Interview with Author Lisa Shearin & A Give Away

Today, I'm delighted to have as my guest, fantasy author Lisa Shearin. Although I haven't yet read her books, several friends convinced me to give her a try so she's on my list of authors to read. Today she's here celebrating the release of her newest book, "All Spell Breaks Loose". It's the sixth, and final, book in her Raine Benares series, and it releases tomorrow, May 29th.

A little bit about Lisa: Contrary to popular belief, most authors do have day jobs just like everyone else. Lisa is happily ensconced at an advertising agency as an editor and quality control manager. In her previous corporate life, she's been a magazine editor, advertising copywriter, and writer of corporate marketing materials of every description.

She's the author of the national bestselling fantasy adventure series featuring Raine Benares, a finder of things lost and people missing. But what Raine finds best is trouble and lots of it. The series began with Magic Lost Trouble Found, and continued with Armed & Magical, The Trouble With Demons, Bewitched & Betrayed, Con & Conjure and ends with All Spell Breaks Loose.

Lisa is a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, and live's in North Carolina with her always patient and ever-encouraging husband, two spoiled-rotten retired racing greyhounds and a Jack Russell terrier who rules them all.

Where to find Lisa online:

Website & Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Hi Lisa, welcome to the Nook, and thanks for taking the time to sit down and answer some questions for us.

Bea: Do you have a regular routine for writing?

Lisa: I start each chapter writing longhand in a journal with one of my vintage fountain pens. And my official “writing chair” is a huge a 120-year-old mahogany rocking chair. My thoughts flow better from brain to pen to paper (while sitting in that chair). I think writing longhand gives me a more direct path to my inner storyteller. Once I’ve written a first draft, then I key it in to my computer and start expanding from there.

Bea: Do you consider yourself a plotter or do you wing it?

Lisa: I started out being a complete plotter, but over the course of the past six books, I’ve become more of a pantster. The new series that I’m working on now is being written only from a few paragraphs of “back jacket copy.” It’s so much more fun this way.

Bea: What prompted the decision to end the Raine Benares books? Was it a planned story arc?

Lisa: The sixth book of the Raine Benares series—All Spell Breaks Loose—is the culmination of a storyline that began in 2007 with Magic Lost, Trouble Found. The action contained in those six books cover a mere three-month period in the lives of Raine and her friends. Three months. It’s hard to believe. When I look back over the entire series, I think one of the biggest surprises for me was that the Saghred storyline extended into six books. I had expected three books max. But the characters kept growing, and they and their stories took on a life of their own. There was no way I could stop after only three books. I had to find out what happened.

Bea: What can you tell us about your current WIP? Do you have one?

Lisa: I’ve just completed a proposal package for an urban fantasy/supernatural thriller/comedy series. You all know how I love to mix & match genres. I have the series premise written, as well as the synopses for the first three books, and I just finished the final sample chapter today (for a total of six). I promise that as soon as I get a contract for it, I’ll tell you more—in fact, you probably won’t be able to shut me up. I’m so excited about this project—it’s just pure fun.

Bea: Do you think you might ever write in a different genre besides fantasy?

Lisa: The new series that I’m working on can be categorized as urban fantasy, but it has paranormal and comedy elements to it as well. When I read for fun (which is as often as I can), I read mysteries and thrillers – and best of all if they have a supernatural bent. 

Bea: Do you find that your work as an editor leaches into your work as a writer; for instance do you find that you over-edit yourself while writing?

Lisa: Oh Lord, yes. It’s taken six books to do it, but I finally think that I’ve talked my internal editor into standing back until I at least have a first draft down, then she can critique all she wants to.

Bea: Does your family read your books? What do they think of them?

Lisa: My family does read my books, but my sister is the only one who reads fantasy. She loves them!

Bea: Do you prefer ebooks or print books?

Lisa: A year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to answer that question because I hadn’t tried ebooks. I finally broke down and bought a reader. I really enjoyed it for the first few months, then the paper started calling to me. I’ll be 49 years old next month, so I’m much more familiar with paper than I am with ebooks. Heck, I even used to work at a printer. And I prefer to handwrite the first drafts of my books in a journal with vintage fountain pens. If you cut me, I’d probably bleed ink. So, I definitely feel safe in saying that I prefer paper.

Bea: You touched upon this earlier, what authors and genres do you enjoy reading?

Lisa: I love thrillers and mysteries, preferably with supernatural elements. The authors I’m reading now include James Rollins, Scott Siegler, David Golemon, Greig Beck, David Wood, Jeremy Robinson, and Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s Agent Pendergast series.

Bea: Was there anyone who mentored you or was a big help to you when you were getting started writing?

Lisa: Unfortunately I didn’t know any writers when I was growing up until I got to college. So I’m pretty much self-taught.

Bea: How much time do you spend on your twitter and facebook accounts? How important do you think social media is these days for an author?

Lisa: These days I’m spending more time developing my new series. It’s easy for authors to spend too much time on social media. I’m trying to learn to strike a balance between the two. Yes, promotion is important, but unless you write the books you’re not going to have anything to promote. So the writing has to come first.

Bea: You’re active in Greyhound adoptions, how did that come about? You have several currently, what do you find so appealing about the breed? (I confess, I’m a cat person. I like dogs but I love cats. I am a cat slave.)

Lisa: Actually, personality-wise, greyhounds are very much like cats. My husband and I first saw greyhounds at the Renaissance Faire that our fencing group would perform at. We also saw a greyhound when we were doing fencing demonstrations at the Biltmore House in Ashville, NC. When we found out that there are so many retiring from the race tracks that need homes, we just had to adopt some. Greyhounds are the sweetest dogs! Derek and I would like to move out into the country so that we could foster dogs that have just come off of the race track and are looking for their forever homes.

Bea: And for my last question, what would be your ideal day? It can be a work day or a day off.

Lisa: For a work day, it would be when my writing is more like taking dictation, when I’m just an observer writing down what I see. That’s when the story comes to life for me. For a day off, uninterrupted reading time.


Thank you Lisa for stopping by today. Best of luck with your blog tour and with "All Spell Breaks Loose".

Thank you so much for inviting me!

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Giveaway! 

Ace is offering up one print copy of "All Spell Breaks Loose" to a US resident. Enter Below.

Please read my Giveaway Policy.

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