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Jael will be awarding a digital copy of Ice Red to a randomly drawn commenter during her tour.
Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found HERE
INTERVIEW
I'm thrilled to welcome a fellow SF Romance Writer, Jael Wye, to the Flight Deck today. Make yourself comfortable Jael, help yourself to a drink of something sparkling from the synthesiser unit and let's find out a little bit more about you and your books. First of all, enquiring minds want to know - what do you do for fun when not writing?
JW: When I’m not writing, I’m reading, or else watching action movies and television shows. I can’t get enough of superheroes, dashing knaves, and explosions. I also like to putter around with plants, because they make such excellent listeners.
HL: Funny that about plants, I find the same thing, actually. :) When did you start writing?
JW: I’ve been writing my whole life, though my previous career as an artist took precedence. But a few years ago I conjured up the idea of retelling fairy tale romances in a science fiction setting, and the concept wouldn’t let me go. I had to get my stories out there. That was when I settled into my new career as a novelist.
HL: And what comes first: the plot or the characters?
JW: Each of my books is based on a classic fairy tale, and so my major plot points are always mapped out for me in advance. My challenge is to translate these tales into a science fiction setting, and then to create characters driven to fulfill their destinies because of their own unique histories and personalities.
HL: That is such an interesting concept! Tell us about your latest release and what you think readers will enjoy about it
JW: My new release, Ladder to the Red Star, is a science fiction romance that retells the story of Jack and the beanstalk, set thee hundred years in the future. It features heartbreaking romance, thrilling action, and interplanetary intrigue. Jacques, the hero is both gorgeous and damaged, and only the courage and love of the heroine, Devi, can save him. Together, they must battle a mad tyrant and a deadly conspiracy that threatens planet Earth. I think readers will enjoy the new twist on a classic tale, the exciting world of the not-too-distant future, and most of all, the chemistry between Jacques and Devi.
HL: That sounds like such a great story. What’s your writing process? Has it changed since writing your first book?
JW: My writing process involves a lot of staring into space and thinking about the plot twists, the characters, and the settings, punctuated by scribbles on sticky notes. This is followed by furious typing long into the night fueled by gallons of coffee. My process works pretty well for me, and so it hasn’t changed since my first high school essay, let alone my first book.
HL: Do you have a support system? Do you have a writing community? What valuable lessons have you learned from them?
JW: I do indeed have a writing community, the Romance Writers of America. The career support and educational opportunities my professional organization provides has been wonderful for me. I have learned everything from how to approach agents to how to properly format a page from them. In addition I work with a critique group to polish my manuscripts before publishing. I cannot recommend professional organizations and critique groups enough. They are invaluable to writers at every stage of their careers.
HL: Where would we be without our Crit group or partners? I belong to the Romance Novelists Association which is, I think the British equavent of the RWA, and they are, indeed, invaluatble in their help and support. What is your favourite source of inspiration?
JW: A lot of the inspiration for my action scenes comes from movies like the Bourne films, the Lord of the Rings, and Marvel. The pacing, characterization and narrative tension of the individual books is very cinematic. But the inspiration for the series as a whole, with each book forming an episode in a larger narrative, I owe to television shows like Firefly and the X-files. Whenever I need some extra juice I turn on my favorite videos and tinker around with how this scene or that could be better or worse, and before I know it, I’m off and writing.
HL: You've included a lot of my favourites there, Jael. Is there any advice, as a new writer, that you were either given, or wish you had been given?
The best advice I’ve ever
heard is simply this—finish what you start. The single biggest thing that will
prevent an aspiring writer from becoming a published author is not finishing
her book.
HL: Absolutely, that was really exellent advice. What sort of research do you do for your books and what’s your favourite source of information.
JW: The scientific marvels I describe in my books, like the space elevator or programmable fabric, are all based on technology that actually exists today. I get a lot of my information on these subjects from popular science articles and futurists such as Michio Kaku. When it comes to space travel and colonizing other planets in the Solar system such as Mars, I use NASA and other space science organizations as resources. But honestly, the one source of information I can’t do without is Wikipedia, the Swiss army knife of research.
Oh what would we do without Wikipedia? :) Thank you so much for taking time to visit my blog, Jael, it’s been a thrill having you here and learning more about you and your writing. Before you take the shuttle back to Earth, let me wish you much success now and in the future.
HL: Absolutely, that was really exellent advice. What sort of research do you do for your books and what’s your favourite source of information.
JW: The scientific marvels I describe in my books, like the space elevator or programmable fabric, are all based on technology that actually exists today. I get a lot of my information on these subjects from popular science articles and futurists such as Michio Kaku. When it comes to space travel and colonizing other planets in the Solar system such as Mars, I use NASA and other space science organizations as resources. But honestly, the one source of information I can’t do without is Wikipedia, the Swiss army knife of research.
Oh what would we do without Wikipedia? :) Thank you so much for taking time to visit my blog, Jael, it’s been a thrill having you here and learning more about you and your writing. Before you take the shuttle back to Earth, let me wish you much success now and in the future.
Ladder to the Red Star
Once upon a ruined Earth 300 years in the future...
Jacques Tallinn, biotech smuggler and thief, is after the cure for a brain disorder he's suffered since childhood--a disorder inflicted by a powerful tyrant. To get the cure, Jacques will need to climb the space elevator to the new Zenith space station hovering above Earth and go undercover in the lab where it's produced.
Martian head tech Devi Chandra is immediately intrigued by her sexy new lab assistant. Though she insists on keeping things professional, she finds herself charmed by Jacques. Until he betrays her trust, kidnapping her and spiriting her off to Earth.
All Jacques needed to do was steal the biotech and get back home. But when things go wrong, he can't bring himself to leave Devi behind. Now she's injured and a simple caper has become an intergalactic cause, endangering his life and the lives of millions of others. But the hardest part? Winning back Devi's trust.
