Thursday, June 30, 2016

Interview and Giveaway with Jamie A. Waters




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!



Shadow of the Coalition
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.



Amazon     iTunes     MuseItUp    Kobo

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.





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1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog! The interview was a lot of fun!

- Jamie