Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming
release.
This
is the second book in The Two Towers series. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic
world about 150 years from now. The main character, Kayla, is a kick-butt,
spunky heroine who will do whatever it takes to survive. She's a
self-proclaimed "ruin-rat", and one of the survivors who lives on the
surface. She navigates the ruins of the abandoned cities trying to find
artifacts to trade in exchange for necessary supplies.
The
series has a bit of romance, science fiction, paranormal, action and adventure
– a little of everything. The second book in the series, Shadow of the
Coalition, picks up about a month after the first book left off.
If you are a parent do you find it hard to juggle
writing and parenting? Any tips for time management or sneaking in writing
time?
My
son is much older now, but I used to struggle trying to find time to write when
he was younger. Most of the time, I'd wait until after he'd gone to bed or was
playing a video game. Any free minute I had was usually spent writing. If I
wasn't able to write, I'd spend the time developing scenes in my head so I
could write them down later.
Have you ever based your book or characters on
actual events or people from your own life?
Not
consciously. Although, I've found that several of my characters remind me of
certain individuals I've known over the years. At least, they share certain
traits. My main character, Kayla, actually reminds me of two of my old friends
– one from high school and another from college. Both these individuals had a
profound influence on me, and I think Kayla was a little bit of an unconscious
tribute to them.
Is there a theme or message in your work that you
would like readers to connect to?
Not
intentionally. I've noticed a common theme in my work though – balance and
cyclicity. For some reason, most of my writing seems to incorporate those two
aspects. But as far as what I'd like a reader to take away? Whatever it is that
they need to take away at that point in their lives. If there's some aspect of
my writing that touches them or they're able to connect with, then I'm just
thankful to have played a small part in it.
When you’re not writing what do you do? Do you have
any hobbies or guilty pleasures?
I'm
a total gamer geek. I love computer games. I've been gaming since I was a
teenager and I'm still a huge enthusiast. I don't think I'll ever outgrow it.
Is there a genre(s) that you’d like to write that
you haven’t tackled yet?
I
have some ideas for a contemporary romance and also for a fantasy romance. I'm
a little nervous about trying the contemporary romance because it's a bit
outside my comfort zone. I love the flexibility of science fiction and contemporary
romance seems much more restrictive. I can't help but admire the authors who
pull it off with flair.
Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who is
your favorite and why?
I
absolutely love Kayla. She's much more complex than she first appears. She can
be a kick-butt, spunky, whirlwind of a personality at times, but there's also
an underlying softness to her character. I also have two new characters in
Shadow of the Coalition that I'm excited about introducing to my readers.
Sergei and Brant are both intriguing. I suspect Sergei may have his own story
eventually.
If this book is part of a series…what is the next
book? Any details you can share?
It
doesn't have a title yet, but I'm currently working on the third book in the
series. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I will say that there will
be an epic showdown. The Coalition will be back, as well as characters
introduced in both the first two books. You'll also meet a new character from
Kayla's past.
What is next for you? Do you have any scheduled
upcoming releases or works in progress?
I'm
hoping to have the third book in the series finished and sent off to my
publisher by the end of the summer. I'll also be attending some conferences and
getting to meet some of my amazing readers.
I'm
going to be attending and signing books at the Authors After Dark Convention in
Savannah, GA on August 3-7th, 2016. I'd love to see some of you
there!
The Two Towers Series
Book Two
Jamie A. Waters
Genre: Paranormal Romance /
Science Fiction Romance /
Dystopian Romance
Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing
Date of Publication: June 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77127-810-2
ASIN: B01FNEPYXU
Number of pages: 417
Word Count: 107,000
Cover Artist: SuzieDesigns
Book Description:
The award-winning novel, The Two Towers, continues in Book 2…
What’s stronger? Free will or fate?
It's been a month since Kayla, a headstrong ruin rat, and Carl, an OmniLab trader, returned to the surface. After she helped to restore control of the towers to those who would look after the best interests of the people, she'd found herself irrevocably bonded to Alec, the new co-leader of the High Council.
Although her heart belongs to Carl, she finds it difficult to resist the strange bond between her and Alec. Caught between learning how to handle her new emerging abilities, mysterious earthquakes, and a strange group seemingly intent on targeting OmniLab, Kayla and Carl are once again swept up in events that threaten to change the entire future of the towers.
Book Excerpt:
Carl groaned.
"It figures. You’re thinking about going, aren’t you?"
"Maybe."
She looked away, not willing to meet his gaze. "So what if I am? Someone
needs to tell Alec to back off and I can do that a whole lot better
face-to-face. He has no right to use you to get to me."
Carl ran his
hands over his face in frustration. "You’re going to send the message loud
and clear that his plan worked. All he needs to do is call me back to the
towers and you’ll go too."
She shook her
head. "No. I’m going to send the message that if he tries to manipulate
the people I care about, he’ll never see me again. I made my choice already. I
left with you."
Carl was quiet
for a long time and just looked at her. Finally, he asked, "Kayla, are you
sure you aren’t going because you want to see him again?"
Shit. Panic flooded through her at the loaded
question. She glared at him and then held up her hands in frustration. "I
can’t believe you’re asking me that. I’ve spent the last several weeks trying
my damnedest to avoid him and you think I want
to see that pompous, arrogant jerkoff?"
He reached for
her hand and she started to pull away. He gripped her hand tightly, not letting
her go. "Yes, I do. In the entire time I’ve known you, I've never seen you
back away from anything. You’ve always met every obstacle and challenge
head-on. Something about this situation with Alec is different though. You've
avoided him for weeks but all of a sudden you've changed your mind? It doesn't
make sense. I think you do want to see him again, but for whatever reason,
you've been trying to avoid it until now."
"That’s not
true." Her protest sounded weak, even to her. Carl might be right, but she
wasn't ready to have this conversation. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Part of her
hated how easily Carl could read her. As though sensing her conflicted
emotions, he took another step toward her. "I know you’re not still angry
over what he said in the towers. Your temper is like a flash fire. It burns and
it’s excruciating to witness, but it’s over almost immediately. You’ve
pretended to be angry with him for weeks. Why?"
"He said I
belonged to him," she exclaimed and yanked her hand back. "I don’t
belong to him! I won’t ever belong to him. I don’t care about the stupid
connection thing. I won’t let him control—"
"I'll be
damned," Carl whispered as understanding came over him. "You’re not
avoiding Alec because you want to see him, are you? You’re terrified of that
connection thing."
Kayla’s eyes
widened and her hand flew to her mouth. She'd said too much.
"Sweetheart,
why didn’t you tell me?"
She shook her
head, refusing to answer. With a sigh, he slipped his arms around her. Kayla
started to pull away, but the comfort and reassurance he offered was
irresistible. She leaned against him and squeezed her eyes shut.
His voice was
soft as he said, "You can’t change who or what you are. But you can make a
choice about how you want to live your life."
"I already
did," she whispered, curling her fingers into his shirt. She needed this
closeness, needed him. "I chose you. It doesn’t make the ache go away
though. It hurts all the time."
About the Author:
Jamie A. Waters is an award-winning, science-fiction and paranormal romance writer. Her first novel, The Two Towers, was a winner of the Readers' Favorite Award in Science-Fiction Romance and the CIPA EVVY Award in Science-Fiction. The highly anticipated second book in the series, Shadow of the Coalition, is scheduled to be released Summer 2016 by MuseItUp Publishing.
Jamie currently resides in North Carolina with her teenage son and two neurotic dogs who enjoy stealing socks. When she's not pursuing her passion of writing, she's usually trying to learn new and interesting random things (like how to pick locks or use the self-cleaning feature of the oven without setting off the fire alarm). In her downtime, she enjoys reading on her Kindle, playing computer games, painting, or acting as a referee between the dragons and fairies currently at war inside her closet.
1 comment:
Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog! The interview was a lot of fun!
- Jamie
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