Following find an interview with author Lesley L. Smith.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Temporal Dreams, May 2016
What’s the book’s first line?
The small velvet box thumped onto the blacktop like a tiny eight-hundred-pound gorilla.
What’s the book about? Give us the ‘pitch’?
When her boyfriend proposes, former foster kid Kairi Johnson thinks she’s going get the family she’s always dreamed of until she wakes up by the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere–in the past.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I love time travel stories and wanted to try to create something fun and fresh.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
It’s a fun adventure but I hope it makes readers think about the people they love and how our choices shape our lives, the lives of those we love, and the world as a whole.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Kairi is an Australian Aborigine and basically has a superpower, so that’s pretty distinctive. I also think she’s distinctive, however, because of her big heart. She tries to do the right thing, it doesn’t always work, but she tries.
I’m not sure I ever ‘decided.’ I’ve just been writing stories since I can remember.
Is this the first you’ve written?
I’ve written dozens and dozens of short stories and several novels including The Quantum Cop and Kat Cubed.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
By day I’m a physicist at a major research university.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I try to spend at least one or two hours every single day on writing. Of course, if I’m under a deadline, I’ve been known to spend twelve hours a day on weekends!
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
I love the control of being an indie. For example, when I work with an artist to create a cover it’s amazing to see the story encapsulated in one image. The hardest part about being indie is finding readers.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I don’t think I would go traditional if a publisher came calling. My stories all tend to be somewhat unconventional with science, fun, romance, humor combined together. Traditional publishers have more trouble with cross-genre works. I’m also not patient enough to wait up to the two years it can take for a traditional book to come out.
Is there something in particular that motivates you?
I write the books I’d like to read. In the past, I’ve had trouble finding books with science, fun, romance and non-traditional main characters. I think all my protagonists have been unconventional. I particularly like to write female physicists. Which reminds me…I love physics. Sharing my love of physics and getting others excited about it is a huge motivator for me.
I really love all of Connie Willis’ books and stories; they’re utterly charming.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
This is a tough one… Right now, I’m a little obsessed with Kathleen Ann Goonan’s This Shared Dream. It’s beautiful and thought provoking. Somehow it takes me to another world, maybe the world of imagination?