Interview and Giveaway with Lisa McMann

Parajunkee's View is awe of welcoming the illustrious Lisa McMann to the blog in celebration of Paranormal Spring Break. Huge Huge fan...

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Thriller
Order Online:  Amazon.com
Stalk the Author: Web | Twitter
 

Parajunkee's View: Can you tell us a little bit about Cryer’s Cross and what makes it different from the other Young Adult novels in the paranormal genre? Is it a series?

Lisa McMann: Cryer’s Cross is not a series. I’d say it’s different in two ways – first, my main character Kendall just happens to have OCD, and second, because the paranormal element of the book is not one of the main characters, per se.

PJV: Your latest novel, Cryer’s Cross is based in Cryer’s Cross, Montana, how did you choose your location?

LM: I wanted a small town, and I have a friend who grew up in a similar farming community outside of Bozeman, MT, so I used her experiences as a guide when writing.

PJV: You said that your WAKE series is based on a dream, where did you get the idea for Cryer’s Cross?

LM: Also from a dream! But if I tell you the dream, it might spoil the book.

PJV: The thing I really liked about your writing style with the WAKE series was your very to-the-point style of narration. I thought of it as a no frills style that was rather refreshing after being stuck in page after page of description like some novels. Did you work on this style, or is this just your story-teller’s voice?

LM: Mostly it is the voice that comes out, but I’ve also always liked the sparse writing style. If I’m feeling bored while writing something, I know that whatever I’m writing is probably not essential to the story, so I cut it.

PJV: After three books in the WAKE world is it fun to step out of the usual and into another world?

LM: Yes, definitely. As much as I love Janie and Cabel, it was great creating entirely new characters in Cryer’s Cross.

PJV: Is the life of a writer as glamorous as we think? Or are we all sorely
misinformed?

LM: I think it depends on your definition of glamorous, ha ha! Whenever I can get away with it, I sit around in my pajamas all day and write. WhenI tour, it’s early mornings and late nights and a lot of running around on too little sleep. But it’s all very exciting and I love what I do. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity.

PJV: Your next novel is a dystopian. Was it different or more difficult writing in that genre?

LM: Not really. I write the stories that want to be written, if that makes any sense. The Unwanteds was dying to be written and it came out in the way it had to come out, just like the other books.

PJV: With the explosion of eBook sales and eReaders as of late, do you see book sales increasing in the future and does this help you as an author?

LM: I’m very curious to see the results of the past holiday season. As someone with an eReader, I know that I am buying more multiples than ever before. I’ll put a book on my eReader, then when I love it and tell my teens (my kids) that I love it, they want a hard copy (partly because they prefer the physical book, but also because I often travel with the eReader so they don’t have access to it). So that seems highly beneficial to other authors. I’m not sure if other households run the
same way or not, though.

I do think that having an alternative to physical books is a good thing, not a bad one.

PJV: What authors have inspired you in your career? What book do you wish you
would have written?

LM: Roald Dahl, Madeleine L’Engle, Barbara Kingsolver, Chris Crutcher, Robert Cormier, Louisa May Alcott, Alexandre Dumas. I wish I’d written THE POISONWOOD BIBLE.

PJV: What is your best Spring Break memory?

LM: This is kind of pathetic but my spring breaks were pretty much filled with work – odd jobs, working as many hours as I could pick up while all my friends went to Florida. But before I was old enough to get a job, I’d have to say reading books all day with a big bowl of popcorn.

Contest Deets ONE WINNER:
One (1) winner will receive a copy of Cryer's Cross

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1. Parajunkee's View or Tynga's Reviews is not responsible for items lost in shipping or items shipped from 3rd party sponsors. 
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6. If it is not stated, it should be assumed that giveaway items have been provided by a 3rd party as a donation to Parajunkee's View.

Fade by Lisa McMann

Fade (Wake Series, Book 2) (Wake Trilogy)

Free - Courtesy of the Jefferson Parish Library.
Author's Website

PJV's Quickie POV:  After reading Wake earlier I was subsequently hooked and was stoked to find Fade at my local library.  Not as good as the first, but still a compelling and thrilling read. A good follow-up.

Review: Janie and Cabel met in the first book Wake and are now involved in a relationship, which they have to keep secret from the rest of the world.  They have to keep up the pretenses dictated to them to stay working undercover within the student population.  For this installment they are after sexual predators, teachers that are taking advantage of students.

During the book, more is discover about Janie's abilities, and the past that haunts Cabel. Secondary characters that were big in Wake fade into almost non-existence, while others spring forward and make a name for themselves, like the Captain.

The plot was a little thin on this one, which was probably the reason I didn't enjoy this installment as much as I did the first.  Different plot lines just seemed to make unbelievable jumps that wouldn't happen.  Also, problems with Janie's abilities were predictable and you knew where they were leading.

Character development was excellent though, both Janie and Cabel grew within the pages and I really enjoyed watching them mature.  I wanted to beat Cabel in the head a few times which shows that I was getting into the story.  A definite must read if you enjoyed Wake.  I will be moving on to Gone. 

Recommendations: Because of language and sexual encounters I recommend and older teen audience for this series.  Adults will enjoy also.  Even if you are not a fan of urban fantasy this book is worth the read, the fantastical elements are minimal - and really it just boiled down a mystery.