Monday, June 25, 2012

Author Interview: Leigh Fallon + Giveaway

I contacted Leigh Fallon, the lovely author of Carrier of the Mark. She accepted my request for an author interview! Thank you so much! It was great coming up with the questions and getting to know you more =) !

 The interview will consist of 10 questions. And here we go...


1-Introduce yourself. What are your hobbies? What were the best experiences you've had when you where a child, a teen, and an adult? Tell us about your hometown.

Okay, well... Hello! I'm Leigh Fallon the author of Carrier of the Mark and the up and coming sequel, Shadow of the Mark. I grew up in Dublin Ireland, then moved to Cork down the South of Ireland. My childhood was spent playing in the fields and forests of the Dublin Mountains. Summers were spent hacking out through the trees on horseback and swimming in the lakes of Feather Beds (bog lands in the Dublin Mountains). It was a wonderful place to grow up, and I hold onto many precious memories.
As an adult, after college, I travelled quite a bit. I worked all over Europe, before settling down in Cork with my Husband. My hometown is a tiny village just outside of Kinsale.  Kinsale is a beautiful coastal town in Cork Harbor that is steeped in rich history.  The Carrier Series is actually based in Kinsale. 
I'm currently living in Massachusetts, USA while my husband is on assignment here. I'm really enjoying living in the US, it's a fun change from Ireland. But Ireland will always be home.

2-What is your favorite appitizer/main course/dessert?


Fun question!!Oh let me see...
Appetizer - Pan-fried mushrooms in garlic butter. NOM! 
Main Course - I adore Indian food, so I think I'd go for Chicken Jalfrezi, Bombay Aloo, and a Peshwari naan. Double NOM! Dessert - That would have to be either Banoffie pie, or bread  pudding with salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream. *sighs*

3-Were you always fascinated with books? What genre did you mostly read?  



Yes! I loved to read, but I never thought I'd be a writer. I was a reader through and through. I read everything.  I loved Dahl & Blume growing up, anything that would make me laugh. Then as a teen I fell hard for romantic comedy books.  I devoured everything by Jilly Cooper. Then I discovered YA and never looked back.


4-When and why did you decide you should write your own book?


It was really out of the blue. I hadn't been planning on it. One day, the story just kind of popped into my head. I wrote it all long  hand and only when it was nearly finished did it dawn on me that I'd turned this idea into a book. I loved every second of writing  Carrier of the Mark. It completely consumed me.

5-How did you find the publishing process? What's the best and worst thing about it?

Getting published is tough, very tough.  I had it relatively easy. I was offered a publishing deal for Carrier only two months after completing it. But it's not like that for everyone. I know I was VERY lucky.  The best part was the editing process, it's difficult but fun. I enjoyed being guided and seeing my manuscript develop and  grow. It was an amazing experience and my editor is wonderful. The  worst part is trying to market and publicize your book once it's completed. I'm quite introverted and it goes against the grain to put myself out in the public forum. It's really quite stressful and plays havoc with my confidence. But all writers must overcome their fears and push forward. It's part of the job.

6-How do you feel when somebody devours your book and cannot stop talking about it? Do you connect with your fans? In contrast, how do you react when someone says really bad things about your book?


Carrier of the Mark was my first book and I really didn't know how to react at first to the response from readers. Obviously I love hearing from people who adored the book. Their enthusiasm drives me forward.  There are so many amazing readers and fans who contact me, and I appreciate and adore each and every one of them. But negative reviews are part of the business. I didn't know how to react at first. Each negative review is like a punch in the gut to the rookie writer.  You see, we're just starting out. I had no confidence in myself, I took every word to heart and they ate away at my soul. It's silly really, I shouldn't have let it get to me. Some of my favorite books of all time have been torn apart by reviewers. I look back and wish I knew then what I know now. They're just opinions and bad reviews are not necessarily a bad thing. In fact a negative review can reflect quite positively on your book if people don't share the same taste as that reader. I myself chose to buy books based on other peoples dislikes. It's a funny old world. But if we all liked the same things it would be boring, wouldn't it? So now I've developed a healthy policy of not reading reviews, good, bad, or indifferent, because in the end, the important thing is people are out there, reading, discussing, and engaging with each other, and that's what's important.

7-What do you personally think for the cover design of Carrier of the Mark?




I love the cover design for Carrier of the Mark. It is so striking and really encapsulates the plot and Megan's feelings. I couldn't  have asked for better really. The cover for Shadow of the Mark is equally as gorgeous. Wait until you see.



8-How do you come up with your book titles? Do you struggle with naming them? Does your editor help you with them?


Carrier of the Mark was always the name of Carrier, even when it was just words scrawled in a journal.  The only change was we dropped 'The' from the title. It used to the The Carrier of the Mark. The names for the two other books in the series have been changed from their originals. They were right for me as I was writing them, but publishers have different ideas when they are trying to package a series and create consistency and recognition.  Shadow of the Mark started out life as Dawn of the Knights.  When you read Shadow you'll see how both titles would work, but Shadow of the Mark  compliments the series better.

9-Do you have any friends who are authors as well? If yes, name some. Do you think you will co-write a book with them one day?

I have so many writer friends I'd be typing up their names all day. All writers gravitate to one another as it's a lonely business, and when you're traveling to conferences and signings, it's nice to be able to get together.  But then most of us are very far removed from each other as we're spread out across the world, so friendships are built up on line. There are some writer friends closer to me who I meet up with occasionally or talk to regularly, Kim Harrington (Clarity, Perception), Colleen Houck (Tiger Curse Series), Jennifer L Armentout (Half-Blood, Obsidian), Wendy Higgins (Sweet Evil) are just a few and are all awesome.

10-What is the best thing about being an author? What are the hardships/challenges/things you hate about being an author?


The best thing, is being able to write.  I love losing myself in a new story, creating characters, seeing what they're going to do, how they're going to act. It truly is the best job in the world.
The worst thing, is as I've mentioned before, the business side of things. It eats into your writing time and in most cases you spend more time marketing and publicizing your book than you do writing it. I just hope that one day I'll be enough of a success to employ others to do that side for me, leaving me more time to write and correspond with my fans. That would be wonderful.

And now, Time for a GIVEAWAY =D

a Rafflecopter giveaway


3 comments:

  1. Hi Leigh and Adeeb! I think I'm getting hungry thinking about Leigh's favorite dishes. Lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great interview! I love Indian food too! But then that would be because I AM Indian. I love the cover! A book set in Ireland? I gotta read this.

    ReplyDelete