An Interview with Kerry Schafer + giveaway

Yesterday was the start of the big blog event I'm organising together with the ladies of Between Dreams and Reality. If you haven't visited their blog yet, make sure you do, because half of the amazing authors who agreed to drop by for this event will be visiting Between Dreams and Reality.

My first guest is Kerry Schafer, author of Between and owner of the Random Penguin. She is the first of many authors who kindly agreed to an interview.


Kerry, welcome back to Pearls Cast Before A McPig
Could you tell a bit about yourself for those people who don’t know you yet?

Hi, my name is Kerry and I'm a bookaholic. I live with my Viking on forty acres of forested land, where we feed the deer and the wild turkeys, and thus, inadvertently, the coyotes. (And the mosquitoes. But we try not to think about that). Up until two weeks ago my day job was in mental health, but I just switched to working an an RN in a medical clinic. (Hint – I like to shake things up now and then.)

How many books will there be in the The Between series?

The plan is for a trilogy. But there's this old adage about mice and men that could always apply. One never knows.

Have you ever used people you know as characters in your books?

I have. During the time I was writing Between it's possible that I got mad enough at a certain person to want to wreak vengeance. I'm not a vengeful kind of person though, so I wrote this individual into the book and made bad things happen. Later I had to go back and change everything to protect the innocent. I also once modeled a hero on someone I knew, but that didn't work out very well either. I seem to be better off just making people up as I go.

Are there any other projects you’re working on or thinking about starting in the near future?

The second of the Books of the Between will be out in April. Aside from that, I'm working on a novella trilogy that I plan to e-publish in November. Dreams are a major component again, but this time the story is set firmly in the real world and has more of a thriller feel.

Where can you be found when you’re not at your desk writing?

Pretty much either at the day job, or in bed, asleep. I need a time turner so I can do more things.



What did you do to celebrate the release of your first book?

We had a book launch party at a nice restaurant. No book sales – just friends and family. It was lovely.

What is the best thing about being a published author?

Hearing from readers. Every time somebody tweets or emails me, or finds me on Facebook to say, "Hey, I loved the book," it puts a big goofy grin on my face. I also love the opportunity to meet and engage with other writers.

What authors have been an influence to you? And have you read any books lately that you want to share with us or have you been too busy with writing to read?

My influences include Dickens, L'Engle, Lewis, Tolkien, Koontz, Kellerman, and Guy Gavriel Kay, among many others. As for reading – that's like breathing. I've been busy, but I always manage to squeeze in at least a few pages every day. Here's the short list of recent loves: Written in Red, by Anne Bishop. Both The Hum and the Shiver and A Wisp Of A Thing, by Alex Bledsoe. Claws of the Cat, by Susan Spann. The Thing About Weres, by Leigh Evans. Oh – and the Mindspace Investigations books by Alex Hughes.

Will there be any zombies or pigs in any of your future books?

You will be delighted to know that there are, indeed, zombies in Wakeworld. They were unintentional and I have suspicions that a certain pig slipped into my dreams and planted suggestions in my head.

I am innocent *whistles innocently*

And lastly: What has Random Penguin been up to lately?

Random Penguin spent some time recently studying to be a ninja penguin. I caught him looking at maps the other day, and I suspect he's contemplating some more travel. As for where – he's been a little secretive.

Thanks so much for inviting me! I had fun with the interview.

Thank you for dropping by!


Kerry kindly offered some bookmarks to one reader of my blog.

A winner for the bookmarks has been selected: Elodie

Open internationally to everyone who's legally allowed to enter this giveaway.

And don't forget to leave a comment:
I decided to have an event wide giveaway on my blog for commenters.
At the end of this event I'll pick one commenter on any author post of this event at random and that person will win a book of his/her choice as long as bookdepository ships to where you live, you're legally allowed to enter, and the book costs no more than 10$


About Between:
Vivian Maylor can't sleep. Maybe it's because she just broke up with her boyfriend and moved to a new town, or it could be the stress of her new job at the hospital. But perhaps it's because her dreams have started to bleed through into her waking hours.

All of her life Vivian has rejected her mother's insane ramblings about Dreamworlds for concrete science and fact, until an emergency room patient ranting about dragons spontaneously combusts before her eyes--forcing Viv to consider the idea that her visions of mythical beasts might be real.

And when a chance encounter leads her to a man she knows only from her dreams, Vivian finds herself falling into a world that seems strange and familiar all at once--a world where the line between dream and reality is hard to determine, and hard to control...