Originally from Ohio, Julie always dreamed of a job in science. Either shooting for the stars or delving into the mysteries of volcanoes. But, life never leads where you expect. In 2007, she moved to Mississippi to be with her significant other. Now a mother of a hyperactive red headed boy, what time she’s not chasing down dirty socks and unsticking toys from the ceiling is spent crafting worlds readers can get lost in. Julie is a self-proclaimed bibliophile and lover of big words. She likes hiking, frogs, interesting earrings, and a plethora of other fun things. Welcome to author Julie. Thanks so much for taking the time to fill out 27 Questions so readers can better get to know you and your work!1. What got you started writing to begin with? I first started writing in 2011 when my sister called me from ship. She was serving aboard the USS George H W Bush and had entered an area where their internet access was restricted for security reason. Unfortunately that meant that her entertainment option were also restricted and she was bored out of her mind. When she asked for reading material, I put a story together for her. After the first few chapters, I started getting requests from her shipmates for the rest of the story. Apparently she had been sharing my work, but hadn’t bothered to send her friends the previous chapters. By the time the story was done, I was emailing around twenty sailors and getting requests for more stories. So I continued. 2. What was the first thing you wrote? My first story was a fanfiction based of an anime. It was fun, but nothing I would be really proud of. 3. What inspires you? Everything has something that inspires me. Mostly I get my ideas from people watching or dreams. 4. Do you “people watch” for your writing? All the time. Fact is far stranger than fiction is. You can see that in the types out there. Just watching them give me ideas. 5. Who are you favorite authors? I have a lot of favorite authors, but the ones I keep going back to are Piers Anthony, Patricia Briggs, Neil Gaiman, H. P. Lovecraft, and may others. 6. What is your favorite book? I’m not sure I have a favorite book. There are ones I go back to all the time and ones that I can pick up to read from any point in the book. The Hobbit is one of those. Love that story. 7. What genre do you most like to read? I read just about everything. I enjoy a good romance novel as much as I love the goosebumps I get from mystery or suspense novels. I’m not so much into horror because I have a vivid imagination and will never sleep again. 8. What genre do you write? Is this reflective of what you read? I write mostly paranormal, romance, and fantasy. I’m not so sure it reflects what I read as much as who I am. These are things I know and come easiest to me. I do have a science fiction story set, but I need to do some more research on that before I get started. 9. What genre do you have a difficult time with that you wish you could write? I haven’t really had a difficult time writing in anything yet. But I haven’t gotten into writing other thing. The only one that I’ve had issues with is the science fictions and that’s just due to the amount of research I’m going to have to put into. And that’s more of a time issue than anything dealing with actual writing. 10. What kind of research do you do or have you done for your story? I really don’t know how to answer this. Most to the research I do is looking up facts to make sure I have them right. A little mythology, a little history, and a lot of words to make sure their correct. I haven’t done anything that has required much research. 11. Do you have any writing rituals like eating chocolate or lighting incense? I would say coffee, but that’s more a necessity than a ritual. Otherwise the only thing I need is a nice quiet place and my computer. As long as I can concentrate, I’m good. 13. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind? I usually like it quiet. Music distracts my brain from what it’s supposed to be doing. But if there is noise in the background, I will get something with a upbeat tempo that has no words in it to distract me. Right now I’ve been listening to Purgatorium/Silver Night BMG on youtube. Someone has it on there for a 10 hour loop and it helps me when I need to concentrate. 14. Introduce us to your current book. Well, that would have to be For the Memory of Dragons. It’s the second novel in the Dragons of Eternity series. In this world, dragons are shape shifters and Eternity is a military force that is designed to police and protect dragons. For the Memory of Dragons picks up the hunt for a group that’s been killing dragons. We join Alex as he finds a major break in the case. Unfortunately, he is shot out of the sky and crash lands in a cornfield. Terra is drawn into his problems when she comes to help. With a missing memory and only a few clues to help, they have to work together to find out who he is while being chased by the people that want to stop him from remembering. 15. How long did it take you to write it? This one took me about three months to write. 16. Which character(s) of yours do you most relate to? Probably Terra. She is a resourceful farm girl that knows how to face an issue. I like that about her and can see it in myself. 17. Who is your favorite character in this story? Alex. Who doesn’t love a man without a memory? And the fact that he is dark and moody usually add to his character. 18. Which character is the best role model for readers? I don’t really think of my characters as role models. They’re there to entertain people. If I had to pick, I would say Alex. He’s a man with a mission, and he pushes through all odds to get it done. 19. How did you decide on your cover? I have a cover artist that loves dragons. I told her I wanted a dragon crashing into a cornfield—since that is the first main scene in the book—and she worked her magic. 20. What do you hope people discover while reading your story? Enjoyment. Since I’ve been writing to keep my sister busy in her down time, I aim to distract people from life for a while. I don’t try to add in any hidden life message in there. These are just for fun. 21. Have you written anything else? Tell us about it/them. For the Memory of Dragons is the second book in the Dragons of Eternity series. The first if On the Accidental Wings of Dragons. There is also a prequel to the series that features a few key characters, but is set much earlier in their timeline. That is A Castle for Dragons. On top of the dragons series, I have a series of five books and a novella dealing with vampires. That starts with Kindling Flames – Gathering Tinder. That deals with an ancient vampire that’s denying his life as a vampire. When problems arise in the supernatural world, the alpha of the local pack brings the problem to him, forcing him to have to deal with the life he’d left behind with the help of his new personal assistant—who knows nothing of the supernatural world. The first two books in that series were original supposed to be one book, but my publisher asked me to split it because it was too long—clocking in at over one hundred and fifty thousand words long. So the first one does leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it goes straight into the second book. 22. Do you experience writers block, how do you deal with it? I take a nap of take a shower. Usually that will help clear whatever is blocking me out. Or I gather my nick-knacks and go to the coffee shop to watch people. The change of scenery usually helps. 23. What do you not like about writing? Spelling and grammar. I know they are important, but they are my bane. I’m just glad that I have an editor that will deal with me. 24. Are you working on anything now? Right now I am working on the third book to the Dragons of Eternity series. I hope to have it done by the end of August. 25. How do you market your work? Most of my marketing is done through social media and blog sites. I spend a lot of time pushing the first book in the series. Once they get into that one, they will carry on over to the next. 26. What would you say to readers? Thank you. Without you, wouldn’t do what I do. And I hope you find a few hours of escape between my pages. Being a published author is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. There’s a lot more involved than just putting a story together. You are putting your thought and ideas out for the world to see, and the world is not a nice place. You will be judged, hard. The best thing I can tell you is spend time with your work and make sure it’s the best it can be. Get someone to read it before you put it out there and listen to what they have to say with a critical ear. And the hardest thing to do—don’t take the bad reviews to heart. Your work may not fit everyone’s tasted. Write was please you and be true to yourself. And never stop. Being an author is a lucrative business and your audience is fickle. Just keep going. 27 .Where can one purchase your book(s)? For the Memory of Dragons will be release on August 31 on amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011WJIAYA/ It will also be available on Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks after it’s release. The rest of the books are also available on all of these platforms. For a complete list check out my amazon authors page at http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Wetzel/e/B00MTMBD6C/ . Website and Social media links http://www.juliewetzel.com/ https://www.facebook.com/JulieWetzelAuthor https://twitter.com/JulieKWetzel http://www.amazon.com/Julie-Wetzel/e/B00MTMBD6C/
1 Comment
Melanie
9/17/2015 07:29:07 am
Ooooh I would love to read the Science fiction by you Julie!! Because I know you don't have much going on at the moment *Mwahahahahah* #BackInYourBox
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