Q. In twenty words or less describe "The Last Name Banks"?
A young woman seeks her place in this world and lets go of societal pressures and pursues her desires.
Q. If "The Last Name Banks" were to be made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
Chloe-Isla Fisher and Cam Gigandet
Q. Do you have a writing ritual that you tend to follow?
Although
I tend to have different writing sessions throughout the day, the
morning session always begins definitely with black coffee and a
teaspoon of honey. :) I then usually journal positive thoughts,
affirmations and prayers and then read encouraging quotes and Bible
verses. Once I get my mindset focused, I set my Iphone timer and get
going for hopefully an hour!
Q. Out of Norah, Chloe, and Maycee whose story can you relate to the most?
Probably Chloe’s :) Learning to let go of what other people think of me is one of the most freeing things I’ve learned to do.
Q. What is the most challenging part about being a writer? What is the most rewarding?
Honestly,
this question sort of correlates with the previous question. Although
I’ve learned to be centered in who God has created me to be, one of the
challenging parts as an author is the rejection from reviewers/readers
at times and criticism.
But
the most rewarding part is hearing people were inspired or encouraged
by my fiction. In my chicklit stories, I try to write fun, light reads,
but yet at the end of the day, I want to leave a message for others to
feel inspired by. A few months ago, I was eating brunch with my husband
and I was almost in tears reading him one of my first not so nice
reviews. (Hey, it’s just part of the publishing game!) I then checked my
e-mail in between sniffles and sips of coffee and I read one of the
most heartfelt e mails from a reader saying how “The Last Page” helped
her through a divorce she was going through. She found it encouraging
and inspiring and felt hopeful to love again. Okay, so then I definitely
cried right then and there!
I
have learned and constantly remind myself, everyone is different. We
all have different tastes and different personalities. Rejection is part
of any art. Learning how to healthily accept that and move forward has
been and will always be key!
Q. Who or what inspired the idea for the Living, Loving, and Laughing Again series?
Well,
first off, I really love to read a series where I feel like I can step
into a world and stay there for a while. When I wrote Norah’s story, I
just knew Chloe and Maycee had their own story, as well. The theme of
living, loving and laughing just came very natural from personal belief.
I love that phrase, “Live, Laugh, Love”. We have frames and such
displaying the slogan throughout our house and my husband has even
written a song about that phrase. Life’s too short to stay stuck in an
issue, pain, hurt or loss. While each character faces a different
“issue”, the end result is always living a full life and laughing here
or there because hey—we can’t take ourselves so seriously!
Q. What book are you currently reading?
“Hex Hall” Book One by Rachel Hawkins and “Thou Shall Prosper” by Daniel Lapin. On audio books, I’m listening to “Torment” by Lauren Kate and “Your Words Hold a Miracle” by John Osteen.
Q. How many books would you like to read this year?
A
lot more than I read last year! Haha (I’m afraid to tell you how many
books I read last year . . . ahem—next question?) (smiling angelically .
. . . ) No, honestly, I’d love to read a book a week from now on.
Q. What can we expect from Maycee's story? Will we be seeing more of Josh in her story?
Maycee’s story is fun writing. I always knew her character would be challenging to write because of her blunt, “tell it like it is”, bossy at times, maybe a teensy weensy shallow at times nature that you see in The Last Name Banks. But deep down, she is a responsible, caring, driven, independent woman who wants to help others.
Maycee’s
story involves the story opening up at the height of her booming
vlog/blog created from her tell all book she wrote about that schemer,
Josh. (Josh is not coming back in the story. He’s long gone and
embarrassed! The whole world knows of his scheming ways).
As
she prepares for her next release—a book comprising research from other
women around the world who are fed up with men and their
conquering/scheming ways—she faces a roadblock. When she finds her
family’s summer home in jeopardy of ownership due to her surgeon father
being sued for malpractice, she takes a publishing deal that offers
major bucks to save their family’s beloved Hampton home. But the
stipulation is she is not allowed to self publish until the three books
are written and submitted and oh yeah, she has to co-write with Ezra
Light—the latest greatest in the music scene. Fresh out of rehab, she is
told by her editor to make sure he doesn’t drink, smoke anything
illegal, or philander with women to ensure a squeaky clean image for his
new PR campaign. She’s turned into a babysitter/writer all the while
trying to maintain her readership and loyalty to the community she has
created. Just when she tries to do the right thing, something happens
that really sends her world spiraling out of control and she finds help
from the last person she’d ever expect to find help from—someone who has
hired her under false pretense.
Q. In the beginning of "The Last Name Banks" you mentioned that you were dating your book to Trek Atlas Ingram; can you tell us more about Trek, Neimann Pick Type A disorder, and what people can do to help or to bring awareness to this disorder?
Yes! Thanks so much for bringing this up. First off, here is Trek’s website in case any of you want to check it out. http://babytrekatlas.com/
My
best friend from college, Chelsea Ingram, her precious son was
diagnosed with this disorder earlier this year. From what I understand
in layman’s terms, it’s a rare genetic immune disorder where a baby’s
body shuts down and stops growing. There is no cure and his life
expectancy is 18 months to 3 years of age.
So
basically my friend, her husband, and three sons are traveling the
world together as a family, spending every second together, savoring
each moment life brings. It is very sad what they are going through, yet
at the same time, the way they live as a family, and love each other
and how they are traveling the world, sharing their story on their
blogs, is way inspiring. You can stay up to date with their travels here
— http://oursonnylife.com/
Jarrett,
her husband, just released a children’s books and is also a fiction
writer. Honestly, I think the best way others can help is to support
their blog, tweet their posts and share their books. That’s the only way
to bring awareness since not a lot of research is spent on the disorder
since only 1 in a million children have this disorder.
Q. After the Living, Loving, and Laughing Again series, what can your readers expect; will there be more stories in the series or will you move on to writing other Chick Lit novels?
What
a great question! Well, currently I’m writing the second draft of a YA
fantasy paranormal series. I’m currently figuring out whether or not to
release it as Lacy Camey or under my pen name. Thoughts?? So I
definitely have those books coming out. I am aiming to release that
first book in August/September around the same time as Maycee’s story
will release. My husband and I are co-writing a classic love story “The
Grape Picker” (picture “A Walk in the Clouds” meets “The Notebook.”)
I
really can’t help but want to release a story this fall continuing
Chloe and Logan’s story! So there may be a few spinoffs in the series,
but you can for sure count on more chick lit! I already have several
titles in my catalogue of what to write next in addition to writing
chicklit for YA teen girls.
Q. What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
The
only way to get a story written is to simply write it! :) Today at the
gym I was thinking about this very truth and how it parallels with
running.
(Be prepared for long windedness :) )
I
can think all day long about how great running is, and all the
different ways to run, what to wear when I run, what to listen to when I
run, how much I’d like to run, how far I’d like to run, all the
different techniques of running, how I’ll feel after I run, how others
run, what magazines promote about running—but until I actually do it, my
body will not actually benefit from it until I put one front in front
of the other and physically run.
It’s
the same way with writing! For me, the biggest hurdle I had at first
was studying others. I questioned and tried to mirror what others do or
did, but I quickly got caught up a lot with just researching and not
actually doing any writing. I still do get caught up at times because I
love to learn and research! So, I’ll find myself reading blogs for hours
and saying, “Okay, enough perusing. (Perusing is snoozing!) Time to
write!”
So,
my advice to all you writers out there is to set up a timer, and just
do it. I always say, “books don’t write themselves, people do.”
A
lot of times people ask me about inspiration and what inspires me to
write. Honestly, there are days where inspiration went on vacation at
the beach leaving me in the city. But after I force myself to sit down
and type a few words out, and eventually get in the zone, it comes back.
I find if I wait too long in working on a story, I lose that voice and
focus. So I try to write the first draft as fast as possible. Also,
don’t compare yourself to others; just stay focused on your writing and
what works best for you! We all start at the same place—a blank screen.
There is no fairy dust that comes along and fills the word document.
It’s just plain hard work. Good luck and I wish you best. It’s the
greatest time ever to be a writer. No one can tell you no but yourself!
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