For my first interview for the SciFi blog hop. I’m excited to welcome Imogen!Â
MY BIO
Imogen Keeper started writing seriously after trying on a few dozen other hobbies, but in a lot of ways, she’s written her whole life. In third grade, she tried to write a mystery, and in fifth, she tried again, with limited success. College brought a passion for literary analysis and art history. So many papers written in those four years.
An MFA in design, and a brief career in Interiors, followed by the hard decision to be a stay-at-home mom resulted in a lady who didn’t enjoy sitting idle, a long-napping baby, and a lot of time on her hands. The result – fantasies finally getting put down on the blank page!
The release date for The Bonding is 8/12/16….
So, what have you written?
I recently finished a full-length novel called The Bonding. It’s a very steamy sci-fi that was, quite honestly, a blast to write. I made every possibly mistake a writer could make, plot circles, dead spots, and filters. Editing was a disaster, but so much fun.
In so many ways, that was me at my purest, because I wasn’t hemmed in by all the writerly laws that I know about now. I just sat down at my computer and the words poured out. All my beta readers have torn through it. Reading it in a matter of days, rather than the weeks allotted. It’s been called addictive. I just wanted it to be fun, and I think I succeeded there.
Who’s your main character? What inspired you to write them?
I work on multiple pieces at once to keep my mind fresh and my level of engagement high. There are so many characters I love, bouncing around in my head…. How to choose one?
I suppose, at the moment Cara, from a story I’m working on now called The Night Market. I’ve been in her head the most recently. She lives in my take on an Omegaverse, and she’s one of the omegas. Poor thing. In my world they are called Felinas, and they’ve got a rough lot in life. She resists becoming just one more omega with teeth, nails, knives and spit. She’s a fighter, and she’s snarky, and she’s definitely not a pushover. I always feel invigorated after spending a little time in her head.
And then there’s Tam from The Bonding. My favorite creation ever. I’m not sure what it says about me that a gruff, potty-mouth alien came so naturally from my fingers as I typed, but he just poured out. I never had to pause to wonder, what would Tam do? I just knew. Tam curses, and kicks butt, but at his core, he’s just a good guy who loves his lady, Nissa.
When did you decide to become a writer?
I’m not sure I did. I quit working when I was in my 6th month of pregnancy. And I dabbled in every hobby under the sun. I gardened. I baked. I cooked. It was sad. I’m not lying when I say this: for about three months, I planned my menus a month in advance. My husband would come home, there would be music playing that coordinated with the country I’d chosen to cook that night. So Jamaica – reggae. Jerk chicken, mango rice, and black beans. Seriously. The amount of time I put in to finding popular Greek music on Greek night, or choosing what went best with Borscht on Russian night was pathetic.
Anyway, I nearly blew up the oven making wheat bread, and my husband and I had gained some weight, and it was time to say goodbye to cooking.
I painted until there was no wall-space left in our house, and one day just sat down at the computer with Tam and Nissa in my mind. I’d dabbled in their story for years, had the first seven chapters down, and the rest just flowed. As I got more serious, my writing got better, and I learned about plotting, and had to do some major edits. I sat down to write thirteen months ago, and in a lot of ways, I never really stood up again. If a day goes by without writing, I feel twitchy, and nervous.
Any tips on what to do and what not to do when writing?
No. Find a way of telling a good story that works for you, or more importantly, your characters as you write. Forget the rules about what not to do…. I’d have said, “don’t head-hop,” about a week ago, but, recently, I was shocked to read – and enjoy – a story that hopped-heads like lice on a nursery playground.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
My son, though I’m not sure it’s an inspiration, so much as not having much of a choice. I think with longing of the lazy Sundays my husband and I enjoyed before we had a child. We slept until ten. Now we’re up at seven like clockwork. There’s nothing like a grinning toddler-alarm clock. He’s always happy, and even when I’m so tired, I can barely stand, it’s impossible not to smile when I see how happy he is to see me again.
Link to my blog is –
https://imogenkeeper.wordpress.com/
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