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| Meet The Author |
ChrisChat:
Why did you write the book that brought you to MuseItUp Publishing?
Jami:
Hunted By The Past came into being when I realized how much I wanted to combine my love of paranormal with suspense. Cyn Arden and Kayden Shaw hit the pages with a huge boom, and as their world came into being, so did their chosen family, their team, and PSY-IV Teams was born. Having the characters come from a military background allows me to explore how reluctant heroes were born. Add in the curse or blessing (depending on your point of view) of having psychic abilities, and your conflicts ratchet to a whole new level. As HUNTED progressed, I found myself touching on things I wasn’t sure I had the courage to do justice to, such as the loss of a loved one, or how close we can come to crossing personal lines without realizing it. All in all, HUNTED is about finding your way through the worst of times, living with your choices, and realizing risk sometimes brings the biggest rewards.
ChrisChat:
I get to cheat a little here being your content editor…how did you research, teach yourself, about the gifts each character has?
Jami:
I’m a firm believer I’m now permanently flagged for my online research by whoever’s watching us out there. Not only did I have to delve into the very intriguing world of psychic abilities, but various sites other topics such as military, weapons, medical marijuana, and psychic testing surely sent off an alarm somewhere. Although the internet is a wonderful swamp pool of information, I actually began refining the idea of my characters’ abilities after reading John Marks’ book (yep, actual, physical book) THE SEARCH FOR THE ‘MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE’. I’ve always been curious about psychic abilities. Let’s be honest, we’ve been told for how long we only use 10% of our brain’s potential. Ever wonder what the other 90% is doing besides stretched out on a beach with a Mai Tai? As Cyn and Kayden’s story began to develop, so did the team surrounding them. Hitting the known skills—telekinetic, telepathic, retro- and pre-cog was just the beginning. The more research I did, the more I realized there were other areas/abilities that would qualify as “psychic”. For example, Rabbit, the team’s techno-guru has an affinity for electronics, mainly thanks to the fact he can manipulate electrical energy. Of course there are drawbacks to trying to handle that much power, but when we hit his story (and we will) we’ll see that sometime riding the lightening can leave a burn mark. Or Tag’s problems with being a touch empath, especially when he runs across the rare woman person who he can’t read. Or Risia’s ability to clearly interpret the future, until it comes to her own, then things get fuzzy. Once I started down the road of different abilities, it grew—manipulating what those around you see/hear/think/believe, healing others and the personal cost it demands, or playing with fire/air/energy—the nice thing, my list of possible psychic abilities continues to grow, the more I drop into the PSY-IV Team worlds.
ChrisChat:
Your story weaves the military and paranormal abilities together, seamlessly. You pulled me in from sentence one and from there I just ran alongside the characters. What’s the secret? How does a writer make the paranormal real, especially when mixed with pinpoint military?
Jami:
Oh wow, (blushing), thank you for that. I’m not sure there’s a secret per se, but I do know that magic or the unexplained or paranormal, whatever you want to call it, has always been there for me. Not that I’m running around pulling rabbits out of a top hat or anything, but…well, take this for example. When I was six or so, I was crying to my grandfather (on the Irish side of the family) about how much I hated my freckles. He didn’t blink an eye but in a very serious tone said, “Those aren’t freckles, girl, those are fairy kisses. It proves you’ve been blessed with a bit of something special.” What stuck with me from that was how something very ordinary can become magical. Disney stories never did it for me those singing birds and lilting voices just ((shudders)). But the real Brothers Grimm stories? Now those clicked. Evil didn’t always wear an old, witchy face, but those caught in it, if they didn’t fight back, they were toast. When I delved into fantasy stories, like Lloyd Alexander, Susan B. Cooper, Katherine Kurtz, Andre Norton, Terry Brooks, something about the idea of magic existing right alongside us just resonated. The knight standing against the dark, the lone orphan who can take down the corrupt king, the lost child of magic stopping the end of the world. Each story proved how a normal individual found that spark of internal magic to step up when others wouldn’t or couldn’t. So when my reading taste broaden and I began a love affair with romantic suspense, especially those revolving around military themes, I realized I was drawn to that unexpected warrior mentality. You can find it around you today, it’s there in the souls coming home from overseas. They won’t tell you they’re heroes, they’ll tell you they’re doing their job. Here’s the thing, it takes “something special” to be brave enough to put yourself on the line for others and expect nothing in return. I have friends and family who’ve proven this time and time again and I knew at some point, I’d be sticking my pen in the ink and adding a bit of magic to my own military trained survivors. So mixing paranormal with military, it just seemed normal.
ChrisChat:
Okay, I’ve got questions firing in my head so hopefully I can get them all down before they’re lost in the jungle that’s my mind. For some reason reading your first answer I flashback to an episode of the TV series “The Girl with Something Extra” with Sally Fields. Basically, her character has ESP and the episode I’m thinking is where the husband surprises her with a surprise party. What does this have to do with your answer…I’m curious about balance and counter-balance. That for each of your heroes, there’s most likely someone, the villain, with the counter-ability. In the episode the husband somehow hid this party from the wife who should have been able to learn about it. Your ‘villain’ has his own abilities. How much of your research indicates the counter-balance versus how much you make the matches? Did you need…do you need in case of future stories…create your own abilities?
Jami:
Never saw that series, but balance is a universal truth, right? I think of it like this: for every decision, a consequence; every action, a reaction, so yes, for every psychic ability I come up with, there’s a counter balance. In HUNTED BY THE PAST, our big bad, Ellery, is a Syphon, someone who can absorb abilities of other psychics. While this may sound like an invincible ability, in reality, it’s not, it carries a frightening price. In Ellery’s case, by taking on another’s ability, he also takes in a piece of their psyche, which means his mental headspace becomes a free for all. After a while all the voices will drive even the sanest (and he didn’t start sane) crazy. In Cyn’s case, she has the ability to relive the past, but she can’t change a thing, and if she isn’t able to keep an emotional distance, it can drag her so close to the memories, that it becomes her reality. Add in Kayden, who can amplify her abilities, and now you’re giving Ellery a double-dare temptation on abilities he could utilize in some really evil ways. Not to mention, thanks to Kayden’s boost, Cyn’s temptation to remain in the past can be hard to resist.
I’m currently working on TOUCHED BY FATE, the second book and it follows Tag (a touch empath) and Risia (a seer). Balance is huge in that touch empaths tend to avoid human contact so they aren’t constantly bombarded by what drives those around them, and seers, like Risia, fight a constant battle to avoid a Cassandra Spiral (falling into the myriad of possible futures) and losing their minds. And when these two fall in love, what will they do when Risia sees her death at Tag’s hands, and Tag realizes she’s the only one who doesn’t add to his demons? Oh yes, and we have another player adding to the roller coaster ride, except his intentions are not at all honorable.
As for creating my own abilities, I don’t create new abilities, so much as twist existing ones. There are so many possibilities you can explore with psychic abilities, that it gives a writer a huge pool to play in.
ChrisChat:
Do you think it’s possible someone without special abilities could win over someone with them?
Jami:
Definitely. Psychic doesn’t mean invincible. In fact, the inherent belief that having something more than others sets you apart, lends itself to an arrogance that’s fun to topple when I’m writing. I’ve been spinning around ideas for the third book and right now the heroine isn’t psychic, instead she’s just trying to survive. You know me and my penchant for my heroes/heroines being survivors, and that mentality means you don’t give a damn about the odds, but you keep going, because no one but you can bring you down. The danger of being psychic is relying on your ability as a crutch to deal with things. When it’s damaged or gone, what do you do? Can you stand against who or what is coming your way? Heroes/heroines are characters we cheer for, because at their heart, they are damaged people who rise despite their flaws. They choose to survive.
ChrisChat:
Reluctant Heroes. I think most of the true heroes are all reluctant. Let’s face it those who join the military do so knowing what they could face. Police Officers realize they may be fired on with each stopped car. Firefighters rush into burning buildings. But it is this sense of “just doing my job” which hits home for us who see an action as more than “just a job.” Some fictional reluctant heroes seem to fall into split categories (a) bing-bang-boom-no-holds-bar-this-is-who-I-am-no-weakness-right-on-every-turn (b) something flaw in their personality, life, some weakness which is either exploited by the buy guy or drives the hero to fight back. I’ll admit this is pretty black and white general description…so how are your heroes different?
Jami:
I’m one of those writers who likes the gray areas of character motivation. I’ve never been a fan of Superman—the really good guy who’s out to save the world. I’m more about Batman or Wolverine—guys who could just as easily be viewed as the villain as the hero. The most interesting characters are the ones who the reader has no idea if they’ll make the “right” choice versus the “wrong” choice. I’ve always loved stories where you think your hero has made the “right” choice, only to realize later, it was the “wrong” choice. How do they correct it? No person is a hundred percent good or bad, so much goes into every decision we make in our lives. We weigh the pros and cons, and sometimes our scales tip in directions others disagree with. The best example I can think of this, is Harry Dresden in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series. Harry thinks he’s doing good, but when you read the series you realize he’s trodding down some very dark paths, where no decision is “right”, all are “wrong” and it becomes a question of which “wrong” decision can he live with. While it may not be ideal, and your heart is breaking as a reader at what he has to do/what happens to him, you understand what drives him towards these paths, and you can connect to him on a very real level. No decision can be guaranteed in this life, we have to do the best we can with what we know/have/feel at that particular moment.
ChrisChat:
What ability, potential ability surprised you the most?
Jami:
I think Jinx’s came out of left field. Her ability to spin realistic illusions is probably the one that will come across as the least explainable, or most “magical” as the case may be. When it popped into place it was because I was doing research on psychological reasons behind human behaviors and something about the concept of truth becoming truth because we believe it, struck that imaginative match for me. Perception versus truth is an intriguing slope to slide down. For Jinx, she can make people believe what they’re seeing is real, even if it’s not. Of course, I haven’t fleshed out her ability completely yet, but I know it’s going be tricky.
ChrisChat:
Would you want any of these abilities? Which one…more?
Jami:
The more I refine and define the abilities of each PSY-IV Team member, the more I’m all good being a psychic dud. Going back to your balance question, the cons tend be rather hefty price tags, and I’m not sure I’d want to add that to my plate. But if I had to pick one—telekinesis would be my choice. I tend to multi-task like a wired Energizer Bunny, and the fact I could “think” things would totally work for me. Of course, those times my Irish temper peeks out, you may not want to stick around…
ChrisChat:
Magic and fairies…or the wee folk as my Irish great-grandmother would say. I understand no one in the family fully knew whether she was kidding them or believed or really did see them. What’s the difference between a special ability and magic? How far back would we have to go to show a lighter isn’t magic, but to our primitive ancestors it sure would seem to be.
Jami:
Interesting question…I’ve often wondered about this as well, plus thrown it around my critique group a few times. When you get a bunch of UF, PNR, and Fantasy writers in a room, this topic lends itself to debate. My answer may not be all that brilliant, but for me, I’d say there really isn’t a difference, instead it comes down to perception. Look at the stories surrounding ancient cultures—Tuatha De Danann, Atlantis, Roman/Greek pantheons,the list is long. There has to be a kernel of truth in the stories, but it’s truth filtered through time, perception, and damn good story-telling. You understand your world based on what you know, so what may make logical sense to another, may come across to you as unexplainable. For example, you often hear that we can not be the only intelligent life in the universe, the odds just don’t add up. Say that’s true, and an alien race drops down to walk among us, able to move things with nothing but their Jedi mind-tricks. To them, its easily explainable by their science/genetics which says they have the ability to harness energy and manipulate it in a way we have yet to discover. To us, we’re in Obi Wan’s presence and completely in awe. To them, we’re just a backwater world eons behind other cultures.
ChrisChat:
Which character did you find the easiest…hardest…most fun…to write?
Jami:
Hmmm, I thought Tag would be fairly clear, but he’s keeps throwing things in my way. When Risia first appeared, she came across completely different than how she finally showed herself to be. Cyn was my easiest, I think because she’d been stalking me through a short story attempt that of course, led to HUNTED BY THE PAST. Kayden was hard to get close to, he’s not one to let anyone in close, even me. Wolf is proving to be quite the enigma, one I know will make his story quite the battleground.
ChrisChat:
Because I’m your editor, I know a couple of ideas coming, but please share what you’re willing as to what we can expect in future books, please.
Jami:
I’m hoping to have TOUCHED BY FATE into my lovely editor by end of March for a late 2015 publication date, if possible. As I mentioned, this book follows Tag and Risia. The third book is beginning to whisper in my ear, and (hang on tight, Chris) it should follow Wolf and the woman who will turn his world on his very delectable ear. My overall plan for PSY-IV Teams is to share each teammate’s story with my readers on a schedule of a book a year. So that gives us Rabbit, who may or may not end up on Jinx’s good side, Ricochet, Doc, and of course, Bishop.
ChrisChat:
Is there any other genres you like to visit?
Jami:
Right now, I get to explore my love of romantic suspense with PSY-IV Teams, and my love of Urban Fantasy with my Kyn Kronicles. But I have the beginnings of a plan that when these two series are done to possibly explore the post apocalyptic landscape with a trilogy.
ChrisChat:
I’ve asked this a couple of times now to others, so let’s keep it going…what haven’t you been asked that you wish someone would?
Jami:
I have a question I tend to ask in my blog interviews that I love: You’re hosting a dinner party with five (maybe six if you can squeeze in another spot) invitations, who would you invite? Alive or dead, your options are open.
ChrisChat:
Okay, so I have to ask…who’s invited?
Jami:
I’m a sucker for topic hopping during dinner discussions. I have no problems ruffling the water, so my guest list is varied…
First off, since I suck at math, I know my dinner party would be crowded, so I’ve broken my choices into areas of interest:
Music—Jared Leto from 30 Seconds to Mars or Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. I realize we’re looking at two very different artists, but their creative journey has been fascinating for me to watch. Plus, not only are they very nice to stare look at, they have brains, and not the kind that supply zombies with fuel.
Writing— This is the hardest area to narrow down. I think I’d have to hold a whole separate dinner party for my writing guests. For now, we’ll stick to Stephen King, Master Story Teller, or Chuck Wendig, TerribleMinds creator and the writing mind behind Miriam Black. Their take on the world around us, makes you tilt your head and go, “You know, you might be on to something…”
Historical Figures—The Morrigan, reigning queen of battles and terror, or Maria Laveau, Voodoo Queen. Come on, we all know, add either of these unique females to the party and life of the party will take on brand-new meaning.
World of Stage—This, too is a large group with tons of choices deserving of their own dinner party. (Strange, my social calendar seems to be gaining strength) For now, I’d love to have Maggie Smith or Katherine Hepburn. Heck, I’d gladly set a place for both if they’d accept.
Players of Fiction—Oh man, so many choices, such limited seating available. *deep breath* I’d want Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files and Kate Daniels, from Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series. Perhaps they’ll bring along Bob and Curran, and the party could get really fun.
ChrisChat:
I want to come!
Much love and thanks to Chris for taking the time to have me over.
So visitors, who would be in your dinner party?
Hi, Thank you…it's been fun 🙂
My dinner party?
Vlad
Louis L'Amour, author
Katherine Hepburn
Nicelle Nichols from Star Trek (I can't spell names)
Maya Angelou
Dali Lama
Jack the Ripper
My paternal grandfather who I never met
My maternal great-grandmother
my dad