27 | June | 2015 | Cynthia Woolf

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

My chosen genres are Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. I grew up on stories of magic in everyday life. For the longest time I really believed my freckles were directly related to the brownies who were sneaking in kisses while I slept. I grew up on Disney stories, then moved on to Star Trek and other sci-fi books. I hit high school and started sneaking my mom’s romance novels out of the house (sorry, mom!) to help supplement my book habit in-between the fantasy and murder-mysteries I was able to snag from the school library. I headed out into the big bad world at 18, and as I stumbled through the maze of life, I discovered my characters were suddenly becoming harder to hurt (emotionally and physically). I’m sure a therapist would have a field day with this, but needless to say my reading needs changed as well. I started hunting down books where the heroine didn’t always need the hero to ride to her rescue. Sometimes it was more satisfying if she rumbled up to his rescue on her Harley.

What is your favorite part of writing? What is your least favorite part of writing?

I’ll answer worst thing first, because it’s easier for me. The worst thing, finally getting a solution to that scene/character motivation/plot line you’ve been hung up for EVER while you’re in the shower—with shampoo in your hair and knowing you have to jump out and write it down before you FORGET IT. This happens more than you want to know.

Best thing—readers who take time out of their lives to pick up your stories, fall in love with them, and then actually share that experience with you. Writing is a solo endeavor, so when a reader tells me how much they enjoyed a story, it makes my entire week!

What is your next project and when will it be released?

TOUCHED BY FATE is the second book in my Paranormal Romance series, PSY-IV Teams, and it will hit shelves in Spring of 2016. I’m actually undertaking multiple projects currently. I have a collection of short stories set in the Kyn universe for Fall 2015, then the fifth book in the series is up, and I decided to start on a third series, one where magic has no place. Scary, I know.

Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

I wish I could share some profound inspiration, but yeah…no. I always knew magic would be a key component of my world crafting. One of the greatest mind benders for me has always been how would our world react to the existence of magic? How well could the everyday populace handle the reality of werewolves, vamps, necromancers, demons, witches, and every other story ever told? And because life has a darker side and the Grimm Brothers never met Walt Disney, what would those in power do to harness such abilities for their own advantages? Which meant Raine McCord, my main character for SHADOW’S EDGE, had to be intimately acquainted with the pros and cons of the reality of magic. She’s part of the magical world, but thanks to some human scientists who just couldn’t resist playing god, she’s a bit more than even she expects. I was adopted at 14, so I find my main characters tend to come with some baggage and Raine’s not any different. Since I firmly believe that you have two choices when life starts putting you through the wringer, stand up or fall down, my women (and men) tend to stand up, even if they’re weaving on their feet, faces bruised and battered, they’re up, so bring it.

Was your road to publication fraught with peril or a walk in the park?

Looking back, I’d have to go with a walk in the park with a few detours. It took me two years to get SHADOW’S EDGE polished enough to share. I went through a plethora of rejections before it was picked up by Lauri Blasch at Black Opal Books from a three line pitch contest by Savvy Authors. Before that, I had non-fiction pieces published on National Public Radio and part of charitable anthologies, but my fiction took a bit longer. After six titles and two series under my belt, I think my path is rockier now than ever.

Do you have a view in your writing space? What does your space look like?

I share my writing space with my Knight in Slightly Muddy Armor, and I make sure my back is to his side otherwise my Type A personality would have an apoplectic fit. I inherited my dad-in-law’s banker desk, which holds my Big Mac (not the fast food sandwich) and my Little Mac, plus pens, notebooks, a desk calendar, a decorative skull and headphones. Oh yeah, two drink coasters because sometimes you need more than coffee. I have a view of my neighborhood to the left and generally my feet are joined by the Fur Minxes and their combined 100 pounds of canine love.

Do you prefer to read in the same genres you write in or do you avoid reading that genre? Why?

I actually tend not to read in the genre I’m currently working in. I won’t read UF while working on my Kyn series, and avoid romantic suspense when I’m with the PSY-IV Teams. Being an avid reader, I consume a great many books, gorge actually, and I find I don’t want my current work to skim along anyone else’s lines. The best way to achieve that, read in a totally separate genre than I’m living in.

Do you write under a pen name? Why or why not?

Yep, I’m a pen name. Not for what you think, but because if I used my real name, I feared my readers would never find me. Not only would I be at the end of the alphabet, unless you know the German rules for vowels, my last name would never be pronounced or spelled correctly.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

SHADOW’S EDGE is the first in my Kyn Kronicles, and the first full-length novel I completed and published. In it you get to meet Raine She comes across as a hardened warrior who’s courted death intimately. Yet her thick veneer of lethality hides the scars of a survivor. She’s part of the Kyn, the combined races of all those creatures humans scare each other with over campfires—witches, wizards, Fey, shifters, and demons. Yet, even as one of them, she stands apart—always. While she’d do whatever it takes to protect her people, she doesn’t really believe anyone would do the same for her. Due to traumas she suffered as a young teen, she has a difficult time accepting herself. Which in turn, makes her feel unworthy of anyone’s acceptance. At her core, Raine is no different than any of us—we want to be loved and accepted, even as we love and accept those around us. Hard to do when you’re struggling to love yourself.

BIO:

Jami Gray is the award winning, multi-published author of the Urban Fantasy series, The Kyn Kronicles, and the Paranormal Romantic Suspense series, PSY-IV Teams. She can be soothed with coffee and chocolate. Surrounded by Star Wars obsessed males and two female labs moonlighting as the Fur Minxes, she escapes by playing with the voices in her head.

You can find me at:

Black Opal Books: www.BlackOpalBooks.com

Muse It Up Publishing: http://museituppublishing.com

Website: www.JamiGray.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamigray.author

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