Blog Tour Author Interview: Joss Stirling

As apart of her Stealing Phoenix UK Blog Tour, we have the lovely Joss Stirling on our blog today.....Welcome Joss! Thanks for joining us! 
<
1) When and why did you write your first book?
I think it might have been a story called ‘The Tapestry Room’ which I wrote when I was about ten. I came across it the other day and was impressed by the dust jacket and illustrations I must have spent hours devising. The story takes the characters through a magic tapestry that changes with the developing plot – no doubt I was in my C.S. Lewis phase because that sounds suspiciously like the wardrobe.  Mind you, imitation is the highest form of flattery and a good way to learn.

2) What inspired you to write the Savant Series?

Partly it was a search for something different.  My daughter was reading the usual suspects in the Dark Romance genre involving vampires and werewolves and I wanted to give her something that would appeal to that taste but without repeating what has gone before.  I also like the idea that we might possess some kind of magic, which I suppose is just another name for a savant power without conjuring up wands and spells.  Many people throughout history appear to have possessed something extra – foresight or intuition – savant powers build on those stories.  I then thought ‘Wouldn’t it be so amazing to have some secret ability that sets you apart in an everyday school setting?’ Follow that thought and then you realize that it could also corrupt and present all sorts of issues to the chosen few.

3) How did you go about picking names for your characters?

With the Benedicts it worked backwards from Zed, which is why I ended up giving myself the challenge of finding names for tricky letters like X and Y.  I used to work for Oxfam and, during that time, I came across a fantastic photographer called Zed Nelson.  He struck me not only as very skilled but also blessed with a very cool name so I logged it in my memory and then used it, split like an atom, for two of my characters in Finding Sky.  I had already decided Zed was the seventh child of a seventh child and thought that a family like that would probably help themselves remember multiple offspring with an alphabetical pattern.

4) Who is your favourite character?

I genuinely don’t have a favourite because when I ‘inhabit’ the mind of one of them, I am them in a sense and fall in love with their guy as they do.  At the moment, Yves is strong in my mind, but it doesn’t take much to turn me back into a Zed fan.  I like my girls too as they are all from difficult backgrounds and I enjoy the way they blossom when they meet their soulfinder.

5) Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?

I am just beginning the process of thinking about Xav’s story.  Oxford has said they want it so I am preparing characters in my head. While they go about the formalities of the contract.  I have a working title but I’ll keep that close to my chest just for the moment. As some of you might know I also write under other names. For younger readers (and readers who are young at heart) I am beginning a new fantasy series next October 2012 called Dark Spies as Julia Golding.  And if you like historical romance, you might like to check out my Eve Edwards books (there are more of these in the pipeline too).  I can promise you a whole new line up of hot boys, albeit wearing doublet and hose!
<
Awesome answers Joss. Thanks again for joining us. 
And guys, don't forget to check out the stop on the tour: Narratively Speaking