Summer Splash Book Blog Tour ~ Author Interview ~ D.R. Perry
- Catherine Banks
- Jul 25, 2016
- 11 min read
Summer Splash Book Blog Tour
Make your summer reading SIZZLE with these HOT reads from FRESH new authors!
Author Interview
D.R. Perry
When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?
When I realized people could be writers!
Do you write in a particular genre or do you like to bounce around to different ones? Is this / Are these the genre(s) that you also like to read?
I write speculative Fiction and poetry. I love reading both!
Do you have a favorite genre to write?
Not really, but I tend to enjoy writing with humor more than without it for anything longer than a short story.
Do you have a favorite genre to read?
I don’t play favourites. If it looks like fun or people recommend a book, I give it a try. It’s like I tell toddlers, you gotta try it and see if you like it. ;)
What books have most influenced your life?
Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time, A Wind In The Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Those showed me that smart people who didn’t fit in could be heroes, too. And the main female character wasn’t blonde. When I was growing up, everywhere you looked on TV or in a movie were blonde chicks. Except Princess Leia and Wonder Woman. I love them, too!
What author has most influenced your life?
C.S. Lewis, definitely. There’s so much hope in his books, and I’m not just talking about Narnia. Till We Have Faces made a huge difference to me in my early 20s.
Do you have a favorite book or series from another author?
Oh, too many lately! There’s the Harrys (I’m talking Dresden and Potter, named our dog Harry, so that says something), the Empire series by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts, Deathgate Cycle by Hickman and Weiss. Oh and I have some peers whose work I love. Amy Hopkins’ Talented series has me hooked. So does R.R. Virdi and his Grave Report books. I’m also chewing through C.A. King’s Portal Prophecies. Much engaging! So action! Big plots! Oops, my Doge is showing. Sorry about that.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Reading or watching movies or TV. Open mic nights. I’m a sucker for a good story.
When did you write your first book and how old were you?
It wasn’t really a book. Okay, so maybe I found paste and glued the pages together. It was actually a Star Trek episode. Yeah, I wrote fanfic about a replicator food fight in script form when I didn’t really know how. I was 9 or 10. Didn’t write a novel until I was 40. That’s historical Urban Fantasy, Mobsters versus monsters in 1929. I’m trying to go trad with that one. There’s so much fact checking in historical and I don’t want to botch the cover art.
What is your writing process?
Use restroom. Get beverage. Sit. Airplane mode my computer. Write. Seriously. “Keep It Simple, Stupid” is the way I get things done. And yeah, I get stupid if I let myself complicate things.
Do you have a writing routine?
I have a toddler. No. I write when I can, and when I can, I write like the wind!
How long does it take you to write a book?
First draft, about a week for a 50-60k book. Takes another week and change to self-edit and revise. Another few days with the best beta reader ever. And a couple more for an extra set of editing eyes.
Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your books?
Everywhere. There are bits and pieces of my life over the last 42 years. Yeah, I’m in my Answer Year!
What does your family think of your writing?
All the ones who count are happy I’m doing it.
Do you have any suggestions to help others become a better writer?
Write something. Then write something else. Read. Then keep writing. It’s a practice-based thing. Weird Al didn’t play accordion perfectly when he first picked it up. Keep going!
What is the most surprising thing you have heard from your fans?
I have fans? You mean besides the one on the ceiling that keeps me from baking in here? I guess I’m always surprised when I hear someone admit to reading them.
What's next for you/What are you working on now?
I’m editing book 4 in the Providence Paranormal College series. That one’s a doozie, ten books and maybe a couple-five spinoffs. After that, there’s a sci-fi duet outlined (think Monk meets Stargate) and a Superhero Academy series (think Misfits meets SHIELD Academy). I’ll be busy!
What is your preferred method to have readers get in touch with or follow you (i.e., website, personal blog, Facebook page, here on Goodreads, etc.) and link(s)?
I’m around on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. I have a website with a blog, it gets posted to Author Central and Goodreads, too. Oh, and I have a mailing list, too. Send recipes out with advance notice of titles, summaries, and cover reveals, plus they get those in advance.
Here are links: Website: http://www.drperryauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drpperry/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DRPerry22 Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/author/drperry
Tell us about your journey in becoming self-published/Did you always want to go that route?
I didn’t, mostly because it just didn’t exist back in the day (I’m 42, remember). But I’m an oddball. I like change, trying new stuff. I had an idea, gave it a shot, ran with it.
Is there anything you'd love to share with us about yourself? I’d rather share this pie with you. It’s better than cake. Mmmm, pie. But seriously (or maybe not), I want to talk to you about my Partonus. It’s Bobby Singer.
What would you say is your favorite thing about becoming an author?
All the stories. I told you I’m a sucker for a good one. The more I write, the more ideas I get for more stories. When I do the first draft, it’s my brain telling me the story. That’s amazeballs smothered in awesomesauce right there.
What has been your toughest criticism given to you as an author? best compliment? How did you handle both?
I’ve gotten the whole “you can’t be serious about writing NOW? Not at your time of life.” Oh and also, “aren’t you a little old to write books about college kids?” It’s tough to hear things like that, because those are the things that go through my head on the dark days. When I hear that, my mantra is “remember Alan Rickman.” He did his first movie at age 42. That’s my age. He did it late, so can I. The best compliment recently was when a certain editor said she re-read my poem and it made her cry. I cried a little, too. And that’s the thing right there, the reason stories have me on the hook and the reason I write. It’s to share the story with other people, whether that’s a doorstopper novel or a half-page poem.
Are any of your characters based on real people from your life?
Not completely. Bits and pieces. An eye color here, a mannerism there. The closest I got was an old friend who passed away in his early 20s. A character in one of the books I haven’t published grabbed me by the brain and said “I’m him. I look like him, sound like him, have the same devil-may-care sense of humor.” Oh, but it hurt to write him for a few days. But then, it was like giving life to my friends’ memory after that.
Is there a particular author that helped influence you into become an author? The Blargh Factory. I know that sounds like I’m bargling zardle naus or something, but google them. I mentioned them before. If it hadn’t been for them, I might have been too afraid to self-publish.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in writing?
Finding the time. Writing when I have to is like trying to bake a cake but having to leave for an hour after each step. I still do it, though!
What is the most fun part of writing?
When I edit and have to stop because I’m laughing so hard. Or crying. Or freaking out because it reads like someone else wrote it (in a good way). And that’s when I call out my Bobby Singer Patronus. He shakes his head, tells me I’m being an idjit, and to get back to work, already.
Can you tell us 5 random things about yourself?
I have big orange hair. Cameras freak me out. I can find a song for pretty much anything. Weird Al is my rock and roll hero. Polka will never die.
Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans/readers?
Thank. You. So. Much! The reason is you.
Speed Round:
1. Favorite Food: Deviled eggs
2. Favorite Color: subject to change. Red, no bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue!
3. Favorite Animal: Sloths. Oh and bats!
4. Favorite Book: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
5. Favorite Movie: Better Off Dead
6. Favorite Drink: Coffee
7. Favorite Restaurant: Ichiban. It's a Japanese restaurant in Rhode Island.
BOOK SPOTLIGHT
Title: Bearly Awake
Author: D.R. Perry
Series Name/#: Providence Paranormal College Book 1
ISBN: 978-1530672899
Page count: 176
Genre: Paranormal Comedy
Price: $0.99 ebook, $9.42 paperback
Author Bio: D.R. Perry lives in Rhode Island, where all her books are set. Although she's not a native New Englander, once up north she got so inspired she couldn't leave. A wild Northern Muse attacked. D.R. used Typing; it was Super Effective.
D.R. writes all kinds of things. Mostly, they have strange and unusual elements. Not strange isotopes or Strontium or anything like that, but creatures who are people or people who are creatures. Beware of the Attack Poetry and rampant puns. Keep off the grass, or the song parodies may bite.
She lives with her husband, daughter, and dog in the Ocean State, which she loves to remind people is not an island and not Long Island. D.R. is well aware that her home state has both of those things, but isn't defined by them. Maybe she likes it here so much because it reminds her that she's also more than the sum of her parts.
D.R. hopes you have as much fun reading her books as she did writing them.
Blurb: Bobby Tremain’s life used to seem charmed, but since his dad’s crippling accident, he has an avalanche of problems. He’s the first in his family to have a shot at college, also the first to head north of Louisiana. An early snow calls his Bear to hibernate a week before finals, but he needs to pass or he flunks out of Providence Paranormal College. Lynn Frampton’s loneliness is almost more than she can take. She went to college on the other side of the country to get away from the persistent curse of unpopularity in a small town. Once at college, Lynn’s prickly personality has pushed everyone away yet again. At least, she’s at the top of her class. Bobby needs Lynn’s help to stay awake and pass his exam, and she discovers she needs companionship more than she’d ever imagined. Lynn’s all set to transfer to a school back home, but Bobby thinks she’s his mate. Can he keep awake long enough to pass, and more importantly, convince his love to stay? Let this introductory novella transport you to Providence Paranormal College. Extrahumans of all types abound on this urban campus on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island. This Ivy-League college recently opened its doors to anyone with enough talent. The Admissions Department at PPC enrolls humans with extraordinary grades, the magically and psychically inclined, vampires, werewolves, changelings, and even magic shifters like dragons and Kelpies. Come take a tour! If you like YA and NA Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy with strong romantic subplots, you’ll feel right at home here. How long did it take to write the book? About a month. What inspired you to write the book? A huge snowstorm! Also, I was reading T.S. Joyce’s Greyback Bears series interspersed with a Harry Potter re-read. Did you do any research, and if so, what did that involve? I researched bears that hibernate and College Hill up by Brown University in Providence. I did that second part in person, since I live in Rhode Island. What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book? Fun! I want them to be entertained. Also, to know that you never know where or how you’ll make your real friends.
How long did it take to write the book?
About a month.
What inspired you to write the book?
A huge snowstorm! Also, I was reading T.S. Joyce’s Greyback Bears series interspersed with a Harry Potter re-read.
Did you do any research, and if so, what did that involve?
I researched bears that hibernate and College Hill up by Brown University in Providence. I did that second part in person, since I live in Rhode Island.
What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?
Fun! I want them to be entertained. Also, to know that you never know where or how you’ll make your real friends.
Where can we go to buy your book?
Amazon and Createspace. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DI3INBS
Excerpt from book:
The PPC library still had an old card-catalog, something novel enough to use even though everything was also on the computer sitting right next to it. Even better, it was haunted in a good way. I’d always loved old-fashioned and spooky things, more negative points in the dating department. My max dates per guy in High School capped out at three. I’d never had a steady boyfriend, even though I’d had a more than friendly rivalry with the next best student in the school. That had been hot in more ways than one, but just a brief flash-in-the-pan. My younger sister had no boy trouble, even going out with more than one of the several guys who hadn’t bothered texting me back.
“Um, Lynn?” The sleepy voice behind me shook the past loose from my attention-span.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m on it.” I reached for a drawer full of cards, which opened on its own, then spoke directly to the air above the open drawer. “Books about brown bear shifters, cross-reference hibernation. Vice versa” I watched fascinated as the cards ruffled with the touch of unseen hands. The library wasn’t magic, it just had helper ghosts working in it. I’d asked for their help several times a week for the past three months and it still hadn’t gotten old. “Sleuthing out ways to keep you up.”
“Woah.” Bobby did a sleepy double-take, then winked. What right did anyone have being so cute, even when he was this bewildered?
“Jeez, I didn’t mean it like that.” I tried not to let my hands shake as I copied down some numbers, thanked the ghosts, and closed the drawer. Then I kicked myself for not laughing. I knew how it felt when jokes went over like lead balloons. I was so unused to people deliberately initiating jokes with me, I’d forgotten how to react when they did.
“Well, I’m glad your reputation’s all about getting between pages instead of sheets, or I might think you were trying to take advantage.”
Do you have a Favorite Quote from the book or series?
Henry Baxter, my psychic vampire, says this: “Drab hues brightened until I could start to appreciate the light again. Without it, darkness was stark instead of lush.” He’s right.
What is in store next for you?
Book 4 is called Dragon My Heart Around. It’s about my second favourite character in the whole series, Blaine Harcourt.
Tell us about your cover - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.
It’s odd. This series is getting recovered slowly. I have a graphic artist here who did the work on both versions. The second set will be illustrated, because the photos make people think PPC is steamy romance.
Why should we read this book (or series) and what sets you apart from the rest? / What makes your book/series unique?
Every book has different main characters, but there’s a series-long plot. Imagine if Buffy The Vampire Slayer had different characters solving the central episode problem each time. Well, it would have been called something like Sunnydale Monster Hunter’s Club instead, right? This is a little like that.
Who would you recommend this book to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?
These books have romance. They also have action, adventure, mystery, and normal people problems for paranormal people. But there’s going to be two people falling for each other in each book. I give them their privacy when they get physical.
If you could turn this book/series into a movie, who would be your dream cast? Dream director? They can be dead, alive or fictional!
I’d want the DC TV team on it. Probably everyone working on Supergirl. I’d want a cast of unknowns, though.
How did you come up with the title?
I described what the books were about. Providence Paranormal College! That was so easy, I was worried it’d seem lame.
How did you pick characters’ names?
I check popular names for the area and time the characters were born. I read down the list until I find the right one.
Who is your favorite character? Why?
Tony Gitano, full blooded Italian cat shifter with hinky powers and timing. I can’t tell you why. Spoilers, sweetie.
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
It’s not too hard to write these. The characters are easy to talk to. It’s much harder to publish and promote. Hey, thanks for the help on that, by the way!
Do you have a favorite line or two you’d like to share with everyone?
“Occam has a Razor and he knows how to use it” is one of my favourites from book 4. Sort of immersed in that one right now.
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D.R. Perry
Check out Bearly Awake, I read and loved this book! I'll definitely be checking out the rest of her series soon! Read my review: http://catbanks.co/29YnJuP
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