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Welcome to my guest blogger today, author Misty Evans, here talking about writing and the writing life. Her book, Soul Suvivor, released June 21st.

Misty, tell us about Soul Survivor.

Joan, thank you so much for having me on your blog today! Soul Suvivor is a dark paranormal romantic suspense published by Carina Press. Here’s the blurb:

Haunted by tragedy, FBI profiler Rife St. Cloud is driven to find the person who brutally attacked six women. Unfortunately the only survivor, Keva Moon Water, has no memory of what happened, and the evidence makes her the prime suspect.

Keva cannot die. She has waited a thousand years to be reunited with the man she loves, whose soul sleeps within Rife. Though he refuses to believe her claims of immortality, there’s no denying the passion that burns between them. Keva desperately hopes their sexual connection will be enough to awaken Rife’s memories of the love affair that started a war and bound their souls together for all eternity.

But when Keva’s own memories come trickling back, she realizes that a future with Rife depends upon confronting the mistakes of the distant past…

Soul Survivor is the first of your Lost Worlds Series. Can you tell us what inspired the series and what is in store in the sequels to Soul Survivor?

My twin sons have long been fascinated with lost civilizations, both real and mythical. Their interest sparked a similar interest in me, especially about North American civilizations such as the Anazazi and Hopewell groups. For my fictional series, I created a lost tribe of Native Americans of which my hero and heroine were members of a thousand years ago and was destroyed because of their love for each other. In the second book, Soul Protector, my archeologist hero discovers the bones of the lost tribe and releases a bunch of angry ghosts.

The story’s heroine is a shaman and ghost whisperer, so she’s against him digging them up in the first place and then must get the ghosts to cross over before they destroy her, him and many other innocent people in their quest for revenge. Even though there’s a new hero and heroine for this book, Keva and Rife from Soul Survivor will make an appearance. The third book in the series, Soul Walker, is still rattling around in my head.

Can you tell us a little about your Witches Anonymous series and what inspired it?

Witches Anonymous is one of my most loved series by fans. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s light paranormal or because the heroine’s torn between Lucifer (definite bad boy) and Adam (the original Adam who’s on Earth for a redo), but my readers love this series. Which is great for me, because I love writing it. There are three novellas published so far in the series and a fourth coming out late summer. The series was inspired by my Baptist upbringing and my God complex. I’ve always wanted to rewrite a few biblical stories, and in this series, I get to do that.

What is your writing routine?

I write for several hours in the morning M-F, and then promote, edit, do interviews, etc., in the afternoon. Weekends I try to save for family and fun and recharging my muse.

How does your family view your writing career?

Most of my immediate family supported it from the beginning. A few outliers are starting to warm up to it. There are always moments when it feels like my writing and my family life are at odds, but only because of time constraints and the fact I can completely immerse myself in writing and forget to come up for air. That’s when the kids, my husband and my friends do an intervention and return to me to the real world for awhile. I find it difficult to maintain a healthy balance!

How do you keep in touch with your readers?

Readers are absolutely the best part of being an author. I love writing stories, but if I didn’t have fans who enjoy reading them, I’d question my abilities as a storyteller. They send me emails, post nice messages on my Facebook author wall, and chat with me on Twitter. Some are even gracious enough to join my Yahoo Group and sign up for my newsletter. I try to make it as easy as I can for them to contact me and I love hearing from new fans as well as tried and true ones. Knowing I have readers makes me show up to the keyboard every day.

What authors do you like to read?

Currently, I’m on a Meg Cabot kick, so I’m reading both her adult and YA books. I love so many authors, it would take weeks to name them all. Consistently I enjoy Jodi Picoult, Edie Ramer, PJ Alderman, CE Murphy, Rachel Hawkins, Jennifer Estep, Cassandra Claire and Stacia Kane.

What are you reading now?

Fiction: Insatiable by Meg Cabot and Ghost Ship by PJ Alderman; and nonfiction: A Writer’s Journey by Christopher Volger.

What is in your TBR pile?

My TBR is always a mile long, both in physical books and ebooks on my Kindle. Galaxy Girls by Edie Ramer and On Any Given Sunday by Marilyn Brandt are up next.

Do you have a second career? If not, what did you do before you became a full-time writer?

Does motherhood count as my second career?  Before I decided to become a full-time writer, I was in the business world as a marketing manager. My last job was working in the public health field and I did everything from edit newsletters to manage a breast and cervical cancer program. During my writing career, I’ve also taught creative writing and been a substitute teacher.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

Strong voice and stronger characters.

How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?

Characters come first, plot second. I don’t have a set formula for writing per se, but since I write series that are in different genres from each other, I do follow a loose formula for each series that works for me. For the Super Agent series, I do a lot more research and plotting. For the Witches Anonymous series, I let my muse direct the story. The Lost Worlds series is a sort of in between…some plotting and some pantsing.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

Coffee, thesaurus, creative imagination and an undefeatable attitude.

What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

I hold writers in the utmost regard, so becoming an author and being allowed to tell my stories is an honor. To have the kind of fabulous readers I do, and to know my stories lighten their day, is the best dream come true I could ask for.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I write in bed. I have a bad back, so it’s the only way for me to type.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Read, grow herbs, hang out with my family and friends. I also make silver jewelry, homemade cards and I love to bake. I’ve been decorating cakes since high school. All those things are great stress relievers and provide me with creative outlets different from writing.

Where can we find you online?

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Goodreads
Yahoo! Group

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Welcome to my guest blogger today, author Misty Evans, here talking about writing and the writing life. Her book, Soul Suvivor, released June 21st.

Misty, tell us about Soul Survivor.

Joan, thank you so much for having me on your blog today! Soul Suvivor is a dark paranormal romantic suspense published by Carina Press. Here’s the blurb:

Haunted by tragedy, FBI profiler Rife St. Cloud is driven to find the person who brutally attacked six women. Unfortunately the only survivor, Keva Moon Water, has no memory of what happened, and the evidence makes her the prime suspect.

Keva cannot die. She has waited a thousand years to be reunited with the man she loves, whose soul sleeps within Rife. Though he refuses to believe her claims of immortality, there’s no denying the passion that burns between them. Keva desperately hopes their sexual connection will be enough to awaken Rife’s memories of the love affair that started a war and bound their souls together for all eternity.

But when Keva’s own memories come trickling back, she realizes that a future with Rife depends upon confronting the mistakes of the distant past…

Soul Survivor is the first of your Lost Worlds Series. Can you tell us what inspired the series and what is in store in the sequels to Soul Survivor?

My twin sons have long been fascinated with lost civilizations, both real and mythical. Their interest sparked a similar interest in me, especially about North American civilizations such as the Anazazi and Hopewell groups. For my fictional series, I created a lost tribe of Native Americans of which my hero and heroine were members of a thousand years ago and was destroyed because of their love for each other. In the second book, Soul Protector, my archeologist hero discovers the bones of the lost tribe and releases a bunch of angry ghosts.

The story’s heroine is a shaman and ghost whisperer, so she’s against him digging them up in the first place and then must get the ghosts to cross over before they destroy her, him and many other innocent people in their quest for revenge. Even though there’s a new hero and heroine for this book, Keva and Rife from Soul Survivor will make an appearance. The third book in the series, Soul Walker, is still rattling around in my head.

Can you tell us a little about your Witches Anonymous series and what inspired it?

Witches Anonymous is one of my most loved series by fans. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s light paranormal or because the heroine’s torn between Lucifer (definite bad boy) and Adam (the original Adam who’s on Earth for a redo), but my readers love this series. Which is great for me, because I love writing it. There are three novellas published so far in the series and a fourth coming out late summer. The series was inspired by my Baptist upbringing and my God complex. I’ve always wanted to rewrite a few biblical stories, and in this series, I get to do that.

What is your writing routine?

I write for several hours in the morning M-F, and then promote, edit, do interviews, etc., in the afternoon. Weekends I try to save for family and fun and recharging my muse.

How does your family view your writing career?

Most of my immediate family supported it from the beginning. A few outliers are starting to warm up to it. There are always moments when it feels like my writing and my family life are at odds, but only because of time constraints and the fact I can completely immerse myself in writing and forget to come up for air. That’s when the kids, my husband and my friends do an intervention and return to me to the real world for awhile. I find it difficult to maintain a healthy balance!

How do you keep in touch with your readers?

Readers are absolutely the best part of being an author. I love writing stories, but if I didn’t have fans who enjoy reading them, I’d question my abilities as a storyteller. They send me emails, post nice messages on my Facebook author wall, and chat with me on Twitter. Some are even gracious enough to join my Yahoo Group and sign up for my newsletter. I try to make it as easy as I can for them to contact me and I love hearing from new fans as well as tried and true ones. Knowing I have readers makes me show up to the keyboard every day.

What authors do you like to read?

Currently, I’m on a Meg Cabot kick, so I’m reading both her adult and YA books. I love so many authors, it would take weeks to name them all. Consistently I enjoy Jodi Picoult, Edie Ramer, PJ Alderman, CE Murphy, Rachel Hawkins, Jennifer Estep, Cassandra Claire and Stacia Kane.

What are you reading now?

Fiction: Insatiable by Meg Cabot and Ghost Ship by PJ Alderman; and nonfiction: A Writer’s Journey by Christopher Volger.

What is in your TBR pile?

My TBR is always a mile long, both in physical books and ebooks on my Kindle. Galaxy Girls by Edie Ramer and On Any Given Sunday by Marilyn Brandt are up next.

Do you have a second career? If not, what did you do before you became a full-time writer?

Does motherhood count as my second career?  Before I decided to become a full-time writer, I was in the business world as a marketing manager. My last job was working in the public health field and I did everything from edit newsletters to manage a breast and cervical cancer program. During my writing career, I’ve also taught creative writing and been a substitute teacher.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

Strong voice and stronger characters.

How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?

Characters come first, plot second. I don’t have a set formula for writing per se, but since I write series that are in different genres from each other, I do follow a loose formula for each series that works for me. For the Super Agent series, I do a lot more research and plotting. For the Witches Anonymous series, I let my muse direct the story. The Lost Worlds series is a sort of in between…some plotting and some pantsing.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

Coffee, thesaurus, creative imagination and an undefeatable attitude.

What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

I hold writers in the utmost regard, so becoming an author and being allowed to tell my stories is an honor. To have the kind of fabulous readers I do, and to know my stories lighten their day, is the best dream come true I could ask for.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I write in bed. I have a bad back, so it’s the only way for me to type.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Read, grow herbs, hang out with my family and friends. I also make silver jewelry, homemade cards and I love to bake. I’ve been decorating cakes since high school. All those things are great stress relievers and provide me with creative outlets different from writing.

Where can we find you online?

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Goodreads
Yahoo! Group