Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Blog Tour Q&A with P.J. Hoover

 Please welcome author P.J. Hoover to P.S. I Love Books!


P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek.





Welcome P.J.! I appreciate you taking the time out to visit P.S. I Love Books.

Thank you so much for hosting me! I’m thrilled to be here =)

Can you tell us a little bit about Solstice?

Sure! SOLSTICE is my debut young adult novel and is set in a future where global warming is destroying the earth. Societies are trying everything to combat the threat of heat bubbles and dying vegetation, but nothing seems to help. Amid this world, a girl named Piper receives a mysterious box on her birthday and opens it, and around her, a parallel world of mythology begins to surface. Piper is sucked in, and pretty soon, the fate of both the worlds rests in her hands. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the hot romance.

What was one of your favorite and least favorite things about writing it?

My favorite thing about writing SOLSTICE was how quickly the first draft flowed. SOLSTICE was a story that pretty much wrote itself. My least favorite thing about writing SOLSTICE was the endless revisions. I spent days/months/years revising SOLSTICE until I got it just right.

Which of the characters did you enjoy working with the most?

Overall, I’ve determined writing evil characters is the most fun. The great thing about evil characters is the struggle they have within themselves. Take Tantalus, for example. He’s crazy because he can’t eat or drink, and this craziness drives all his actions. It’s so much fun to see what will come of that kind of mental state.

If you had the chance to do it all over again would you change anything in Solstice?

I worked so hard revising SOLSTICE, and I’m really thrilled with how it is today!

What do you think of the cover?

I have cover love. From the first moment I saw the cover for SOLSTICE, I thought it was wonderful. It captures the mystery, the global warming, the romance all so well. The story is really such a combination of all these things, and the cover reflects this perfectly.

If Solstice were made into a movie who would be your ideal cast for the main characters?

I always have such a hard time figuring out my main characters. In fact, for the main characters, the only one I have pegged is Shayne. I’d choose Kit Harrington (Jon Snow from Game of Thrones). I did pick stock images for the characters when I designed the trading cards and think the photos do a great job reflecting the main six characters of the story. (http://www.pjhoover.com/trading_cards.php)

If you could write a book about absolutely anything with any other author (dead or alive) what would it be about and who would you choose?

Homer. We could write a story about a hero and his or her journey on some great quest. It would be epic, and people would be reading it four thousand years from now.

If you didn’t have a passion for writing books what do you think you’d be doing as a career?

Well, I was an electrical engineer designing computer chips for fifteen years before I started writing. So, probably, if I didn’t write, I’d still be doing that. It was fun, challenging, and paid well.

I’m always looking for books to add to my ginormous TBR (to be read) pile. What books are you currently reading or have read recently? Any good recommendations?

Yes! I loved DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth which came out this spring. And two ARCs I’ve read that release this fall that I highly recommend are CALLI by Jessica Lee Anderson and ASHES by Ilsa Bick. All are fantastic reads!

What are some of your favorite things to do when given a break from the writing life and other work-related things?

Spending time with my family tops the list. I have two perfect kids who occupy a good amount of time. I also practice Kung Fu most mornings during the week. And looking for projects around the house is a never-ending task that I enjoy.

Are you currently working on any projects that we may see from you in the future?

I’m pretty mum on future projects, but I have both middle grade and young adult stories in the pipeline.

Thank you so much for stopping by P.J.! Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

Thank you so much for having me! Readers can find out tons about me on my website at http://www.pjhoover.com/. I have links to Facebook, Twitter, and just about everything else they could ever want. And I love hearing from readers, so if you have any questions, please ask!

SOLSTICE is available as a $2.99 eBook on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and iBooks. SOLSTICE will be released in paperback this summer.



Stop by tomorrow to check out my review for Solstice!


3 comments:

M.A.D. said...

LOL - I like how P.J.'s mind works! - it drives Tantalus crazy that he can't eat or drink :D
How fun! And it's great to know she's got more young adult stories slated for future works!

Denise Z said...

Thank you so much for sharing this fun post today!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great interview. I'd love to know what other books PJ is working on. Can't wait to read Solstice.

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