Interview and Giveaway: Aqua by M.A. George

Description:

Meet Layla McKelland:

Novelist (unpublished, but cut her some slack…seventeen is a bit early to despair),

Slightly neurotic introvert (Alright, let’s be honest…there’s no “slightly” about it),

International Woman of Mystery, and…

Okay, just scratch the bio.

The only real “mystery” in Layla’s life is why her father has never been on the scene. Or why her mother drags Layla to a new coastal home every year.

Nothing about the latest hometown seems too newsworthy…until a routine day at the beach leaves Layla questioning whether she’s read one too many paranormal fantasy novels. The plot thickens when a random guy claims to know things about her father—a bizarre claim he backs up with an equally impossible stunt. And Layla soon finds herself on the wrong side of a mysterious attempted drowning…on her own kitchen floor.

When all is done, Layla will attest that fact is far stranger than fiction. And nothing in real life is ever as transparent as it seems…Not even water.

Especially not water.

MB's INTERVIEW

Thank you, Mrs.  M.A. George

New Adult seems to be the new trend. Why do you still write Young Adult? And what is your opinion about these categories? How useful or useless are they?

I think the Young Adult versus New Adult categories can be helpful to at least give readers a general idea of the subject matter and maturity of a novel’s content. That being said, of course those lines can get pretty blurry. I didn’t necessarily seek out writing a Young Adult novel as opposed to a New Adult novel, nor would I exclude writing NA as an option in the future. For the most part, however, I try to write stories that would appeal to a broad audience and be considered appropriate for readers of all ages. Thus far, I haven’t found that adding more mature content would add enough to the story to be worth restricting the audience to a certain age range. That might change if a fantastic new plot idea pops into my head that would fit better in the New Adult genre.

One Goodreads reviewer said: “Hugging your Kindle is normal after you finish Aqua.” What it takes to write a great fantasy?

I think that fundamentally, writing fantasy takes a wide-open imagination. I try to blend a creative and unpredictable plot with clever and relatable characters, stir in some witty dialogue, and add a dash of nail-biting action. Bake at 325 degrees for forty-five minutes and...Oh wait, I think I’m confusing recipes again. Ah well, I hope I got part of it right, at least. 

How hard is and is it important to avoid the cliches of the genre?

I doubt anyone would want their writing to be labelled cliché; but avoiding that pitfall can be trickier than it seems. Sometimes our minds need a refresher course in thinking outside the box. As I’m progressing through a novel, I try to stop and ask myself whether this is the same predictable road everyone is expecting the story to take. If so, I back up and take a ninety-degree turn off into the woods somewhere, hoping to find some uncharted territory. 

I like all your covers; how important is a cover for the book and for the story and how do you establish which one is the best one?

Thank you, I’m so glad to hear you like the covers! Of course, a great cover only goes so far if the book is rubbish. And a great book with a ho-hum cover may go unnoticed, if potential readers assume the writing will be equally drab. I will confess to being sucked in by a great cover when I’m browsing the shelves, so I wouldn’t dream of slapping just any cover on one of my own books. I usually start working on the cover fairly early in the course of things—in the case of Aqua after only a few chapters had been penned—but it goes through a million permutations before the final version. I love covers that are simple but eye-catching, so I try to stick to that theme with my own work. 

About your job as a secret agent… I hope you still have it… do you have some secrets to tell us… promise to not tell to anyone… else… Can you find some similarities between the work of a super agent and a writer?

My secret agent life is so super-secret that even I haven’t got a clue what’s going on half the time. ;) I’m actually so blabby about my day-to-day life that secrets are few and far between. Here’s a good one: While I love to write quick-witted characters, I’m quite possibly the slowest person on the draw when it comes to real-life conversational wit. I’m the one who thinks up a fantastic comeback about three days after the fact. That’s the joy of writing...No one has to know how long it takes me to think this stuff up. As for being a super agent versus a writer, I’d pick being a writer any day. I can live any adventure, write my own rules, experience the thrill of death-defying danger and white-knuckle action without every risking a hair on my dainty little head...and do it all in my pajamas, no less. How many secret agents get to work in their PJs?

TOUR SCHEDULE

Goodreads ** Smashwords ** Amazon ** CreateSpace

 

About the author:

M. A. George is part proud mother of two adorable children, part super top secret agent…Oops, probably just lost that job.

Writing is what keeps her up into the wee hours of the night. Fortunately, she has a lot of energy (Read: caffeine is her friend). She has a bit of an obsession with music (It does a fantastic job of tuning out rambunctious children while she attempts to focus).

She sincerely hopes people out there enjoy reading her work as much as she enjoys writing it. And if anyone hears of work for a super top secret agent, she’s now available (Discretion guaranteed…).

Website ** Blog ** Goodreads ** Amazon Author Page ** Smashwords Author Page ** Facebook ** Twitter

Mythical Books Giveaway

2 winners

Leave a comment and tell us what you think about the book, author or the book genre and you could win an ecopy of the Aqua from Amazon.com or Smashwords (leave your email address or check the winners here, on 27th May)

All 4 of you won, You have 5 days to claim the prize by sendibg us an email with your email address. Winners were announced on 3rd of June