Author Interview: CJ Redwine

C.J. Redwine loves stilettos, lemon bars, any movie starring Johnny Depp, and books. C.J. holds a degree in English Literature from Pepperdine University and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, four kids, two spastic cats, and one long-suffering dog. For more on C.J., please visit her website at http://cjredwine.blogspot.com. 

Check out her book Defiance here - click here

Published by Atom in Paperback and Ebook

Released:  6th September 2012 (£6.99)

1. If you could work with any other author, who would it be and why?

My brain literally just exploded with a plethora of names! But if I have to just pick one, it would be J.K. Rowling. I'd crawl inside her head and live there for a year or two if she'd let me. Her worldbuilding is unparalleled and the way she created an entire cast of singularly unique characters (whom I either LOVE or HATE) just amazes me. I'd love to let her creative genius soak in and inspire me.

2. What would be a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?
Because I have four kids, one of whom is a toddler and is home with me full time, I have to work hard for my writing time. I write while my daughter sleeps and then again after dinner/homework/family time is over. Generally, I don't get to bed before midnight every night as a result, and I get up at 5:45 with the kids, so it's a small wonder that I remember to dress myself before I leave the house.

3. What is the hardest part of the writing for you?

Usually, it's the beginnings. I almost always (Okay, FINE. Always!) start in the wrong place and have to revise a time or six before the story really gains traction for me.

4. When and why did you first start writing?

I started writing stories in second grade right after I finished reading C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia because after reading those, the part of my brain that constantly churns out new worlds and stories woke up and hasn't been back to sleep since.


5. How did you come up with the idea for the book ‘Defiance’?

For years, I'd had the idea of a huge Leviathon-like creature who lived underground, but I didn't know what to do with it. Then, I saw a picture of a fortress, and it reminded me of a city-state. I instantly decided I wanted to write a story where the characters lived in city-states again. I asked myself what would cause people to choose that life, remembered my underground monster, and Defiance was born.

6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading now?

Oh, yes. Unless I'm really in a heavy drafting period on a manuscript, I read four to five books a week. The book I'm getting ready to read next is Sarah J. Maas' THRONE OF GLASS.

7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers?

Keep writing. The only sure way to fail is to stop, so I recommend that you channel every rejection, every idea that got tangled up and wouldn't work, and every person who has the audacity to shower your dreams with scorn into a stubborn refusal to quit. No matter what happens, just write the next story. And the next. And the next after that. :)