A Center Stage Moment: Laura Thalassa

Mason Cooley said, “Reading gives us some place to go when we have to stay where we are.”

A Center Stage Moment shines a spotlight on writers who give us great places to visit with characters we love and want to call friends.

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing to you the wonderful Laura Thalassa!

Born and raised in Fresno, California, Laura Thalassa spent her childhood cooking up fantastic tales with her best friend. Lucky for her overactive imagination, she also happened to love writing. She now spends her days penning everything from paranormal romance to young adult novels.

Laura Thalassa lives in sunny Santa Barbara, California with her husband, author Dan Rix.

Without further ado, here’s Laura’s interview…

I love reading the bios of authors. Many of them did not start out as writers. Sometimes people stumble upon the craft. Have you always wanted to be a writer? Yes, but in the same way that most people want to be authors. Back in high school, I used to read three to four books a week. I would’ve died and gone to heaven if someone had told me I’d be doing this for a living. I always assumed being an author was somehow unattainable. It took watching my husband publish his first book, and then, as an editor, I watched my clients publish their [books]. They inspired me and gave me courage to try my hand at publishing as well!

Why did you choose to write Young Adult Paranormal? The Unearthly, the first novel I wrote, is Young Adult Paranormal, and that storyline had bounced around in my head throughout college. I’ve always loved reading both YA and paranormal novels. I think like most readers-turned-writers what drove me to write in my particular genre was a deep desire to read the story I constantly searched for in bookstores. More generally, I simply love both paranormal and YA books. I remember being obsessed with vampires even when I was seven. The genre choice was inevitable for me.

What is the strangest subject or topic you’ve ever written? Gah, I don’t know! I don’t think anything I’ve written is too strange, but when I stand back and reflect on it, I’ve written about superheroes, sirens, vampires, the devil, soulmates, teleporters, government conspiracies, the apocalypse…the list goes on. I think pretty much everything I write is all pretty batty!

What are you currently working on? I’m finishing the final book in The Unearthly series, but on top of that, I’m writing a paranormal romance that has to do with Amazons (the crazy chicks who fought in the Trojan War). It’s an offshoot series that takes place in the same world as my Unearthly series.

What motivated the plot for either a work in progress or current published book? Oh, I have to choose one book for this one—The Queen of All That Dies. For [this book] what initially inspired that story was an idea that popped into my head: What would happen if you ran into a clone of yourself? And, what would happen if [the clone] were trying to kill you? I started answering these questions and developed a story. The Queen of All That Dies was actually the extensive backstory that led to the story. Only now that original story has been scrapped and the sequel won’t be anywhere close to the original story.

What was the hardest story for you to write? The Decaying Empire (The Vanishing Girl Book #2) was the hardest book for me to write simply because of the deadline my publishing house set for me. It was a much shorter timeframe than what I ideally would’ve needed. And, there was so much research involved! I definitely popped open a bottle of booze once I sent that manuscript into the publisher! 

 What process do you use to plan your novels? I use a combo of outlining and writing as I go. That combo doesn’t work for everyone, but I find that it’s a good balance for me since I have the structure that comes with an outline without anything too stilted. Because sometimes scenes that look great in your outline really don’t jive with the surrounding scenes once you write them out.

Who has been your favorite character to write and why? Serenity Freeman, my main character from The Queen of All That Dies. I love her simply because she seems larger than life to me. She’s someone who’s seen her country torn apart by war, and she’s been groomed into a political position that’s very deadly. Her mind just doesn’t function anywhere close to most of my other’s character’s minds.

Do any of your characters reflect facets of your personality? I think little bits of my characters reflect facets of my own personality. It’s hard to completely separate myself from my characters though I try to. I joke around a lot in real life, and my humor comes out in my writing. I’ve also always been a bit independent, and I see that a lot in my characters.

Have you ever experienced writer’s block? If so, how did you overcome it? All the time. My bills are always good motivators! Because writing is a full-time job for me, I don’t really have the option of setting a story aside for when inspiration strikes. I work eight hours, period. What helps me overcome it is a healthy dose of brainstorming/outlining. Usually that solves the issue. Sometimes it’s also a matter of focusing on another project for the day/week/month. Usually I experience writer’s block because some other story is begging to be written.

If you were to choose another genre to write in, what would it be and why? So far, I’ve written YA and NA paranormal, sci-fi and post-apocalyptic. I think probably the next genre will be something like fantasy. We’ll see!

Which authors inspire you? So many! Colleen Hoover, Kresley Cole, Katie MacAlister, Meg Cabot, Jennifer Armentrout. These authors books…it’s like word porn; they’re all so incredibly talented!

What novel would you read multiple times? Oh, so tough! Anything by Kresley Cole—love her! “The Mummy” by Anne Rice. I used to re-read more novels when I was younger (Meg Cabot and Katie MacAlister are [two] authors whose books I devoured multiple times), but being in the industry I come across amazing novels all the time. I barely have the chance to hit all those on my TBR list, so I don’t often re-read books!

If you could meet anyone in the world, alive or deceased, who would it be and why? Daniel from the novel “My Name Is Memory”. But since most people won’t know the reference, I’d have to say if not him, then Dumbledore!

What is your favorite quote? There are far too many! Here’s one that will make an appearance in one of my upcoming novels: “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul…” ~Pablo Neruda  Oh man, I want to read the book for those words alone!

What is your favorite animal, real or imaginary? Narwhals because they’re the unicorns of the sea.

What is your favorite color? Blue.

This has been so much fun Laura! I enjoyed interviewing you. Thank you for being part of “A Center Stage Moment”.

Look for Laura online at: 

Website: http://laurathalassa.blogspot.com/p/books.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraThalassa

Twitter: @LauraThalassa

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7152490.Laura_Thalassa

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Thalassa

Join me next week for another “Center Stage Moment” featuring Chris Benjamin!