I am so excited, this weekend is one that I have been waiting for a long time. This upcoming weekend is Fandom Fest and I will be there! I am on some panels and will get a chance to meet some amazing authors. One being the Fabulous Angie Fox, who has agreed to be featured today on the blog today with a interview!!!
Author Interview with Angie Fox
What part of the writing process is easiest and the hardest for you?
The easiest is coming up with the idea. I have plenty of ideas. The hard part is getting an idea on paper and making it look like the one in my head (or at least close to what I’m envisioning). Like when I came up with the idea for the paranormal M*A*S*H unit in Immortally Yours, I knew exactly the kind of dramatic, yet offbeat and character-driven flavor I wanted. It was just a matter of coming up with the setting and the characters to make that come to life. Before I even began to write, I mapped out the entire MASH camp, from the operating tent to the minefield (which is really the junk yard, only it’s so rigged with practical jokes that they call it “the minefield.”). Then it was a matter of adding to that world once the characters arrived and started coming up with their own ideas.
As an author how do you feel about book reviews and their rating of the 3? How do you feel about authors going off on book reviews for their ratings?
As an author, I’m all for readers rating a book however they like. But I will tell you (and this is probably going to get me into trouble) but I’d rather have a 1 than a 3. To me, a one – or even better, a five star review – shows me that a reader was moved by my work. For better or worse, they had strong feelings. And really, that’s the ultimate goal of a writer – to move the reader so a reader is thinking of a book long after they put it down. So by that theory, a three is more of a “meh” and it means I didn’t do my job.
Do you remember the first book that kept you up reading all night and if so what was it?
Yes. Anne Rice’s vampire series. I was in college and living with a half dozen roommates. Between them, they had the entire Interview with the Vampire series and talked me into reading them. I didn’t go to class for a week. I didn’t sleep much. I just read the series straight through. And I loved it. Who knew that was good career preparation?
Are you an outliner or a fly by the pantser kind of author? Do you know where your taking each book before you write it?
It’s a very organic process for me. I have a basic outline, but I find the story flows better if I just let go and write what entertains me. I figure if I’m having a great time with it, my readers will too. For example, when I sat down to write A Tale of Two Demon Slayers, I knew that Lizzie’s pet dog Pirate was going to have fun – he always does. And he’s a blast to write, because (thanks to Lizzie’s powers) he can talk. But I didn’t know just what kind of trouble Pirate was going to get himself into.
Well, it turns out he finds a dragon egg. The thing hatches and he decides he has a pet. It made me smile to think of a pet owning a pet. Lizzie is not happy about that. She has enough going on and doesn’t think her dog needs to own a pet.
So she tells Pirate to find a new home for Flappy the dragon (Pirate named him, not Lizzie). So Lizzie is battling evil minions and losing track of what Pirate is doing. He keeps promising to find a new home for the dragon, but instead Pirate is hiding the dragon, and loving the dragon and teaching him tricks. Every time Lizzie realizes the dragon is still there, it’s gotten bigger and bigger and, well, it’s just one more thing she can’t quite control.
As an author, what is the best piece of advice you have ever gotten and what piece of advice would you give aspiring authors?
Make the story big. I had an agent tell me that if I wanted to sell, my characters had to take bigger chances, have more to risk and lose. It’s easy to say, but a hard thing for a writer to do. It’s a vulnerable, risky place to be. I knew my first book was big enough when instead of ending my writing sessions thinking, “I hope that’s good enough to impress an editor.” I ended them thinking, “No. I didn’t not just write that. I did not just make my character defend herself with a toilet brush and a can of Purple Prairie Clover air freshener.”
What are you most looking forward to in regards to Fandom Fest?
You mean after I geek out in front of Norman Reedus and John Rhys Davies? I’m looking forward to the programming and the people. I’ve never been to Fandom Fest, but I love movie/gaming/comic book/fantasy cons. And this is one of the best!
I hope you enjoyed this great Author Interview, I'm so excited to get to meet Angie Fox this upcoming weekend. You should also check out some of her other books as well:
