TBR welcomes Joya Fields

TBR: Welcome to TBR, Joya. Will you share a little bit about yourself? Joya: Thanks very much for inviting me to the TBR blog today. I’m excited to be here. I write romantic suspense, contemporary romance and paranormal (ghost) romance. I drink a heck of a lot of coffee, which seems to help me write fast. It also makes me talk fast, I think. LOL. I’ve been writing for about seven years, and got my start in non-fiction, writing articles for a parenting magazine.

TBR: Tell us about ALTERED FREQUENCY and where it's available. Joya: My latest release is the second book in my ghost story trilogy, Altered Frequency (Hauntings at Inner Harbor, Book 2) and it’s available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Frequency-Hauntings-Harbor-ebook/dp/B00CSXJ2GU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370094609&sr=8-1&keywords=altered+frequency%2C+joya

and Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/altered-frequency-joya-fields/1115318179?ean=2940016586243

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

   After losing her father and brother in the line of duty, Missy Prescott vows never to get involved with anyone who has a dangerous job. Blessed with a golden voice, she takes a job as a disc jockey with her own late-night lovelorn dedication show on a popular radio station in Baltimore.

   Blake Decker has never had a family. He has come to count on the only family he knows—his brothers on the police force. He’s a one-night-stand kind of guy when it comes to relationships.

   Betty McAllister, the caring woman who used to live in Missy’s apartment, is now a ghost. She refuses to cross over until Blake—whom she viewed as her own son—is happily in love. She thinks Missy is the perfect girl for him.

   Missy and Blake need to keep each other at a distance as they work together to help Betty find a way to cross over. But when danger lurks, will Missy and Blake lose everything?

TBR: Are you a plotter or pantser? Joya: I’m a pantser. Big time. Verrrry hard for me to plot, but I’m lucky to have five very wonderful critique partners who help me figure some things out before I sit down to write. Altered Frequency (Hauntings at Inner Harbor, Book 2) is the second book in a trilogy about a haunted Baltimore apartment building, so at least I knew a lot about the setting before I sat down to write this story.

TBR: How do you develop your characters? Joya: Well, this is where things get weird. I don’t really develop my characters ahead of time. When I write, it’s like watching a movie in my head, and I just write it all down. Characters come to me already developed and as the story progresses, I learn more and more about them. By page fifty, I usually understand them very well (and often have to go back to the beginning and change things based on what I’ve learned).

TBR: Did any music inspire your book? Do you have a playlist? Joya: Oh yes! I love playlists for books and I definitely had one for Altered Frequency. It helped “set” me into Blake and Missy’s world. About ten songs on the list, but there was one song I played more than any other. In fact, played it again and again. Broken Strings by James Morrison featuring Nelly Furtado. Awesome and emotional song. It’s Blake’s song, and every time I sat down at my computer, I listened to this song a few times before writing. Here’s the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=26PAgklYYvo

TBR: Which of your characters would you most/least like to invite to dinner, and why? Joya: Oh this is easy. I love Blake and Missy, and their journey toward love is a fun one. But Betty McAllister, the ghost, is the one I’d like to invite to dinner. While writing Betty, I pictured Betty White, which means this ghost has an awesome sense of humor and a very spirited personality. Yes…double entendre intended. Haha.

TBR: Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others. Joya: Like many buildings that are over one hundred years old, the haunted apartment building in Altered Frequency features ghosts. But the ghost in this fictional world is a matchmaking ghost who won’t cross over to the other side until the two people she thinks should be together realize they are in love.

TBR: What's next for you? Joya: Thanks for asking! I’m working on a farm trilogy now that’ll feature some tortured, hot heroes, a lot a fresh farm air, and of course romance.

TBR: Any other published works? Joya:I’ve had three other novels and two novellas published, and have two more novels releasing this year. In July, Reunited in Danger, my romantic suspense from Entangled Publishing will release, and the third story in the Hauntings at Inner Harbor series, Sidelined Afterlife, will release this fall from Decadent Publishing.

TBR: Where can readers find you on the web? Joya: 

Website: www.joyafields.com

Blog: http://joyafieldswriting.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joya.fields?ref=tn_tnmn#!/JoyaFieldsAuthor

Twitter: @joyafields

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5395700.Joya_Fields

TBR: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers? Joya: Oh yes! Since Altered Frequency is a ghost story, I’d love to know if your readers believe in ghosts and whether or not they’ve ever experienced a ghostly encounter.

TBR: Readers, Joya will give away a set of Romance Trading Cards of Blake and Missy from Altered Frequency to one lucky commenter. And you can enter for the grand prize of a $25 Amazon/BN gift card via the rafflecopter entry form below.  She'll pick a winner in three days for the RTCs and July 14^th for the gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for visiting TBR, Joya. All the best to you.