TBR welcomes Pippa Jay

TBR: Welcome to TBR, Pippa. Will you share a little bit about yourself?
Pippa: Thanks for having me! I’m mum to three fiery redheads, a wannabe-Jedi and a confirmed caffeine addict with a preference for writing about tortured souls. I’ve been living in the historical town of Colchester in the UK for more than twenty years now, and have no inclination to move.

TBR: Tell us about Keir and where it's available.
Pippa: Keir is a science-fictionromance, releasing with Lyrical Press Inc. on the 7th of May.

TBR: Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Pippa:

Outcast. Cursed. Dying. Is Keir beyond redemption?

For Keirlan de Corizi--the legendary 'Blue Demon' of Adalucien--death seems the only escape from a world where his discolored skin marks him as an oddity and condemns him to life as a pariah. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise: Tarquin Secker, a young woman who can travel the stars with a wave of her hand. 

But Quin has secrets of her own. She's spent eternity searching through space and time with a strange band of companions at her back. Defying her friends' counsel, Quin risks her apparent immortality to save Keir. She offers him sanctuary and a new life on her home world, Lyagnius. 

When Keir mistakenly unleashes his dormant alien powers and earns instant exile from Quin's home world, will she risk everything to stand by him again? 

TBR: How do you develop your characters?
Pippa: Usually I have an image in my head, and a situation that they’re in. How they react determines their main characteristics for me. Names come next if I haven’t already got one, and then their personality quirks and habits.

TBR: Did any music inspire your book? Do you have a playlist?
Pippa: While writing Keir I rediscovered a band called The Rasmus, and I listened to their three latest albums while the words spilled out. Much of the overall theme of Keir is down to their music. I tend to have a ‘standard’ playlist on all the time now when I write, but it’s forever expanding.

TBR: While creating your books, what was one of the most surprising things you learned?
Pippa: That things would just suddenly appear in my story that I hadn’t even thought of. For example, when Keir is on the antagonist’s ship I had this automated guard pop out of nowhere as I was writing. I think I was more surprised than Keir!

TBR: Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Pippa: You need to keep your thoughts very much to yourself.

TBR: What's next for you?
Pippa: I’m working on a sequel to Keir, an sfr novella called Tethered, a scifi short called Samaritan and a scifi novella titled Gethyon which are all at various stages in the writing/editing process. But nothing with a definite date yet. I’m also in the process of organizing a Midsummer Blog Hop for the SFR Brigade.

TBR: Any other published works?
Pippa: I have a free scifi short up on Smashwords - The Bones of the Sea - that I self-published, and tied into the same universe as Keir although the characters are completely separate.

TBR: What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Most rewarding?
Pippa: For me, the most challenging part is finding the time to do it. I have three children, aged nine and under, and we have a family policy that I don’t write at weekends (although sometimes I just have to. The main stipulation is that I’m not permanently glued to the computer during the day). So generally I have to get up in the wee small hours of the morning to free write. The most rewarding? When someone tells me they’ve enjoyed it.

TBR: Who are some of your favorite authors and books? What are you reading now?
Pippa: Hmmm, there’s quite a list. In terms of scifi, at the moment I’m reading Neal Asher and Jaine Fenn. I adore Fenn’s Hidden Empire series, and I’m waiting impatiently for the next book. For fantasy, I’m a big Terry Pratchett fan, but I’m also devoted to Lauri J Owen’s Ember series, and The Lightbringer Trilogy by Brent Weeks.

TBR: Where can readers find you on the web?
Pippa:  My main blog site is: http://pippajay.blogspot.com/ or you can find me as Pippa Jay on Facebook. I also have a book page on there: Keir - Beyond Redemption. And of course Twitter as @pippajaygreen

TBR: Readers, Pippa is giving away ae ebook of Keir to one lucky commenter. She'll pick a winner next week and announce the winner here.

Thanks for visiting TBR, Pippa! All the best to you.