MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR DERYN PITTAR!

MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR DERYN PITTAR!

AMY: What’s your name and what genre would you consider your books to be?

DERYN: Hi Amy, thank you for this opportunity to talk about my books. My name is Deryn Pittar and I write a range of genre, but today I would like to talk about my paranormal/sci.fi romances. I recently released the Future Movers series through Junction Publishing.

AMY: Tell me about your books. How did you come up with the idea?

DERYN: I find it a bit boring writing in the present time. I like to add a quirk or two to any story and in this instance I decided that humans that had animal genes added to their DNA at conception would give me a huge range of character defects or enhancements to play with. To do this successfully I had to project the characters into the future and then I had to find a legal reason for this to be done.

(drum roll please) The Defense Department is creating these children to use their talents in the defense of the country. This makes it legal but the research is kept low-key. If the children show no useful talents by the time they are seven they are adopted out into the community. However, the Defense Department continues to monitor them.

AMY: How did you get interested in writing this particular genre?

DERYN: I love Sci.Fi. and read and write in this genre, then having discovered that romance is the most popular genre I thought I would combine the two.

AMY: What kind of research did you do for these books?

DERYN: Because these books are set in the future I am able to use my imagination and create animal talents to suit a character. However, four of the novels are set in Australia and in particular the desert. For two of the novels I researched the flora and fauna of the desert and the types of precious stones that different areas of Australia produce. I visited Uluru and Alice Springs many years ago and fell in love with the atmosphere of the red centre.

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AMY: Can you tell me about your Series?

DERYN: Set in the future the books cover three generations of the Corban family and their friends. Known as g-alters these genetically altered people try to live quiet lives, under the radar, to avoid being conscripted by the Defense Department. They hide their talents but use them to help each other and in some cases to secretly help the public. A close knit community they mix and blend into the general population but are restricted by their beginnings as to who they should fall in love with.

AMY: Do you have a favorite book out of this series?

DERYN: I love them all, but my very favorite would be the last book in the series called Romancing the Memory Collector.

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AMY: Was it always meant to become a series?

DERYN: No, each story grew from the previous one. Even now I know there is another story to be told about a character in the fifth book, but as yet I am not inspired to write it. She sits patiently waiting for me to start.

AMY: Do you have a new book in the making and if so, what’s the name of your upcoming book?

DERYN: I recently wrote a novella with a fellow author, Meg Buchanan and we called it Angelfire. We both publish through Junction Publishing but met through NZ Romance Writers. This will be released in October and centers around angel who falls in love with a soldier. Her brother has plans for her on Halloween and she does not want to participate. The soldier is on leave with PTSD so thinks she is as crazy as he is when she asks for his help. Angelfire is quirky, fun and sexy. It was easy to create with two brains working on every problem. Luckily we write in a similar way so who wrote which chapter is not evident and we both edited and changed prose as we went. It was a fun experiment. It could easily have a sequel. We need to get together again.

AMY: Where do your ideas come from?

DERYN: One thing seems to lead to another. Also the premise for a contest will often trigger a short story and in turn that short piece might become the nucleus of a novel. Angelfire began from a short piece I wrote and we jumped off from that.

AMY: What do you think of book trailers? Do you have a trailer or do you intend to create one for your own book?

DERYN: I am fortunate that Junction Publishing create a video trailer for each our books. Rather than having to read a lot of detail a video can get the story across in an entertaining way.

AMY: What’s the best thing about being an author?

DERYN: Having the luxury of creating characters, putting them into situations and watching what happens. I do some basic plotting then pantster my way between the major events; a bit like watching a film in your head.

AMY: Have you always liked to write?

DERYN: Possibly. Long letters and then long emails grew into the realization I was a story-teller. I had to learn the skill of whipping prose into line and eliminating all the surplus words. It took a while but I know I am a much better writer now than eight years ago.

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AMY: What writing advice do you have for aspiring authors?

DERYN: Just do it. Write, write and then write some more. Practice truly does make perfect. Well – almost perfect. No draft Ms is every perfect. We can always change a word here and there.

AMY: If you didn’t like writing books, or weren’t any good at it, what would you like to do for a living?

DERYN: Luckily I am retired, but previously my career was in administration. I can still touch-type which is a huge boon when writing.

AMY: Do you read reviews of your book(s)? Do you respond to them, good or bad? How do you deal with the bad?

DERYN: Yes I read reviews, with as much trepidation as anyone. I never respond. If someone growls I take note of their complaint and try to do better next time.

AMY: What are you working on now?

DERYN: A romance involving a wager between two Guardian Angels and their respective charges. I have no idea how long it will be.

AMY: Where did your love of books come from?

DERYN: As a child my father read to me every night. I grew up with books being the go-to thing you did for entertainment and relaxation. I belong to two book clubs and use the local library and my kindle.

AMY: Of all the characters you have created, which is your favourite and why?

DERYN: This year Junction Publishing released Lutapolii – White Dragon of the South. He is a fabulous character, not at all evil and only fights if he or his ladies are threatened. Love, loyalty, greed and jealousy all feature in this story. I am his greatest fan. He can be a bit arrogant but mostly is socially inept due to being bullied as a youngster. His mother dislikes him and he accepts this, but still tries to be a good son. He makes me laugh and also makes me very proud to have created him. This story appeals to both adults and Young Adults.

AMY: Does writing energize or exhaust you?

DERYN: Mostly it satisfies me. If the flow stops I just rest until the urge rises again.

AMY: Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

DERYN: I always try to be original and can do this with fantasy or sci.fi. Sometimes with romance you need to follow through to a happy ending but I cannot write without a quirk being in there somewhere – probably a failing more than a strength. I simply cannot conform.

AMY: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer.

DERYN: I belong to the Coast2Coast zone of the NZ Romance Writers. This is a fantastically supportive organization, whose members write over a wide range of genre. I also belong to Spec.Fic.NZ (speculative fiction). My writing buddies and critique partners come from this pool of authors.