Interview with Alexa Whitewolf
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
My wonderful fiancé and my dogs 🙂 It’s kind of hard to ignore two wet muzzles being shoved in your face repeatedly cause they wanna go for a walk! My husky & lab are gorgeous, but very spoiled. And on days when I’m down, it’s my fiancé, Steven, and them that bring me up and make me get out of bed!
When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?
Reading, mostly. I also jog with the dogs. And call me crazy, but I love mowing the lawn in summer! (shoveling the snow in winter, though…not so much).
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
When I find an author, I tend to read everything they wrote if I like it. And I mean EVERYTHING.
I’ve previously found ebooks directly through search engine searches. Or by word of mouth.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
YES! I skipped the short stories part, and jumped straight to novels. The Sage’s Legacy was my first — about this young girl who lives on an Earth populated by ghosts. She has these mysterious powers cause she’s a Sage, tasked to protect humans from ghosts, and it’s her journey of independence and identity searching. I wrote it when I was 12, finished by the time I was 14.
What is your writing process?
First, I write down whatever comes to mind. Scenes, etc., without worrying about being cohesive, chronological, even making sense! Once I have a couple of things down, I take a step back and see if I can visualize the story. Then I start a skeleton, write down more ideas for the plots, split it into chapters, add in more ideas… Eventually, I have this 3-5 pgs list of 20 or so chapters, each with a little description of what will be happening in that chapter with the characters. Then I tackle it! I write by hand (I’m old school that way), and then I type everything up on the computer. Once that’s done, I take about 3-4 months for multiple edits, before going and ordering a cover 🙂
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
Wow that’s quite a ways back… My grandma had this collection of Legends of Mount Olympus stories in Romanian, part 1 & 2. I still have the original books… It really impacted me because it went against what the orthodox church taught about there being one God, a trinity, etc., etc. I read about all these Greek gods and their crazy antics, and thought, “wow they’re so human!”. I guess that’s why I’ve always like Greek mythology stories… And why my dogs are named after Zeus and Achilles 🙂
How do you approach cover design?
That. I leave up to my cover designer. I think getting one professionally done is important, and I was not disappointed by Adrijus, http://www.rockingbookcovers.com, who created mine. He was great to work with, prompt to respond to queries, and even walked me through the process.
I do generally go in with an idea of what I want, and go from there.
Also, I got wonderful work done for my Sage novels from Ammonia book covers https://thebookcoverdesigner.com/designers/ammonia-book-covers/ , I’ve been ecstatic with her work!!
What are your five favorite books, and why?
Kane & Abel — Jeffrey Archer — the plot, the characters, the way they interact and grow together, as well as all the intricacies of being human the author explored.
Harry Potter series — J.K.Rowling it’s a childhood favorite of mine!
Lord of the rings trilogy — J.R.R. Tolkien — for the sheer imagination of building an entire world, the characters, the way it all flows!
The Matarese circle — Robert Ludlum — perfect conspiracy book, full of mystery, suspense
Da Vinci Code — Dan Brown — the historical accuracy behind the novel, the easiness with which the facts are displayed and recounted in a way that doesn’t make it slow, but rather fast paced
What do you read for pleasure?
Mystery, police dramas, romance
Lately, a lot of James Patterson — Alex Cross series, Murder Mystery Club
one of my all-time favorite romance series? Rock Chicks — Kristen Ashley
What is your e-reading device of choice?
iPad or iPhone
What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?
Word of mouth. I’m in the process of trying Facebook ads and Goodreads ads… Will post more when I see how it goes 🙂
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a town called Turda, in Romania. It’s in the Transylvannia part of the country, where Dracula originated 😛 I think this influenced me a lot growing up because already my imagination was overactive! Plus, I didn’t have ipads, internet, nonstop tv and tech devices. My entertainment was the outside, pets and my own imagination !
When did you first start writing?
12 years old, after I moved from Montreal to Toronto.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
Avalon Dreams… Hmm. It came to me in a dream, to be honest. I must have been thinking about something when I went to sleep, because this story started playing behind my eyes. I woke up in the morning feeling like I had barely slept, and it continued for months on end until I started writing it down! The characters wrote themselves, in a way, as they developed under my hand, and grew, acted out… It’s been a long journey!
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
The escape, being able to create worlds and characters for others to enjoy!
What do your fans mean to you?
A lot! They’re my main reason for writing, and their input matters!
What are you working on next?
Avalon Nightmares — the last in the Avalon Chronicles trilogy: Vivienne’s continued shift to the dark side… and Alistair’s own struggle!
A werewolf romance series, and a yet untitled novel… Plus The Sage’s Legacy book 3, Relics of the Underworld ☺ !
My books:
Avalon Dreams (Avalon Chronicles Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JTLWT2W
Avalon Wishes (Avalon Chronicles Book 2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0727QR4ZT
The Dragon Medallion (The Sage’s Legacy, Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X6LPWTB
The Dragon Manuscript (The Sage’s Legacy, Book 2) publishing sept 21st, will be https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X6LPWTB
Current promos:
The Dragon Medallion: free sept 16-20!
Upcoming promos:
Avalon Dreams and Avalon Wishes, half price Sept 21-28!
Social links:
http://twitter.com/alexa_whitewolf
https://www.facebook.com/alexawhitewolfauthor/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/660987.Alexa_Whitewolf
https://www.pinterest.ca/alexawhitewolf/
My website :
Avalon Dreams
Description from Amazon:
“It was impossible they had met before — of that she was certain. Yet his hold on her was undisputable, an irrational pull to the utmost recesses of her soul.”
Vivienne du Lac has everything she could wish for — a normal, peaceful life, a good job, cushy nest egg, and a semi-social nightlife. The only problem? She’s clueless to being the reincarnation of the Lady of the Lake, mythical sorceress from King Arthur’s time, and Merlin’s apprentice.
Sebastien Dubois is the guy you wouldn’t take home to mom and dad. He’s the one you jump off on a motorcycle with, to ride into the sunset. The sexual chemistry between them is sizzling from the start — but there’s more to the tall, dark and handsome stranger. When a magical past tumbles into her orderly reality, he is Vivienne’s only hope at survival.
Caught between darkness and light, a battle she has no intention to fight — let alone the knowledge to win — Vivienne quickly finds out not even closest allies can be trusted.
Can she look within and access powers from long past, become the enchantress Merlin meant her to be… Or will she lose it all over love, for Sebastien’s salvation? This is a battle between good and evil you don’t want to miss.
The Dragon Medallion
Description off Amazon:
Only one can protect the world as we know it… But can she find herself first?
In a world where ghosts roam the Earth, one girl, keeper of a powerful legacy, is the only one capable to save it. Freya Hayes, 16, is a powerful Sage. For the past two years, she has trained in order to master her powers and be able to fight evil ghosts. Now, she will have to see if it was all worth it. When an ancient Viking ghost comes back with a vengeance, Freya is the only one capable to fight it.
Cadmael is all but an ordinary specter, as he has somehow acquired powers never brandished by ghosts before. At first glance, the mission seems as easy as it can get. But Freya will soon discover that “easy” shouldn’t be taken for granted. What the Sage isn’t aware of is that this particular ghost may very well hold the key to many answers she seeks.
Along with her mentor, Professor O’Keeffe and Sam, her twelve-year-old friend ghost, she will do her best to stop the Vikings from taking over London. But what happens when her powers aren’t enough? Will the powerful Cadmael win or will the presence she keeps feeling help Freya defeat him? And if yes, is she ready to accept its help… even it means allowing a few concessions down the road?
Making decisions and keeping her head above the water are not the only things Freya has to deal with. Being a teenager is also part of the challenge.
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