Author: Alan Janney
Genre: YA Dystopian/Adventure/Romance
Publisher: Sparkle Press
Summary:
She wakes as society crumbles
She wakes up with no memory
She wakes up a queen
The girl once known as Katie Lopez wakes up in an abandoned Wal-Mart with no memory, possessing only the vague sense that something has happened. Where is her family? Where is her boyfriend? She has a faint recollection of him, a ghost of a memory. The world, she discovers, is staggering from the weight of rampaging mutants, victims of a bizarre surgery gone wrong. Once intended to bring about a utopia, now the victims threaten societal meltdown. Much to her surprise, the girl with no memory discovers she is their queen.
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An Interview with Alan Janney:
Alan’s new book releases in December, about a young girl waking
up in a hospital as Los Angeles is being abandoned. She soon discovers:
1) that people are fleeing from so-called
mutants
2) she’s queen of the mutants.
A few questions for the author!
1) What does your writing process look like?
I love conflict. The first
thing I do is make a list of all the conflict the main character will
face. For this book, I wrote out ‘Her
memory loss, her illness, the terrorist named Walter, the President’s
girlfriend, a lack of supplies, her ex-boyfriend, etc.’ I generated a list of about 15 conflicts the
protagonist will face.
Then I generate the plot and chapters around those conflicts.
Individual chapters are plotted based around dialogue. My stories have a LOT of dialogue (although
Carmine has less than usual)
I’m other words, I’m not a pantser. My outline can evolve and change and morph,
but there IS an outline.
Ever read Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series? FOURTEEN books long! And he had notes for all of it, so that when
he died Brandon Sanderson was able to pick it up and keep going. I’m not that good, however.
2) How do you come up with
the ideas?
Have you read Thomas Harris’s Hannibal Lecter books? Harris has an amazing quote about how he
writes. He says writing is not simply
playing make-believe; you have to approach it as though you’re uncovering
something that actually happened.
I intended to write a story about a boy solving mysteries, but then
he got sick and started climbing walls and throwing footballs out of
stadiums. I did not expect that. Thus, the Outlaw series was born. It just happened.
Carmine is book one in a series, and it’s a stand alone
adventure. You don’t need to read anything
else to enjoy and understand the story, but there is a backstory to
Carmine. When I was on book two of the
Outlaw series, I already had Carmine planned.
And I already have the next series planned too. I don’t know where the ideas come from.
3) How long have you been
writing?
I was in detention my 9th grade year inside our school’s
library. I grew bored so I picked a book
off the shelves - The Fellowship of the Ring.
My life changed. I became
a closet geek. I’d come home from
varsity soccer practice and write for an hour on our computer. Never told a soul.
What was your secret career goal when you were in high
school? I’m living mine - a novelist.
By the way, my career began in a library and I still spend hours
there every day. Here’s a photo of me
writing this very article from inside…a library.
4) What tips do you have
for aspiring writers?
Do you want to be a novelist?
Write a 60,000 word book within the next 6 months.
Do you want to write poetry?
Write a hundred poems.
Do you want to be a journalist?
Write an article a week.
And here’s the secret - that book won’t be good. Mine wasn’t.
Those poems won’t be perfect. The
articles will suck.
But you’ll never ever ever grow as a writer until you write awful
stuff and then tinker. Fix it.
My first draft of Carmine SUCKED. My beta team couldn’t get
through it.
So I tinkered. A lot. I’m publishing the 5th draft.
You write stuff that sucks and then improve.
5) Favorite books/authors?
My Mount Rushmore of authors:
Robert Parker
(mysteries)
Patrick O’Brian
(historical fiction)
Robert Jordan
(high fantasy)
Justin Cronin
(Sci-Fi, horror)
Alternates:
Suzanne Collins
(Hunger Games)
Neal Stephenson
(Sci-Fi)
Cormac McCarthy
(Maybe America’s best writer?)
Charlaine Harris
(I’m a sucker for Sookie)
6) Favorite movie or TV
show?
Favorite movies
- Gladiator, What About Bob, Star Wars
Favorite TV
shows - Scrubs, Arrested Development, New Girl
7) Favorite music?
Favorite bands -
Killers, Cold Play, Blink 182, Newsboys
8) Favorite writing snack?
Vanilla iced
coffee!! EVERY DAY I drink this
delicious nectar.
Alan Janney
PS. I’m giving away FREE BOOKS and Amazon gift cards to celebrate
the launch.
Enter the contest here —> http://eepurl.com/cl1x05
Author Links:
Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook
GIVEAWAY:
Enter to win one of fifteen free copies of Carmine, OR Amazon gift cards!
http://eepurl.com/cl1x05
Blog Tour Organized by: YA Bound Book Tours
Blog Tour Schedule:
http://yaboundbooktours.blogspot.com/2016/09/blog-tour-sign-up-carmine-by-alan-janney.html