Books-n-Kisses is pleased to host L.J. Garland on the blog today.
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1. Can you please share with us a little about yourselfWell, to start…L.J. Garland isn’t just one person! It’s two! Laura & Jeff – We’re a husband-wife writing team. We met in college over 20 years ago and have been driving each other nuts ever since. Hey, after that long, ya gotta have a since of humor for sure! We have tons of hobbies and interests—but we have two that top our list.
First, we’re both licensed helicopter pilots with hundreds of hours of flight time. On our 10thwedding anniversary, we flew from the east coast to west and celebrated our special day in the honeymoon suite in Palm Springs. Course, we were so exhausted, we passed out. I’m still chewing nails over not getting to check out that humongous Jacuzzi tub! *sigh* Anyway…books. Chances are good you’ll see one type of flying machine or another in our stories…and the landings won’t always be pretty. But hey, any you walk away from are good, right? lol
The second thing that tops our list is we practice with a variety of weaponry from long bows to high-powered combat rifles. This, along with years of military experience, gives our books a heightened sense of reality. So, fire, fireworks, guns, pretty much anything that goes Boom!…yeah, it’s all good. You’ll see that in our stories as well. High-action adventure and romance…and a happy-ever-after.
On the home front, we enjoy a life in a house filled with love, laughter, and tenuously restrained chaos. We have three cats, one whistling guinea pig, and three boisterous sons—who conspire to ensure there’s never a dull moment. It’s awesome!
2. Have you always wanted to be an author?
Wow…come to think of it, we never really decidedto become authors. It was a long, surreptitious process, and it wasn’t long before I found myself obsessing over it. And now, crafting stories has become kinda obsessive/compulsive, but we won’t talk about that right now. <g>
Wow…come to think of it, we never really decidedto become authors. It was a long, surreptitious process, and it wasn’t long before I found myself obsessing over it. And now, crafting stories has become kinda obsessive/compulsive, but we won’t talk about that right now. <g>
Jeff and I both have always enjoyed science fiction and have read voraciously since childhood. Later, I branched out into romance. I truly loved the happy ever after that it offered…that one way or another, the hero and heroine would end up together no matter how daunting the obstacle. SFR offers a wide cross genre…horror, military, paranormal, time travel, steampunk, the list goes on and on…even westerns, as given by FireFlyand Cowboys and Aliens. The possibilities are endless – which is one of the wonderful aspects that attracted us both to SFR.
3. Can you share with us your typical writing day. Is there anything you have to have while writing?
COFFEE! Oh, gosh, personally I can’t get through the day without it! I get up and get Jeff out the door, fix breakfast for the kids, then I sit down with them for home schooling. Somewhere in there we have lunch, play outside. After that, I edit manuscripts, do all I can to keep in touch with the writing community, blog, interview authors, answer emails. All the while, the clothes washer and dishwasher are churning in the background. Then dinner, the dreaded bath and brushing of teeth (boys and water don’t mix for some reason…sheesh, they act like it’s acid or something! “I’m melting!” Who knew little boys were sooo dramatic? lol) At last, we tuck the little angels into bed, hugs and kisses. Then I collapse…maybe type a paragraph or two on a story…and pass out to do it all again the next day. Whew!
COFFEE! Oh, gosh, personally I can’t get through the day without it! I get up and get Jeff out the door, fix breakfast for the kids, then I sit down with them for home schooling. Somewhere in there we have lunch, play outside. After that, I edit manuscripts, do all I can to keep in touch with the writing community, blog, interview authors, answer emails. All the while, the clothes washer and dishwasher are churning in the background. Then dinner, the dreaded bath and brushing of teeth (boys and water don’t mix for some reason…sheesh, they act like it’s acid or something! “I’m melting!” Who knew little boys were sooo dramatic? lol) At last, we tuck the little angels into bed, hugs and kisses. Then I collapse…maybe type a paragraph or two on a story…and pass out to do it all again the next day. Whew!
4. Most challenging or rewarding part of writing?
Between kids and house and editing for epubs, it’s more like writing minutes. LOL However, all those ‘distractions’ allow for my subconscious to work out plot issues and also gives me time to write and rewrite the next chapter in my head before I sit down to the computer. Most times I have a really good idea where the scene is going and a good bit of the characters’ dialog as well. And then there are the bubble baths where Jeff and I brainstorm stories and work out plot problems. Needless to say, we’re squeaky clean. Somehow it works….
Between kids and house and editing for epubs, it’s more like writing minutes. LOL However, all those ‘distractions’ allow for my subconscious to work out plot issues and also gives me time to write and rewrite the next chapter in my head before I sit down to the computer. Most times I have a really good idea where the scene is going and a good bit of the characters’ dialog as well. And then there are the bubble baths where Jeff and I brainstorm stories and work out plot problems. Needless to say, we’re squeaky clean. Somehow it works….
5. Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?
Raven is on a suicide mission. Jex is a biomech on a mission to save humanity. They discover their mutual passion to destroy the enemy isn’t their only desire.
Raven is on a suicide mission. Jex is a biomech on a mission to save humanity. They discover their mutual passion to destroy the enemy isn’t their only desire.
A war against the Darch has raged for years, and humanity is on the verge of extinction. Scientists have created biomechs to supplement as warriors, but it’s just a temporary fix on what appears an insurmountable problem. One desperate scientist injects JXS241, a biomech warrior, with what he hopes is the solution for mankind’s survival. But the biomech is captured by the enemy.
Raven Nirvanni survives on the fringes of a shattered culture. While on a self-imposed suicide mission to annihilate an enemy destroyer, she encounters the imprisoned biomech. Deciding the fate of humanity far outweighs the destruction of a single ship, she rescues him and decides to ensure he reaches his destination. With the enemy anticipating their every move, Raven is completely taken aback when she realizes she’s falling for JXS241. But can she really love a machine? And if so, can he reciprocate?
6. How did you come with the idea for this story?
Well, we were in the bathtub, enjoying a hot bubbly soak…um, ahem. The story, right. lol The inspiration started with the basic questions: What if a woman fell in love with a machine…only to discover that the machine, which wasn’t supposed to have feelings, had also fallen in love with her? How would they deal with their relationship and what others might think? Would they even care? And from that came MechMan!
Well, we were in the bathtub, enjoying a hot bubbly soak…um, ahem. The story, right. lol The inspiration started with the basic questions: What if a woman fell in love with a machine…only to discover that the machine, which wasn’t supposed to have feelings, had also fallen in love with her? How would they deal with their relationship and what others might think? Would they even care? And from that came MechMan!
7. Can you share with us your current work in progress?
We’ve got a romantic suspense, Sins of the Mind, co-written with the wonderful Debbie Gould, set to release April 20thfrom Decadent Publishing. It’s a story about a woman, who after years of therapy from a horrible incident, decides it’s time to live again…but then all the people she loves start being brutally murdered one by one.
We’ve got a romantic suspense, Sins of the Mind, co-written with the wonderful Debbie Gould, set to release April 20thfrom Decadent Publishing. It’s a story about a woman, who after years of therapy from a horrible incident, decides it’s time to live again…but then all the people she loves start being brutally murdered one by one.
The other story is a short (12K) SFR, Dead or Alive, coming from Decadent’s 1Night Stand series. It’s about a guy who is falsely accused of murder and ends up turning toward the one woman who can help him, a bounty hunter who’s been after him for years. Together, they uncover conspiracies on both Earth and their homeworld, use some fun high-tech gadgetry, and even visit Area 51.
8. Who are some of your favorite authors?
Anne McCaffrey – her stories are so creative, yet easy to visualize. Her detailed worlds and series are inspirational, not to mention fun to read!
Anne McCaffrey – her stories are so creative, yet easy to visualize. Her detailed worlds and series are inspirational, not to mention fun to read!
Henry Beam Piper – his Little Fuzzy series is creative and memorable for sure!
Orson Scott Card – Ender’s Game and all that came after was amazing. And he also did a nice twist on ‘What you think is true, might not be.’
Stephen King – because he didn’t write horror just for the sake of writing horror, there was a deep, psychological aspect that caused the blood to run cold.
Dean Koontz – because his style of writing drew me. The way he wove his earlier stories was unusual, never in a straight line, which left me wondering how these diverse characters would ever collide.
Suzanne Brockmann – for her high-action stories and her hero’s perspective.
Robert Jordan – for his epic stories.
Thomas Harris – psychologically terrifying.
9. Do you feel that any of your favorite authors have inspired your writing style?
Absolutely! The stories we read for pleasure are because we love the author and the genre. We can look at the list above and see bits of them all in our stories.
10. What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?
Linnea Sinclair’s Rebels and Lovers
Dean Koontz’s Dead and Alive
Stephen Hawking’s The Grand Design
Dean Koontz’s Dead and Alive
Stephen Hawking’s The Grand Design
11. Is there anything else you would like to add?
We can be tracked down at www.lj-garland.com. Or we can be caught at http://www.garland-and-gould.blogspot.com/where we blog, chat about stuff, and interview other authors. Or, we can be emailed at mail@lj-garland.com– We love hearing from people who have enjoyed our stories.
Both of you are helicopter pilots? How cool is that! You sound like exciting people an I'm looking forward to reading your book.
One of the most interesting interviews I've read in a long time. Really piqued my interest, will check out the books!
Great interview… I loved reading your answers 🙂
Wow, being helicopter pilots has got to be amazing…
Did you both become helicopter pilots after meeting or before?
ooh, the plot of MechMan sounds interesting… I do wonder how a machine can fall in love…
Very interesting, I am adding it to my TBR. I like the fact that it is a husband/wife team who wrote it.
Sorry its taken me all day to get over here. Great interview Laura/Jeff. Our son loves the water. Pool, bath, shower, playing with a hose. He doesn't care as long as he is playing with water. 🙂
Marika