1.
What secret do you use to blast through writer’s
block?
I don’t
want to jinx myself *fingers crossed* but so far, I’ve never had a writer’s
block. I always start writing the outline first, so if the story doesn’t work,
I change it or leave it and start a new outline. Once I start writing the
novel, I don’t stop until it’s finished. I have an OCD about writing, lol. I
feel guilty when I’m not writing or when I write less than 3K per day. It’s a
bit exhausting.
2.
How long have you been writing?
I wrote my first novel
when I was 10. Well, for me it was a full novel, haha, but the word count was
merely 800 words. Anyway, it was the story of a space bear who lived in a
planet populated by bears. Each bear had the coat of just one colour, while the
protag had a multi-coloured coat, and everyone gave him sideways glances for
that.
He started a quest to find
someone who could dye his coat and turn it completely brown. He travelled up
and down the galaxy and found nothing.
At the end, he said,
“Screw it,” and he kept his multi-coloured coat.
Now, before you think that
the story has a morale, that it’s about accepting yourself, etc… let me tell
you this: it doesn’t. I just got tired of writing and ended the story there,
lol.
3.
Did you tell friends and family that you were
writing a book? Or did it take a while to come out and tell friends and family
you were a writer?
Nope. My
family wasn’t very supportive, so I never told anyone. Even now they don’t
know. Writers need a bit of encouragement. It’s a hard job and there are
millions of books out there. Motivation is important.
4.
If writing is your first passion, what is your
second?
I love
climbing and trekking, and I love walking on the snow (there isn’t much snow in
Auckland, haha, but when I lived up in the mountains, I spent hours walking in
the forest)
5.
Have you written works in collaboration with other
writers, and if so: why did you decide to collaborate and did it affect your
sales?
I co-wrote The Martian Zombie with H. J. Hewett and it was a
lovely experience. Writing becomes a brainstorming of ideas and is incredibly
fun. I don’t know about the sales yet, but promoting the book was easier.
6.
How often do you write, and do you have a special
time during the day to write?
I write as much as I can, whenever I can, wherever I am.
Except the bus I read on the bus.
Mummy Dearest – A Pharaonic Adventure
Misadventures in Auckland Book 1
by Barbara Russell
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
During
a school trip to the museum, thirteen-year-old Tess wakes up an
Egyptian mummy.
Cursed
by a necromancer, Prince Seth has been inside a sarcophagus for two
thousand years. Now, he has no intention of going back into his tomb.
He wants a normal life, friends, and fresh food. So, he follows Tess
home, bandages and all.
Ancient
Egyptian mummies bring bad luck. Since Seth’s arrival, a car has
almost run Tess over, and a lamppost nearly squashed
her. With Tess’s soccer team, the Wolverines, qualified for
the New Zealand Junior Soccer Championship, this curse could destroy
its chances of winning. Even worse, evil Egyptian spirits chase her
and Seth to take their souls into the world of the dead.
Unless
they find the two-thousand-year old necromancer, who controls the
spirits and who gained eternal youth by cursing Seth, Tess and Seth
will be doomed forever.
The Boy Who Killed Santa Claus
Misadventures in Auckland Book 2
Misadventures in Auckland Book 2
While
other thirteen-year-old kids think about playing and riding their
bikes, Hau has to deal with fairies. He sees them everywhere—small,
green, tiny wings, with pointed ears like Legolas. And they talk to
him as well. In fact, they don’t want to shut up.
No
one believes him, not even his mother or his best friend. Kids at
school call him names, and he’s just as popular as a visit to the
dentist.
On
top of that, he’s the only one who knows the truth about Santa
Claus. Santa isn’t the nice, fatherly elf everyone believes. He’s
a bloodthirsty villain. Yep. Newt witnessed it with his own eyes when
Santa killed his father in cold blood right under the Christmas tree.
But again, no one believes him.
The Doom & Despair Entertainment Agency
Misadventures in Auckland Book 3
Misadventures in Auckland Book 3
Welcome
to the Doom & Despair Entertainment Agency where fear is always
guaranteed. Do you want a bunch of zombies for your next birthday
party? Vampires and ghosts at your wedding, frightening your guests?
No problem. The Doom & Despair Entertainment Agency organises the
scariest events in all New Zilla.
Except
that, since the ghost of MacBatt Castle disappeared, business is
slowing down at the agency. A new, young ghost, Gwen, haunts the
castle, and she’s too nice to scare the customers. So, it’s up to
Orlando, a thirteen-year-old orphan who works for the agency, to help
Gwen in becoming scarier before his employer decides to send him back to
the orphanage.
The Girl with the Dragon-Raccoon
Misadventures in Auckland Book 4
While
other fifteen-year-old girls dream about having a blood-sucking
boyfriend like in Twilight, Tyro has nightmares about vampires.
She
has her share of vampires, zombies, and werewolves because her mum is
a dentist who attends to these monsters’ teeth.
So,
when her mother and a vampire client disappear from the dental
clinic, leaving only a trail of blood, trashed furniture, and ripped
clothes behind, Tyro suspects one of the monsters kidnapped them or
worse that the vampire attacked her mum.
Either
way, she’s in deep crap.
The
police don’t believe her, and Jack, the vanished vampire’s son,
wants to take Tyro to Underworld City where hags, zombies, and all
kind of were-beings live. He plans to talk with the underworld police
that control supernatural creatures.
That’s
his chance to show her that not every monster is a thug, and perhaps,
she’ll accept his invitation for the Disemboweller Ball. If only he
could keep his true nature secret. No girl would be attracted by a
guy who can turn himself into a half-dragon, half-racoon beast, with
no fire to speak of, no super-strength, and very tiny wings. How lame
is that?
Tyro
would rather go to school wearing only her underwear than be alone
with Jack. What if going to Underworld City is a trap? What if he
wants to eat her?
But
unless she teams up with him, she’ll never know what happened to
her mum. Armed with her courage and a bottle of garlic spray, she
accepts to travel to Underworld City with Jack.
After
a monster killed her dad, her mum is all that is left of her family,
and she won’t leave her in the hands of brain-eating, blood-sucking
creatures.
I’m
an entomologist and a soil biologist, which is a fancy way to say
that I dig in the dirt, looking for bugs. Nature and books have
always been my passion. I was a kid when I read The Lord Of The Ring
and fell in love with fantasy novels.
When
I discovered cosy mystery and crime novel, I fell in love with
Hercules Poirot and Sherlock Holmes. Then I grew up and . . . Nah,
I’m joking. Don’t grow up, folks! It’s a trap.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
thanks for having me!
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