AUTHOR INTERVIEW - ANDREA PEARSON

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

Andrea: Nope. :-) I wanted to be a doctor, a Mission Specialist for NASA, a lawyer, a manager (working with business and computers) or an Audiologist (my major), before deciding to be an author. :-)

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?

Andrea: August Fortress, Kilenya Series Book Three—which comes out early 2012 (by latest, did you mean last book I finished writing? Yes? Okay. :-)). Here is my summary:

Danger. Five Senses. Traps. Getting knocked out. Special, magical abilities. Why’s she dating him? Really fun.

That was 18 words. :-)

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

Andrea: It depends. For the Kilenya Series, I came up with the idea years ago. The actual writing takes around four weeks. Editing, much longer. :-) For Samara: A Kilenya Romance I came up with the idea, then wrote it the next week (it’s only 19,000 words long).

What can we expect from you in the future?  i.e. More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

Andrea: I’ve got a TON of ideas, including re-writing some classics that aren’t well known, to writing alien books, to writing about hair color and powers. All of my ideas fall into the YA or MG category, except one or two. I’m super excited to write them all. :-)

How long have you been writing?  And who or what inspired you to write?

Andrea: I’ve been writing since 2008, minus a few poems in high school (I think nearly everyone writes poems at that age :-)), and a couple of short stories here and there. I didn’t consider myself a writer until around 2008, though. My grandpa was my inspiration – he published many, many books and was a writer for the LDS church. Also, my youngest brother. He’s an avid reader and ran out of stuff to read. I decided to write for him.

Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?

Andrea: I sure do! eBooks, mainly, though the occasional physical book gets through, too. :-)

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

Andrea: I try to! I love to thank people—even those who didn’t like my books—for taking the time to read and write reviews. Without reviewers, no one would get anywhere in the publishing world.

What do you do to unwind and relax?

Andrea: Watch movies, read, listen to music, and work out—all with my husband. Also, I love making earrings with my mom, biking, driving (if the car isn’t my Geo Metro :-)), hiking, being outside, and summer. Summer relaxes me, because I hate wearing coats and layers. :-)

Which format of book do you prefer, ebook, hardback, or paperback?

Andrea: eBook! I LOVE reading books on my phone with my Kindle app! It’s so easy and convenient. I don’t have to lug a book around with me anymore—it’s on my phone, which I always have with me anyway, and if I’m not in the mood for one of the books, I’ve got a bunch of others on it to choose from. :-)

Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favorite/worst  book to movie transfer?

Andrea: Yes, I do. Depending on the book. I’ve heard they’re making a movie of the Host, but I don’t think it’ll transfer to the big screen very well. Also, Ender’s Game—they’ve been trying to get that into a movie for a long time, but with the kids being so young, I’m not sure it’ll work out. However, I love, love, love it when they make movies of my favorite books. And I especially hate it when they botch it! Percy Jackson is the worst book-to-movie transfer I’ve ever seen. They completely ruined the story-line, and basically (in my opinion), made it so future movies won’t be possible, unless they have nothing to do with the books. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed the movie. But it wasn’t Percy Jackson. My favorite book-to-movie transfer is probably Clueless. :-) I don’t like the story Emma very much, but I think Clueless is amazing. ‘Course, it’s not the same as the book, but it follows it fairly well. Also, I really like the Harry Potter movies (they should’ve made book four into two movies), and Lord of the Rings. Books and movies are my passion. :-)

Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?

Andrea: Not totally—print books will most likely turn into a niche market, similar to records. We rarely listen to cassettes and records, but that doesn’t mean people don’t still own, purchase, and listen to them. eBooks are just too convenient and practical, plus technology always pushes every market along—the publishing market is one of the last to follow.

What do you think about book trailers?

Andrea: I’d like to have one of my own. :-) Actually, that’s my current project (aside from writing, of course). I think they can be very effective tools, when done properly. Improperly done, to me, are trailers that are too long, repetitive, have annoying sounds and/or music, annoying voices (like, for example, if the reader breaths too loudly, or makes gross mouth noises.) etc.

What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?

Andrea: Don’t just choose to self-publish because you’re afraid of rejection. And don’t choose traditional publishing because you’re afraid of what people will say if you go Indie. Make sure you understand the ins and outs of both—being published isn’t as glorious as it seems in either case. It’s dang hard work!

Do you or would you ever use a pen name?

Andrea: Yes.

;-)

Where can readers follow you?

Your blog details? http://andreapearsonbooks.blogspot.com/

Your web site? http://www.kilenyaseries.com/

Your facebook page? https://www.facebook.com/authorandrea

Your Goodreads author page? http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1909134.Andrea_Pearson

Your Twitter details? http://twitter.com/#!/andreapearson2

And any other information you wish to supply? My favorite colors are blue and pink. :-)

Thankyou Andrea for taking part in this Interview!