Interview with Sara King

Lets welcome Sara King to Julie's Book Review. Sara is giving away a $25 gift card, so don't forget to check out the rafflecopter to the right of the pg.

Welcome to Julies Book Review. Can you tell me a little about yourself?
Hi Julie!  Yes.  I eat chocolate.

(long pause)

Ohhh.  You wanted MORE about me.  Okay.  (ahem)  I'm a bestselling Alaskan writer who helped found Parasite Publications, which specializes in publishing those kinds of character novels that leave you desperate to read more about the characters, then make you wanna strangle the author for ending the book before you were ready to leave them behind.  I was born up here in the good ol' Frozen North and spend my winters tucked away in my Writing Cave (it's like a Bat Cave, but for writers!) pounding away at my keyboard for your reading pleasure.


What kind of books do you write?

All of them.

Newest release?

My next release will be the 4-book epic sci-fi series The Legend of ZERO.  If you liked Outer Bounds, you'll like this one.  After that, we'll be publishing another (2??) Guardians of the First Realm book(s).  Then I've been threatened at the wrong end of a plastic spoon to write another Outer Bounds book.  And a Terms of Mercy book.  And a Guardians book.  And an Aulds of the Spyre book.  Excuse me whilst my head explodes.

What should we expect in your book? action,adventure, drama etc.
All of it.

How do you get ideas for your books?
I pull it out of my ass.  All of it.

Anything in your stories based on real experiences?

All of it.

(long pause)

Ohhh, okay.  (nervous throat-clearing)  Yeah, pretty much all of it?  Still not enough??  Aw, jeez.  Okay.  So maybe I DON'T know any honest-to-God wereverines or Furies or telepaths or cyborgs (unless my second-grade lunch lady counted??), but I can and do speculate.  (And if you guys are out there, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, COME MEET ME!!  I live in Alaska and I wear a funny hat!)  I have had a bunch of what you would call 'paranormal' experiences and I love to twist them into something fun for everybody to explore.

Toughest criticism? Best compliment?
Toughest criticism is someone putting my book down halfway through.  Ouch.  Best compliment?  I get a lot of them, but generally, someone gushing about Firefly and Orson Scott Card and George R. R. Martin and Start Trek and Star Wars and throwing Outer Bounds or The Legend of ZERO books in there as part of the lineup.  That's pretty awesome.

any advice for aspiring authors?
Don't give up.  Practice does not make perfect.  Practice gives you another draft and makes you better.  Even if you're a total writing genius, you're still going to end up writing about 4 books before one of them is worthy of others' eyes.  Until you have your requisite four books written, anyone who is willing to put up with your drivel in the meantime deserves cookies.  And pizza.  Possibly beer.

How about some fun stuff?

Sure!  There's this place in Anchorage on 5th Avenue where they have all these cool little devices and videos and outfits they're REALLY discreet.  You can take your guy in there and walk down the aisles and turn stuff on and...  What?  Why are you looking at me like that?

Dogs or cats?

Cats are sociopathic little cowards that need to die.  (Doesn't help that entering the same room with them give me hives so bad my skin weeps pus.)  Dogs are cool.
1 Fav book? why?(or one you can recommend)

I recommend George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones to lovers of epic fantasy and AJ Myers' Something Witchy for those of you who like YA Paranormal Romance.  Both of them are EXTREMELY good at creating rich and entertaining characters.

Favorite place to travel?

Alaska!  It's called the Greatland for a reason!  And considering it's 1/3 the size of the U.S., I've still got a ways left to explore up here before I feel obligated to go anywhere less cool (i.e. the Lower 48).

1 fav author? Why? (or one you could recommend)
George R. R. Martin is my hero.  He is the epitome of a character writer.  If my books could someday even come close to being worthy of wiping the dirt from Mr. Martin's shoes, I will be happy.  Then I will continue to practice until I'm worthy of, oh, I dunno, shaking his hand seems too presumptuous.  Maybe holding his coat?  I promise not to sniff it.

Is this your full time job? if yes, anything else you want to do? if no what else do you do?

(Eyes go wide)  There is something other than writing??  (in a whisper)  Is that allowed?
Where can we find you and your books?(links, social groups)

Links!  You guys can find me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/kingfiction or check out Parasite Publications and how we're busting down the doors of publishing for the little guys at http://www.facebook.com/parasitepublications
For those of you who are new to the Sara King experience, I'd suggest you start with Alaskan Fire at http://www.amazon.com/Alaskan-Guardians-First-Realm-ebook/dp/B0073WZ01C/ or Outer Bounds: Fortune's Rising at http://www.amazon.com/Outer-Bounds-Fortunes-Rising-ebook/dp/B008HYWOHI/  Fortune's Rising is an all-out favorite of just about every reader I've ever had, and even those people who hate sci-fi tell me they love this book.  Alaskan Fire is for those of you who can only stand the thought of Paranormal Romance.  :)
You can also send me emails proclaiming my awesomeness at kingnovel@gmail.com.  (No, really.  Do that.)
Thank you for coming on Julie's Book Review. I wish you lots of success and hope you and your families all have a Happy New year.
Have a wonderful Great Year!
Julie Ramsey
juliesbookreview.blogspot.com