Kiru Taye Writes: #Interview @JoyaFields Chats Matchmaking Ghost #Giveaway Altered Frequency

Happy Monday, folks. My guest today is the lovely Joya Fields who's on a book tour for her latest novel Altered Frequency. Stop by, leave a comment for her and I'll select one person to win a copy of her eBook. I'll announce the winner next Monday.

Now, on to the interview...

Q1) Joya, welcome to my blog. Can you tell us a little about yourself

Thanks so very much for hosting me on your blog today, Kiru. I’m thrilled to be here. I love to write romantic suspense, contemporary romance and paranormal (ghost) romance. I’ve been writing for about seven years and Altered Frequency is my third novel.

Q2) Have you always wanted to be an author?

Oh yeah! I always wanted to be a story teller. My grandmother and I would sit on her front porch on summer nights and she’d say “tell me a story.” And I made up all sorts of tales about riding paddle boats from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor all the way to Hawaii. Ridiculous stories that didn’t make sense, but she never interrupted me except to say “tell me more.”

Q3) Fabulous. The mind of a child is so fertile with imagination, isn't it? I can just imagine all the fantasy adventures you went on. J So who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

My favorite authors are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts and Jodi Picoult. It’s kind of funny that only one of those authors is known for writing romance, and yet that’s what I write. I think all four of these authors have influenced my writing because even though they’re not strictly writers of romance, they pen stories that make you really care about what happens to the characters. I hope my writing does the same.

Q4) I'm with you there. The author who influenced me the most to write isn't a romance writer either. Also Stephen King seems to be popular amongst my guest authors so you're not alone there. Can you tell us what a typical writing day for you is like.

A typical writing day for me usually starts out with a walk to clear my mind and get my blood circulating. Then, I spend an hour or so on blogs/social media. After that comes the fun part: writing! I head to my writing cave, sit next to my corkboard with photos of characters in my current Work in Process, and go to a different world for a while as I peck away on the keyboard.

Q5) Let’s talk about your new book. Can you tell us a little about it?

Woo hoo! I love talking about Altered Frequency. I wrote this book faster than any other book I’ve written. It took me three weeks. It’s the second book in the Hauntings at Inner Harbor series, but you don’t have to read the first one to understand the second one.

Blake Decker is a cop with trust issues. Missy Prescott is a deejay who has very good reasons to steer clear of him—because he’s a cop. But a matchmaking ghost named Betty believes the two are meant to be together, and she won’t cross over to the other side until Blake and Missy realize they’re meant to be. There’s a lot of humor, a little suspense, and a bunch of steamy love scenes.

Q6) A match-making ghost? That sounds like fun. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

Well, for the most part, I didn’t have an idea for the entire story. All I knew when I sat down to write this book was that Missy was a deejay who had sworn never to date a cop, Blake was a cop, and Betty was a matchmaking ghost intent on getting them together. The story unfolded as I wrote.

Q7) Great. I look forward to reading your book. So what's up next for you?

Thanks for asking about what’s next! I’m excited to announce that I’ve just signed a contract for the third book in the Hauntings at Inner Harbor series, Sidelined Afterlife, so that book will probably release around Halloween. My current project is a contemporary romance—a farm trilogy. Farmers work so hard every day, and I hope to shine a light on their lifestyle. It doesn’t hurt that these farmers are hot, muscled, and looking for love.

Q8) Congratulations on your latest book contract. Wishing you all the best with that one too. What is the best piece of advice you would give to a budding writer?

The best piece of advice I could offer a budding writer would be to write as often as you can and read as often as you can.

Q9) Great advice! What is the next book on your To Read Pile that you are dying to jump into?

Oh boy. That’s a HUGE pile. LOL. I’m a latecomer to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward, so book four, Lover Revealed, is next for me…or wait, is it The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult’s latest release? Ah! So hard to choose. They’re both on my Kindle battling for attention.

Q10) Is there anything else you would like to add?

One of the coolest parts of writing Altered Frequency was when I visited a real-life deejay at the radio station. After a tour of the station, and an interview with her, I had a real feel for Missy’s character in this book.

Thanks very much for hosting me today!

Favorite Quiz

Favorite city:

Baltimore, MD

Favorite beverage:

Coffee!!!

Favorite place you’d like to visit:

New Orleans

Favorite place to write:

My secluded, dark, writing cave (with candles burning)

Favorite hobby:

Gardening

Favorite movie:

It’s a Wonderful Life

Favorite book:

The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley

About the Author

Joya Fields has had over 100 stories and articles published in local and national magazines. Her debut novel, a romantic suspense, was a NJRW GOLDEN LEAF WINNER FOR BEST FIRST BOOK OF 2012 and was nominated for RT Book Reviews 2012 Indie Press/Self-Published Contemporary Romance award. She's since released three more books.

Over the years, Joya has taught arts and crafts, worked in public relations, owned a daycare center, helped her children raise prize-winning 4-H livestock, competed in three marathons, and even spent a year as a Baltimore Colts cheerleader. Joya loves spending time with her high school sweetheart/husband of over twenty-five years, two very supportive children, and a pug who follows her everywhere. www.joyafields.com