This week's Feature on Author is on Marie Dry and her novel Alien Mine.
Marie Dry on the web:
1. How did you pick the title for your books?
Originally Alien Mine was Alien on My Mountain and I liked it but it was not quite what I wanted. Then I saw the movie Enemy Mine and it clicked and it became Alien Mine.
2. How did you choose the setting for your books?
Long before I wrote the book Natalie was walking around in the mountains in America. I just didn’t know which ones. Then I saw a program on the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone Park and I knew where she lived. I also knew she lived in a cave but only found out why as I wrote the book. No Name Town I wanted to be a fictional town from the beginning so I could play around with it.
3. How did you come up with the names for your heroes and heroines?
Natalie’s name I knew from the moment she came to me. Zacar had an unpronounceable Zyrgin name but in a course on world building I attended it was pointed out that an author should never use difficult names readers cannot pronounce. I read a passage with his name, approaching it as a reader and quickly gave him a name that wouldn’t pull the readers out of the story.
4.What makes your heroes irresistible?
To me it is their utter focus on their heroines. They are stubborn and domineering but big softies when it comes to their heroines and they try to hide it but it’s a battle they lose. The other characteristic that makes them irresistible to their heroines are their strong sense of honor.
4. Share some random facts about yourself...
I love travelling and I’ve lived in Zambia, Morocco and Spain and spent short stints in Mozambique, Botswana, Italy, Brazil and Portugal. I am scared of ants and believe one day they will take over the earth. No really.
5. Your advice to new writers.
Write every day until you can manage a few hours a day. Set doable goals and don’t be discouraged. I have a file full of rejection letters and if I have given up I would have lost out on an amazing experience. So keep writing and stay true to the characters in your head.
Tell us about your book...
In a bleak future where government systems are breaking down and lawless bands of men terrorize the country, botanist Natalie Hanson fears for her life and hides in a cave in the Rocky Mountains. When she is captured by human raiders, a fierce alien appears and slays her attackers. Natalie is now held captive in her own cave by the sexy and striking alien commander, Zacar, who informs her that she will be his breeder. Natalie soon realizes that these aliens worship strength. So what will happen when Zacar finds out she has severe asthma?
BUY On:
Sounds interesting. I'm glad the hero no longer has an unpronounceable name.
ReplyDeleteMe too Liz, I can just imagine a reader happily reading along and then coming to Riiiiiieitheiwolxxxxx and trying to figure out how to pronounce that. Might make for a good wall banger.
ReplyDelete