Meet Jane Harris

 

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been a storyteller. Like Emma in RIVEN, I used to gather up figurines and nick-knacks lying around the house and make up stories for my younger siblings. I’ve always liked writing, too: poetry, prose, essays…I’d do other students’ papers in college…I just knew what the teachers wanted to hear and how to say it. But it wasn’t until I went to the American Library Association’s Newbery Award Gala for Jack Gantos a few years ago that I ever thought I could make an actual book out of the scenes in my head. I met so many amazing authors that weekend. They inspired and encouraged me. When I got home from that trip I bought my first MacBook and started what would eventually become RIVEN.

What are some of your favorite books?

Ok, I like anything that’s written well, across any genre. Top 5?

1. All the Little Live Things by Wallace Stegner

2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

3. Ava’s Man by Rick Bragg

4. The Life of Pi By Yann Martel

5. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

6. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

7. His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman

8. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

That’s 5, right?

What inspires you to write?

Life and dreams. The subconscious. Social issues. Relationships. Beauty, ugliness…everything.

Where is your favorite place to write?

Running water really helps my flow. I have a fountain in my art/writing room, and one outside when it isn’t too hot and there aren’t mosquitos. There’s also this v cool 24 hour Korean spa here in Dallas I escape to sometimes called King Spa. There’s a Toad in the women’s water room with a sign around his neck that says STAY AWAY FROM TOAD. (!)

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Collect experiences. I’m a huge process oriented person and the ultimate consumer of LIFE. I love traveling, but I’m also content being at home hanging out with my kids. I’m into all of the high-brow visual and performing arts, but I’m also a TV/movie junkie. Scary movies and British crime dramas are my fav! I want to imbibe life, connect with people, learn and grow.

Oh, and eat. I LOVE FOOD.

What is your newest book about?

I like what Kirkus Reviews said:"In this debut fantasy thriller, a teen's real life begins to overlap with a colorful world she thinks she's invented... Riven is a whirlwind narrative about an imaginative heroine that uses fantasy to offer salvation from abuse."

Are you currently working on anything new?

I’m currently writing books two and three of the My Myth Trilogy and OMG I am SO excited! Book two is called SECRET KEEPER and book three is PRIMED.

How many books have you written and which one is your favorite?

RIVEN is my debut novel!

Now let’s get down to business…

You’re stranded on a deserted island, you get to pick one book to take with you. What do you choose and why?

1,001 Arabian Nights. My dad read me these stories as a little girl, and they just have endless possibilities. Scheherazade is the ultimate badass problem solver and storyteller…she would inspire me to survive if I ever felt like giving up and probably help me figure out a way to MacGyver up some Swiss Family Robinson contraptions for my water-collection system.

You have been given a week vacation to visit ANY fictional town, where would you go?

I’d probably head on over to Lothlórien. You know, make out with a hottie elf or two, flit about the enchanted forest in flowing gossamer with blossoms in my hair, sleep in a slender-limbed white-branched tree house and sip mellifluous honeyed elven wine. In fact, let’s make it a fortnight!

Quick! You have a date with your favorite fictional character, who are you meeting tonight?!

Yummers. Well, this may totally be cheating, but I’d pick Kaillen from RIVEN. He is seriously scrumptious: hella strong, complicated, Latino, cocky-but-not-arrogant, wicked smart, and well mannered. I haven’t decided if he’s worthy of a long-term relationship just yet (no spoilers!) but I’d def stay up with him ALL NIGHT LONG.

If I have to pick someone from a book I didn’t write though, (and keeping in mind I went out with Mr. Darcy last night), I’d have to say Silas from The Graveyard Book. He’s mysterious, wise, sexy, and has this underlying menace I really dig.

Follow Jane on social media!!

www.janealveyharris.com

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Looking for the My Myth Trilogy?
Riven (My Myth #1
Secret Keeper (My Myth #2)

The Devil's Dancer

Bonjour!

A Satire of Nothing accurately describes this manuscript. When I received my copy from Victor through a Goodreads Giveaway, I had no idea what  I was getting myself into, but I'm so glad I did. Robert is a producer at a theatre in Chicago. He wants to be the best, but the best has to cater to the Bourgeois Brothers, a notorious group that cannot accept their own feelings. The Bourgeois feel nothing except a positive disposition towards the plays Robert creates for them. The entire time I was reading this, all I could picture was a large group of people that wanted to look annoyed and like the "finer things" in life. Today we would call these people hipsters. 

 It also hits on some very comical views shared in our society today. For instance, the restaurant they frequent is called SmallBrandExpensiveFood, and the gourmet coffee shop BigBrandCoffee. We don't often think about the quality or reasoning behind some of our favorite places, so I found it hilarious how Victor hit on those topics. 

I will say, even though there were only a few musicals talked about, I couldn't help but imagine this play as something similar to Green Day's American Idiot on Broadway. I'm not sure if it was the cynicism or the overall shapes of the characters. Regardless, I found myself laughing throughout the majority of the manuscript. 

Au Revior, my friends, it's been a good trip. 

Meet Wayne Kerr

 

I am pleased to introduce Mr. Wayne Kerr!!

 

When did you realize you first wanted to be a writer?

My parents started me down that path by giving me a typewriter for my 12^th birthday.  I wrote a lot of short stories when I was a teen and several screen plays in my twenties.  After my daughter was born I told her some very long and involved bedtime stories.  A few years ago she convinced me to write some of them down and that got me started writing again.

What are some of your favorite books?

I grew up on a farm and my first favorite book was ‘My Friend Flicka’.  Currently my favorite authors are: Ian Fleming, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Ludlum, Vince Flynn, Thomas Perry, James Rollins, Michael Connelly, Clive Cussler and more.

What inspires you to write?

My daughter inspired me to write my first book.  My wife, brothers and sisters, and friends keep me going.  Everyone has been so encouraging.  Whenever someone mentions that they enjoyed one of my books, I get fired up all over again.

Where is your favorite place to write?

For me it is more of a favorite time to write.  I get up between 4am and 5am to write for three to four hours, no matter where I am.  A comfortable chair and my laptop are all I need.

What do you do when you aren’t writing?

I think of myself as a husband and father first, a tennis player second and a writer after that.  When I’m not writing, I’m hiking, biking or playing tennis.  I’d play tennis even more if my shoulder could take it.

What is your newest book about?

My newest book is Ric-A-Dam-Doo.  When a pair of teens are kidnapped from a mall in Tucson and smuggled into Mexico, the police and FBI are hampered by the International border and many levels of corruption.  What can a retired couple from Canada do about it?  Plenty.  Janet and PB Reese were once part of an elite Special Forces unit.  They are willing to go places and do things that regular law enforcement cannot in order to rescue these girls from a possible fate worse than death.

Are you currently working on anything new?

Framed in Blood A Reggie Swann Mystery.  It is obvious to the whole world that Stan Connelly killed his wife and disposed of her body.  There is overwhelming evidence to support his arrest.  He claims that he was framed.  Reggie Swann spent eight years in prison for a murder she didn’t commit.  Was Stan framed?  If anyone can figure out what really happened, Reggie can.

Framed in Blood is currently at my editor and I’m working on two more books in the series.  I’ve made a good start on A Pinot Noir to Die For and scribbled lots of notes for Murder on the Kettle Valley Express.

How many books have you written and which is your favorite?

I’ve written seven books to date.  My first book is closest to my heart.  I wrote Monsters and Miracles for my daughter.  There was a huge sense of accomplishment when I held the first copy in my hands.  My sister is a graphic artist and she’s done all my covers and I still think that one is the best.

You’re stranded on a deserted island, you get to pick one book to take with you.  What do you choose and why?

I probably should take ‘Robinson Crusoe’ for the practical knowledge, but I own ‘The Complete Sherlock Holmes’.  It contains every case and I can read them over and over without tiring of them.

You have been given a week vacation to visit any fictional town, where would you go?

Without a doubt it would be Atlantis.  When I was a teen I read lots of science fiction and always found stories about Atlantis fascinating.

Quick! You have a date with your favorite fictional character, who are you meeting tonight?

Jane Whitefield, Thomas Perry’s Native American guide who helps people in trouble disappear.  I have a soft spot for women who kick butt.  She’s an amazing character.

  

So there you have it!

Check out Wayne's blog page: http://www.waynekerrnovels.com/#!blog/c1n31 

or Goodreads account: https://www.goodreads.com/m0nst3rs