Interview with Zen DiPietro

Can you believe that it's almost Friday already? This first week back to school after Spring Break has flown by, and now it's time to introduce you to another fabulous new author. Zen DiPietro hails from the SciFi and Fantasy Branch of my Soul Mate Publishing family tree. She's quirky and just downright fun to get to know. Let's quit wasting time and jump right in to our interview.


EJ:  What was high school like? Were you in drama, journalism, or yearbook? Or something else?

ZD:  I was in a lot of clubs! Honor Society, French club, Spanish club, math club, band, Junior Council on World Affairs, Peer Listeners, Prom planning committee . . . and probably some others I’m not thinking of. What can I say? I have always been and will always be a geek.


EJ:  Me too, but we didn't have that many clubs we could join. Sounds like you had fun in high school. So when you went to college, what was your major? 

ZD:  My undergrad degree is in Anthropology. That lent itself well to becoming a sci-fi/fantasy writer because it gave me a great deal of insight into cultural evolution, cultural relativity, and what stressors shape people as a whole.


EJ:  Do your children know what you write? How do they feel about it?

ZD:  They haven’t read my work but they want to. I told them in a few more years. Too many adult themes for tender young ones. But I gave them each a bookmark with my book cover and they take very good care of them. They do tend to forget that I have a “real job,” though.


EJ:  Where do you get your inspiration?

ZD:  Everywhere. Movies, music, people-watching, tv shows, other books I read, experiences I’ve had. Anything and everything can be that spark that ignites a creative furor.

EJ:  I struggle with making time for my writing. How do you find the time?

ZD:  Sometimes I don’t. But when the kids are at school, it’s “go” time. Evenings can be useful too, though my husband often has dibs on that time. He sometimes likes to actually talk to me when kids aren’t vying for our attention.


EJ: Before we chat about your current project, let's show the readers at home a little about your book. 

An earth-like world of high-tech humans faces the reality that their world is not as safe as they thought it was. Five people are thrown together to quietly get to the bottom of an unfathomable event that must stay quiet. If the population of Terath becomes aware of the truth, it will spark a civil war. That war would pit the majority of the population against the powerful minority with the ability to harness and manipulate mana. The resulting cataclysm would decimate the population and tear apart the foundation of society.

The five people chosen for this must reconsider everything they thought they knew about mana, even as they learn to trust one another’s abilities. They must embrace everything they never wanted in order to prevent the devastation of their world. One of them will be forever changed. Love will be denied, badassery will be unleashed, and Terath will never be the same.

Even success comes at a price.



EJ:  WOW! That's a great blurb. Very well written. So what are you working on right now? Give us the first paragraph of your current WIP.

ZD:  Yikes. Okay. This is Book 3 in my Guardians of Terath series, and I can’t promise it won’t change a bit because I have a lot of work to do yet. But here goes:

A man sees the woman he loves standing in the wedding arbor. He thinks about a long and happy life with her. Then he offers his hand to the bride beside him. Arc was pretty sure there was a joke in there about a guy marrying the wrong woman, but he had no further time to consider.

That’s right. There’s a wedding coming up, but you’ll never get me to say who is marrying whom.


EJ: You evil woman! Not even a small spoiler? Fine. I guess I'll have to torture you with my rapid fire questions next. See if you can keep up with me. 

Rapid Fire Questions 

Salty or Sweet?  Sweet

Coffee or Tea?  Hot coffee, iced tea

Coke or Pepsi?  Neither

Chocolate or Vanilla?  Depends on the type of dessert.

Cat or Dog?  Cat

Extrovert or Introvert?  Way introvert

MEET THE AUTHOR

Zen DiPietro is a lifelong bookworm, a fantasy/sci-fi writer, a dancer, and a mom of two. Also red-haired, left-handed, and a vegetarian geek. Absolutely terrible at conforming. Particular loves include badass heroines, Star Trek, British accents, baba ganoush, and the smell of Band-Aids. Writing reviews, author interviews, and fun stuff at www.womenofbadassery.com. Very active on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

CONNECT WITH ZEN DIPIETRO

Website: http://www.womenofbadassery.com
Twitter: @ZenDiPietro
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/zendipietro/
https://www.facebook.com/ZenDiPietroauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24973127-guardians-of-terath?from_search=true
Amazon http://amzn.com/B00UMA9X5Q 

EJ:  It was really fun getting to know more about you, Zen. Please do come back again and tell us when your next book hits Amazon. See you next time! 

Thanks for tuning in today. What's up next for me? I'm taking next week off from the blog so I can tackle those final revisions for Assassin P.I. Can't promise I'll get everything on my to-do editing list checked off, but the only way I'll know is if I duct tape myself to my seat and remove all the batteries from the TV remotes. If all goes well, I should return the following week with another Romance Weekly Blog Hop, a new author to chat with, and a quick recap of my time at the California Dreamin' Writers Conference. See you soon! 

Interview with Ryan Jo Summers

This week I have the ever-fabulous Ryan Jo Summers hanging out with me on my virtual couch for a lovely chat. Ryan and I are Soul sisters, both published with Soul Mate Publishing. Her latest title, Shimmers of Stardust, was released in September 2014. Alright, girl. Let's get this party started!


EJ: Have you always been a writer, or was there a specific event in your life that drove you to write? 

RJS: I always wanted to be a veterinarian, and write on the side. (I started writing at 10, but only later realized people did this for a living) I thought being a vet for financial security and write for fun was the sensible approach. For many years, I wrote and submitted, dreaming of publication. Now, with multiple publications and regular free-lance work, my focus has shifted to wanting to retire from the day job one day and write full time for both fun and financial security.

EJ: Sounds like a smart plan. Think back to when you were in school. Did your English teachers love or hate you? 

RJS: They loved me as I was a good student and wanted to learn, except when it came to book reports. They’d usually say reports had to be a minimum of so many pages. My hand would go shooting in the air, and I’d ask what the maximum was that we could write. Looking back, I am sure the kids didn’t appreciate my enthusiasm much.


EJ: We teachers love good students like that. What was it like when you finally received an offer on your book? Who did you tell first?

RJS: I didn’t tell anyone when I received my first offer. It was a different book with a different publisher. I was too scared to say anything for fear the deal would somehow fall through before the book actually came out. When I sold my fist Soul Mate book, I was a little quicker to spread the word, but it still took me almost a month to open up. In both cases, it was my co-workers whom I told first. My family is far away and I wanted this to be a face to face experience. When I reached the third book, a phone call was sufficient.

EJ: How does your family feel about you writing romance? 

RJS: My dad is very supportive, glad for any success I have. He has lots of advice, some I take and some I don’t. My mom is glad for me. She says with all the books I’ve read over the years, it should be easy to write my own now. They both want me to be happy, and if writing makes me happy, go for it

EJ: Aww. Sounds like you have lots of support. Where do you do most of your writing? Can you snap a photo and show us where you work your magic? 

RJS: My study. Behind me is my bird, Taz. The fish give me something to shift my eyes to for a quick mental break. Tons of natural lighting. To my right is another big fish tank, so there is surround sound white noise of falling water.

The white squares on the back of the chair is double sided tape to discourage scratching from the kitties. Three cats are shown: Whymzie, Kryshnah and Aspen.


EJ:  I'm a cat person myself but we only have one cat right now. I love the idea of adding a fish tank to my imaginary office. What's your writing process like? Hopefully it's better than mine is right now.

RJS: I get up in the AM, read over yesterday’s work, and revise. I add to it and stop when the time runs out for when I have to go to work. I usually write the story as I go, scene by scene, with lots of narrative up front. I go back and add details and descriptions while I revise. Then I go back and tweak, revising again.

EJ: Where do you get your inspiration?

RJS: Songs a lot of the time. I listen to music for the stories they tell as well as the sound of the music. Songs give me lots of inspiration when I am stuck. Taking walks in nature helps a lot too, getting my mind loose so it can just filter through things to find something to write.

EJ: Me too! Music is a huge part of my process, photos to. What celebrity hottie revs your engine? Have they ever inspired the image or personality of one of your literary heroes? 

RJS: I don’t watch television shows. No protest or anything, I just prefer to use my time on other outlets. So that being said, I have no clue who the current celebrities are. I glance at tabloids in the grocery store and they’re all strangers to me. My generation is George Clooney, Pierce Brosnon and Robert Redford. I don’t think they’ve ever inspired me literarily speaking but there is nothing wrong with enjoying the eye candy. I only wish we women could go grey as stylish and sexy as the men seem to.


EJ: Sadly, I'm addicted to my TV shows. Who was your favorite character to write? 

RJS: In this story, Shimmers of Stardust, I loved writing about Logan Riley. In most my books, I connect with the male lead more so. Even when I adore the female lead, he tends to be the one I identify more with.


EJ: Tell us more, please! 

RJS: Here's the trailer.

EJ: The book sounds amazing. I was really intrigued by the trailer and can't wait to pick it up. Are you working on anything new? Can you give us the log line and first paragraph of your current WIP?

RJS: I have two of them.

Winds of Destiny

Three stories of three free-spirited sisters finding love and adventure in their small North Carolina coastal town. 

The old man was dying. He knew it without the solemn stares coming from the doctor and the nurses. Before he parted, he had one more bit of unfinished business left. It was one he should have attended to a long time ago. Looking now into the worried faces of his two friends and neighbors of the last thirty-two years, he smiled grimly. It was time.

September’s Song

Ivey London was told her husband died in combat five years ago. So who is this amnesiac soldier who suddenly shows up, looks just like Keegan did and has superpowers?

It was going to be cold out, Ivey decided, snapping off the weather report. Jory needed to wear his heavier jacket. The clock in the hall chimed, alerting her of the time. 

“Jory,” she called upstairs, hand on the banister. “It’s almost time for Becca. Are you ready yet?” Listening, she heard only dull thumps to tell her he was moving around. Soon he came bounding down the stairs, followed closely by his oversized black and white dog.

EJ: I really like the concept for both of the books. The beginning of Winds of Change might hit a little close to home right now for me, though. If you ever need a beta reader, I'm your gal! Alright, it's time for . . . 

Rapid Fire Questions 

Salty or Sweet? 

Sweet

Coffee or Tea? 

Coffee all day, hot tea at bedtime

Coke or Pepsi?

Neither, but sprite once in a while

Chocolate or Vanilla? 

Chocolate of course. 

Cat or Dog?

Both. I prefer dogs, but don’t tell that to the five cats I live with.

Extrovert or Introvert?

Both. Depends on the situation, who is present and all that. At my core, I have always been and still am quiet and shy. My co-workers will probably disagree with that statement.

EJ: You are probably one of the only other people I have ever met that doesn't like Coke or Pepsi. We truly are soul sisters! 

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ryan Jo Summers is a bookworm and lover of words. She now even has favorite words she collects. She writes a gambit of materials, from short stories delving into mystery, romance, time travel, horror and especially Christian. She writes lots of non fiction Christian and some poetry. She free-lance writes for assorted markets. Her niche is contemporary romance with blended subgenre twists. When not writing, she likes to paint, explore the great outdoors and read. To feed her love of words, she also likes bent and twisted word find puzzles. She likes to cook, experimenting and finding new twists on old favorite recipes. She makes her home, along with several adoring pets, in the mountains of Western North Carolina, while she dreams of living on the beach lined coast of eastern NC.

GET CONNECTED:  
Website:  http://www.ryanjosummers.com/
Blog:  http:summersrye.wordpress.com 
FB:  www.facebook.com/pages/Ryan-Jo-Summers-author-page/312875648810797

GET READING:
Check out these titles by Ryan Jo Summers, available now on Amazon.com.

Thank you so much for joining us today. I hope to see you all again next week! 

What's next for Elizabeth Janette?

Next Tuesday - Romance Weekly Blog Hop #LoveWriteChat 

Next Thursday - author Zen DiPietro joins me for a chat

Samanthya Wyatt Interview

It's not often that I get the chance to interview an author and simply chat about what it's like to be a writer. I mean, my family and co-workers are sweet enough to listen to me ramble on and on about my storyline issues, but it isn't the same as chatting with someone in the industry who understands my struggles.

Today's talented author is a fellow Soulie whose path to publication is very similar to mine. Please welcome, Samanthya Wyatt, author of the One and Only series.