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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Interview with Author Emlyn Chand

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Today I have Author Emlyn Chand here for an interview
about her release Farsighted.


1. Who is Emlyn Chand, really?
A 26-almost-27-year old YA author. I am also the president of Novel Publicity and a crazy bird lady too. And, oh yeah, I emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in my left hand (at least that’s what my Twitter bio says).

2. Where did you get your inspiration from for Farsighted?
Everything started with a single image—my face in these tacky oversized sunglasses reflecting out at me from the car’s side mirror. I was daydreaming while my husband drove us across Michigan for my sister’s wedding. Something about my image really struck me in an almost horrific way. I felt the glasses made me look blind but found it so weird that there was still a clear image within them; it seemed so contradictory. At the time, my book club was reading The Odyssey, which features the blind Theban prophet, Tieresias. I started thinking about what it would be like to have non-visual visions of the future and began forming a modern Tieresias in my mind. Lo and behold, Alex Kosmitoras was born. I didn’t want him to be alone in his psychic subculture, so I found other characters with other powers to keep him company. Thank God for my poor fashion sense. J

3.  Do you ever have problems with writers block?  If so how do you get through it?
Writer’s block has not really been a problem for me. I have so many ideas swimming about in my head, I don’t generally come up short. What I do experience is writer’s  detour, or pursuing wild tangents to the detriment of my story. If I can’t find focus myself, my beta readers are great at letting me know it’s time to kill some darlings.

4. Do you have any future works we should keep an eye out for?
Farsighted is a 5-book series.  Each book will be told from a different character's point-of-view, so in book #2, we'll actually be able to see what Grandon looks like!  Next up is Open Heart.  I hope to have that ready by the middle of next year.  And don't worry, Alex will remain an important character throughout the entire series; we just won't be in his head anymore.

5. While working on a story, do you directly onto the computer or are there notebooks and plot ideas jotted down in various places?
I use the computer so much, I’ve virtually forgotten how to write long-hand, so no notebooks for me! I do keep crazy to-do lists and outlines either on scrap paper or gigantic poster boards. I’ve also been known to sketch pictures of my characters or log ideas in a voice recorder—whatever’s closest when I have an idea.

6.  What do you do when you’re not writing/editing or thinking about writing/ editing?
I work, of course! I started my book marketing business, Novel Publicity, because of my love for writing and reading, but often times it keeps me away from my writing. That’s why I have to hold myself “writing hostage” at the local Panera for hours on end sans wi-fi—it’s the only way I can ignore work long enough to write. Ultimately, I’m lucky, because I have two all-consuming passions instead of just one.

7.  If you had one piece of advice for all those writers sitting out there procrastinating about making that first submission, what would it be?
Just do it. You can almost guarantee that you’ll receive a rejection letter, but this is an important rite of passage for us, and it really does make us stronger; it really does get easier with time. Sorry to be so cynical, but I find it’s better to have a realistic understanding of the insane query process than hopes that are too high. That first “not for us” form letter is like a dart through a hot air balloon. Prepare to crash and burn. But you can patch up; you can rise again. Maybe even float higher.

8.  Please share your favourite scene with us from Farsighted.
Sure! My favorite scene actually occurs at the end of the story—spoiler-alert :-P So I’ve attached “Meeting Miss Teak,” a scene from the second chapter that many readers seem to enjoy.

Thanks so much for taking the time to be here today, Emlyn!  J

“Did Dad tell you? A new tenant moved into the old pharmacy next door.”
“Really?” I ask, not letting on I already know. If I feign ignorance, Mom’ll divulge all the details. “What is it?”
“It’s a psychic shop,” Her voice crackles with excitement like a fire that’s just beginning to burn. “The All-Seeing Miss Teak. Isn’t that cute? Miss Teak, Mystic. Ha, I wonder if that’s her real name.”
I laugh. “That is funny. Never had a psychic in town before. What’s she like?”
“Oh, she’s very friendly. Why don’t you go over and say ‘hi.’  I’m sure she’d like to meet you.”
“Okay, I think I will.” I’m incredibly intrigued, because first off, it’s a psychic shop—how weird is that?—and second, its presence made Dad super uncomfortable—also very cool. I waste no time heading next door to check out the scene.
As I step cautiously into the new shop, a recording of soft, instrumental music greets me. I can make out chimes and a string instrument I don’t recognize but for some reason reminds me of snake charmers. The smell of incense fills my nostrils, which explains the burning I detected earlier.
“Hello?” I call out into the otherwise quiet room.
Nobody answers. I walk in deeper, sweeping my cane out in front of me in a metronome fashion. This place is new to me, so I need to be especially careful while moving around.
Thump! Despite my precautions, I stub my toe on something hard, big, and made of wood. Just my luck to stub the same toe twice in one day. I reach down to press my fingers into my throbbing foot to alleviate some of the pain. Something teeters before rolling off of the chest and across the floor; the sound it makes indicates a curved path. Suddenly, the object stops. Somebody’s stopped it.
“Hello?” I call again.
“Hello,” a deep, feminine voice responds, placing more emphasis on the first syllable than the second.
“I- I’m sorry I knocked that thing over. I didn’t mean to…” I hope she’s not angry. Probably not a good idea to get on a psychic’s bad side.
“That wasn’t just a thing, it’s a crystal ball,” she says as she walks over, sending my blood pulsing through my veins. I sense her looking at me for a moment before she places the ball back on top of the chest.
“Can it see the future?” I ask, allowing my curiosity to outweigh my uneasiness.
“No.” After a pause lasting several beats, she continues. “But I can see the future sometimes when I look into it.”
“Oh, okay.” I tighten my hand around my cane and turn to leave. It may not be the most polite thing to do, but all of this hocus-pocus stuff is freaking me out more than I would’ve guessed.
The psychic lady speaks again, stopping me cold. “Don’t run away, Alex Kosmitoras.” She must’ve spoken to Mom earlier today. That must be how she knows my name.
“I’m not running away,” I say meekly. “I’m just going back over to Sweet Blossoms.”
“Don’t run away,” she repeats—this time she speaks louder and with more energy. “Don’t run away from your abilities. They are gifts.”
“What?” I ask in confusion. What abilities is she talking about?
“You already know. Watch. Listen. Be open to your gifts.”
I turn to face Miss Teak, but find she’s already gone, returning to wherever she was before I got there.
Is it safe to leave? I trail my fingers across the wooden box I ran into earlier; a thick coat of dust clings to the tips as I pull away. If this shop just opened, why is it already so dirty? I wipe my hands over my shirt to get the gritty substance off. Shivers rock my whole body. Something about this place is wrong, and I’m not sticking around to figure out what. Tapping my cane along the floor, I’m able to find the exit without knocking into anything else.

More about:
Farsighted
by Emlyn Chand
Genre: Paranormal YA

Short Synopsis:

Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t. When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. 

Long Synopsis:

Alex Kosmitoras’s life has never been easy. The only other student who will talk to him is the school bully, his parents are dead-broke and insanely overprotective, and to complicate matters even more, he's blind. Just when he thinks he'll never have a shot at a normal life, a new girl from India moves into town. Simmi is smart, nice, and actually wants to be friends with Alex. Plus she smells like an Almond Joy bar. Yes, sophomore year might not be so bad after all. 

Unfortunately, Alex is in store for another new arrival—an unexpected and often embarrassing ability to “see” the future. Try as he may, Alex is unable to ignore his visions, especially when they begin to suggest that Simmi is in danger. With the help of the mysterious psychic next door and new friends who come bearing gifts of their own, Alex must embark on a journey to change his future. 

In this enthralling debut novel, Emlyn Chand creates a world in which friendship, perseverance, and a handful of psychic powers come together to fight against what appears to be the inevitable and all-too dangerous future. This is a book you won’t want to put down—even after you finish it! 




Check out the fun quiz readers can take to determine which character they are.
It's just 7 questions long and has badges that readers can use to display their results http://www.emlynchand.com/farsighted/quiz/

Author Bio:

Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she's not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity.

Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb.

Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info.

Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky! 

4 comments:

  1. Hi Jacqueline. Thanks so much for having me on your blog today. It looks like we're Bewitched tour buddies :-D

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  2. It was great having you here!

    Can never have too many tour buddies.
    :)

    Good luck on your tour!!

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  3. Thanks, Jacqueline. Two of my tours are just about over, but I have 4 more starting up in late November and early December. No rest for the weary. And who is weary if not we authors?

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  4. I agree.
    I just finished a month long one and with four coming out in 2012 I expect to be nodding off at the keyboard often.

    ReplyDelete