#Interview ~ Author Stephanie Keyes ~ YA Paranormal Romance

I'm here today with author Stephanie Keyes and she's going to tell us a bit about herself and her new young adult paranormal romance, The Fallen Stars. Check it out:

BOOK BLURB:

When all is lost, he will have to make the ultimate decision.

Kellen St. James was just your average seventeen-year-old prodigy, until he eighty-sixed the Lord of Faerie and proposed to the Celtic Goddess, Calienta. But then everything in Kellen’s life gets turned upside-down when he and Cali end up on the run from a seriously irritated group of faeries. The worst part? They have zero idea why they’re being hunted.

Suddenly, Kellen is stuck in the middle of another prophecy that foresees him turning away from Calienta and embracing the dark. He’ll be forced to take sides in a struggle to claim his birthright, while discovering secrets about his father’s past. Meanwhile, his passion for Cali grows stronger, even as the prophecy threatens to tear them apart.

In the end, will Kellen and Cali survive the fates? When the ultimate power is within reach, which side will he choose? 

Welcome, Stephanie! Now that we've read the blurb, tell us a bit more about your new release? The Fallen Stars continues the story of Kellen and Calienta from The Star Child. We meet up with them at their wedding. However, they are immediately attacked by a group of faeries and forced to flee the scene with Kellen’s best friend, Gabe. The Fallen Stars sees them on the run and not knowing who to trust. Their love and loyalties are tested.

Sounds like a lot of excitement going on! 

Writing can be a very lonely occupation, and support is very important. Who are your cheerleaders? My SCBWI (Society For Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) critique group. They are actually mentioned individually in the acknowledgement section of this book because they are so wonderful. They encouraged me to “rip of the scab” when I wrote this. I love ‘em.

I couldn't make it without my critique group as well. I'm glad you have a good group. Did you have support at the beginning and/or during your writing? Yes. My husband and kids have been PHENOMENAL. My husband reads everything I write. He knows all of the characters inside out. He tells me when I’m not being romantic enough. ;)

It's great when the family is involved and good your husband keeps you on track! Do you write at a laptop/desktop or do you write freehand? I have an awesome desk that I write at. It’s in the middle of everything, but I love it and it’s my special place.

What’s your favorite part of writing a book? World building. I love creating a completely different mood and atmosphere for every book and making the characters come alive within it. It becomes my own personal escape and, eventually, an escape for readers.

Which scenes were the hardest to write? The intensely emotional scenes! I was raised to never really show emotion or to talk about it. I’ve tried to approach my life differently, but it doesn’t come easily to me. Writing those types of scenes are often brutal for me. However, emotions are natural and it makes sense that realistic characters would have them.

Definitely need those emotions, but I agree it can be difficult to write. How long did it take you to write your current book? Twelve weeks.

Did you do any research before start or during of the writing of the books? Yes. With The Fallen Stars I took a trip to Maine and did research. With The Star Child I read books on Celtic Mythology. I’d been to Ireland as well.

What is the one book that you think everyone should read? The Book Of Dreams by OR Melling.

How important do you find the communication between you and your readers? Do you reply to their messages or read their reviews? Extremely important! I read every review, I respond to every comment on every blog post (unless I miss it unintentionally), I respond on Twitter and Facebook..Readers matter – without them where would writers be?

I completely agree. If you could visit any place in the world or a place created by a book, where would you visit? Hogwarts Castle. :-)

Awesome! I want to come along! So, are you working on any other projects except writing, right now? Yes, I am editing the third and final book in The Star Child series. It’s called The Star Catcher.

Sounds like you are plenty busy and moving right along with this trilogy. Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to be here! I wish you the best success.

About the Author:

Stephanie Keyes has been addicted to Fantasy since she discovered T.H. White as a child and started drumming up incredible journeys in her head. When she's not writing, Stephanie is also a graphic designer, international speaker, teacher, musician, avid reader, and Mom to two little boys who constantly keep her on her toes. In addition, she's best friend to her incredible husband of eleven years.

Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which currently includes The Star Child (September 2012) and The Fallen Stars (April 2013), both released by Inkspell Publishing. She is currently hard at work on the third book in the trilogy, The Star Catcher.

Want to connect with Stephanie Keyes? Stalk her here:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

Ready to buy the book? Find it here:

Amazon

Barnesand Noble

BookDepository 

Thanks everyone for checking this interview out. Great new books to look at for your weekend reading entertainment! Happy reading!!

~~ Chantel ~~