Saturday 24 September 2011

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - HALLI LILBURN





  1. What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?My name is Halli Dee Lilburn and I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  Right now I live on a homestead in the middle of nowhere.
  2. What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?SHIFTERS is coming out early in 2012 (I’ll give you the exact date when I know).  Reality shifting could destroy Lina’s life, or it could aid her and in overthrowing a government conspiracy to create a superior race.
  3. Do you have plans for a new book?Oh so many plans!  I’m working on poetry, a YA science fiction and a midgrade book.  But not all at the same time.
  4. How long have you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write?  I’ve been writing since the beginning, but for some reason I didn’t see it as a career choice at first.  When all my kids went into public school my day opened up for me I kind of exploded with all the ideas that were brewing in my head.  Even though I’m a late bloomer, I don’t think it would have worked any other way.  Having children came first.
  5. Do you gift books to readers to do reviews? Of course.
  6. Have you ever based characters on people you know or based events on things that have happened to you?  My high adventure novels come directly from dreams I’ve had.  I must have a better imagination when I’m unconscious.  I really enjoy putting a face to my characters so I collect photos of their faces.  Sometimes I even choose who I would want to act the role if it became a movie.  You know the guy who played Emmet in Twilight?(Kellan Lutz) He has to have the role of Thorvald in SHIFTERS.
  7. Is there a certain Author that influenced you in writing?That’s not easy to answer.  It depends how old I was.  We could go all the way back to Shel Silverstien.  It also depends on their forte: Romance = Jane Austin. Tragedy = Shakespeare.  Cliff hangers = Suzanne Collins and Brandon Mull.  Conspiracy = Cory Doctorow and Dan Brown.  Well developed characters = Hannah Moskowitz.  World Building = J.K. Rowlins.  Love triangles = Suzanne Collins (again) and Stephanie Meyer.  So basically the same as everyone else.  These authors are best sellers for a reason
  8. Which format of book do you prefer, ebook, hardback, or paperback? I love a good hard back.  I want to feel it.  None of this fake digital stuff for me.  Call me old-fashion and fanatical but when the book becomes a lost art, don’t complain when all the computers in the world crash and civilization has lost a valuable piece of history.
  9. What is your favourite book and Why?   That’s not fair because I’ll have to say the Bible.  Besides that, I do have BIRD SONG published by Chronicle Books which is an amazing collection of bird calls from the Cornell University of Ornithology.  Out on the farm, I refer to it      often.  And ROOTS by Alex Haley because it opened my eyes and showed me what the journey of life was all about.  How important family is and how it can span over any time and circumstance.
  10. Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favourite/worst  book to movie transfer?  Sometimes.  But I don’t compare a book to a movie.  They are different classes of media.  With movies you can’t use your imagination to visualize the world.  Someone else has created the world for you, and they’ve done a darn good job.  I don’t say, I saw the movie but the book was better.  It wasn’t better it was just different.  So, if you want to be entertained, you watch a movie, but if you want your brain to be working, you read a book. 
  11. What are you currently reading? Are you enjoying it? What format is it?(ebook, hardback or paperback) Honestly, I’m reading SHAKESPEARE UNDEAD.  Not a typical one for me, but I did love PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES so I thought I’d give this one a try.
  12. Is there a book you know you will never read? Or one you tried to read but just couldn't finish?  If a book offends me I have no problem putting it down or returning it from whence it came.  Some paranormal / angel books are too demonic for me, I’d rather they were light and humorous.  I don’t like Poppy Zebright, Ellen Hopkins or Cassandra Claire, but that is just because of content, not because of poor writing style.
  13. Are there any New Authors you are interested in for us to watch out for? and Why should we watch out for them?  Judith Graves is a fav.  She gives a good paranormal romance punch in her series SKINNED.  Rae Mariz and Hannah Moskowitz are YA goddesses.
  14. What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?  Write it down.  Write it down again.  Every manuscript needs fixing.  Then turn off your artist self and turn on your marketing self or you’ll never get published or sell a single copy.  When you’re sick of doing that, hunkerdown and write something else.
  15. Do you or would you ever use a pen name?  I do use a pen name, Phyllis Sweetwater for my poetry because it is a completely different genre from contemporary fiction. 
Where can readers follow you?

Your blog details? hallililburn.blogspot.com
Your facebook page?  http://www.facebook.com/hlilburn
Your Goodreads author page? http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4878963
Your Twitter details? @hallilburn

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