Casual Friday - Interview with YA Author Misty Provencher

Today we have with us the very lovely Misty Provencher (@mistyprovencher on twitter). If you haven't heard of her, she is one who has made the self-publishing journey, and is totally rocking it. Her first book Cornerstone is actually what brought the two of us together. The sequel, Keystone, just came out at the beginning of the month, and I've had the opportunity to play beta for her on both of them, as well as help her along on her road to publication. And let me tell you, with Misty, everything is an interesting ride.

So gather around, and get to know her!

Ok, so tell me 5 interesting things about you. Anything.

I like to paint my toenails mint green, although red is always best.

I eat mustard on everything.

I know enough Karate to hurt myself and everyone around me in a fifty degree radius.

I was a runaway who lived in a Detroit hotel for a while.

I have a motorcycle license (well, the endorsement on my license) although I never really use it.

Tell our fab readers a little about your books.

CORNERSTONE is the first book in a series, about Nalena Maxwell, a girl who recieves the wrong dang sign of an ancient community that is responsible for maintaining the intellectual evolution of the human race. And if the choices coming aren't tough enough, there's a boy...one with liquid blue eyes...that understands exactly who and what Nalena is.

KEYSTONE is the sequel, and it takes Nalena's journey further into her unintentional destiny. There’s a man-made storm coming, like a rip in the world, and it’s called the Cusp. Struggling to fit into the destiny she’s accepted, Nalena Maxwell has been left with one objective: she must find her murdered grandfather’s Memory. Stolen and hidden away by her own father over seventeen years ago, the Memory could be the key to ending the Cusp and destroying the Ianua’s rival community, The Fury. As the Cusp brings the Fury and their own communities against them, Nalena’s Cura must preserve the Ianua, but finding the key to the Cusp isn’t as simple as it seems.

I understand you've got new covers in the works too, yes?

Yes! I'm doing the official cover reveal the second week of October.

Ooo, I'll have to make sure to check. I love these books so hard, both of them. The mythos in them is so unique, it's amazing. So I'm going to be that person that I hate and ask THE QUESTION. Where did you get the idea for Cornerstone and Keystone?

The end of the series was a dream I had, so I can't tell you much about that since it is the last book in the series. I thought backward to figure out the events that led up to that end and that's how the books came about. Too simple of an answer, isn't it?

Haha, not at all. Sometimes it just is that simple. Now for the tough question: Plotter or Pantser?

Pantser, but trying to learn plotting so I can use all my awesome office supplies.

Oh, I LOVE office supplies! Pens, pencils, notebooks... Ah, yeah, anyway. *grins* I know this story already, but after a long struggle, you decided to self publish. Tell us about it.

I never expected to be on this road, but I lost my agent. I'd had multiple offers twice, but because of the timing of things, I kept having near misses that just didn't work out. At the point when my agent and I parted ways, I really worried that the split would be interpreted as I was hard to work with or that there was something wrong with me, when I was doing my best to do everything that was asked of me. I work hard to be professional in my work and in the field, so that was the blow that really took me down. I decided to go it on my own and give the work a chance to be read, you know?

Oh, I know. The near-misses are such killers. But you made a go of it, and it's turned out well, right? Do you have any suggestions for others that are thinking of going the self-pub route?

I don't like to advise for or against. There are advantages and disadvantages to both Traditional and Indie publishing routes, so it's hard to say what would be the right choice for anyone else. I just go along day by day and find the fun in whichever process you choose.

Can I beg for a hint about your upcoming project? Just one? A tiny one? Pretty please??? You know you love me.

Mmm. You know I'm a sucker for you, Cait. Ok, I've got a stand-alone I'm finishing up now - a dark fantasy with a whole new world that I hope will intrigue you. I put up a poster on my blog introducing Truce - you'll meet him in this tale - and the best clue I can give you is what's on that poster: The monsters have their King. Oh boy, do they.

Oh, that does look intriguing! Ok, back to Cornerstone for one last question. Tell us 5 random facts about your characters. Go!

The Addo fell for Addo Gita because she had curly red hair and green eyes. He thought she looked like an exotic lizard and he found that enchanting.

Sean rarely dates. He had a lightening-fast relationship with a girl about a year ago, but it didn't work out and he kind of keeps to himself now.

While Garrett is still better in most sports than Nalena, she could probably kick his butt on roller blades or anything with wheels.

Ms. Fisk has an entire library of seedy romances stashed way under her bed at home. She often has wild, rakish daydreams of Fabio.

Cora almost always wears a white, crochet-type cardigan in the summer. She does a closer knit for winter, but she is almost inseparable from her sweater.

Yay! Well thank you, Misty! 

Are you kidding me? You know I'd do anything in the world for you.

Aw, thanks! For all of you reading, since Keystone just came out, Misty is still running the book tour through the end of the month, so make sure to head on over to her blog to check it out. And pick up a copy of the books! 

Misty's books are available in paperback and e-book from Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords! You can read the first five chapters of CORNERSTONE here, and find out more of Misty's amazing story here.

Posted in: Casual Friday,Interview