CBY Book Club: Blog Tour Interview & Giveaway

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Polar Day

Author: Julie Flanders

Genre: Thriller / Horror

Publisher: Ink Smith Publishing

Book Description:

The midnight sun bakes Fairbanks, Alaska as residents gather for the annual summer solstice baseball game. Amidst the revelry and raucous shouts of “Play ball,” a spark alights and a jogger bursts into flames. Detective Danny Fitzpatrick, still reeling from his near death at the hands of vampire Aleksei Nechayev, watches in horror as the man burns alive.

Someone is burning Fairbanks and its residents and leaving nothing but smoldering embers behind. As the city sweats under a record-breaking heatwave and unexplained fires claim more victims, Danny and his colleagues struggle to find an arsonist who can conjure fire out of thin air.

To Danny’s horror, the only one who may be able to help him stop the arsonist is his nemesis Nechayev. Will the vampire help in the hunt for a witch?

Buy Links:

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Author Interview

1. Tell a little about yourself. What you do when you’re not writing? What are your aspirations for the future?

I work as a librarian for a small liberal arts university so that takes up a great deal of my time when I’m not writing. In my free time I love reading, watching tv, walking my dog and spending time with my family. I love sports and I am fanatical about the Ohio State Buckeyes. As for my aspirations, I hope to continue writing novels and I would also love to do more freelance work writing articles and features. I love animals and my goal is to write for animal rescue/welfare organizations and advocate for their causes.

2. When and why did you start writing?

I got a very late start and didn’t actually begin taking my writing seriously until I was around 40. I had always enjoyed writing anything and everything and had also loved making up stories in my head but I never believed that I could actually write fiction. I didn’t see myself as a creative person. Things really changed for me when I started volunteering as a writer for Best Friends Animal Society and I loved the work much more than any paid work I’d ever done. I loved putting the features together and trying to make the stories engaging. I started doing more and more writing and haven’t stopped.

3. Have any particular novels or writers influenced your writing?

I would say Stephen King is a big influence for me because I love that his stories insert horror and the supernatural into our world. I know he’s not the only one to do this by any means, but his books are the first of this genre that I read and I loved them from the start. I love to write about the paranormal but I don’t have any ability to build my own world, I’m intimidated by the thought of even trying it, so I love books that are set in the real world but still include elements of the paranormal

4. Give us some backstory behind Polar Day. Where and when did you write it?

I wrote it over the past two years or so, it took me a long time to get into any kind of rhythm with it and I did a lot of stopping and starting. It is a sequel to my first novel Polar Night. Polar Night takes place in the dead of winter in Alaska and I wanted to write a follow-up that took place in the opposite timeframe. So Polar Day is set in the city of Fairbanks during the summer, when the city has nearly 24 hour daylight.

5. What was your favourite part of writing Polar Day?

I loved writing the characters of Danny Fitzpatrick and Aleksei Nechayev, the main characters of Polar Night, again. Danny is a police detective in Fairbanks and Aleksei is a vampire who nearly killed Danny when Danny discovered Aleksei’s decades-long crime spree. Danny is still the main character of Polar Day and has a new antagonist to face, but Aleksei remains a thorn in his side so it was fun to write them together again.

6. What does your writing schedule look like?

I would say it doesn’t really exist! I am terrible at writing on a schedule and every time I try to set one I can’t seem to stick with it to save my life. One of my goals for 2015 is to be more organized with my writing.

7. Which fictional character would you like to take to dinner and why?

Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. I think he’s adorable and he could use a good dinner and a break from the cold he is stuck living in all the time.

8. Besides your lead, do you have a favourite character in the story?

I would say Aleksei is my favorite next to Danny. I just love both of them and found my writing came easiest whenever I wrote their interactions.

9. What is one of the most surprising things you've learned as a writer?

That I can actually do it! If someone told me ten years ago I would be writing novels and having them published I would have asked them what kind of drugs they were taking. I never would have believed any of this was possible.

10. Any advice for aspiring authors?

Just that it’s never too late to get started on your writing journey. I am living proof of that.

Thank you so much for hosting me today and for interviewing me for your blog. I am so grateful for the opportunity!

About the Author

Julie Flanders is a librarian by day and a writer all the rest of the time. She is also a television show addict with a particular fondness for Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead and a slightly obsessive sports fan who cheers for the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Reds. Julie is an animal lover and animal rescue advocate who shares her home with her rescued dog and cat. She has written about the joys of pets for outlets such as Cat Fancy, Thrive in Life, and Best Friends Animal Society. Visit Julie at julieflanders.net.

Author Links:

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