Where do
you write?
I write at my desk. I rarely write anywhere else. It is my
bubble of creativity, I suppose. I just turn on my music, close the door, and
write. Sometimes it takes me thirty minutes – sometimes it takes me seven
hours. It depends on what I’m writing. It depends on how difficult it is for me
to create a specific scene or convey a certain emotion. If I’m writing an
emotional scene, it can take me a long time.
My favorite place to write, though, is in the mountains, in
the seclusion of a quiet forest. That’s where imagination really works well.
When do
you write?
Mornings. 7 to 12 is the optimal time for me. Once noon
hits, I’m pretty much done for the day when it comes to creative writing. I
find that writing at the same time every day is really healthy for a writer.
For example, my current manuscript requires a minimum of five pages per day. I
can write more, but I certainly can never write less. Setting those little
goals is helpful.
Favorite
movie? Favorite television show?
I don’t think it’s possible for me to choose a favorite
movie. I like so many! I really enjoy anything that’s action or adventure. I
adore superhero movies and animated films – don’t even get me started on
Wall-e. The Book of Eli is really cool, and so is any movie with Dwayne Johnson.
As far as television goes, I usually only have time to watch
TV during June and July. I love Pretty Little Liars, Gilmore Girls (La, la, la,
la!), and I’m positively obsessed – and by obsessed I mean madly in love – with
The Walking Dead.
Favorite
classic book?
When I was growing up, I ONLY read classic literature. I
really was completely unaware until the age of sixteen that there was such a
thing as “easy-to-read stories,” like Twilight or Harry Potter. I remember
being so impressed with how fun it was to read a book that wasn’t written in
old English (Ivanhoe, anyone?).
My favorite classic books (yes, plural!) are Jane Eyre,
Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Great Expectations and Dracula. In
case you hadn’t noticed, I have a thing for stories with dark undertones.
Favorite
band?
One of my currents favorites is Muse. I adore them. They
have such good songs! I also like Lady Antebellum and anything with a country
sound. I am fascinated with Lana Del Rey and positively enraptured by any
instrumental groups like Audio Machine or Two Steps from Hell.
What’s
your schedule like as a writer?
I run a publishing business – I handle several different
title releases per year. I have to come up with the content, coordinate all of
the marketing strategies, edit the content, sell the content and monitor the
content. I don’t like taking time off, but I have to. Sometimes! My busiest
months are from November to June. I basically have about four to six major
deadlines per month.
From July to September, I get a little slow-down in the
madness. I work half-days, and I am able to relax my brain a bit so that I can
create more content when Fall rolls around again. So right now, I’m just
starting to enjoy some of the lazy days of summer – I’m going to Universal
Studios Hollywood, Santa Monica Beach, camping in the mountains, and checking
out a firework show for Independence Day.
What do
you like to do when you’re not working?
I really like to read. I find it nearly impossible to read
while I’m writing a manuscript. I just have to focus all of my attention on the
story creation. So I only read when I’m not writing a book – which is usually
on the weekends. I love to crochet – I adore it. It’s very soothing.
I think the best thing to do during the summer is to go
swimming, watch a movie, and then sit on the tailgate of a pickup truck, smell
the fruit in the orchards, and watch the stars. I could do that forever. I
guess I’m just a little country girl at heart! I also enjoy cooking. Pioneer
Woman is my favorite thing ever. I’m totally serious. Ree Drummond is my hero. She
needs to adopt me and teach me her ways.
Are you a
plotter or a pantser?
Here’s where I fess up and admit that I’m a hybrid. I plot
out my stories, I know who the characters are, and I know exactly what’s going
to happen before I actually sit down and write the book. However, I do not plot
out the specific scenes. I have general ideas, but I allow the personalities of
the characters and the environments to shape and mold the scene, therefore
making it – in my opinion, at least – more organic.
At this point in the Collapse Series, the characters shape
their own destinies. In many ways I am just following where they lead – I
simply nudge them in the right direction.
Favorite
writing snack?
Tea and chocolate. It’s my favorite combination. During the
hot months, it’s iced tea, and during the cold months, it’s hot tea. I
literally had a stack of eighteen snickers bars behind my desk. You know. Just
in case I got a craving or something.
Upcoming
projects?
Collapse:
The Illustrated Guide comes out this summer. The
paperback will release first, and then the eBook will be available around
August 2015. The conclusion to the Zero Trilogy, End of Day, will release October 9th, 2015. Then I’ve
got the next Collapse book coming out in January 2016, Bravo: Apocalypse Mission in March 2016, and another Collapse book
in June 2016.
So yeah. When I have downtime, I seize it and don’t let go!
Book &
Author Details:
State of Vengeance by Summer Lane
(Collapse #6)
Publication date: June 26th 2015
Genres: Dystopia, New Adult
(Collapse #6)
Publication date: June 26th 2015
Genres: Dystopia, New Adult
Synopsis:
Vengeance is
coming.
Monterey Bay,
California, has barely survived a brutal attack from the evil invasion forces
of Omega, and Cassidy Hart is exhausted. She has lost a friend and gained a new
enemy. The militias seem to be weakening, and Omega seems to be getting
stronger.
In an effort
to recruit more troops, Cassidy travels to the desolation of the high mountains
to find the mysterious troops of Sky City, and to eliminate a threat that has
long been growing just out of the militia’s reach. Cassidy is not alone. Old
enemies greet her, and the most dangerous person of all just might be the one
she trusts the most.
The fate of the free world is at stake. The end is coming.
The militias – or Omega – will have its revenge.
Book #6 of The
International Bestselling Collapse Series
Purchase:
AUTHOR
BIO:
Summer Lane is the author of the international bestselling
Collapse Series and Zero Trilogy. She owns WB Publishing and Writing
Belle, an online magazine dedicated to the Art of Storytelling. Summer is also
an accomplished creative writing teacher and professional journalist. She lives
in the Central Valley of California where she creates her stories and
shares them with the world.
Author links:
http://writingbelle.com
GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
- $10 Amazon gift card and an autographed copy of a special edition piece of concept work from the Collapse world
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