Interview and Giveaway: Alayna Williams

Alayna Williams is currently touring for her new book, Rogue Oracle    For this blog tour, I have a review of Rogue Oracle (it was fantastic!), a little bit about Alayna and then the giveaway.  So be sure to read all the way to the end for the GIVEAWAY!!

 

About Alayna:

Alayna Williams has an MA in sociology-criminology (research interests: fear of crime and victimology) and a BA in criminology. She has worked in and around criminal justice since 1997. Although she does read Tarot cards, she's never used them in criminal profiling or to locate lost scientists.

 

She recently took up astronomy, but for the most part her primary role in studying constellations and dark matter is to follow her amateur astronomer-husband around central Ohio toting the telescope tripod and various lenses. Like the Pythia in Dark Oracle, she's been known to belly dance. Unlike the Pythia she'd never consider herself a professional.

 

Writing as Laura Bickle, she's the author of EMBERS and SPARKS for Pocket - Juno Books. Writing as Alayna Williams, she's the author of DARK ORACLE and ROGUE ORACLE.

 

More info on her urban fantasy and general nerdiness is here: http://www.salamanderstales.com/

 

                   

 

 

UGF:  Hi Alayna!

 

Alayna:  Hi! Thank you so much for hosting me today! I'm looking forward to chatting with you and your readers!

 

UGF:  Thank you for taking the time to visit us at Urban Girl Reading. We’re looking forward to chatting about your new release, Rogue Oracle. Please tell us a bit about it.

 

Alayna:  Tara Sheridan is the best criminal profiler around - and the most unconventional. Trained as a forensic psychologist, Tara also specializes in Tarot card reading. But she doesn't need her divination skills to realize that the new assignment from her friend and sometime lover, Agent Harry Li, is a dangerous proposition in every way.

 

Former Cold War operatives, all linked to a top-secret operation tracking the disposal of nuclear weapons in Russia, are disappearing. There are no bodies, and no clues to their whereabouts. Harry suspects a conspiracy to sell arms to the highest bidder. The cards - and Tara's increasingly ominous dreams - suggest something darker. Even as Tara sorts through her feelings for Harry and her fractured relationships with the mysterious order known as Delphi's Daughters, a killer is growing more ruthless by the day. And a nightmare that began decades ago in Chernobyl will reach a terrifying endgame that not even Tara could have foreseen.

 

UGF:  Was it always your dream to become a published author?

 

Alayna: I've always been scrawling stories, every since I've been old enough to hold a crayon. It still seems a bit surreal to be able to see my work in print. It was a long road, but I'm thrilled to be on it. I'm excited that other people want to read what I've written...it's the best feeling in the world.

 

UGF:  Which character did you have the most fun writing about (in all your books)? Do you have a favorite?

 

Alayna:  Ah...I love writing from Tara's perspective in the oracle books. I love watching how her mind makes intuitive leaps from the Tarot cards to the cases she's working. I seized the opportunity to get into her head by writing the ORACLE books with a deck of Tarot cards in hand. Whenever I wondered what Tara would do next, I picked a card as a story prompt.

 

My other favorite character is from EMBERS by my alter ego, Laura Bickle. Sparky the fire salamander is a petulant and cranky familiar to an arson investigator. He sleeps at the foot of her bed, curled up with his Glow-Worm toy. Sparky's a lot of fun because he's really unpredictable...even when I'm writing him.

 

UGF: What upcoming projects are you working on and when can your fans expect to look for them?

 

Alayna:  I've got a couple of new things in the works. I can't say much about them, except to say that there will be more things that go bump in the night. I've always loved supernatural stories, and am scribbling furiously to keep up with ideas.

 

UGF:  You have written a wide variety of novels. Is there any specific genre you haven’t written that you would like to write?

 

Alayna:  There are many genres that I'm interested in...contemporary fantasy, YA, horror...but I would love to do an epic fantasy someday. Turn the dragons loose!

 

UGF: When you make time to write is there anything you need in order to write? (ie Chocolate, quiet, music, crowds)

 

Alayna: Quiet is really important for me. I can write with music, but television gets really distracting. Before I know it, I can kill two hours in front of the TV, and only have ten words.

 

But the thing that I find hardest of all is trying to write in the presence of other people. I've never been able to write at coffee shops or cafes. Heck, I can't even write with my husband in the room. I think it's because I know that I chew my lip and make stupid faces when I write.

 

UGF:  What genres do you read? Do you have any favorite authors?

 

Alayna: I love fantasy, urban fantasy, magical realism, contemporary fantasy...throw an element of weirdness into a story, and I'm there! Some of my all-time favorites are: Robin McKinley, Ann Aguirre, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jessa Slade, M.L.N. Hanover.

 

Quickfire Questions

Hardcover or paperback books
Paperback - I can stuff 'em in my purse while waiting in line at the post office or on break at work.

 

Bookmark or dog ear page turner
I'll grab any scrap of paper at hand - receipts, coupons, business cards. And then I'll promptly forget where I left them.

 

Early bird or night owl
Night Owl.

Coffee or tea
Tea

Chocolate or vanilla
Chocolate. Hands-down.

 

Thank you Alayna for taking the time to visit and answer some questions for us. It has been a pleasure and best of luck on your book tour!

 

                   

 

Now for the Giveaway.  In order to win you must include your leave a comment with your contact information.

 

• I have one (1) print copy of Rogue Oracle
• Contest open Internationally (Thank you Alayna!) 
• Comment to win, please include email for contact purposes
• Giveaway Ends March 15, 2011. Winner will be notified by e-mail and have 72 hours to respond.