Withdrawn and with a reputation for her strange, eccentric ways, young Lady Moira Rochmond is old to be unwed. Rumors say she has been seen barefoot in the orchard, is awake all night in moon-struck rambles, and sleeps all day. Some even claim her ghostly pallor and aloof manner are signs of illness, a curse, or insanity.
The hopes of the peaceful succession to her father’s fief lie in an advantageous marriage. Moira, however, has a hard time attracting suitors. When one does show interest, her family pushes for a decision.
Almost resigned to the fact that she has no choice but to play the part she has been given in life, Moira is faced with Owain, a member of the mysterious Blaidyn creatures and a new guard in her father’s castle, specifically tasked to keep her safe. He is different from other people she knows and when one night under the full moon she makes the acquaintance of the wolf who shares Owain’s soul, she starts to trust him and seek his presence. As he becomes one of the few individuals who doesn’t make her want to hide and retreat, she wants to learn more about him and they grow closer until they share a kiss one night under the moon.
Faced with feelings and desires that overthrow everything she thought she knew about herself, Moira knows non-the-less that they have to be kept utterly secret. However much they try, they continue to be drawn to each other until one night, Owain discovers something about Moira that shakes him to his core.
~~~*~~~*~~~
NT: Hi Laila! Thank you for being our guest today.
Laila: Thank you so much for having me, I’m really excited to be here!
NT: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? How long did it take for you to make your first sale?
Laila: I always wanted to be a writer. That sounds terribly cheesy but I really can’t remember ever seriously wanting to be anything else. There was a brief phase in high school where I thought I’d go to med school but that was mostly because I was terribly in love with my first aid instructor and I’d read a few really good murder mysteries written by doctors and I thought that would be a great career – doctor/writer! Of course then I did an internship and realized I was far more suited for the writing world than the world of sick people.
I have worked as a translator and a teacher but it never felt like a career – I wanted to be a writer and everything else is something I earn money with until I can live off writing one day.
As for my first sale – in a way it took me about 20 years but that is not really true because for so many reasons I never really tried. I have submitted short-stories before but I wouldn’t really go so far as calling that actually trying. I first had to conquer my self-doubts and all that mental stuff that just builds up. And after that, everything went surprisingly fast.
My friend calls me her adorable tropical fish (from what Leslie calls Anne Perkins in Parks and Rec because she’s so unfamiliar with rejection). I started to shop By the Light of the Moon around in December and in February I had found not only my publisher but also an editor who wanted to include an erotic short-story of mine in her anthology. I am incredibly grateful and humbled by this and I just hope I will continue to be worthy of the trust these wonderful people placed in me.
NT: You have a debut release this month, BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. Can you tell us about it?
Laila: Of course, thank you for asking. BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON came out earlier this week with Crimson Romance. It’s a mixture of paranormal and fantasy romance – the world is more reminiscent of fantasy but it is populated with creatures you’d expect in paranormal, such as fae and a kind of were-wolf race I dubbed the Blaidyn.
I don’t want to bore you and just repeat the blurb – but it’s a forbidden love-story, and it’s about mental health and alienation, about prejudice and about family. I tried to create a world that supported my story and some of the motifs I wanted to include. It is also designed to sustain more than just one book. BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON is the first book in a series I am currently writing and which will uncover even more.
NT: Do you have a writing routine? What is your average writing day like?
I have a somewhat irregular work schedule so it very much depends. On my days off, I try to start in the morning – I’m not a morning person but I really like starting my day writing and have about a 1000 words done before noon. Then I usually do other things, take care of my website, of social media and cook food, hang out with my cat and my friends via IM and all that and then go back to writing in the afternoon or evening. When I work, I try to write 500 words at the very least, then in the evening.
NT: Is there anyone you use as a sounding board when you’re stuck on a scene?
Sometimes, yeah. My best friend L.C. Spoering with whom I have also collaborated on a novel we’ll start shopping around soon, tends to be that person. At the same time, I can be weirdly secretive about what I am working on, wanting her to read the finished product without so many previous impressions of it.
When I’m stuck on a scene, I usually take a walk – and hope desperately that it’s nice and cold out. I usually just need a good gust of wind to blow away all the bullshit that assembles in your brain day by day and then I tend to figure it out.
NT: What was the most interesting thing you had to research and what was the hardest thing to research?
I have to admit that I am not the most incredible researcher out there. Shame on me. I do it when I have to, obviously, but I don’t go out of my way to include topics that require a lot of research. For BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON for example, I researched castle terminology, dresses and things like that but mostly I just made it up – as you can in fantasy. I did a lot of research about PTSD but I also had a jump start there because I know people who suffer from it. Also, the way it connects in the story, it isn’t exactly like the human condition because of several other cofactors that play a role – but which to mention might be spoiling it too much.
But I am currently working on a post apoc piece with a friend and I have to say, I love researching ways to live without modern amenities. I think I have some kind of hippie soul, and I adore reading about gardening and building houses out natural materials and creating communities. It’s really fascinating!
NT: When not busy writing, what do you like to do in your spare time? (If there is such a thing *G*)
Haha, at the moment, it feels a bit like you hit the nail right on the head there. Between writing and promoting my release, it does often feel like there is little actual free time. I skype with my writing buddy a lot, keeping each other on track – but also just hanging out. I nurse a few obsessions with tv shows like Game of Thrones or Parks and Rec, and Singer-song-writers and that kind of stuff. With actually free time (as in not just relaxing time) I like to play guitar or take my camera out for a spin.
NT: What are the latest additions to your TBR? What are you most eager to read?
I recently bought a self-published book called “Exactly Where They’d Fall” by Laura Rae Amos – so that that is the latest addition and actually also what I am really looking forward to reading! Also the last part of Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, incredibly excited about that.
NT: Any advice to aspiring authors? What craft books helped you that you would recommend to aspiring writers?
I haven’t actually read all that many. I believe that reading really good books and the canon of literature and then thinking about them, maybe writing reviews and really coming to understand why you like certain aspects and not others helps you more than craft books. I read the James N. Frey books “How to write a damn good novel” I and II and they were good – but again, I think contact with other writers, writing forums or discussion groups bring you further than reading craft books.
I’d also advise anyone who wants to be a writer to understand the market from the very beginning. We can’t just be writers anymore, write a manuscript and then sit back and let everything be handled by others. We have to be social media experts and our own promoters, we have we have to know about marketing and the market itself. Follow people on twitter and really read what they have to say, read blogs by editors and agents and writers and educate yourself on these aspects.
Other than that? I honestly don’t know. Write and don’t stop, write every day and write for writing’s sake – because that’s what you want to do with the rest of your life. Writing for money and fame is like picking up a lottery ticket with the expectation of being a millionaire in the next few weeks. Writing as a career is really hard work and it doesn’t pay off for a very long time – if ever. Be aware of that and if it that doesn’t scare you off, what else do you have to fear really? Just go for it, go for it hard and don’t stop.
NT: What can your fans look forward to from you in the near future? What are you working on now?
I’m currently finishing up the last two chapters in the Lakeside sequel, so that will definitely the next thing that’s coming out in a couple of months. As I mentioned above, I am also working on some collaborative projects with L.C. Spoering in which we hope we interest a publisher.
Apart from that, I have several erotic short-stories in anthologies that will come out later in the year and early in 2014 and once finished with the Lakeside sequel, I want to take some time writing one or two shorter novellas and take a break from fantasy until I plunge back into the third and final book in the series.
NT: How can readers contact you?
I love to hear from my readers! I am also thinking about starting some youtube videos or a podcast where I could answer questions. For now, they can always email me at Laila@lailablake.com or leave comments on my blog, add me on twitter or facebook or friend me on goodreads. I’m very approachable, I promise! 🙂
NT: Thanks for being our guest today!
To be entered in Laila’s giveaway, follow the rafflecopter link below. Good luck! 😀
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/OWE0YzkzYWJmMzE3OGE4N2RkZmZjNDQ2MzMwOTNlOjA=/
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