Welcome Eternal Press author, Alice Wade!

I only recent 'met' Alice online and already feel as though we're friends so it's great to have the chance to learn more about you! Welcome to my blog and hope you enjoy being here for the next couple of days!

Let's start the interrogation...

1) What is your writing routine?

If I am writing a new story and have to enter the ‘zone’, I will lock myself away and just write. If I am tweaking, editing or adding flavor, I will plop myself in front of the TV with my family and kill two birds with one stone. I don’t outline ideas or jot scenes or characters down. I think about them first and then cut loose and let the story tell itself as I write. Once I have the shell down, I will go back through and add flavor, tweak the dialogue or give more depth to my characters.

2) Which author/s inspire you to write?

Anne McCaffrey (sadly deceased), Anne Bishop, and Robin Hobb are the greatest influences in my writing. All have amazing abilities with character development and spinning engaging plots that suck you in – something I strive for as an author.

3) Which is your favorite romance subgenre to read? To write?

Fantasy, hands down. I just can’t find a way to get away from elves, dragons or magic (oh my!). Even if I sit down to write something serious, they always find some way into the story. Same goes for reading. I only stray from Fantasy to support my fellow authors to give advice, but for personal reading it is rare.

4) How do you deal with criticism/rejection?

With a grain of salt. I can’t grow as a writer if I don’t hear true feedback on what worked or didn’t work. I draw a line with rudeness, though. Honesty can be offered without offending and I do not tolerate this form of feedback. I also look at feedback as a reality. I made my work public and I know my writing does not resonate with everyone who reads it. So I filter the malicious feedback from the genuine and carry on. I will not lie to you, sometimes the hard feedback bites, but that is part of the process and I swallow my pride. Luckily, I don’t have to swallow that very often!

5) What do you expect from an editor?

Hmm. I expect honesty and a clever eye. Another way to say it is they are a partner in the process. Behind every good author is a very talented and dedicated editor, right?

Another thing, I don’t expect them to fix all my problems, only point out where the story could be enhanced and more engaging. I don’t want them to rewrite my vision, I want to rewrite it.

6) Tell me about your latest release

Well, my very first book published is Talon and it’s releasing on April 7^th. I have two books releasing with Eternal Press back to back, and this is the first in the order. This novel is a very personal piece for me. I wrote this as a challenge in my writing guild I started because all members (except for me) wrote vampire/were novels. I decided to tell vampires in a different way, weaving in elves and magic through the entire telling. Yes, I put my own personal stamp. Talon was a fun title character to write, though! Seriously, have you ever seen an elven vampire before?

This story is darker than I normally write and is filled with intense interactions/characters. My writing style weaves profound emotional reactions throughout, and I’ve done that with almost every character in Talon. I hope you all check it out!

7) Tease us with a blurb or short excerpt

Vampires only fear one name -- Talon. The elven prince and his mate, Kailani, have made it their mission to hunt down the violent vampire covens that have been destroying hundreds of innocent lives in their pursuit of selfish and depraved entertainment. Their strategy would have been fool-proof, except for one problem: Talon and Kailani are vampires too.

But when they enter a castle overrun, they realize they are out of their league. The vampire leader has stolen elven magic, something Talon takes personally and can’t fight alone. This sets them on a path of redemption, destruction and closure. Along the way, they pair up with two humans who are destined to become the family Talon craves.

8) Which is your favorite character in the book? Why?

Strangely, not the title character. My favorite to write was Deandra, the Crown Princess because I utterly cut loose with her and had a lot of fun. She’s wicked, wild and absolutely the cruelest character I’ve ever written! She was fun to write and I hope fun to read J

9) What are you working on right now?

I am working on edits for my second book with Eternal Press titled, Flame Thrower which releases on May 7, 2012. This one is more traditional for me and the first book in a six book series and spans across three different realms. One realm has heavy magic, another is mixed with non users and last one rejects anything magical. Flame Thrower sets the stage for what happens throughout the saga.

Here’s a blurb: While out hunting with his men, King Ryan of Yorath finds a badly-beaten woman who had been left for dead by her attackers. He is surprised to discover that she is none other than Tillian, the Princess who had been reported missing by messengers from the neighboring realm of Folkyn.

Despite her injuries and the circumstances behind her disappearance, Ryan is swept by an immediate attraction for Tillian, and his vows to never marry are tested when he learns the truth behind her abduction. Tensions rise as Ryan's overwhelming need to protect Tillian leads them straight into a war that will change their lives and their kingdoms forever.

Flame Thrower is due out in May 7, 2012 with Eternal Press, and I hope you read this one as well!

10) Your biggest piece of advice to aspiring novelists?

Don’t give up! Ever! If you work hard at what you love, you will succeed. I am proof of that, because I didn’t intend to be a writer and stumbled into this by accident. I love it, and have worked hard at getting better. Find a writers group (there are many out there) or start your own – but get feedback and loads of it. If you are serious about getting published, create your community on blogs, Twitter, FB and online venues where you can post your stories. Get involved and stay involved. The most important thing to remember is to stay in love with what you are doing and have fun. Without that, writing will become a chore not a passion.

11) Where can readers find you?

I love hearing from you all, so please stop by:

http://www.alicewadewritings.com/

https://twitter.com/#!/AliceWadexx

Facebook: Alice Wade

Email: alice.wade.writing@gmail.com

Great interview, Alice - I am not a fantasy writer in any shape or form (see what I did there??) but I know a lot of my visitors are. Comments?