Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today!
1. Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?
I find inspiration kind of sneaks up on me, like a thief in the night. It can be driving along a road, talking on the phone and sometimes a challenge laid down by others. Being a punster, I honestly have no idea until I write a scene whether it’s going to work or not, so I let those ideas roll out as they come.
2. How did you come up with the idea of The Plan?
The Plan was a throw away idea, one of many that you have as an author. I was sitting in my office chair pondering something or other (I think it was while I was working on Starfire) and I had an idea with I just felt compelled to write down. A chief of police and a small time smuggler who has only taken on the mantle because she was forced to. The scenes evolved in my head as I started writing... What if it happened in space? And so The Plan was born!
3. How do you come up with your characters’ names?
I’m fairly traditional with the names. Jonah was easy, he just felt like a Jonah, but Kadie was so much more difficult. So I sat down with my trusty baby names book and flicked until I found something that felt right. Which is pretty much how most of my characters get their names.
Got to love those baby name sites!
4. Who would you cast for a movie/TV series as your main characters if given the chance?
Gee that’s tough. Umm Jonah would most likely be Jonathon Rhys Meyers from The Tudors and Kadie would be Rose Leslie from Now Is Good.
5. If you could pick a soundtrack to match your main character’s life, what would it be?
That’s the easiest because it would be heavily influenced by Enigma. Probably Mea Culpa or Return to Innocence. Ultimately, Kadie is innocent in the beauty that can exist in the world, yet is fairly street hardened. While Jonah thinks he understands the privations and lifestyle many of the criminals have chosen, but with Kadie he has to re-evaluate everything.
6. What is your favourite holiday?
I don’t really have a favourite as such. I love Easter and Christmas... Probably Christmas edges out Easter because both my daughters were born at that time so it’s ten days of celebrations for us.
7. Do you read reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?
I do! It’s really scary because you can never expect everyone to love your books the way you do. As an author it’s tough when someone doesn’t like one aspect or another. I sit down and read them. Turn the comments over in my mind, and try to understand why they would make such comments. Thankfully, so far, I haven’t had any particularly bad reviews.
8. How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?
Twice. But I think I was in the right time at the right place with something that people are starting to become interested in. And yes, I’ve even had a couple since then.
9. What reason(s) did the publishers give for their rejection of your manuscript?
Mainly that it didn’t fit their lines (pretty much they were “too hot” for them). They were mostly kind rejections, so they didn’t hurt too badly.
10. Who is your literary hero?
Nora Roberts. When I grow up I want to be as famous as her! Or at least, as successful.
11. Who do you most admire and why? OR If you could meet anyone and spend an hour with them alive or dead who and why?
Only an hour? Hmm that’s difficult because there really are a few. Joss Whedon would certainly be up there, I wouldn’t mind delving into his mind. I love his reivers (they are fascinating) and River & Mal (Firefly)because they are such damaged characters yet he is charismatic and she is so innocent and lost in so many ways.
12. What is your favorite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?
Jane Eyre. The brooding Master, Jane and how she rises above everything. I love it! Of course that’s quickly followed by Pride and Prejudice and Naked in Death.
13. What do you need to set the mood for you to write?
I write most days. So for me, it’s a matter of getting back into the story. Either thinking it over after dropping the kids to school or music and a quick re-read. No two days are ever the same.
14. If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?
I’ve dabbled in contemporary, rural (still have a half written manuscript waiting for me to come back to), paranormal and science fiction. I’ve also got a short romantic suspense that I’ve looking to find a home for. But the one I’m trying to clear space to work on is an F/f just to see if I can do it.
15. How many blurbs did you have to write before the final one?
Lots. My blurbs tend to be quick and off the cuff. Then they need a darn good tidy up. They really aren’t my strong point.
16. If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be? And why?
Jemma from Starfire. Because her journey is pretty difficult and even once she’s found her forever match, she still has a long way to go before she realises that she has worth.
17. What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the sequel to Blame The Wine, a contemporary with paranormal themes. This one is grittier and darker than the first, simply because that was the mood I was in when I started writing it.
18. Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing or a photo or music link that inspires you?
Sure, here’s a piece from The Plan.
The man that arrested her, Captain Jonah Fielding, she had heard of. A straight man, everyone agreed. He didn’t associate with the old, corrupt Authorities. But at this point that’s cold comfort. How can I possibly explain that I have nothing else except my little Sugar Plum Fairy and that’s why I took the chance? Her stomach rebelled and she dry heaved right there in the cells as catcalls and laughter from other prisoners filled the air. Thank the Lights at least I am in a single cell. Her head ached brutally and she wavered slightly, waiting for Captain Fielding to send for her.
“Kadie Frost? Captain Fielding wants to see you.” The clank of the cell door told her someone was coming; she struggled to her feet, lifting tired, sore eyes.
A young man, little more than a boy really, with a freshly pressed uniform marched in, unfastened her from the restraint loop, and pulled her out the door and into an anonymous corridor.
Hoots and hollers met her ears as she allowed herself to be paraded down the long walkway. As if cattle in a moon-cow yard, she thought, closing her eyes as the Authority man pulled her toward a heavy, metal door at the end of the corridor. He stopped there and she opened her eyes, reading the sign on the door.
Interrogation Room One. What a great name, she thought snidely. Really inventive.
The door opened slowly and she was quickly thrust inside. The door snapped shut behind her as she looked around the bare room. A table and two chairs sat, scarred and ugly, in the middle of the floor. The metal was cold and glittering in the cool air as the air circulators pushed currents around the frigid room. She made her way over and sat down, waiting for the captain to enter. Her head drooped to the table and she let it rest, seeking the refreshing cool on her overly hot skin.
Her hands stung and her eyes burned. She felt sorry for herself as she thought about the mess she had gotten into, and she turned her stinging hands to check the damage. They were bright red and radiated heat. The deep scratches were swollen and weepy; sticky drops of goop coated the raw skin. Never a good sign, she already knew that.
“Kadie Frost?”
She started. Obviously, the woolly, heavy feeling in her head had overtaken her and she had dropped off to sleep as she waited. Her skin burned against in the coolness of the room.
“That’s me.” Her head hurt viciously, but now she realized her throat burned too.
“Captain Fielding is my name. I believe you and I can discuss BXM parts?” He lifted an eyebrow and she noted the captain had the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen, teamed with long, black hair fastened at the back of his neck, high cheeks, and impossibly chiseled features. He had full, pink lips that would make a woman cry when they moved over hers. Huh? Where did that thought come from?
She blinked, dazed by the thought, and considered her plan of attack. “What? Oh, the BXM parts.” She swallowed and felt the razor blades she was sure were in her neck slashing from the inside which then proceeded to burn. “They aren’t mine. They never were.”
19. Please share your favourite cocktail recipe or celebration photo.
This picture is our card making night. I come up with the design and get everything ready, then as a family we sit down and make all the Christmas cards that go out. This year was a simple plum pudding layered card.
Author bio:
Wife, mother and nutty bookstore owner all describe Imogene Nix, but the real secret is Science Fiction, Paranormal Romance with a hefty dose of Romantic Suspense is what she adores. Dedicated to high quality romance, with a dollop of erotic interactions, Imogene has dipped her toes into Science Fiction, Contemporary Rural Romance and Paranormal Romance featuring feisty headstrong female leads.
Links—where to find Imogene Nix:
Facebook Twitter Goodreads Google+ page Blog Website Hotter Than Hades
Blurb:
What happens when a former orphan, now illegal parts runner Kadie Frost falls for the new head of the Department of Authority?
Jonah Fielding has been brought in to clean up the department on Centauri, but in the course of his work, he also captures Kadie, the sprite who got away.
But what happens when work and pleasure collide?
Buy Link:
Beachwalk
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