I recently starting branching out into the world of online book conventions and other author events. In doing so, I started to see the same names popping up. I recognized one of the covers below from Twitter and was happy to finally meet the author behind the books. Debbie Manber Kupfer was kind enough to attend my event during the Brains to Book Cyber Con and I had the opportunity to learn more about her series P.A.W.S. and Argentum (P.A.W.S. 2). During our interview I asked her why she had become an author and was surprised to find that she is a breast cancer survivor. Thankfully, she is cancer-free, but it made her understand the importance of doing these things she always wanted to do. Writing a book was one of the those things. I admire her strength and courage, but I also admire the fact that she understood how important it is to follow your dreams. Please see Debbie's full interview below. This week, her books on sale for $0.99, so please check them out!
Book Genre: YA Fantasy
Suggested Reading Audience: Teens and adults.
Content Warning: Book 1, P.A.W.S. – PG, Book 2, Argentum – PG 13
Book blurbs for both books:
P.A.W.S.
When Miri receives a silver cat charm from her omama on the
night before she dies she has no idea that the charm holds a secret, a powerful
magic that saved her omama's life and is about to make Miri's a whole lot more
interesting.
Join Miri on a mysterious and supernatural journey with her
new friends, members of an underground St. Louis society known as the
Partnership for Animagi, Werewolves, and Shapeshifters, better known as
P.A.W.S.
Argentum (P.A.W.S. 2)
Argentum is the thread that binds all magic – the silver
wands, the silver scrying bowls, and the silver charms of the shapeshifters all
contain the essence of Argentum.
The destruction of Alistair has brought a measure of peace
and calm to those at P.A.W.S., but his silver charm remains in Miri’s
possession and it seems to almost have a life of its own.
Nightmares and questions torment Miri until the charm
mysteriously disappears and Jessamyn seeks help from Quentin, who claims to
have repented his past association with Alistair. But can he be trusted?
And Jenna, the young girl once held captive by Alistair, is
carrying a terrible secret - a secret that could determine the future of
P.A.W.S.
Purchase P.A.W.S.
Amazon.com (US) http://amzn.com/B0129GG6YQ
Amazon.com (US) http://amzn.com/B0129GG6YQ
Amazon.UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0129GG6YQ
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/paws-debbie-manber-kupfer/1115689889?ean=9781514788912
Purchase Argentum (P.A.W.S. 2)
Amazon.com (US) http://amzn.com/B00OVEA52E
Amazon.UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OVEA52E
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/argentum-debbie-manber-kupfer/1120655198?ean=9780990829522
Interview:
What made you decide to become an Author and write a book or
a series?
I’ve been writing stories ever since I was small and always
knew I wanted to write a book, but felt I had all the time in the world for
that. Then in 2011 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went through treatment
and today I’m cancer-free, but going through this made me realize my own
mortality. I understood that if I really wanted to write a book I couldn’t wait
as you never know how long you have.
So, in November of 2012 I started writing P.A.W.S. and
quickly learned that I had a whole world waiting for me to unlock, for more
than just one book. P.A.W.S. was published in 2013 followed by Argentum in 2014
and I’m currently working on books 3 and 4 in the series.
Why did you choose to write in your genre and what are some
of the difficulties associated with the genre?
I love fantasy both to read and to write. With magic you can
go anywhere and do anything – it’s exhilarating. The genre itself gives me
little problem. What is sometimes challenges is keeping all the little details
of series straight. I have a huge cast and some of my characters are many
centuries old. When I was writing the first book I wrote without an outline and
let the story goes where it pleased. When I sat down to write the second book
in the series I quickly realized that I couldn’t do it in the same way. So I
took a step back and created a character list, family tree, and timeline. Now
whenever a new character or event emerges as I write I add it to my documents
and I helps tremendously in keeping the series consistent.
What is your favorite book you have written? What was the hardest part to write?
Argentum (book two of my series). I love the quirky places
(the Welsh mountains, the tiny isle off of Ireland) that it took me too and the
twists and turns of the story. But it also contains one of the hardest scenes
I’ve ever written – a rape of a minor – fairly early on in the book. I knew it
was necessary for the story, but that doesn’t make it easy to write and I felt
a sense of dread as I was coming up to that particular chapter. (This is also
the reason I would rate this book PG13 rather than PG. It’s not a particularly
graphic scene, but shocking nonetheless.)
Who is your favorite character to write for and why?
I have a couple. Firstly it’s always fun to write about my
kangaroo animagus, Joey Marks. The character is based on my son, Joey, who
shares a lot of his personality traits. Super smart, super bouncy, and getting
passionate about new things!
Then there’s Gromer the Green, the last wild warlock of
Wales with a fondness for pea soup and wizzlewoop hunting. The character first
appeared in Argentum and has a cameo in both P.A.W.S. 3 and 4!
What is your writing process? Do you have the story planned out or does it
surprise you as you write it? Do you
write at night, or in the morning? Do you
listen to a play list?
The bulk of my novels so far have started out as NaNoWriMo
projects during November, April and July. During those months I set myself a
daily target (usually 2K words) and write first thing each morning and don’t
let myself go on the internet until I’ve finished my words for the day.
In between NaNo months I edit my novels and write short
stories.
Do you enjoy writing a series or individual stories?
Both – I love writing my series, but I project it to be a
long series, so in between I write short stories for anthologies. It’s my way
to experiment in different genres.
What are the strangest events or advertising methods have
you used to get your name and books into the public eye?
Haven’t done it, but this summer I plan to go to Warped Tour
with my daughter and hand it bookmarks for my series to all the kids waiting in
line.
What would you like your readers to know about you or your
books?
I adore it when my readers reach out to me and am more than
happy to answer questions about pretty much anything!
Looking ahead, what can we expect to see from you in the
future? What are you working on?
Well, I have a book of silliness entitled Tea and Dark Chocolate out at the
beginning of May. Then towards the end of the year Umbrae, (P.A.W.S. 3), will
be out. In Umbrae we travel with Miri to Israel and discover a world beneath
the shadows. I also have a couple of picture books in the works for younger
readers.
Author bio: Debbie Manber Kupfer grew up in the London. She has lived in
Israel, New York and North Carolina and somehow ended up in St. Louis, where
she works as a writer and a freelance puzzle constructor of word puzzles and
logic problems. She lives with her husband, two children and a very opinionated
feline. Her first novel, P.A.W.S.,
was published originally in June 2013 and her second book in the series, Argentum, was released in October 2014.
In addition she has stories in several anthologies including Fauxpocalypse, Shades of Fear, Winter
Wishes, and Sins of The Past. In
February 2015 she published a book of logic puzzles, Paws 4 Logic, with her son Joey. She believes that with enough tea
and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!
Website: Paws4Thought: http://debbiemanberkupfer.wordpress.com/
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/DebbieManberKupferAuthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@CiciCat42
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7142164.Debbie_Manber_Kupfer
Amazon Author Page - Check out Debbie’s other books! http://www.amazon.com/Debbie-Manber-Kupfer/e/B00DHPNJ5I
Author bio: Debbie Manber Kupfer grew up in the London. She has lived in
Israel, New York and North Carolina and somehow ended up in St. Louis, where
she works as a writer and a freelance puzzle constructor of word puzzles and
logic problems. She lives with her husband, two children and a very opinionated
feline. Her first novel, P.A.W.S.,
was published originally in June 2013 and her second book in the series, Argentum, was released in October 2014.
In addition she has stories in several anthologies including Fauxpocalypse, Shades of Fear, Winter
Wishes, and Sins of The Past. In
February 2015 she published a book of logic puzzles, Paws 4 Logic, with her son Joey. She believes that with enough tea
and dark chocolate you can achieve anything!
Contact Debbie:
Website: Paws4Thought: http://debbiemanberkupfer.wordpress.com/
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/DebbieManberKupferAuthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@CiciCat42
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7142164.Debbie_Manber_Kupfer
Amazon Author Page - Check out Debbie’s other books! http://www.amazon.com/Debbie-Manber-Kupfer/e/B00DHPNJ5I
No comments:
Post a Comment