Riptide Press Blog Tour Stop with Andrea Speed/Contest

*Contest information is at end of interview*

 Click HERE for complete tour stops.

Welcome to Dawn’s Reading Nook, Andrea Speed. Please let my cabana boys/girls get you a drink and make yourself at home. Comfortable? Great…now let’s get down to business.

Q: So tell us about yourself. What got you interested in writing? Who are your publisher(s)?

I'd say my grandmother did, because she was a writer herself, and I grew up surrounded by books. Reading was always encouraged. I've been writing for a long time, although not seriously (as in sharing it with others) until  probably about twelve years ago or so. And my publishers are Riptide and Dreamspinner.

Q: What do you consider to be the key elements of a great story?

A fantastic character and good plots. You need people (or beings – let's not discriminate) that the reader wants to follow, and plots that let them do things, that show their character and their personalities and maybe even let them change. Because if the reader doesn't care about the character or what's going on, they probably won't finish your story, nonetheless read anything else you've written. Sounds easy, doesn't it? But it can be the hardest thing in the world.

Q: Could you tell us a little about how you develop your characters? Who has been your favorite character to write? The most challenging?

Can I be precious and/or mentally ill and say the characters generally develop themselves. By the time I start writing, they're pretty much there. I know their habits, their sense of humor, how they see the world. As for my favorite character to write ... I guess I have to say Roan from my Infected series, because he's so easy. I could probably slip into his voice in my sleep. As for the hardest ... I'm going to say Eli (also from my Infected series). Mainly because he honestly believed this pure bull he was peddling, and I sometimes can't quite fathom how people can believe such outré things.

Q: What is your favorite way to relax after a hard day working and writing?

Watching the boob tube, and maybe reading something myself. (I often do these both at once.)

Q: What is the one era you would love to go visit and why?

The future! I want to see if the human race ever works out any of its problems, or if our robot overlords finally get the better of us.

Q: What is one historical figure you would love to chat with and why?

Alan Turing. I'd probably ask him if it was worth saving everyone considering how horribly the world treated him.

Q: Please tell us about your latest release. What inspired it?

That's Peek A Boo, the second story in the Josh of the Damned series. Considering how hard it would be to work at a convenience store at the mouth of hell, I began thinking about humans making it worse. While it may be a cliché, sometimes humans are the biggest monsters of all. And what happens when they meet a monster even bigger and badder than they are? Here's a hint - nothing good.

Q: What genres and authors would we find you reading when taking a break from your own writing?

Can I pretentiously describe myself as omnivorous, voracious reader? I read just about anything that catches my eye. Horror, mystery, crime, humor, science fiction, graphic novels, short story collections, even the occasional "literary" fiction. I don't limit myself. I also find it hard to pick out specific authors, as I like so many, but a couple of books that I recently read and enjoyed include Justin Enas' The White Devil and Simon Pegg's autobiography Nerd Do

 Well.

Q: What do you hope readers take with them, after reading one of your stories? What do you hope they feel, or learn?

I hope they're entertained, and in the case of Josh of the Damned, I hope you get some laughs, and maybe don't feel so bad about your job.

Q: If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

Strange, weird, odd.

Q: What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had?

 

I don't consider any inspiration odd, so I find that hard to answer. I get lots of inspirations from my nightmares, but I don't see that as odd. Maybe I should say an article in a science magazine article, because I was reading one about the use of neutered viruses in gene therapy, and that basically inspired my Infected series.

Q: What is the most ridiculous thing that you have thought about doing to any of your characters but never did?

Oh dear - some are actually in the works and may happen. I will say that I did disregard a giant, rampaging mustache falling in love with Josh, but that's about it.

Q: Want to tell us about any projects you are working on?

Still working on the fantasy novel for Riptide, there's a new Infected novel (Infected: Shift) on the way, and there's more to come in the Josh of the Damned series. Also, Goodreads has a gay soap opera called Boxer Falls that I just may have something to do with.

Q: Anything else you want to add?

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

Here's the blurb from Pretty Monster

Josh knew the night shift at the Quik-Mart would be full of freaks and geeks—and that was before the hell portal opened in the parking lot. Still, he likes to think he can roll with things. Sure, the zombies make a mess sometimes, but at least they never reach for anything more threatening than frozen burritos.

Besides, it’s not all lizard-monsters and the walking dead. There’s also the mysterious hottie with the sly red lips and a taste for sweets.

Josh has had the hots for Hot Guy since the moment he laid eyes on him, and it seems Hot Guy might be sweet on Josh too. Now if only Josh could figure out whether that’s a good thing, a bad thing, or something in between. After all, with a hell vortex just a stone’s throw away, Josh has learned to take nothing at face value—even if it’s a very, very pretty face.

Pretty Monster is the first in the Josh of the Damned series.

To read an excerpt and purchase Pretty Monsters, click here.

Here the blurb from Peek-A-Boo:

As night-shift clerk at the go-to Quik-Mart for monsters with the munchies, Josh Caplan believes he’s seen it all. Battling lizard men, werewolves chasing cars in the parking lot . . . nothing fazes Josh anymore.

Or so he thinks, at least, until a yeti with poor communication skills drops a dead skunk on the checkout counter. Josh can’t figure what a living, breathing shag carpet wants with him, or why it won’t leave him alone no matter how hard he ignores it. But hey, at least it seems harmless . . . if perhaps a little slow on the draw.

But Sasquatch is plenty fast when two of Josh’s human customers try to out-monster the monsters. Times are strange when creatures from the hell portal save the day, but in the protective hands of a lovesick yeti and a sexy vampire boyfriend, Josh realizes that maybe his new normal isn’t so bad after all.

Peek-A-Boo is the second in the Josh of the Damned series.

To read an excerpt and purchase Peek-A-Boo, click here.

Website

Twitter

Google +  

Facebook

Redemption Reef

CONTEST INFORMATION:

Question for the grand prize:  

What two things does the yeti try to give Josh? Simple, but you'll have to have read the story. 

The Grand Prize – The Infected series ebook collection 

Send the answer to the question to aspeed2@gmail.com   with “Dawn’s Reading Nook” and Contest Answer in the subject line. Contest ends January 20^th, 2012.