Beware The Shadows

1. Why don’t you introduce yourself? Where do you live? What do you do for a living?

Hi, I’m Cindy. I live in Maryland but I was born and raised in Massachusetts. I like to think I’m still a New Englander in spirit even though I’ve been away for a while. In my day job I’m a technical editor and proposal coordinator for international health and development projects.

2. What’s the first book you remember reading?

The first chapter books I remember reading are Charlotte’s Web and the Little House on the Prairie series. I absolutely loved those books and read them so many times my parents put them away for a while so I’d read other things as well.

3. What is your favorite book/author?

Hmm, I’m not sure I can pick just one. Here’s a couple favorites: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The October Country by Ray Bradbury, The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

4. What’s the biggest influence on what you read? Word of mouth? Cover art? Price?

Word of mouth is probably the biggest. A lot of my friends are big readers and I trust their suggestions. I’m also a sucker for interesting cover art. A friend introduced me to the Ballantine adult fantasy series at a great used bookstore and I bought several of them just because I loved the covers. Price isn’t as much of a factor because I don’t buy new books for myself very often. Usually I get them as gifts.

5. Does advertising have any affect on what you read?

Not really. I ignore most advertisements. But if a book starts getting a lot of press, I might check out the blurb or read some reviews to see if it’s worth checking out.

6. What’s something authors do that gets on your nerves?

Bad writing really irks me. (Dan Brown, yes, I’m pointing a finger at The Da Vinci Code.) I’ve been an editor for a while so things like grammar and spelling errors also bother me. Authors who don’t understand point of view get on my nerves as well.

7. What’s your opinion on so called “mature” themes? Sex, violence, foul language? Do they affect whether you will read a book?

They don’t bother me. If they’re used just for shock value I might be annoyed, but I’m an adult so it’s no big deal to me. I’m not a big fan of extreme gore, though. It’s just not my thing.

8. Writers do a lot of spamming on social media sites. Annoying or influential?

Being a writer myself I’m finding the marketing aspect challenging. It seems like most readers don’t like authors who promote themselves at every turn and I agree with that. I think you have to put on your reader hat and participate in the discussions as a reader. Otherwise you’ll alienate your potential fans.

9. Is there any genre you would never read?

I’m willing to try everything at least once. There are so many sub-genres out there these days that you’re bound to find something you like. For example, I’m not really into mysteries, but I became interested in the Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters because I saw the series done on PBS a while back and I’m fascinated by anything medieval.

10. If you could be a character in any book, what would it be?

This is a tough one. So many choices! Today I think I’d like to be Lyra Bellacqua from Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. It’s such a richly developed world and she is a feisty heroine who has some amazing adventures. I wish the series had been around when I was a kid.

11. Have you ever considered writing a book?

Actually, yes I have. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. My first fantasy novel, Thief of Hope, was finally published last year. I’m embarrassed to say how many years I spent working on it. I hope the next book won’t take as long to write.

12. If you were a writer, what kind of book would you like to write?

So far I’ve been writing fantasy, but I wouldn’t rule out other genres once the series is finished.

13. Do you have a blog where people can follow you?

I do: http://cindyyoungturner.com/blog/

14. What book are you reading now/next?

I’m currently reading Blood Soaked and Contagious, a zombie novel by James Crawford who is a good friend of mine. I have Game of Thrones waiting on my Kindle and I have heard so many good things about The Hunger Games that I think it needs to be bumped to the top of my list.

Now that I have angered the approximately 85% of college football fans who disagree with my stance on a playoff, let’s do another reader interview, shall we!  This reader is Australian.  Notice all the funny spellings.  Lots of ou’s in words that only need an o.  Like favorite (favourite), for instance.  She offered to let me change them to the correct spelling, but I decided to let her speak in her own funky spelled voice.

Writers, listen up!  Here we find out what the readers really think.

1. Why don’t you introduce yourself? Where do you live? What do you do for a living?

My name is Kat and I was born in Australia, but nearly four years ago I moved halfway across the world to the Netherlands for love (cue ‘awwwwww’). It’s been a great experience living here but in 2013 I will be moving back to Australia – I can’t handle the winters any longer! I work in Human Resources (maybe that’s why I like zombie books, all the irritating people get eaten!) for a consumer electronics company, but my Dutch is limited to about 5 words. I love reading, particularly zombie, horror and post-apocalyptic books, but I also read a fair amount of contemporary fiction and non-fiction (particularly based around WWII).

2. What’s the first book you remember reading?

‘Where’s Spot’ by Eric Hill – I was maybe 5 or 6 at the time. These books were insanely popular in my school – I remember my first boyfriend used to hide them in the library for me.

3. What is your favorite book/author?

Is this a trick question? No? I read such a wide variety of books it’s hard to pick a particular one.

In my teens John Marsden was definitely my favourite author, and I read and re-read his Tomorrow series until the books were falling apart.

Now that I’m twenty-old I don’t have a particular favourite author, but when it comes to Zombies Jonathan Maberry is my hero.

4. What’s the biggest influence on what you read? Word of mouth? Cover art? Price?

I spend a tremendous amount of time researching books through Amazon, Goodreads and specific genre forums – in recent months I’ve started following numerous blogs to find new reads as I find bloggers are far blunter than Amazon reviewers.

Cover art isn’t a clincher for me – 95% of my books are e-books and it’s stopped me from judging books by their covers. Of course I’m more likely to pick up cheap or free e-books but if it’s a book I really want to read, then price is not the biggest factor when deciding to purchase.

5. Does advertising have any affect on what you read?

If I see something pop up on Amazon or Goodreads that looks interesting, I’ll likely click for a peek – but I tend to ignore them for the most part. I’ve watched maybe three book trailers ever as I don’t find they tell me much more than the actual blurb.

6. What’s something authors do that gets on your nerves?

Introduce a parade of characters with similar names all at once – particularly with military or adolescent characters called Jenny, John, Steve, Kate etc.

My biggest annoyance is cliffhangers when there is no mention of the book being part of a series until the very end. I’m not good at reading series as they are released (I’m getting old and tend to forget to keep an eye out for the next book), I much prefer to either read them in order all at once, or at least have them accessible to read when I’m ready to jump back into it.

7. Writers do a lot of spamming on social media sites. Annoying or influential?

It depends on which social media they use. For me, Facebook is my personal place where I keep up with family and friends – I follow a few authors but they have to be one of my favourites. I use Twitter primarily for interaction with authors, readers and bloggers and click a lot of links! As long as their posts are funny, varied and they interact with others, I don’t find it irritating – I’ve found some great books this way.

8. C.S. Lewis once said, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” Do you agree with that statement?

Definitely – I think a children’s story should also appeal to readers of all ages. I’m not a parent, but if I was, I would want to also enjoy the books I read to, or with, my kids. And there’s always the little kid in all of us adults that love a good children’s story!

9. If you could be a character in any book, what would it be?

If I could find a truly awesome chick in a zombie book I would totally want to be her! The closest is maybe Dez from Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry but she’s got too much personal baggage to aspire to.

10. Have you ever considered writing a book?

I’d love to, but I think I’m missing the creativity and the ability to put myself out there! Maybe one day I’ll write that zombie book with the truly awesome chick, who knows.

11. Do you have a blog where people can follow you?

Yes – theaussiezombie.blogspot.com – I only started it in November and already I’ve had a massive amount of fun with it. It’s not as specific as it sounds; I also review some very non-zombie books.

12. What book are you reading now/next?

I’ve just finished reading one book which brings my current reading down to three books – Don of the Living Dead by Robert DeCoteau, Far North by Marcel Theroux and The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. I usually try not to have so many books on the go at once, but I’ve recently started to listening to audiobooks again so I’ll always have at least two that I’m currently reading.

Next I’ll probably be reading a review book for my blog, and Blood Red Road by Moira Young – I’ve heard some great things about it, and despite my YA-reluctance, I’m going to give it a try!