Good morning everyone! Hope all is well. If not, I may have the tincture needed to boost you through that rough mental bog before your coffee kicks in! My whip-cracking dragon has gone out for a smoke break(I hope you found that pun as funny as I did) which has given me enough time to sneak back here to tell you about a recent interview I had with one of my favorite authors out there: Lisa M. Lilly! You may remember her from her flame spewing debut novel The Awakening, or The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two other Urban Tales of Horror. Well, being a huge fan of the novel I couldn't resist an opportunity to interview her. Especially since her second book comes out October 7th! ...Wait, that's today! Pardon me while I go order it.................Alright, I'm back and and excited to begin it.(Actually, I ordered it earlier the pause was for dramatic tension.)
I have to say it's always a blast speaking with Lisa because she has such a level of positive energy very few people seem to have. And adding that on top of her well timed jokes(Which is soemthing she could teach me), its no wonder how she ended up being a writer. She's no stranger to the paranormal or suspense that has kept me up late at night. But enough about what I think, let's get to the stuff you came here for: DRAGON GLADATORIAL BATTLES! Well, that's next month, so how about my interview with Lisa?
I began by telling her: I had 2 favorite moments in part one of your series "The Awakening." First, was Tara's initial reaction to her non-sexual pregnancy. I felt so nervous for her. It made me curious to say the least. (What ever happened to birds and bees?)
I spent a lot of time figuring out how Tara would feel and react. I wanted it be a moment everyone could relate to. Not being pregnant, but having fate or life or another person throw something at you that will spend your whole world and you never saw it coming. For Tara, that’s ratcheted up a hundredfold because not only is this unexpected, it’s the very situation she made every effort to avoid. It can’t be happening, but it is.
The 2nd was how you kept the pace going. I felt little time was given to me to take breaths, which kept me turning pages. Has Tara's evolution by the end of "The Awakening" been enough to help her find time to take in all that has happened, or will she be back on a move that will keep me up until 2:30 like your last novel?
I love to hear that I kept a reader awake. My favorite books are the ones that make me late getting to my office, so it’s a good thing I work for myself. Tara gets about four months of relative quiet and calm, but The Unbelievers starts the instant that shatters. From then on, she doesn't get much opportunity to catch her breath. I learned a lot about dramatic tension from watching soap operas. (All My Children was my favorite.) If characters are happy and relaxed, they’re not on screen for more than a few moments.
Being a fan of cult mysteries, I took a particular interest in "The Brotherhood." What was your inspiration in making such a shadowy group of people? Was it Free Masons? Or Oddfellows? What about Bigfoot?
My dad belonged to a religious group that brought a statue of the Virgin Mary to people’s homes to “visit” for two weeks at a time for prayer services. The statue, a replica of one blessed in Europe by a bishop, was called the Pilgrim Virgin or Our Lady. She (see, even I’m calling it “she”) was about three and a half feet tall, wore a crown, and always had two gold-plated vases of roses at her feet. Set on my parents’ coffee table, the statue was about the height of a person and gave me quite a scare a few times when I got home after dark and didn’t expect it to be there. As an adult, I came to understand the sense of community and connection a shared tradition like that fosters. But as teenagers, my brothers and I alternated between making fun of it (inventing skits with the statue clunking up to people’s houses and ringing the bell to request a visit) and finding it unnerving and eerie. That Old World Catholicism with its ritual and imagery played into a lot of my later writing.
Favorite type of tea?
Republic of Tea Coconut Cocoa. A soothing, understated blend of coconut, chocolate, dates, and malted barley that I can only get at stores that are out of my way. I’ve been staring longingly at the empty canister with its shiny coppery lid for a month now. Not that anyone needs to send me a care package with some of it or anything.
What's a regular day of writing for you?
I don't work well in pajamas. Which I mention because some people do, and they like working from home partly for that reason. I get ready in the morning as if I were heading to my law office across town even if I don’t need to be there until later. I write from one to three hours at home while I drink tea. Sometimes I write again in the evenings, especially if I’m starting something new. I find the tiredness of my brain helps me come up with creative ideas and plot lines. On weekends, I try to write for a few hours, often at the Starbucks in my neighborhood. (Chai latte, if you wondered, but not the Oprah Chai. It’s not sweet enough for me.) The ambient noise helps me focus, and I like the energy of people around me.
In your second book "The Unbelievers," will we be seeing any new characters or will you be focusing on Tara and the baby? (No spoilers now!)
One new character is Eric Holmes, a successful 35-year-old businessman who stepped down from his position as CEO of his family’s conglomerate right after Tara gave birth, though no one can figure out how he’s connected to her. Cyril Woods is the character I’m most often asked about from The Awakening, mostly because readers are angry at him. He plays a significant role.
Beta fish or gold fish?
I’m more of a bird person. My parakeet has his own Pinterest board and is demanding a plug, so here’s the link: http://www.pinterest.com/lisamlilly/mr-bird-is-the-word/
As to fish, I have to go with goldfish. There are some eerie ones in The Unbelievers. Really.
In either of the books in "The Awakening" series, do you have a favorite character? If so, who?
I have a lot of sympathy for Lynette Spencer, Tara’s mom, because she always manages to say exactly the wrong thing to her daughter, but she’s there when it counts. A lot of the conflicts I had with my mother come through in the Tara/Lynette relationship. Over the years I’ve realized how much I admire my mom and how much I learned from her. I wish she were still here so I could tell her that.
Only because of my obsession: dragons or fairies? Dragons, right?
Always dragons.
And finally, is there a genre you've yet to try your hand at but would like to? Why? (And you can't pick fanfiction about the show "Supernatural" because I called it already.)
I wrote a blog post about why I love the fictional female private eye V.I. Warshawski (creatively entitled Why I Love V.I.). Eventually I’d like to write a female private eye novel or series – straight mystery/detective, no supernatural aspect, though I always seem to want to throw that into the mix. Speaking of Supernatural, I haven’t watched the show, but if you like it that much, I’m thinking I need to check it out.
I have to say, it's always fun interviewing such an up-beat person. And for the record I visited her bird's pinterest page: OH MY GOD IT'S ADORABLE! But I'll interview that little dude at another day, I have a new book to read. And you should go pick up your own copy as well. Pick one up by clicking the link: http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-M.-Lilly/e/B005EO80OK#. Or even stop by her website at: www.lisalilly.com.
.....You went to it right? Seriously, you're reading mindless drivel I've spent typing rathering than getting your fingers around a paranormal thriller? Take your dragon off its leash and go get a copy now!