Five Questions for... Lisa Graves
Atlantis is a young adult paranormal romance that focuses on the idea
of soul mates, the power of the human mind and the possibilities that might
occur if we were able to unlock that power. Within Lilly's world strange and beautiful things begin to
occur as she is introduced to opening her mind. Memories of past lives, time travel, and other realms are
revealed to her upon meeting her new neighbor, Elliott. The weird thing is, Elliott already
knows Lilly. And he has known her
for a very long time. The question remains, will Lilly be able to tap into the
latent power within herself to be with her soul mate, Elliott, or will her
handsome best friend, Nicholas, finally win her heart?
What drew you to writing a blend of paranormal and
romance?
I'm a girl, and I love a good romance. Also, I have always been a fan of the
paranormal and unknown things in the world (ghosts, time travel, and the
mystery surrounding our very existence) so it was only natural for me to blend
the two together. I feel Atlantis is different from all of the other
paranormal novels that are out today in that it brings a new paranormal element
to the table. It doesn't have any
of the typical vampires, werewolves, witches or zombies that abound in most
novels in the paranormal genre. Instead, Atlantis deals with time travel, soul mates and mind
power. What if real soul mates existed? What if yours kept searching for you, one lifetime after
another, trying to find a way for you to be together forever? Now that would be a true happily ever
after for me.
I have been writing since middle school, back then it was
short stories that were silly and fun. It was a 9th grade creative writing class that first planted the idea in
my head to maybe write a book one day. I would get idea from time to time (usually while driving) on
interesting thoughts that could make a cool book, but it wasn't until 2008 that
I finally decided to dedicate myself to one of my ideas and Atlantis was
born. It took me two years to complete Atlantis. Writing is a learning process that gets
easier as you go along. The
sequel, Stonehenge only took me one year to write and I am still amazed at how
perfectly the ideas from Atlantis flowed and evolved in the second
novel. From day one, I have
planned Atlantis out as a trilogy. There is just so much wonder and possibility abounding in Lilly's world
that I knew from the start that one book wouldn't be able to cover it all.
Atlantis was released as an eBook and print. How have you
adapted to the new world and popularity of eBooks?
The eBook revolution is a constantly changing world, as is
the publishing industry at the moment, and I feel that eBooks are a huge part
of our literary future. I think now is a great time to be a reader.
There are so many books to choose from and you no longer have others deciding for you what makes a worthy book. You, the reader, are in control. You get to decide what you like, and it
is the readers that are making the best selling authors of tomorrow. I am grateful for readers and their
ability to share their indie gems with friends. Thanks.
I will not lie, Twilight. I am a Twilight addict. I love those books. I have loved vampire books for years (not just Twilight, but Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles). I have tried to write Atlantis and Stonehenge,
with Stephenie Meyer's style in mind. I hope
that my readers can get lost in the pages of Atlantis and enjoy the journey
with Lilly and her friends. The other writer that is a huge inspiration is Alexandre Dumas, who wrote The Count of Monte
Cristo (probably my favorite book) as well as The Three Musketeers and The Man
in the Iron Mask. Dumas wrote his stories "on a nail in time" meaning he
staged the fantasy of his fiction in real world places and events. For example, there really is a dug out
tunnel in the Chateau d'If Prison in France (from The Count of Monte Cristo) just
as there really is an underground city in Naples (from Atlantis). Perhaps with a little luck, and some help from fans, one day Atlantis will be as well known as Twilight and The Count of Monte
Cristo.
Comments