Day #27 Birthday Bash with Author Pamela Palmer

Welcome to Day #27 of JoJos 30 Day Birthday Bash. Today we have The Author of The Feral Warriors Series, Jewels of TIme, and The Esri Series, Pamela Palmer! So help me give a warm welcome to Pamela!

Pamela Palmer

~What type of romance do you prefer to read?

Paranormals, definitely. I love story. Big plots, big action, lots of conflict and, most of all, lots of emotion. I love the way paranormals intrigue and surprise me. I not only love to read them, but I love to write them. In my Feral Warriors series, book 4 of which hits bookstores in two weeks, I’m building the external plot story by story. Each book is a stand alone romance with a unique hero and heroine and rising action leading to a big, explosive climax. But each book is also a piece of a bigger plot. I’m not sure how many books it will take to write the entire story, but it will end eventually. I know the ending. I’m telling the story one romance at a time.

~What are your favorite types of Heros & / or heroines?

Larger-than-life heroes -- powerful, dangerous men with a strong core of honor and goodness. Heroines I want emotionally strong, though I’m perfectly happy if they don’t recognize their own strength at the beginning and have to discover what they’re made of through the course of the book.

~Do you read your own books after they make it to final print?

Absolutely, out of necessity. I’ve been writing three different series for three different publishers. People always ask me how I keep the stories straight, especially since all three are paranormals of one kind or another with unique world building. My answer? Before I start one, I go back and read the ones that came before it, immersing myself in that world again. I recently re-read the first four books in the Feral Warriors series with a highlighter in hand, marking every tidbit of information I might need later. One of these days I’ll cull all those pieces and organize them into a file. Maybe. At least, that’s the plan.


~Do you have a favorite book /series?

If you’re talking about my own, no. My books are like children. No favorites! As for someone else’s book/series...if I could get my hands on one book right now, it would be Karen Marie Moning’s Shadowfever, the last of her amazing Fever series. Unfortunately, it won’t be out until December. I can’t wait to find out how that story ends!


~Did you always want to be a writer?

Not at all. I wanted to be an astronaut until I was nineteen. I wound up getting a degree in Industrial Engineering and working for IBM. But I’d always loved to read and daydream and one day decided to try writing down one of the stories in my head. 


~What’s a typical writing day for you like?

A typical day starts with exercise class or a two-mile walk. Then I fix myself a cup of hot tea, turn on the computer, turn on my music, and get to work. If I’m in writing-mode (as opposed to plotting), I’ll often keep at it for 10-12 hours with short breaks every hour or two. I usually quit about 9:00pm and either watch a little t.v. or read. If I’m plotting, I can’t keep at it that long, so intersperse the brainstorming with other things like writing blog posts.


~Do you set a daily writing goal?

I usually try to write 20 pages a day when I’m in full-out drafting mode. Once I know what the book is about and have it plotted, I can usually get the first draft down in about six weeks. Second draft only takes a couple of weeks unless I made a serious wrong turn somewhere in the story. Third draft is a polishing run. Then it’s off!


~When and where do you like to write?

I love writing on a laptop because I can change up where I write. I know I need to move if I start having trouble concentrating. My place of choice these days is the dining room table, but I sometimes write in the kitchen, or on the sofa, or even the back deck (though it’s sometimes tough to see the screen). I wrote the climax of my last book on the stairs. Seriously. With the soundtrack of Pirates of the Caribbean blasting through the house. 


~Are there any processes you use when writing? Do you keep journals, sticky notes, chicken scratch on the back of receipts?
 I do pretty much everything on my computer these days. When I start a new book, I always have an idea of the story, characters, and situation. I dig at it from every angle (hero’s point of view, heroine’s, villain’s, the internal and external conflicts, the romance, etc.) until I’ve uncovered all the pieces of the story. I can’t tell you how I know I have it all, I just know. And if I don’t have it all, I can usually tell when I start writing.

~What is the hardest / easiest part of writing for you?
 The hardest part is whatever I’m working on now. The easiest? Everything else.

~Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

First, write! This one seems so obvious, but with all the demands on our time, it’s often the biggest hurdle. Second, study the craft. The library has hundreds of books on fiction writing. Attend workshops in person or on-line, and study your favorite authors. And last, don’t give up. Most writers collect plenty of rejections before they find an editor.


~How man books / series have you written?

My eighth full-length novel comes out in two weeks. I’m writing three different series -- the Feral Warriors shape-shifter series for Avon Books, the Jewels of Time time travel series for Berkley Sensation, and the Esri series (also dark paranormal) for Harlequin Nocturne.

~Do you have a new release, or a new release coming out soon? Can you tell us about it?

I do and I’d love to! RAPTURE UNTAMED is the fourth book in the Feral Warrior series. The series is about a band of nine immortal shape-shifters, the last shifters left in the world. And each shifts into a different animal -- lion, jaguar, wolf, hawk, tiger, panther, viper, fox, and cougar. Five thousand years ago, the shifters and their traditional enemies, the Mage, mortgaged their vast power in order to overcome and imprison the Daemons. But now the Mage are trying to free the Daemons and the Feral Warriors are all that stand between us and true destruction.

 RAPTURE UNTAMED

 Jag (the jaguar shifter and the Feral with the worst attitude) is tasked with hunting three wraith Daemons that have been set loose on the human population. He finally meets his match in his partner, Olivia, a petite immortal fighter called a Therian Guard.

Olivia is drawn to the surly and powerful warrior against her will, for Jag is the last male on Earth she could ever trust with her dark secrets. Or her heart.

~Do you set the mood to write? Listen to music, have a favorite chair,pen coffee mug,etc?

I write to music, Keiko Matsui, which I think is usually labeled New Age. I only listen to her instrumentals, but I find her music high energy, emotional, and evocative. Wonderful for getting me into the mood of the story.

~Do you have a webiste or blog that your readers can keep up with you and your books?

My website is www.pamelapalmer.net

You’ll also find my bulletin board there, with a wonderful community of fans and readers.

I’ve recently started blogging with the Supernatural Underground, a group of Harper Collins paranormal authors that span the Avon romance, EOS sci-fi/fantasy, and Harper Teen lines. I’ll be posting a new blog the 12th of every month. The first one just went up yesterday! You can find the Supernatural Underground on Facebook and the blog at http://www.supernaturalunderground.blogspot.com/

You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter:

http://www.facebook.com/PamelaPalmerAuthor

http://www.facebook.com/PamelaPalmer (my fan page)

http://twitter.com/Pamela_Palmer

 

Thank you so much Pamela for being here today

and for helping me Celebrate my upcoming 30th Birthday!!!

But wait don't go away! Pamela is stopping by

throughout the day to chat with

her lovely fans AND Pamela Is offering you awesome commentors,

the chance for 1 of you to win an offical egalley of

Rapture Untamed!

Rules:

** Must answer 1 of the Questions:

~Have you read any of Pamelas books? If so what did you

read, and what are your thoughts?

~ NO....Which book most tempts you?

***please include an e-mail address so the winner can be contacted

*Open World Wide / Ends June 18th*