Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings

If you had to live next door to one of your characters who would it be and why?

Fab interview x

Donna great interview. :)

I absolutely love the cover of this book and I would love to read Solace and Grief.

Please enter my name in the contest.

Michelle
kweenmg at yahoo dot com

I love knowing a New Author :)

- Do you have any favorite Quote(s) ?
- who is your favorite Author(s)?

uniquas at ymail dot com

Sounds like a good book. I've never read one set in Australia before

Great Interview:)

Foz, if you could "bring to life" one character from your book who would it be?

-Dani

Congrats on your new novel, hope to see many more.
Any tentative release date for book 2?

If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

I'm always looking for new authors and series toread, sounds good! tWarner419@aol.com

Hi Foz! I love the idea of this book and even the cover! It looks great.

I'm a follower of this blog.

~smooches~
Jase
vslavetopassionv(at)aol(dot)com

Did you study creative writing at Uni or are you self-taught?

Solace & Grief sounds like a fantastic book. I look forward to reading it and the rest of Rare series.

No need to enter me, ladies. I'm dropping in to say thanks for the e-mail. I've got this posted at Win a Book for you!

I haven't heard of this author or the book before, but the cover is gorgeous and the book definitely sounds intriguing. I'll be adding this one to my TBR list!

~Natalie
n_monzyk_27@yahoo.com

Great inteview. My comment is that it must be so nice that you find the research part to be so much fun. To me research is work.

dorcontest at gmail dot com

Thanks for the great interview. I guess vampires are big ib Australia too.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

I love finding new authors. Thanks for the great interview. I look forward to reading your book (p.s., love the cover).

rosie0512 @ hotmail . com

Great interview! S&G sounds really interesting, looking forward to reading it :)

Van P.
Littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(dot)com

Great review! Sounds interesting and different from the other vampire stories I have read
mstlee2000 @ hotmail.com

Happy belated Birthday Foz!

I would love a chance to win.
xx,
E.J.

e.j.stevens.author[at]gmail[dot]com

Great interview! I'm dying to read that scene that takes place at the top of the Sydney Opera House!

I've actually never heard of any of these titles mention which is pretty sad LOL

My question is this: Do you get writing inspiration from any shows other than Buffy (not that Buffy isn't awesome, of course!), and what shows do you tend to watch to get in such an inspired mood?

Nice interview. It looks interesting, BTW, love the cover!

Hi Foz, Happy Birthday from another Feb. girl.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? Why YA vampire?
Great interview. I love this book and series already.

Thanks for the great giveaway.

Pls enter my name in drawing.

misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

Amazing interview!!! I truly hope that I get to read it! I have a question: How many tries did it take before you go published? (Asking as someone who is in the process of submitting to agents.)

Sincerely,
Emma Michaels
SincerelyEmmaM@yahoo.com

I love the cover for this book - it's very unusual! Please enter me for this one as it sounds like a great read.

I am a follower

mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

Great interview. Congrats on the release. It sounds like a great book and I love to find new authors.

What did you do first when you found out it was going to be published?

That was a real quirky interview and I loved it.

Some interviews are so SERIOUS !
Come on people an interview can be as good reading as a short story!

Continuing the tone of the interview, what is your favourite cheese and how many varieties have you tried ?

LOL

Carol

buddytho {at} gmail DOT com

lol lots of buffy is definitely educational =D

I'd love to sign up for this giveaway! thanks!

ninefly(at)gmail(dot)com

Great interview!

I have a question for Foz.

Did you encounter any difficulty in writing this book? If you did, how did you cope with it?

Precious

Please enter me! :)

My question:

Any news on international publishing?
Which countries are going to publish the book?

The cover of the book is mysterious. I like it. I hope I win, thanks.

annabell_lee_dk (at) yahoo.com

*is overwhelmed by awesomesness*

Thanks guys! Wow, you sure know how to make a girl feel welcome. In answer to your questions:

@Sarah - If I could live next door to one of my characters, I'd pick Jess. She's friendly, knows a lot of interesting people, and would be the kind of neighbour who'd invite you to lots of crazy-cool parties. Plus, if you ever locked yourself out of your house, she's the kind of girl who'd invite you in for drinks until a locksmith arrived, or else help you break in through the back window.

@Mariksa - Some of my favourite authors are Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Scott Westerfeld, Tamora Pierce, Michael Pryor, Kate Elliott and Katharine Kerr. It's a long list! I have way too many favourite quotes, but I've always liked a line from the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Did I do something wrong today, or has the world always been like this, and I've just been too wrapped up in myself to notice?"

@Dani - Just one character? Ooh, tricky. I think it would have to be Evan, because he'd be great fun to hang out with, in a getting-into-escapades-and-miraculously-escaping-prosection kind of way!

@Lisa R - There's no release date yet for book 2; I've got a complete draft sitting on my computer, but I'm wanting to tweak the plot a bit before I hand it over. If I were a book, I'd probably be a choose your own adventure novel, seeing as how I'm not sure how I'll end up, so the blurb would tell you to choose wisely :)

@EVA SB - I didn't study creative writing at unviersity, although I do have a BA in history. My parents were both journalists, and our house was always full of books - I'm self-taught, but I always had a lot of encouragement.

@Ria - Lol, I watch *way* too much TV. Bones is my current all-round favourite show; I love the characters! Other shows I always find myself coming back to when I need space to think about a story include Daria, Futurama, Castle, Harvey Birdman and Doctor Who. (Subtext: I am a giant nerd.)

Gah, sorry - the SheGeek above is me; I forgot to log in to Wordpress!

@misskallie2000 - I've always loved writing, even in primary school. There were times when I wanted to be other things (an archaeologist, a dancer, a journalist, a bird-watcher), but there was never a time when I thought I'd stop writing. I decided to be an author when I was about 12, but it wasn't until I finished high school that I started beliving that I could do it without having a back-up career. As for why YA vampire as a genre, when I started writing, I didn't realise it was so popular; the story just sort of happened, and when I finally looked around, I realised I'd stumbled into some good company!

@Emma Michaels - I think I was rejected by about three or four agencies, and by at least that many publishing houses. It's really a hard slog, but in the end, there's no other way to get it done but to keep working at it. Good luck with your submissions!

@donnas - I was at work when Ford Street offered me the contract. I squealed, danced and then told my boss I'd be useless for the rest of the day, and was planning to go and drink champagne instead. She cheered me on and said she'd see me tomorrow, which was pretty awesome!

@buddyt - A really nice brie is always good, but so is a sharp, old cheddar. Soft blue is excellent, and when we were in the UK, there was this fantastic stuff we discovered that was sort of like what you'd get if camembere mated with smoky bacon and deliciousness, but which I can't remember the name of owing to the fact that lots of wine tended to accompany its consumption. I've eaten a lot of cheese, but I tend to be less fussed on what it's called than how tasty it is!

@Precious - The main difficulties I had were in plot structure and continuity: when I started, I didn't quite know where I was headed or even that it would turn into a novel, so once I'd figured things out, I had to go back and retcon my own story. Which was tricky, at times, but I found that, if I tried to nail down how the characters would act, rather than trying to decide what to have them do, I was on much steadier footing.

@Borostyan - Right now, the extent of my knowledge is that the book will be available in Australia and possibly the UK - I'd love for it to end up in other places, too, but until anything concrete is sorted out vis-a-vis international distribution and so on, I'll just have to rely on the internet to bridge the distance.

Thanks everyone for your great questions, birthday wishes and general coolness! I hope the book doesn't disappoint :)

I love the cover and I agree with Foz it does look spectacular!

lejn05@yahoo.com

Thanks for the interview! The book sounds great and I love the cover.
djeanq(at)gmail(dot)com

Hi Foz, if you could host a fantasy dinner party who would you invite (dead or alive, real person or fictional character, etc)?

thanks,
Stella

stella.exlibris@gmail.com

Awesome interview! So, what was your inspiration for your story?

-ronna ;D
ronna15_ajkc@yahoo.com

A scene that takes place on the roof of the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE!?? Wow. I need to read this one! Question for Foz: How did you feel when you were writing that scene? *I would probably feel a little exhilarated lol!*

I REALLY want to win this!
Thankyou!! :D:D:D
If you could have one day living in a book or a movie, what one would you like?

-Lindsay

lindsay15photo@gmail.com

Sounds like an interesting novel! I look forward to it!

Wonderful interview! LOL at watching tons of Buffy for research, that definitely sounds like a fun way to research. :D

I would love to read this book, please count me in!

Anna ♥
goodgonegirl@gmail.com

After reading the interview, I'm eager to read Foz's books!

aikychien at yahoo dot com

Thanks for hosting a great giveaway! Can't go wrong with someone who's a Buffy fan!

heather y
click4cash4me(at)gmail(dot)com

The book looks really good! It's already in my TBR :)

What books would you recommend that are... "compatible" to yours??

Thanks for the great inteview!

A fellow Narnia fan? : ) (At least that's what I like to assume of anyone that references the World between Worlds). So which is your favorite from the Chronicles of Narnia? : )

Thanks for the giveaway!

What made you want to set a scene on top of an opera house? Where did the idea come from?

folklore -DOT- fanatic -AT- gmail etc.

What made you want to set a scene on top of an opera house? Where did the idea come from?

folklore -DOT- fanatic -AT- gmail etc.

Hi Foz!
you are a new author to me and after reading the interview I can't wait to read more! loved the part about your research *gg*
wish you all the best and I hope you had a great birthday!!
greetings, Ina

Hmm, I just posted answers to the latest questions, but it doesn't seem to have shown up. Will wait a bit, then try again if it doesn't appear!

We watch a whole lot of buffy here too. It's like...the only thing that every plays :/

I really like the cover art. I'm not a big fan of books with people on the covers. I don't know why. I think that sucks that she didn't get input on the cover, but at least she likes it :)

ayoung3360@hotmail.com

would love to win because I love reading stuff by an author I have never read before

ykatrina at hotmail dot com

Hi thanks for the contest I'm in time jeje so enter me please

Have a question

Excuse me Foz

- What is your favorite part of the writing process?

*****************

simply_haku@hotmail.com

Will have another crack at answering the questions - let's hope the answers don't vanish this time!

@Stella - Douglas Adams, definitely. Such a shame he died so young, and who couldn't resist talking to the guy who created Marvin the Paranoid Android? I'd go into the rest of the list, but we'd be here for days!

@ronna15 - It's hard to pin down any one thing, but I really liked the idea of writing a story in an environemnt I actually know - Sydney - rather than starting with a fictional setting. It was a fantastic challenge and a lot of fun.

@LiLi - Exhilirating is a good word for it. It was an awesome scene to write, not only because I think it's a great setting, but because of what goes on between the characters, too :)

@Lindsay's Photographys - Being a fan of Daria, I'd pick the Daria movie Is It College Yet?, just so I could hang out with all the characters for an afternoon - especially Jane Lane!

@Sharli - A couple have people have said the book reminds them a little of the Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare, which I find crazily flattering, and am therefore more than happy to repeat.

@Christa Holland - You assume correctly! My favourite Narnia book is Voyage of the Dawntreader, followed by The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and His Boy.

@Folklore - Three things: one, I've always wanted to go up there myself; two, it's an amazing landmark, and implicating amazing landmarks with a brush of magic is always fun; and three, it's a physically awesome setting for the scene. I mean, the view from there is spectacular!

@Haku - The bit where a few different ideas suddenly slot into place and make for a whole subplot is always pretty exciting :)