Victoria's Thoughts and Reviews: Meet the Author

Welcome all.

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Gillian Zane, author of Cheat (1), Shark (2), Liar (3), and Creep (4) (new release on 13th)

ME: Hi Gillian, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?

GILLIAN ZANE: Hi! I'm Gillian, I'm from a town called New Orleans. I usually don't say I'm from Louisiana, because well-- there is Louisiana and then there is New Orleans. No offense to the rest of Louisiana of course. I'm gonna be all cliche too, and say I've wanted to be a writer since I was like a microorganism...well technically maybe 5th or 6th grade. I wrote this comic and short story piece that landed me in HUGE trouble in 6th grade. I went to Catholic school, and 6th grade was taught by a failed priest that was a bit of misogynist, so you know, girls were destined for pumping out kids, why teach them? So, my girls taking over the class and tying all the guys to the desks, comic/short story, didn't go over well. But, it was his dirty mind that interpreted it as sexual. So, yes I've wanted to write for a long time. And I was trying after college, was even shopping agents for a Middle Grade I wrote, called Sassafras Sojourn. But, then this big storm hit, and most of my stuff got wet, including the three manuscripts I had finished. And I got a bit sidetracked from writing. Became a corporate drone, got laid off a few times, tried to take over the world-- didn't go over well, so then I decided to write again. And instead of going back to my old ways of YA and MG, I figured - why not an apocalypse new adult romance, that is basically erotica with zombies? And who needs an agent, I can do this myself? I wrote it. And I wrote another. And the books sold. The rest is history.

ME: What genre do you write?

GILLIAN ZANE: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Apocalypse Romance

ME: What are you working on at the minute?

GILLIAN ZANE: It is NANOWRIMO - and my motto of Go Big or Go Home, but I really like Home...so go Big at Home, is being put into use. I'm finishing the Karma Inc. series, book five, called Crook and I'm collaborating a PNR with a friend of mine, that will be based in New Orleans (because the place is kind of cool and people like to read about it) and will have crazy supernatural things like witches, and shifters, and vampires.

ME: Can you share a little of your current work with us?

GILLIAN ZANE: Excerpt of CREEP --> “Cassie! Where ya been?” A dripping wet Fallon trotted around the pool toward me.

“A little R and R,” I lied to keep up the charade. I didn’t want to explain the atrocity that had become my life.

“Jelly!” She rolled her eyes. “How’d you get something like that, you’ve been gone forever?” She emphasized the forever in an exaggerated accent.

“I guess I was stressed,” I shrugged.

“You missed all the drama, girl.” Her eyes were as big as saucers, her lips pursed like a fish to emphasize all the crazy. It took everything in me not to roll my eyes.

“Fill me in.” I really didn’t want to know, but it was expected, and I didn’t want to hurt Fallon’s feelings.

“Not while you’re wearing that,” she frowned at me. I looked down. I was in a thin shirt that was boxy and not flattering, the only thing under it was a sports bra and cotton panties with leggings. So much for inconspicuous. I looked like I had recently escaped a mental institution. I tapped my bra self-consciously; the two vials of liquid were still there.

To fit in, I manifested a bathing suit, and a tiny purse to hold my vials, then trailed after Fallon as she chatted her way to the pool.

“Persephone is finally gone, we have a new boss. Ohemgee, Cassie, he’s fucking hot, like hot hot, not like nerdy hot Brandon. Like my panties are tingly wet just thinking about him.” She squeezed my arm and I tried not to wince. “He’s not exactly receptive to any of us, though. Kind of scowly, and bossy. He yelled at me a few times.”

“Scowly?” I asked. She rolled her eyes and handed me a beer from the cooler next to the pool.

“Oh, and Trish and Otto are an item, like really an item, moved their shit into one house and stuff, calling themselves Trotto, or maybe Trito, I don’t know, but it’s weird. Em said she heard them fighting and hot new boss guy went over there to break it up. It was a mess.”

“Trish and Otto?” I asked stupidly. I couldn’t place an Otto.“Yeah, they do make a cute couple,” Fallon sighed and glanced over at Trent who was sun bathing, even though he could tan with a thought. Fallon had been crushing on him for a while. Sensing eyes on him, Trent sat up, took his sunglasses off, and did the cool-guy-chin-jut-greeting thing.

“Hey Cassie! You’re back. Boss said you’d be back today. Well, he said the missing operative would be back today. Never said your name or anything, just that if we see 'the missing operative', to tell her to go to his office immediately because he’s tired of being fucking short-staffed…” Trent said in one breath.

“Yeah, I think I already have a case,” I responded despondently. I guess it made sense, considering I was supposed to be on some kind of weird Afterlife vacation for the last month. I really didn’t want another case though.

“Already, really girl?” Fallon rolled her eyes. “Whatevs, you’ve been off duty for like months. Wish.” I had the urge to tell her all about my off-duty status. Maybe that would wipe that frown off her face, but I bit my tongue and kept it to myself.

“Months? It was that long for you guys too?” For some reason I thought it would only be that long for me.

“Yeah, you never came back from your last case. That was like, at least 3 months ago.” Fallon frowned at me. “We thought something happened, or you got promoted without them telling us. That would have sucked. They didn’t tell us shit. But it happens like that sometimes.”

“They said it was only a month or two,” I replied. “That’s what they told me.” Fallon shook her head and Trent looked skeptical.

“You were on R and R and you didn’t know how long it was? Where did you go? Antarctica?” Trent asked.

“Uh, no, just like a relaxing place in Afterlife.”

“I’ve never heard of an operative doing that.” Trent got up from his chair, so he could grab a beer.

“I don’t like to be normal,” I shrugged, and Fallon laughed a little harder than the joke required, like she was faking it or didn’t get the joke.

“Don’t worry. No one thinks you’re normal.” She laughed again loudly, and I frowned, not sure if I should take it as a compliment or an insult.

ME: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?

GILLIAN ZANE: Britt Robertson (Cassie) and Tyler Hoechlin (Drake)

ME: While you were writing, do you ever feel as if you were one of the characters?

GILLIAN ZANE: No, not me. But, I will imagine them kind of like acting it out.

ME: Which writers inspire you?

GILLIAN ZANE: Right now, I'm inspired by my friends around me, my local girls in a writers group have been my biggest inspiration so far, Alys Arden, Dawn Chertier, and Lila Felix have kept me going. But, to start out, what made me fall in love with writing and want to write, authors like R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike put that seed in my head, and then later authors like J.R. Ward, Kersley Cole, and many more I can't name made me fall in love with the genres I chose.

ME: Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand?

GILLIAN ZANE: MacBook

ME: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you?

GILLIAN ZANE: I do a loose outline, lots of plotting, with focus on world building.

ME: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors.

GILLIAN ZANE: Because of my genres, I've been sticking to a lot of YA lately, since it won't interfere with "ideas." Right now, I'm a huge fan of Veronica Rossi

ME: What book are you reading now?

GILLIAN ZANE: I'm reading Dan Brown's ORIGIN, which isn't Young Adult, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

ME: Do you think that giving books away free works and why?

GILLIAN ZANE: I think that giving the first book away in a targeted marketing strategy seems to work to get people interested in your series. I hope at least. But, really different things work for different authors.

ME: How do you relax?

GILLIAN ZANE: What's that? Okay fine, gaming.

ME: What is your favorite quote?

GILLIAN ZANE: “Stupid people are dangerous.”

― Suzanne Collins

ME: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

GILLIAN ZANE: Finish a book. Just finish it, it might be a terrible book, you might put it in a closet somewhere for eternity. But, finish a book. Once you get over that first hurdle, the rest comes a bit easier.

ME: What does your writing process look like?

GILLIAN ZANE: If you need a mental picture, you know that ADHD kid? That ONE kid that is jumping off the walls, telling crazy stories about the pet rock they just found, interrupting you in the middle of the night to tell you about their weird dream, making odd noises...playing pranks continuously... yeah that's my writing process.

ME: What is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?

GILLIAN ZANE: The elevator pitch

ME: Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others? Love? Action? Racy?

GILLIAN ZANE: Sex scenes, there are only so many ways you can describe a certain action

ME: Did you learn anything from writing your book(s) and what was it?

GILLIAN ZANE: Once you hit publish, it's not your baby anymore.

ME: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

GILLIAN ZANE: My NOLA Writer Gals

ME: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?

GILLIAN ZANE: Albert Einstein

ME: What is your favorite theme/genre to write about?

GILLIAN ZANE: Alphas - male and female

ME: What is your favorite theme/genre to read?

GILLIAN ZANE: Fiction, mostly modern settings.

ME: What secret talents do you have?

GILLIAN ZANE: Secret? I'm such a showboat I don't keep any of them secret.

ME: If you had a superpower, what would it be?

GILLIAN ZANE: Telekinesis

ME: Where is one place you want to visit that you haven't been before?

GILLIAN ZANE: Greece

ME: How can readers discover more about you and you work? i.e. Website: Blog: Facebook: Twitter: Lnkedin: Pinterest: Amazon Author Page: Smashwords: Book Links: (* American, UK, etc.) Goodreads.

GILLIAN ZANE:

ME: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?

GILLIAN ZANE: Nope, I'm good.

ME: Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.

GILLIAN ZANE: You are very welcome, thanks for having me!