Booky Ramblings discussion
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Julianna Scott
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Live Q&A with Julianna Scott
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Sure! I live in the suburbs of Chicago and have been writing for about 4 years now, YA for a about 3.
I love TV, baking, bookmarks, and musicals.
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Hi Julianna! I read The Holders and The Seers with a buddy group, and I loved them so much! (: How many more there will be in the series?
Ha! Yeah, me too! I'm in a hotel at the moment so internet is a bit spotty, but I'll make it work. (Even if I have to steal internet form the McDonalds down the street! :-)
Shona wrote: "Ooh I'm intrigued to learn what you were writing before switching to YA. What made you choose YA genre?"I started out doing light romance for adults under a different name, actually. This Once Upon a Second Chance is actually me too, and it was my first published book.
I moved to YA simply because it suited the story I wanted to tell (The Holders) and I found that I really liked it and it was a strong fit for my voice.
Lynn wrote: "Hi Julianna! I read The Holders and The Seers with a buddy group, and I loved them so much! (: How many more there will be in the series?"I planned the story originally for 4 books. Hopefully that is how it will work out. :-) Though I do have a few shorter stories or novellas that I may do for the series as well.
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4? Yaaaaay! What will the novellas be about?
Shona wrote: "Ooh fingers crossed for 4 (or more). Do you write with an outline, or do you just let the story flow?"Oh, I outline. I have to for a story with so much going on in terms of abilities, lore, and names of people and things. I am not a stickler and I do let things change naturally as I write, but I have to have an idea about what I am doing and where I am going first.
Lynn wrote: "4? Yaaaaay! What will the novellas be about?"Well one is out already, sort of, it is this...
which is two scenes from The Holders, one written from Ryland's point of view, and the other from Alex. It was given out as a gift for preorders for The Seers, but ill be posted soon, and should have one more scene in it which will be told by Jocelyn.As for the rest, it is hard to say without soiling things from he seers and even future books, but I can say that one of them was a specific request from the lovely https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1... and if was an idea I had already been mulling over and quite liked. :-)
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Shona wrote: "Something i have found in a few other books is the idea of Soulmates, all slightly different but all featuring around Anams.. how much research did you do on the idea of Soul Mates?"Not much. The idea is pretty common and something most people would like to believe in even if it does seem unrealistic. The way I set it up with the recognition of your Anam or Soulmate being the first skin-to-skin touch was pulled from several Celtic legends, but other than that I went with what I liked and what went best with the over all story. I do get flack about 'insta-love', I won't lie, but much as I hate to say it, the only people who don't like insta-love in YA is adults. Most teen romance readers love it (over 300 of them told me so less than two weeks ago at a signing/workshop event). I do believe that you have to make characters compatible even with a magical connection, etc., and realism is important to a degree, but some of us want to believe in love at first sight too, and that's okay. Reviews might complain, but unfortunately those who don't care for it are going to have to deal. I write for myself and of course for my readers. :-)
I love soulmates. I know people think it cheesy but i don't care. And i love the aman bond I like that it isn't only the main character who gets it have it.
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Hello Julianna :)Is it okay to ask about the 3rd book after The Seers? I was just wondering if you knew yet how much time was going to pass from the last moments of The Seers and the first moments of the "3rd book"? Maybe it would be a direct continuation, a couple of weeks passing, long enough for Becca's hair to grow back, or even longer? :)
Thank you!
I chose Ireland because I have always loved Irish and Celtic things(not sure why), but yes, also in part because it was a region that had the sort of legends and lore that I could work with. Granted most of my own lore is either made up or LOOSLEY based on legends, but it gave me loads or inspiration.I have not actually been to Ireland myself, though oddly enough I will be there for two hours tomorrow(I won't be leaving the airport, I'm afraid) :-)
There are no scenes that are drawn from real life, but I do use story elements that I am familiar with. For instance Becca and Ryland are from Pittsburgh because that is where I am from, and Becca's job was at a restaurant called Eat'n Park, a Pittsburgh chain, etc. Write what you know, I guess. :-)
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Sean wrote: "Hello Julianna :)Is it okay to ask about the 3rd book after The Seers? I was just wondering if you knew yet how much time was going to pass from the last moments of The Seers and the first moment..."
Hi Sean. :-)
There may be a bit longer between the second and third books than there was between the first and second, but not much. Becca's hair will not grow back, I'm afraid. She will have a short quaff from now until the end of the series. But hey, how many YA heroines can you name with short hair? Makes her a bit unique, yes. And ain't nothing wrong with a short-haired brunette gal, they are damn fine if you asked me. ;-D
I do know how the next installment will open, and it will in fact be in the midst of an action scene. I'll tag the next bit just in case there is anyone who doesn't want to know(though nothing major will be revealed). (view spoiler)
We will also learn a lot more about Jocelyn and his past in the third book as Becca starts taking mind reading/control lessons from him.
Shona wrote: "At what point in your life did you realise that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a career you were going to turn into reality?"Ha! Actually it was never really a dream career. I actually have a music degree and my dream career was singing on a Broadway stage. However heart disease also showed up, so sadly the music dream became a pipe dream. I didn't start writing until a few years ago when I got a random story idea and thought 'why not?'. I had always been fond of writing in school and fairly decent at it, but 'be and author' was never even really on my radar. But it seems to have worked out well so far and I absolutely love it.
Is the holders series all you are working on right now? Do you still write for adults?
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Julianna wrote: "Sean wrote: "Hello Julianna :)Is it okay to ask about the 3rd book after The Seers? I was just wondering if you knew yet how much time was going to pass from the last moments of The Seers and the..."
I think the short hair will workout just perfectly! I think the short hair in recent trends kind of gives that instant I'm "totally going to rock your world" feeling ;)
I can't wait to learn more about Joceyln, I have to admit I even went and found a simple ring just to wear because of his character, lol. Will Ryland be a bigger character in the 3rd book again?
Lynn wrote: "Is the holders series all you are working on right now? Do you still write for adults?"I haven't written for adult since Once Upon a Second Chance. I have a few ideas, but YA is where my heart is as the moment. And no, The Holders is not all I have going right now, I have currently in the works(all YA) a historical standalone, a historical fantasy standalone, a fantasy/time travel duology, and a novel that is an adaptation/reimagining of a famous comic book series/character.
Been busy. :-)
Shona wrote: "What has been your favourite chapter (or part) of The Holders Series to write and why?"Hmmm... I always like the romantic bits when they are done, but they are a pain to write. Same goes with the scenes between Becca and Jocelyn. The emotions and awkwardness between them is interesting and even fun, but it came be hell to do. I did also very much enjoy writing both Bastian and Steven in this last book, and I'm not really sure why. I guess I just enjoyed them both as characters and they came very naturally.
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Is it okay to ask about the 3rd book after The Seers? I was just wondering if you knew yet how much time was going to pass from the last moments of ..."Rylany will be back and in the next book, yes. He wasn't a big player in The Seers, and I know there were people who were disappointed by that, but logistically it just didn't work. To have a bigger roll, Ryland would have had to go with them to Adare, and he is a kid in school during the middle of the term. Not to mention that the shindig at Adare wasn't really for kids anyway. But not to worry, he will be back with a vengeance in the next go.
Shona wrote: "I know you touched on inst-love complaints earlier, what has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?"It's kind of funny how subjective the criticism can be sometimes, really. I'll get a five star review that says, "No insta-love! Finally!" followed directly by a one star that says "Same old hollow insta-love!"
>_O
I'm a bit weird with criticism in that it really doens't bother me. There are plenty of books I don't like, so I guess I get it. Also, I think it helps that a lot of the criticism I get I sort of expect. For instance the insta-love remarks, I knew I'd get some because of the Anam bond. I also heard a lot about the predictability of the first book in terms of plot which was also something I anticipated. I think the worst thing, for me anyway, is one that has only come recently with the release of the second book, and tht is when someone who loved the first one didn't like the second one as much. To me, the second one is better than the first and when I have people who raved about The Holders but were just 'meh' with The Seers, I feel as though I let them down.
The best compliments are always when a reader picks up on something that you hoped they would, or loves an aspect of the story that you worked really hard on. it give you that, "oh good, someone got what I was going for!" moment which is always great.
"...historical standalone, a historical fantasy standalone, a fantasy/time travel duology, and a novel that is an adaptation/reimagining of a famous comic book series/character."These sound so exciting! Being one of your biggest fans it has my mind wondering if we may see one or all of these novels before or by the next Holders book? I know the publishing world is crazy, but I wasn't sure your ultimate goal for them :) I know you probably want to keep the plots and actual stories for these a secret for now, so I won't even ask what direction you are taking them in, but I can't wait to hear about them ;)
Hello! Hope u are continuing to enjoy London :-)Theres something I'm really curious to ask a series writer like yourself: once The Holders was successful, did you feel any pressure to write book 2 to fan expectations/opinions?
No, none of those books will be out before the next Holders, or that is to say it is VERY unlikely. As far as the traditional publishing world goes, it is a slow process. Lets say I sign a publishing contract for a new book tomorrow, that book won't hit shelves for anywhere from 12 to 18 months, often even more. And yes, things are under wraps, but I can tell you that the historical is set in 1763--though probably not in a country you'd expect, and the historical fantasy is something of a King Author's Camelot meets The Phantom of the Opera.
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Satinder wrote: "Hello! Hope u are continuing to enjoy London :-)Theres something I'm really curious to ask a series writer like yourself: once The Holders was successful, did you feel any pressure to write book ..."
I did, actually. The series was planned from the get-go, but I did want to make sure I gave fans what they wanted and expected as much as I could, particularly the one's who really loved The Holders. I mentioned earlier how I knew there were some 'issues' with The Holders and it's true. I knew the plot wasn;t mesmerizing, and I knew that there would be people who saw the 'twists' comeing, but in all honestly it couldn't really be helped. Debut authors are at a bit of a disadvantage sometimes in that often they are very bound by things like word count, etc. With the lore and world building I had to do, there wasn't much time left to build a crazy or intricate plot under it without making it far too long. I knew some people may have issues with that, but I also knew that many people would still love it as much as I did and that I could really go for it in the second book when there would be no need to spend all that time setting up lore, etc. I really wanted all those people who loved the first one to love the second one because I felt like I almost owed them something, it that makes sense. The were behind me when I thought many people wouldn't be, and so I wanted to almost thank them for having my back.
Shona wrote: "What do you do when you're not writing?"Watch way too much TV. (Side bar, anyone who has not seen the show Dracula with Jonathan Rhys Meyers needs to, like right now.) :-) I also love reading and doing crafts. I love baking too, but both me and my husband have been trying to loose a bit of weight, so I have cut back on the baking bit. :-)
Hmmm... Seems my hotel is having a fire-drill,(either that or we are actually on fire, but I don't think so) so I need to step out, but I will be back and online for the rest of the evening, so keep the questions coming and I will answer as soon as I return/get over to McDonalds.
Julianna wrote: "No, none of those books will be out before the next Holders, or that is to say it is VERY unlikely. As far as the traditional publishing world goes, it is a slow process. Lets say I sign a publishi..."CAMELOT AND PHANTOM?!?!?!? OMGOMGOMG NEED NOW!!!!! <3<3<3<3<3
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Fingers crossed the alarm is just a fire-drill, if not be safe.
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My apologies for arriving late -- I was chasing down a wire in Wife's Jeep so I could fix the horn, and it got a bit involved.What has been the most challenging part of your writing?
So sorry everyone! Turns out there was a fire in our hotel (in the basement) and by the time I got back in it was 1am and we had a 6am flight. Got back tot he states last light and all is well, but I so sorry for dropping off there at the end.
Julianna wrote: "So sorry everyone! Turns out there was a fire in our hotel (in the basement) and by the time I got back in it was 1am and we had a 6am flight. Got back tot he states last light and all is well, but..."Things do happen beyond anyone's control.
Glad you made it back safely.
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Booky Ramblings
Books mentioned in this topic
The One (other topics)Once Upon a Second Chance (other topics)
The Holders (other topics)
The Seers (other topics)
Julianna is the author of the Young Adult Holders series.
Come along and ask Julianna about her books and her plans for the series. There will also be a giveaway for one lucky participant.