 3 books a year. I am in awe of people who crank out 6 or more books a year.

Please tell us a bit about your YA October release, A SLEEP SO DARK.  Where did you get the inspiration for it?  This book is so much fun--I can't wait to share it with everyone! A Sleep So Dark is a romantic thriller with a paranormal twist, but like most of my books it started with a character. At the time I was writing it, my daughter was doing gymnastics at a gym pretty far from our house, so I'd just stay and write while she had her practices. Well, you can't put me in a setting like that, surrounded by these crazy gymnastics moms shouting at their 5 year-old daughters without inspiring a book! So my inspiration was Tandy, the main character, who has been pushed all her life by her mother to be an Olympic gymnast, and is now struggling to rebuild her life after her mother's death. From there, I ended up with cowboys (because they're sexy) and snowstorms (because they're scary) and hot football players (because, well, they're hot!). And dreams, because who hasn't had a terrifying nightmare and wondered what it would be like if dreams could come true?

What can discuss about your other upcoming releases?  My November release is called Falling for Mr. Wrong, and it's an adult contemporary romance in my Bencher Family series from Entangled Publishing. It's about a mountain-climbing woman who finds herself babysitting for the guy she had a crazy one-night stand with years before. They are totally wrong for each other--of course! But romance ensues... The January release is called Reforming the Playboy, and it's part of a three book contemporary romance continuity from Entangled set in the fictional town of Passion Creek, Colorado. In Reforming the Playboy, Kira Butler has to confront her college boyfriend--who happens to be an international art star--to keep some very sexy drawings he made of her from ending up on the Internet.

And last, but definitely not least, I will be releasing the third (and final) book in my Delcroix Academy series in late winter. For those who have followed the series, I promise I will wrap up all of your questions. Like, Is Jack really dead? Is Cam as cute and sweet as he seems? And most importantly, what's REALLY going on behind Grandma's foggy glasses? :-)

You've written so many genres.  Do you have a favorite?  Why or why not?  Well, I've written YA and adult, historical, paranormal, fantasy, contemporary (long and short), and now, thriller...so I must plead guilty to the charge of having a short attention span. But do I have a favorite? My favorite things are happy endings, true love, and swoon-worthy romance. I don't really care what package you put them in. When I'm super busy, I tend to write shorter, more straightforward books like my contemporary romances. When I have more time, I like to delve into deeper, more complex plots, like my young adult books. I suspect in the future I'll bounce back to historicals, just because I've always wanted to publish a pirate romance. My fervent hope is that my readers will hold my hand and come along with me, even though I rarely take them back to the same place twice.  

What's the publishing process been like?  Hmm...how much time do you have for me to answer that? LOL! The short answer is that it's a rollercoaster, and if you want to write and publish, you've got to sign on for the ride. I'm not big on looking back, so I'll just say that I feel incredibly lucky to be where I am right (write?) now. I publish what I want, have worked with wonderful people in many countries, have a great relationship with Entangled Publishing, and feel supported by my fans and my editors. I couldn't ask for more.

How do you advertise your work?  When I have a new release you'll see me doing the blog tour thing, and of course I'm pretty active on Facebook (www.facebook.com/inarawrites) Twitter (@inarascott) and Tumblr (inarascott.tumblr.com). I've been lucky to be a part of some wonderful teen book festivals and have had great school visits as well. Really, any way I can talk to readers, I am all over.

Any advice for aspiring writers?  See response above about publishing! Be in it for the long haul. Don't hit send too quickly. Revise revise revise. Find editors, critique partners, and writing groups so you stay connected, supported, and challenged. Know that not everyone will love your books. That's okay. Love what YOU do and take pride in what makes your writing special.