Jordanna East is in the spotlight!
And she’s got a surprise.
Her thriller, Blood in the Past, is free right now on Amazon!
Go HERE to get yours.
But first, enjoy our interview and my review for Blood in the Past.
See what’s cooking and what you’re in for!
I don’t want to keep ya’ll waiting, so let’s get started.
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When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
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I was always a creative person, but mostly in the visual arts. As the bio I’ve posted all over the web states, I started writing because I was broke and unemployed and my cable had been shut off. I read a lot of true crime and crime fiction and, since I went to school for Biology, Psychology, and Criminology, I thought I’d try my hand at writing and see how it went. Well, when I finally found a job, some coworkers came across the few chapters I had written and couldn’t stop gushing about them. But it wasn’t until recently, when one of my good friends passed away (after which one of the characters was named), that I decided to go ahead and finish the story. One thing led to another and I really started to love writing and hate when I wasn’t writing. The idea of finishing the one story turned into the goal of finishing a series. And my love of writing turned into a notebook full of future ideas.
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I see that Blood in the Paint is coming this winter. When writing this series, did you already have a general idea for each book or did it start as one book and you made it into more than one? I’ve always wondered about that.
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Dammit, I kind of already answered that in the previous question. I’ll elaborate. I actually started writing Blood in the Paint first, but as the story progressed and became more about the characters’ psychopathies, I wanted to show the chain of events that led them there. So I wrote Blood in the Past. Somewhere in there I realized these characters would make for a great series and I sketched some general ideas for two more full-length books.
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How do you feel about cliffhanger endings?
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I honestly LOVE a cliffhanger ending that makes me stark-raving mad with fury. But, obviously, that’s just me, so I try to write cliffhanger endings that tie up most of the story with the cliffhanger only alluding to next book’s story arc. My husband has read the first draft of Blood in the Paint and he lost his mind over the ending. But in a good way. Not in a stark-raving mad with fury way.
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Which character was easiest to write and which was the hardest?
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This is going to make me sound like a complete psycho to those who have already read Blood in the Past, but Lyla Kyle was the easiest to write. I started the story with her. I love writing her, but I can’t say why for fear of ruining anything for anyone. As for the rest of the characters, my own experiences are scattered among each of them, so they’re all easy to write in spots. But I would have to say that Jason Brighthouse was the hardest. He was my first male character, so I wanted to get him right (CJ is a male, but I kind of wrote him based on someone, so he wasn’t so bad). I’ve read too many books where the male leads just screamed “written by a woman!” and I didn’t want to fall into that category.
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Books are listed under many different genres. What genre would you say best describes Blood in the Past?
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I actually had to look that up when I first finished Blood in the Paint! They are technically Psychological Thrillers. They don’t fall under mystery/suspense because you know who’s doing what. I suppose they can be considered as Crime Thrillers, but the focus of the series is more on the criminals where most Crime Thrillers are about the investigation of the criminals.
Are you finding it easier to write Blood in the Paint than it was to write Blood in the Past?
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As I mentioned, I wrote Blood in the Paint first, but I can still compare the two. They each had their own challenges. Blood in the Paint was my very first piece of fiction writing. I wrote it by the seat of my yoga pants and as I did research and learned more about writing I had to keep going back and changing things. By the time I wrote Blood in the Past, my creative writing skills had vastly improved. Unfotunately, the story takes place–you guessed it–in the past, so I had to make sure everything I wrote worked with what takes place later, which was just plain annoying. Note to self: don’t write things out of order.
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Do you have any hobbies?
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Well, like any good writer, I’m a voracious reader. I also enjoy painting and drawing, though I don’t get much time to do either anymore.
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Now for five fun short questions! Yay! I love these! It’s like a lightning round!
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Favorite TV show? Right now, Scandal.
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A phobia? Jellyfish scare me more than sharks.
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Cook or go out to eat? If everyone could cook like me, they’d never go out.
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A steak or a burger? Big, bloody steak.
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Sweet or salty snack? The sweeter the better.
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Thanks so much for visiting my blog and taking time out to answer my questions. I would be thrilled to have you back again when Blood in the Paint is released.
Thank you so much for having me! I love your blog and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. And you can definitely expect me back this winter!
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Jordanna East readily confesses that she started writing a novel one day when she was broke and unemployed. Her cable had been turned off. SHE WAS BORED. So she sat down on her bed and started writing…and she hasn’t stopped. Though, now she has cable and pens her Psychological Thrillers at an actual desk. Blood in the Past is the prelude novella to her debut Blood for Blood Series, which follows three lives entwined by deaths and consequences, revenge and obsession. Blood in the Past is scheduled for release June 19, 2013.
Visit her website here
See what she’s up to.
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A psychological thriller sure to get your endorphins pumping!
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My Review
Actions have consequences.
You’ve heard of the ripple effect. A pebble tossed in the water creates ripples, which grow, expanding outward.
Jillian is the pebble, and her affair with a married man is the first ripple.
What happens after are the expanding ripples.
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I didn’t expect to like Jillian so much.
She’s messing with a married man, and no matter what lies of his she chooses to believe, it’s a big no-no in my book.
Powerful writing drew me to Jillian. I wanted more for her. I wanted her to be happy and free.
As she gets tangled in a web of lies and infidelity, I became more and more fearful. Her obsession with her lover grows and takes a bizarre turn.
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If only Jillian and her roommate hadn’t been mugged.
If only Calvin Kyle hadn’t been the responding police officer.
If only he hadn’t been so attractive.
If only they hadn’t started their affair.
A lot of if onlys.
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There are so many people affected by this affair. So many victims.
I guess you could call them collateral damage.
Jillians act of desperation plows through several families, leaving bodies in her wake.
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I almost didn’t want to continue reading. I just knew this wasn’t going to be pretty, but I had to know what happened.
Boy, was I right.
This short story had me sweating blood! It was relentless.
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Blood in the Past is only 8 chapters, but by the time you finish reading, it will feel like a lot more.
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The writing is bold, making this cast of dysfunctional and flawed characters come to life in the pages.
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As Blood in the Past is the prelude novella to the Blood for Blood Series, I can hardly wait to see what the author has cooked up for her other stories.
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Such strong writing, if I didn’t already know, I never would have guessed this was the authors debut novel.
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5 Stars
Don’t forget to get your free copy of Blood in the Past HERE.
Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew
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