The Mercenary's Dawn (Renegades Book 1) by L.P. Peace
1- This interview was scheduled when you only had one book out. But yesterday, August 18, you put out the next book in the series. Way to go! How many books are you planning for Renegades?
My plan is that Renegades will be a five-book series and will launch other series set in the same world. I intend to explore this universe for a while. There may be other books in Renegades later on, but at the moment, it's set at 5 books.
2- Would you please, in 160 characters or less, give a #WriteTip ?
Finish the book. Ignore the mistakes. That's what editing's for.
3- What is the best piece of writing advice you've received?
Finish the book. Ignore the mistakes. That's what editing's for. Lol. Honestly, taking that advice was the best thing I ever did. I learned more about writing through finishing, then editing the book than anything else.
4- Of the many movies with aliens, which alien is your favorite?
The Predator from the second Predator movie (though the first is my favourite Predator movie). When he picked up the cop and found she was pregnant and didn't hurt her, I was like, 'Aww, he's not so bad!!!' XD
5- Would you share a picture with us of your book with a cat?
This is Harley looking utterly disinterested in my book! 😂
6- What were your thoughts on the "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" last year?
It was amazing! I watched that for a while, seeing the Naruto running in the background. But what I really loved was law enforcement's reaction to it. All the cops talking to the people and laughing along with it. No nonsense, no threats. Just letting them have fun.
7- What's your Twitter handle, and do you have two or three writer friends on there to shout-out to for #WriterWednesday ?
You can find me on Twitter @lucy_peace . If Sci-Fi Romance is your thing or you think it might be, then I recommend @TiffanyRobertsF , a husband and wife writing duo who write my favourite SFR, hands down. @BlazingOptimist a friend from uni, Tia Owen, who has a great writing blog and @regineabel another of my favourite SFR writers. At the moment she's promoting an anthology, Pets in Space. It's out for a limited time and a portion of the first month's profits goes to http://Hero-Dogs.org. This non-profit charity supports veterans and first responders in the US (Gratuitous charity plug here!).
8- Do you have a favorite #bookstagram image or account/ profile?
Ooh, good question! I don't have one yet.
9- What most motivates you to read a new book?
A good cover. In self-publishing, there's a lot of great covers, but a small percentage of poorly photoshopped ones. I won't hate on homemade, because I know a few of these ladies make their own and they're amazing. A well-crafted blurb will attract my attention, but more than that, compelling characters and a good plot. If you have the first two and not the latter two, I'm not interested. I need to care about the characters, and they should be going through something. Particularly for romance. There should be something that threatens to stop them being together, because ultimately, that's the point of the book, that they overcome difficulties to be together. I personally prefer when those difficulties are external. I love seeing two people fight side-by-side to be together.
10- It's our tenth anniversary! How far has your writing come in the past ten years and where do you see your writing career ten years from now?
Ten years ago, I was writing scripts, having decided to try that when I was struggling to write books. I made a bit a headway but wasn't happy. In 2016 I came back to novel writing. I plan to publish a new book every two months, all going well, so in ten years I plan to have a lot of books self-published. I also plan to write books in fantasy and contemporary fantasy and submit them to agents and publishers.
11- What is your favorite book by someone else, what's the author's Twitter handle, and what do you love most about that book? #FridayReads book recommendation time!
Author name: Tiffany Roberts @TiffanyRobertsF
Title: Infinite City books
Love because: The stories are set on an alien planet, where the whole planet, surface and underground, is a city. There's an array of alien races, the tension is palpable, the stories are incredibly well written. I've read every one, and I can't tell the difference between the scenes Robert writes, and the scenes Tiffany writes. The worldbuilding is phenomenal, the threat always feels real, the action scenes are heart-stopping, and the endings feel earned. Start with Silent Lucidity and enjoy.
12- What emotions do you hope your book will evoke for the reader?
Satisfaction. Catharsis. I try to write books that take readers on an emotional ride, with the intent that the end will leave them feeling satisfied. I love happy ever afters, romance, of any subgenre, is all about them. I think catharsis is a much better way to leave a reader, it means they've experienced something that affected them.
13- What kind of impact do you hope your book will have?
For me, books have always been about escaping. The world, especially at the moment, can be a challenging place sometimes. If I can offer a few hours of escapism, that makes me feel like I've achieved something.
14- What is the best writing tool, program, or reference book you've ever bought?
There is a book formatting program called Vellum which allows me to format my own books for both ebooks and print. It's a fantastic tool and is so intuitive. It means I don't have to hire someone to format my novels, I have complete control over how the interior looks, and it also means if something is wrong with the book after publishing, I can fix it myself, I don't have to rely on someone being able to fit me in.
15- In what ways are the main characters in your book diverse? diversebooks.org #WeNeedDiverseBooks
The first four books of my series, the heroines are white. That wasn't a conscious choice, and I recognise it falls under unconscious bias. At the same time, I didn't choose the races of any of my heroines, I write the character that presents themselves to me. Going back and changing the race of any of those four characters would have a massive effect on their personality. Whether people want to recognise it or not, the race you are and where you grow up, effects your experiences in life, so changing the ethnicity of anyone of them would change their story and that would impact the story I'm telling.
Of the 30-odd books I have planned in this universe, I would say half of the heroines are women of ethnicity. I come from a diverse family and I want to see that represented in my work. Future heroines will be Black, Mediterranean, Asian, Polynesian, Arabic, etc. We come from a beautifully diverse planet, with an array of cultures, beliefs and practices. I want to see them in my stories.
My first heroine has albinism. I've read books where albino heroines are almost treated as a fetish. The issues they face due to the condition they live with are ignored. I guess their skin conditions don't factor into how those writers see the characters, but I don't believe you should choose a condition like that because you think it looks good and then ignore the massive impact it has on an albino person's life.
My heroine suffers severe sunburn, worries about cancer and has had growths removed. She's conscious of her skin, and it plays a role in what she can do in life. So it's not just racial diversity we need to see. I plan to write heroines who are neurodivergent, such as autistic. I have a black heroine planned who has Vitiligo a condition that causes white patches of skin. I want to see heroines who have grown up poverty-stricken, as well as those who grew up wealthy. Abusive pasts and surrounded by love.
I don't view 'diversity' as a watchword. I think diversity is something we live with but don't recognise a lot of the time. I think if more people just looked around them, spoke to people, they'd realise how different we all are and the beauty in those differences.
16- Who is your favorite book review blogger?
It's not a book review blogger, (I don't really read any) but author Veronica Scott @vscotttheauthor has a word press where she compiles new releases in SFR weekly. Also, Author SJ Pajones runs SFR Station, @SFRstation , which is a search resource for SFR books. I can browse both for hours looking for new books to read.
17- What was the deciding factor in your publication route?
Except for time travel romance, no one really publishes sci-fi romance. I'd been thinking about self-publishing for a while when I stumbled across the genre and fell in love. The two were the perfect match. It allowed me a level of control over my writing that you just don't get with publishing companies. I have stories outside of SFR that I plan to write, for them, I will attempt the agent/publisher route, but even if I got offered a contract for my SFR books, I wouldn't take it. I love the control. I love formatting my books, I love commissioning my cover designer, Sam and working with her to see the covers come to life. I love interacting with the people who love this genre as much as I do, whether they're my fans, or have no idea who I am (As is mostly the case this early in) and I love the other writers. They're an amazing bunch of women who are self-motivated in a genre overlooked by the mainstream. There was a call for these books, so these women, who are also fans, took the wheel and created this subgenre so that they could give those who can't or don't want to write, the books they wanted. They blow me away.
18- Which author, past or present, do you feel most resembles your work?
When I came into this genre, the first thing I did was read voraciously. I consumed the stories, not just because I'm a fan, but because I wanted to break the stories down. In any genre, you have to know the tropes. When I came across Tiffany Roberts work, it was unlike any of the other books I'd read to date. Tiffany and Robert write sci-fi romance with a heavy dose of action-adventure, I loved that, and it's those books that shaped the world I wanted to create and the stories I wanted to tell. I don't know if my work resembles theirs, I hope not, because while I love those books and adopted a stronger take on action-adventure because of them, I hope my books are like MY books. But they're definitely Tiffany Roberts inspired.
19- Would you please ask our audience a question to answer in the comments?
Hmm, going back to the bookstagram question, who does your audience think I should check out? I like SFR and fantasy romance, obviously; as well as Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Who are good Bookstagrammars in those genres? What about book bloggers? What am I missing out on?
20- Anything else you would care to share about your book and yourself?
Blurb
A Mercenary looking for a future. An escaped slave fleeing from the past. Their love will reshape worlds.
When Alethia is kidnapped while trying to free slaves, it seems her deepest nightmares are coming true. Her 'rescue' by Thanesh, leader of the Protectorate, a group of hardened mercenaries, is short-lived when the past catches up to the mysterious alien leader, revealing things about both of them which will change their future forever.
Thanesh and Alethia must now fight side-by-side or face the horrifying consequences.
You can sample my world with this FREE novella. You do NOT need to sign up to my newsletter to download The Captain's Promise. https://dl.bookfunnel.com/ghu7t6d6ig
Bio
Lucy is an all-round nerd with a life-long love of mythology, fantasy and science-fiction, throw in a happily-ever-after and she's a happy customer. When she's not reading or writing about alien males and the human women who love them, she's spending time with her husband Jonathan and their three cats Harley, Quinn and Tom in their Derbyshire home.
Lucy writes Science-fiction romance, with a dose of adventure. Her material contains steamy scenes and is for adults only.
http://lucypeace.com
https://facebook.com/groups/lppeacereadersgroup/
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https://instagram.com/lucy_peace_author/
Twitter @lucy_peace
The Mercenary's Dawn - http://books2read.com/u/mBGgWN
The Smuggler's Radiant http://books2read.com/u/4AKdno
The books are also free to read to subscribers of Kindle Unlimited.
The Mercenary's Dawn (Renegades Book 1) by L.P. Peace
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