Author interview with Julia Crane by Guest Blogger Lenmeo, After The Book.

Interview With Julia Crane Author of Keegan's Chronicles

Please welcome Julia Crane author of Coexist-Keegan's Chronicles Book 1

Thank you for being here with us today. I know that you have a new book coming soon and that you are very busy. We do appreciate the visit.
Thank you for inviting me!

When did you realize that becoming a published writer is what you wanted to do?
I think most people dream of someday publishing a novel. I know as a teen I used to send off short stories to magazines all the time. That still makes me smile. I’m sure they were horrible. It was just within this last year after reading so much about how ebooks have flung the doors opens to authors that I started considering it. We had recently moved to Dubai, and suddenly I had a lot of free time on my hands. Writing sounded like a good idea.

Who or what has been the most instrumental person/thing to you as far as getting published? There are so many people involved it’s hard to pick just one. It’s a combined effort. Of course I have to write the book, but editors, and designers get a lot of credit.

As an author, is there any one author or book out there that inspired you write a specific genre? I would not say there is an author or a book that inspired me to write young adult. I would say having a teen daughter gave me a lot of inspiration. And my Irish grandmother inspired me to write about elves.


Do you have a favorite and non-favorite genre to write and read?
I have always loved to read. I can pretty much read and enjoy anything. There are so many amazing authors out there. I do tend to read mostly fiction I love to get lost in a book. As far as writing, I really enjoy the paranormal young adult. When there is magic anything can happen.

Would you say that being a reader is important to being a writer? It is important to me. I learn a lot through reading other author’s works.

I know that many authors today utilize other authors while they are writing their books as critique partners. How do you edit your books?
I just recently got two amazing critique partners. Fellow authors Talia Jager and Heather Adkins. I also hire two editors.

Are you a part of a critique group? I belong to critiquecircle.com however, I don’t utilize it as much as I should. There are some amazing helpful people on that site.

If so...Would they or yourself be interested in being contacted about critiquing other authors? I’m really not the best as far as critiques go. Which is why I require two editors. I do love to beta read. I just can’t help someone clean up their story, but I can tell them what I enjoyed as a reader.

Do you have a favorite place to write that helps bring inspiration to your stories? I really like to be alone and in a quite place when I write. However, with three children that doesn’t happen very often. So I tend to write late at night or when the youngest is napping. When I am lucky, my husband takes the baby out so I can write.

Do you listen to music when writing? No, it’s too distracting for me.
Would you say that writing has gotten easier for you now that you are published? No, if anything it might be harder. I feel the pressure to make the next book better than the first. I have learned a lot so certain steps are easier. My revision time has been cut in half for the second book.

How long does it generally take you to write a book? Three to four months for the rough draft.

What was your inspiration to write Coexist? When I sat down to think about what I wanted to write,the idea of elves was pretty automatic. My mother is 100% Irish. My grandmother loved telling Irish tales, and my family all have pointy ears which we get teased for having elf ears. When I first started dating my husband, he told me he had a strange dream about an elf battle. I actually forgot about that until I almost finished the book. I think that was probably always in the back of my subconscious.

Is there a book trailer for Coexist?
Yes, I was fortunate enough to find parajunkeedesigns.com she made and amazing trailer for Coexist. http://youtube/I9S5rXgjlok

How much research if any did you put into writing Coexist?
I’m almost embarrassed to say very little. I just sat down and started writing. The story came to me fairly quick. I did research dark elves because I didn’t really have a firm grasp on how I wanted to portray them.

Would you say that the setting of your book was vital in the telling of your story?
Yes, because it was set in modern times. However, the elves were still drawn to nature so they liked to live near the woods. Of course, the battle had to take place in Ireland where it all began.

Without giving away any spoilers, what would you say was the most challenging part of Coexist to write?
Hmm, it really wasn’t a challenge to write it. It was a challenge to revise after editing. That took me longer than writing the book. 

What was your favorite part of Coexist?

My favorite part of the book would have to be the family dynamics among the elves.

  

What is your favorite part of writing? My favorite part of writing was seeing the word count go up so quickly. I started writing it on a whim, not confident I could finish it.

Which character do you identify with the most? Emerald, even though I tried not to she turned out a lot like me.

Which was your favorite to write? I really enjoyed writing the character Thaddeus. However, Rourk was the easiest to write. He came naturally to me.

Are any of the characters in Coexist a direct reflection of yourself or someone you know? Yes, I took characteristics from people I know for most of the characters in the book. They say write what you know.

Where and or how did you come up with the names for your characters? Keegan, I have just always loved that name for a girl. Rourk, was the name of one of my favorite characters in a novel. Emerald, I just made that up out of the blue. Thaddeus, Brigid, and Katrina are my actual siblings names. Warrick is my youngest son’s name. The rest, no real reason behind them.


How much input do you have in the cover art of your books? I was lucky to find an amazing cover artist, Kadri Umbleja. She is on DeviantArt. We went back and forth several times during the process. However, the vision is all hers. I told her about the story and in minutes she had an idea it was pretty amazing. The girl on the covers is actually my daughter. 

I know that you have a second book coming out soon. Would you like to share any news with our readers about the release date or story itself?
Tentative release is September 15th. However, things don’t aways go as planned so that is a fingers crossed date.

Which of your two most recent books would you say was your favorite to write?
I think Coexist even though I believe my writing improved in Conflicted. I loved bringing life to Keegan and Rourk.

How many more books do you plan on writing in the Coexist series?
As of right now, only three. However, I do plan on writing some spin off books to shed light on some of the smaller characters that have a story to tell.

I know that Coexist is set to come out in paperback soon. Is this as an exciting time for you as when it came out in eBook format? It is exciting, but also slightly frustrating. Since I live in Dubai the mail takes forever to get here. My sister has already seen a preview copy and I want to hold it in my hands.

Do you have any bookmarks or signed bookplates that readers can inquire about?
Not yet, but those are great ideas I will have to look into.

Aside from writing, what are your other hobbies and interest?
Before we moved to Dubai my husband and I owned a small gym, so fitness has always been important. I enjoy reading although it’s harder to find the time now. I don’t really have any hobbies. I spend my free time with husband and children. We do travel a lot so maybe that’s a hobby?

Do you have a favorite book that you would like to give a shout out to?
Well, it’s actually not released yet. I was lucky enough to beta read for Talia Jager and she as great vampire book soon to be released called Secret Bloodline. 

Is there an author out there that our readers may not have heard of yet or been exposed to that you believe could use a little bit of extra recognition? Heather Adkins. She’s a wonderful person and amazing writer.

Where can readers purchase a copy of Coexist and your other books? http://www.amazon.com/Coexist-Keegans-Ch...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/coexist-...
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66...


Where can readers get in touch with or follow you? Blog: http://coexistjuliacrane.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coexist-Ke...
Twitter: juliacrane2
Goodreads:   http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/480...
email: juliacrane@zoho.com

Will you accept inquiries from other bloggers to host giveaways on their blogs?
Yes, I love giveaways.


Would you mind other bloggers contacting you about interviews or Guest Posts? I’m always open for interviews. I rarely do guest post, they stress me out too much. I’m sadly not a very good blogger.

Do you review books? Well, I post reviews on Amazon etc. However, I write short and sweet. I have a lot of respect for book bloggers that write long reviews. I’m also very grateful for them.

Is there a link somewhere that will take readers to a "frequently asked questions" page?
No, I guess that is something I should add to my list of things to do. This interview has given me a lot of ideas.

Aside from marriage proposals, are there any types of questions that you will not answer for readers?
I cannot think of anything off the top of my head. I love having readers send me emails to ask questions.

And lastly, a question for fun.

What is the airspace velocity of an unladen swallow?
My sister is a huge Monty Python fan. She will get a kick out of this. I just finished a 6 mile run and I can guarantee it’s a lot faster than I am!

With all that having been asked, do you as an author have any questions for our readers? Rourk or Donald?

Amazing interview. Thank you again for being here and for answering all of our questions. We would love to have you back again. Just say when :)

If you liked this interview and are interested in reading Julia's first book Coexist, please leave a creative comment below and tell her why.  She might just giveaway a couple of eBooks to the most creative reasons.  Go ahead, tell Julia why you want to read Coexist!

More on Lenmeo's blog here