The Keeper is Natalie Star's debut novel, which I had the pleasure of reviewing recently. My 5 star review here. Here's a little background information from the author herself:
When I'm not reading or writing, I can be found with my husband supporting my two children on the
soccer fields. Or maybe running around with my camera taking photos
while camping and/or hiking. Or lastly, and most probable - I'm watching
movies on Netflix while simultaneously perusing Facebook. Our family resides in the state of Virginia along with our old-unintelligent-diabetic cat named Lucky.
So, Natalie....
*I
read that you only started getting into books about 3 yrs ago. What
was the catalyst that caused this change in your life, that drew you to
reading and writing?
One
word...Twilight. I read it to see what my pre-teen daughter was
reading, and that was all it took. I fell in love with the young adult
vampire genre, and began reading one novel after another. I've since
moved on from vamps, and read about other
supernaturals now :)
*Where did the name of your protagonist, Billie, come from?
In
my mind, my main character needed to have a unisex name. One that might
upset her if she were to get picked on for it, and one that would make
her want to feel more feminine. I had my family help me compile a list
of names. Billie was the name that jumped out at me of about 25 names.
*Tell us about how Billie's story came about?
In
The Keeper prologue, there is a brief scene with a young girl
experiencing something unusual. This scene was actually from a dream I
had. My imagination just took off from there.
*One of the things I loved about Billie's character was her attitude, is she modeled after someone you know?
No, actually none of the characters are.
*Billie
is torn between 2 great guys, I imagine a love triangle is difficult to
write, is this something you've had personal experience with?
*Describe your writing process. Do you listen to music while you write? Are you in seclusion?
No,
I found my husband when I was 15, and been with him ever since. I've
picked up what I know about love triangles from books, television, and
movies. I'm what you could call an emotional audience, and I have an
empathy for characters that runs deep. This carries over into my
writing.
*Your book is YA paranormal, but without the ever-popular vampires, faeries, werewolves and such, how
has the journey been getting The Keeper recognition?
It's
been a lot of work trying to get The Keeper out there. It's in a pretty
popular genre, but it's also not the typical paranormal that readers
have come to love, and on top of that, I'm a debut author and no one has
ever heard of me before. Those three things combined make it difficult,
but with bloggers and reviewers (like yourself), it helps a great deal.
I appreciate all you guys do for authors.
To
write I need absolute silence. I usually wait until my husband goes to
his night job, and my children go to sleep. I shut off everything except
the laptop,
and I dim the overhead lights.
*What 5 words would you use to describe yourself.
Kind, helpful, frugal, silly, and fun.
*What are your favorite books and who are your favorite authors?
I
LOVE young adult paranormal & urban fantasy stories! My fave
authors...too many to list, but here are some of them; Rachel Caine,
Richelle Mead, Cassandra
Clare, Maggie Stiefvater, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Julie Kagawa.
*What interesting jobs have you had before becoming a published author?
*What interesting jobs have you had before becoming a published author?
As
a teen I worked for an insurance company, ice cream shop, and held a
host of positions at the local movie theater. As an adult, my husband
was in the military for twenty years so we were constantly moving. Each
job was unique; bank
teller, customer service and loan counselor/officer for a credit union.
Did a stint as a stay at home mom (best job ever - hardest, too)! I
worked daycare at a gym. I was a
preschool teacher. I cleaned houses, and I worked customer service for a
tax company. Since then, to be able to keep up with my family's crazy
schedule, I only do volunteer work at the kids schools. It's not a
paycheck, but I like to help, and it gets me out of the house.
*What are you currently working on? What's next for you?
The
novel I'm diligently working on right now, is the next installment in
the world of The Keeper. I can't tell you the title, it's too
spoiler-ish. I still have to submit it to the publisher, so it isn't a
done deal, far from it. Other than that, I have two more YA novels
started, but I've put them on hold for
now. I will say, one of those is the third and final story of The
Keeper. I never meant for it to be a series, it just happened. The
characters insisted on it.
Thank you so much, Natalie! You are awesome.
