11.08.2010

Behind the Pen: with J.A. Saare (+giveaway)

I love interviews.  But I find the artists behind the stories equaling intriguing, and I think they deserve as much limelight as their characters. So here instead of a list of questions about the story, the plot, and the characters I ask authors the same 11 questions about themselves and hopefully get a glimpse behind the pen...


I recently read/devoured Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between and I instantly wanted to know more about the artist behind the story.  So, I was thrilled when Jaime agreed to answer my silly questionnaire.  If you're unfamiliar with the book you can read my review here. And because I enjoyed it so much, I'll be giving away a copy to one lucky commenter.  




Giveaway Details:

  • US and CA only
  • Your comment is your entry
  • If you're a follower of the site you get an extra entry
  • Book can be ebook or print...your pick
  • Contest will end Sunday Nov 14th
  • Winner will be announced here Monday Nov 15th so be sure to check back!


Q1: What is the last book you read?
Fallen by Lauren Kate. How can you possibly deny that beautiful cover?  Not to mention, fallen angels are the “in” thing and the book was a captivating read.  I have Torment here, waiting for time in my reading chair.  I’m interested to learn where things go.

Q2: If you were stuck on a desert island, what book would you like to have with you?
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.  It has become my favorite book.  The author writes in such a simplistic fashion, but the characters are written in such a way that you can’t let them go.  Though the title, Never Let Me Go, isn’t intended for a reader to take literally, that’s how the book is for me. I just can’t seem to let the damned thing go.

Q3: What is your favorite swear word?
Any variation of the versatile word fuck.  Fuck me.  Fucking hell.  Fucking shit. I’m fucked. If I can apply it into a sentence, I often do.  If my brood picks up on my poor language skills, they are going to make the Osbournes look like the Cleavers.

Q4: What is your biggest pet-peeve?
Mean people.  We live in a world where there is already so much hate being spread around. Why add to that?  I’m a tad snarky here and there, but I’d never intentionally do something to hurt someone else.  I don’t understand why some people feel the need to tear others down.

Q5: What quality do you most like in a man?
A quirky sense of humor.  My poor husband has to have that or he couldn’t deal with me. *grin*  I think that’s why we have what we do with each other.  I can say something totally off the wall, and he’ll come back with something I don’t expect.  It keeps things interesting.

Q6: What quality do you most like in a woman?
Compassion.  By design, many women are nurturers.  The world needs more of that.

Q7: What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt?
That’s a toughie!  Originally I wanted to become a teacher.  Now I think I’d like to do something to entertain.  Perhaps theater.  Oddly enough, I’m embarrassingly uncomfortable at being the center of attention, so maybe I should consider doing something else -- like being a door greeter at Wal-Mart or something.  I worked in an adult video store in college and enjoyed it very much, so maybe I could work in a video store.  I love talking movies with people (or just talking to people in general).
Boy, don’t I sound ambitious?

Q8: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I’d love to travel and visit other places, especially Italy as my husband is Italian and has family there, but as far as living somewhere, I think I’ll stick with Alabama.  I was born here, love it here, and can’t envision myself anywhere else.  Boring, I know, but this is my home, and I don’t have any inclination to leave.

Q9: What inspires you?
My children, cornball as that sounds.  I never knew what it meant to truly love, fear, or care for something more than myself until they were born.  They serve as a constant reminder that there can be good in the face of bad, and even when I’m gone, a part of me will remain. 

Q10: If you could be one person (dead or alive) for a day who would you be?
Edgar Allen Poe.  I would love to delve into his mind for a day, although I’m fairly certain I might be disturbed at what I found.  He seemed to be such a complex man, and I would have loved to know more about his method.

Q11: Mac or PC?
As much as I wish I was a cool “Mac” person, I own and love my PC.  I’m not very good with technology and the way Mac is designed and works frightens me. ;-)
Thanks so much for having me on the blog! It was great to visit and chat with you!

40 comments:

  1. Thanks for the interview and the amazing giveaway. Your a new author for me and I see your face and your books all over these blogs. I really am missing out and need to remedy that. Your books look and sound amazing and I laughed my butt off watching you answer the you tube question about kicking balls :) I'm totally with you on dropping the F bomb. I have a really bad potty mouth and that word makes it's way through my mouth several times a day. I taught my kids at an early age to do as I say not as I do. They are very good at knowing what adult language is and never repeating a word that comes out of my mouth. I am who I am, love me or hate me:) Please enter me, I would love to win your book!!!

    june111@att.net

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  2. Love the interview :). I have to admit I still have to read Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between but it's on my list :). Can't wait to read it!

    an old follower
    sadler1279(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  3. Not entering the giveaway as I already own this book, but wanted to say what a great interview this was. Everyone should read this book :)

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  4. I am SO appalled that you are a PC and not a MAC. My image has just been destroyed! ;) Seriously, she is one of the coolest vloggers around!! :)

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  5. I hear great things about her books but I haven't read any yet. I'd love to read this one.

    I follow on GFC.

    seriousreader at live dot com

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  6. I enjoyed the interview and the chance to learn more about J.A.'s books.

    Barbed1951(at)aol(dot)com
    GFC follower

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  7. Sounds like a good book that I would enjoy reading.
    Thanks for the interview and the giveaway!
    I'm a follower
    apk1princess@live.com

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  8. Jolene ~ I'm a constant "F-bomb" dropper, can't help myself. ;) Glad you enjoyed the Kick In The Balls video! LOL

    Robsad ~ I hope you enjoy the book. Thanks for commenting!

    Buckeyegirl ~ You rock. That is all! :)

    Melissa ~ I <3 you. But you know that. Sorry about the Mac thing. I'm a total techno idiot.

    Linda ~Thanks for commenting. I hope you enjoy the story!

    Barbara ~ It's nice to meet you. Hope you enjoy the story!

    Alexa ~ Thanks for commenting. Nice to meet you!

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  9. OH! And Spinecracker, thanks for having me on the blog. I really appreciate it and enjoyed answering your questions. ;-)

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  10. Please don't enter me into the giveaway!

    Great interview. That JA Saare sure is entertaining. She makes me laugh so much and you never know what she is going to say next. Not only is she a kick ass author, but she is seriously one freaking intelligent woman! But it's her sense of humor that gets me every time!

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  11. BELLS! My PIMP!! :) Seriously, love you too. You keep me sane, woman!

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  12. I'm not entering (since I already have the book and really really enjoyed it).

    Just stopping by to say Great job again Jess. I love these questions. And you got yourself another 'F*ck' girl :) (That question always makes me laugh out loud). And JA, I totally understand your answer about 'What inspires you'. My mom told me the day my daughter was born that I would now know what worrying really was and that I would worry now for the rest of my life. Boy she wasn't kidding! Great post!

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  13. Hey Julie ~

    It's true. The moment I held my daughter in my arms at the hospital, I realized it wasn't about me anymore. It was all about her. It was the same with all my children. It's the most blissful moment in your life, and the most frightening.

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  14. After reading the review of your book on this site I had to add it to my TBR list.

    I love your answer to What inspires you. I guess all the mom's here can relate to that one . Thanks for the interview and give away.

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  15. Hey Sharon ~

    Nice to meet you. My children are the most important thing in my life -- even when they are driving me insane. :)

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  16. Hey, I am a (new) follower of the blog & Twitter and would love to be in the drawing for an ebook version of J. A.'s book. I have read all her short stories and loved them but... they were short! LOL! I have been waiting to get Dead, Undead... until the 2nd one came out so I could read them together, but I keep hearing such good things about it, I don't think I'll be able to wait much longer, :)

    (my hubby swears even more than I do and unfortunately our 3-year-old son has definitely has picked it up... and he's like the Monty Python of swearing. My oldest son commented the other day about how he was being mean, said he was merciless, to which my 3yo replied, "I'm not merciless, I'm fuckiless!" *sigh*

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  17. Molly, I had to step in and comment: I almost just choked on my coffee right now reading your son's declaration. Thanks for the chuckle!

    ...and thanks for entering of course :)

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  18. Hi Molly ~

    Yeah, my stories at Amira are short. Dead is 80k words, so it's a full length. Sorry about that.

    I LMAO about your son. That's hilarious!

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  19. Hello great interview I follow JA Saare on twitter and you/she cracks me up with your video blogs and YouTube postings "big booty bitches" Too funny... I haven't read any of your books yet but I did buy Crimson Moon recently one down so many to go ;)
    Please enter me in the contest
    Thank You!
    kuuipo228@gmail.com

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  20. Hey Kuuipo ;) Great to see you here. I hope you enjoy Crimson Moon. Thanks for commenting, for talking to me on Twitter, and for visiting my blog. :)

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  21. Loved this interview! I can't wait to read this book - I've heard so many good things about it :-)

    smaccall @ comcast.net

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  22. Hello Sarah, it's nice to meet you. Thanks for commenting! ;)

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  23. I'm a new subscriber via RSS. Just wanted to check out your blog and say hi to Jaime. I've read Eternity and a Day by her alter, but clearly I need to catch Disco Fever!

    Jaime, I went to see Never Let Me Go after you tweeted about it, and Wow. The movie has definitely stayed with me. And, I am 33rd of 47 in line for the book through my library system, so it has clearly resonated with a lot of people.

    Hope there are no bodily fluids on you from your kids tomorrow, Jaime!

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  24. Hey Lillie! :)

    I LOVED never let me go. In fact, it came to our theater here and I saw it a second time. It has such a strong impact and the story is even better. I'm glad you liked it!

    Please God, no bodily fluids. My kids are killing me!

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  25. I first found out about Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between on Goodreads - I haven't read it yet, but I am looking forward to doing so!

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  26. Hi Carla ~ I hope you enjoy the story. Thanks for stopping by!

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  27. I marked this to read on my Goodreads list not too long ago, thanks for the interview and giveaway!

    I'm a follower.

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  28. Hi Cheri ~

    Thanks for placing the book on your TBR. There is a lot of material out there and I appreciate you considering mine! Thanks for stopping by!

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  29. I'm not gonna lie, I would be tickled pink if I won a copy of this book. I made the suggestion to my local library to add this to their collection, but they're taking their sweet time.

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  30. Great Interview! This is for sure on my TBR shelf!

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  31. Hey Christina ~

    I'm sorry the library doesn't carry it. Perhaps you can contact my publisher and ask about them sending one? That's the one bad thing about being e-published.

    Carol ~

    Thanks for adding the book to your TBR! I hope you enjoy the story. Thanks for stopping by!

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  32. Great interview and I've heard wonderful things about Dead, Undead, or Somewhere In Between but haven't had the chance to read it yet! Please count me in!

    GFC follower
    lilazncutie1215[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  33. Hey Jeanette ~

    Thanks for commenting. I'm crossing my fingers for you. :) Hope you enjoy the book!

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  34. Don't need to enter me for the contest as I have Dead already. But just had to stop by and say great interview. :) She is a great person to chat with all the time, and cracks me up too. ;D So glad you enjoyed the book so much Jessica. :)

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  35. I LOVE the interview - she sounds wonderful! I'm glad my children won't be the only ones with an "unusual" vocabulary!
    I'm a GFC follower (Michele)
    rlawrence110(at)yahoo.om

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  36. What a great interview! It's refreshing to "meet" the author instead of "meeting" their book. I'm also ecstatic to know I am not the only person in the world terrified of the Mac computer...

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  37. Great Interview, I seen a lot of her books through the blogesphere and i've read the synopsis on some of her books and I like it! LOL.
    Thanks for the contest.
    FOllower (Stacey)

    stacedog01@yahoo.com

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  38. (((Melissa))) ~ Great to see you here. Thanks for commenting. Love chatting with you too!

    Michele ~ I'm not alone with the language skills, good to know! LOL

    Marie ~

    I'm terrified of the Mac. Not sure why. It just seems so complex. Maybe one day I'll give it a go.

    Stacey ~

    Hope you enjoy the story. Glad you like the synopsis of the stories thus far! ;)

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  39. Thanks for the interview. I have read great things about this book and am looking forward to reading it.

    I am a follower

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

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  40. Hi Donnas ;) Thanks for commenting and your interest in the book!

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