Q&A with Lina Gardiner!!

   

     1. Tell us about your newest release.

My newest release is a paranormal romance (shape-shifter spy novel). I have an award winning vampire series, but I think Black Moon Awakening is my most creative book yet. While set today in our normal world, there are societies of wolves and Therians living and hiding in plain sight. It was interesting to develop these societies to make the story believable. The Therian world was especially fun to create.

2. Can you tell us a little about your favorite scene in the story?

I think my favorite scene is when Jude Black, Therian operative, brings Raven Hawkes (werewolf arch enemy) into his city that is supposed to be hidden from the outside.

3. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

 

I think my quirk may be similar to other writers. During most of my process, I see the book running like a movie in my head and I just write down what my characters are doing. Sometimes these characters do things that surprise even me! LOL I’ve had readers tell me that certain scenes surprised them, and I have to laugh and tell them that that particular scene surprised me, too. For example, in one book, I was blown away when one of my characters died unexpectedly. I was shocked. I had to stop and think about it. What the heck? What happens next? My muse knew exactly where she was going, and the rest fell into place. It’s nice to be able to keep my readers guessing that way, especially since I’m guessing too.

4. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

Something that happens to me again and again is I come up with an idea that ends up having a mythology behind it that I didn’t consciously realize when I started. I may have heard about it at some point and forgotten? I don’t know. But the underpinning of the mythic-based society in my Black Moon story worked out to be based in our mythologies. My muse is always at work, it seems.

For example: I thought I’d figured out this really cool theme for Therians, Jude Black’s race. I thought about the Egyptian God Horus having the body of a man and the head of a hawk, and thought, holy cow! He’s a shape shifter. I was excited.

I found this description in the Oxford Dictionary

adjective

· (especially of a deity) combining the form of an animal with that of a man: gods depicted in a therianthropic or hybrid form with human body and animal head (This part I knew)

But later I found descriptions that connected Therianthropy to werewolves, mermaids, etc. Which was really cool, because this information was unknown to me when I created the werewolf connection and one of my Therian government characters, who becomes a mermaid in one of the scenes.

5. What authors or friends influenced you in helping you become a writer?

Besides my family who have always believed in my ability to do well as a writer, and my best friend Nola, who is behind me every step of the way, I belong to a wonderful writers’ group of friends. In the beginning we were heavily critiquing each other and helping to develop proper writing technique. Now that most of us are published, we mostly focus on how to promote our books, what’s new in publishing, industry information, where we should submit, things like that. We still read for each other on occasion.

6. Besides writing, what other interests do you have?

A lot of authors have many creative interests besides writing. Writing is my number one obsession and overshadows all others, but I do paint, draw, quilt, create new recipes, etc. I love art.

7. Can you tell us about what’s coming up next for you writing wise?

I’m nearly finished a Distopian story that has been so much fun to write. My main character is a female. She’s the kickass heroine of the story who has a complicated connection with the dictator and his younger brother. The world is pretty darned dark and dangerous, and besides fighting their own kind, there are others, deviants, who make the world even more terrifying. That seems to be a theme with me. J I like creating critters.

8. How can readers connect with you online?

I have a blog: www.linagardiner.blogspot.ca

I can also be reached at my website: www.linagardiner.com

Or at lina@linagardiner.com