Interview with J. Meyers

, by Kt Clapsadl

Today on the blog, I have an interview with J. Meyers. Her debut novel Intangible, really impressed me, and I definitely recommend it. You can find my review here.


*How did you come up with the mythology behind Intangible? Did you always know there would be so many different types of paranormals, or did that list grow as the story progressed?  

Oh, it definitely grew as I wrote. I always knew there would be vampires--though I actually tried *many* times to replace them with some other paranormal, but it just never fit right. Hearing that vampires were tired and overdone, I was worried about having them in the story. Which in part inspired the addition of other paranormals. I didn't want it to be just another vampire book (and it's definitely not--the focus of the story is really the human teens who have superhuman abilities) so I went in search of other species. When the alternate world of the Realm came into being, that opened to door for me to use *any* supernatural creature ever thought of (and come up with some new of my own, if I wanted).

And honestly, I'm still working out some of the lore, tensions, alliances, and politics as I go. I'm glad it can be a work in progress as a series and I don't have to have everything figured out ahead of time. Intangible might not have gotten written yet if I'd had to do that! :-)  

*I imagine it would be hard to decide everything at once. How many books do you have planned for this series. Any hints you can give us for what is in store? 

So far I have four books planned out, but we'll see what happens. :-) It may end up being more or I may branch off and tell the story of other Gifteds in companion books and series. I'm also thinking about putting out novellas in between books, if I can find the time to do it right. I'd love to have lots of stories out there about this world. It really has limitless potential.

As for hints...um, Luke's gift of seeing the future expands to something that is SO freakin' cool I'm can barely stand it. He figures out how to change the future and the way he does it is so utterly awesome. (I can say that because the idea comes from something my husband suggested.) :-) 

*Oooh, I can't wait to find out more about Luke's gift!! So, If your book were to made into a movie who would be your top picks for the cast?

Oh, goodness. I can't answer this because I'm totally not up on who's who in Hollywood right now. Who would YOU pick? 




Miley Cyrus as Sera                            Logan Lerman as Luke
 
Alexandra Daddario as Fey
(I know the hair/eye color is all wrong, but something about her just makes me think of Fey.)
 

*Ugh, that was really hard! It took me too long to pick those three, so I'm going to leave the rest of the cast up to imagination. ;) What made you choose the Self-Publishing route rather than traditional?

Self-publishing was really just a business decision for me. This is a business to me, as well as an art, because I hope to make a living as a writer. So I actually never pursued getting this book traditionally published because it just makes better business sense to do it myself given the changing industry landscape. It didn't make sense to go with a publisher who might charge $9.99 for the ebook, of which I'd get $1.49 for each book sold. Self-publishing, if I were to sell it for $9.99 (which I don't because I think that's too expensive for ANY ebook) I'd get $6.99 for each book sold. Not really a hard decision with those numbers. ;-)

* With the difference in royalties, I definitely don't blame you! Could you tell us a little about the ups and downs you have experienced in publishing your first book?

The ups are definitely the control I have over the entire product--the story line, the cover, how it is formatted and presented, when it's released, what the price is, when to put it on sale, etc. I'm really lucky in that I've freelanced in publishing for almost twenty years and have had two non-fiction books published traditionally. So I have an advantage in that I know all the steps a book goes through from computer screen to bookstore shelf and can replicate it for my book. I LOVE being the one making the decisions and doing the work. 

The only down, other than it's a LOT of work, is that I have no marketing team working to get the word out on my book. It's just me. Of course, I might be in this same situation if I'd gone traditional because only the few books a publisher thinks are going to be BIG in a given year get any real marketing push. Most books put out by publishers get virtually nothing for marketing help. So it's possible that I'd still just be a part of a marketing team of one AND be giving up most of my royalties if I'd gone with a traditional publisher. :-)

*So, what are some of your favorite books in the paranormal genre?
 
I LOVE Chime by Frannie Billingsley and the Dreamdark series by Laini Taylor. They've both created the most amazing, intricate, complicated, believable worlds that fairly breathe right off the page. I will spend my whole life trying to write as beautifully as they do.



*If you could tell readers one thing about yourself or your books what would that be?

I hated writing when I was in high school and college and NEVER would have dreamed I'd be a writer someday. And yet here I am, totally in love with writing. :-)

*What is the craziest or at least most interesting thing you have ever done?

Craziest: I once flicked off some rude guys in a car that had bullet holes in the hood. (It registered that those were bullet holes *after* I'd blown them a kiss with my middle finger...so it wasn't intentionally crazy. But I was little "Holy crap!" as soon I the realization hit. I was living in NYC at the time.)

Most interesting: I once went to a post-Grammy party in NYC because I lucked into an invitation by accident. I saw Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton (I think it was her debut year), and Clint Black there. Oh! And Robin Leach, who was kind of a celebrity gossip who had this show called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It's actually funny. I took a friend with me, and we used to play this game where we'd be walking around the City together and if we saw someone who looked vaguely like a celebrity, we'd say "Oh my god! There's Matthew Broderick! Don't look, don't look!" (or whoever the person sort of looked like--but it was never that person, we just pretended to spot celebrities). So we're at the Grammy party, and I see this guy that looks a little like Robin Leach and I say to my friend "Oh my god. Don't look, but it's Robin Leach!" and I'm totally kidding. He turns and looks at the guy and says, "Um, Jen? That actually IS Robin Leach." :-) I don't actually think about that party, like EVER. Which is funny because you'd think an experience like that--hobnobbing with music celebrities--would stick with a person, right? But I've thought about that party a total of maybe three or four times in the past 17 years. It was a surreal experience, I have to say. Everyone was looking at *everyone* to see if they were somebody. I've never been in a situation like that before or since.

Actually, as I think about it, I have a LOT of crazy or interesting stories from the two years I lived in NYC. The City inspires that kind of thing, I think. 

*Just for fun. If you were stranded somewhere but had electricity, what three things other than basic survival supplies, would you have to have?

 Books, pencils, and paper. :-)
*Finish this statement: "You'll like Intangible if.."

...you are a fan of contemporary fantasy or paranormal fiction and enjoy the unexpected.
 
Thanks so much for having me, Kt! It's been a LOT of fun. :D

Author Info:
 j. meyers grew up in Vermont and now lives in Central New York. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s chasing her four kids around, exploring the outdoors with them, relishing the few quiet moments she gets with her husband, baking sweet treats, and forgetting to make dinner. Though she cannot actually see the future nor heal with a touch of her hand, she likes to think her children believe she can. Intangible is her first novel.


Find J. Online

Book Info:


Twins Sera and Luke Raine have a well-kept secret—she heals with a touch of her hand, he sees the future. All their lives they’ve helped those in need on the sly. They’ve always thought of their abilities as being a gift.

Then Luke has a vision that Sera is killed. That gift they’ve always cherished begins to feel an awful lot like a curse. Because the thing about Luke’s ability? He’s always right.

And he can’t do anything about it.


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