1. Barbie: At what age did you first begin writing?
Nancy: You'll probably laugh. This is going to be a very long answer. I've never been much of a reader never mind a writer. My idea of reading was always a 'rag' magazine. However, I can say that I am one of those people who likes to finish my dreams. I mean real dreams, like you are in bed asleep, and you wake up and remember the dream you were having. I would lay there sometimes for an hour and finish the dream in my head the way I wanted it to end. So, technically, I've probably been writing for a lot longer than I realize.
Two and a half years ago, my family was going on vacation to the beach like we do every year. I always take 'a' book with me to read and it usually takes me the entire week to read it. My friend and workmate, Megan, had in the last year become a 'read-a-holic' after reading Twilight. She read everything that was supernatural, The Twilight Series, Vampire Diaries, The Sookie Stackhouse series just to name a few. She suggested that I read Twilight. At the time the first movie had come out and although I hadn't seen it in the movies, I had rented it. I thought it was an 'okay' movie. She insisted the book was much better than the movie.
I purchased the book about two weeks before vacation. My husband works for the American Red Cross and was working a blood drive at the mall where Peter Facinelli was promoting the blood drive...get it? Vampires..blood...anyway, he was signing autographs and posing for pics. I thought what the heck. I'll get my new book autographed. The line was like 300 people long. So, I opened the book and began to read. I was hooked big time. I read the book in just over a week which was huge for me considering I was working a 40 hour week and packing for vacation. By the time we left I was halfway through the second book and had purchased the last two because I was determined to read the whole series. I read through that series twice as well as Edward's version on-line.
My friend Megan suggested that if I liked Stephenie Meyer, I might try her other book 'The Host.' She said the first 100 pages were hard to get through, but that once Melanie reaches the desert, it flies. She was so right. I finished the book, but I couldn't get the characters out of my head. I read the book a second time but was still left with that feeling that it was an unfinished story. There was no buzz that Stephanie was going to release a sequel anytime soon, so just like my dreams, I decided I needed to finish it my way. I sat down at the computer and started to write. Three and a half months later and 552 pages, A Soul's Hope was complete. I was 51 years old when I completed it.
2. Barbie: Where did you get the idea for "For The Love Of Brynn" from?
Nancy: Well, as I said, the first book I wrote was 'A Soul's Hope.' It was a sequel to 'The Host' and the few people who read the book encouraged me to write something I could actually publish. I really loved the whole idea of the alien interacting with humans concept. So before I even finished A Soul's Hope., I was already formulating ideas in my head on what I could about incorporating humans and aliens and not going the same route as The Host. So, I guess I would have to thank Stephenie Meyer for the inspiration.
3. Barbie: What inspired you to pursue "For The Love Of Brynn" ?
Nancy: Again it was the people who I work with, especially Megan who told me they loved A Soul's Hope, and encouraged me to try my own story.
4. Barbie: In the book, the government knows about Golmans and the Golyte race. How did they find out about them?
Nancy: Well, I don't want to spoil anything, but at the end of book 2 we find out that the government has captured a Golyte in the past and that is why they know the things they do. Remember a Golyte although human in form is still very different from us.
5. Barbie: In the Acknowledgements at the end of the book, you mention Fanfiction.net. How did you discover this website?
Nancy: Again I have to thank my friend Megan. She had discovered FanFiction in her quest to quench her insatiable need to read. When I had begun the publishing process, I had no idea how to get a fan base. She suggested that I post A Soul's Hope on the site. She said there were people from all over the world who read the stories on there. So, in my head, I thought I'll post a chapter every couple of days and by the time the story is complete my book will come out. I'll have a bunch of people eager to plunk down some cash to read my book.
Instead, the story ended and book was not nearly complete. The question now was how to keep my fans in my reach. I began to write a parallel book to A Soul's Hope called Nate's Diary. The thing is, while I love Nate to death, not all of my readers did. There were a lot of die hard Ian fans and they did not warm to Nate's story. By the time my book finally hit Amazon, a good portion of my readers had forgotten about me.
The funny thing is now I love FanFiction and I have actually begun writing another story for the Janet Evanovich series about Stephanie Plum. I could have gone the way of the general reader and written a Ranger story since many more people want to see Stephanie with Ranger, but once again I have bucked the system and written a 'cupcake' story, pairing Stephanie with Morelli although I do not write Ranger out of the story by any means. After all I am the queen of drama, angst, and love triangles. Oui?
6. Barbie: How does it feel being a published author?
Nancy: How does it feel to have a baby? It feels fantastic. I was literally shaking when I pulled the first book out of it's box and held it in my hand. I was on cloud nine for several days.
7. Barbie: What do you hope to accomplish with "For The Love Of Brynn" ?
Nancy: I want to make a million dollars and have it made into a movie. That's the dream. But in reality, I just want people to read my book and love the characters as much as I do.
8. Barbie: Lately, a lot of books are being adapted into movie form. If "For The Love Of Brynn" was to transit to the big screen, who would be your choice actors and actresses for the main characters? (Brynn/Irdra, Gavin/Omino, Megan, and so on...)
Nancy: Actually, my book is heavy on dialogue, which makes it perfect for the big screen, but the telekinesis part may be a bit of a challenge. I have never really been able to picture a female in the part of Brynn because since the story is written in first person, Brynn is me and I am behind the face. But I think Candice Accola might be able to pull it off. She's about the right age and she has the right figure..and she's blonde. As for Gavin and Wes, I find that it is much easier for me to write the loves of Brynn by using a muse so I can see how they move, react, and speak. So before I wrote word one I already had the actors who I would have play the parts. Gavin was my first obstacle. I knew what kind of man I was looking for. I remembered watching Kyle XY a few years back and there was a character who played Kyle's brother at the end of the series. I had no idea who this actor was, but he was in my head. I googled the character and came up with Hal Ozsan. The character of Wes is an arrogant guy who is extremely good looking. My muse for this character is Ian Somerhalder. I have listed both of these guys in my acknowledgements. Hal is aware. I've even sent him a copy of the book. Ian is not so easy to get a hold of. The problem is, if the book ever made it to movie form, my choices would be too old to play the parts. C'est la vie.
9. Barbie: Besides the sneak peek at the end of book 1, is there anything you can tell us about book 2?
Nancy: I can tell you I wrote it. I can also tell you that it will be out in the spring of 2012. I can tell you the drama and angst continue. I can tell you that Ephagee will have a larger roll in this book.
Nancy: You'll probably laugh. This is going to be a very long answer. I've never been much of a reader never mind a writer. My idea of reading was always a 'rag' magazine. However, I can say that I am one of those people who likes to finish my dreams. I mean real dreams, like you are in bed asleep, and you wake up and remember the dream you were having. I would lay there sometimes for an hour and finish the dream in my head the way I wanted it to end. So, technically, I've probably been writing for a lot longer than I realize.
Two and a half years ago, my family was going on vacation to the beach like we do every year. I always take 'a' book with me to read and it usually takes me the entire week to read it. My friend and workmate, Megan, had in the last year become a 'read-a-holic' after reading Twilight. She read everything that was supernatural, The Twilight Series, Vampire Diaries, The Sookie Stackhouse series just to name a few. She suggested that I read Twilight. At the time the first movie had come out and although I hadn't seen it in the movies, I had rented it. I thought it was an 'okay' movie. She insisted the book was much better than the movie.
I purchased the book about two weeks before vacation. My husband works for the American Red Cross and was working a blood drive at the mall where Peter Facinelli was promoting the blood drive...get it? Vampires..blood...anyway, he was signing autographs and posing for pics. I thought what the heck. I'll get my new book autographed. The line was like 300 people long. So, I opened the book and began to read. I was hooked big time. I read the book in just over a week which was huge for me considering I was working a 40 hour week and packing for vacation. By the time we left I was halfway through the second book and had purchased the last two because I was determined to read the whole series. I read through that series twice as well as Edward's version on-line.
My friend Megan suggested that if I liked Stephenie Meyer, I might try her other book 'The Host.' She said the first 100 pages were hard to get through, but that once Melanie reaches the desert, it flies. She was so right. I finished the book, but I couldn't get the characters out of my head. I read the book a second time but was still left with that feeling that it was an unfinished story. There was no buzz that Stephanie was going to release a sequel anytime soon, so just like my dreams, I decided I needed to finish it my way. I sat down at the computer and started to write. Three and a half months later and 552 pages, A Soul's Hope was complete. I was 51 years old when I completed it.
2. Barbie: Where did you get the idea for "For The Love Of Brynn" from?
Nancy: Well, as I said, the first book I wrote was 'A Soul's Hope.' It was a sequel to 'The Host' and the few people who read the book encouraged me to write something I could actually publish. I really loved the whole idea of the alien interacting with humans concept. So before I even finished A Soul's Hope., I was already formulating ideas in my head on what I could about incorporating humans and aliens and not going the same route as The Host. So, I guess I would have to thank Stephenie Meyer for the inspiration.
3. Barbie: What inspired you to pursue "For The Love Of Brynn" ?
Nancy: Again it was the people who I work with, especially Megan who told me they loved A Soul's Hope, and encouraged me to try my own story.
4. Barbie: In the book, the government knows about Golmans and the Golyte race. How did they find out about them?
Nancy: Well, I don't want to spoil anything, but at the end of book 2 we find out that the government has captured a Golyte in the past and that is why they know the things they do. Remember a Golyte although human in form is still very different from us.
5. Barbie: In the Acknowledgements at the end of the book, you mention Fanfiction.net. How did you discover this website?
Nancy: Again I have to thank my friend Megan. She had discovered FanFiction in her quest to quench her insatiable need to read. When I had begun the publishing process, I had no idea how to get a fan base. She suggested that I post A Soul's Hope on the site. She said there were people from all over the world who read the stories on there. So, in my head, I thought I'll post a chapter every couple of days and by the time the story is complete my book will come out. I'll have a bunch of people eager to plunk down some cash to read my book.
Instead, the story ended and book was not nearly complete. The question now was how to keep my fans in my reach. I began to write a parallel book to A Soul's Hope called Nate's Diary. The thing is, while I love Nate to death, not all of my readers did. There were a lot of die hard Ian fans and they did not warm to Nate's story. By the time my book finally hit Amazon, a good portion of my readers had forgotten about me.
The funny thing is now I love FanFiction and I have actually begun writing another story for the Janet Evanovich series about Stephanie Plum. I could have gone the way of the general reader and written a Ranger story since many more people want to see Stephanie with Ranger, but once again I have bucked the system and written a 'cupcake' story, pairing Stephanie with Morelli although I do not write Ranger out of the story by any means. After all I am the queen of drama, angst, and love triangles. Oui?
6. Barbie: How does it feel being a published author?
Nancy: How does it feel to have a baby? It feels fantastic. I was literally shaking when I pulled the first book out of it's box and held it in my hand. I was on cloud nine for several days.
7. Barbie: What do you hope to accomplish with "For The Love Of Brynn" ?
Nancy: I want to make a million dollars and have it made into a movie. That's the dream. But in reality, I just want people to read my book and love the characters as much as I do.
8. Barbie: Lately, a lot of books are being adapted into movie form. If "For The Love Of Brynn" was to transit to the big screen, who would be your choice actors and actresses for the main characters? (Brynn/Irdra, Gavin/Omino, Megan, and so on...)
Nancy: Actually, my book is heavy on dialogue, which makes it perfect for the big screen, but the telekinesis part may be a bit of a challenge. I have never really been able to picture a female in the part of Brynn because since the story is written in first person, Brynn is me and I am behind the face. But I think Candice Accola might be able to pull it off. She's about the right age and she has the right figure..and she's blonde. As for Gavin and Wes, I find that it is much easier for me to write the loves of Brynn by using a muse so I can see how they move, react, and speak. So before I wrote word one I already had the actors who I would have play the parts. Gavin was my first obstacle. I knew what kind of man I was looking for. I remembered watching Kyle XY a few years back and there was a character who played Kyle's brother at the end of the series. I had no idea who this actor was, but he was in my head. I googled the character and came up with Hal Ozsan. The character of Wes is an arrogant guy who is extremely good looking. My muse for this character is Ian Somerhalder. I have listed both of these guys in my acknowledgements. Hal is aware. I've even sent him a copy of the book. Ian is not so easy to get a hold of. The problem is, if the book ever made it to movie form, my choices would be too old to play the parts. C'est la vie.
9. Barbie: Besides the sneak peek at the end of book 1, is there anything you can tell us about book 2?
Nancy: I can tell you I wrote it. I can also tell you that it will be out in the spring of 2012. I can tell you the drama and angst continue. I can tell you that Ephagee will have a larger roll in this book.