Author Spotlight: Terra Whiteman
Hello Everyone!
Yesterday, I posted a review for "The Antithesis: Renovatio" by Terra Whiteman. As part of the review process, I also had the opportunity to do a brief interview with the author I wanted to share. Cheers!
MTG: I posted a review for your book today; tell us something about the book that is not in the summary. (About the book, character you particularly enjoyed writing etc.)
Terra: Thanks for the review and I’m glad you really liked it. Renovatio was the first novel I’d ever attempted to write and began it as just a project to see if I could surpass a short story. It turned into a five book series and I’ve continued to write The Antithesis since 2010. The last book has yet to be re-released (I rebooted the series last year and will be releasing the first book to Nook later this month; it’s already available on Amazon) and should hopefully be out in 2015.
In a nutshell, the book (and series) revolves around an irreverent re-telling of the war between Heaven and Hell, with a sci-fi twist.
MTG: Do you have a favorite book(s) and why? I know it’s often impossible to narrow it down to one, so just pick one (or a few) that is a new favorite or consistent “go-to”.
Terra: I don’t really have a favorite book, but I read a lot of books and have enjoyed them. It’s hard to pin-point a favorite book because I’m weird in the way that certain books fit a certain mood. I’ll read just about anything from dark fantasy to bizarro-horror, all depending on the day. A couple that stand out in my mind are Bret Easton Ellis’ “American Psycho” and Jeremy Robert Johnson’s “Angel Dust Apocalypse”, but there a lot of other books I’ve loved over the years, too.
I’m actually more into reading graphic novels than novels. Some current favorites are Greg Rucka’s “Lazarus” and Brian K. Vaughan’s “Saga”. I’ve found that creator-owned graphic novel series contain some of the freshest, most-imaginative stories ever.
MTG: What books are you reading now?
Terra: Nothing at the moment. I’ve kind of been in a reading rut. My free time is so scarce that I usually have to choose between reading and writing. I tend to binge-read right after a new release, during that month break I make myself take before starting another project. The last book I read was Kameron Hurley’s “Mirror Empire”.
MTG: Your book was the best multiverse ‘creation’ I’ve read in a long time. Where do you find inspiration for your writing? Is anything inspired by real-life or do you typically let your imagination run wild?
Terra: Thanks, I’m honored to hear that. Most of my ideas came from the last few years of university, believe it or not. I’m sure all of my professors would guffaw at the idea that I turned their lectures into a sci-fi epic, but I have their wisdom to thank.
Another inspiration is music. I write to music the same way it’s conveyed in a film. Scenes come alive with certain songs and every book is born initially from a new song I’ve found, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who writes like that.
MTG: Where do you usually find yourself writing?
Terra: At my desktop or on my laptop in my bedroom. All depends on how active my household is.
MTG: What has been the biggest reward to your writing so far?
Terra: Writing is a reward in itself. I’ve always loved to write, even before I knew how to construct proper sentences. I’ve never looked at writing as a full-time profession, only a hobby—one that is both my therapy and escape whenever life gets a little too real.
Sharing my work is rewarding too, though I never actively seek any reward from my creativity. I’m always grateful whenever someone tells me they’ve read and enjoyed my stuff, but when I write it’s a very personal thing. I never wonder what people will think or how many sales I’ll make. There are things in my head that I need to let out, and so I do.
MTG: What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Terra: I’m not entirely sure since I still consider myself to be an ‘aspiring’ writer as well. I’m not traditional published nor have I sold millions, but my small success is that I’m doing something I love and that’s good enough for me. Don’t set out to write with illusions of fame. Set out to write because you love to write. Aspire to write a story you cherish regardless of its success. That’s my mantra.
MTG: Give us three “Good to Know” facts. Be creative: first job, likes/dislikes, hobbies, favorite way to unwind – whatever comes to mind.
Terra:
- For the better part of 2014 my hair was bright pink.
- I have a very unhealthy obsession with Hello Kitty merchandise, to the point where my boss even noticed and placed Hello Kitty stampers on my three-year anniversary cake last week.
- I’ve rage-broken four PlayStation 3 controllers; two of them while playing the Souls franchise. I’m not sure if any of those are good to know, or perhaps they’re good to know in a cautionary sense!
MTG: I love you name, it’s quite unusual. Is there a story behind that?
Terra: Thanks. Wish I could tell you an epic tale about it, but the real story is that I married a guy whose last name is Whiteman, and my first name is Terra. I don’t use a pseudonym.
MTG: Do you have any upcoming projects?
Terra: I’m always working on something. Right now I’ve taken a little break from ‘The Antithesis’ and moved on to my other series-in-progress, ‘The Key of Ascension’. The third installment, “Paradigm”, will hopefully be out in early 2015.
Want the book? Enter to win on a copy of the eBook here!
Author Bio:
Terra Whiteman is a clinical scientist who writes dystopian science fiction in her spare time. Her life is a dish of pipettes, refractometers and immunossays, heavily seasoned with grimdark worlds and their battlegrounds. She’s profane, opinionated, and if you met her you’d think she’s really weird.
Website: http://terrawhiteman.com
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/YT7Dwa
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1p1CzAk
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/476379
Thanks to Sage's Blog Tours for making this possible!