Author Interview: Jessa L. Gilbert (Origins - Black #1)

Hello fellow bibliophiles! Today I have with me the wonderful YA Author, Jessa L. Gilbert, who'll talk about her upcoming debut novel, Origins. It is set to be release on August 07, 2012 in Amazon.

Red pain, Red desire, Red need, Red hunger…

I have been plagued by the same dream for months now. A nightmare filled with red, dripping with death, where I am the hunter. There is no escape, no end in sight…. The nightmare has become a reality and I am forced with a choice – I can become one with the darkness that lives within that is clamoring, clawing to escape, or I can bury the demon, and the nightmares, once and for all.

It may seem like an easy choice, but not when I also have to choose between the father who has raised me or a mother whom I have thought was dead. Not when the choice is my humanity or Immortality….

Aided by a dark mysterious stranger, a hidden world is opened up to Adelin - a world full of bloodlust and death - the Black world of Immortals. Torn between the two, she faces the hardest decision she's ever had to make. Will she choose the safe, familiar life she has always known? Or will she let the darkness consume her?

1. Hi Jessa! Thank you so much for joining us here in Lexie Reads. Your debut novel, Origins (which I totally love!) is going to be released soon. Can you tell us about it?

Origins is the first book in a 3 part series of YA Paranormal Romance books. The story is told in a few different point-of-views but the main character is Adelin, a 19 year old who is faced with the difficult decision of choosing between her mother, who she thought was dead, or her father, who has raised her since birth; between Immortality or her humanity.. 

2. How did you choose the genre you write in? Is it because YA is kinda booming nowadays?

I wanted to write a book that *I* would want to read and I’ve always been fascinated by vampires but I didn’t want it to be a “traditional” vampire story so I got the idea for it in my head and things went from there. 

3. Where do you get your ideas?

I have a super over-active imagination.. There’s always something going on in my head and writing is my outlet. Everything is an inspiration to me. I carry a notebook with me just in case I’m driving down the road, or at the store, or at school and I get a thought.

4. Can you tell us a brief background on the main characters? 

Adelin is a 19 year old who was raised solely by her father. She’s not some damsel in distress, or some ass-kicking heroine, she’s down-to-Earth and REAL. Her life hasn’t been hard but then all of a sudden she’s hit with a choice that no one should ever have to make.. And she survives.

Vraiden is a few years older, 23, and while he’s what could be classified as a “Bad Boy”, he’s so much more.. He’s despicable and yet you can’t help but fall in love with him at the same time as hating him.

And then there’s Lucien, Vraiden’s older brother who is 25. Luc is an unplanned character, a heat of the moment add in. I needed something extra for one of the scenes I was writing so Luc was born. He’s sarcastic and crude and yet he makes you laugh.

5. What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

I have so many favorite parts! I think overall the character Luc was the most fun to write for so anything involving him. He had no rules and his sense of humor and sarcasm allowed me the chance to have my personality shine through.

6. Describe Origins in three words... GO!

Excitement. Despair. Passion.

7. What was the hardest part to write in the book(s)?

The part I struggled the most with was probably the fight scene near the end. I wanted to make sure that everything was correct, that the reactions were REAL. I even had a friend who does martial arts read the fight scenes to make sure they were accurate.

8. Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

I had first considered traditional publishing through a publishing house but as I’m impatient I decided to go the self-publishing route. I think the hardest part for me has been the editing, formatting and design. Self-publishing means that the author has to either do everything themselves or pay someone out of pocket to do it for them. I choose the “do-it-myself” route although my friends have been wonderful with helping me edit and proofread, offering suggestions on alterations for the cover, etc.

9. Do you already have plans for the next book?

Yes, but I can’t tell you what they are. Just know that the second book will move at a much faster pace than the first one and there will be a few surprises. I’ve already got the general outline for the next and last books all set. 

10. What would YOU like your readers to know about this book or you in general?

I didn’t write this book to make money or be rich, I wrote the book because reading and writing are something I TRULY enjoy and want to share with as many people as possible. Sure, the money is an added bonus but that’s not why I write. I write because it allows me the chance to be free, to be creative and use my imagination.

11. Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?

I have fans?! Lol. The only thing I’d like to say is THANK YOU, all of you for taking the time to read Origins. I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I enjoyed writing it.

12. Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?

Yes. Never give up. If I can do it I know you can too. Its not easy and you’ll sometimes want to cry or scream or bang your head on the wall but you’ll have that with almost anything. Perseverance is key.

13. What is your greatest fear as a writer?

My greatest fear as a writer is what I'd imagine every writers' fear is - writing a book that readers dislike or can't connect to in one way or another, whether through one of the characters, the dialogue, the plot or any other number of ways.

14. Do you ever suffer from writers block? If so, how do you get past it?

EVERYONE suffers from writers block. I learned an exercise in my first year college English class that helps: if you ever get writers block just take out a piece of paper, or your trusty word program, and type. It doesn’t matter what or how long it is, just start typing. It doesn’t even have to make sense. Just write about the first thing that pops into your head, guaranteed it’ll get the juices reflowing. 

15. What are your favorite book(s), and who are your favorite author(s)? 

I have so many favorite books! A few of my all-time favorites are Violin by Anne Rice, Atlantis by David Gibbons, The Hunger Games trilogy, The Iron Fey series, Angelfall by Susan Ee and anything by Edgar Allen Poe.

16. When you are not reading or writing, what can you be found doing? 

I enjoy hiking, drawing/painting (though I’ll admit I haven’t done either in a while), watching movies, playing with my kids or playing Xbox.

17. What type of music do you like to listen to? 

Rock music. You’ll notice at the end of Origins that I’ve included A Black Playlist.. Most of the songs on there are my favorites, they inspire me in one way or another.

18. What is a day in the life of Jessa L. Gilbert like?

Really boring Lol. I’m pretty laid back, I prefer spending time with my family vs. going out so I’m usually at home if I’m not working and I spend far too much time in front of the computer. I like to stay up late, usually until around 4 am (between the hours of 1-4 am are my peak hours of creativity) and I sleep about 5 hours a night and I’m a full-time mother.

19. Finish this sentence "I can't live without..."

Only one thing?! Hahaha! Caffeine! If I don’t have my daily dose I’m a real crab.

Random questions:

Day or Night?

Night.

Video Game or Watching movies?

Video games.

Paranormal or Dystopian?

Dystopian.

Dogs or cats?

Cats.

Physical books or Ebooks?

This is probably the hardest question for me.. I love the mobility of eBooks but I LOVE the smell of print books, especially new ones and I usually buy print books just for their gorgeous covers. If I *had* to pick though, I guess it’d be eBooks because they can literally go anywhere with me and I can take so many of them!! 

Thank you Jessa for being here with us today! I'm so excited for the book Origins!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessa L. Gilbert lives in southeastern Iowa with her almost husband and 3 wonderful, crazy little boys. She enjoys reading, writing, hiking, video games and movies in her spare time. She is addicted to french fries, mountain dew and rock music and loves animals, zombies and the smell of cinnamon. She has wanted to be a writer since she was 9 years old after reading Edgar Allen Poe for the first time and her first published short story was a guide to surviving a zombie apocalypse in her college literary magazine. Origins (A Black Novel, Book #1) is her first full length Young Adult novel and will be published via Amazon in August 07, 2012.