Author Interview: JENNIFER MURGIA!

Today I have with me the wonderful author of ANGEL STAR! She is an amazing human being and I am so glad I had the great luck to connect with her.
Taken from 'Author Bio' from her site http://www.jennifermurgia.com/
"Jennifer Murgia has been writing since she was nine years old. After receiving recognition for her poetry, she went on to use her talents to bring characters to life in fiction novels that are authentic, intriguing, and personal. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. "


Moving onto the interview(THANK YOU so much Jennifer!)...

Describe Angel Star in 5 words.

~Girl and Guardian battle darkness.

From where did the idea of Angel Star pop into your head?

~The idea struck me late one night two summers ago. I was playing around with the idea of unconditional love and immediately I thought of a guardian angel and the story branched out from there.

What are the best and worst parts of being an author?

~ The best parts are of course being able to sit down and create a whole new world with amazing characters in it, and do it without others raising an eyebrow that I make up stories all day in my head! I’ve also met some incredible people since Angel Star was released – other YA authors, bloggers, fans!

I would say that the worst part is reading a review from someone who didn’t quite connect with the story. It’s going to happen, not every book can satisfy.

What kind of research did you do to write the book?

~ Well of course the story is fiction, so much of it came from me, but I did do some research to lend some plausibility to my plot. I did a lot of online research and read a few books on the mythology of angels and the octagram symbol, then I took it all and meshed it together as best as I could to fit it in to my story.

Teagan is such an unusual and lovely name.How did you light upon this name?

~ Honestly, I heard it somewhere and it struck me as pretty and unusual. I sort of kept it filed away in my head for a use someday and then when I began writing Angel Star, voila!

My favorite question-Do you have a writing ritual?

~ Yes I do! I happen to write best during the early morning with my coffee of course. Then I take a break, edit what I wrote earlier and begin again with more coffee, maybe a candle, maybe some incense….

Quickies!!-

Favorite book(this one is really difficult)

~A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (but The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfeld and The Blood Confession by Alisa M. Libby take runner up)

Favorite band(again difficult)

~Breaking Benjamin

Tea or coffee?

~ coffee but I do enjoy tea

Angels or Demons?

~angels

Vampires or werewolves?

~ both

Reading or Writing?

~ is this a trick question?

Any advice to the budding authors out there?

~ Write your story for yourself – don’t think about who you’re writing for yet, who’s going to buy it, who you’re going to submit the story to …. Do it for yourself. If you clog up your head about all the what-if’s then you’re writing for someone else – and enjoy it!

How important is it for an author to have a strong web presence?

~Very important! You need to create a means for others to find you and your work. It’s a frustrating thing to Google someone and come up empty especially if they have a book out so making yourself accessible is smart.

What next can we expect from you?

~ Lemniscate, the sequel to Angel Star will be released March 21, 2011 by Lands Atlantic Publishing.

Grab your copies of Angel Star today! I so can't wait for Lemniscate too!