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Today, I’d
like to welcome Lisa Swallow to my blog. Lisa is an author of both paranormal
and contemporary romance, often with a side of snark. In between running a business,
looking after her family and writing, Lisa sometimes finds spare time to do other
things. This often involves swapping her book worlds for gaming worlds. Lisa is
originally from the UK but moved to Australia in 2001 and now lives in Perth in
Western Australia with her husband, three children and dog.
JET: Can you tell us about your most recent book?
My most recent paranormal book is
Between, Book One in the Dark Intent series. The book
Set in an English city, this book
has a different kind of supernatural – no blood-suckers or shifters here! Rose survived
an accident that killed her friend and faces a future different to the one she imagined.
Apart from the strange house she moves into, Rose finds two new men in her life.
Alek could
kill Rose with a kiss. Finn, with a touch. Pulled into an intense affair with Alek,
Rose discovers her connection to Finn threatens them all.
JET: What drew you to paranormal romance?
I’ve always enjoyed the freedom of writing in paranormal worlds – I love creating my own mythologies and putting a new spin on the kind of books I’ve read in the past.
JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?
Being brave enough to show people my work! Once I had the confidence to have strangers critique my stories, I finally began the journey to publication.
JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?
The day I was offered my first contract, for my paranormal book Soul Ties.
JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?
As a child, I read anything and everything! There are very few series where I’ve waited impatiently for the next book but I did with Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles when I was a teen. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I loved The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series and the humour in Douglas Adams’s books.
JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?
As a teen, I wrote a serial and gave a chapter a week to friends at school. I’d written for myself before then and was amazed that people wanted to read my stories. From then on, I decided the best job I could have when I grew up was to be a writer. After a lot of years, I have that job!
JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?
I’m writing a book where the characters have a ‘bucket list’ with some weird and wonderful things on. I intend to research some of them by taking a road trip around Western Australia eg swim with sharks, sleep under the stars etc. I can do the swimming with sharks in my home city, I just have to get brave enough!
Rising, book four in my Blue Phoenix series. The book was emotionally exhausting to write because it dealt with two emotionally damaged people and was darker in tone than the other books. The main character, Jem, was hated by a lot of readers because of his behaviour in early books but by the end of Rising readers loved and understood him. The fact I managed to redeem a vilified character felt like a big success.
JET: Any advice (from a writer’s standpoint) for the novices out there?
Finish writing a book! This was the hardest part for me, I kept jumping from project to project. Research your craft. Get feedback from people who will be honest with you. As for gaining a readership and selling enough books to make an income, remembers it’s a marathon and focus on writing the next book.
JET: All right - now
that I’ve hammered you with the big questions, let’s tackle my favorite (and geeky)
quick ten...starting with Paper or Plastic?
Paper
JET: Steak or Tofu?
Steak
JET: Beach or Mountains?
Mountains
JET: Country or Rock-n-Roll?
Rock and roll
JET: Leather or Lace?
Lace
JET: Angels or
Demons?
Demons
JET: Paper or
Digital?
Paper
JET: Silent
Film Classics or Cheesy B Rated Horror?
Cheesy B Rated Horror
JET: Twilight
or True Blood?
True Blood
JET: Coffee or Tea?
Tea
JET: Thank you for indulging me. Before we wrap this up, can you tell us what you're working on now? What's next?
I’m currently working on a book in my Blue Phoenix rock romance series. Once this is complete, I’m moving onto the next book in the Dark Intent series.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my
blog. Folks, you can find out more about Lisa Swallow and her work at the following
places:
Until
next time,
Ciao.
JET
