Twilight Thursday

Today We Welcome Author

Joss Ware !!!

She picked a good name, or maybe not. I say this because I can't help it. Every time I go to type her full name, I have to stop myself from writing Joss Whedon, lol!

Good thing because she'll forever be connected to a great creative mind (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel). Bad thing because his name comes up first, and not the other way around, lol! :) I say this all in good fun because each of her storylines and ideas have intrigued me. She's on my list for new authors to read right behind Lori Handeland. I usually pick a new author each summer to focus on - read everything I possibly can in those months - and this past year, my focus was Leslie Parrish (Black CAT trilogy and Cold Sight) besides catching up with some of my favorite authors.

However, the more I learn about her new series, the more I'm thinking I might just have to push her closer to the top of the pile. Enough of my rambling! Let's get you to the good stuff, her interview!

MLM: Do you have any holiday memories from 2010 that you would like to share with us? (Memories can be nice and sweet, naughty, or just plain goofy!)

JOSS: Hmmm…how about mimosas made from freshly-squeezed orange, grapefruit, tangerine and pineapple juice by the pitcher on Christmas Day?

MLM: With the beginning of each New Year, many people make resolutions to change something about their lives. Do you make resolutions each year? Why or why not? In other words, what’s your philosophy behind your decision to make or not to make resolutions?

JOSS: I don’t make resolutions as much as review my goals for the year. Maybe it’s just the word “resolution” that rubs me the wrong way. ;-) Maybe it’s because it has the connotation that it’s only temporary. :-D

MLM: The buzz all over Tweetland and Facebook is how stressful many of us tend to find the holiday season (Thanksgiving through the New Year). This year they’ve seemed to be even more so with everything that’s been going on in the US and abroad. Stress isn’t usually conducive to writing, so we need to shed that stress, clear our minds so the words will follow. How do you plan on recharging your soul? Any relaxation tips you’d like to share?

JOSS: I actually had the busiest, craziest last six months. I wrote five books in about 13 months—finishing three of them since September---plus traveled to Italy to promote my books (such a hardship…not really, but it was in the middle of three very tight deadlines!). By the time I finished my last book on December 15, I was already in relax mode. So I spent my holidays reading for pleasure and hanging out with my kids and husband without worrying about deadlines hanging over my head.

I love to do yoga to relax my soul, and I love hot baths…and watching TV with my family. Those are things that seem to help.

MLM: One of the greatest things about the Internet is that we can connect with writers of all kinds from all over the globe so we want to know:
a.)What area of the country/world are you from?
b.)What are the average temperatures of your area?
c.)What type of clothing would most residents be wearing today?
d.)What tips do you have for people to “survive” the weather where you are?

JOSS: I live in the Midwest United States, in Michigan. The temperatures range from 0 degrees Fahrenheit to 103 degrees. We have a saying here: if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute, and it will change.

We don’t have tsunamis, earthquakes, or even very many tornadoes. We do get lots of snow and have every type of weather.

MLM: Say you’re at a cabin in the mountains, and it’s not exactly warm out and you had the option of where you wanted your hot tub to be. Would you have the hot tub inside or outside the cabin? Why?

JOSS: Both places, actually. J There’s nothing like a hot tub in the snow…but there’s also nothing like one in front of the fireplace. Can I have two??

MLM: If you could go anywhere in the world for the holidays, where would you choose to go? Why that destination over others?

JOSS: I would go back to Italy. I loved it but didn’t get to see as much of the country as I wanted to. I’d also like to go back to London and Paris…so maybe a European tour?

MLM: We’ve had our fun, now it’s time to switch the focus to your writing. Why Paranormal? Why Futuristic? What was the draw for you?

JOSS: I don’t really have a good answer to this…I don’t necessarily set out to write in a certain genre…the ideas just sort of come to me and they are what they are.

However, someone did suggest to me a couple years ago that I should try writing a post-apocalyptic romance novel. At first, I couldn’t see how I’d do something like that…but the idea sort of fleshed out and here I am! J

MLM: If you could describe your writing with a word or phrase, what would it be? Please look beyond words hot, steamy, mysterious, paranormal etc., and delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they've finished reading your story.

JOSS: I think I’d go with honest.

I like to tell stories about people with paranormal elements in their lives—either their own or ones that are part of the world they live in. But at the core of every story is about a man and a woman who find each other, who find a life partner that understands and accepts them for who they are.

I try very hard not to build on misunderstandings, I try very hard to keep the relationships—even in these unique worlds—true and honest and real. I try to make the words and the actions and the emotions honest, so that the reader can relate to them on some level.

The book that’s just released, Night Betrayed, was strongly influenced by people I’ve met in my life, or read about, who are hospice workers: ones who give of themselves to help us and our loved ones pass on with dignity and ease. I hope there’s some honesty in that as well.

MLM: Earlier we discussed stress and the holidays. While stress may not always be conducive to writing, do you find that the holidays disrupt your writing schedule? If so, how? How tough is it to get yourself back in writing mode? What does it take to get you back on track?

JOSS: Yes, I find myself very disrupted over the holidays. That’s why I try really hard never to have a deadline between Dec 1 and Feb 1…because it’s just too crazy.

But even though I get disrupted, I find that within a day or two of the kids getting back to school and our household getting back on its schedule, that I, too, can get back into the swing. J

MLM: Who decides what the characters/creatures you write about do, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one pouring the soap in the Jacuzzi?

JOSS: My muse, when she bothers to show up to work, often dictates what happens. I generally just go along for the ride…unless she’s too busy making the absolute best hot tub experience…then I’m usually dragging and pulling her back to work. J

I usually start with a basic idea of what’s going to happen, then I just let it roll. (That’s often easier said than done!)

MLM: Of all the stories you’ve written, which creature/character did you have the most fun creating and why?

JOSS: Oooh. Neat question. Um…I think I’ve had the most fun creating the concept of the Strangers in my Envy Chronicles series. The idea of the implanted crystals causing their bodies to live forever is fun.

The zombies, which are featured in Night Betrayed, were also very interesting to create…in a more morbid, depressing way.

MLM: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

JOSS: I don’t know! That’s really tough. Probably Remington Truth.

MLM: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

JOSS: Any of the zombies!

BLURB: The Change that devastated the earth didn't destroy Theo Waxnicki. It made him something more than human eternally young, eternally beautiful ... but not immortal.

When he dies on a mission against the Strangers, he is lost to the darkness...until a miracle lady brings him back.

Born during the apocalyptic storms and earthquakes that left the world in ruins, Selena has dedicated her life to easing the pain of others. But Theo is the first in her care to actually survive. Responding to Selena's tender touch, Theo starts to live again, to feel and desire again.

But joined in a world of terrors, the secrets they can never share make them targets. And love could be the ultimate betrayal.

EXCERPT: “Selena!”

She couldn’t focus, could hardly move or breathe. But it sounded like Theo. Theo. Oh, God, no...no, she had to be dreaming.

But then suddenly, he was there. Impossible. But he was. Somehow, pulling and beating at the monsters that crowded around her. Tearing through them to get to her. Oh, God, Theo.

She couldn’t think what this would mean, now. Not now. Later.

“Selena,” he shouted, as he found her with his eyes from outside the ring. “Come on!”

He swung something large and heavy—a massive branch—and it crashed into the skull of one of the monsters. Selena cried out in horror as the bone crunched, and the creature staggered back, collapsing onto the ground. Dead.

But still trapped.

“No!” she shouted at Theo. “Stop!”

Tears stung her eyes, her battered body wouldn’t move...she couldn’t breathe but she had to stop him before he killed any more of them. “No, please,” she cried, trying to make her voice work, even as she grabbed the hand of a creature close to her.

The surge bolted through her, and this time it brought her gasping to her knees. But she held the gaze of the old man until the orange glow went out and he was freed.

“Go, Theo,” she cried when she caught her breath. “Let me do this!”

“I’m not leaving you,” he shouted back, and whaled again at the zombies.

Click here for Excerpt 2 - Note: a bit steamier than this one!

To learn more about Joss Ware, click on her name at the top of the blog or visit:
her website: www.josswarebooks.com
on facebook: www.facebook.com/joss.ware
Readers are in luck because right now there is a sale on her books!
Click image to find out more!