LJ Vickery, author of Rock Hard, Taken by Storm, Frozen Stiff, and Going Deep has been so gracious and kind enough to agree to be featured on the blog for a short Q & A. Below are some of the questions I asked her based on my reading experience of the book and what I was curious to know. Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!
Q: How did you become an author?
LJ Vickery: I'm thinking fairy dust...from a really impish fairy, because it took a long bloody time for my writing to come to fruition! When I was in my twenties, I wrote for several magazines, but that fizzled as I had to actually make money, and eventually pursued an accounting career. Oh, yeah. And had kids! An awesome stage of life! It wasn't until my son graduated from high school and my daughter attained-what she likes to believe is-autonomy, that I woke up one Thanksgiving morning with the premise for an entire book in my head. What to do with that, right? So I put the turkey in the oven, gave my family directions for the rest of the meal, and sequestered myself at my computer, writing furiously until company arrived. A few months later I had the first book finished, and I haven't stopped since.
Q; Why did you decided to use ancient Gods as your main character?
LJ Vickery: I pretty sure I didn't find the gods. I think they actually found me! (See previous answer.) But I've always had a love of history, and the antics of immortals intrigued me as far back as Latin class in high school.
Q: Who is your favorite God and why?
LJ Vickery: Ooh. A favorite god. That's tough. I love Marduk, because he's my first. (And doesn't everybody love their first!). But then Dagon, my bad-guy turned good came along and stole my heart. Of course, as the series continues, I can't wait for everyone to meet the gods to come. (All books in the 14 book series are complete at this point.) I think you'll adore Enlil, the god of wind, because he's so full of bluster and very bull-headed...a little hint there, at the shifter in him. But in the end, my beta-readers all concur that Shamash is the god with whom they'd most likely run away. You'll have to wait and see!
Q: What's the most important lesson you learned as a writer thus far?
LJ Vickery: The most important lesson? My editors, bless them for their patience, have dragged me kicking and screaming into limiting the number of people who have a voice in my books. When I first started, I let everyone have a say...and a thought...and an opinion. Wrong! Now that I've learned to keep my POV (point of view) to the hero, heroine, bad-guy, and maybe one other, the books flow so much better! Of course, that's not to say that once you get to book seven, there won't be a couple of "B" stories going on, giving a few of my minor characters a shot at romance!
Q: What lessons do you want the reader to take away from reading the series
LJ Vickery: Lessons for the reader? No lessons, just fun! If people get lost in the world of the gods, and start planning vacations to hike in the Blue Hills to look for the god's home, I'll be extremely happy!
Thank you for the interview!