APRIL 9, 2013
Reviews · Interviews · Events
SOUL MEANING BOOK TOUR: INTERVIEW + REVIEW + GIVEAWAY ON HAPPY TAILS AND TALES!
Today’ stop is with the lovely Maghon Thomas at Happy Tails and Tales. Maghon is a soon-to-be-vet who loves animals and all things bookish! From her review, she is also a closet geek and science nerd like yours truly!
So, without further ado, join me on Maghon’s blog for a delicious 5 Paws!!!
http://magluvsya03.wordpress.com/
Review
I’m thinking this story is BRILLIANT!! I say brilliant because it’s like the nerds meet the action hero meets the paranormals! I am quite taken by how much I enjoyed this book- also by how many times I almost dropped my reader because I was all antsy in suspense!!
Have you ever watched the movie “Across Enemy Lines”, where the guys crashes his plane across enemy lines and runs for like two hours to get safe? Well this book matches that action and suspense. It’s amazing at how she connected words to make me feel like that! It’s wonderful! It also made for one of my faster reads because I was so worried I forgot to put it down! 
Lucas is just HAWT! What else am I supposed to say. He’s flawed, what hot guy isn’t, but he’s genius smart, and attractive, and funny, and perfectly sarcastic! He is of course looking for a love to heal his soul.
I also felt like I was in the coolest science classes. I enjoy biology- um my degree is in it- but I hated chemistry and physics- but with the way things are written, I was actually enraptured with learning how things were working. If you knew me, you’d realize what a ridiculously huge compliment that is! The author definitely has a way with words and it’s absolutely wonderful! The story line and plot are quite complicated, but in a completely good way. It’s hard to explain without down right saying things that would be spoilery. So lets go with… Excellent thriller, very cool plot and story concept, very good characters- I even liked the damn bad guy- and an absolutely awesome debut!!
I am gunna go right on and say 5 EXPLOSIVELY DANGEROUS PAWS!!
Author Interview
Hello Maghon. Thank you very much for having me on your blog today!
You’re very welcome!! I’m do glad you could stop by!! First, tell me a little about your book ….
Soul Meaning is the first novel in the supernatural thriller series Seventeen. It’s the story of Lucas Soul, a man who can die up to seventeen times. The story starts with his fifteenth death, and is a fast-paced and action-packed adventure.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated or did you always just know?
My first memories of my father involved old, dusty bookshops in Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius. He used to take me along when he went to buy books (he was a teacher and also wrote Chemistry books for secondary schools). I distinctly recall falling in love with my first Babar picture book at around the age of four. I have loved reading since then and became a story teller in primary school. I started writing in earnest when I was twelve, after my father slammed a creative writing essay I had written for school; there was a visiting Russian Circus and a runaway bear involved. I wrote several more short stories before progressing to my first novel. Writing was initially an act of defiance that rapidly grew into a passion. I wrote my second novel while I was still in school.
What inspired you to write your first book and what was it?
The first novel I wrote when I was twelve was a children’s fantasy story that I would describe as Narnia meets The Goonies. If I remember correctly, the idea came to me in a dream!
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
All the stories I’ve written to date are made-up! And none of the characters resemble anyone I know either (my friends will be very pleased to hear this!).
How do you chose when/which characters die in your books?
Very good question! That decision is usually made during the writing process itself. Before I start a novel, I know how the story starts, ends, and about 3-4 major plot points in the middle. The rest happens on the keyboard. Like many authors, my characters do things that surprise me! If the plot requires that someone dies or it adds a delicious moment of shock and surprise for the reader, then it will happen. The baddies usually meet ghastly ends, obviously!
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Yes! Recently discovered Jade Kerrion, Julia R Barrett, Tricia Skinner, Chuck Wendig, Alex Hughes, Travis Luedke, Nick Spalding, and Jon Mills. There are many more I’ve discovered in the last year that I’m forgetting for sure!
Who do you look up to as a writer?
Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, China Mieville, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, and Stephen King, Philip Pullman, Naomi Novik, JK Rowling, and Christopher Paolini. I’m very likely forgetting lots more!
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your book?
Take out adjectives and adverbs, and expand more on Anna Godard, one of my main characters.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Rewrites, edits, and proofreads! They can be soul destroying.
What book are you reading now? Or what genre?
By day, Angel Bait by Tricia Skinner, a paranormal romance. The Twelve by Justin Cronin is next. By night, I need to read something I’ve read before or otherwise I’ll still be at it at 6 am! It’s Terry Pratchett’s Guards! Guards! at the moment.
Who designed the cover? And do you help with them?
Glendon Haddix from Streetlight Graphics designed the cover. He is such a lovely man to work with! Tabath Haddix, his wife, is an author. I normally come up with a few concepts, Glendon works on these, and we polish the final product together, usually by Skype: I can see his screen and he works on itin front of my eyes as such. It’s always an exciting part of the process for me!
Did you learn anything from writing your books and what was it?
Yes, lots! I learned how to write tighter prose. I learned to show, not tell. I learned to limit descriptive paragraphs to the bare essentials and avoid info dumps. I learned that not every sentence needs an adjective or an adverb. I learned that ‘said’ is the best word to use for speech. I learned to express emotions through my characters’ actions.
If you could be one of your characters, who would you chose?
Reid Hasley, definitely! The guy knows how to chill and can shoot you dead faster than you can say ‘Glock 17’!
Are there any books you think some of us should read, just because?
Stephen King’s ‘It’. Dean Koontz’s ‘Dark Rivers of the Heart’, ‘Intensity’, and ‘TickTock’. Clive Barker’s ‘Imagica’ and ‘The Great and Secret Show’. Naomi Novik’s ‘Temeraire’. Terry Pratchett’s ‘The Wee Free Men’.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?