Natalie Star interview & GIVEAWAY by Devyn Dawson
Congratulations on your new book release The Keeper. For everyone that doesn’t know the talented Natalie, her first book The Keeper came out last month. As a treat, Natalie is giving away 1 e-copy of her book The Keeper..... follow the directions on the Rafflecopter below!
Thank you! And thank you for having me!
I want to start the interview with the boring questions and then we’ll get to the fun ones.
Oh, man. They should all be fun! J Haha, that’s okay. I don’t mind, really. Boring can be good sometimes.
The Keeper has a tie to Native Americans, what made you chose the Indian culture?
The prologue of my novel stemmed from a dream. In that dream a Native American man rode by me on a horse. I was no older than five or six in the dream. His eyes did something weird, and it looked like there was something in them moving. Before I could question it, or run for the hills, a misty cloud shot out in my direction. I woke up before it got to me. The dream haunted me. It might not sound like it, but it was scary. Not able to shake the dream for four days I decided to write it down. Once I figured it would be the start of my story, I did research on Native Americans in the state of Virginia and their powwow celebrations.
As a result of my research, I plan to attend a local powwow sometime in the next year with my family. It brought back memories of growing up on Long Island in New York. An Aunt and Uncle of mine took me to an Indian reservation out east and I loved it! I still have the Indian jewelry I got that day.
The story goes through a couple of years; does that mean it is a standalone book or a series?
Yes, The Keeper does span through several years, and yes, it is a standalone book. BUT, I’m not done with those characters or that world – yet. My fictional friends were sure to let me know it, too. They nagged at me until I outlined the next story. So, now I’m in the process of writing the next book. This one will be from another characters point of view and at a different point in time. (And I have plans for a third and final book for Billie and her friends). I can’t give out more information than that, it would be too spoiler-ish.
This being your first book, what was the biggest challenge for you? How long did you shop your book?
Editing my book was my biggest challenge. Being new to the writing world I had a lot of newbie mistakes; tense and head hopping, and word repetition. I learned a lot during this process. I believe it will only make me a better writer. At least, I hope so.
As for shopping my book, I researched online publishers and came across Decadent Publishing. Something about them just jumped out at me. They are real, they are awesome, and they look out for their people and support them in every way they can. Decadent was the first and only publisher I submitted my novel to. I emailed my completed manuscript for consideration and twelve days later I heard back with an acceptance offer and a contract! It all happened super fast for me.
Rumor on the streets, okay, maybe not the streets….but the rumors flying around are teen girls will absolutely fall in love. Can you tell us why?
The main character, Billie is a sixteen year old girl, and the story is from her viewpoint. Readers get to go through the trials and tribulations of being a teen with her. For teenage girl’s reading along, it will be easy to relate with Billie. She has “normal” teen issues; boys, school, best friends, her pain in the butt brother, and her vanity. In addition to all the good versus evil stuff and searching out her destiny, it’s just a fun story and different read from the other paranormals out there.
Is the story parent friendly or do you walk the line with parents? (cussing, sex, situations that can make you squirm)
I’m sure I walk the line with some parents. I do have a little bit of everything mixed in; language, safe sex, violence, and death. It sounds worse than it really is though. My beta-readers and reviewers have not had a problem with it; they’ve said everything was done tastefully. The ones with teenage daughters even gave it a go for them to read.
Now we go to the fun stuff…. Are you ready? Here we go…
Yeah, I’m ready. Bring it! J
1. What is your biggest guilty pleasure food-wise? Chocolate’s a food group, right? Cuz’ that would be my answer. Chocolate.
2. You get stranded on an elevator with Johnny Depp for three hours (lucky girl), what would he say about you to the press? Will he have your number? Wow, I like the situation you’ve put me in, makes a girl smile! Well, let’s see, he would learn that once I get over being shy that I’m fun. I like to talk, tell stories of my past, and about my family. He would most certainly have my number, so we could hang out again! *wink, wink*
3. I’m at a dinner party at your house, you find me snooping in your closet…. How much will you pay me to keep me quiet about what I found? What was it? (keep it clean) Wow, In my closet, hmmm, not much there really. I would just laugh, and then apologize for being so boring. How about if I pay you to say you found something good?
4. Your most embarrassing moment as a writer? (dumb thing said to editor… called a blogger the wrong name.. you know, we want to know the dirt) In addition to young adult I write adult contemporary stories under a different pen name. On Facebook I addressed the wrong crowd in a status update. Ooops.
5. What advice would you give your fifteen year old self? I would like to tell my skinny fifteen year old self to stay healthy, fit and skinny! And not to stress out so much, things will be okay.
6. Where can we find your book? I would love for everyone who purchases it, to do so through my publisher, Decadent Publishing: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=438&osCsid=hi4r1f8rq07h3nnt50v4orruk1
But I know some people have their favorite eBook stores they like to use, and my publisher gets that too. So, it’s listed in a few different places:
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/120101
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/the-keeper-1
Coffeetime Romance: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookStore/index.php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info&products_id=6601
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-keeper-natalie-star/1108160443?ean=2940032976547&itm=1&usri=natalie+star+the+keeper
Where to find me:
| http://www.facebook.com/iamjustnatalie |
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She's stranded in the elevator with Johnny Depp (:
ReplyDeleteI'd pick Hayley Westenra, the famous New Zealand soprano, to be stranded in the elevator with! I've got so many singing techniques I wanna ask her about!!
GFC name: Sherlyn
She is stranded on the elevator with Johnny Depp. I would love to be stranded in an elevator with Robert Pattison from Twilight. I think he is hot. Tore923@aol.com
ReplyDeleteLove to read your book!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteShe is stranded with Johnny Depp. I don't want to be stranded with a celebrity. I would like to be stranded with my hubby. We could have some badly needed alone time to talk. GFC - Bookworm Lisa
ReplyDelete