Hi Samantha, thank you for stopping by the blog today! Can
you give us the elevator pitch for Stitch?
Hey Van!
Thanks so much for having me today.
:-) Sure, Stitch is a young
adult/new adult science fiction novel and the first of a trilogy. It starts out seeming like a paranormal
romance between a college girl and a ghost, but it’s actually much more than
that… Nothing in Stitch is quite what it seems since it’s got a big dystopian
twist that brings something a little different to your typical paranormal read!
How
did you come up with the idea for this novel?
I started with the idea of a paranormal romance
with ghosts, but I couldn’t seem to figure out a way to get the two main
characters together without resorting to time travel. And as much as I enjoy time travel books, if
I’m honest, they always drive me a little nuts… it’s so confusing, and most of the
time it doesn’t end up making sense if you really think about it. Since Stitch was my first book, I wanted an
idea that I was really excited about, and time travel just wasn’t it. So one day this crazy idea of how to resolve
that dilemma occurred to me, and it was totally unlike anything else I’d read. (Sorry, readers, I can’t say too much more
without giving away the twist… Van, you know what I mean!) And I was just super excited about bringing
the story that direction, so I knew I had my plot!
I
really enjoyed Stitch, and the entire idea beyond the story (readers will have
to read the book, no spoilers here!). The book is part paranormal romance- part
dystopian. When you started writing Stitch, did you always planned for it to be
a dystopian or did it just kind of happened?
Oh, it was DEFINITELY planned… There’s so much
backstory that went into Stitch – it would have been REALLY difficult to bring
in that aspect after I started writing.
So before I even put down a sentence, I started world-building and planning
out all the character histories and timelines and how their society got the way
it was, etc. I think I have probably 50
pages of notes outlining all of it! So I
got all the planning out of the way first, and then I wrote.
If
a movie was made based on Stitch, who can you see playing Alessa, Issac, Janie,
and Lizzie?
This is always one of the HARDEST questions for
me to answer, because it’s so difficult to find that perfect actor who looks
and sounds and behaves just like the character you were envisioning in your
head. So far, the best options I’ve identified
are:
(From left to right: Emmy Rossum as ALESSA, Alex Pettyfer as ISAAC, Willa Holland as JANIE, and Robbie Amell as JOE)
On your website, it says that you use to work as a software engineer at Microsoft and now as a freelance business writer and communications consultant at Medley Media Associates. Can you tell us three interesting things about yourself that readers might not know or isn’t found on your Bio page?
1 – I love cheese. Cheese is hands down my favorite food of all
times. (Though I guess if you read
Stitch you might have picked up on this… I mention cheese quite a few times,
haha.)
2 – I prefer to play contact sports. After fouling out of most of my basketball
games in high school, I moved on to rugby in college and roller derby after
college since I can’t get in trouble for playing hard in those sports!
3 – I have a shoe problem. I think I have somewhere around 40 or 50
pairs, and I’m always on the hunt for my next ones. You just can’t go wrong with shoes – a good
shoe will last forever, will always fit, and can easily take an outfit from
blah to brava!
The cover is gorgeous yet simple, who designed the cover?
Thank you!
I worked with Damon from Damonza.com – he was fabulous. (There’s a long post about our design process
here
in case you’re interested in seeing the behind-the-scenes.)
What other projects can we look forward to reading from you in the future?
I’ve just started on Book 2 of the trilogy,
Shudder, so that one will be next! I’ll
be keeping readers up to date on my progress, so swing by my blog or Facebook pages for the
latest. :-) Aiming to release that one
in Summer 2013.
Do
you have any advice for aspiring writers?
It took me quite a few years to realize that
writing was what I was meant to do. Even
though I always loved writing, it never seemed like I could make a living doing
it, so I always gravitated towards other fields that were more lucrative. And now that I’m writing full time, I can
tell you that it certainly *is* more difficult to make a living as a writer
than as a software engineer, but I can also tell you that it’s totally worth it
to spend every day doing something you love.
If you like to write, JUST WRITE, no excuses. Even if you can’t write full time, set aside
a couple hours for yourself each week and stick to it, because there’s no time
like now to do what you love.
LIGHTING QUESTIONS!
Coke
or Pepsi? Coke! Diet Coke, specifically. I’m addicted.
Twitter
or Facebook? I just
got a Twitter account this year, but I joined Facebook back when there were
only 7 colleges on it, so I’ll have to go with Facebook. :-)
All
time favorite movie? Beetlejuice.
I re-watched it recently with friends and they all thought I was nuts,
but I still think it’s amazing.
Physical
book or E-reader? Love the convenience of the e-reader, but you
just can’t beat that new book smell!
Favorite
comfort food? Mac and cheese.
Mmm, I just can’t get enough!
Favorite
paranormal creature? I love me ANY good paranormal creature, no
discrimination here. But if I had to
pick one, I’d have to go with ghosts – there are just so many possibilities
with a ghost.
Harry
Potter or Lord of the Rings? Huge fan of both, but Harry
Potter definitely holds a special place in my heart. Thank you, J. K. Rowling, for reigniting an
entire generation of readers!
Thanks again for being here Samantha! :D
Want to learn more about the Stitch Trilogy and Samantha? Check out the following Links!
Samantha has generously offered an e-copy of STITCH to one of Short & Sweet Reviews readers, to enter please fill out the Rafflecopter below. This giveaway is open to everyone (international).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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