I'm delighted to be joined on the blog today by L. P. Masters for both an interview and my review of her book - Love Is Death. Here's a little about her:
Born and raised in the rainy streets of the Seattle Area, L.P. Masters spent her fair share of time staring out rain-streaked windows and writing books. Masters has always had extremely vivid dreams, which often spark inspiration for her novels. She has participated in National Novel Writer's Month every November since 2010. Writing isn't the only thing she can do with a pen in her hand, she also enjoys sketching and drawing—with varying degrees of success. Masters now lives in the slightly-less-dreary city of Spokane Washington with her husband and two wonderful daughters.
And onto the interview!
What made you want to be a writer?
I have always had extremely vivid dreams. I used to wake up and spend at least half an hour telling anyone who listened all about what happened and what it looked like and who did what, etc. It was the combination of a dream and my mom's influence that got me started writing when I was twelve. I told her about a dream and how compelling it was and she said, "So why not go write a book about it?" and the rest is history.
What kind of books do you read for pleasure?
Lots. When I was younger I really stayed in the classic scifi writers, like Robert Heinlein or Andre Norton. Lately I've been branching out and I love it. Romance, Young Adult, Thrillers. Anything that looks interesting, I'll pick up.
What kind of writer are you: plan or not?
Ugh. This is a big fight for me right now. My whole life I have been a pantser, (No planning at all.) Over the years I've taken a lot of creative writing classes and everyone talks about plotting. I see the advantages of it, and my brain says, "That would be great. Let's try that!" and then I try it and the whole thing falls apart. I can have a beautifully written plot... and then I cannot for the life of me write the story. So I've gone for a middle ground. I plot things out a little bit, looking at really big picture ideas, and then I let myself come up with it as I go, pausing every once in a while along the way to revise or add things to the overall plan I had before.
What book/character of yours is your favourite?
A lot of my favorite characters haven't been published yet. I only have one novel out so far, but there are many more already written, I just need to get them ready to go. As far as published characters, I would have to say that, truth be told, I love Skoogie from Love is Death. He doesn't show up until the end of the book, but he's just this awesome Southern guy. Even though he works for the bad guys, he's great. If I get to look at not (yet) published books, I would say Jackson from Chained Universe, which is the next trilogy that I'll be publishing. He's smart, funny, handsome, and extremely complex thanks to his backstory.
Do you prefer to type or hand write?
For the most part I write on my laptop. I love using Scrivener for most of my projects. It just makes my life so much easier. Every once in a while, though, I love hand writing. It's been kind of a "thing" for me lately to hand write all my short stories. It just puts me in a new environment and stimulates a different part of my mind. Sometimes when I'm stuck on a book, I'll sit down and start a scene on paper. It's very helpful.
What's your favourite kind of scene to write?
Tearjerkers! Oh man. If I can pull those heart strings, if I can pull my own hair out while I'm writing it, if I can scream at my characters and ask myself how I can be so mean! Those are the scenes I live for! There have been times where I've been writing a scene and my husband has asked if I'm okay, because i might be right on the verge of tears, or making a face like I'm about to kill someone. (Oh wait. I am.)
Would you ever like to branch out to a different genre?
I have. I love different genres. I mentioned earlier that I was really into classic scifi when I was a kid, but in college my teacher forced me, (yes, she forced me) to write contemporary stories, no genres like scifi or fantasy. My very last story I submitted for that class she allowed me, (Oh gracious teacher) to write a scifi short story, and I realized how much better it was than what I'd been doing before. Ever since then I've been much more open to different genres, which is awesome, because I feel comfortable telling the story however the story should be told. I don't have to try to shove something into a scifi box when it really would work better in a paranormal world. That being said, even though I try all sorts of stories, I find myself gravitating more towards good old science fiction, paranormal, and romance genres.
What does your writing space look like?
My whole house. I write on the couch, I write in bed, I write on the deck... sometimes I write on the floor with the lights all off. I don't know how I lived when I had to write on a desktop. My memory of desktop writing includes me being a contortionist in the computer chair, constantly moving around and sitting in all sorts of weird positions. It's really awful for ergonomics, I'm sure, but it's how I like to do it.
Gina’s plan for her afterlife is simple: survive as long as possible.
The afterlife is a ghost-kill-ghost kind of place. When she meets
newly-dead Alec, she can’t help her desire to protect him. Before she
knows it, she finds herself falling for him, despite the little voice in
her head telling her it’s a bad idea. Alec’s goals don’t mesh well with
Gina’s plans. Determined to save his living sister from a murderer,
he’s willing to disobey the laws of a well-established cult in the
afterlife. If the cult finds out, they’ll kill him. Again. He’s hesitant
to accept Gina’s help and threaten her afterlife, but he’s guaranteed
to fail without her. Together they embark on a perilous mission, but the
most dangerous aspect of all is the threat of falling in love. Because
in the afterlife... love is death.
My review: 5 stars
I loved the synopsis of this book and was happy to dig into it. I was floored with how bloody amazing it was! From the first page, I was hooked and more than happy to sit down and read it completely in two sittings. The story is engaging and enthralling. The set up of there being both an afterlife AND an afterdeath was amazing. The world building with tiny and delicate pieces made the book even more delightful to read. I loved it! Watching Gina and Alec connect, but also all the other characters as well. They were all so well developed and I am still astounded by just how good this book is! HIGHLY recommended!
Join Joey here on the blog on Fridays for interviews, reviews and guest bloggers. If you'd be interested in doing any of those, you can contact Joey here.
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