An Interview with Author Steven James

This week I've had the pleasure to interview author Steven James. I met him at the Florida Christian Writers Conference this year.

He is a critically acclaimed author and has penned 30+ books spanning the genres of psychological thrillers, dramas, YA fantasy, and more. He has received wide critical acclaim for his work, including four Storytelling World Honor awards, two Publishers Weekly starred reviews, and 2009, 2011 & 2012 Christy Awards for best suspense. He is a great teacher too, and I learned some fascinating concepts from him at the conference.

Here he is: Mr. Steven James!

What inspired you to write suspense and thriller novels in particular?

James: I’ve always loved stories with a twist—whether that’s short stories, movies, or novels. About eight years ago, I was teaching writing and storytelling in India, and when I finished reading a novel I’d brought with me, I was so angry I threw it against the wall. It was supposed to be a suspense novel but didn’t deliver on its promises. I said to myself, “I can write a better novel than that.” And then I set about trying to do that very thing.

That's very cool. One of the things that inspired me to write too was wanting to change something in another persons' book. As a curious reader, I want to ask: how in the world did you come up for the idea for Placebo? I hadn’t even heard of the word until recently.

James: I remembered hearing about soldiers who had no morphine and had to amputate the limb of someone on the battlefield. By giving the guy a pill and claiming it would dull the pain, in about a third of the cases, the soldier felt no pain even when they were sawing off his arm or leg. Astonishing. The pill that wasn’t potent, but that they claimed was, is called a placebo. And when I considered how powerful our thoughts are—that just thinking you shouldn’t feel pain can take away all your pain—it gave me the impetus to this story.

That is very interesting. I love scientific stories like that. I had heard that you are coming out with

a new young adult series for next year. Can I hear a little about that?

James: The first book, Blur, will release in February. The books will be a series of mysteries that feature a teenage guy who starts to think that he might be going insane. In Blur, he starts seeing things related to the death of a girl at his high school—he’s not sure if he’s seeing hallucinations or ghosts—but it leads him into a race against time to try and find the girl’s killer. It’s my first book with a quadruple twist ending. Should be a fun read.

That sounds awesome. I'll definitely be looking out for it. Off the topic of writing, I noticed on your page, that you say you are a “lover of the wilderness." I’m very fond of nature myself, and I noticed in Placebo your focus on it in description. What is your favorite park you’ve hiked at?

James: My favorite hiking trip was in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. I went on an eleven day solo trek about ten years ago. It was awesome. I’m not sure what the names of the peaks were, I made up my own names as I went. Hopefully, someday, I can return to Wyoming. An amazing place.

Neat. I've always wanted to travel to the Midwest. Last question: what is a question you wished someone would ask you in an interview, but never has? And what is your answer to it?

James: Hmm . . .  well, I don’t think anyone has ever asked me about the day I realized I wanted to be a writer. I was in college working at a summer camp and I kept jotting down poems, thoughts, and story ideas, and one day when I was at the laundromat doing my laundry I realized I would never be happy unless I would become a storyteller and share my ideas. I wrote that in my journal, and I still have that journal on my shelf. The day I was called to be a writer my underwear was rumbling around in a dryer next to my elbow. What glamorous beginnings.

Ha ha! That's neat. I'm so glad you took the time to be on my blog. Thank you so much. As to my readers, keep an eye out for Mr. James' new YA series Blur and check out the seventh book of the Patrick Bowers series, The King, just released yesterday! You can find Mr. James on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and his website. Come back next week for a review on Steven James' Placebo. New blog posts every Saturday. Thanks for reading. :)

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

Interview with Sting (Subsapien Grafting)

Sting (Subsapien Grafting)

Hey everyone! This week my good friend Lyssa, who is also a budding writer, is interviewing one of my villains, Sting! Here they are!

Lyssa

Lyssa:

*sits in Tori's desk chair* Thank you, Tori. *smiles at Sting* Hey, Sting.

Sting:

*is sitting in a chair in front her, crosses arms* You're late. *frowns*

Lyssa: 

Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. *smiles nervously* So let's go ahead and get started since we are a little behind. First question: Where were you born?

Sting:

*plucks spikes out of his scalp, picks his teeth with it* Lab. *spits out something he found on the floor*

Lyssa:

*looks down at where he spit, shifts foot away from spot* Wow, a lab? What kind of lab?

Sting:

Rota lab, sister. *pats her knee, snickers*

Lyssa:

*shifts knee away, clears throat* I bet your childhood has been a little different than mine then. What are some memories from your childhood you'd like to share?

Sting:

None, but I'll share one for this stupid interview anyway. *twists spike in between his fingers* I had a big green rubber ball I'd like to play with in my cell. *chews on one of his black nails*

Lyssa:

Your cell? Wow, you live in a cell?

Sting:

Not right now. But I did. What's the big deal? *picks teeth again*

Lyssa:

Uh, nothing. It's just ... different. *pulls legs up to sit cross-legged* So do you have any other things you like other than your ball?

Sting:

*looks up at in thought* My book and honey.

Lyssa:

Cool. *smiles* What's the book called?

Sting: 

Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes, I think. *shrugs, makes gums bleed with spike accidentally, licks tooth*

Lyssa:

Cool. From when you were a kid, I guess?

Sting:

*dead serious* No.

Lyssa:

*smile fades, blinks* Oh, uh, well so you just got it?

Sting:

*narrows eyes* No.

Lyssa:

*clears throat, shifts awkwardly* Okay, let's just talk about something else. So what kind of honey do you like best?

Sting:

Tupelo.

Lyssa:

Wow. I don't know I've ever heard of that.

Sting:

It's extra sweet.

Lyssa:

Aw, so you have a sweet tooth, huh?

Sting:

I guess.

Lyssa:

Cool, me too. *looks down at the list of questions* Oh. *looks back at Sting* How old are you?

Sting:

*relaxes* Almost 18. *wiggles chin stud with his tongue*

Lyssa:

*glances at chin stud, smiles* Awesome. I'm 18 too.

Sting:

*grins* I know.

Lyssa:

*smiles nervously* Yep ... *looks down at her list* Okay, so on a more serious note, who is your handler?

Sting:

Dr. Jeth Albers. *rests heel of foot on Lyssa's knee*

Serra: 

*peeks in doorway*

Lyssa:

*looks over at Serra, smiles* Hey, Serra. Wanna join us? *motions to the bed*

Serra:

*glances at Lyssa and Sting*

Sting:

*leans head back, looks at her upside down, smiles*

Serra:

*hurries into room, sits on bed, looks at her hands on her lap*

Lyssa:

*smiles at Serra* So you two work together, right?

Serra:

*nods*

Sting:

Yup.

Lyssa:

How long have you two known each other?

Sting:

Three or four years.

Lyssa:

Aw, cool. So what are you guys grafted with?

Sting:

Platypus, honey bear, and hedgehog.

Serra:

Shark and stingray.

Lyssa:

*eyes widen* Whoa. Those are some awesome combinations. What can you do that normal people can't?

Serra:

Breathe underwa--

Sting:

Inject poison into you to cause excruciating pain that not even morphine can stop.

Lyssa:

*blinks* That's scary. *laughs nervously*

Sting:

*chews on thumbnail* Uh-huh.

Lyssa:

*looks at his thumbnail, swallows, looks back at Serra* Did you say you could breathe underwater?

Serra:

*nods*

Lyssa:

That's so cool. I've always wanted to do that. 

Serra:

*smiles, blushes*

Lyssa:

 Well, I think that's all we have time for now. *sits up, scoots to the edge of the chair, holds hand out to Sting* Thanks so much for talking to me today. *smiles*

Sting:

*smirks* Sure. 

Serra:

*smiles*

Lyssa:

*pulls back, smiles at him then Serra* You too, Serra.

Serra:

*smiles a little bigger*

Me: 

Thanks for being here, Lyssa. I hope you all enjoyed this interview! If you have any questions for Sting or Serra ask them in the comments below and in the next interview they will be answered. :)  You can check out more about Sting's book in current projects, his book's Pinterest board, pictures I've drawn for the book on deviantART and fan art on my Facebook page. Come back every Saturday around noon for more interviews, writing tips, book reviews, author interviews and more! Next week's post is an interview with bestselling author Steven James! As always thanks for reading!

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If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

A Book of Review of Failstate by John W. Otte

Buy from Amazon!

Why did Robin Laughlin (a.k.a. Failstate) think being a superhero on a reality show would be a good idea? Things seemed so simple: Win the show, become an official, licensed hero. But with his brother, Ben (a.k.a. Gauntlet) stealing America's heart-and with Rob's own powers proving too unwieldy for TV-Failstate begins to wonder if he's going to live up to the failure in his name. Until one of his friends and fellow competitors is murdered. Robin vows to find the killer, and he sets out on a very real quest to unmask the hidden villain. Can Failstate find justice? Or will his lunk of a big brother ruin everything-including taking the girl who has stolen Rob's heart? Very soon, Failstate and Gauntlet will come to blows. Which has been the villain's plan all along.

Series: Failstate
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Marcher Lord Press (April 1, 2012)
Page Count: 426

What I liked: This book is really suspenseful, interesting and real. I like the characters and you root for the main character from chapter one. As a Christian, it's really cool to have a superhero book that has a Christian perspective and includes church, but church like what church is actually like. In a lot of modern media, I see church portrayed inaccurately and it was nice to see someone write it correctly.

The abilities are really cool and I like how he keeps them unique. I'm very interested about how exactly these people received their abilities, and how the VOC (Vigilante Oversight Committee) was established. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

What I didn't like: A few things did annoy me a little. For starters, there were an unusual amount of typos through out the book which distracted me at times.

Another thing is that a certain object that was the key to the mystery was foreshadowed early on and I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for the character to remember, but it took him so long while I still remembered it. Maybe that's what the author intended, but it slightly irritated me. I was getting a little worried that he forgot about and that a plot hole had formed.

I also felt that Veritas could have been made a little more unique as a character. It's difficult for me to pinpoint his exact personality.

Over all I give this book four stars. :)

About the Author:

John W. Otte leads a double life. By day, he's a Lutheran minister. He graduated from Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a theatre major and then from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. By night, he writes weird stories. He lives in South St. Paul, MN, with his wife and two sons. Find him on his website, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter!

I hope you all enjoyed this review of Failstate! I will be doing reviews on Steven James' Placebo and Veronica Roth's Divergent in the near future and another character interview will be up soon with one of the villains of my science-fiction novel's sequel. :)

Do You Lack Passion in Your Writing? A Guest Post by Lauren Claire

So you’ve spent countless hours pounding out or scribbling out a manuscript, but now you’re worried that nobody would ever want to publish it. “After all,” you tell yourself, “Why would anybody pay attention to my stories?” I’ve been there, just like I’d bet that every other young writer has.

Today, I’m going to share a bit of advice that author Bryan Davis once shared with me. If you feel like something is missing in your writing even after struggling to perfect technique, maybe this post will answer your question.

1.) Bryan Davis’s Advice - As a young writer facing the crisis outlined in my first paragraph, I sent Bryan Davis a message asking for help. He replied back with a single bit of advice that I’ve never forgotten. He said (and this is a rough paraphrase):

“Write what you are passionate about. If you are passionate about your story, that passion will be sensed by your readers and will draw them even more into your story.” 

Talk about an eye-opener!

As I’ve dabbled in Creative Writing classes in college, my professor said something that drilled this in even more. He advised me to me read John Gardner’s book, “On Becoming a Novelist.” While my professor was explaining who Gardner was, I couldn’t help but wonder how I’d never heard of such a great writer…until my professor reached his last two sentences.

This is what I was told about Gardner:

 “He was a flawless writer and a meticulous editor. When you read John Gardner, you cannot find a single sentence that is flawed. His writing was perfect…and the most boring that you’ll ever read. If one could combine the technical soundness of Gardner with the thrilling suspense of Stephen King, that one would be a great writer.”

There it is again, although not as obvious: passion. This is the thing that Gardner’s fiction lacked according to my professor.

If you’re wondering if passion is truly necessary in writing fiction, then ask yourself this: if you are not passionate about your story, then why should anybody else be?

2.) Passion, where does it come from? - When contemplating this subject, I tend to first picture passion as being as elusive to find as the Muse. Then, I realize that unadulterated passion is more a part of my life than writing. (Don’t be too shocked at that statement!)

You see, the thing I’m most passionate about doesn’t even involve stories; it involves late summer nights, a lot of sweat, and tears of both sorrow and happiness. The greatest passion that God has given me comes from being a Camp Counselor and it is the passion for reaching out to young girls, who have no one else to talk to, to draw them closer to our Savior. When I think about my younger friends and the kind of garbage that they have to go through, I feel as if my blood surges. There are few things that I would not do to help them.

Stop for just a moment and think about what you’re most passionate about. It doesn’t have to be something grand and noble. Even pain at a person lost in your life can be counted as passion; after all, you are passionate about their memories, right?

So how does passion for something that’s not related to writing help you put passion in your writing?

3.) Transferring Passion into Your Writing - For me, it’s easy. Two summers ago, I had an epiphany concerning my camp girls. While listening to them talk about the very adult-like troubles they faced in situations, I realized that all across America there are young children just like my girls. They go through trouble with nobody to talk to them. In some cases, they go through trouble without feeling as if anybody even cares about them.

When I realized this, it revolutionized my writing. I went from writing whatever struck my fancy to developing a mission statement. I now write “real stories” that can speak to young adults who have very real problems. In essence, my passion for helping my Camp girls transferred into a passion for writing stories that those same girls could relate to.

That’s all good and well, but how does that help somebody whose primary passion is sports, or a relationship?

1.) Let your passion for whatever it is inspire you and your character - This doesn’t mean that you have to write sports stories if that’s your other-life passion. Let your love shine through in some of your characters, or think about the kind of character traits you often see when doing whatever. If you’re passionate about your close-knit family, consider portraying a family group of characters that way. If you can’t live without watching football every weekend, remember this and let a character also feel this addiction.

2.) Reflect for a moment on something that you’re passionate about - Pay attention to that thrill when you identify something as being important. This is how you want to feel when you’re writing or editing your story. Every now and then, stop your work and recreate that feel. Ask yourself: am I passionate about these characters, about this plot-line, about what this story is about?

3.) Remember to have fun - If you’re passionate about something, you’re going to enjoy working on it. It follows that if you’re not having fun while writing, then you’re doing something wrong. Relax a little bit, and make sure you have fun crafting your story.

4.) Write something that matters to you - Think about all your favorite books. Even if it’s a fantasy, then chances are that your favorite book says something about what matters to you. Learn to identify why that book matters to you; is it because of who the characters are, or because of a theme that runs strongly through the book?

Remember, a writer who is passionate about his work is one that has a reason to write. What’s your reason?

Lauren Claire is a young writer with a passion for God, life, and her young friends. She knows that there are many kids in the world that have nobody to talk to about the problems they face, so she strives to write real stories they can identify with. When she's not writing, Lauren is busy with College, Camp ministries, and going on adventures.

Check out her blog! Help support her writing dream on Facebook and Twitter!

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