Meet Aimee Laine, Multi-Tasker Extraordinaire, & Win A Signed Bookmark!

Aimee Laine

Ms. Laine was sweet enough to let me participate in her Surrender Blog Tour. Click on the widget on the right to find out where else she's hanging this month to celebrate her new release!

Also be sure to read my review of Surrender HERE. On to the interview ....

Q. Wife, mother, author, blogger, photographer, employee, business owner – how many hours do you have in a day? Seriously, though, you must be extremely organized to do everything you do. Between real life & work, where do you find time for writing?

I write in the mornings, at lunch and in the evenings. Or not. Some days I write nothing. Other days, I can pour out 2000-3000 words in an hour. Just depends on the muse. :) But I'm a major multi-tasker, too, so it's not like I do any one thing a time. I have learned to write while watching TV, or while conversing with my children—when they don't REALLY need me, they just think they need me. :)  

Q. Can you share with us a summed up version of your successful journey to become a published author?

Super summation:

Write 11 novels. Send out 8 of them to agents and get fully rejected. Send out 1 of them to a few indie publishers and get acceptances by two. Pick one. :) History is made!

Seriously, this is what happened. The reality is that these days, there are lots of options for authors and not all of them are right for all people. So for me, going the Indie-Pub route was the perfect way for me to go.

Q. Would you mind offering a smidge of advice for other new authors struggling with their own aspirations of publication?

The #1 thing I tell people is to surround yourself with really good WRITERS and really good storytellers. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, nor synonymous. You have to find a way to combine both to really get somewhere and if you go Indie or decide to self-pub, you need to become a fantastic marketer. You are your brand. Even with the Big 6 ... YOU are your brand. Always remember that.

 

Q. Surrender is the 2^nd of the Mimics of Rune books – a rockin’ series IMO. Where did the inspiration for the changling stories come from?

Ha! Where? From my standard place : driving in the car and not paying attention when an idea hits me and it's all I can think about. For Little White Lies, it was like that. For Surrender, I already had Lily's character developed a little a knew just enough about her background that I could really pull on the heartstrings. She's such a sensitive, tortured soul and hurting her more was how I really brought out her strength. Ultimately, Lily is a mom without a child. She'll do anything for the right people but if the wrong people mess with her, she's got the strength of steel horses. :)

 

Q. Would you mind sharing your favorite 6 sentences from Surrender to tease the readers?

These 6 are my favorite, but I can't give you the context around them or it will spoil the story. Just know that THIS is the spot I love the most.

The chirp of birds through an open window woke her.

        Lily rolled over and stared at the man next to her.

His eyes remained open, a gorgeous shade of blue-green.

"Lily?" His tentative question came out on a whisper.

"Hi, Cael."

         His smile grew as large as her own.

Q. The MC of Surrender, Lily Crane, has a hurtful, almost disturbing past she must face before she can move on with her life. Have you ever had a similar experience you drew from? Or is Lily’s story all your muse’s doing?

Lily's story is 100% my muse. I have never experienced what I put her through as a character — what she went through as a character. But I asked myself one question to push myself to feel: What would I do if my child were hurt like she'd been? What would I hope she'd become like? How would I hope she'd cope? and from there, Lily became Lily.

Q. Lily’s love interest, Cael, has waited silently for her for years. Did your own struggling long-distance relationship with the man you finally married, and are still madly in love with I’m sure you’re proud to say, influence these characters in any way?

You'd think, wouldn't you? :)  But, no, again, this is the muse talking. I'm sure my 3 years apart from my hubby helped in some deep-rooted, deep-seated way, but imagining him not around will do that, too. If I can tap into an ounce of fear and worry and distress and hope and love, I can write that into a pound. Or ten pounds and hopefully let you (the reader) feel it too. :)

Q. And finally, what’s next for the Mimics of Rune? I have some guesses, but give us something. Anything. (Like I NEED to be more excited for book #3.) Can’t help myself.  ;)

Redeemed is in progress, with a hopeful 2014 publication. I just need to get it written first and despite what people seem to hope, this IS James AND Maggie's story. Yes, some don't think Maggie is the right man for James, but that's because they don't know Maggie like I do. And who's to say James is as perfect as I've made him out to be? All these little secrets I know and will get to share in there! I'd say that book is about 3% done, so a long way to go, but I hope to have it done by the end of the summer. :) 

 

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