Serenity has been writing
for a long time (if she told you how long, she'd have to kill you). She's a
Firefly fan, a wife and mum, a geek and a kid-at-heart. Her favourite colours
are indigo-purple and glitter. 
Who
in your personal life was the biggest supporter of your writing?
Firstly,
my parents. They encouraged me from a young age to write and supported my
excessive spiral notebook habit. My husband and kids now are my greatest
supporters and I love them for it!
Do
you prefer quiet or background noise when writing? If background noise, what?
I
prefer quiet, but I have a 3 year old, a teenager and two cats. The only time I
have quiet is when I'm asleep.
What
is one thing you wish your readers could understand about the writing process?
It
ain't quick and it ain't always easy (ain't used purposely).
If
your characters could come to life and be a real human, which one do you think
you would get along with best and which one would drive you crazy first?
I
would get along with most of my main characters, because they are based off of
people I like. I guess if I had to pick a character that would drive me crazy
first, it would be Catón from Book Five: Serenity and Captain Jack in The
Fantastical Life of Serenity: A collection of short stories about what could
be... but not quite is. Catón is young and already making a name for herself in
New York and though I haven't developed her as of yet, I think she is a bit
full of herself.
When
did you start writing and what was your inspiration?
I
don't actually remember what my inspiration was, but I do remember that I was
seven years old when I wrote my first short story, titled The Christmas Star.
Is
there a genre or type of book that you love to read but could never write and
if so why?
Hmmm.
I don't know... I used to think I couldn't write mystery, but then I wrote a
paranormal mystery, so I'm going to look on the bright side and say no. -grin-
Since
you've been writing how much has the genre changed? Good, bad?
Well,
I don't actually know! I write in many genres but have only been writing to
publish for about a year. It doesn't seem that the genres have changed too
much, though there always seems to be a “flavour of the month” sub-genre. I
assume that is normal and haven't given it much thought...
Seeing
more and more authors going the "self-pub' route. Thoughts?
It
can be good for people like me who don't want to give up any say in our
creation, but it also leads to anyone being able to publish, even if the
subject/book isn't all that great. I am very supportive of Indie-anything, but
at the same time I look at it all like Rémy from Ratatouille. “Everyone can
cook... Well, yeah, everyone CAN, it doesn't mean everyone SHOULD.”
How
much thought do you as an author put into your cover, cover models etc. And has
that changed since you started writing. If so, have you or will you go back and
re-do covers you’re no longer pleased with?
I
start brainstorming cover ideas pretty much as soon as I start writing. The
concept can and does change over the course of the writing, but I start early
so I have plenty of time to finalise it to something I like. I have been a
model before I started writing, so yes, I use myself (especially since some of
my characters are based on/look like me) and I use my friends too (I am lucky
to have a whole slew of cosplay models as friends and they're always up for
doing more modeling.
What
is the most intense scene you have ever written? Did you find it difficult
writing that scene?
So
far, I would say it is the scene in which Krizi (Acquittal. The Revenant
Series: Book One) realises that Scott's ring is gone. It was an emotional scene
for me and it was hard to write it, I could feel my own heartstrings crying and
I had to take a coffee break when I finished that one.
If
you could write in any genre that you've never tried, what would it be and why?
Dystopian
or Steampunk. Simply put, I love both genres. I haven't yet had an ah-ha moment
of story ideas for either, so as yet I have not written in these genres.
When
thinking about writing any specific genre, what triggers your fears and
insecurities the most?
Writer's
block (in any genre). If I get a block that is longer than a week I start
thinking I will never finish (this is never true, but that doesn't stop me from
thinking it.)
When writing, what
comes first? The characters or the plot? Either, both or neither lol.
With me, it isn't
set in stone which comes first. They seem to actually spawn around the same
time. For example, I didn't think “I want to make a Romani Kalo character”, I
thought “I want a Kalo female character who is psychic and solves mysteries!”
Right there is the main overall idea of Acquittal.
Do you find that
you write what you love to read? Or a different genre?
I both read and
write in multiple genres, so I would say yes.
Do
you ever write your own personal fantasies into your books?
Yes. Yes, I do.
How
much if any of your story line comes from real life people or events.
A lot at times. Much of my storylines are at least partially
derived from real life.
How
many times do you read what you wrote and think "where the hell did that
come from?!"
All the time!
Do
you have to look at the keys when you type?
Nope! Also, on a good day, I can type between 90-110 wpm.
How much wood would a wood chuck
chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?
Bacon.
What are you two favorite 80’s
movies?
A question with
FOUR 80's movies in it. Not one or two or three but four! Four 80's movies!
What the hell am I supposed to do with a two 80's movie question? (Now, Fifth
Element isn't an 80's movie, true... but the line from it was the first thing I
thought of when I saw this question.) As for the actual answer, I am not sure I
can pick just two. Definitely Jake Speed, The Lost Boys, but also Bill &
Ted's Excellent Adventure, Big Trouble in Little China, ALL 80's Star Wars. I
could go on... probably for hours. We probably don't have enough time for this.
Why are man-hole covers round?
Manhole covers are
round because the radius and consequently diameter of a round item is constant,
whereas the semi-major axis of a polygon will be longer than any of its
constituent sides. Therefore, it is impossible to orient a round cover in any
geometry such that it can fit inside its own circumference, however a polygonal
derived manhole cover can, generally if lifted up higher than approximately 20
degrees from horizontal to the normal, fall through the manhole potentially
injuring workers and operators below. Heavy traffic is known to generate sufficient
amplitude of vibration, at energies which will move the manhole cover
horizontally upwards of several inches to feet, such that even should a
polygonal cover be set to one side of the access port which it ordinarily
covers, unless itself restrained can cause a death or dismemberment injury
potential to the utility workers underneath, and as the mass of manhole covers
is on the order of several tens to hundreds of pounds at a time, being
manufactured from bronze, iron and related metals and alloys, there would be
zero appreciable opportunity for the aforementioned workers to remove
themselves from danger, should such a cover fall. Although any sufficiently
spherical or round geometry, or any curve of constant width would similarly
meet this formulaic definition, circles are the easiest such curves to
manufacture without milling as a metal finishing process. Since any circular
geometry is non-oriented to any external point of reference, it is impossible
to replace a round manhole cover in any “wrong” manner, thus making it safer to
work with in the dark. For similar reasons, a round cover may be locked into
place by use of a turning set of teeth and keys, analogous to a spindle cover
on a stack of CDs, which helps retain the cover in location even when it experiences
heavy traffic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serenity is your
average, every day, somewhat nerdy young woman with a good job and a
fairly non-existent social life. Though pretty, she hasn’t had a date in
three years. She leads an overly mundane existence until, one night, a
life-altering event shows her that maybe things aren't so boring after
all. During her awakening, she meets an unlikely traveler to help her on
her journey.This anthology of five short stories unlocks doors hidden in-between worlds as it weaves a new perspective for Serenity to discover.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every person in history
lives and dies; this is the way of the world. They work, eat, sleep,
fall in and out of love; they fight, cry, build, and plant. How many
people yearn for the chance to be part of something fantastical? What
would you do if given that opportunity to take the reins of one's own
destiny?Serenity was professional, courteous, educated, and beautiful but also timid with little in the way of a social life. After a life-altering event unlocked latent myriad lives, she wanted to love as she had in them; to have desires, ambitions, and dreams of faraway places only glimpsed in her walk between worlds. How does that work out when she returns to the most real of her incarnations, where she thinks of herself as boring?
Read the next installation of Serenity's fantastical experiences betwixt the ether and the daily grind; the changeling and mundane forms of herself. Join her as she thoroughly pushes herself to enjoy life to fullest, and searches for a happiness as real as any of her many choices before. Would she necessarily want what she finds?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best friends Krizi
and Kenzie are not exactly "normal" college students, though they seem
to fit in quite well at the University of California, Santa Cruz.Krizi, who wants to be an investigator, is a Kalo, what many people know as "Gypsy", with temperamental psychic abilities. Kenzie, who still struggles with her just blossoming mystic capabilities, is the granddaughter of a Scottish witch.
Just into their junior year, their apartment building mate goes missing. The campus officer assigned to the case happens to be the lazy one of the force, so the two friends set out to do his job for him. This decision changes everything and suddenly Krizi and Kenzie find themselves in the middle of not one, but two mysteries; and now, it looks as though someone is trying to stop them from learning what really happened.
With their new friend and spirit companion helping them, will they solve the case? Perhaps more importantly, will they live to see their senior year?
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