Books and Prejudice: #ReadIndie Interview: Stormy Smith

Well, Blogger is giving me so much shit right now and deleted my original post. It took me a while, and I only have a few minutes right now, so this one won't be formatted as nicely. I'm slowly fixing it lol.

Title: Bound by Duty

Author: Stormy Smith

Publisher: Perfect Storm

Release Date: July 24, 2014

Amelia grew up in a world of half-truths. She knows she's an Elder but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she's betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and she doesn't even know his name.
Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky Southern girl and to fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is and not what she'll be.

As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head or her heart win the battle?

________________________________________

Interview

I saw there will be an Aidan POV in the next book, Bound by Spells. Can we also expect a Micah or Bethany chapter?

In Bound by Spells, you will only find Aidan and Amelia’s POV. However, there is a sprinkling of Micah’s POV in book three (Bound by Prophecy) and both he and Bethany have prominent roles in all three books.

I love that there was a paranormal element added in with the AniMages. What made you decide to add in shifters?

Bound by Duty was the first book I ever wrote and I was told constantly to write what I know and what I love to read. Fantasy and paranormal are my jam, and shifters are a particular favorite of mine. As I imagined a specific character’s personality, it was very clear to me that he had to have an animal side to really make sense, so it all came together in a fabulous way.

What was your toughest scene to write in Bound by Duty?

There is a scene toward the end where Amelia is allowed inside the head of an Animage. He allows her to see a very painful memory of his, one that is extremely vivid and I took special care to write. I cried my way through that scene and it’s one of the few places in the book I never had to heavily edit or rewrite. To this day, reading it makes me tear up.

How did you develop the magic system in this really unique and awesome (scary) world?

I knew I wanted their society to function as a monarchy, which inherently meant class systems would be needed. As I got to know the characters, I got a better understanding of their personal struggles and what their families had to go through for them to be the people they are. I’ll be honest in saying I didn’t have all the rules set up front. I wasn’t sure how it was all going to pan out. But there were some foundational rules I knew from the start and I allowed the characters to explain to me how we got here. Then it was just about the people behind the power and what they were willing to do in order to persevere.

What were some of your favorite books growing up?

I was a die-hard LJ Smith fan! I still have the original Vampire Diaries and Secret Societies collections. I loved V.C. Andrews and Christopher Pike. As I got older, I enjoyed stealing my mom’s Nora Roberts books and was always ready for the John Grisham. My taste vary widely, but fantasy and paranormal are always my first loves.

Do you have any advice for new and aspiring authors?

Don’t worry about anything (literally, nothing) until your book is finished and you’ve done your first pass of editing. Then, hire an editor. Not your mom, or your best friend or grandma. A real one that you have to pay. Be ready for constructive criticism but know that there are some parts of your stories and your characters you should be unwilling to compromise on. It is your story, but you should balance that with always wanting it to be better. And have a thick skin. Every book you put out there is an invitation for the world to tell you exactly what they think - and they will.

And finally, where can we find you online?

I have a website (www.stormysmith) and am pretty active on the big three (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). I dabble in Snapchat from time to time but mostly stick to my main channels.