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Thursday, March 8, 2012

TLoLM Spring Break Blog Tour - Author Interview & goodies w/ Becky Banks!


Hey guys! Welcome back to The Legend of Lady MacLaoch Spring Break 2012 Blog Tour.
I have some juicy info for you.. Check out my super-spicy interview the Awesome Becky Banks.



Thank you Amy for having me, and for donating a puck of your very coveted flamingo pink surfboard wax to the tour giveaway!

1. What is it that you're exploring in The Legend of Lady MacLaoch?

BBThis is such a great question. I feel like every book at the 10,000-foot view level has an underlying question that it is exploring. The Legend of Lady MacLaoch is the discovery of love, of course it has action and adventure, but in its boiled-down stripped-of-everything state, it is that.  The way I write is purely by the seat of my pants so many of these insights have come in the last year, like the creative, you don’t know where it comes from, only when it moves you, you must respond. This story however once it was complete made me realize several things. Love is timeless, it is ancient and it is powerful – all of which is shown in the curse then in  subtleties between the two main characters as they discover love. 


2. How long did it take you to write The Legend of Lady MacLaoch? During that time did you experience any blocks/times that you weren't able to write?

BB. It took me approximately three weeks to write The Legend of Lady MacLaoch, then a year to edit it into the final version that you've read. The writing of it was fast and furious, when I couldn't write, it was usually from mental exhaustion, because at the time I was working a full time job and writing the book before work, at my lunch then before I went to bed. On the weekends, I wrote all day. Needless to say after publication I had a little meltdown – sort of like a marathon runner who collapses at the finish line! LOL!

I feel I should add though, that before Legend of Lady MacLaoch I wrote two separate manuscripts and have yet to finish them. I gave up because I put too many constraints on myself – I expected that I should be able to write a book in its final version the first time through. The critic was so loud in my mind with those two that I got permanent writers block. Then with The Legend of Lady MacLaoch, I was so full of piss n’ vinegar that I wrote straight to the end without pausing to think about what I was doing. Only after I completed it, did I then allow the critic within to come out. 


3. Please list seven random likes; then do the same for dislikes, go way random.


BB. Okay, this is gonna be fun!!

Likes: Sunshine, Pugs, Ocean, Scotland, Fast cars, Good food, Funny people

Dislikes: Assholes, Micro-managersPeople telling me what to do (are we seeing a theme here?) Gum/gum chewing, Pinching my fingers, Eating under ripe bananas, The ants that are cruising across my counter right now, like they own the place.


4. What question are you never asked in interviews but wish you were?

BB. What bra size are you? 32 G!?


5. If you could have written one book in history, what book would that be?


BB. The Bible. JUST KIDDING.  You know, I’m not sure that I wish I could have written any other book than the ones I do. Simply because I adore reading other people’s work, but if I had to choose one book it’d have to be Habibi. Habibi is an intricately drawn graphic novel and if I had an ounce of that graphic skill I’d take over the world, with my pen.  


6. Is there anything that you’re working on that we need to be looking out for?

BB. Yes!! And no it’s not the sequel to The Legend of Lady MacLaoch, sorry ladies! My newest work is titled Forged. Its debut is later this year but as it gets ready to head out to the editors this month I’ll be doing a reveal this Sunday at the blog.

The story is about one man’s violent past and the loss of his first and only love. It’s a gritty, dark, fast and redeeming “love story” that explores the question of first loves: What if your life moved in a way that brought you back together with the person you first gave your heart to?
For those that liked the vividness of The Legend of Lady MacLaoch, you can expect the same from Forged. Vivid, fast, gritty and emotionally involving. 


7. Do you have a favorite story to tell about being interviewed about your book?


BB. I do, it was for Good E Reader – in the practice run I was like a smooth operator then when it came to go time, I sat there with my mouth hanging open. Here, check it out, me speechless – my mother would say: finally!

8. Tell us about the biggest challenges you face in your writing process.

BB. The most difficult thing about my writing process is trying to figure out what in the world I’m doing halfway through. Because I’m a pantser, I write by the seat of my pants to the climax then I have to draw out an outline for the finish. Creating that outline is the most difficult because I have to memorize every detail from page one to that point and make sure that all loose ends/conversations/etc. are all in line.  But as I say, waaaaay easier than my statistics course in college!
  
9. Which authors have been most influential to your own writing?


BB. Well, I have to say two books influenced me the most. The Bernstein Bears and Madeline L. Lingle’s a Wrinkle in Time. I wasn’t a huge fan of reading as a kid so these stuck with me because I can remember, still, reading them for the first time. Though I have to say that it wasn’t necessarily books or authors that influenced me the most, it was cinema. One of my most beloved past times was watching movies with my father. We seldom had extended time with him so when he would bring home movies we (my brother and I) would just go nuts. The action adventures with strong female leads are the ones that resonate deepest with me. One in particular that is a wonderfully fierce and funny movie called The Long Kiss Goodnight. I still love this movie; it’s right up there with Top Gun. Ha-ha!




10. What inspired you to write this particular book? Is there a story about the writing of this novel that begs to be told?

BB. The idea more or less began during the infamous trip to Scotland in 2009. It was an amazing trip and while I had started the manuscript prior to going, the story evolved while there and solidified on my return. The overarching lessons to be taken away from the novel are unique to each reader; much like other forms of art I've discovered that each person has a different take on the novel. While I’d love to say that I want women to see the strength in Cole and impart some of that sass into their lives, I know that the book will resonate differently with every reader. What each reader (and a handful of them are men) take away will be unique, and as long as there is enjoyment and happiness with it? I’m content.


11. Can you tell us what inspired you to become a writer?

BB. It wasn’t until I was solidly in my career in environmental sciences (not as a writer mind you) that I realized I wanted to write a novel. It came about more as a personal challenge - after having read a book I thought I could do better than (who will remain unnamed!) - And I began writing my first manuscript. I’d go on to start and start two others before I began and finished The Legend of Lady MacLaoch.



12. Who is your favorite character in this book, and why?

BB. Well, it’d be Rowan. The main character is one of my favorites for obvious reasons – the major one being that he’s HOT. :0) However, if we dig deeper into his persona, he’s an honorable, quiet and mischievous character. All my characters come to me through representations of people I know then I mold them into what I consider ideal. I come from a family of sweet talking men - seriously my grandfather once talked his way out of a mandatory airline fee - so taking those qualities mixed with deep honor then blending him with the Scottish bartender that I met on my trip to Scotland, whallah! Rowan was born. And I have to say with his dark past, rich emotion and power he holds, it made him the funnest to write.

13. If you weren't writing, what would you want to be doing for a living? What are some of your other passions in life?

BB. This is always an interesting question for me because I came late to the realization that I was a writer, as in, I realized I wanted to be a writer about five years ago. But as I've learned over these past few years you don’t just wake up and be a writer, you've probably been writing for years not realizing that writing is your craft. I’m one of those people; I've been doing personal creative writing since I was a child. Diary entries, bad poetry, emotional diatribes things like that. It wasn't until the college fiction writing course I mentioned above that I realized I had any knack for it.

Because I’ve just arrived onto the writing scene there is little else I want to do besides write right now. Though I do fill my days when I’m not writing, with working part time at my old career in the environmental field, gardening, bossing my dogs and husband around, and generally being a nuisance to people I know. It’s quite fulfilling! :0)
      


The Goods:

1. The Legend of Lady MacLaoch 2012 Blog Tour Flamingo Bag
1. Pink Fuzzy Flamingo Drink Koozie
1. Puck of Pink Surfboard (MR. ZOGS) SEX WAX
                          1. Fabuloso Autographed Pb of The Legend of Lady MacLaoch


*Spring Break Giveaway is Available to US participants Only
*International participants will receive an ebook & email high-five


a Rafflecopter giveaway


7 comments:

  1. love this interview

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  2. Great interview! And since Becky Banks has such an admiration for graphic novels - how about a GN version of The Legend of Lady MacLaoch??? :)

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    Replies
    1. Ha-ha!! What a novel that would be huh?! I know y'all would just skip to the end though. LOL! ;0)

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  3. Three Weeks! That is a lot of writing in three weeks! I know you said it took a year to edit etc, but three weeks! God I'm jealous! I don't like people to tell me what to do either. Makes it hard to have a job doesn't it?

    Heather

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    Replies
    1. He-he, yes! Very hard! One of the lovely side affects of being an author is that the only person telling me what to do is my subconscious. But she can be kinda bossy too! :0D

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  4. Thanks for the intro to a new to me author and book.

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