Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Interview with Sunniva Dee, PANDORA WILD CHILD


Hi everyone! Thanks, Two Ends of the Pen, for having me!

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?
Ah, yes. Pandora Wild Child is my third book although it’s published before my second book. Confused? No worries—I’ll explain a little bit further down. Pandora Wild Child is the quintessential New Adult book, treating the issues and hilarities and passion ensuing from being a young woman who’s finally away from home and FREE! Pandora is everything most of us have a sliver of. She’s daring, wild, charming as hell, and gets herself into all sorts of trouble in her first year in college. Some of it being some serious boy trouble. There’s the strong relationship between Pandora and her girlfriends, and the pretty explicit passion. I loved writing this book, and I’m so excited over the response it’s received.

Do you have a favorite character?
I don’t, really. They’re all so different, and when I write, I want to get to the marrow of every character in such a way that I love them with their perfections and their flaws. Pandora is loveable, annoying, funny. Dominic is hot as hell but so is Leon in all of his twisted, dark glory. I can’t choose. J

Have you ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of the novel at all?
Yes, I have. It’s what happened to Leon, but instead of changing the direction of this novel, I just finished the first draft of his own novel, Leon’s Way, which will be out hopefully in December.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
Yes, I did! It’s a lot of hard work, but you really grow both as a writer and within the promotional area when you try to meet their standards. I recommend this route to every author who is serious about their writing—for the road to get there, not necessarily for the goal of having such publisher or agent. It is worth it. My first two novels are with a medium-sized publisher, Wild Rose Press. The new adult paranormal, Shattering Halos, was released February 22nd, and the second one, a standalone sequel about a side character all my readers loved—Stargazer—will finally, finally be published November 21st! With Pandora Wild Child, though, I decided to try the indie route for the first time. I’m loving it, because I get to decide everything myself. Leon’s Way, Pandora Wild Child’s standalone companion novel, is definitely a self-published one as well!

How long before you got your offer of representation/your first contract? Was it for your first novel?
Yes, it was for my first novel, Shattering Halos. It took me about 9 months, I think, between starting the process and signing the contract. Before that, though, I revised and rewrote the book probably 10 times, because obviously, your first try at a novel isn’t going to be perfect. It was damn polished by the time it went out to the agents and publishers.

What factors influenced your decision to go with a particular agent or publisher?
I was sick of waiting. Haha! The Wild Rose Press was big, and I knew I wouldn’t get in with the biggest five without an agent or without having a name already. I wasn’t ready to self-publish yet and needed the confirmation that such a big publisher thought my work was talented enough to take on. They gave me that confidence. Even more once I’d signed for Stargazer, the second book, because it was too edgy for them, and they still took it on because of the merit they saw in it. Now, I feel deserving of the readers in a different way.

Are you currently under a traditional publishing contract for future books or do you have manuscripts that you will self-publish? Are you doing both?
I am now, as of October 28th, officially a happy hybrid author! I don’t have any future manuscripts under contract with anyone, and I am going to keep it that way! Unless I get an offer I can’t reject from Atria at some point in the future. That would be the dream. ;-)

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?
Freedom, freedom, freedom! Which is why Pandora Wild Child was the perfect choice to start this new journey with. She’s free, as am I!

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover?
Thankfully, my publishing house respected my fear of not getting a cover I could live with. Because of it, they went outside their normal procedures and let me work directly with an awesome designer, Diana Carlile. I was very involved, and I adore my covers for Shattering Halos and Stargazer. With Pandora Wild Child, I knew  I needed the same sort of communication with my designer, and with Clarise Tan, my cover artist as a self-published author, I was allowed to try out even things she knew would not work. I love her so much, and again I am just insanely happy with my cover for Pandora. Can’t wait to have Clarise work on Leon’s Way with me in a couple of weeks. We’re almost there, Clarise!

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?
Yes, oh, absolutely. I can’t imagine having to spot every logical issue and understand what others would understand of my writing without a support group. With my first book, I “used” 7 fellow authors as my soundboard. Now that I’m finishing up my 4th book, I’m down to 4 very critical and honest authors with amazing writing and editing skills. My work is safe with them. I’m able to publish the best I have to offer at this point in my career with their backing. I will never take them for granted, and I hope we always work together! I also use a group of beta readers afterward, who are great at giving me feedback.

What’s next for you?
Watch out for STARGAZER, coming November 21st, another super-hot, angsty New Adult book with a paranormal element. If you liked SC Stephens’ Thoughtless, if you enjoy the show Vampire Diaries, Stargazer should do it for you. I’ll take you for quite the ride in this book, but I promise that everyone will land on their feet; I can’t picture myself ever write something without a HEA. I adore these characters, and as crazy as it sounds coming from their maker, I’d love to meet Cassiel and Ka in person. They are… something else. ;)

Then there’s LEON’S WAY. My estimated release date for this book is December 19th, but it all depends on logistics. If you liked Pandora Wild Child and are dying to learn more about Leon, this read should give you a fill you won’t forget any time soon. For the actual release date, sign up for my no-spam new-releases-alert newsletter: http://bit.ly/sunnivasreleases

Thank you so much!

Xoxo
Sunniva


Book & Author details:
Pandora Wild Child by Sunniva Dee
Publication date: October 28th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

Synopsis:
I’m free. Fucking free!

I’m in college with my best friends and far, far from home!
With my Scheuermann’s disease as the excuse, my father kept me locked up at home all through high school. Here in Deepsilver, I can finally be me, Pandora, so—
Why the hell should I hold back?
They accept our fake IDs at Smother, our local haunt. I’m the life of the party, everyone loves me—hell, I could get away with murder in this place! Drunk off my ass, I dance on the bar, and—
I’m on top of the world!
I need to get my shit together, though. If I don’t pull off good grades, my father won’t pay my tuition. There’s no way I’m moving back into his “fortress.”
At the bar, I set my eyes on a gorgeous stranger. My plans don’t involve him long term; one night should be enough. But Dominic is more than I bargained for. God, I’m so drawn to this man. My skin hums at his touch because—
He expels the shadows of my past and replaces my pain with desire.
Perfect Dominic. Beautiful, graduating, soon-to-move-on-with-his-life Dominic.
I’m a wild child. A hot mess. Not grownup and focused like him. He’s addictive, and I am weak, but—screw this; I can wean myself off him! With the right antidote—
Addictions can be broken.


Purchase:

AUTHOR BIO:
I write New Adult fiction with a paranormal twist and don’t shy away from romance and heart-wrenching passion when necessary.

I moved from Norway to the United States in 2001, and the first awesome five years I spent in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles. Then I read “The Book,” aka Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which spurred my husband and me to move cross country to beautiful Savannah, Georgia.

I’m currently on my seventh year in the Deep South, where I enjoy the heat and the humidity. Besides writing, I spend my time with our “petting zoo” as in an opinionated parrot, a herd of cats that are experts on keyboard shortcuts, and puppies that…uh, bark.

I hold a Master’s degree in languages, with concentrations within literature and linguistics. I taught at college level for a decade before settling in as a graduate adviser at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Writing is my passion, my joy, and my addiction. When I’m not writing, I read.
Shattering Halos is my debut novel, and its standalone sequel, Stargazer, is due out later this year.

Author links:

Giveaway:
Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)
  • 50$ Amazon Gift Card
  • Signed copy of Pandora Wild Child
  • 5 eCopies of Shattering Halos

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 



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