I'm very excited to have Adrian J. Smith on my blog today, a very engaging woman and author. She currently has two exciting series she is working on, and if you read below, you're going to find something revealed here first!!!! Here's an introduction ...
Adrian J. Smith, or
“AJ” as she is often called, is a part-time writer with an epic imagination,
sharp wit, and kind heart that gets her into a bit of trouble when it comes to
taking in all the neighborhood stray cats. Being obsessed with science fiction,
Smith often goes off on tangents about the space-time continuum. She is also a
part-time lunatic with a secretive past. It’s been rumored that she was once a
spy for the government, but anyone who has gotten close enough to know the
truth has never lived to tell the tale. When traveling around the world on
various classified tasks, Smith requires the following be provided: buffalo
jerky, mimosas, and eighty-six pennies. This is all we know about the reclusive
woman.
Adrian, tell us what made you decide to try to become a
published author? How did you get
started?
I have always wanted
to be published, since I first started writing when I was twelve years old. I
think I just thought it would be really cool to see my name in print. The more
I wrote, the more I just wanted to share my stories with other people who would
love the same type of stories. That’s still what it’s about to me. I was asked
one time whether or not it would make a difference if I was published, and I
have to honestly say the answer is no. It wouldn’t matter. I would still be
writing and sharing my stories to the best of my abilities.
As for starting in the
publishing world, that happened by sheer luck and amazing people. I met someone
on twitter, and poof, had a publisher less than a year later! Go figure.
We know what your bio says.
Tell us one thing about yourself that you think might surprise us.
I have a Muppet
phobia, and I was once stuck on a bus with forty-four kids for six hours while
they watched the new Muppet movie. Nightmares for weeks.
Do you remember what it was like, the feeling you had when your
first book was out there in the world for everyone to see?
Yes, why I do remember
what it was like. I suppose you want me to describe it and that’s hard to do. I
believe I was utterly speechless for about twenty minutes when I first heard
from my publisher about her wanting to publish my book, which is the strongest
memory I have. I remember coming home and reading the email and going,
“Um…um…um…” I couldn’t even tell my mom; I had to forward the email to her,
which she didn’t get. So hours later when she was walking home from work, I
called her and told her.
And Oh. My. God. The
woman starts going up to strangers on the street and telling them that her
daughter was going to be published while I was still on the phone with her!
Talk about insanity, but that was the best part. That is the part I always want
to remember—the feeling of utter joy and pride from my mom.
Once the book came out,
which I now realize was the actual question, there wasn’t so much joy or
feeling. It just an overwhelming feeling of success and relief. No more work to
do on it! I should also mention that I had the flu when it came out, so I
wasn’t really feeling or thinking much!
First I want to ask you about James Matthews. Tell us about her and her trilogy, without
spoilers of course!
Without spoilers?
Can’t I just say what happens in every single book so that no one has to read
it? Umm…James Matthews is a firefighter who has started to become a bit
disillusioned with the job. It’s not what she expected or wanted it to be.
Instead of going to fires, she mostly goes to medical calls. However, James has
been to one house fire where she saved a two-year-old girl, Lily. Two years
later (where we come into the story), James keeps having recurring nightmares
about Lily and the fire.
I should probably
mention that James is a woman at this point just to make that completely clear.
It is not just a typo. James also has a super-secret lover who probably has more
secrets than James does. Now, I’m not going to mention this super-secret
lover’s name, because I do want that to be an experience when you read it.
The first in the
series follows James through her nightmares and her struggling relationship. Of
course a few more things happen, but that would mean spoilers, so I’ll just
shush now. The second book, Dying Embers (which will be out this December), is
actually a prequel to Forever Burn. I have to say, it is very interesting to
write the prequel after the sequel. Dying Embers focuses on the start of James’
relationship with her super-secret lover and how all that went down. It’s quite
amusing and funny in certain places, but I’m a bit biased.
[Aaron's note: Over there --> you can see for the first time the cover for Dying Embers!!!!]
The third novel in the
trilogy is called Ashes Fall and takes places eleven years after Forever Burn.
I’ve just completed writing that one and am in the editing process. Ashes Fall focuses on James and her furthering relationship with Lily and said super-secret
lover. I’m sure that if you read the first book, you’ll be wondering how this
happens, so you’ll just have to read this one too. Lily is struggling
throughout this book with everything that has happened in her past, as is
James. So the third book is far darker than the first time, and the tension is
ramped up.
I’m fairly sure that I
put James through so much that if she were real she might punch me, or hand me
over to her super-secret lover’s ex-fiancé. (Yeah, wrap your mind around that
one, I dare you.)
You also have a series working that you’ve just started
called the Spirit of Grace. Give us a
taste of what this series is about.
This series was so
much fun to write. It follows Sheriff’s Deputy Grace Halling for a few months
(least the first book in the series). This is a mix between a crime novel and a
COPS episode. We only see Grace and follow her; however, we do run into so many
other people.
In the first novel,
Grace thinks everything is great and fine until she runs into Police Chaplain
Amya Stone. Then her world is thrown a bit off-balance. Not only is hopelessly
and helplessly attracted to Amya, but her best friend and mentor, Daniel Mason
Brady, is retiring. Throughout the first novel, Grace’s personal life starts to
get bumpy and her work life is just downright scary.
Officers are being
targeted solely for the fact that they put on their uniform and step out of
their homes to protect the city. People start to die and chaos starts to reign
down.
Throughout all of this,
Grace keeps running into a particular teenager that she can’t stop from
helping. Peter is a nineteen-year-old drunk who just loves to spew Bible verses
and really hard questions that Grace can’t even conceive of answering.
Each chapter is
designed for a day in the life of Deputy Halling, with some small interceding
chapters on Grace’s personal life. Grace is strong and stubborn as a Sheriff’s
Deputy, but when it comes to her personal life, she has no idea where to step
without losing her footing. She makes quite a contradiction that I quickly fell
in love with.
I also completely fell
in love with Peter.
If there is one character you would really like people to
meet, who would it be?
This is such a hard
question because I have a lot, though many die (NOT a spoiler, I swears it!).
Only one? Yeesh. I’m going to have to say Peter from For by Grace. Mostly because
he reminds me of me in one sense, and in another someone that I would be best
friends with. It’s a tossup between him and Addison from the James Matthew’s
series. Addison stole my heart and hasn’t given it back yet.
The tagline on your website says “A Torch in the Wind”. I’m wondering if this phrase has some sort of
special meaning to you?
The meaning is
symbolic. There is always a light somewhere, and something is always threatening
to put it out. However, if the light is strong enough, tenacious, willing, and
brave enough, it will always prevail. Yet, it must also come to an end and die
out. I don’t expect writing to always be this close to my heart. I do have a
career that I’m working toward which is my number one passion.
What other ideas do you have bouncing around in your head?
Those are secret! I
always have ideas bouncing around in there, to the point where often times it’s
way too much to deal with. I’ve recently started a new serial (not series, but
a serial) that involves witches, vampires and all sorts of fun creatures. I’m
about a quarter of the way through the first book in that one.
Likewise, I have
spoken with my co-writer, and we were talking about writing a new book this
fall. Writing goes so much faster with two people, but the editing of said
writing goes so much slower. We already have one that we’re working on editing,
and I’m hoping that we’re done with that by October but that might be wishful
thinking.
In November, I’ll be
writing the sequel to For by Grace and the second in the Spirit of Grace
series. And I’m sure I’ll find other little projects here and there to write
on. I’m not very good at staying still or taking breaks.
So yes, plenty of
ideas, always working!
What about being published and the book industry in general
has most surprised you?
Surprised me? My
senior project in high school was on the publishing industry and the different
kinds of publishing, so I wasn’t ever shocked by anything in regards to that.
I would probably have
to say is the authority people give me solely for the fact that I have a book
out. It’s like suddenly I became a real writer, not just one that piddles
around in the dark of night with a computer. People want my advice, they want
to hear how I did it, they want to replicate that—and I’m sitting here going,
get your own story! Mine’s not all that cool!
What other things besides writing do you have going on that
keep you busy?
Everything! I run a
writing group each week, I have blogging (though I don’t do that every day),
I’m a full-time student working on my Master’s degree, I’m a part-time worker
at a church, I’m a freelance copy-editor, I watch TV (currently in the middle
of a West Wing and Star Trek: Enterprise rewatch), I read books, I crochet, I
have two kitties that I love to play with (Rusty the Wonder Kitten and Seeley),
and I have friends. I do actually hang out with friends! I have a bar that I
haunt more days a week than I would care to admit.
To close the interview, I have ten questions for you, plus
one. Here they go!
- What is your favorite word? Fuck. Can I say that? Definitely my favorite word. It can go in the beginning, middle or end of any other word and still make sense!
- What is your least favorite word? Suddenly
- What turns you on? I’m not sure how to answer this so... a smart mind and quick wit.
- What turns you off? Lying and creepiness.
- What sound or noise do you love? Why can’t this be smell? I have a great one for smell. I actually love the sound of silence. It’s very calming to me.
- What sound or noise do you hate? Thunder. I hate it. It scares the crap out of me.
- What is your favorite curse word? I believe I already answered that! Ha!
- What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Attempt? President of the Universe
- What profession would you not like to do? Anything that involves a fast-food chain.
- If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Seeing as how I don’t believe God has a mouth since I don’t like to anthropomorphize God that would be hard to do. I think I just want to feel overwhelming love, comfort and peace.
- What question have you never been asked, that you wish someone would ask you? What drive or motivates you to keep bettering yourself and to keep working toward your goals, and how do you keep on track with all of that?
Adrian, thanks so much for spending time with us. Can you let us know where to follow you, and
where we can go to purchase your work?
Why yes I can! And I’m
a twitter addict!
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/adrianjsmith
To buy the pretties! You can go here
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Rudy and Trish are the main characters in our two published short stories in the "Evernight: Romance in a World of Darkness" anthologies. You can get to know them as well as get 23 other great stories! Here's where you can find them:
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