Among the Debris
(Book Two â Son of Rain series)
Michelle Irwin
Release Blitz
"Romeo and Juliet meets Supernatural"
Michelle Irwin, in her creation of the Fire and Rain complimentary series of books, has blended the timeless idea of two lovers from different backgrounds torn apart by circumstance within an urban fantasy playground.
Book Details: Novel
Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance
89,000 words
AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHELLE IRWIN
Little Birdy Book Blog: What inspired you to start writing?
Michelle Irwin: I have written for a long time. My earliest memory of creating something was a choose your own adventure book when I was young. I never really saw it as something I could do as a profession though. I never thought I could possibly have enough ideasâenough to sayâuntil I was probably in my 20s. Then I wrote a few things that I was so proud of. Looking back on it now, Iâm so glad that KDP didnât exist back then because those stories were nowhere near publishable. Instead, I joined a crit group and got pretty much smashed in the critiques. Even though it shattered my confidence at first, I have come out the other side with a thicker skin and a better appreciation for what makes a good story and how to twist an expectation or trope around on its head.
LBBB: How long did it take for you to write your first book?
M.I.: This is a hard one to answer, because I have books that will never see the light of day that were my first âbooks.â Then I have stuff published online (semi-anonymously) which are novel-length stories. And then there is my first published book. On top of that, I tend to jot down the first 2-10,000 words of a story without the intention to finish it just then. Evie was a bit like that, from the time I wrote the very first word to the time I wrote the last in the first proper draft of the original first book was around eighteen months, but that was around 6,000 in a few weeks at the very beginning, and then the rest around sixteen months later.
LBBB: How do you come up with ideas for your stories?
M.I.: So many places, but mostly from âWhat if?â With Evieâs story, I knew that I wanted to write about a young woman who was a phoenix, and started to explore what that might mean. But I didnât know who her pair was. Originally I was playing around with the idea of a dragon, based on Chinese legends of the dragon and phoenix as yin and yang. Only, it never quite fit. Then I started to ask what if (and all the subsequent questions): what if she didnât know what she was? Why would her father keep that from her? What reasons could there be? What if her life was in danger because of what she was? The pieces were forming but not quite all fitting. Then I got hooked on Supernatural and asked, well what if one of the brothers fell for a creature so deeply that he was willing to fight to save her? From there I started to explore the world of my hunters. Why do they do it? What reason do they have to hunt her even if sheâs never hurt anyone? What if they were raised to believe that anything other was a threat to humanity? What if falling in love went against not only the young manâs beliefs, but his very heritage. The world of the Rain started to grow from thereâpartly from the question, What if the forty days of rain in the story of Noahâs ark wasnât actually water? What if it was the moment when an organization was formed to destroy all the evils in the world?
LBBB: What is your writing routine like? Do you have a set schedule or are you flexible?
M.I.: Because I work full-time in another job and have a family, I have to be somewhat flexible, but Iâm trying to get more rigid. I usually try to get two to three hours a night of either writing, editing, or marketing.
LBBB: What inspires you to write?
M.I.: Itâs cheaper than therapy? Honestly, I can barely remember the time before I did write. I wonder what I did. How did I spend the hours in the evening because I canât imagine not having my laptop in front of me and crafting these worlds.
LBBB: Are any of your stories written from personal experience, or any character traits that mirror yours?
M.I.: None of my stories are taken straight from life (although there is a scene in Happily Evan After which is practically a blow-by-blow of a real-life conversation with a friend). Each of my characters do carry a little of myself thoughâeither who I am or who I wish I could be. Iâd love to have the confidence of Amity. I believe I have the compassion of Evie. I like to think I have the strength of Alyssa.
LBBB: When in a slump, what do you do? If you read or listen to music, what are your go-to books or music?
M.I.: I love 90s/00s emo bands, and emo songs in general, for getting me inspired to write. Guaranteed if I put on Secondhand Serenade, Dashboard Confessional, Fall Out Boy, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Panic At the Disco, Snow Patrol, 30 Seconds to Mars, Maroon 5, or any of their contemporariesâespecially the acoustic/emotional songs, it helps get me in the right mood to write.
LBBB: How do you respond to negative feedback/comments with your work?
M.I.: It depends who itâs coming from and when. From my pre-reader, I love it. I live for it. Thereâs nothing better than having all the plot holes picked at to improve the piece. From other people, and in reviews, I donât know. I think I see it and my initial reaction is always disappointment that I let them down. They took a chance on my work, and they didnât like it. After the initial sting though, Iâm a little more able to just move on and ignore it. The biggest books in history have their share of haters. There have been books Iâve disliked that others are rabid fans of. No one story can please every person. It helps immensely to remember that.
LBBB: What is your writing space like? Do you work anywhere or do you have a special place just for your writing? Messy or clean?
M.I.: Itâs on the couch with a laptop on my lap. I see authors who have big corkboards with notes stuck to them, or pages and pages of handwritten notebooks, and wonder whatâs wrong with me. Most of my notes are in my head. My corkboard of inspiration is links saved onto my favourites bar on Google Chrome. I generally keep timelines, character profiles, etc all locked away in my headâwhich is probably dangerous at times LOL.
LBBB: Do you have a favorite author? Series?
M.I.: Such an impossible question. My all-time favourite series would probably have to be Lord of the Rings. Sure the description can be a little over the top at times (seriously, do we need to know the exact shade of green of every leaf of every tree in Lothlórien?? â okay, maybe thatâs an exaggeration, but if youâve read Tolkien you know what I mean). Despite that, the emotions, the fight scenes, the loss, the majesty, itâs all just so . . . epic. Itâs probably the set of books Iâve read most. The runner-up to most read is probably Twilight. I know some people will probably say that the two trilogies shouldnât be mentioned in the same breath, but I like Twilight. Sure itâs a little tropey, sure it has some issues with character development and stalkerness etc, but there are some beautiful passages in there and whenever I pick it up to start reading, I always get sucked into that world. Thatâs pretty special.
LBBB: Any fur-babies?
M.I.: Two cats: Tom and Sparky. I argued for naming the second one (a new kitten when we got him) Jerry, but was outvoted by an eight-year-old.
BLURB
Clay Jacobs and Evie Meyers are on the run. Together. Being hunted is almost worth it, so long as that remains true. Itâs too much to hope that it can last.
Only weeks after their reunion in Salem, his family strikes, and Clay is torn from his loverâs arms once again. Alone, his certainty in their love falters. Everything he thought was true is called into question. Could his family be right? Could he have been caught in Evieâs spell?
Clayâs obsession with finding the truth leads him on a hunt across the globe. The answer will either bring him closer to freedom or destroy the remnants of his shattered heart. His quest may prove more difficult than he imagines when some people will go to any lengths to keep the truth hidden.
BUY LINKS
BDP Online Shop: http://ow.ly/TBAYX
US: http://ow.ly/TBB32
Amazon UK: http://ow.ly/TBBhA
Amazon AU: http://ow.ly/TBBnc
iTunes: http://ow.ly/TBBsS
Kobo: http://ow.ly/TBBCm
AllRomance: http://ow.ly/TBAFE
GIVEAWAY
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
On Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26236394-among-the-debris
On Booklikes
http://booklikes.com/among-the-debris-michelle-irwin/book,13533328
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Irwin
Michelle Irwin has been many things in her life: a hobbit taking a precious item to a fiery mountain; a young child stepping through the back of a wardrobe into another land; the last human stranded not-quite-alone in space three million years in the future; a young girl willing to fight for the love of a vampire; and a time-travelling madman in a box. She achieved all of these feats and many more through her voracious reading habit. Eventually, so much reading had to have an effect and the cast of characters inside her mind took over and spilled out onto the page.
Michelle lives in sunny Queensland in the land down under with her surprisingly patient husband and ever-intriguing daughter, carving out precious moments of writing and reading time around her accounts-based day job. A lover of love and overcoming the odds, she primarily writes paranormal and fantasy romance.
Michelle Irwin has been many things in her life: a hobbit taking a precious item to a fiery mountain; a young child stepping through the back of a wardrobe into another land; the last human stranded not-quite-alone in space three million years in the future; a young girl willing to fight for the love of a vampire; and a time-travelling madman in a box. She achieved all of these feats and many more through her voracious reading habit. Eventually, so much reading had to have an effect and the cast of characters inside her mind took over and spilled out onto the page.
Michelle lives in sunny Queensland in the land down under with her surprisingly patient husband and ever-intriguing daughter, carving out precious moments of writing and reading time around her accounts-based day job. A lover of love and overcoming the odds, she primarily writes paranormal and fantasy romance.
Find Michelle at:
FB Author page: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleIrwinAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriteOnShell
Instagram: https://instagram.com/shell.irwin
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/writeonshell/