Author Interview - J.R. Turner & Giveaway

Here we are again for another interview! I was approached by J.R. Turner to be in her Blog Tour for her new book which came out on Tuesday. I agreed because it was my first Blog Tour I was part of and it's awesome. For my stop, not only am I doing an author interview, but the author herself is giving away a book thong to one lucky commenter. So be sure to comment and add your email address for quick findings. So without further ado, the interview!

The Author

Who is J.R. Turner?

I'm a creative person who loves tradition and making other people smile. I try to maintain a positive attitude, though I don't always succeed. I'm not afraid of hard work, but I can definitely be lazy! My favorite food groups are chocolate and pastries :)

What sort of books do you like writing? Is there any genre your good at writing? Bad at writing?

I love anything with a lot of action and romance-add in paranormal elements and I'm a happy camper. If there's anything I don't do well, it's the very emotional, long drawn out character studies that are popular with literary writers.

Why is it that you write? Why not something else?

My life has been very exciting, and sometimes not always in a good way. There's nothing more thrilling for me than to kick major bad-guy butt. I find it hard to read books that do nothing other than explore the inner workings of a relationship. To me, that's really only half the story. The rest is how life (and larger than life) events challenge those relationships.

How would you react if someone wanted to create a film out of one of your works? What would you do?

I'd be totally stoked! Writing is such a visual experience it would be fabulous to see those imaged brought to life. If I could, I'd love to work with Jerry Bruckheimer, J.J. Abrams, or McG. Kevin Smith would be wonderful as well. He's got such a dynamite feel for dialogue.

How do you put these worlds into a story? Do you outline everything or go with the flow?

I definitely outline. I've tried writing instinctually, but my instincts generally get me painted into corners I can't get out of. I like to outline the series of events, then let the characters react organically-usually surprising me in the process.

The Novel

For those who don't know, can you tell us a bit about your series?

The Extreme Hauntings series began when my publisher and my eldest son wanted me to write something young adult. I didn't know at first if I could do this because I was used to doing high action. When I figured out I could arm my heroine with supernatural abilities, I got hooked right away.

What drew you to this particular story?

Ghost stories are really a favorite of mine, but there are so few exceptionally good ones out there-as compared to vampires and werewolves. Because I went with the souls of humans as the mainstay of each book, the series has unintentionally become more and more religious. Now I'm exploring a love triangle between the boy next door, the archangel Raphael, and Kaylee, my heroine.

Everyone knows that sometimes you lay at a crossroad in your story and either decision can affect your novel with a huge impact. What was one of the toughest crossroads you've reached?

I think in Detour 2 Death I had a moment where I could really work with Davey's character in one of two ways. He's Kaylee's best friend, but he's in a coma. I wanted to show his subconscious self as more primitive, very black and white in the way he views the world. This could have meant he was even more loving-but instead the story wanted to go into a more abusive situation. This led to the love triangle I mentioned earlier. I didn't intend for an archangel to be a love interest, but I went where the story took me.

This is the third novel in the series, for those who still haven't gotten it, what can we expect from it?

The great thing about Detour 2 Death is, like the others in the series, there are real consequences for Kaylee's actions. In the first book, DFF: Dead Friends Forever, she's arrested and found guilty of arson and grave robbing. In School's Out 4-Ever she's serving her sentence in the reformatory. In Detour 2 Death , she's re-arrested for "breaking out" to go see Davey. She also has to keep her promise. She made a deal with the Grim Reaper to give up her life in three days-bargaining for the time she'll need to save Davey. She's forced to keep that promise-but I won't say how! :)

Between the feuding shrink and priest, the angry mom and dad, the neighbors, the doctors, her supposed sympathetic coma, and the entity that possesses her body when she's spirit walking in the hospital, this is a fast-paced and exciting read.

What do you honestly think of your finished novel?

Ever time I finish a book I think it's the best thing I've ever written. This is probably because I've worked hard to always challenge myself to do something new and fresh, something I find difficult. In this book, I really had to deal with an anti-hero of sorts. It's not easy to make someone who is abusive a likable character and I think I did a pretty great job.

Future Novels

How many novels did you plan for Extreme Hauntings Series? Are you going to follow up on it?

Yes, there are three more books slated in the series. The next book will take place in a haunted summer camp, after that, a haunted hotel, and in the final book-a haunted mental hospital, where Kaylee's father practices "shrinkology."

Another of your novel Redemption is scheduled to be released May 15th. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Redemption is a fantastic urban fantasy. This is the first time I've written in first person (another challenge) and I'm extremely excited about this book. Nancy Holzner, the author of Deadtown and Hellforged (amazin books!) will be offering me a cover quote. Here's the blurb:

Half-angel Savannah Mantas smells the sulfuric stench of wrath when it enters her city, Iron Point. Resurrected by the archangel Michael, she's hunting for redemption and half-demon Nico Montenegro is her prey. He comes from the Fringes, the border between the city and the toxic wasteland beyond.

When they meet, Nico tells her a story, one of genocide and confiscated bodies. Not revenge, but justice is his purpose and his target is the most admired family in the world-Commander Hathaway and his daughter.

Hathaway's soldiers are slaughtering Fringers and secretly feeding them to Revenants, mutants who survived the bio-bombing of 2120. They have a twisted idea they can train these clever creatures like dogs and keep them out of the city long enough to mobilize an evacuation for the wealthy and well-connected.

Savannah knows better. Revenants are what killed her. When they attack, the last of humankind may be wiped out completely. Stopping Hathaway might just be enough to gain her redemption and escape a hellish fate.

Such a busy year, on October 1st you're expecting another novel called Racing the Moon. Can you tell us a bit about that one as well?

This is a horror novel inspired by Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. I wanted to take werewolves in a different direction than we're used to seeing. The way Crichton made it about the science, manipulating the DNA discovered in the fossilized abdomen of the mosquito trapped in amber, I wanted to make the mutation into a werewolf about the science. As news continues to trickle in about the permafrost layers in Alaska melting, I thought this would provide the perfect scenario for the release of a virus-one I called the Lycan Virus in the book. Here's the blurb for that book:

A sickness has come to Alaska, targeting rural Inupiat villages. Dorian Kapadonis, head geneticist for the Epidemiology Intelligence Service is oging to find out why, if he makes it out of the Brooks Range alive. His niece, Amanda McCourt knew her first case at the EIS would be tough, but a missing uncle, entire families mutated by a mysterious illness, and a becoming prey for savage creatures was more than she expected.

Major Damon Wyatt, on his first undercover operation, finds his loyalty to the Defense Intelligence Agency tested when he uncovers the secret life of his superior. With the help of an Inupiat shaman and an expert biologist, he and the EIS will fight to find a cure for the Lycan virus and save those already mutated into the monster the world knows as werewolf.

Aside from Redemption, Racing the Moon and Extreme Hauntings Series, do you plan to do any other series, trilogies or stand-alone novels?

I have another romantic suspense novel, Still Life in Death that I'm finalizing now. Here is the blurb for this one:

Heather Sawyer is an aspiring artist on the cusp of finally making her mark in the industry. Dean Canton has come home to take over the family business, no matter how much his father tests him or how strong his competition. Sunset, Illinois has bigger problems however. A killer is on the loose and as the body count rises around them, Heather and Dean will have to face their painful history and learn to trust each other again if they want to survive.

I'm also working on a six-story series for middle grade readers at the moment. Delbert Dallas and the Dragon Diaries is aimed at the reluctant reader. This series is part of a pilot program launched by Echelon Press and Quake: Electric Shorts-Sparking Young Imaginations. Here's the series blurb:

Delbert Dallas turned twelve and got the coolest gift ever, an electric guitar. His father is a cartoon composer and his mom is an officer in the United States Army. His older brother Damien is a know-it-all who has to go first and his younger brother Dougie always gets his way. To escape them both, he'll learn to play his guitar like a rock star and free Barbecue Bob, the dragon, living inside.

Walter Wheeler is mad. Held back two grades, ignored at home, he wants to take over the world. When he gets a magical viola for his fourteenth birthday, he finds his own dragon, Firebrand, one he can ride to anywhere, and to any time. If he changes the past, he could change his future, but most of all, his present.

To unleash the dragons and travel through time they must play the exact right melodies. Only an immortal, a mage, a man called Matthew has the sheet music that will take them all on wild and dangerous adventures through time.

This is the last serious question I have for you. Any advice or last serious words for readers of your novels and aspiring authors?

Aspiring authors should be prepared to treat their career like a business. Gone are the days where the reclusive writer holes up in a turret writing tome after tome while the publisher and their team of experts take the book from rough draft to polished product and put it into the hands of the publisher. As we move closer and closer to books being sold by the download rather than by hardcover or paperback, expert use of the internet and social networking sites is a must for today's career author.

The Fun

Favorite novel and movie?

That's like asking me which of my children is my favorite! Ugh! Okay, as far as books go, I have to say I'm a big fan of The Stand by Stephen King. I'm also in love with Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. My favorite Dean Koontz novel is Strangers and I'm particularly fond of Jenny Siler's Flashback. There are so many great books out there, though, it's hard to just name a few.

As far as movies go, I think I'm still love with True Romance. A long standing favorite of mine, I just get a big kick out of the characters. The actors are all so exceptional and this has a huge cast to choose from. Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Pitt-gosh the list goes on and on.

Favorite food and drink?

Absolutely adore chocolate. I even have that painted on my kitchen wall ;) At the moment, I've developed an addiction to McDonald's Caramel Frappes. They are my treat for grocery shopping and running errands.

Favorite country?

I've never been outside the U.S. so this would be hard for me to answer. I think if I could visit anywhere, it would be Brazil. I'd love to see their Carnival. I even used the festival as a backdrop to the action in Silent Knight.

Favorite way to relax?

A glass of Amaretto and coke, a great movie, and something crafty in my lap-knitting, crochet, beading, or quilting are the most common.

And last but not least, what's an outrageous number of novels you wish you could write?

Lol! I would love to reach a thousand novels. Wouldn't that be something?

Thank you so very much for hosting me on my blog tour Mike! I've enjoyed these questions immensely! For your readers, I'd love to give away a beautiful, beaded book thong to one of those who leave a comment for me. I look forward to answering questions or simply responding to everyone!

Warmly,

Jenny:)

There you have it, an awesome interview! Don't forget to leave comments for her and enter for a chance to win that awesome beaded book thong. Just leave your email address in the comments down below.

And while you're still reading this, make sure you visit her website here for more information on her and her novels and like her facebook page here! Happy Reading Everyone! =D