Interview with Sarah Jane Lehoux
The Blog Ring of Power Presents...
An Interview with Author Sarah-Jane Lehoux
Today, we have fantasy author Sarah-Jane Lehoux on the Blog Ring of Power, courtesy of BRoP member Sandra Ulbrich Almazan. Sarah-Jane is here to talk about her creative process and her fantasy series, The Sevy Series, which happens to be on blog tour through June 8th.
This is part three of a five-part interview. Be sure to check out the other BRoP sites for the rest of the interview:
Part 1 @ Sandra Ulbrich Almazon - Monday, May 20
Part 2 @ Dean C. Rich - Tuesday, May 21
Part 4 @ T.W. Fendley - Thursday, May 23
Part 5 @ Emily LaBonte - Friday, May 24
BRoP: Where do you get your story ideas?
Sarah-Jane: I am always leery of answering this question, for fear that I’ll sound completely cliché. But oh well. I get more of my inspiration from my dreas. I routinely experience sleep paralysis, and the hallucinations it produces provide for some extremely vivid story ideas. This probably explains why I’m drawn to darker themes: the hallucinations I have are more often than not eerie at the best of times, and terrifying at the worst.
BRoP: How do you deal with writer’s block?
Sarah-Jane: I’ve never really believed in writer’s block, any more than I believe in, say, exercise block. Writing is hard. Sometimes more than others. Humans tend to want to take the easy way out, so we procrastinate, we say we’ll do it tomorrow.
The only way to lose weight is to jump on that treadmill. The only way to write a story is just to sit down and write. Doesn’t matter if you sound like a fool. Just keep going. It’s easier to edit a page full of garbage than it is to edit a page full of nothing.
BRoP: Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser” (do you plan/outline the story ahead of time or write “by the seat of your pants”)?
Sarah-Jane: When I start a story I know how it begins and I know how it will end. Everything else I make up as I go along. I’ve tried setting strict plot points to follow, but I find that makes the story seem very artificial and forced. I prefer to let the story grow and evolve on its own. The results are so much more interesting.
BRoP: How much time do you spend on research? What type of research do you do?
Sarah-Jane: I don’t really know how much time I spend on research, as pretty much everything I see, hear, or read can count as research. I mostly read non-fiction for fun. I enjoy reading about history, mythology, folklore, psychology, zoology. My bookshelf basically looks like a university student’s. And of course, there’s all the time I spend browsing the internet, reading about all the weirdly wonderful things our world has to offer.
When I’m sitting down to write, I may crack open a book to check out my facts, but as the old idiom says, I write what I know.
BRoP: Is there anything you find particularly challenging to write?
Sarah-Jane: Sex scenes are sooooo hard to write, because I can’t help but giggle while I’m writing them. I got a lot of Catholic guilt leftover from childhood, and that’s a hard thing to shake off when you’re trying to get into a steamy, sensual state of mind.
BRoP: What format is your book available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)?
Sarah-Jane: The Sevy Series (Thief, Shades of War and Masquerade) will be available in both print and ebook starting May 20th.
Where can readers can stalk you:
Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon Author Page | Deviant Art
SARAH-JANE LEHOUX has always had a passion for storytelling. From grade school tales of cannibalistic ghosts, to teenaged conversations with God, to her latest fantasy adventures, she's attempted to share her love of the quirky and unconventional with her readers. She was raised in Espanola, a small paper town in Northern Ontario. She currently resides in the GTA with her husband and her ever growing horde of Machiavellian cats.
THIEF: In the crumbling city of Eloria, there is one indisputable fact: everyone has a price. Protestations of morality and better judgment have little meaning when confronted with the chance to obtain the unobtainable. The only question remaining is just how much a person is willing to sacrifice in order to win their heart's desire. Sevy has always been a quick study in the wicked ways of Eloria. She has no qualms about taking what she wants, and when the love of her life is mysteriously murdered, Sevy will stop at nothing to get him back. Elvish black magic, necromancy and demonic pacts are of little consequence if it means she can once again have her beloved at her side. But is she willing to murder her only friend to get the job done?
SHADES OF WAR: There is More Than One Road to RedemptionSometimes the past can't be forgotten. Sometimes the truth refuses to be buried. And sometimes the dead won't stay dead.
It began as a simple request: Journey to the Northern Jungles and bring a wayward son back to the safety of his farm and family before the racial tension that is building between humans and dark elves erupts into civil war. But life is never simple for Sevy, and she soon finds herself entangled in a bloody battle of good versus evil, love versus hate.
Old friends and enemies reunite, familial bonds are broken, and loyalty is tested. And in the midst of the steamy, sultry jungles, the ghosts of a serial killer's victims come out to play. Sevy, as petulant and irascible as ever, must overcome her personal demons in order to expose a madman and bring peace back to the kingdom. But just how much of her sanity must she sacrifice to help her friends? And how can she save anyone when she can't even save her own soul?
MASQUERADE: Never trust a liar, especially when they're telling the truth...Starting over isn't easy, especially when the world isn't ready for you to change. Sevy, thief turned assassin turned mercenary, isn't having any fun adjusting to a normal, law-abiding life. Luckily for her, an old partner in crime arrives with an irresistible proposition: a getaway to a tropical island, an adventure of a lifetime, and an amazing friendship ready to blossom into an even more amazing romance.
Things are looking up for Sevy. That is, until a pack of maniacal fairies with a taste for human flesh arrive on the scene. Now she must unravel a web of magical intrigue hidden behind the outwardly idyllic atmosphere of the islands of Belakarta.
Nothing is as it seems, and no one can be trusted. Trapped under the spell of a handsome and mysterious stranger, Sevy must fight fairies and tricksters to regain her freedom.
Or spend an eternity as a sorcerer's plaything.
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The Blog Ring of Power (BRoP) is a consortium of five speculative fiction writers who have banded together to bring you highlights from the current speculative fiction market--news, reviews, and interviews with speculative fiction authors--with an emphasis on small-press and self-published authors. So grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and relax. Have we got a story for you...