Please welcome Luke Ahearn to Genuine Jenn! If you are a Zombie fan you will want to read on to learn more about Luke and his book Euphoria-Z!
Tell us a little bit
about your book.
Euphoria-Z is a traditional zombie apocalypse novel with
plot twists, well-developed characters, and a unique beginning.
When was your first
book published?
Over ten years ago, I was up at the wee hours of the
morning, surfing the web. I have no idea what I was looking for, but the last
thing on my mind was getting published or submitting a book proposal. I came
across the submissions page for a publisher that was looking for computer game
development books. I spent about twenty minutes filling in the submission form,
skipping large chunks of it. There were questions like, “why do you think there
is a market for a book of this type?” and I would answer, “because you are
looking for people to write these types of books.” Then I went to sleep and
forgot about it completely. The next day, I did all my usual stuff: coffee,
etc., and when I checked my email later in the morning, there was a message
from the publisher. The subject line was something like, “Can you call me
ASAP?” So it turns out, they had an author who took an advance, blew them off,
and never even started working on the book. Worse still, he was lying and
telling them all along he was making progress on the book. He was a well-known
author of these types of books at the time, so they took his word for it until
it was close to the launch date. They asked me if I could write a book in two
months, so I said yes. I had a lot of leeway as I wrote the book, since they
were desperate to get a book (any book) finished and on the market. I ended up
writing a book that sold far better than any of the original author’s work. I
was fortunate, blessed, whatever (I hate the term lucky for personal reasons)
and after I blew the doors off the joint with that first book, the publishers
were coming to me.
Are you currently
working on anything?
The next book in the Euphoria Z series. I am delighted that
people are already asking me when they next one comes out.
When did you first
consider yourself a “writer”?
Not until recently. I’d been published for well over ten
years, but for some reason, never considered myself a writer. I started to
question this and realized my definition of a writer was wrong. I read
somewhere a long time ago that if you are writing, you are a writer; when you
stop writing, you are not. I just accepted that I am writer because I decided
to consider myself one. Being a writer is a call no one can make but the
individual.
Who and what inspired
you to write?
My wife.
When you are writing
to you like to listen to music? What is on your playlist?
I could score this entire book (Euphoria-Z) with ambient
sounds. When I write, it feels real to me and I can hear, smell, and feel it
all. I struggle to describe what feels so real to me without sounding clichéd
or too verbose. I do play music to distract me and drown out the world, but it
has nothing to do with what I am writing. I listen to old jazz, mostly from the
50’s and 60’s, because it makes good background noise; pleasant and inert. It
has a kind of energetic but relaxed vibe that I need to write. I need the
energy to keep going and the relaxed vibe to keep going at a steady pace; it’s
not rushed or impatient.
Who is your favorite
character in your books?
The lead character in my sword and sorcery series Dark Deeds
and Black Magics. Xanthus is a city-dwelling scoundrel in his late teens who
can go anywhere in society, but fits in nowhere. His family is wealthy, so he
is not trusted or even liked by the poor and working class. But his family is
nouveau riche, so he is not accepted by the old money, either. He is left alone
in a large city to babysit his wealthy father’s home and is incredibly bored,
so he dabbles in thievery, debauchery, and rarely a bit of responsibility. He
meets a few other oddballs and they generally participate in shenanigans that
are sometimes orchestrated by the gods. I love writing him because I love the
setting of Kingspoint, the massive maze-streeted city with its magics and
dangers. The prequel to the series is available now and contains a sample of
the actual series.
Do you ever take
characteristics or nuances from close friends or family when working on
character development and if so has that friend or family member noticed and
what was their response to it?
Oh yes and yes. If there is anything recognizable it’s
usually an inside joke that the person appreciates.
What is your favorite
book of all time?
I would say The Hobbit is my favorite book. It’s what really
woke up that part of my brain that said, “I want to be a writer.” I know I’ve
read it all the way through at least eight times and then chunks of it at
various other times. I love the first half of the book in particular.
Tell us in one
sentence why we should read your books.
I honestly write to give to the reader. I want to give the
experience that kept me going as a child. I am getting a lot of great feedback
so I am comfortable saying you should read my books because you will enjoy
them. It’s hard to find a good read.
List your books that
are available
Where can people
connect with you
Thanks for taking
your time to answer some questions for my readers at Genuine Jenn.
Thank you for having me on your blog.
Giveaway time! Enter to win 1 of 5 e-books of Euphoria Z by Luke Ahearn
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~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
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