Q&A Interview and Giveaway with Aaron Speca and Patricia Laffoon

Hello Book Monsters and Literal Addicts! Book Monster Reviews and LITERAL ADDICTION are very pleased to welcome authors Aaron Speca and Patricia Laffoon, writing team from “Tears of a Mermaid” in the "Evernight" anthology, to our sites today.

Aaron Speca lives in Virginia, is a fledgling writer and editor, and is a self-proclaimed story continuity Nazi.  The short story “Tears of a Mermaid” in the “Evernight” anthology is his first published work.

Patricia Laffoon lives on a small manmade lake in Kentucky. The care taker of one very precocious cat named Izzy. The short story "Tears of a Mermaid" in the "Evernight" anthology is her first published work also.

"Evernight" synopsis -

As children, we feared the boogeyman… Our parents comforted us when the monster under the bed or in the dark depths of our slightly opened closet threatened our safety. We cried when those evil creatures invaded our nightmares and stole us from peaceful sleep, but what if those monsters truly existed? What if they lived in a world not unlike our own, where all they wanted was the same basic needs that every human being spends their lives searching for? What if the things that go bump in the night only wanted to be loved? In the next twelve stories, you will read about vampires and werewolves, angels and demons, and monsters of all kinds overcoming some of the most difficult hurdles simply to find their one true love, to find their happiness. You’ll read of heated, salacious trysts beneath the moonlight and of lovers doomed before they even have a chance to find the one person who completes their soul. Join us as we wander through a dark world where nothing is what it seems, where rainbows after a storm are a rare miracle, where the boogeyman captures your heart and fulfils your sweetest dreams.

Sounds great doesn't it?  Now, let's find out more about the amazing duo behind this incredible story ….

Book Monster Reviews/LITERAL ADDICTION:  Hello Aaron and Patricia!  Thank you for stopping by to chat with us.  We’re very happy to have you with us today!

Aaron{opening comments}:  It is very exciting to be here, thank you so much!  It’s a great chance to get to connect with your fans.

Patricia{opening comments}:  Thank you so much for inviting us, it's a pleasure to be here and a honor to meet you and your fans.

Book Monster Reviews/LITERAL ADDICTION:  We always like to start out by getting to know our guest authors a little bit better.

Q1):   Can you tell us 3 things about yourselves that we can't find out on the internet, in your bio, etc?

Aaron:  Wow, um let me see, I bet Patricia doesn’t know these.  Okay, first thing, I’ve been ONE TOURNAMENT away from making it into the World Series of Poker main event (stupid pocket aces).  Second, I have once walked on an active volcano, although only a LITTLE BIT active.  Third, I have the most incredible wife ever, who puts up with me even entertaining the notion of doing this.  Love you, baby!

Patricia:  Looks like we both are learning some things tonight, well let’s see, when I eat M&M's I eat them by color and group size, largest to the smallest. I come from the generation that if my music is to loud for you, you’re to old...I sing in the car like a rock star. Oh and I have been collecting Pez for over twenty years...*hangs her head* Last count I have over 300.

2)  How long have each of you been writing, and what genre did you start out writing in?

Aaron:  Well, I really hadn’t written anything at all since high school, before a little over a year ago when I joined a Dark Hunter role-playing group with my wife.  Since then, I’ve been writing almost non-stop in one form or another, totally in the paranormal area.  It’s like it woke up this little voice in me that I didn’t know I had.  Patricia and I have been writing together for a lot of that time, and as far as getting published, this is our first time, so it’s incredibly exciting.

Patricia:  I am with Aaron I wrote in high school, you know the “poems of a young girl’s broken heart” type of thing, nothing serious. Aaron and I became writing partners about this time last year and it's been an ongoing thing since that time writing in our role-playing group. As for genre I guess it would be paranormal.

3)  What parts do each of you contribute to the stories you write (does one write the action and the other the romance, etc.)?

Aaron:  We are partners in the truest sense of the word.  There are little pieces that each of us is a little better at, but we really have written every scene together, as a team.  The contribution we each make is the CHARACTER.  I write from Rudy’s point of view, and she writes from Trish’s.  I think it gives us the ability to have each scene come alive from each character’s point of view.

Patricia:  *smiling* It's hard to explain if you have never seen this style of writing, but he will write a section and then I will essentially answer or contribute to the storyline next, and we continue on till we reach a conclusion. We both write action and love scenes as required, although I have to admit he is much better at the action scenes than I am. I have learned so much from writing with Aaron this past year and we both have learned to trust each other's judgment.

4)  Do either of you have any interesting writing quirks, or things that you must have with you to begin the writing process?

Aaron:  *Laughing*  I’m much more comfortable writing when I have my footstool that my wife got me, so I can kick my feet up with my computer in my lap and type away.  Usually I need some kind of background noise, either music or TV.  Sometimes I just turn on Cool TV, an actual music channel!  I thought those were extinct for a while.

Patricia: I am the opposite I need it to be quiet when we are doing a Story Line {SL}. I find it hard to concentrate if I have distraction going on around me. I tell my group all the time I am a “one trick pony” that way. I can only concentrate on one thing at a time, unlike my partner here, who writes at least three SL at a time, and is thinking of the next while I am grinding out the next post to his.

5)  What is the best part of writing as a duo?  What are the hardest parts?

Aaron:  I absolutely love writing with a partner.  For one thing, you have an instant beta reader and feedback from it.  And two minds are better at remembering those little details that make a story special.  When you share a common vision of where the characters should go, everything just clicks.  Even when you have to ad lib.  *Chuckling*  Some of my favorite stories are from when Patricia has thrown me a curve ball.  The hardest part sometimes is finding time to work together, which can be a challenge.

Patricia:  The best part for me is having Aaron there when I draw a complete blank. *grinning* Which happens a lot.  I have a disability, I have dyslexia.  Aaron has helped me more than any teacher I ever had in school. The worst part is when I have to stop and ask him how to spell something. I know I am slowing us down but he is so patient and is always there to lend a hand to add helpful suggestion when I get stuck.

6)  Who are some of your favorite authors and series respectively?

Aaron:  Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series and Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series easily right now.  I don’t have nearly the time I would like to read, but those two series showed me the importance of character development.  I’d always been more of a story-focused fan (thus my self-imposed nickname of “continuity nazi”), but I found character to be just as important as I was reading these books.

Patricia:  Oh my gosh, do we have the time. Because of my reading handicap I never read much, but once I started reading, I started out with the Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark Hunter series, from there I started reading, Larissa Ione's Demonica series, Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld, Christine Warren's The Others, Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series, Pamela Palmer's Feral Warriors and the list just goes on and on...

7)  What are some of your hobbies, or things that you each enjoy when you’re not writing or taking care of other author business?

Aaron:  Well, most of my other hobbies are pretty boring guy stuff – I love to play poker and watch football.  Other than that and my full-time job, most of my other time is spent with the family.  Three kids age 7 to 13 definitely keep things hopping.

Patricia:  I love prowling through out of the way antique shops, Kentucky is full of them. Being a daughter of the south and ex-military, I can't help but love a great civil war reenactment.

8)  Can you please tell us about "Evernight"?  What can we expect when we read this book?

Aaron:  This set of stories is all about overcoming obstacles to discover oneself and one’s true love.  Our story, “Tears of a Mermaid”, a paranormal love story set in the age of pirates, to me is about sacrifice - about the willingness to put it all on the line for one person.  Rudy and Trish have grown into amazing characters, and I love every minute of writing them.  I Would hope that the readers would connect with them the way we have.

Patricia:  What can I say, you will find the depth one will go to find true love and keep it. Isn't that what every great paranormal love story has going for it?

9)  What's up next for you both?  What upcoming projects are you working on together or separately?

Aaron:  I feel more and more strongly every day that there needs to be more from Rudy and Trish in the age of pirates.  The story we published here is really the middle of their story.  There’s so much more to tell.  It remains to be seen whether it will be more treatments in anthologies, or a stand-alone book, or maybe a little of both.  On my own, I just got finished helping another first-time author, Dawn Treadway, by editing her paranormal romance novel.  Hopefully we’ll see it in print in the near future.

Patricia:  Truthfully I had never thought of being published. This was all an Aaron production, and I happily was caught up in his vision. Yes I think we are going to work on fleshing out the Pirate and the Mermaid SL, it's one I think people will really enjoy. I know I have.

10)  Is there anything specific each of you would like to say to your readers while we have you here today?

Aaron:  I just want to thank everyone who has given us a chance or who will decide to give us a chance.  If you enjoy reading this story half as much as we enjoyed writing it, I think you will fall in love with Rudy and Trish just like we have.  And be looking for more from us and them in the future.

Patricia:  Thank you each and every one for allowing us to come into your homes, and lives for the briefest of moments to take you away from your everyday lives to a place where love conquers all, and the good guys always win.

Book Monster Reviews/LITERAL ADDICTION:  We would like to thank you both of you again for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us.  We would love to have you back again in the future.

Aaron{closing comments}:  Oh absolutely, God willing, we’ll have an opportunity to be back again.  It’s been a blast!

Patricia{closing comments}:  *taking a deep breath and smiling* See told you Aaron *grinning* this wasn't so bad *winking at them both* Now go look us up and enjoy.

Aaron:  *Smirks*  Nope, not so bad at all.

If you would like to find out more about Aaron and Patricia's work, you can visit them at any of the sites below.

Website:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5200710.Aaron_Speca/blog

Facebook: 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aaron-Speca-AuthorEditor/216515161730857

http://www.facebook.com/laffoon.pat

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CONTEST:  Aaron and Patricia are giving away an eBook copy of the "Evernight" anthology, which includes their story "Tears of a Mermaid" to one winner from Book Monster and one winner from LITERAL ADDICTION.

To Enter: Make sure you are a follower of the BMR Blog and then post a comment on the interview and make sure you leave a valid email address. Any comments without an email address will NOT be entered into drawing. 

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Don't forget to drop by the LITERAL ADDICTION website (http://www.literaladdiction.com/) and follow the directions and links to enter their contest for an extra chance to win!!!