Evy Journey, SPR (Self Publishing Review) Independent Woman Author awardee, is a writer, a wannabe artist, and a flâneuse. Her pretensions to being a flâneuse means she wishes she lives in Paris where people have perfected the art of aimless roaming. She’s lived in Paris few times as a transient.
She’s a writer because beautiful prose seduces her and existential angst continues to plague her even though such preoccupations have gone out of fashion. She takes occasional refuge by invoking the spirit of Jane Austen and spinning tales of love, loss, and finding one’s way—stories into which she weaves mystery or intrigue and sets in various locales.
In a previous life, armed with a Ph.D. and fascinated by the psyche, she researched and shepherded the development of mental health programs. And wrote like an academic. Not a good thing if you want to sound like a normal person. So, she began to write fiction (mostly happy fiction) as an antidote.
Her latest book is Welcome Reluctant Stranger.
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Interview:
Would you call yourself a born writer?
No, I wouldn’t. What is a born writer anyway? I believe the skills you need to be a great writer have to be and can be learned. You may have a unique eye and exceptional sensitivity to people’s behavior and feelings—which I think help with being a writer. Such traits are probably born with you but you still need to cultivate them.
What was your inspiration for Welcome Reluctant Stranger?
First of all, the impetus comes from the fact that this was the last book in a series I was writing about a family. In other words, I had to write it. But the inspiration for the plotline comes from the experience of some family members who had to flee a country on the brink of a revolution.
What themes do you like to explore in your writing?
I explore the nuances of what it means to love, mostly from the woman’s point of view. But loving is not something you can take outside the context of a how a particular life is lived. So, ultimately, the story I write becomes one about life, about real issues women and men face when they love. In the real world, love is a great catalyzer for a person’s growth.
How long did it take you to complete the novel?
One month for the first draft and another six months to revise, first on my own and, then, to get feedback from beta readers and an editor. That feedback led to more revisions.
Are you disciplined? Describe a typical writing day.
I’m not that organized in my writing. But I do devote a few hours of the day to writing or reading. I think reading great novels is essential to a writer. So, the first two hours after breakfast, I write either blog posts or the story I’m currently working on. Or I doodle ideas or research a novel I intend to write. In the evening, usually from 10 PM to 1 AM, I’ll continue what I was doing in the morning.
What did you find most challenging about writing this book?
Fleshing out the scenes that happen in the heroine’s old country to give it authenticity. I didn’t want to invent too much of what that fictitious country is like. Fortunately, I found someone on Fiverr who’s living in a Pacific island I interviewed her and corresponded with her on what her country is like.
What do you love most about being an author?
I was a researcher and I wrote book-sized research reports before I wrote fiction. Fiction requires much more imagination, gives you much more leeway. When you create a character and a fictional story, you have a lot of control, as opposed to facts and method having control of you. It’s freeing and it’s wonderful. And it’s a constant adventure. You need to summon courage and imagination to change a beloved original storyline because of how characters or scenes develop. That makes fiction writing occasionally surprising and exciting.
Did you go with a traditional publisher, small press, or did you self publish? What was the process like and are you happy with your decision?
I went directly to self-publishing this book because I tried traditional with the first book in my series but nobody would bite. Besides, Amazon made it rather easy to go indie. It’s a heady experience having nearly full control over the publication of a book. Marketing, though, is another matter..
Where can we find you on the web?
I write about experiences that have inspired my stories, as well as my personal thoughts on writing at https://www.evyjourney.com .I share my views on books which made a deep impression on me at: https://margaretofthenorth.wordpress.com. I also have a blog about my thoughts on my other loves—art, travel, and food: https://eveonalimb2.com
I run a new Facebook group that I invite readers to join. We talk about things relating to books and food. https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtful.romreaders.love.food/
About the Book:
Title: WELCOME RELUCTANT STRANGER
Author: Evy Journey
Publisher: Sojourner Books
Pages: 314
Genre: Multicultural Women’s Fiction
BOOK BLURB:
What happens when a brokenhearted computer nerd and culinary whiz gets rescued by a relationship phobic psychologist with a past that haunts her? For Leilani and Justin, it’s an attraction they can’t deny but which each is reluctant to pursue. More so for Leilani whose family had to flee their troubled country when she was only nine.
Leilani is focused on leaving the past behind, moving forward. But when she learns the truth behind her family’s flight—the shocking, shameful secret about her father’s role in a deadly political web—she is devastated.
Is her father a hero or a villain? Can she deal with the truth?
But the past is impossible to run away from. Together with Justin, she must get her father out of her former home. Can she forgive her father, accept him for what he is? And can she reconnect with her roots and be at peace with who she is?
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