My Guest: JC Cassels - Part 2

Today, part two of my interview with JC Cassels.  She recently published her debut novel, The Black Wing Chronicles: Sovran's Pawn.

Let's jump right in and carry on from where we left off last week.  JC, if you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?

I’d be a space pirate… yeah.

Hell's yeh! How cool is that!!
What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?

Read. Write. Find a writers’ group. Never stop studying storycraft.

Excellent!  Any favourite authors who have inspired you?

I have been inspired by so many of my favorite authors, it’s hard to know where to begin. I guess, I’d have to say Louisa May Alcott – I really related to Jo March as a child, and even more as a young writer trying to make a living. One of the greatest thrills of my life was going to Orchard House, her home in Concord, MA. It felt like a pilgrimage. I will never forget standing in her bedroom, looking at the little desk where she was purported to have written, seeing the flowers her sister May had painted for her, and the owl on the fireplace mantle, also painted by her sister. One fact that inspired me was that as prolific as she was, very little of what Louisa May Alcott wrote was what she actually wanted to write. She wrote to pay the bills. So, I followed her example and wrote whatever anyone would pay me to write, while I worked on what I loved in the dark and in secret until it was ready to show.

What are you reading now?

I just finished Ambasadora by Heidi Ruby Miller – I love the world and the culture she’s created. I find the politics and the impact they have on the lives of the citizens absolutely fascinating.

Have you ever eaten crayons?

I hear they’re pretty tasty with a little Bechamel sauce.

Oh, right...interesting... Anyways, moving along. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A space pirate… yeah.

Okay, I see you're sticking with that. :)  Are you a morning person or an evening person?

I am a sleep-deprived person, fueled by caffeine and chocolate.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

Probably when my dad picked up my manuscript and started reading a steamy scene aloud to my husband. He’d pause at certain moments and look accusingly over his glasses at my husband and me. Honestly, I felt like an adolescent strolling in, looking all rumpled, after curfew. My husband thought it was hilarious.

What is the one thing that your readers don’t know about you?

I have six children, of whom I only incubated half that number. Thanks to one third of the sum total of my children, I have grandchildren, in the amount of two-thirds of my sum total of children… I also hate word problems.

*blink-blink* Uhhh, I think I got that.  Okay, what the worst writing advice you ever received?

Go to college and get your degree as an English Teacher.

Best writing advice you ever received?

Don’t become a teacher.

If you had a super power, what would it be, and what would you call yourself?

I am World Builder the Geek Goddess! I create worlds and the characters who inhabit them!

And would you wear a cape and a mask, or just a mask?

No mask. Just a cape. I have a pretty nifty cape. It looks great with my leopard print platform heels. If Superman and Wonder Woman don’t need a mask, neither do!!

Who is your favourite character in your books?

Blade Devon, hands down. He’s the reason I can’t let go of this ‘verse. I still remember his first appearance on paper and mark it as his birthday:  November 4, 1984. I was madly in love with him from his first lopsided grin.

What’s your favourite food?

Crayons in Bechamel sound pretty tasty to me right now.

*pushes crayons to a safer place*  So, what’s under your bed?

Shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. I LOVE shoes and, like me, my three-year-old daughter is a miniature shoe diva. She likes to take my best heels and clomp through the house in them. My husband has started building in an extra half hour into our departure times just so I have time to track down my shoes. I have taken to hiding my most often worn and favorite pairs of shoes under my bed because she won’t go there… yet.

If your book was made into a movie, who would you have play the characters?

Obviously, Blade could play himself because, well, he’s a holofeature actor (among other things). The female lead… that’s tough. I’m not sure Bo would let just anyone play opposite her man, she’s pretty possessive. I can foresee problems in casting. There would have to be some serious insurance taken out on the actress cast for the part. Maggie Smith, maybe… or Cher... or Dora the Explorer. 

Well, there you have it folks...more or less everything you wanted to know about JC Cassels.  I want to thank her for being such a sport and answering questions most people wouldn't have (but now that I know, I'll have to stash my crayons away if she drops by again).

Now be nice, go click on the links and buy her debut novel The Black Wing Chronicles: Sovran's Pawn.  And don't forget to leave some comments to boost her ego.  We writer's are a delicate bunch.

Cheers!

Links to JC Cassels:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Cassels/131216176902032

Blog http://jccassels.wordpress.com/

Twitter twitter.com/calicoco468

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6523498-jc-cassels

On Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/calicoco