Blogoversary Author Interview & Giveaway: J. J. Westendarp

Hi Everyone,
Today we have an indie author whose debut I just read a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed it and I cannot wait to read more
 

Please Welcome J. J. Westendarp to Blood Rose Books today.

Do you have a specific experience or book that you read that inspired you to become an author?

David Eddings, first and foremost, is the author I go to when I need inspiration. I know a lot of people look at his stuff as simplistic and not very deep, but I love the characterization he manages to accomplish in just about everything he wrote along with his wife, Leigh. He also had a knack for world building that I think any author would appreciate. Reading his stuff always makes me want to step up my game.

As an indie author, what has been the most challenging aspect in getting your book out there for people to read?

Finding people to read it, though a close second seems to be distancing it from other paranormal works that focus on romance and sex as selling points (which might lead back to the first point). Not that my books won't have either of those in small doses (very small), but that's not what I like to read and I write things that I want to read.

The paranormal genre has become extremely popular in the past five years, why did you decide to start your writing career in this genre? 

It wasn't so much a conscious decision as it was the story I had in front of me. Spiral X started out as fan fiction that melded the worlds of Buffy and Blade, way back when they were popular. Once I realized I had a real story, I sought to make it my own while also keeping the spirit of the works that inspired its creation. And so was born The Eternal War.

What do you think would be the hardest or most challenging genre to write a novel in and why?

Comedy. Actors will tell you that comedy is the hardest part to play because timing is so critical to making people laugh. It's the same with writing. I wouldn't even begin to venture into writing something purely for comedic purposes because I'm fairly certain it wouldn't turn out nearly as funny as I would think it was.

Of all the different creatures that are now part of the paranormal genre why did you choose Vampire vs. Vampire Hunter?

Like I said earlier, it was the story I had in front of me, though I will admit that towards the end I was motivated by the idea that vampires needed to go back to being evil again. Of course, the most obvious foil to killing said vampires was a vampire hunter. There's a simplicity there that makes the story easy to explain.

It is some what rare for an author to write a main character that is an opposite sex from them, why did you choose to write a female protagonist?

Not entirely sure on this one. When I started writing I immediately did so from Cheryl's perspective without even thinking about it. Maybe it's because I've secretly wanted to be a badass chick who kills vampires all my life, but it might take years of therapy to sort that out if that's the case.

You went back to some basic roots of the myths about what hurts/kills vampires, do you think the faith based vampire hunting has been lost in the technological world of today?

Yes. I knew early on that I wanted to fixate more on the Buffy world of vampires, where faith plays a large part in dealing with them, though truthfully I was never sure if she truly believed that faith was a weapon. In making the world my own, the concept of The Eternal War, something that exists going back millennia even in our own literature (i.e. the battle for a man's soul), the idea of faith as a literal weapon was something that grew organically out of it. This is also an idea that gets explored a heck of a lot more in the second book.

In Spiral X, you introduce Vampires, but they are actually bodies produced by Demon inhabiting a human’s body. After Vampires, what would be your next favorite creature to introduce?
Zombies, which seems like a bit of a cliché, but I figured out a way for them to world in this setting which seems completely logical. 

Do you have any information on upcoming works or events that you are able to share?
The follow up to Spiral X is currently in the editing phase and I believe I can have it ready for release toward the end of the year. No title as of yet. From there I will be working on a short story based on Tank and a steampunk fantasy novel that I have been working on in between other stuff.

What is one book on your shelf that you cannot wait to read (can either be a new or old favorite).

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. Haven't heard a single bad thing about it.

To find out more information on J.J. Westerndarp's books you can check out my review of Spiral X and J.J.'s website. He has also very nicley offer One Ebook copy of Sprial X as part of his interview. I cannot wait for his next book in this series to come out.

***GIVEAWAY RULES***

1.  You do not need to be a Follower to participate, but it is always nice for you to join
2. Please Fill out the Form BELOW in order to enter

3. This Giveaway is Open Internationally

4. The Giveaway ENDS on October 7, 2011

5. The winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hrs to respond, otherwise a new winner will be chosen

6. EBook provided by J.J. Westendarp