Welcome to Writer's Window Thursday. Today we get to meet Jami M. Brumfield and learn about her book "Lone Wolf Rising".
Jami is not only an author of paranormal romantic thrillers, but an avid reader. She lives in Phoenix, Arizonawith her husband and two dogs. By day she hypnotizes people to work through obstacles in their lives and by night she creates obstacles for her characters to work through in her books. Let's take a peek into the world of Jami Brumfield.
Tiffany:What
is the title of your book and what message does it convey to readers?
Jami -Lone Wolf Rising is the title. This is book one in a series of at least four
books. The message is that revenge only
brings on more destruction in one’s life.
Tiffany: Give
a short synopsis of your book.
Jami -Rebecca Winters is an average teenager dealing with a
deep level of guilt because she believes she is responsible for the death of her
parents. Her only lifelines are her twin
sister, Savannah,
her younger brother, Hunter and her best friend, Jackson. They keep her from falling into a dark abyss
of depression. What Rebecca doesn’t know
is that she comes from two powerful witch lines and she has amazing power
coursing through her veins. Power that
was locked away when her parents spell bound all three of them for their
protection.
The supernatural world is hidden to most humans, they
choose to ignore it, but Rebecca’s DNA attracts the dangerous world. Her best friend is psychic, her neighbor is a
guardian (a branch of witches that specialize in the realm of the dead), and
her grandmother is in deeper than anyone can imagine. So when she stumbles upon a friend changing
into a werewolf her mission in life is changed.
Suddenly, her only thought is to become a werewolf and avenge her
parents’ tragic deaths.
Even the best laid plans have problems and Rebecca’s
road to vengeance is littered with terrifying vampires, massacres, political responsibilities
and other unimaginable obstacles. Two
guys join her journey, both intrigued and bent on claiming her as their
own. But Rebecca’s desire for vengeance
creates turmoil and one of the most important people in her life will pay the
ultimate price.
Tiffany: Why
did you write this particular story?
Jami -I have been in love with the paranormal, supernatural,
and mythological worlds for most of my life.
I have also been writing since I was a young girl in middle school. It was only a matter of time that love for
the unknown and my skills as a writer would combine to create this book. It has some of the traditional beliefs in
supernatural lore and also my own theories; like a werewolf suffering from
multiple personalities; the human host and the wolf. The idea of these two feuding internally
while the world continues moving around them was the first area I wanted to
tackle which is why this book came first.
Book two in the series takes a closer look at the myths around vampirism
and takes a paranormal romantic science fiction turn with gene manipulation and
multi-dimensions. Book three will delve
deeper into the science fiction aspect as well as the world witchcraft.
Tiffany: Are
there any characters in your books that are modeled from people in your daily
life?
Jami -No particular character is modeled from people in my
real life; however there are pieces of people I love and admire in the makeup
of the characters. If there are things I
like about a person I like to take that admiration and immortalize them in characters
I love. It helps to keep the characters
realistic and allows my readers to find a connection to them despite their
fictional status. You will find
endearing characteristics in all the characters, even those that are
antagonists. The best baddie’s I have
ever read about are those you “love to hate”.
Tiffany: How
do you come up with your story lines?
Jami - I start with an outline on how I want a story to go. It becomes a structure that I allow to be
flexible. If, as I am writing, I come up
with a new plot twist I add it into the mix and go back and foreshadow it if
necessary. I also try and add current
issues into my plots. Survivor’s guilt,
homecoming, drugs, depression, popularity, and a character trying to find a way
to tell his father he is gay are all subplots in the bigger storyline of book
one. In book two I have already added
post traumatic stress disorder and infertility.
My character’s face confidence issues and challenges involved in growing
up and becoming an adult. Mix in a
little paranormal, supernatural, science fiction, fantasy and romance and you
have a book that can entertain and also help people grow.
Tiffany: What was the point you realized
that being an author was no longer a dream but a reality?
Jami - I
think the first time I realized that writing was a reality was my first
sale. Then the second milestone was the
first review. As each milestone
continues to build upon the previous milestones I realize that with each new
achievement the dream has become the reality.
Tiffany: What
advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Jami -The turning point for me was to realize that I couldn’t
please everyone. I wrote book after book;
year after year and never finished or published because I worried what others
would say once it was done. What I have
realized now that I am published is that not everyone will like your work. You have a voice and they may not be able to
connect to that voice, however, there will be some people who connect to that
voice and they will appreciate what you did for them; whether it was helping
them learn a lesson or simply allowing them an escape from reality for a short
time while they read your book.
To sum it up; “take that chance! Don’t give up!” You will never really know until you try.
Tiffany: What
warning(s) would you give them?
Jami -Not everyone is going to like your work. Keep in mind the audience you are writing for
and strive to put out the best product you can.
Accept the constructive criticism as a learning experience and use it to
help create an even better product next time if you agree with the feedback.
Tiffany: What
do you enjoy the most about the writing process?
Jami - My favorite part of the writing process is creating
something out of nothing. Taking an
idea, building a world around that idea and creating amazingly endearing
characters that will help push the story along, there is nothing like it.
Tiffany: How
did you go about getting your book published?
Jami - When I started writing the book I wrote down my strengths
and weaknesses. Then I sought out help
from people that would help bring my weaknesses to the strength pile. For example, I am not an editor so I hired an
amazing editor, Michele Gwynn, who is also a published author. Once I had my story written and my weaknesses
turned into strengths I sent out a few query letters to agents. I set a date to publish and if I didn’t hear
back from an agent by that date I decided I was going to self publish. I self published and had over 3,000 downloads
in the first month!
Tiffany: If
you were given one day to live, what would you do that day?
Jami -Wow
tough question. Most of us don’t have
one more day to say goodbye because death comes without warning for many. So I guess I would be thankful for the tiny
warning. I would use that time to spend
with family and friends. I would also
spend time writing letters or recording videos for those important people in my
life that I will not see again.
Tiffany: If
you could meet one of your favorite authors, who would it be and why?
Jami - I
have many favorite authors and it is hard to bring it down to one. But if I had to choose one it would probably
be Sherrilyn Kenyon. She made an amazing
impression on me at such an important age.
Her dark hunter series really reinforced my writing urban fantasy and
paranormal romance. The way she created
a world that lived under human society and spanned mythology and supernatural
was and is still amazing.
Tiffany: Who
inspires you?
Jami - My
husband. He is my anchor, without him I
would be in the sky with no way to touch the earth. He keeps me grounded.
Tiffany: If
you could go back in time, what would you say to your younger self?
Jami - Good
job! You made the best out of difficult
situations. I’m proud of you. Being a hypnotherapist I firmly believe that our
past helps shape us but doesn’t dictate how we turn out.
Tiffany: What’s
next for you?
Jami - Book
two “Vampire Princess in Training” is weeks away from going to the editor and
the rough draft of book three “Fire Master” is already being written. When the Winters series is complete I have
two other book series that I have already started on and will be working on as
well. One is called “Letters to my
Vampire Prince” another YA paranormal romance and the other is an Adult
paranormal romance with the working title “Psychopaths and Telepaths”
Thank you Jami for stopping by today! If you are interested in learning more about her books and where to find them please drop by the following links:
Facebook:
GoodReads:
No comments:
Post a Comment