Author Interviews 1. Is this your first book? 2. Where did your inspiration come from? The inspiration for my first book came from a story I heard from a woman who survived a car wreck and spent several weeks in a coma. After she woke up and was able to leave the hospital, she began having strange visions of a girl she’d never met who was living in a different time period. The story touched me deeply and stayed with me, and eventually turned into Full Circle, a novel about a young girl living in New York, who after suffering a head injury during a mugging starts having vivid dreams of a girl who’s living in London during the Blitz. The challenge was to bring the parallel stories together at the end, and you’ll have to read the book to find out how it all turned out. 3. Have you been interviewed anytime in the past? I’ve been interviewed several times, mostly by bloggers. 4. What makes your book better or different? I don’t know if my books are better, but they are different because I love surprising my readers by throwing in unexpected twists and turns, and making them wonder what will come next. If a fan writes to me and says that they didn’t see something coming and were taken by surprise by the turn of events, I feel that I’ve done my job well. 5. What do you attribute your success to? Are you a success? 6. Do you belong to any writing/reading books? Goodreads? LinkedIn? 7. Anything in your future writing endeavors? I’m currently working on book 5 of The Hands of Time Series. I was going to end it at book 4, but I had many requests to continue the series. I must admit that I was very pleased since I’m very attached to these characters, and hate to part with them. I go through a minor depression every time I finish an installment. 8. What do you want your readers to walk away with after reading your story? I know that my books won’t change the course of anyone’s life, but I would like them to stop for a moment and ask themselves what they might have done in a similar situation, or maybe try to recall if they’ve ever had any experiences that resemble those in the books. But most of all, I just want them to think it was a great story. 9. Have you had or will you offer a newsletter for your readers? 10. Where do you do most of your writing? I do most of my writing at a little desk squashed between the closet and the bathroom in my bedroom. I call it “my office”, but it’s really just my little writing nook. 11. If you passed away next week, how would you want your obit to read? I’d hate to pass away next week, but if I did, I’d like my obituary to say something along the lines of: “Irina Shapiro was a true free spirit; a woman who turned adversity into opportunity, and didn’t allow her fears or impediments to get in the way of following her dreams. Oh, and she was a damn fine writer too.” 12. When did you seriously start writing? 13. Tell us about “YOU”. I suppose I’m a bit of a contradiction. I’m a pretty level-headed person, who’s known for being logical and practical, but I’m a romantic at heart, which is not something too many people knew before I started writing. I love history, and think that some of the greatest stories of our time are right between the pages of a history book, but I also get a kick out of throwing in a little something extra, like a stray ghost or a tumble through time. Nothing excites me as much as a Gothic ruin or a feeling that something happened on the spot where I’m standing. I’m also eternally fascinated by the question of how much of our lives are based on free will and how much on destiny, and if we can alter our destiny or must follow some cosmic plan written long before we even know what we want from life. Maybe some day I’ll finally figure it out. 14. Give us a “reader” excerpt……. An excerpt from my most recent release: A Game of Shadows: Book 5 of The Hands of Time Series. “Oh, you’ll be back, maybe not tomorrow or the next day, but you’ll be back. You see, Louisa, your little lord will never be enough for you. You are not the kind of woman who welcomes her husband into her bed once a week and sighs with happiness when he leaves. You want someone who will tear you apart, love you and hurt you, and leave you crying and begging for more. That’s the only time you feel truly alive.” Tom was still sniggering as she let herself out, her legs buckling beneath her as she ran down the street. She swore she wouldn’t go back, but she had, again and again. She fell asleep dreaming of Tom, and woke up wanting him like a starved person wants food. He’d been right; she enjoyed him hurting her. It aroused her and made her want him more. He didn’t stop her when she slapped him or clawed at him as he took her hard, making her cry out with pleasure and pain. They were one and the same, and only he could make them irresistible. 15. Have you set up any book signings yet or radio/publicity events? 16. What are your favorite “Genres?” I enjoy anything from classics to fantasy. I try not to get stuck reading the same kinds of books over and over. I’ve recently read Dan Brown’s Inferno, which didn’t really appeal to me, and the first three books of The Game of Thrones, which I loved. 17 I am excited to feature you…..have you had a writing career or is this your first book? I’m actually working on my ninth book, Shattered Moments: Book 5 of The Hands of Time Series. 18. Do you have a particular writing process? I don’t have a process. I tend to come up with good ideas just as I’m falling asleep, so as soon as the kids are out the door in the morning, I sit down to write, whip those ideas into shape and expand on them until they take on a life of their own. 19. Talk a little about your main characters. One of my favorite characters is Valerie Crane, who tags along with her art-restorer sister on a trip to England to get away from the pain of her divorce and her ex-husband’s imminent wedding, having no idea that her life is about to change forever. Valerie unwittingly moves the hands of an antique clock and sends herself to 1605, where King James sits on the throne of England and the country is torn apart by political strife and religious prosecution. With no way of getting back to the present, Valerie must make a life for herself in the seventeenth-century, and choose between two brothers, Alexander and Finlay, who are as different as night and day. Alec is honorable and straight as an arrow, while Finlay is passionate and hot-headed, and gets himself involved in events which have the potential to destroy not only him but the rest of the family. 20. What makes a good story, to you? A good story is one that sucks you in from the first page and doesn’t let go until long after you’ve finished. You still think of the characters and miss them, as if they are real people and not just a figment of someone’s imagination. 21. Was there any research required to write this book? All my books are set in the past, so I have to do a lot of research to be able to paint an accurate portrait of life during that time, and the political situation that shaped the lives of the characters. 22. Where can your books be found? My books are available on Amazon. 23. Describe yourself in one sentence….. Irina is fun, witty, determined, and terribly humble. LOL 24. Do you build a synopsis first? Actually, I don’t. I come up with an idea and then just see where it takes me. I honestly have no idea how the story will end when I start writing it. 25. Are you detail oriented? OCD? Do they have a term for someone who’s exactly the opposite? 26. Do you burn the midnight candle? Never. I’m a morning person.
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 15:34:26 +0000
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