10Q Tuesday with Ryssa Edwards!

Who is your favorite author?

Stephen King is my favorite author of all time. I discovered him in high school. He made writing look so easy. By then I’d written enough papers to know exactly how much of a trick he was pulling off. For me, reading Stephen King was (and still is) like watching an acrobat in a flying trapeze act. It looks amazing, like they have wings, but really, you know they’ve spent hours and hours and hours of their life practicing so they can entertain you.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing your books?

In a new series that I’m working on my main character uses jigsaw puzzles to think. It’s his version of Zen meditation. I wanted his brother to give him the biggest puzzle that could be found. Researching, I found out that the biggest jigsaw puzzle to date is 24,000 pieces!  Wow.

What do you think makes a good story?

For me this comes down to one simple question, and it crosses all genres. The question is: how much do I care? If a writer can make me care about their world, their character’s dilemma, their struggles, I’m in. And I’ll stick with you to the very end.

What book are you reading now?

I’m reading Robert E. Howard’s Hour of the Dragon. He’s the author who created the Conan the Cimmerian character. Hour of the Dragon is the only novel length work that features the Conan character. It rocks!

If you were to write a series of novels, what would it be about?

I’ve really thought about this one, and it’s so hard to come up with an answer. I would be very tempted to write about an empire founded by vampires. It would probably have to be fantasy though, and I don’t know how to world build well enough to write fantasy. But if anyone wants to put a bug in George R. R. Martin’s ear . . . that would be great!

What was the scariest moment of your life?

Seriously? This won’t sound scary but . . . here goes. The scariest moment of my life was when I pitched a four part series to a publisher and they said something like, sure. Here are the dates. You’re on the calendar. After I read the email and did a happy dance, I realized I had sold four novellas, but only written one so far. Really scary.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

You ever notice how in sci-fi movies there are all these cool gadgets, and the characters have to press buttons to make anything important happen? I grew up a total sci-fi girl. If it was otherworldly, outer space, aliens, other planets—whatever—I was so there. Watching those movies, I used to dream of growing up and having a job where I pressed lots of buttons all the time. Yeah. I know. Life’s got jokes, right?

What do you do to unwind and relax?

I listen to audio books and work a jigsaw puzzle. I have two programs on my computer that allow me to play music and listen to a book at the same time. Right now, I’m working my way through Robert E. Howard’s horror stories. It relaxes me completely to turn on Chopin’s nocturnes, light some candles, and fall into one of Howard’s worlds.

If you could spend the night anywhere, where would it be?

Hmmm. . . I guess that would depend on where I’d want to be when I woke up, wouldn’t it? If I could spend the night anywhere, I’d spend it going back in time so that maybe, I could make things right.

What about you, if you could go sleep in your own bed, and wake up anywhere, where would you want to be when your eyes opened?

You can find me here: Facebook: facebook.com/RyssaEdwards

My blog: http://www.ryssaedwards.net/blog/

Preview my upcoming release, Dreaming of a Kiss, here.

I’m Ryssa Edwards, and this has been 10Q Tuesday.

3 – Way Thursday with Kayne & Konstantine

I’m back! It’s Thursday and I was thinking. . . do I know three people I could interview about being thoughtful, thirsty or thankful? Sure I do! My characters are a captive audience.

So today, I’ve asked three characters to talk about whatever they want, as long it’s thoughtful, thirsty, or thankful. So here goes, Three Way Thursday with Rafe, Kayne and Konstantine, characters from my upcoming book, Dreaming of a Kiss.

Kayne is an assassin Wulf in training. He’s next in line to be Alpha Wulf. I asked Kayne what he was thoughtful about.

I think about a lot of things. Vaughn, my brother, he’s Alpha Wulf, so I have to learn things, like the best way to make a kill, the way to rule the Pack with justice, and the way to be an honorable Wulf. Honor is important to Wulfs. I used to think about those things all the time. But then I met Rafe. Now, I think about other things, like how his lips feel against mine. Sometimes when we’re together, just me and him, he’s all I can think about. This must be what it means to be in love. When Rafe’s near me, it feels like a part of me that’s been empty is all filled up.

Courtship is supposed to be when a Wulf gets to know what his mate needs to be happy. But with Rafe it’s different. It feels like all we need to be happy is each other. I haven’t asked him to be mine yet. I’m waiting because Wulfs mate for life, and what if he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life with me?

Konstantine is the doctor who discovered the Quickening, a vaccine against the worldwide flu pandemic. He’s a Waker. That’s a zombie who mostly looks like everyone else, except. . . well. . . he’s dead. I asked him what he was thirsty for.

I am thirsty for the rain of praise that will pour down upon me when I have remade the world in my own image. There are many who laugh now, but there will be a time when I shall enter cities in triumph. The people of the New World will hail me as their king, their savior, their God. And well they should. Have I not brought them salvation? Is living without a beating heart so great a sacrifice?

I offer up myself in illustration. No heart beats within me. No blood runs through my veins, yet I hunger. And I thirst. As with history’s greatest prodigies, my brilliance has gone unnoticed. But with the Quickening, I have given the breathing masses reason to notice me. Soon their gratitude will be an outpouring, an unstoppable tide, an undeniable roar, as the waves of great oceans roar, all of them shouting my name, demanding that I take my rightful place as their ruler.

Yes. I thirst for those moments that are due to me. Until my empire is accomplished, I shall bide my time. I shall wait. And I shall plan.

All righty, then. Thank you, Konstantine. Everyone clap really loud because you don’t want to be on his ‘bad’ list, do you?

Rafe’s mom is a zombie. He’s looking for the antidote that he’s heard can cure her. Kayne is the first step on a journey that leads to love. I asked Rafe, what he was thankful for.

Life’s funny, isn’t it? A couple of weeks ago, I would have said I didn’t have anything to be thankful for. Now mom’s a zombie, I met Kayne, and I think I’m falling in love. I’m thankful I found Kayne. I was so desperate to find an antidote for mom, I probably would have done something deadly stupid if I hadn’t found him. He’s everything I ever thought of wanting in a man, well, except he’s not exactly a man. But even that’s okay.

There’s something about Kayne. Maybe it’s the way he looks at me, like I’m his whole world. Or maybe it’s the way he holds me when we kiss, as if he’d hold me forever if that was what I wanted. I don’t know what it is, but I’m thankful, because without him, I don’t think I could do this. I don’t think I could keep on believing we’re going to find the antidote and mom’s going to be okay. The first time I started talking like that, Kayne just gave me a look like, seriously? What part of the world do you think I wouldn’t go to get you something you want?

Yeah. I’m thankful for Kayne. I want to go on being thankful forever.

My characters are dreaming of that one kiss . . . what are you dreaming of today?

I’m Ryssa Edwards. . . and this has been Three Way Thursday!

You can find me here on the web:

Facebook: facebook.com/RyssaEdwards

My blog: http://www.ryssaedwards.net/blog/

Preview my upcoming release, Dreaming of a Kiss, here.

Warning! *Free Read Ahead* Check out “Spinner” my contribution to GoodReads’ Hot Summer Days.

Wild Wednesday with Ryssa Edwards

It’s Wild Wednesday so I can talk about that monument to the modern day reader, the To Be Read List, or the “TBR”.

Before I got an E-Reader, my To Be Read list was pretty short. A book would catch my eye and I’d think “Yeah. . . that looks good”, but I never wrote it down anywhere. It would just sort of hang around in my head till next time I hit Barnes and Noble.

But the Nook is a dangerous thing.

I have so many sample chapters on my Nook that the little color screen at the bottom just seems to slide infinitely to the left. I can now download enough samples to fill a small library. Wait. I have downloaded enough samples to fill a small library.

It’s all too quick and easy. I press a button, it charges my credit card, and I’m reading. It barely takes five minutes. This is a good thing at three in the morning when I can’t sleep. On Sunday mornings, when I’m prowling the New York Times Best Seller list, not so good.

And speaking of my Sunday morning Sample Binge, after I get all those shiny new chapters, I feel obligated. I mean, I downloaded the free chapter. I have to read the book now, right?

Every couple months I go through and weed out the samples that I know I absolutely will not read. Not ever. Not even if every printed book on the face of the Earth went up in a poof of pages would I ever read the volumes of “Julius Caesar’s Gallic War”. But when it’s free, what’s a writer to do?

I’m not sure why we make TBR Lists. Reading a book is a slice of your life that you can’t get back. A TBR List is a way to say, “I don’t have time to read what I have, but I’ll definitely find time for this one.” I don’t know. A bit strange, isn’t it?

None of this is meant to say that I don’t love my TBR List. I love the heck out of it. I get some strange sense of accomplishment just from seeing the list of books I can’t get to yet.

Here are a couple of TBR Lists I came up with for two of my favorite characters.

Romeo: “Men are From Mars, Women Are From Venus”; “The Ultimate Rose Book”; and “The Dose Makes the Poison: A Plain-Language Guide to Toxicology”.

Luke Skywalker: “Dispatches From the Former Evil Empire”; “The Princess Diaries”; and “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan because . . . space is big

What’s on your favorite character’s TBR List?

I’m Ryssa Edwards and this has been . . . Wild Wednesday!

You can find me here on the web:

Facebook: facebook.com/RyssaEdwards

My blog: http://www.ryssaedwards.net/blog/

Preview my upcoming release, Dreaming of a Kiss, here.

Warning! *Free Read Ahead* Check out “Spinner” my contribution to GoodReads’ Hot Summer Days.

Well . . . Does It?

Wild Wednesday with 

Ryssa Edwards

It’s Wild Wednesday, so I can talk about anything! Except cooking. Let’s not go there.

Today, I’d like to make my modest contribution to a question debated over the ages by scholars far and wide. Well, “scholars” might be a wee bit of a stretch.

What’s this big question, you’re wondering? Here goes: 

Does Size Matter?

No, not that kind of size. I’m talking short story versus novel.

With E-Publication becoming a bigger and bigger player in the reading mix, we can downsize our reading, even while we supersize that E-Reader, because seriously, is five hundred books in one virtual place really enough?

Today, even well-established writers like Stephen King are selling single shorts in electronic format at about three bucks a pop. Yes, I totally pre-ordered “Mile 81”. What does this mean to readers?

The answer is evolving as this market grows.This is how it’s been for me. I’ve loved Stephen King’s short stories since Night Shift. It used to be I’d have to wait years between short story collections because he couldn’t sell a book of short stories until he had eight or ten of them written. But now, I can get his newest short story almost as quick as he can sneak it past his editor. Ahhh. . I mean as quickly as his most wise editorial staff can add their valuable contribution. (Love you, Rie!)

Readers get a real bonus here because, you may not want to buy a whole book of short stories at $15.99, but what if you could spend three bucks at lunch time and get a quick read from an author you love? Or even better, discover a new writer to love?

I’ve found writers I would never have read thanks to E-Publication of short singles. Some publishers offer short stories for just $.99. For just over a buck (after taxes), I’m willing to check out a new writer. Tor.com has started a trend that I hope to see continue. They offer single shorts at $.99 by both unknown and very well-known writers. 

This works well for both writers and their fans. After a writer finishes a novel manuscript, they need a break, sort of down time to write something that’s just for fun. Most of the time, this turns out to be a short story. But then, they have to go back to the novel, because deadlines include the word “dead” for a reason! In the meantime, that one brilliant short story they wrote between drafts can languish for years before it’s got nine or ten brothers and sisters that can be sold with it as a ‘collection’. 

E-Publication is putting an end to this. Writers can get their short stories to market much faster, and fans can get a quick fix in between longer works.

So, does size matter? What do you think?

I’m Ryssa Edwards, and this has been Wild Wednesday.

You can find me here on the web:

Facebook: facebook.com/RyssaEdwards

My blog: http://www.ryssaedwards.net/blog/

Preview my upcoming release, Dreaming of a Kiss, here.

Warning! *Free Read Ahead* Check out “Spinner” my contribution to GoodReads’ Hot Summer Days.

It's...

Way Thursday With Ryssa Edwards . . .

It’s Thursday here on Daily Dose of Decadence, the day Decadent writers share what we’re thirsty for, thankful for and thoughtful about. Here goes . . . 

Thankful.A couple weeks ago, I was innocently driving into the parking garage at work, and a cement pole jumped in my way. If you think it’s easy explaining to the insurance adjuster that, “Yes ma’am, I totaled the passenger side door of my car” and “No ma’am, no other car was involved in the accident”, try it! The collision guys down the road were on it, and in almost no time, I was back on the road. 

Most bang ups in life aren’t that dramatic. It’s getting to the grocery store right when they’re locking up, or finding out that e-mail you just sent—oops—wrong person, or your kid comes home and lets you know that the school project you thought was due next week is due tomorrow. When these moments happen, we all have someone we turn to, whether it’s a quick phone call, a few words in a text message or an email to someone who you know will listen. And mostly, we walk away feeling all fixed up. So today, I’m thankful to the Fixer Uppers in life. You do a bang up job!

Thoughtful. Not even a hundred years ago, two pieces of technology that dominate our lives were just ideas waiting to happen. The first public demonstration of television was in 1935 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Folks lined up for blocks to see it. A camera (yes, just one) was near the door. As people went in, they saw themselves on the nearby “receiver,” which was the bottom of a ten gallon jug. Today we have flat screen televisions that look like windows on a few hundred different realities. In the 1870’s, two inventors, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell, designed new-fangled things that could transmit voice electrically. Mr. Bell made it to the patent office first. Today we have cell phones that do everything but wash the car. So, I’ve been thinking. What’s the next great idea? Where do you think it’ll come from? How do you think it’ll change our lives?

Thirsty.You know how you hear about someone “drinking” in a sight? Well lately, I’ve been thirsty for a good movie. I live just outside Dallas and even though I wrote this ahead, I can guarantee that if you check the weather in Dallas right now, it’s hovering near a hundred degrees. I grew up in New York. And in those hot summer days, when movie matinees were only $1.50 and about two bucks for soda and popcorn, there was nothing like drinking in a good movie and soaking up all that free air conditioning. Seen any good movies, lately? Cause, it’s hot out there!

I’m Ryssa Edwards, and my new book Dreaming of a Kiss is coming out soon with Decadent Publishing. You can read a preview here.

You can find me here . . .

Facebook: facebook.com/RyssaEdwards

My Blog: http://www.ryssaedwards.net/blog/

Thanks for stopping by!

Whispers In the Dark . . . with Ryssa Edwards

Big.

Little.

Dark.

Funny.

Embarrassing.

My friends at Dictionary.com say that a secret is something, “done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others. . . ” Yeah. That’s about right. Secrets whisper to us in the dark, in our dreams, or sometimes in our heart.

Shhh. . . don’t tell. . . here are some things that whisper to me across the years . . . 

Big. When I was a little girl, I had a total crush on Captain Kirk. I thought he was it. I mean come on, who wouldn’t have a crush on the captain of this really big ship that goes all over galaxies, back through time, and even past the final frontier? I wanted Jim Kirk. Well, I wanted his ship. He was kind of an add-on that came with it. But a totally cool add-on, you know?

Little. I used to write pretend stories. Before I could read (or write), I would scribble what looked like words to me all over everything. In my mind, I was building faraway places. Each place had its own castle, and each castle had its own prince, and each prince had his own princess. It was a little like Farmer in the Dell does Fairytale Land. Anyway, I got in lots of trouble for writing on stuff I wasn’t supposed to write on . . . like my mom’s nursing books. Hey, a picture book is a picture book when you’re five, right? To everyone else, they were meaningless tangles of ink. To me, they were my secret worlds.

Dark. I was afraid of the closet. Not really going in the closet, or what might be in it, just closets. I didn’t like them. I thought ‘bad’ things lived in there. In every house we lived in, it was like I was followed by the Curse of the Closet. Every bedroom I ever slept in had one. Back then, I didn’t understand the whole ‘closet is standard equipment in bedrooms’ concept. For years, I’d figure the angles in my room, and always sleep with my back to the closet. If it spawned anything, I didn’t want to see it coming!

Funny. I used to think God was a kind of celestial maintenance guy. I was very young when I first heard the “Let there be light” line. And the only light I’d ever seen anyone make happen was a light bulb. So, I figured God was fixing up the universe so we could all see. 

Embarrassing. Oh geez. I’m soooo not going there!

What’s your secret? Come on, just one . . . go ahead and whisper it to me.

I won’t tell. 

My new book Dreaming of a Kiss is coming out with Decadent Publishing . . . soon. . . really soon. Probably as soon as I’m done with edits. I’m really excited!You can read a preview here.

My name’s Ryssa Edwards and you can find me here . . . .

Facebook: facebook.com/RyssaEdwards

My Blog: http://www.ryssaedwards.net/blog/

The Spotlight is on Ryssa Edwards!

Hi!

I’m Ryssa Edwards, and I’m in the Sunday Spotlight today . . .

Do you believe in ghosts?

I believe in ghosts because I know the worlds I write about and read about in books are “real” in some sense. If I can believe that a vampire or a werewolf is real, why not a ghost? I think all of us—whether we call it call it ‘daydreaming’ or ‘planning’ or just ‘someday’—have the ability to travel to a realm where things aren’t quite as solid as this reality. In that realm, ‘ghosts’ are quite real. In fact, we’re on their turf. 

Has someone helped or mentored you in your writing career?

I’ve had the gift of working with two amazing editors in my career as a writer. One of them is local. She’s a freelance editor who goes through my work with her ever-present pencil. The other editor is Silver Publishing’s in-house editor. Working with these two people has been a mentorship in being professional, creative and insightful in my writing. 

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?
I have a very set writing schedule so that I make the most of my time when I’m not at the day job. On weekends I write in the  mornings, usually from six until about eleven. Then I take a break and write again from about two to five. During the week, I write at lunch time, and I take an early morning break, for a total of about forty minutes a day. 

The Stand by Stephen King

What books have most influenced your life?
This is a tough one. Probably one of the first books to influence my writing life was Stephen King’s The Stand. When I read it, I had a cold. It was completely terrifying to read about a world-wide flu epidemic while I was sniffling my way through the book. For the first time I felt the power of a writer to make a reader feel something, believe something. After reading it, I became haunted by the idea that maybe I could do that some day. I didn’t believe it back then, but it started me on the path I’m on today. 

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
You know how on Star Trek or Lost in Space, when something really, really important happens, they have to press a whole lot of buttons to make things right? Well, when I was little, I was a total sci-fi junkie. And the people in sci-fi books pressed buttons at important moments too. So, I wanted to grow up to be someone who pressed a lot of buttons. I thought that would be really cool. Well, here I am. Pressing a whole lot of buttons. How funny is that?

Morning Person? Or Night Person? How do you know?
I’m a total morning person. I love the feel of early morning. It feels like things are brand new, and we get to start again. If I could live my life between the hours of . . .oh. . . one in the morning to about nine in the morning, I’d be in paradise. I can tell because whenever I’m on vacation from the day job, I sleep when I want, which is usually in the day. 

Is there a writer you idolize? If so who?
The writer I idolize is Anton Chekhov. I love his short stories. I’m slowly working my way through his collections. His incredible talent in capturing the details of everyday life in very short stories is stunning. When I grow up as a writer, I want to be Chekhov.

What is the next big thing?
My next big thing is a male / male vampire novel. I’m currently working on an Archangel series. When I’m finished with the fourth novella of the series, I’ll be moving on to a romance / adventure vampire novel. I’m really excited about that project. It’s about five months in the future. 

Do you play games? What kind?
I love computer Solitaire. I do it when I’m writing and I’m stuck. It helps to “unstuck” my mind because my computer plays a mean game! My winning percentage is about six percent. I’m pushing for seven percent this year.

How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any set formula?

Usually my characters stem from my plots. It starts with a situation that captures my imagination, and then I start wondering, ‘what type of person would do that’? Then the character emerges, and that ends up driving the plot. I don’t have a set formula. I wish I did!

Now it’s your turn. What question have you always wanted to ask your favorite writer? I’ll share mine. It’s for Stephen King:

Dear Mr. King, you know that way cool typewriter in Tommyknockers that writes stories for you? Where can I get one? How much? 

What’s your burning question?

You can keep up with my releases on my blog: http://ryssaedwards.blogspot.com/