Book review and author interview – Nora Weston

I won her book, The Twelfth Paladin, at a giveaway, and she's also a member of Creative Reviews.

A little slow paced for my tastes, a little too preachy, sort of repetitive and sometimes confusing with the sudden introduction of third person point of view (omniscient) in chapter twelve. A bad editor didn't really help – and I'm mentioning it only because it's a small publisher (if one goes to a publisher, big or small, and don't get any editing, one might as well self-publish and keep all the earnings, right?). Not my cup of tea, I guess. But if you like angels and demons – and Harleys and happy endings – you can check it! I give it 3 stars.

Now having started a correspondence with the author who is a wonderful person, I got curious about how she came up with the story and the likes, so I sent her my usual questions… hence, ladies and gents, please welcome Nora Weston!

1. Where do you live and write from?

Currently, I live in Michigan, but I'm from Wheeling, West Virginia. My husband's job requires us to move a lot, so I've been lucky to meet amazing people in a handful of states. I can pack up a family of eight…plus two dogs, faster than you can imagine!

2. When did you start writing?

Sad to say, my writing career began in my high school math classes. I know, I should've paid attention, but that was simply not possible since my characters beckoned from afar. Anything that related to writing or history held my interest, but geometry, statistics, and chemistry in a twisted way inspired, or maybe provoked me to daydream. Yes! I wish I had paid better attention in high school, because college would've been much easier.

3. What genre(s) do you write?

My writing is mainly science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Since I have six kids, I tend to like stories that pull me away into supernatural realms where no laundry rooms exist. Escaping reality is all good! Every so often, I'll have a nonfiction piece published concerning kids, especially teenagers. Internet safety for kids is a huge topic I like to write about and discuss.

4. Where do you find your inspiration? Do you put yourself in your stories?

I'm inspired by chaos…like when people are tempted to let go of commonsense, causing them to fall into dangerous situations, by the ability of some people to love unconditionally—and by those who seemingly cannot love at all, and by hope. I don't give up easily on anyone or anything and know people can change. Do I put myself in my stories? Occasionally, a habit or obsession of mine (like an incessant craving for donuts and Twizzlers) will enter the plot, lol—but I'm not like any of my characters too much. If I were like my characters, they would probably charge me a small fortune for the nonsense they'd have to do!

5. Do you have a specific writing routine?

Ah, a writing routine. Yes, if writing at night, when the rest of my town is probably sleeping, is a routine, then I do. That so-called routine is never for the same amount of time, and is frequently interrupted by things I still can hardly believe. Once, when I was just about to complete a story, called Silence of Indigo, high winds delivered a window into my bedroom. I was angrier about having to halt my creative burst than I was about the window, rain, and tree limbs that had inserted themselves into my home…uninvited no less!

6. Outliner or Improviser? Fast or slow writer?

Yes, to all four options! That's a terrible answer, but true. I have more fun writing when I'm improvising, but at times, outlining helps get the story back on track. Now, that's not to say everyone will want to get on that track with me! Train wrecks do occur, characters and chapters have been killed by the delete button many times, so I live and learn something new every day about writing.

7. Tell us about your latest book (add link if published)

My latest book is still The Twelfth Paladin. I'm thrilled an updated version is coming soon!

It was inspired by an actual email I received, which was an invitation to play with wickedness. I thought it was a frightening joke or possibly a virus, so it got trashed. I have no idea what would've happened if I had accepted that invitation, but I'm glad I don't know.

8. Indie publishing or traditional publishing – and why?

My publisher is Melange Books. It is a small publishing house. I went that route because being a relatively new author, I felt better able to handle the publishing process with them. In the future, I want to learn more about formatting, distribution, marketing…just everything about publishing so I have more options. Since I'm also an artist, I'd love to get into graphic novels.

9. Any other projects in the pipeline?

Absolutely! I'm working on the sequel to Guardian 2632, my science fiction adventure, and then I'll begin the sequel to The Twelfth Paladin. Now I know supernatural horror is not for everyone, but I cannot get enough of it…so after those two sequels, I have another novel to complete. It is a cross between science fiction and horror.

10. What is your goal as a writer and what are you doing to achieve it?

Okay, this is a tough question! (Two hours have now gone by…yikes!) My goal as a writer is to always leave my readers with a sense of awe about the world we live in and in worlds yet to be discovered. From a very young age, I questioned why people do what they do and why some people always see the cup half-full, while others only see the same cup half-empty. My writing goals also include laughter! Many of my characters have a great sense of humor, because after-all…reading a book should be entertaining.

Achieving my goals? I'll be researching like crazy, connecting with other authors and readers, reading a lot more, and writing as much as possible. It's a grand adventure, isn't it?

It's been a pleasure visiting your blog! Thank you for the review and interview. 

Well, thank you for putting up with me! And hey, we'll meet at the San Diego Comicon some day, signing our graphic novels… how does that sound!

Happy writing, everybody!