Now then, everyone say hi to Lavinia Urban!! Grab your coffee or tea and let's get show show on the road :)
Interview
Thank you so much for joining me, Lavinia!! When did you know you wanted to be a writer?I was about 12 years old. I had written a book series by then and lots of poems. I had no idea how to publish, so I went and sent bits of my work to numerous different publishers, via snail mail, and they were all sent back saying ‘We do not accept unsolicited documents’. So for a while I actually did just give up and think okay I am not going to get anywhere.
Well, I'm so glad you didn't give up on your dream! That's awesome you started so young :) What has been the most difficult part about being a writer?
Getting myself known. I know a lot of indie authors who have street crews etc. I am just not one for jumping in there and saying ‘Hey I think you should read my book’ etc. I am slowly getting there though. :)
Oh, I know how that goes so well. It's definitely a challenge but so rewarding in the end. Who are your favorite authors?
There are so many. I love Isla Dewar. She is a Scottish author and her books are great. Then there are indie authors I love, such as Alexia Purdy and K.S Haigwood.
I've never heard of Isla but I'll definitely check her out :) Have to admit, K.S. Haigwood is a personal favorite of mine as well ;) What authors inspire you?
I wouldn’t say authors, per se, inspire me to write as it is my children that do that. But there are authors out there indie authors out there that have made a great name for themselves and I think ‘I want to be as successful as them’
I have done the same thing. I love that your children inspire you <3 Are you a plotter or a pantser with your writing?
If I am totally honest I am more of a panster writer. But as each book progresses I have to have a word with myself and ask what I want the end result to be. Then I know what I am exactly aiming to achieve. (I never ever write from a to z) I do know how I want the final book in the series to end.
That sounds like a great blend of the two methods. You do need to have some idea of where you want to go to really be sure you get there lol. What type of books do you like to read?
I do love teen fiction. However I have read lots of different genres. I normally read the blurb and decide or someone recommends a book to me.
Perfect method right there :) What do you like to do in your free time?
I am a huge facebook addict! Especially when it comes to gaming. There should be an option on facebook that says something like: click here if you are an author working on a current novel. Then if you click yes another option appears to ask you if you have set yourself a deadline or not. If you click yes then you are only allowed to play games for a set amount of time. I am sure I would go crazy if that really happened, lol.
OMG that would be so brilliant! Of course I'd start having withdrawal shakes or something hahah. Where is your favorite place to vacation?
I don’t go anywhere on holidays. I visit my family down in England twice a year but that is it. But if I could go anywhere it would definitely be somewhere hot. The British weather sucks!
The weather here isn't much better lol. Completely agree about going somewhere hot! If you were stuck on a desert island and could have only three things, what would they be?
Pen, paper and music. :) If I could have two more it would be a limitless supply of water and chocolate lol
Lavinia, I adore your priorities ;) LOVE that you put pen, paper, and music above water lmao. Why did you choose to write a young adult fantasy?
With the Erin the Fire Goddess series I named it after my eldest daughter, who at the time was being bullied at school and I wanted to show her that her strength comes from inside and don’t let anyone put you down. Then I wanted other children of her age range to read it. My children are my biggest fans; especially my eldest daughter Erin who also writes.
That's so wonderful that your children read your books! What has been the most fun about working on your books?
I love how I get to control what happens in the stories and the reaction it gives my readers.
Oh yes, that's definitely a fun aspect :) What has been the hardest scene for you to write?
I am currently writing the third book in the series and I have had readers tell me that they were welling up reading the second book and they are dreading the third. I thought I’ll be okay as I am writing it. Then I wrote a really emotional scene with Erin and Sean (I can’t give too much away) but I properly sobbed my heart out. I felt so drained for days.
Aww well if that scene affected you that much, imagine how amazing it will be for your readers <3 Do you have any favorite characters?
I have to say I love my main character Erin. But there is also something about James that I like and I am trying to bring him more out of himself.
I can't wait to read your books because Erin sounds fantastic :) How did you come up with the premise for Erin the Fire Goddess?
When my daughter Erin was 5 I wrote a short story for her old school using Erin and all her classmates as the characters. It was all about how bullying is wrong and how you should stay in school and learn. The school loved it and put it on display.
Then we moved to a small village outside of Edinburgh and Erin went from being popular to being a victim of bullying and it was heart breaking to witness. Then one day she asked me to write her another story. At first I thought I don’t know, but then I went to bed one night and dreamt of a young girl who starts a new school and is bullied. Whilst she is being bullied there are a group of people who stand back and watch whilst Erin’s powers come to the surface.
Oh wow, that's wonderful and heartbreaking that your daughter was the inspiration. I hope things got better for her! Tell us about Erin and her unique fire power.
Erin was born with a birthmark covering the left side of her face. Her whole life she has been bullied because of it. Then one day the family decide to move to her parent’s home town of Galladale, where all is not as it seems. Erin is a victim of bullying almost straight away. One girl singles her out for looking at a boy named Sean. Erin is warned to stay away from him. However this becomes difficult for Erin. She loves how Sean doesn’t even seem to notice her birthmark and talks to her as if she was like everyone else. She is also scared to talk to him, in case someone spots her, but Sean seems to go out of his way to talk to her.
Then one day the bully chases after Erin and starts attacking her. Erin is scared and confused. But soon that turns to anger. She wants to know why her? This is when her powers emerge, and they scare her.
Erin sounds like such a wonderful person and I especially want to read more about her since she's based on your daughter! Is Erin the only one with special powers or are there other characters with unique abilities?
Oh no, there are lots of people with special powers. Erin discovers her own parents have special powers. Then she discovers that Sean not only has special powers but he is her soul mate.
Ooo, so intrigued! How many books will there be featuring Erin and what can we expect from them?
So far I cannot say exactly how many books there will be in the series. I can say there will be at least 5 main books plus bonus books.
You can expect a rollercoaster ride full of tears, smiles, revenge and triumphs. You will discover why they have special powers, and what the rock is really all about :)
Lucky for me, I adore roller coasters ;) If you could have any special power, what would it be and why?
I would love to be able to have the ability to time travel. It would be great to go back to the past and tell loved ones how much I really love them. I would be able to get to say goodbye to my granddad.
That is a fantastic ability and I'd love having that too! What's next for you?
I will continue to write the Erin the Fire Goddess series, but I am also writing a zombie style book. But I have a lot of research to do for this as I want it set in a small finishing village in the Sutherlands of Scotland. I want it to be as accurate as I can get it.
I cannot wait to see more from you! Well, we are unfortunately out of time. Anything else you want your readers to know?
I love writing my Erin the Fire Goddess series, but I also love feedback from my readers. So if there are any questions I have left unanswered then let me know and I will try and answer them in the books :)
Thank you again so much for stopping by Lavinia! Lovelies, be sure to check out Erin the Fire Goddess!
Erin the Fire Goddess...Buy it Now!
Erin Tait is a 15 year old girl, who thinks of herself as a freak. She's moves to her parents home town of Galladale, where all is not what it seems On her first day at school, she meets Sean Jackson. Instantly she is besotted with him. But this results in her being targeted by a girl called Jessica Watson. She has one warning. Stay away from Sean! But he is everywhere she goes, even in her dreams. Which are soon taken over by Jessica's threats and actions against Erin are taken in school. Erin is scared, lonely and confused. Who can she turn to? Will Jessica stop this hate campaign? and can Erin control the fire within?
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Meet Lavinia!
Connect with Lavinia:Lavinia grew up in a small town in Cheshire, England, before moving to Scotland in 2000. She now lives just outside Edinburgh with her husband Ian and their two daughters Erin and Kasey-ray.
Lavinia has been writing since an early age, something that both her children have inherited. She started with writing poetry, one of which was turned into lyrics for a song. By the age of 14, Lavinia had written seven books in an unpublished series.
After moving to Scotland she stopped writing for awhile, it was only after writing a short story for her eldest daughters school about anti bullying and how you should stay in school and learn, that Lavinia felt the yearning to write again; this was also helped by her eldest daughters thirst for literature when she asked her mother to write her another story. This was how this book series came about.
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