The Emerald Talisman Tour: Quick Q and A with Brenda Pandos

Today as part of the The Emerald Talisman Tour, I have a Q and A with the author, Brenda Pandos. So without a further ado:

~~

In your opinion what are the top three reasons why teens, or even adults, should consider picking The Emerald Talisman up the next time they see it in stores or online?

In my humble (well, not really) opinion, I think they should because it’s fabulous (and Nicholas is completely amazing). Seriously though, it’s a great paranormal romance that parents of pre-teens can feel comfortable letting their daughters read and many people my age and above said they enjoyed. But don’t take my word for it.Two of my favorite fans said, “the story is cool and your vampire world building is different which is GREAT,” and “Nicholas' role in Julia's life is unlike another vampire in fiction”.

The Emerald Talisman is told from the perspective of Julia Parker, so can you tell us a little about her? Also, if you could offer her any type of advice what would you say?

Julia, an empath, has had a rocky upbringing. Her mother disappeared when she was five and her father is routely out of town on business trips, leaving her with little parental support. Now a teenager, she’s overwhelmed with the emotions of her fellow classmates, which lends
to her small friendship base and non-existent social life. Things change after Nicholas comes into her life.

Actually, I’d like to be Julia’s mother and fill that longing in her life. Then I could be there for when her heart breaks, help her manager her abilities and maybe suggest who she should trust and who she shouldn’t.

If The Emerald Talisman had a theme song what would it be?

I heard ‘I Fight For You’ by Morgan Page during my one of my editing sessions on slacker radio and fell in love with it. The beat, the drive, the words and overall feeling of the music matches the scene starting in chapter 3. Here’s my favorite lines...

Meeting you here, the night’s alight with midnight cheer
Our dust still unsettled, I feel the plucking of our petals
I’m drawing circles don’t you know, protect the seed that wants to grow
To a garden, pardon my territory
Be friendly but cautious, you’re gonna have to count your losses
Easily attracted, but dangerous to get distracted .... Not gonna share you no

Even reading them gives me chills.

What was your favorite part about writing The Emerald Talisman?

My favorite part of the process happened when the characters emerged and continued to talk even after I stepped away from my computer. I was right with them, running, feeling, chasing, fleeing, fighting. I’ll be sad when the story is over.

The original thing that drew me to find out more about The Emerald Talisman was the stunning cover. Which left me to wonder if you were involved in the process in any way? Also, what was your initial thought when you first saw it?

Actually, I’m the designer. I have a website and graphic design business, so I was allowed to design my own cover. I didn’t have a physical talisman to photograph, so I made one in my graphics program with real pictures of stones and molded the gold around them digitally. I’m actually having a replica made, so the next cover won’t be so difficult to construct. What I came up with was a hit, so we ran with it!

I read in your ‘About Me’ section on your blog that Stephenie Meyers' biography was one of the main things that inspired you to write. Which left me to wonder if there are any other authors and/or books out there that did the same?

I can’t say I’ve read a ton. In elementary school, I read most of the ‘Betsy Books’ by Carolyn Haywood and Bevery Cleary’s books. ‘Are you there God, it’s me Margaret’ by Judy Blume helped a lot with that crazy pre-teen time. Later, I was really into ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books. My most favorite series is the Annals of Lystra by Robin Hardy, the first book being ‘Chataine’s Guardian’. I would say, that story planted a seed. Stephenie’s bio was the water. Encouragement from family and friends was the sun.

What’s up next for you book wise?

The Emerald Talisman’s sequel, The Sapphire Talisman is almost completed and going to be available December 2010. I’m super excited about it and can’t wait to share the continuation of the story with my readers. There will be a third after this one.

~~~

Thanks so much, Brenda! To find out more about Brenda, as well as her book, head on over to her website.