Interview with Author Linda Andrews

I’d like to welcome our guest today, our very own, Linda Andrews. It’s a pleasure having you come visit us at Much Cheaper Than Therapy, where chocolate is plentiful and advice is free. So grab some chocolate and a lounge chair. Your therapy session has begun.

Thanks for having me, Kim. I love chocolate.

I understand you have a new release out called Blue Maneuver. Can you tell us a little bit about your fabulous new book?

I think the blurb says it best:
The extraterrestrials have landed and they're human.
Rae Hemplewhite didn't believe in aliens until a close encounter with out-of-this-world technology drags her into the extraterrestrial security program. Helping alien refugees adjust to life on Earth is difficult enough, but her first clients have a price on their heads. Plus, her new partner seems torn between the urge to kiss her or kill her.

And that's the good news.

The bad news: Alliances are forming in deep space. If Rae doesn't keep her witnesses alive long enough to transfer their top secret information to the right faction of humanity, Earth will become a battlefield.

Blue Maneuver is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?

It took a long brainstorming session with a friend to come up with it. In the end, we decided on Blue to represent the Earth--our great big blue marble in space. And Maneuver because the two warring factions are performing military operations on the planet to manipulate a certain outcome. Neither is particularly benign for those of us born and raised her.

What made you decide to write in this genre?

I wanted something light and funny but with a darker theme. It doesn't hurt that I'm a big conspiracy nut and love aliens.

Where did you get your idea for this particular book?

My husband, who is also a big fan of UFO and conspiracy theories, and I spent one summer watching every show, series and documentary on the subject. After I had about 16 hours, I came up with the basic idea of the Blue Maneuver.

What are your favorite science fiction research books, and why?

I read so many SciFi books and scientific and technical journals, it's hard to pinpoint just one. I think the best place for getting ideas, it US News and World Reports science section on the web. After that, you can google key words to find more information.

Which character did you like writing about the most, and why?

Unlike my other books, Blue Maneuver, is written entirely in first person. I find it difficult to get all the information across so I gave Rae, my heroine, a special phone. If you have a Smartphone, she has one whose genius is off the chart, plus it can do some really nifty tricks.

Tell us about how you develop your characters. Do you create character sheets, do interviews, that sort of thing? How does your research and world affect your character development?

I don't really do much to develop characters. In fact, they usually arrive fully formed and boss me around.

How do you go about building your world? Do you use maps, charts or drawings?

I do have maps, pictures and layouts that I paste into a book so I can reference them.

Do you have any authors that inspired you?

Far too many to count. Some of my early favs are Authur Conan Doyle, who wrote SciFi in addition to his Sherlock Holmes, HG Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and MM Kaye. My current favs are Linda Howard, Linnea Sinclair and Laura Bickle/Alanya Williams.

What do you feel is the most effective promotion you have done for your book?

I wish I knew how to promote. I am doing a blog tour for Blue Maneuver and that's a lot of fun.

What do we have to look forward next?

Next, I'm going back to my apocalyptic novel Redaction and writing the two sequels in a row. But I plan to have two SciFi romance novels out in April. The tag line is Sleeping Beauty is awakened by a Cyborg Knights Templar.

Thanks, Linda!

Thank you, Kim for having me!

To celebrate her book release, Linda is offering a free ebook of Blue Maneuver to one lucky commenter on today's blog. (please check the blog Monday night to see if you won. Chances of winning determined by the number of entries.)

She will be around most of the day today. I'm sure some of you have questions or comments for her, so please ask away...

Bio. Linda Andrews lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, three children and a menagerie of domesticated animals. While she started writing a decade ago, she always used her stories to escape the redundancy of her day job as a scientist and never thought to actually combine her love of fiction and science. DOH! After that Homer Simpson moment, she allowed the two halves of her brain to talk to each other. The journeys she’s embarked on since then are dark, twisted and occasionally violent, but never predictable.

Check out author’s website at http://www.lindaandrews.net Buy http://www.amazon.com/Maneuver-Urban-Fantasy-Extraterrestrial-security-ebook/dp/B006VOKXME/ or
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blue-maneuver-urban-scifi-fantasy-linda-andrews/1108181682?ean=2940013738331&itm=1&usri=blue+maneuver