Interview with David Nicol

David is the author of The Deluge of Elias and Hannibal House, you can find him at various places on the internet: His website, Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter.

He has this to say about himself: "Hailing from the celtic parts of Britain I have a duality between science and myths. I write stories that involve a number of different themes, some are obvious, others not so obvious. Currently I have a full time job and write on the side. I'd like to get to the point where my job is writing. If nothing else, it'd be cool for my kids to be able to say their father is an author."

I know of him through my boyfriend and have read both his offerings to date so asked him if he'd do a quick wee interview for me and, happily, he agreed - so read on!



Julie-Anne: You've now self-published two short stories through Amazon. Was this always the plan or did you try and go through a publishing house first?

David: It may seem strange but I didn't/don't have a plan at all. Going through a publisher, or even getting an agent didn't enter my head when I decided to start writing seriously. Currently, the traditional route doesn't appeal to me as I prefer to make the decisions about the content I create. Plus I'd rather put my energy in to writing rather than courting publishers/agents.


JA: For any aspiring self publishers reading this, how easy was the process?

DN: Now that's a question with two answers. Depending on your technical knowledge it's either very easy, or has a steep learning curve. A basic knowledge of HTML is necessary to produce a properly formatted ebook. Luckily there are many different tutorials on the interwebs for those who may be unsure how to do it. The most important thing is to take the time to get it right. All the proofreading and editing in the world can be undone by poor formatting.


JA: Did you design the covers yourself or did you get someone else to do it for you?

DN: The covers were designed and produced by me. I originally trained and worked as a photographer, and over the years I've done some graphic design and worked in a printers so I have a bit of a head start in the graphics department. The first cover for 'The Deluge of Elias' was a mash up of some other images that sort of represented the story, but I was never happy with it. When I redid the cover I enlisted the help of my wife who enjoyed throwing water in my face and then taking a picture. For the cover of 'Hannibal House' I used the picture I took of the house that inspired the story. I wanted the cover to be reminiscent of the old school, late 70's creepy books/films that were about. I also do all my own stunts.
(A bonus to being self published as well - JA)


JA: You've already stated that The Deluge of Elias is a sort of prequel to a series, what about Hannibal House? I think that seems like a great start to a series.

DN: I don't have any plans to write any more about Hannibal House. Supernatural tales aren't what I set out to write, but the story just formed itself.
(Man, that's too bad. I would've liked to have read more from that place. It was creepy - JA)


JA: I assume you have another job, how easy do you find it to write in between working and keeping up a regular life?

DN: The biggest problem is going to bed. I have two children and the youngest ensures that I'm awake at 0630 EVERY morning. On top of that I work long hours which means that I usually don't start writing until at least 10pm. If I get in to 'the zone' it can be almost 2am before I'm at a point where I can go to bed. Not a lot of sleep. On the upside, when the flow is flowing like a flowing thing I hit around 1000 words per hour.


JA: Did you do a lot of writing at school or is it something you got into as you got older?

DN: When I was in school, twenty years ago, 'creative writing' as it would be called now didn't really exist. Although we had to study fiction as part of our courses we weren't encouraged to write our own stories. There was one time when we were set a task to write a piece on anything we wanted to. I wrote about the aftermath of an intergalactic war. I guess my teacher was expecting a critique of 'The Rocking Horse Winner' or something.... There was a lot of red pen and question marks on that piece of work. When I was about 14 I wrote my first complete manuscript about a guy who dies before his time due to a clerical error – it's still knocking around somewhere, in a box. It's probably terrible. Over the years I have started writing other stories, but gave up part way through for various reasons, the main one being that it seemed futile if the finished work was unlikely (statistically) to be published. Self publishing changed that.


JA: What genre(s) do you read when you're not writing?

DN: The majority of my reading comprises of non-fiction and reference works. It's something that I've always done, even as a child I read many books on mythology and natural history. I will actually read pretty much anything though. The only caveat is that it needs to be readable, and by readable I mean well written. The only genre that I don't tend to read is erotica.


JA: Any recommendations for my readers (and me)?

DN: For actual titles, no. But I do recommend stepping out of your normal reading comfort zone. Most people have their favourite authors and stick to those writers and those closely related to them. So pick up a book that's not what you would normally read and get stuck in with an open mind.
(I've found Netgalley to be great for introducing me to new authors.  As well as Goodreads - JA)


JA: Do you read while you're in the process of writing? Or does that run the risk of mixing things up in your head?

DN: As I'm not a full time writer I have a job that includes quite a bit of travelling. Bouncing about in the back of a minibus doesn't allow much scope for writing, so reading is the only other viable option. I do the majority of that reading via an app on my phone. But nothing ever gets mixed up as I have a very compartmentalised mind space which keeps my thoughts and the works of others separate.


JA: What stories should we look forward to reading from you in the future?

DN: Well, there's book one in the series that leads up to 'The Deluge of Elias', and another set a couple of years after a zombie apocalypse. I also have a number of other stories and concepts noted for development, some will be short stories with others having the potential to become a series. I wish that I could be a bit more detailed, but I like to keep uncompleted works under wraps. There's one story, and the main premise or plot point is really exciting to me, but I currently can't work a complete believable story around it so it may never see the light of day.



I'd like to thank David for agreeing to do this and also any of you who may be reading this. I was planning on doing a giveaway of David's two titles but unfortunately Amazon UK haven't implemented gifting yet and I can't purchase through another country Amazon so instead I'll give you the links to go buy them yourself.


Hannibal House
The Deluge of Elias

Interview with James Marshall

James Marshall's short fiction has appeared in numerous Canadian literary magazines: Prism International, The Malahat Review, Exile, The Literary Quarterly, and Prairie Fire. One of his stories was nominated for the National Magazine Award for fiction, the M&S Journey Prize, and it was a finalist in the 22nd Annual Western Magazine Awards, 2004. A collection of his short stories, Let's Not Let A Little Thing Like The End Of The World Come Between Us, was published by Thistledown Press in 2004, and it was shortlisted for both the 2005 Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Caribbean and Canada Region) in the “Best First Book” category, and the ReLit Award for short Fiction. His first novel, Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies, is published by ChiZine Publications and due out in Spring, 2012. James lives and writes in British Columbia, Canada.

I reviewed Ninja versus Pirate featuring Zombies a few days ago and author, James Marshall, has agreed to an interview.

Julie-Anne: What first made you decide to be an author? Were you one of those kids that was always writing wee stories at school?

James Marshall: I didn't really start writing until my last year of high school, but I knew I was going to be a writer quite a while before that. I used to have really elaborate daydreams, listening to a Walkman on long road trips to visit relatives in another province in the summertime. Even then I wanted to live in a world of my own rather than this one.

JA: Was there any particular author that you feel helped you make the decision to sit down and write your first book?

JM: My first book was a collection of short stories that were "literary". I wanted to prove I could do the sort of thing that people consider "art" before I started to do the sort of thing that people consider "genre". I wouldn't say there was one author that inspired me to sit down and write, but I think writers like J.D. Salinger and Chuck Palahniuk gave me permission to write the way I did in my short story collection.

JA: In Ninja versus Pirate featuring Zombies, you instantly get an idea of what you're getting into from the 1st sentence. How difficult was that sentence to write? It was sort of difficult to read just because of the sheer size of it.

JM: That sentence was actually pretty easy to write. It was inspired by Plato's Parable of the Cave. I already had a pretty good handle on my main character's voice, so I just had to change the cave to fit the novel and show everything from the protagonist's wacky point-of-view.

JA: One thing I really enjoyed in Ninja versus Pirates featuring Zombies was the humour. Is it based off your own sense of humour or did you taker inspiration from other places? If so, where?

JM: It's definitely based on my own sense of humour, but the BBC version of "The Office" was a big inspiration too. I loved the way Ricky Gervais' character would try to be politically correct and wind up being even more politically incorrect. I really wanted to try to do that too.

JA: How did you come up with the names in Ninja versus Pirates featuring Zombies?

JM: Guy Boy Man's name is supposed to make him emblematic of all mankind. He's funny and charming, but he's also flawed, perhaps irredeemably so. I wanted Baby Doll15's name to suggest an online component to Guy's world, which is meant to harken back to the Prologue, where Guy Boy Man saw everyone chained up in front of a giant LCD display, bashing keyboards and shaking wireless mice.

JA: What can we expect from GuyBoyMan next?

JM: Guy doesn't really show up much in the second book until near the end. If you want to stay up to date with Guy, your best bet is HowToEndHumanSuffering.com. From there, you can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

JA: What do you think of book to movie adaptations?

JM: I like them, in general. I definitely don't have the negative opinion of Hollywood that some writers do. I really hope to see my work on the big screen some day.

JA: Have you thought about who you would want cast in a movie adaptation of Ninja versus Pirates featuring Zombies?

JM: I know this sounds crazy, but for some reason I imagine Will Ferrell in the role of Guy Boy Man and John C. Reilly as Sweetie Honey. I know Guy Boy Man is sixteen-years-old and Will Ferrell is in his forties, and I know Sweetie Honey is African-American and John C. Reilly is white. I still think it could work.

JA: Do you have any authors you would recommend to me or my readers?

JM: My friend, Yasuko Thanh, has a collection of short stories coming out this Spring called "Floating Like The Dead". Also, my publisher, ChiZine Publications, has a lot of really cool titles.

JA: Finally, my random question of the moment, do you read online comics? If so, which ones? I'm always on the lookout for more :D

JM: I'm sorry I don't!


So there you have it lads and lassies. I'd like to say a huge thanks to James Marshall for agreeing to the interview and thanks to all you readers out there. I hope you enjoyed it!

We have a Winner

The winner of our Rachel McClellan giveaway is Anne Michaud.

Congratulations Anne, on winning Fractured Light and Rachel's "special" prize

This necklace is similar to one that's mentioned in Fractured Light.

Thank you to everyone who entered, and congrats again to Anne for winning.

Interview with Rachel McClellan plus a Contest

I’d like to welcome Rachel McClellan to the blog, she’s the author of upcoming YA book, Fractured Light which is due for release on the 7th February 2012, and she’s agreed to come by for an interview.


Julie-Anne: What made you decide to write a YA book?

Rachel: A teenager’s life is a magical thing. Every event is heightened by emotions making for great tension and a lot of fun. I’ve worked with teenagers for years so it felt natural to write a story geared towards them.


JA: You had a big Gaelic background in your book, do you have any Celt in your own heritage?

R: Actually, I do. My grandmother hails from Norway, while the other side of my family came from Ireland. A few years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Ireland and was blown away by the beauty and ambiance of the landscape. I can honestly say that there was something about Ireland that focused me as a writer.


JA: Where did you get the idea of using Light as a power?

R: I’ve always heard of people who are able to see others auras, a light/energy surrounding a person. I thought it would be cool to take this light and energy and turn it into a real power someone could use.


JA: I’m hoping there will be a 2nd book, will we get more of May in there?

R: There will be a book two, FRACTURED TRUTH, tentatively set for release in February 2013. I’m super excited about it because it’s set at an all girls school where everyone has to be fair, nice, non-competitive, etc. On top of dealing with what happened to her at the end of FRACTURED LIGHT, Llona’s going to have some serious issues with Lucent Academy’s rules.
As for May, she’s right there with Llona. BFF’s forever! And in book two May will be developing her own power as a Fury. Fire. Is. Cool. Together, with a few more interesting friends, they’ll uncover a huge plot, that, unless they stop it, will destroy the Aura’s.
(*Happy Dance*) ~ JA


JA: What is your writing style? Do you plan and outline or do you just go for it?

R: Before I begin any story, I always know the ending. I won’t even start typing unless I know how it’s all going to end. But once I know this, I just go for it. I do check my word length every so often to make sure I’m where I need to be and sometimes I’ll loosely outline a few chapters ahead.


JA: I know some authors will make up a playlist before writing a book, are you one of them?

R: Freak, yes, I love music. I have a playlist I listened to all the time when writing Fractured Light. One of these days, I’ll put it up on my blog because it fits the book perfectly.
(I always like seeing an author's playlist) ~ JA


JA: For any aspiring authors out there, what’s your advice on getting published?

R: When people find out I’m published, our conversation goes like this:
“I love to write, too,” they say.
“Really? What do you write?” I say.
“Pretty much everything. I’ve got a couple of short stories and a novel I’ve been working on for awhile. I’d love to get them published.”
“Do you belong to any writing groups?”
“No.”
“Have you taken any writing classes?”
“No.”
“Have you read any books on writing?”
“No.” Pause. “Do I have to do any of those things to be published?”
“Yes!”
An aspiring author must learn all there is to writing and publishing a book. It’s a long, and sometimes lonely, road. It can be discouraging, but once writing gets into your soul, it becomes just as important as breathing.


JA: Who are some of your favourite authors?

R: There are so many, but I really enjoy Dean Koontz, Suzanne Collins, Joshua Gaylord, Ayn Rand, C.S. Lewis, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Shelley, James Dashner, and on and on.


JA: Did any particular book or author inspire you to start writing?

R: There’s not a particular book that made me want to start writing, but there are books I’ve studied to help me become a better author. I studied Odd Thomas and The Reapers are the Angels for character development, I studied The Maze Runner and Hunger Games for pacing and tension, and I studied Jekyll and Hyde and The Book Thief for the way they used words to describe feelings, events, objects, etc.
If you have time to read while you’re writing, what are some of your favourite series out just now? The Maze Runner series is a really good one. Of course Hunger Games. I enjoyed the first few books of the Uglies series. And if you’re in it for the long haul, The Outlander Series is also good.
(I've only recently discovered The Hunger Games myself, they're great!) ~ JA



Thanks so much for stopping by and any readers out there, I highly recommend Fractured Light when it comes out.



And now ........... the contest!

The prize is a copy of Fractured Light, when it's released, and a special gift from Rachel herself which I am not going to reveal, but I will tell you it's Fractured Light connected. To win this great prize, just answer the question below, which Rachel has kindly provided for me:

I love Tim Burton movies. Without looking it up (honor code people), how many Tim Burton films can you name?

As Rachel says, please follow the honour code and don't use Google. The winner will NOT be chosen by numbers alone. Just comment below with your answers and remember to leave your e-mail address so I can contact the winner.


Last date to enter is: 7th December

Interview with Anthony Francis

Anthony Francis is the author of the Dakota Frost Skindancer novels.

Frost Moon is the first in the series :
In an alternate Atlanta where vampires and werewolves prowl the night, magic is real, and tattoo magic is the strongest magic of them all, a serial killer is targeting the magically tattooed on the full moon.

Dakota Frost, best magical tattooist in the Southeast, learns from the police she may be a target ... just when she receives a lucrative commission to ink a magic tattoo for a werewolf before the next full moon.

Caught between the rough and tumble world of the werewolves, the law and order rules of the vampires, and a sexy man-in-black whose motives are in doubt, Dakota must tread carefully to survive - because she doesn't know whether her werewolf client is the tattoo killer ... or the next victim.




I read the book and totally fell in love with it so asked the author to join us for a quick interview.


Julie-Anne: Welcome to Thoughts of a Scot, thank you for doing this interview.

Anthony Francis: My pleasure! Thanks for having me.


JA: Why don’t you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?

AF: I’m a longtime resident of the Southeast who’s moved to the Bay Area to work for Google. I spent eighteen years in Greenville, South Carolina, near where the fictional Dakota Frost grew up, and eighteen years in Atlanta, living in and enjoying the places where FROST MOON takes place. I’m a big fan of science fiction and urban fantasy, but in my day job I’m a computer scientist helping robots feel and see, so I try to weave both the fantastic and the scientific through Dakota’s universe.


JA: I loved Frost Moon and Dakota Frost, how did you come up with the idea for Dakota? Is she based on anyone you know?

AF: Dakota was a reaction against all those covers of urban fantasy novels that have an attractive scantily clad heroine on the cover – but when you turn the page you find a hardboiled detective who’s far more likely to show up in boots and jeans than she is in a little black dress and thigh-high boots. So I decided to create a heroine who needed to show a little skin in order for her magic to work – so when you see Dakota on the cover, she’s working, and not just showing off.
Parts of Dakota are based on people I know – her long leather vestcoats are mine, for example, as are her mix of skeptical/religious beliefs and her kinky sexuality. Her environmentalism comes from my wife, as do her vines and butterfly tattoos, and her Mohawk, though my wife hasn’t worn a Mohawk since high school. The rest of her draws on several other people I know, but her attitude and distinctive voice are all her own.
She does exhibit some of the tropes of urban fantasy – “the snappy tough chick” – but I wanted Dakota to be different. I didn’t want her to be an experienced paranormal investigator with combat experience when the story starts; dealing with danger and violence is new to her. And I gave her an alternative sexuality, based on my own experiences with the BDSM/leather community of Atlanta, to help raise people’s awareness.


(I love Dakota's look and her personality.  It's one of the main selling points on the series for me.)


JA: I love the idea of magical tattoos, how did you come up with it? And what would you get if they were real?

AF: Once I had the idea that Dakota’s skin would be how her magic was expressed, the idea of tattoos came naturally. The other obvious alternative was dancing, but I quickly decided to combine tattoos and dancing into a single art – the SKINDANCER of the series title. Tattoos are wonderful because there are so many kinds of art that inspire ideas for magical effects. I was also inspired by the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, who was an artist that used the Green Lantern ring to create anything that he could imagine. Dakota’s tattooing gun isn’t as fast or convenient as a Green Lantern ring – but her imagination is just as powerful.

Oh, and I’d get a dragon tattoo like Dakota’s. Definitely.


(I think a dragon would be fun but I also like the idea of some vines.  Perhaps poisonous ones.)


JA: I read somewhere on the net that you didn’t have any tattoos, is this still true? And do you have an interest in tattoos or did you have a friend to ask about that side of things?

AF: That’s still true. I am thinking about getting a large dragon tattoo but it hasn’t happened yet. As it turns out, I not only have an interest in tattoos, but I’m also married to a beautiful woman with a large tattoo who I could ask about her experiences. Even so, I had to do a lot of research, research that is still ongoing with every book.


JA: I read that a YA series was planned following Cinnamon, is this still in the works?

AF: Most definitely yes! Cinnamon’s series will be SPELLPUNK and the first one is tentatively titled HEX CODE. I’m planning at least a trilogy.


(*fistpump*)


JA: Personally, I loved Cinnamon, how soon can we expect to read it?

AF: Hopefully late next year or early 2013. It will probably be my National Novel Writing Month project for 2011.


(Can't wait for this.  Cinnamon is a great character.)


JA: How do you get into a writing “mood”? Do you make up a writing playlist or do you have any other pre-writing rituals?

AF: I used to do mix tapes for writing, which I still do from time to time – sequences of music which represent parts of a story, inspiring me to think about plot developments. But the more I write the less I need them. I believe one of the most important things a writer can do is to learn to write when they’re NOT in the mood – some of the best writing I’ve done has been when I’ve been staring at white page saying to myself “I’ve got nothing.” If the muse doesn’t show up, start without her.
Easier said than done, of course. One of the most important techniques I use is an appointment with a time limit. I’m a member of the Writing Group at Mission City Coffee, which meets every Tuesday (except the first Tuesday) come hell or high water. At the Group, we write for 20 minutes, everyone reads what they wrote, and then we do it again. On a good night we get 3 sessions – an hour of writing broken into 20 minute chunks. That ticking clock motivates you to write, because if you don’t use the time, it will be gone. Over time, you learn this as a skill.
The other thing I use is National Novel Writing Month – an annual challenge to write 50,000 words of a new novel in the month of November. It’s quite a challenge, but a doable challenge, and I’ve participated 5 times. FROST MOON was my 2007 entry, BLOOD ROCK my 2008, LIQUID FIRE my 2009, and THE CLOCKWORK TIME MACHINE was my 2010. It gets easier every year, and sometimes I even end up far ahead of the 50,000.


JA: What’s your favourite genre to read?

AF: Physics textbooks. Seriously, I read superhero comics, alternative comics, urban fantasy, paranormal young adult fiction, steampunk, hard core science fiction, fluffy space opera, and whatever else I can get my hands on. My favourite urban fantasy author is Patricia Briggs, followed closely by Laurell Hamilton. My favourite science fiction author is Larry Niven, followed by Isaac Asimov and C. J. Cherryh.


JA: When did you start writing and what pushed you to do it?

AF: I started writing when I was ten. I was inspired by Isaac Asimov to write science fiction and Disney movies to write things that were fun. I wrote short stories and had elaborate plans for my writing, even writing a whole novel during college and getting a short story published in graduate school, but life kept getting in the way.
Then one day I woke up and realized I had stopped going to science fiction conventions and hadn’t submitted a story in years. I went back to Dragon*Con, attended Ann Crispin’s writing workshop. I participated in National Novel Writing Month and started writing stories again. Finally it was the Writing Group, then meeting at Barnes and Noble at Steven’s Creek, that broke the logjam. Write every week, until the end.


JA: What author or authors do you look up to?

AF: I really like Ayn Rand’s writing style, her ability to plot, and most especially her ability to clearly explain how she writes and plots. I admire Isaac Asimov’s immense command of knowledge and Larry Niven’s imagination. I enjoy Patricia Briggs’ realistic characters and Laurell Hamilton’s action and slightly kinky sexuality. And my favourite “new to me” author is Scott Westerfeld, whose LEVIATHAN and BEHEMOTH exhibit an immense command of story structure.


JA: Do you like to read while you’re writing or would you rather just focus on your own book?

AF: I love reading – I follow Stephen Barnes dictum that you should read ten times as much as you write – but I try to avoid reading in the precise genre that I’m writing in, at least until I get two thirds of a way through a book and know how it ends. For example, I didn’t pick up LEVIATHAN until I was absolutely convinced it wouldn’t interfere with my writing of THE CLOCKWORK TIME MACHINE, and I stopped reading Jim Butcher’s FOOL MOON about a paragraph in because I didn’t want it to pollute my work on BLOOD ROCK – oh hey, I guess I can read that now.


JA: What book are you reading just now? And would you recommend it?

AF: I just finished BEHEMOTH by Scott Westerfeld and I heartily recommend it. As the protagonist might say, barking spiders, what a good tale.


JA: Do you have much say in your cover art?

AF: Very little – the team at Bell Bridge Books are experts at knowing how to put together books and they do the cover art. They run them by me, and sometimes tweak them, but I let them do what they know best.
I do draw the frontispieces of my books, however. The team at Bell Bridge gives me feedback and I’m responsive to it, but I come from a comics background and I want to include a piece of art in every book.


JA: Finally, can you tell us a little about Blood Rock?

AF: BLOOD ROCK is set a few months after the events of FROST MOON. It begins with Dakota and Cinnamon school shopping, but they’re quickly pulled into an investigation of some nasty magical graffiti that attacked their mutual friend, the vampire Revenance. The graffiti attacks spread over the whole city, but Dakota’s attempts to help end up alienating the human, vampire and werewolf factions she’s trying to help. Dakota’s learned to fight, but now things have become trickier: she’s at war with tough, tricky magic in a terrible political climate, and needs to learn to rely on herself AND to learn to pick the right allies. I really enjoyed writing BLOOD ROCK and I hope you all have fun reading it!


(Another thing I can't wait for.)


JA: Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, I’m sure you’re busy with your authorly duties so I appreciate it a lot.

AF: My pleasure! It’s not always easy writing when you have a day job, but, hey, in my day job I get to work on robots, so I can’t really complain!
All the best!


Can't wait to read more about Dakota. And on a different note, below is the model I had in my head when I was reading Frost Moon. Her name is Rachael Huntington and she's also an amazing tattoo artist.

Interview with Julie Particka

Teenagers are greatly under-appreciated. Until one of her students read a piece she wrote and told her she should become an author, Julie never seriously considered it. To this day, she still appreciates the wisdom and council of teenagers.
No longer teaching, now she splits her time between raising her own kids and living in the world of her imagination (where her children occasionally visit). They reside in southwest Michigan with her wonderful (and very patient) husband and the faithful German Shepherd mix they're all convinced is a person trapped in a dog's body by some sort of curse. She doesn't want to change him back though--it'd be too hard for him to lie on her feet under the desk if he was human.

Julie Particka's website



In the run up to the release of Pretty Souls, I asked the author for a wee interview. Don’t expect this to be like other author interviews you’ve read though. It’s my first author interview so I thought I’d try and ask some different questions, maybe get a wee giggle out of Julie. I have the pleasure of knowing Julie personally (although I tend to call her Sel as I first met her online) and she’s as gorgeous in real life as her picture has you believe.



First off, the book related questions. Why don’t you give us a quick rundown of Pretty Souls?

Pretty Souls tells the story of Elle, a bitten werewolf, and Cass, her half-vampire foster sister. Though oddly matched, the girls work together to hide their true natures from everyone around them. In addition to spending their days as normal human teenagers, they sneak out at night to keep tabs on the generally quiet supernatural population in their town. When Pretty Souls begins, they find someone or something is turning people into voodoo-style zombies: still alive, but no longer themselves. On the journey to catching the bad guy, Elle has to deal with bullies, tutors, half-demons, first love, loss, betrayal, and the beast that inhabits her body day and night.


So are any of the characters (even slightly) based on anyone you know?

The sisters are physically (and only physically) based on two of my nieces. Elle runs cross country, and at one point the niece in question was in fact a runner, but not anymore, nor is she particularly hairy even at the full moon. My other niece has never been a cheerleader, nor has she ever drunk the blood of neighbourhood animals (at least not to my knowledge). So yes, but only in regard to their human physical appearance.


Who is your biggest literary influence?

Kelley Armstrong, no question. Not only do I love her writing, but the online writing group on her website was also what pushed me to improve my own craft. If I can manage a career anything like she’s developed, I will be an extremely happy woman.


Who is your biggest literary crush (excluding your own characters)?

Right now there is this steaming hot incubus named Brystion (from Allison Pang’s A Brush of Darkness) who makes me drool. I also have this strange crush on Adrian from Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series (though some of the people I’ve seen suggested to play him on screen? Uh…no). He’s just so wonderfully damaged, yet seems such a true soul that I adore him.
(I love Adrian too – JA)


Now onto the non-book related questions. As a parent, you must watch a lot of kids TV. What programme is your favourite? And we all know there’s at least one, if not more, that you actually enjoy.

LOL I actually don’t mind a few of them, though some it’s more for the opportunity to make fun of them than anything else. One that I just love on its own merits though is Phineas & Ferb. The kids on it remind me so much of mine, it isn’t even funny. Besides, any show with a pet platypus who is actually a secret agent is an automatic win.


What was your favourite childhood toy? Any that you always wanted but never got?

I don’t remember having a favourite toy. I had a bit of an obsession with stuffed animals, but I can’t name one that was my favourite. And it wasn’t a toy but I remember asking for a pony or riding lessons every year for ages. Finally had to pay for them myself once I was an adult.


What’s the worst fashion trend that you’ve ever followed?

Jumpers. What the hell were people thinking…including me? I have a long torso, so jumpers inevitably went places they weren’t supposed to go. Horrible, horrible memories. *Shudders* I should write a horror story about killer jumpsuits.
(I’d read it! That’d be full of giggles, I’m sure. – JA)


Can you tie a cherry stem in a knot with your tongue?

LOL no. My husband can though, and so can at least one of my best girlfriends. And that’s really all a girl needs, isn’t it?


If you had to wish for a mythological creature to be real, which one would it be?

(Must remember to be the good twin…) I always kind of wanted a Pegasus growing up. Unicorns were cool, but really? Is there anything better for a horse-loving girl than one that can fly? Oh, but I want it to be black. White horse and me? Yeah. No. Must be black.


Have you ever ridden a horse bareback?

Is this a trick question? (I’m the good twin, remember? LOL) Yes, I have indeed ridden more than one horse bareback in my time. If I had the opportunity right now, I’d do it again. (So who wants to loan me a horse?)
(If anyone offers one based on this, I’ll let Julie know, lol. – JA)




So that’s my short interview with Julie Particka and the review for Pretty Souls will be posted in a few weeks time. Please come back and read it!


Click here for review.