MISTY PROVENCHER

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

WITH

 MISTY PROVENCHER

PLEASE WELCOME THE BRILLIANT AUTHOR MISTY PROVENCHER.

HI MISTY,TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF?

Oh, well...hmmm. I'm a girl with an addiction to words. Enough about me. Tell me about you! LOL

How would you describe your books?

I've been told my stories are outside the box and have an unexpected twist, so I've embraced that! I'm the chick you won't see coming! Hee hee hee

What genre is your work mainly? Do you tend to stay in the same vein or are you hoping ( if not already) to explore new ventures?

I'm fascinated with people and how they work, so I explore all kinds of stories for all kinds of genres and age groups. My catalog has a little bit of everything- paranormal fantasy, contemporary romance, Sci-fi, and very soon, erotic romance. I write for young adult, new adult and adult.

Share with us a quote from one of your favourite characters?

There’s a whole library full of empty tables up front, but this boy, with hair that would probably feel like soft twine between my fingertips, has to sit here. ~ Nalena, describing Garett, from Cornerstone.

Is it hard to come up with new idea's or plot's?

Gratefully, no. If anything, it is the opposite. I keep Moleskins stuffed with ideas I have. Currently, I have a writing schedule that will take me into 2017. 

OUT 28TH FEB

How long does it take you to complete a finished book?

Depends. I've written a book in three weeks, but most I would say take three months.

Who is the easiest character to write for and why? Hardest and why?

The easiest to write are the ones I know in my head. The hardest are those that aren't clear in my head. I don't build my characters, but I do discover them and, just like real people, some are much more open to being fully discovered than others.

Are your characters based on real people? People you may know on TV or Movie stars?

Some are. Some just show up as whole people that I get to know.

Without giving anything away ,what is or are your favourite scenes in your book?

It's always the one where the characters connect on a deeper level. It could be the Addo advising Nalena of her choices or Maeve getting to know her dragon or Hale letting Oscar know what she wants from him in their arranged marriage. It's those connections that make me feel like confetti inside.

What's up next for you?

The most immediate is my erotic serial trilogy, THE RELEASE CLUB, about a hidden swinger's club located in the heart of the city. The first episode was released December 7, with the other two episodes releasing every two weeks after. Also, I've got my time-travelling fantasy, THE DIMENSION THIEVES, which is also a serial series of 12 episodes. That one was inspired by the annually changing theme at my favorite conference, UtopYA Con in Nashville, TN.

Do you have any hobbies?

I write like a maniac, I read, I like crafting, I used to scrapbook, I sometimes cook- much to my family's dismay. I'm trying to make running my hobby again, since I spend so much of my day sitting in front of the keyboard.

Is there anyone besides you in your family who writes?

My mother and my daughter are both writers. It's contagious here.

When did you start.What was your first published piece?

I've always written, but my first formal publication was in hardcover. I contributed vignettes that were published in a collection, for my internship in college. I interviewed senior citizens and wrote their stories for them- an interesting experience.

Do you have any favourite books or authors?

Oh Lord, yes. Steinbeck inspired me early on. My mother didn't read a whole lot of age-appropriate books to me. She read Shakespeare and Steinbeck and classics, so I have an appreciation for the golden oldies as well as modern stories. 

Of all the books and stories you've written which is your favourite?

You trying to make me choose which of my children I love most, Louise? LOL It's too difficult. I've loved every book and every expression that meant something to me at that point in my life. I can't choose because they all have their unique place in my life.

Do you have a favourite character?

It might be the Addo. I love all my characters, but the Addo was a blast to write with his blubbery penchant for sweatpants, rolled to the knee with striped knee socks and sandals. I giggle just thinking of him.

What is your favourite genre to write?

I adore variety, so I'm not sure I have a favourite. Usually, the one I'm writing I'm sure is my favourite, but then I hope into another project in a totally different lane, and that one is my favourite. Sorry to be so wishy-washy, but it's the truth!

What are your favourite movies?

Parenthood, Waiting, Steel Magnolias, Slapshot, The Godfather, The Wedding Singer. Oh, there's too many!

How long have you been writing?

Forever. And ever.

Who or what has been your biggest literary influence?

Steinbeck. The Wayward Bus is achingly brilliant in details and the depiction of the human spirit.

How Difficult is it for you to come up with one of your brilliant plots?

Brilliant? How kind of you to say! I love to plot and I've been fine-tuning my process so I can produce more work more efficiently. Sometimes it works. It's not easy, I wouldn't say that, but it is fascinating and that makes it enjoyable.

Have you ever trashed a novel or story before or after finishing it, feeling it wasn't turning out as you planned?

Yep. Several times. I wrote four books before Cornerstone and they still haven't seen the light of day. KEYSTONE was probably the most ripped up and re-written of all of them. I tried about a zillion different perspectives and different places to start the story and trashed SO MUCH WORK before I finally got it where I wanted it and hammered it down.

Any funny experiences or quirks you'd like to share with your readers?

I am a smell-aholic. Men's cologne is my kryptonite. I like to wear it myself, just so I can smell it. Oh, and I write with a blanket on my nose. I know, weird.

Which one of your books would you like to see made into a movie? 

The Cornerstone Series and The Fly House were both written from a movie screen in my head. I can see the Free Ball blasting up out of the barn, with the roof splintering into the air and I can see Diem's great beauty, Forge, banking up from the lower left of the screen and her great belly filling it, before she shoots off to join the other dragons.

What is your favourite band or artist?

Hmmm. All of them. I tend to love Alternative, but there are so. many. great bands and voices, I can't choose.

What was it like to publish your first book?

Confusing, astonishing, frightening, satisfying, amazing.

What advice would you give to others who want to make writing their career?

Read and write without ceasing. LOVE the writing.

Do you ever get ideas at random moments, and if so how do you hang on to them?

Oh, there are scrawled napkins in the bottom of my purse, wads of what were brilliant ideas that went through the laundry or one of my dogs. The best ideas hang on like fish hooks. It doesn't matter how they get lost or ruined- my brain always finds them again.

How do you overcome writers block and do you have a special place you like to write?

This is a tricky question. I often feel that "writer's block" is for hobbyists. This is my job, my career. I can't always count on a muse. That being said, sometimes a scene isn't ready to be written. In those cases, I write around the scene, trying to discover it, or I will take a short break, but I don't leave it to ruminate for days or weeks. Often, I call my mother and talk about it until a solution comes to the surface.

I write everywhere I find myself. At home in my rocking chair, at my kitchen table or desk, in coffee shops. Have laptop, will travel.

Can you write on demand and under pressure, or do you need time and space before the creativity starts to flow?

I enjoy deadlines. I'm a girl who embraces challenge, so a little pressure is a good thing. And a good challenge really gets my fingers dancing. 

Who or what was the inspiration behind your books?

God, all the way. He's given me a fascination with understanding other people and the lives they live. HE inspires all of it.

Books by Misty Provencher

The CORNERSTONE Series (Young Adult)

HALE MAREE (Adult, Contemporary Romance)

FULL OF GRACE (Adult, companion book to Hale Maree)

MERCY, A GARGOYLE STORY (New Adult, Dark Urban Fantasy)

Available in paperback and ebook at:

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