Authors Supporting Authors #8: S.J. Lomas

I have another installment of Authors Supporting Authors WITH a link to my book review of her novel, "Dream Girl." If YA fantasy with dark undertones is your thing, then sit and get comfortable!

Meet S.J. Lomas-  a cheerful Michigan girl who writes strange, and somewhat dark, young adult fiction. She loves books so much that she not only writes them, but she became a librarian and a book reviewer. Her to-be-read pile is large enough to last several lifetimes, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

1: You have a duology, "Dream Girl" and newly released "Dream Frequency" - What is your primary inspiration behind them?
This duology started way back in 2001 when I woke in the middle of the night from a really strange dream. At the time, I grabbed a notebook I keep by the bed and scribbled down the main points of the dream. I knew it would make a great story someday. It stayed in the back of my brain for several years before I finally realized it should be a YA novel.  

2: How do you go about creating your characters? Do you feel particularly close to one?
I laugh and tell people it doesn't sound sane, but my characters tend to come to me. My favorite example from this story is the character of Leo. [Julian's comment: He's one of my favorite characters!] I had already written a little over half of my first draft when Leo just wrote himself into the story. Then I realized he should have been there from the beginning. I went back to add him in and he ended up becoming a major character in both books. 

I feel particularly close to Gabriel. I was having a hard time getting his voice. Then one day I was in the shower (where all the best ideas seem to come from) and he just started speaking in my head. What he said ended up becoming chapter 3 of Dream Girl. 

3: Are your a "pantser" or planner? (aka. someone who just writes as they go OR someone who outlines the entire plot before writing)
As much as I try to be a planner, I just keep coming back to being a pantser. For "Dream Girl", I'd written about half and friends kept asking me when I'd be done with the book. I got so tired of the question (and, believe me, I was asking myself the same thing!) I sat down and wrote down all the major scenes that had to happen before the book was over. With that written down, it was a whole lot easier to complete... I've often found that my outlining and plotting goes out the window the second I sit down to write. For example, I tried plotting a new novel for a couple months. I promised myself I was going to write more efficiently and plotting seemed like the best way to do that. After all that time, the day I sat down to write, the characters just went ahead and changed their names and birth order on me. The main character's voice was coming out much differently than I'd expected. I wondered why I'd bothered spending all that time plotting just to have that happen. [Julian's comment: I feel the same way...] I guess I just have to embrace the pantsing. 

4: Getting down to basics: What draws you to this genre so much?
...I think what it boils down to is that YA books are allowed to be so imaginative. It's fun to go on the adventure with teen characters as they're experiencing and discovering things for the first time. The feelings are so intense, no matter what genre. Teens feel everything so passionately. You first love is the love of your life. Any embarrassment or set back is the end of your life. You're trying to figure out who you are, what you can do, and how you fit into the world. It's all very dramatic and that makes for a good book. 

5: You have a fabulous looking webpage! Any tips for aspiring authors on how to make the best out of their blog?
Thank you! I have limited technical skills... [Julian's comment: me too!]...so I'm so grateful for the drag and drop options available. I know many authors say you have to have a schedule for blogging and newsletters and social media and marketing and on and on and on, but that's something I just can't do. I work part time as a librarian, I have school aged children, and I'm married; in short, there's a lot of other things that need my attention every day. I enjoy having my blog but I don't let it stress me out. I only post something when I feel I have something to say. Or if there's an author I want to interview. If it doesn't make you feel good, it isn't going to be a good experience for anyone, so keep that your primary focus. 

6: What are your future projects/what can we look forward to? 
I have been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe since I was a kid. I'm currently working on a project that is inspired by his life and writing. It's a weird, creepy, story but I'm having so much fun writing it! It's just in the very beginning stages, and since I'm a pantser, I don't have much more to say about it yet, but I'm excited! [Julian's comment: I'm a fan of Poe as well. I have one of those collector editions of all his works :) ]

7: If you could meet any author (alive or dead), who would you want to meet and why?
I want to meet Michael Lawrence. He wrote the "Withern Rise" trilogy, "A Crack in the Line", "Small Eternities", and "The Underwood See". Reading those books is what made me realize that the dream I'd had in 2001 should be a YA novel... I'd love to take him out to lunch and thank him. 

Thank you, S.J. Lomas for stopping by! The blurbs for her duology is below, as well as a link to my book review of "Dream Girl". Check it out!
Until next time--
J.E.

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"Dream Girl" Book Review

For Christine, dreams have never meant much. Until she meets Gabriel. Everyone thinks Christine should stay away from her new coworker at the library, thanks to his bad reputation, but when her dreams grow more vivid and she becomes entangled in a dangerous dream world with Gabriel every night, she can’t stay away. Soon it’s clear there is far more to dreams than Christine ever imagined, and now she’s on the path to making the biggest, and strangest, decision of her life.

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Christine would never have considered herself new recruit material for a secret U.S. agency. Until recently, she's just been an ordinary girl graduating from high school and wondering if a friendship with Gabriel, a mysterious coworker, would grow into something romantic. When Christine's fascination with Gabriel leads to her discovery of dreamworlds, she learns that she's anything but ordinary. In this thrilling conclusion to Dream Girl, Christine and Gabriel must choose their allegiances and face corruption, conspiracy, and the complexities of love in order to save themselves and everyone who matters to them - or die trying.

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