AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Julie Cross

Today, I have the fabulous Julie Cross here on the blog to talk about her debut novel, Tempest! Tempest is a YA novel set to release in January 2012. I had an opportunity to read this novel, and let me tell you, it is awesome! I highly recommend you buy this when it's out on the 17th.
So you know, the book has already had film rights sold to Summit Entertainment (the makers of the Twilight movies), and foreign book rights have already been sold to 12 countries! Congratulations on the success, Julie!


Here's a little bit about her debut novel, TEMPEST:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Describe the Tempest series in five words!

Exciting, complicated, emotional, invigorating, exhausting....and I chose these words because this is exactly the roller coaster of emotions I'm going through while writing this series and I'm hoping those same feelings will be mimicked by readers. 

What was your inspiration for writing Tempest? How long did it take you to write?

Time travel is awesome...that's a big part of my inspiration. I also love writing romance and family relationships. The first draft of Tempest took about three weeks to write, but it took eighteen months (with some time devoted to other projects) to get a final version.

What was your favorite part about writing Tempest?

My favorite part is working with my editor at St. Martin's, Brendan Deneen. We have so much fun bouncing ideas around, making fun of each other's ideas...it's truly a one-of-a-kind experience.  

Did you know you wanted to write from a male's perspective from the beginning, or was that something that came about during the writing process?

TEMPEST has always been Jackson's story, but I had no idea that a male perspective would spark so much interest. It was an added benefit. 

Who is your favorite character you've written in the Tempest series and why?

My favorite character to write is one that is a minor character in TEMPEST, Jenni Stewart. She gets to say everything that a polite person would never say out loud. It's really a blast to have that kind of verbal freedom. 

How do you feel about the amazing response Tempest has gotten so far . . . and it hasn't even been released?

It's crazy! Of course I love it, but it's intimidating at the same time. I just want everyone to be happy with what's coming next in the series. 

Is there anything you can tell us about the second book in the trilogy? :)

The world of time-travel gets even bigger and readers will get answers to several questions that were left hanging in Tempest. There's also a few new characters to add to the mix. 

Do you know what's going to happen in the next two books? Have you started writing either of them?

I've finished the second book, started the third and yes...I know EVERYTHING that's going to happen :) 

What interests you most about time travel?

I love the idea of revisiting moments in your own life more so than traveling way far in the future or back to the stone age or something like that. It really makes a person think about growth, choices and domino effects those choices have had on our lives..."what if I wasn't at this place at this time and never met this person...." those thought provoking concepts are fascinating to me. 

Do you wish you could time travel?

This is like the infamous Spiderman tagline..."With great power comes great responsibility." It seems like it could be fun, but then would I have to deal with the repercussions later? But if the opportunity presented itself, I'd have a hard time saying no. 

And now a couple of Lightning Round questions:

1) Chocolate or Vanilla?

Vanilla

2) Hardcover or Paperback?

Paperback....I like to drag my books everywhere and they get lots of wear and tear.

3) Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?

Harry Potter! I'm a die-hard fan!

Thanks, Julie!

Julie lives in central Illinois with her husband and three children where she works as a YMCA Gymnastics Program Director. She never considered writing professionally until May of 2009. Since then, she hasn’t gone a day without writing. 

Check out her Facebook Fanpage:
https://www.facebook.com/FansOfJulieCros...

and her publisher's page for the TEMPEST SERIES: 
https://www.facebook.com/TempestSeries