Guest post: Jolyn Palliata, Her Voices and a Giveaway!

Yesterday was my stop on the CLP Blog Tour for Amber Eyes by Joyln Palliata. Loved the book! And I am so glad it is a series - there is more wonderfulness to come! You can read the synopsis and my thoughts here.

Today I have Jolyn here @ The Book Bag talking about the 'voices in her head'. (Seems like most writers have them - must be a good sign, if you do, and you want to be a writer)

Joyln has a question for you ~ check it out below and leave her a comment, please. 

Jolyn is also giving a Kindle copy of Amber Eyes (!!!!!) to one of you lucky people reading of The Book Bag! Look for the Rafflecopter at the end of this post.  

Jolyn, I have heard other authors say that they 'hear voices in their head' and that is how they write their books: the characters are telling their stories. Not being a writer myself, that concept has always intrigued me.

When some people hear voices, we get them medical attention, others end up becoming writers. Does this happen to you? How do you come up with your stories?

~~~~~

Hi, Susan! Thank you for having me! I have to say, I love your questions.

I’ll tackle the “voices in your head” one first…

Although it’s absolutely true, it’s not as creepy as it sounds. At least not for those of us that have learned to keep the voices to ourselves. The trick is to not have full-on conversations with your characters out loud. If you do that, you might as well say your goodbyes now, because the crazy train will haul you away. Actually, if that happened to someone, I’d surprisingly be okay with it. After all, having those “writers” (we’ll continue to humor the crazies) taken out of the picture might be what gave me the edge, and paved the way for me, myself and I. ;)

In all honesty (and at the risk of sounding certifiable), the characters do end up having their own story to tell. I always start off with one final destination in mind, but I remain flexible in that. As I write, my characters personalities start shining through, as well as how they would react to various situations. Eventually, I get to the point where my destination is no longer conceivable because my characters would never “go there”. That’s when they start talking and driving the story. It’s best to just let them lead at that point for a more natural flow, and in the end, I end up with a storyline I didn’t even see coming. And believe me when I say, my characters are brilliant brain surgeons in comparison to what I originally envisioned. (It’s a miracle they put up with me at all!)

Now for your question of how I come up with my stories…

They’re usually born from an errant thought: What’s the deepest connection you could possible forge with someone? (Amber Eyes), What would it be like to have an out of body experience? (Shaolin—not yet published), What’s the most turbulent emotional roller coaster ride that I can create for a reader? (Impending Reprisals—expected publication March 2012), What would a story from Fate’s point-of-view be like? (Twisted—expected publication Fall 2012) and What would it be like if the person you’re with could actually feel your emotions and know what you’re thinking? (Connected). I even wrote one book after listening to a song in my car, and then thinking, ‘Why would a guy be with one woman (a toxic one at that) when he’s really in love with another, and wants to be with her instead?’ (A Modern Love Story).

When these thoughts pop into my head, they ruthlessly take root, festering and growing until I can think of nothing else and am forced to write them. (This is where my characters are holding me at gunpoint, threatening to blow holes in my sanity if I don’t start listening to them.) Er…but really, I’m not crazy. :D

I’d like to ask your readers this:

Have any of you had a thought pop into your head, and you thought ‘Hey…that’s a great idea!’? Or how about for all you writers out there—do your characters talk to you, too? I’d love to hear your thoughts, or rather, the voices in your head.

~ Author Bio ~

Jolyn’s writing career began in 2009 when she looked across the sea of cubicles at work, and thought, “I was meant for something more than this.” That thought was immediately followed by, “I wonder if I can write a novel.” Four novels and one novella later, that question has been answered. She started with Amber Eyes (Entwined Souls Trilogy – Book One), a young adult paranormal romance. They always say, with the first book, you write about what you know. And she certainly did! Drawing off her teenage years in Oshkosh, WI, Jolyn incorporated her high school and favorite haunts. She even pulled out her favorite music from back then to help recapture the teenager within.

Jolyn has absolutely no qualifications whatsoever to be a writer, other than a knack and a passion. The knack she worked hard for through betas, critique partners, writer sites, editors, etc, but the passion she’s had since she was in middle school.

Being married, and mother to one very precocious six-year-old, doesn’t leave her with a whole heckofalot of time to write – not to mention working full-time – but that is where lack of sleep comes in very handy. Jolyn has a gift of functioning on minimal sleep when totally absorbed by a writing project…although she crashes like dead weight when it’s fully completed/edited (usually 2-3 months later).

Her current listing of published books includes ~~

· Amber Eyes (Entwined Souls Trilogy – Book One) – young adult paranormal romance

· Connected (Twists of Fate #1) – paranormal romance

· A Modern Love Story – contemporary / romantic suspense

Random information and quirks about Jolyn (because everyone has them):

· She likes to listen to loud music. Period. But especially when she has a headache (helps to drown it out).

· When she's overtired, she gets slaphappy. (Heaven help those around her.)

· She titles a book before she writes it, because she's anal enough to where that would bother her.

· She can't walk into a Barnes and Noble without buying a book. Even if she has a pile of unread books at home (which she does), it just doesn't feel right to leave empty-handed.

Links to Jolyn’s world ~~

Website

Amazon (full store listing)

Twitter

Facebook

FB – Entwined Souls Trilogy

FB – Twists of Fate series

Goodreads

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