Interview and Giveaway with Erin A. Jensen author of Dream Waters

Paperback, 418 pages

Published April 4th 2016 by Dream Waters Publishing

ISBN  0997171219 (ISBN13: 9780997171211)

Edition Language  English

All his life, Charlie Oliver has watched the people around him morph into creatures that no one else sees. Unlike the rest of the world, Charlie remembers the Waters that transport him to the Dream World each night. And he sees glimpses of people’s Dream forms in the waking world. Condemned to spend his waking hours in a psychiatric facility because of his Dream Sight, Charlie doesn’t expect anything to change. But everything starts changing the day Emma Talbot walks through the door in the middle of a group therapy session.

Haunted by memories of the events that led to her admission, Emma plans to end her life the first chance she gets. But something about Charlie stops her. From the moment they shake hands, his friendship feels safe and familiar. As Emma begins to let down her guard, Charlie catches a glimpse of the fiery-eyed dragon that lurks behind her Dream form. Each night, as Emma dreams of the man who’s been banned from visiting, Charlie searches the Dream World for the monster that shadows her. But when Emma’s suppressed memories begin to surface, Charlie finds more monsters than he bargained for.

Paperback

Published October 31st 2016 by Dream Waters Publishing LLC

ISBN 0997171243 (ISBN13: 9780997171242)

Edition Language English

You waded into the Waters and caught a glimpse of the Dream World.
Now immerse yourself and discover what lies beyond the trees.Recently released from a psychiatric facility after learning that his Dream Sight is not a delusion but a gift, Charlie Oliver sets off to accept an invitation extended by a powerful Dark creature and potential mentor to join his “family” of Sighted individuals. As his demon guides begin to instruct him, Charlie quickly discovers just how little he actually knows about the Dream World and the creatures who inhabit it.While Charlie stumbles through his lessons and struggles to harness his natural abilities, Emma Talbot has her own struggles to deal with now that she’s been taken from the facility and placed under house arrest. Imprisoned within the same walls as the man she suspects of being an adulterer and a murderer, Emma grows weaker while her world continues to crumble around her.

As Charlie begins to tap into his dormant instincts, he learns more about Emma’s past and becomes increasingly convinced that he needs to save her. But what if the very prison that binds her is the only thing protecting her from what lurks beyond?

I’m so excited I got to interview my first author, and guys her books are AMAZING!! I’m not just saying that because I was able to interview her.  If you haven’t read my previous reviews of her books you should because her books are out of this world.  You can find my review for Dream Waters here and my review for Dream World here.  However proceed with caution when reading Dream World there may be spoilers. If I wouldn’t have previously heard about these books the covers alone would’ve made me pick them up!!!  Let’s get onto all the questions I proceeded to ask the lovely Erin and the fantastic answers she gave me 😀

1. Who are some of your personal favorite authors?

 

I love J.K. Rowling, Karen Marie Moning, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Emily Brontë and Harper Lee to name a handful.

 

2. Where do you find inspiration for your books?

 

I find inspiration everywhere.  Every childhood memory, mundane experience or embarrassing moment from my life is a potential source of inspiration.  I’m always looking at the world around me and absorbing the scenery, the characters I encounter and the exchanges I have with other people.  You never know when those things might find their way into a story.  

 

The giant waterfall in book 2 was inspired by a family hike to Tacughannock Falls in upstate NY.  

 

And there’s a scene in book 1 where David comes home and the smell of roasting meat turns his stomach.  My husband happened to be cooking roast beef (he’s the cook in our family) when I wrote the scene and he was a bit hurt when he read the chapter that night!  His roast was actually delicious, but you never know what little detail in the world around me could end up in one of my stories.

 

The concept for Dream Waters and the mental institution setting stemmed from years of interactions with mentally ill individuals during my career as a pharmacist, and my own desire to understand the struggles they face on a daily basis.

 

3. Who designs your covers? Do you have any input into the designs?

 

My husband designs my covers (he’s a man of many talents).  The concepts are mine and he does a brilliant job of putting them together.  I just recently came up with the concept for the third cover and I am dying to see how he brings it to life!

 

4. How did you pick the names for your characters?

 

Some of my characters names just popped into my head and were perfect from the start.  Others, I spent days sifting through baby names and surnames from different areas of the world to come up with a name that felt like it fit the character.

 

5. Are any of the characters traits in the books based off of people you know?

 

Yes, but very loosely.  

 

The idea for Bob came from a childhood memory.  When I was in Girl Scouts we put on a show at a nursing home.  Another girl and I did a dance routine because we both took ballet (that was before I was old enough to realize I didn’t have a graceful bone in my body).  They had to unplug the television to plug in our music for the show, and the whole time we were dancing one of the patients kept hollering, “plug in the T.V.” over and over again!  

 

Nellie was loosely based on a patient in a long term care facility where I did a rotation during pharmacy school.  She would sit in the hallway yelling, “I want my baby!  Where’s my baby?”  They’d give her a doll or stuffed animal then a minute later she’d start yelling, “Please take my baby!”

 

6. Do you outline all of your books? Or just let the creative juices flow?

 

I do a combination of the two.  I start with a rough outline by putting the basic gist of each scene I want to include on an index card.  That way I can easily add new scenes and rearrange the order depending on where the story takes me.  The outline is just a basic guide though.  There are plenty of things I don’t plan on ahead of time that find their way into the story—sometimes taking things in an entirely different direction than I originally planned. 

7. Are you a coffee or tea drinker? ( I personally drink more coffee than tea)

 

I drink both, but anyone who knows me will tell you I’m a diehard coffee drinker.  I’m not sure how people function without it.  (Maybe they’re just smart enough to get more sleep than I do!)

 

8. How do you break writers block?

 

Honestly, writer’s block hasn’t been an issue for me.  My biggest hurdle has been squeezing in the time to write.  I get incredibly frustrated when life interrupts my writing and I have to stop in the middle of a chapter.  Once I get in the zone and things are flowing smoothly, it’s torture to stop. 

 

9. If you could cast the main characters in your book. Ie. Charlie, Emma, and David who would play them?

 

 

That’s an easy one! 

 

My books have always played out like movies in my head.  Being a very visually oriented person, I choose real actors to play my characters and I keep pictures of them on my iPad to refer to when I write.  Sometimes I’ll also watch YouTube clips of their movies so their voices and mannerisms are fresh in my mind.

 

In my head, Charlie is played by Rupert Grint:

 

 

 

Emma is Amanda Seyfried:

 

 

David is Jason Isaacs:

 

 

Benjamin is Samuel Jackson:

 

 

 

Jeremy Renner is Brian:

 

 

 

Jesse Williams is Tristan:

 

 

 

 

10. I know you have a Full-time job on top of being a mom, how do you fit being an author into that crazy schedule?? Do you ever sleep???

I’m actually a part-time pharmacist, so that accounts for some of my writing time.  I squeeze writing into every spare moment I can, and I probably don’t sleep as many hours a night as I should but it’s totally worth it to be doing something I absolutely love!

Erin Jensen is a part-time pharmacist and a full-time creator of imaginary worlds. She lives in upstate New York with her ridiculously supportive husband, two amazing sons that she couldn’t be prouder of and a Yorkshire terrier who thinks he’s the family bodyguard.

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GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

The lovely and ever so talented Erin A. Jensen is giving away 4 copies of her book Dream Waters!!! To enter this lovely giveaway you must first be following my blog 😀  and second comment down below with your favorite comfort food!  My kids will draw 4 winners on March 27th!!  They will be posted on my blog and notified 😀

 

Okay folks here is the bad news this is not an international giveaway.  This contest is limited to the continental US.