Dishing it up with Allison Pang

Hi all!


I’m thrilled to have Urban Fantasy author Allison Pang on my blog today. Her book A BRUSH OF DARKNESS came out this week and she was kind enough to carve out some time to hang with us. Here’s a little intro to Allison:

A marine biologist in a former life, Allison Pang turned to a life of crime to finance her wild spending habits and need to collect Faberge eggs. A cat thief of notable repute, she spends her days sleeping and nights scaling walls and wooing dancing boys....Well, at least the marine biology part is true. But she was taloned by a hawk once. She also loves Hello Kitty, sparkly shoes, and gorgeous violinists. She spends her days in Northern Virginia working as a cube grunt and her nights waiting on her kids and cats, punctuated by the occasional husbandly serenade. Sometimes she even manages to write. Mostly she just makes it up as she goes.

JET: I had the pleasure of reading A BRUSH OF DARKNESS  under its original title way back when and I’m looking forward to reading the final version when it arrives at my doorstep. For those not familiar with this fabulous story, it is a unique blend of human nature and the world of faeries and incubus and unicorns, but I’ll let Allison tell you folks a little about the book…

Allison: It’s the story of Abby Sinclair, who is pretty much a normal girl, essentially tossed into this mystical world that overlaps our own. Everything she does has political repercussions, but directions are hard to come by and she finds herself struggling to figure out how to manage. When her Faery boss goes missing, Abby is forced to try to find her, joined by a perverted unicorn and a sexy incubus, who may or may not be setting her up.

JET: What made you choose Urban Fantasy as a genre?

Allison: I had originally written A BRUSH OF DARKNESS  as a Paranormal Romance, which has many of the same elements as an Urban Fantasy. My editor decided it would read better as a UF, so I rewrote a chunk of the book to fit that. The main difference is that there tends to be more world building in a UF, and the romance (if there is one) isn’t technically required. (Whereas a paranormal romance is really all about the romance.)

JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?

Allison: Just learning to trust my own instincts when it comes to my writing. When I first started out I was constantly being swayed by whoever’s opinion I was getting and that was detrimental, since everyone had a different idea of what I “should” have been doing.

JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?

Allison: Finding out my book was going to auction.

JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?

Allison: Honestly, there are many, but some of the classics like Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn have always stuck with me. The lyrical prose in particular just struck a chord that never really went away.

JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?

Allison: I don’t know really. I’d been writing a little project with a friend for fun a few years ago, and that was my first foray back into writing in nearly 15 years. Somewhere in that process I decided to investigate what was involved with getting published and wrote A Brush of Darkness as a sort of “starter novel”…only it actually sold!

JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?

Allison: Sadly, nothing. I really didn’t do much research on this particular book – just drew on the knowledge I already had.

JET: Any advice for the novices out there?

Allison: Just to keep writing. Nothing will make you better at the craft of writing than to actually do it. (And I speak of personal experience. Sometimes it’s easier to hide behind a ton of workshops and “how to” books than it is to actually put the words on the page.)

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?

Allison: Paper

JET: Steak or Tofu?

Allison: Gah. Depends, honestly. I was vegetarian for a long while. I’ve got back to eating meat some, but it depends on how its cooked. I don’t mind the tofu, though.

JET: Beach or Mountains?

Allison: Beach

JET: Country or Rock-n-Roll?

Allison: Rock

JET: Classics or Modern?

Allison: Classics

JET: Silent Film Classics or Cheesy B Rated Horror?

Allison: Cheesy Horror

JET: Zombies or Demons?

Allison: Demons

JET: Paper or Digital?

Allison: Digital

JET: Salty or Sweet?

Allison: Both?

JET: Coffee or Tea?

Allison: 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?

Allison: The second book in the BoD series was just turned in, so now I’m gearing up to get started on the third. I’ve also got a few other things in the works – an epic fantasy and a YA Steampunk, but they’re not quite ready for primetime.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my blog. Folks, you can find out more about Allison Pang and her work on her website: http://www.heartofthedreaming.com/

Next week is the first Friday in February and I'll be highlighting some new releases from my Backspace friends.  Stop by to see what's coming to the bookshelves near you!

Until then,
Ciao.
JET

Welcome 2011

Welcome to the first Friday blog of 2011. I usually reserve the first Friday of the month to showcase my Backspace brethren releases, however, January seems to be quite a light month – well, non-existent actually – at least as far as the release dates on our internal forum calendar.


So, with the absence of information, I thought I’d showcase one of the authors I am having on my blog this month after a brief commentary on self-publishing.

Self publishing – taking the leap.

I’ve been reading Joe Konrath’s blog lately on self-publishing and I want to take a second to give my own voice to this debate. The one thing I want to stress to those thinking of taking this leap – get a decent editor, not just a proofreader – because, while occasional grammatical mistakes are annoying, they can be forgiven, but sloppy writing, inconsistent point of view, head hopping and the telling of a story cannot.

A good editor can point out excessive amount of back-story, or annoying head hopping or the fact that the pace is stunted by detailed descriptions riddled with clichés.  A good editor helps turn passive voice into an active, engaging voice.    

A good editor will point out the holes in your story, the places that need ironing out, things that work, things that don’t. They help you build a stronger, more solid foundation and push you to reach further, to capture the reader. Without this influence, the book doesn’t stand a chance.

If you can't afford a decent editor, find a good critique partner that isn't afraid of telling you like it is or a writers group that will offer both critiques and support.  This step in the process is essential to your growth as a writer and a chance to hone your craft. 

And on that note – speaking of critique partners… I’d like to take a moment to showcase a new writer whose first book – an urban fantasy - is coming out on January 25, 2011. Allison Pang and her book - A BRUSH OF DARKNESS.

I hooked up with Allison in one of Margie Lawson’s deep editing classes and I knew from the first assignment we swapped that this girl was going places. I had the pleasure of reading and offering feedback on A BRUSH OF DARKNESS before it had that title and let me tell you, even the rough draft kicked ass. Talk about god given talent. Allison will be swinging in on January 28th to talk a little more about her journey to publication, but in the meantime, here’s the description of A BRUSH OF DARKNESS:

The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares.


Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.

Thanks for swinging by today. Next week I have David Nelson Bradhser dishing it up about his unique book Vampire Sonnets and on the 21st I have award winning romance novelist Annette Blair dishing it up about some of her new projects as well as her Works Like Magick series.

Until next week,
Ciao
JET