Tuesday, March 12, 2013

J.D. FAVER - Guest Author



Today, my guest is my friend, J.D. Faver.

You will want to read her post all the way through for a special FREE GIFT especially for my readers. Thanks J.D.!


J.D. Faver lives near Houston, Texas. She writes steamy contemporary romance and romantic thrillers/mystery/suspense. She loves to kill people...on virtual paper, that is. Although she writes daily, she still finds time to enjoy family and friends. She is a foodie and an adventurous cook. Determined to preserve generations of family recipes, she is publishing a series of cookbooks entitled A Texan in the Kitchen.

Gardening is another passion (and linked to the food thing) since she has an orchard of fruit trees and berry bushes/vines in her back yard. Tomatoes and other veggies round out her kitchen garden. All other interests (painting, drawing, sewing, quilting, crocheting, weaving, stained glass and pottery) have taken a back seat since they require hands-on participation which is difficult if your fingers are always on the keyboard.

An active member of several Houston writer's organizations, she belongs to National RWA and is a member of Houston chapters. She is owned by two cats and a small, yappy rescue dog. As a former educator and healthcare professional, she is an advocate for children, animals and elderly/disabled individuals. She would rather be sailing or on a beach somewhere, but if not, you can probably find her with her fingers on a keyboard, pouring word images onto the virtual films playing in her head.

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Hi Angela! Thanks for inviting me to be your guest today.

I wanted to share some insights with your readers about my experience with writing series.

As a reader, I can remember waiting impatiently for Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich to turn loose of the next Kinsey Millhone or Stephanie Plum adventure.  Likewise, James Patterson was very pokey in cranking out Alex Cross mysteries.  I truly couldn’t understand why these authors were so maddeningly slow with their writing. Or so it seemed at the time.

When I finished writing my novel ON ICE, which wound up at 102 thousand words, I found myself feeling depressed. After the dark moment… after the villain had been vanquished…after good prevailed over evil….I realized I had to say goodbye to the characters I had grown so fond of. After all, they shared their deepest inner feelings with me. Their most intimate moments. And I was supposed to wave goodbye as they moseyed off to their happily ever after? Never to be heard from again?
The antidote was to write another book, and another after that…

Finally, when I wrote BAD MEDICINE, I figured it out and planned the next book in the series while writing the first.  Choosing the lower Gulf coast of Texas for my setting was like going home. I had spent quite a few years visiting there for catamaran regattas. I knew the setting so well, I could feel the fine sand under my feet, with gentle waves lapping at my toes. I could smell the tangy scent of the water and feel the offshore breezes lifting my hair.

The characters sprang into my brain fully fleshed out, with flaws and strong personalities. Indeed, they were born as a result of my first foray into the wonderful world of NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) I was a NaNo virgin. I read all the rules and signed up with an army of my writing buds. Being a Virgo, with a tad bit of OCD thrown in, I wanted to be sure I was prepared. I wrote an outline. I had character sketches and conflict guides. And on the stroke of midnight, Texas time, I flexed my fingers and wrote…an entirely different story.  Without benefit of outline or character sketches, these larger than life individuals came bounding into my brain and took over. Yes, possessed is probably the best explanation. I wrote like a mad woman and came out with a completed 56 thousand word novel in the first 18 days of NaNo. I was so hyper, and all my friends were still writing, so I found another partially written work and completed that one in the last 12 days. Wild woman writing.

Eventually, the 56 thousand words became 94 thousand and the story was revised, edited and polished. But, at the same time, the second in the series, BAD KARMA, was being written. I just couldn’t let go of those characters or leave that beautiful dark paradise behind. By the time BAD MEDICINE was published, I had BAD KARMA polished and was finishing the third one, BAD VIBES. Each of the books is a stand-alone, but they are linked in setting and characters.

What I’ve learned is that readers are just impatient for the next adventure in The Edge of Texas series as I was for my next Stephanie Plum fix. I treasure the emails and Facebook messages asking me what’s next. I do have a gift for your readers today, Angela. The second book in the series, BAD KARMA, is FREE on Amazon today, March 12 only. Here is the link to download it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0081SGPZW

THE EDGE OF TEXAS Series:
• Book 1-BAD MEDICINE
• Book 2-BAD KARMA
• Book 3-BAD VIBES
• Book 4-BAD DREAMS (coming soon)

Please visit me on my website at http://www.jdfaver.com/
Amazon author page:  http://www.amazon.com/J.D.-Faver/e/B0050KEWMM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/j-d-faver?store=allproducts&keyword=j.d.+faver

25 comments:

  1. Great interview! Isn't that just like our characters? Constantly plotting against us? I downloaded and it's on my list of TBR :)

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    1. Hey girl! Thanks for stopping by. Huggles and blessings!

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    2. Thanks a lot, Lisa. I do get a little paranoid when I'm writing thrillers especially. They definitely plot to make me stay up too late writing. I hope you enjoy BAD KARMA.
      *hugs*
      ~J

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  2. Great interview, J.D.! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us (as well as your characters) in the near future!

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    1. Hi Steph. Thanks for dropping in today! We'll catch up soon!

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    2. Mwa-ha-ha...Just you wait and see, my pretty...
      *hugs*
      ~J

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  3. Hi J.D.,

    Enjoyed the interview, and learning about your Edge of Texas series. I love the Gulf Coast of Texas. Thanks for the free book, too. Wishing you all the best with your new book, Bad Dreams, when it comes out!

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    1. Hi Gemma.
      Thanks for stopping in and getting acquainted with J.D.'s series. I'm sure you'll love them all! I hope you'll come back again.

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    2. Thanks, Gemma. I love the Gulf as well. All my freckles owe their existence to my long days on the sandy beaches and riding the waves on a catamaran. Great times. I hope you enjoy BAD KARMA. Working on the next one in the series.
      *hugs*
      ~J

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  4. Wow, what an endorsement for NaNo. Wonderful post.

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  5. Hi Roxy! I do well with deadlines. I guess I need the ticking clock. Thanks for stopping by.
    *hugs*
    ~J

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  6. So glad you kept on with the series, J.D. Some of these characters are simply too complex to be delegated to one book. Can't wait to read the next in the Edge of Texas series.

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  7. Thanks a lot, Tara. I appreciate it. Yes, the characters are multi-dimensional. I'm working on the next one. I can't wait to read it either.
    *hugs*
    ~J

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  8. Waiting "patiently" for Bad Dreams. Your Gulf Coast stories are wonderful. Hurry Up and get it done!

    Jane

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  9. Hey, Jane. So good to see you here. I'm writing as fast as my little fingers can type. I'm so glad I could hook you. That is a feat in itself.
    *hugs*
    ~J

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  10. I love hearing about the writing process for different authors. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to reading your work.

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    2. Hi SD! Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you enjoy my book. Yes, it's interesting to see how different authors approach the task of writing. In my current WIP, I had written myself into a corner, and just as I was climbing into bed, a brilliant idea hit my brain, so I had to get up and write some more. A writer's work is never done.
      *hugs*
      ~J

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  11. Good interview. I like the system of starting a new book with characters that I already know. I just downloaded Bad Karma. Time to read.

    Bob

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    1. Thanks for downloading BAD KARMA, Bob. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.
      *hugs*
      ~J

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  12. Incredible post. Thanks for the inspiration.

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    1. Hi Emmly! So glad to see you here. I'm proud to be an inspiration. I have so many people who continue to inspire me.
      *hugs*
      ~J

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  13. Great post! I so want to write a series, but I can't seem to find inspiration for one. Perhaps because I need to finish my WIP. I'm a day late for the freebie, but I will put your books on my want to read list.

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    1. Hi Wanda! I think the series starts when you develop your characters with so many layers you can't peel 'em back in one book. Yeah, complicated is better. Thanks for putting my books on your list. Hope you get to read them soon.
      *hugs*
      ~J

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