Blog by VONNIE DAVIS -- International, Award-Winning Romance Author: Adventurous...Humorous...Amorous.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

WANITA MAY -- YA Author

My guest today is author, Wanita May. We're both represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency.

       What is your life like away from the computer? Tell us something about your household. Jazzie, my cat, wants to know if you have any adorable cats like him.

Hidy-ho neighbor! Thanks for having me on board for the visit!   There are no kitty’s at our house, instead we’ve managed to entangle our lives around a Weimeraner (ghost gray) dog – Brit.  My hubby is from England, so Brit’s our “Great Brit”   And what do I do away from the computer – play with my kids as much as I can.  Hubby and I run an online business so A LOT of time is spent with my fingers hovering over the keyboard.

      What authors and genres do you like to read?

Enjoy reading YA, Adult, Fantasy, Historical, Sci-Fi.  Anything that grabs and holds me – which is pretty much anything.

  What is your writing schedule like? 

I do my best writing – editing in the evening… kids are in bed and I get to put my full focus on what I’m doing.

    Do you ever dream of writing in a different genre? 

Hard question to answer – I currently write YA but have written older genres as well.  It tends to be the story’s choice, not mine J

       How do you research your storylines or locations? 

Places I have been, or someone I know has been (then they get grilled with questions and requests for photos), online,  and mental imagery (lucky part of any story your write, it doesn’t have to be legit J )

       What part of the writing process brings you the most pleasure? The most angst? 

Foreshadowing – by far my favourite part. I love how little bits can weave a story together and create such a labyrinth of twist and turns of the plot.  Angst? Right now, it’s waiting for reviews – waiting to see what the “big wigs” think of my writing.  

     What are you currently working on? 

Finishing edits to the second book in the Chronicles of Kerrigan, editing another MS that is currently with my agent, and really trying to finish another WIP (except edits from other MSs keep getting in the way J )

    Has your road to publication been a walk in the park or a steep mountain climb? Give us some details? 

It’s been a neat roller coaster ride.  I didn’t start out writing with any intention of publishing.  My father had just passed away and one of our last conversations had been him encouraging me to follow my dreams, before I felt it was too late.  It stuck with me and the Christmas after his passing, I sat down and wrote a story.  Finished it in February and decided to try and learn a bit more.  I joined an online critique group (www.critiquegroup.com actually) and  figured I’d try and see if I could find an agent who might be interested in my writing (I continued to write and finished a second book).   To make a long story short, Dawn – my agent from BlueRidge Agency – liked both my MSs and offered to represent.  I had two agents interested, but I decided to sign with Dawn and haven’t looked back since.  We edited Rae of Hope and it landed a four book contract with Mitchell Morris Publishing.  So to me, it’s been a fantastic ride thus far with everything seeming to happen so quickly. 

      Tell us about your current release…or soon to be release. 

RAE OF HOPE – the first book in the Chronicles of Kerrigan – is available in print Nov 15th. It is currently out in ebook via all the usual links (amazon, B&N, smashwords, apple, etc…)  It’s YA Fantasy with a “whole-lotta” twists and turns. 


Here’s “back flap” summary:

Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan is used to being invisible. Living in New York with her Aunt and Uncle after having been orphaned at a young age by a terrible fire, her life has been quiet, filled with excellent grades and not much else. Then came the letter from Guilder Boarding School, a mysterious place Rae had never heard of which will change her life. She crosses the ocean to enter a world she's never known existed, one where she's center stage and has a very important role to play.

Will the sins of a father choose her path? Or will she have the courage to change her fate?  The decision will be made, by fate or teen, in the Rae of Hope.

 The question is, as hero or villain? It seems most of Guilder is voting the later, and it's up to Rae to prove everyone wrong and bring hope to her world. But will she succeed, or will the shadows draw her in and swallow her whole?


Thanks for having me over for a visit – Ill bring the tea and chocolates next time!

Here are some links of where you can find me:




Twitter: @wanitajump

Face Book:  Author Page – Wanita May

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great interview!
Much appreciated!
Wanita

Aubrie said...

Great interview! Your cat sounds so cute, asking about other people's cats. Maybe someday he'll find a friend.

Rae of Hope has such an awesome cover!

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Aubrie, our cat has his own Twitter account...LOL...and has more folowers than Calvin. Jazzie is a hoot. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment.