Please help me welcome L. B. Joramo to my blog today. L. B. will be giving away an ecopy of her book THE IMMORTAL AMERICAN to one lucky commentor, so be sure and leave her a comment.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be, and why?

Right where I am! I live in Montana, and I love it here. I grew up in mid-Montana, and felt I just had to move away as soon as I could. Chalk it up to teenage angst. I moved to Miami, which I loved as well, but at first I missed snow, then I missed cowboy boots, and then even small towns. I moved outside of a southeastern town in Montana, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier!

Tell us about your current series/WIP.

I am the author of The Immortal American series. It is set during the American Revolution, and for the first book, just titled The Immortal American in a nutshell it is about Violet Buccleuch, a farmer, and her transformation to become a sniper for the Massachusetts’ militia.

I am currently in the editing process of the second in the series, which still doesn’t have a title. Usually the title comes to me or my editor, after a couple rounds of editing. What I can tell you about the second book is Violet’s transformation doesn’t stop at sniping. She becomes a spy for her nascent nation, the United States of America.

How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?

Very likely! I have a habit of going to school, so I’m currently earning my Master’s Degree in US Military History with the area of concentration in the American Revolution. I love my classes. Most of my classes are filled with men, mostly military. Unbeknownst to them, I study them quite often. They are, what would be considered, alpha males, and make any male in my stories so much more enriching. But I study women too. I have such good friends that let me analyze them from time to time!

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

Do I have a view? I adore my view! My space is situated a little distance from a huge window that displays some evergreens, aspens, a maple, and even an oak tree. Around the window, this time of year only, a boisterous grape vine wraps itself around, so that tiny little sparrows and finches flutter around my window. And under the grape is an equally feral purple rose bush. On most days I do feel like I am living in a fairy tale.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Originally I was a pantser. I would have an idea of the beginning, a little of the middle, and the end, but I would let my characters do the rest.

Now, after I realized that The Immortal American would be a series, I knew I needed to plot more. I bought a few books, and found one plotting strategy that worked for me so that it didn’t impinge on my creative pantser side, but it also gave me a better roadmap to follow. I now love saying I’m a wee bit of a plotter too!

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

Well, to be perfectly honest I am a genre slut. I love them all. If it’s a good story, I will read it!

As for what genre The Immortal American series is, I simply call it historical. But it’s not that simple. I also have elements of romance and paranormal. I love reading historical texts and historical fiction; I love paranormal romance books too. So I squeezed them together to write my books.

What are you reading now?

Ah, this will prove how much I love reading different genres, because I almost never read one book exclusively. However, if it’s REALLY good, I’ll put the others aside and that just happened to me. I have been reading Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution Through British Eyes by Christopher Hibbert, which is an excellent book. But then I found the mystery/thriller Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. It was hauntingly good! I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed with a book and yet disturbed. I need to get more work done, so I’ll grab another of her book after I finish another round of editing.

What did you want to be when you were a child? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Yes. My earliest memory is of stories. My father would hold me or my siblings, whichever one of us couldn’t sleep, and he would make up stories as he would gently pace a room. He called it Walking Stories. I loved inventing my own stories, and would live in them when I was little. I made up a whole world where I could cook dirt and dandelions into chocolate cake if I spun fifty-two times around. That was how I landed my first ten stitches from all that whirling about.

As much as I loved my imagination, for some odd reason I didn’t think I could depend upon it for my career. So I went to college for other ambitions, the whole time I made up my stories and wrote. I got rather close to my philosophy professor, and let him read some of my writings. He told me he thought I was talented, but I didn’t think much of the compliment, until I read his letter of recommendation for graduate school. In it he stated that I was a fine student, would make an even better academic. But it was in my writing that he hoped I would do my best. Those lines gave me the courage to finally pursue writing as a career. I framed that letter and still have it hanging close by.

Do you have any rejection stories to share?

I think I’m about average as far as rejections, in that I feel like I’ve had hundreds of them. I had no clue about the publishing world and tried to get published with my very first manuscript that was about as many pages as Les Misérables but much more convoluted. Surprisingly, I got a reply from one agent who said she thought I had talent, but I needed to learn a lot. I got the how-to books, went to classes, partook in workshops, joined horrible critique groups, then found amazing critique buddies, and did the work. I wrote, and I wrote, and I wrote through the whole journey. I’d completed four books, and written multiple articles by the time I thought of The Immortal American series. The whole time I’d never given up on submitting to agents, so I tried with each book. By the time I’d finished that book, I was getting agents writing me very nice, not at all form letters, asking for more. Then came the real disappointment. An agent wouldn’t like this about the book, or another agent loved what the other agent didn’t like, but hated something else. It felt like I was finally getting asked to dance at the ball, but my partner would shoot me down at the last minute. And I had several of them. Finally someone asked if he could publish the book–it was just that good. I’ll always be so thankful to hear those words. However, that publisher fell through too. But I kept trying! And so here I am.

I do advice aspiring writers to learn their craft, then keep learning it; I also advice to get into a supportive critique group. I can’t stress that word enough for new writers. If you don’t feel that someone in the group wants you to succeed, dump ‘em. But I think the key to writing a good book is doing the work. Persistence pays off, as it does in life. But finding those words that make your manuscript sing, takes a certain amount of patience with yourself and moxie. Let yourself absorb all you can, and then strut about it, dance about it, celebrate about it all!

Do you have other talents? Or is there a talent you don’t have that you wish you did?

Oh! For the talent I’ve always wished I could have . . . I would like to join the circus! The Crique Du Soleil, that is. I would love to fly through those long thin silk curtains while doing the splits. Or better yet there is a special show called “Duo Osmose” that can get pretty erotic. It’s not only beautiful, but so awe-inspiring to watch and a little sexy too. I try to create that with my words, but in my mind I could rival the Crique! Ah, yes, my imagination is fun! Here is a link of what I secretly wish I could do http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bJzgYh7qdU

Here is the jacket blurb of The Immortal American

As black clouds gather for America in 1775 Violet Buccleuch transforms from simple colonial farmer to become the Immortal American. While Boston roars with protests, Violet Buccleuch fights to survive. The lone provider for her mother and sister, Violet knows that soon enough she must surrender to the only option a woman of 1775 has: marriage.
For two years she’s delayed a wedding to Mathew Adams, her fiancé. He’s loved her since they were children, and Violet knows he will be a good husband. But he’s gone and committed the most dangerous mistake a man can make: He’s introduced her to his friend, Jacque Beaumont, a Frenchman and a spy, a dark, dangerous man Violet can’t stop herself from wanting.
Then Violet’s life is shattered–brutality, death, and the threat of debtor’s prison surround her. Both Jacque and Mathew come to her aid–one man rescues her farm, the other rescues her heart. As the Battle of Concord rages at her door, Violet is entangled between her loyalty to Mathew, even as she’s drawn further into Jacque’s shadowy, mysterious world – perhaps a world from which there’s no return.

L. B. Joramo, Author Bio:
Have you ever been so involved in a book that you feel truly transported into another world? This is what I want to give to you . . .

I live in Montana on, what I call, an accidental farm. You see, my son has a strange superpower. Whatever he wants, the universe will give to him, even if his mommy refuses. When he was in kindergarten, his teacher brought in baby ducks to school. He wanted a duck. That spring, four ducks started living in my front yard. I kid you not. Later, my son’s first grade teacher brought chicks to school. He wanted chickens. I refused. The ducks were enough. Just a few months later about twelve chickens came from nowhere and a turkey. Oh, and the turkey wasn’t just any kind of turkey, but a mammoth of a bird that scares away the Fedex man. My son wanted a kitten the next year, and I thought the two aging cats we had were enough. The universe had other plans. When we went hiking along the Yellowstone River that spring, we rescued a cold, wet kitten from the swollen waterway.

My son is now content with our animals. I hope.

I write, research the eighteenth century, and hike around my beautiful big sky state as much as I can, usually with my son, praying he doesn’t want a coyote or some other animal as we trek along.

Where to find her and her book.

Now for the links:

On Amazon — https://www.amazon.com/authorlbjoramo

On Goodreads — http://www.goodreads.com/LBJoramo

On Twitter — @LBJoramo

On Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/lbjoramo

My website — www.lbjoramo.com

My blog — http://blog.lbjoramo.com