CLP Blog Tours Interview and Excerpt: Not Quite Dead by Lyla Payne
**Interview**
When did you know writing was for you?
Looking back, I should have known a lot earlier! I’ve always been a voracious reader, and started writing my own stories young, but it never occurred to me as an actual career choice until college, when I got into writing screenplays for my film degree. It just felt natural, and the first time I’d ever tried something that I didn’t want to stop.
Why was Not Quite Dead a book you wanted to write?
It contains all of my favorite things in life – ghosts, pirates, the South, history, and family. The grandfather character is modeled on my own grandpa, and it gave me so much pleasure to turn him into a character that so many people connected with and loved.
I love your cover! Can you tell us who created it and how much input you had?
Sure! And thank you, I love it, too. It all started because I got so, SO tired of using stock photos and seeing my couple or cover on a hundred different books. That’s not only frustrating, but it’s horrible when it comes to branding the book! Long story short (too late, I know), I asked my graphic designer whose daughter is a budding photographer if she would consider shooting an original cover. We talked about the concept, and she took several options, then her mother designed the cover. I did have a good amount of input (which is one of the absolute best thing about self-publishing), too.
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
The hardest part for me is starting a big revision. The book is all in one piece, a solid, flowing narrative, and I’m sitting there with a 20 page edit letter detailing a million ways to rip it apart and put it back together. It’s intimidating! One I get started, it’s fine, but opening the document and making the first change is the hardest.
What are your favorite genres to read?
My go-to genre is YA contemporary, but I also love a good crime fiction or epidemic story on occasion. I’ll read pretty much anything but those are my favorites.
What do you want readers to take away from your story?
That nothing in your life can replace family, or friends that have been like family. Those relationships are the ones that will be there when everything else falls apart, and most often they’re the people with the ability to remind us what we still have. 
How important do you think social media is for authors these days?
Super important. Readers are increasingly interested in connecting with the author, or learning about the author’s life in addition to simply enjoying a book. And to be honest, we’re artists and artists live for feedback – we love it, too!
What would be your advice to aspiring writers?
Stick with something, beginning to end. Finish what you start. If you’re goal is to write as a career, treat it seriously from the beginning so other people in your life will do the same thing.
**Excerpt**
I ignore the hand, getting to my feet and brushing dirt off my dress before confronting its owner.
A man with an overly strong jaw and wavy, sun-kissed brown hair watches me with humor sparkling in his hazel eyes. Too bad he picked the wrong girl in the wrong year, because nothing about getting knocked on my ass strikes me as humorous.
Undaunted by the cocked eyebrow I shoot his direction, he keeps a hand out, now poised for a shake. “Beauregard Drayton.”
“That’s a mouthful,” I mumble, searching the ground for my purse. It’s lying in a puddle, which stirs up more irritation, as does the fact that he hasn’t moved. He’s tall, at least six foot three, and even under the blue pinstriped suit and red tie, there’s no secret why he felt like bricks. His face is hard, too—all rough angles and sharp cheekbones.
His eyes are soft, though, and the enticing mixture of green, blue, and gold still reflects amusement. “Well, what do you think?”
“About you?” I shrug, even though I didn’t mean to study him quite so openly. “Typical.”
“Interesting.”
“Actually, typical is the opposite of interesting.” I shoulder past him and continue toward my destination, annoyance tightening my chest when the sound of expensive shoes clicks on the sidewalk behind me.
Beauregard Drayton catches up, then slows his pace to match mine. It would have behooved me to drive to the Wreck, apparently. Or skip it all together, no matter how the thought of their fish tacos makes me drool.
“You can call me Beau, everyone does,” he comments, as though we’ve been carrying on a conversation.
“Thanks.”
“What should I call you?”
It’s clear my rudeness isn’t going to make him go away, and the part of me that was raised below the Mason-Dixon Line blushes in shame at my behavior. Grams would tan my hide if she could see me now. The thought of her stern, loving expression makes me relent, along with the fact that my eventful morning has worn me out. I don’t have the energy to outmaneuver him.
“Graciela Harper.”
“Lovely to meet you. Where are you going?”
The fact that he doesn’t comment on my different name moves him up in my estimation. Still, his nosiness makes me sigh. Loudly. “To get some lunch.”
“Are you meeting someone?”
“Yes. His name is Vlad and he lives to drink the blood of persistent, well-dressed men, so I suggest you run along.”
“Really? Dracula’s making a midday appearance in Heron Creek? Did you call the paper? Danny’s is going to be mad if he misses out on the interview opportunity.”
**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases a copy of Not Quite Dead by August 18 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus.com will receive 10 bonus entries!**
Author Bio:
Lyla Payne has been publishing New Adult romance novels for a little over a year, starting with Broken at Love and continuing with the rest of the Whitman University series. She loves telling stories, discovering the little reasons people fall in love, and uncovering hidden truths in the world around us – past and present. In her spare time she cuddles her two dogs, pretends to enjoy exercising so that she can eat as much Chipotle as she wants, and harbors a deep and abiding hope that Zac Efron likes older women. She loves reading, of course, along with movies, traveling, and Irish whiskey. Lyla’s hard at work, ALWAYS, and hopes to bring you more Whitman University antics and at least one more Lowcountry ghost tale before the end of the year.
Lyla Payne is represented by Kathleen Rushall at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
If you want to know more, please visit her at http://lylapayne.com
If you’re a fan of Young Adult fiction–science fiction or otherwise–please check out her work that’s published under the name Trisha Leigh. http://trishaleigh.com
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