The Romance Reviews

The Romance Reviews

Katie Salidas - Pink Diamond Interview

Hello my friends! Sinner here! Do you know what day is today? Today is the one year anniversary of my “coming out!” So, happy anniversary to me!
Today's Pink Diamond Interview features a very special and talented young lady. If it weren’t for her, I might not be here at all. Her name is Katie Salidas! But, before I formally introduce her, I’d like to give you all a little bit of background:

Who is Katie Salidas?

Ms. Salidas is the author of the extremely popular Immortalis Series. This story centers around a young lady named Alyssa, a newly turned vampire and how she experiences adjusting to her new life. For a more detailed description please go here for my review on Immortalis Carpe Noctem (Book One: http://goo.gl/NR9Zn) and here for Hunters and Prey (Book Two: http://goo.gl/sY0BV).

** Please note that the giveaways mentioned in the above links have expired.  Read on, because there are some goodies coming your way!

The third book in the series, Pandora’s Box is available as a standalone as well as part of an Omnibus Edition that includes the first two books in the series. The fourth book in the series Soulstone was just released and is now available. (Links on how to get in touch with Katie and links to her books are provided below).


How Minnie and Katie became friends.


Katie had just published her first novel, Immortalis Carpe Noctem. It was Mother’s Day, 2010 and Minnie, having just arrived home after a Mother’s Day dinner with her daughter, wanted something to read. While surfing Amazon.com sitting in the glow of a beautiful sunset, she stumbled upon Katie’s story, downloaded it; read it in one sitting and was left wanting more. Since she couldn’t find anything else on amazon.com by Katie, she googled her. That’s when she found Katie’s Facebook page and sent her a message. She was totally surprised when Katie responded thanking Minnie for her comments and they have been virtual friends ever since.


November of that year, Katie unwittingly introduced Minnie to NaNoWriMo after posting about it on Facebook. Reading about NaNoWriMo caused Minnie to recall a conversation with Katie and she decided she would try it. Her thinking was that it could only help her since she was already working on a story. She decided she would write something new and that is how I was born!


So, Ms. Katie, a heartfelt thank you for planting the seed of confidence in Minnie’s heart that brought me to life. Neither one of us will ever forget it! We love you!!


And now, before I get all teary eyed and mushy, please help me welcome the wonderfully talented Katie Salidas!!



Welcome Katie!! Please tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to begin writing in general and this series in particular.


I’m so thankful to be here today. And thrilled to see your success too Minnie! You say I’ve inspired you, but you also are an inspiration to me too. I’m so proud of you. Aw! Katie!!! It's all because of you!  Thank YOU!!




I always have a hard time talking about myself. I think, “there’s really nothing interesting to say.” I’m a mother twice over, I’m a wife, and a writer. The writing is the really interesting part but it’s the characters that have all the fun. I’m just the slave to my muse. When the idea hits, I write.

As a writer I can tell you that knowing there are other people out there reading your work and enjoying it is magic! It can turn a bad day good in a heartbeat. It can also really motivate too. Just knowing that people want to read more is enough to get me typing away.

That’s how Immortalis got its start. It was a hobby story. I wrote when I had the time. As it began to take a little shape I let a few people read. Their excitement and anticipation of future chapters really prodded me on. I wanted to finish so that I could see how much they enjoyed reading. Once complete I knew I had to get it published. It’s been the same since that first book. Each book has been completed thanks to the positive reinforcement of readers. They want more and I aim to please.

And you do, my dear! Here are a few comments from amazon.com about your stories, including your latest, Soulstone:



On Carpe Noctem, by Donna Simmonds: "Good start to a new series. Looking forward to reading more. Really enjoy the relationship between Alyssa and Lysander as he teaches her to be a new vampire. A great history is hinted at in the vampire world and looking forward to finding out more about it. Great supporting cast of characters as well. Hopefully some of them reoccur in future stories".



On Hunters & Prey, by IzhaBella's BookShelf: "Wow!...Intense! The strength of Alyssa's control and the depth of her rage will reel you in!"



On Pandora's Box, by B.K. Drury "BK Walker": "This was a great installment to the Immortalis Series. I loved the introduction to a new supernatural species - Werewolves. Salidas did a great job of not over-doing it with this phenomenal breed. Though we still see their strength, they do not overpower the actual plot of this series."



And Soulstone, by amdase: "Fan'FREAKING'tastic ... This is a page turner just like the others in this series. This is one of my top fave vampire series. Katie builds a wonderful world with awesome characters. When you read this it will leave you waiting more."

With all of the above accolades, there's really nothing more I can say but, "I told you this woman was good!"

So, let's move on, shall we? You’ve written four books in your Immortalis series; an anthology containing 3 novellas (Halloween Fantasies; Immortal Pleasures and Karma and Melodies) as well as a how-to for self publishers (Go Publish Yourself) and had a baby – Congratulations on beautiful Hunter! – all in about two years! You’ve been pretty busy young lady!

Are you a plotter or Pantser?

Total Pantser! I can’t block myself into outlines. I know what direction I want the story to go, but after that the story and the characters dictate what happens. Alyssa in particular loves to throw monkey wrenches into my plots. She’s always causing trouble but I can’t be mad at her for too long. She keeps things interesting.

What is your process?  What gets your juices flowing? Music? Food? And do you edit as you go along?

I never edit until the story is completed. And that is the advice I love to give to new authors too. The reason is, editing is the opposite of creating. You need to create first before you begin to look at it critically and hack away at it. Let your vision breathe first. Then, once it is ready, and complete, take the time to edit.

As for my process, it is as simple as this. Step one: sit down at the computer. Step two: write.

I don’t like to overcomplicate things. Sometimes I leave music on, sometimes TV, but other than that, it’s just me and my keyboard.

With regard to Go Publish Yourself, what spurred you to write this wonderful “how-to”?

When I started self-publishing, I thought it would be easy. Boy was I wrong. To do it right took a lot of trial and error, and I made a lot of errors in the beginning. As I learned new things I tried to share them on my blog http://www.katiesalidas.com That’s where Go Publish Yourself came from. It’s a finely distilled collection of the best advice and information I’ve found. I love sharing what I know with others as well as learning from each new experience. It’s my hope that those who read the book will really benefit from it. I’d love to help another author avoid the mistakes I made in the beginning.

Minnie was asked the following question in an interview that she once did and I love this question – I’m openly admitting to stealing it, so here goes:  If we were to observe you in the act of writing, what would we see?

LOL!!! You would see me spinning around in my office chair, drinking too much soda, goofing around on the internet, and in between all of that, me staring at a blank screen. Before I actually write anything, there is a lot of mental work. I run scenes through my imagination before I write it down.

What about future projects? Are you working on Book Five of your series and/or other projects?

Right now I’m in a lull between books. I just released two back to back: Go Publish Yourself ( Quick and Dirty tips for Successful Self-Publishing) and Soulstone (Book 4, Immortalis series). Between promotion and life with a newborn, my time is stretched pretty thin. When I do find a few moments, I’m hoping to work on more of my Romantic shorts like House of Immortal Pleasures and Karma & Melodies. Eventually I’ll get back to my literary baby, the Immortalis Series and work on book 5, but I’m not really sure when I’ll be able to really devote the time needed for that one.

As a successful writer, you have fans (Me! Me! Me!), and up and coming writers who look up to you and admire you. What would you say to them if they were to ask you how you overcome disappointment and feelings of discouragement?

It’s ok to have “down days.” We all have them. You imagine selling thousands and thousands of books, and the reality is, some days you just don’t sell a single book. When you’re feeling discouraged, do something else. Take a day off and remember that writing is only part of your life. Go enjoy something else and when you’re feeling a little better, get back to writing and promoting again.

And now my favorite part of the Pink Diamond Interview: Lipton-isms!!

What’s your favorite curse word?

Fuck!

What’s your least favorite curse word?

Cunt

What is your favorite time of day?

Nighttime

What would your friends say is your best trait?

I’m reliable

If you could choose a superhuman strength/power, what would you choose?

I want to read minds! That’d be pretty cool. Yea! It would be!!

What is your favorite thing to do when you are relaxing?

Hot bubble bath, glass of wine, and a trashy novel!!

What a great way to end this interview!!! A trashy novel and a bubble bath!!

In honor of my anniversary, tell me what you thought of this interview the first five people to leave a comment here on my blog today AND send me a message at lahongrais@gmail.com, will receive a free copy of Sinner's Ride in the format of your choosing.  Yay!!

There is so much more to this wonderful, gifted woman. For more information on Katie and her doings, check her out:





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