I Interview Myself About MAESTRA RISING

It’s Monday, both on the blog and out in the world and summer is scheduled to arrive here. I will believe it when the temps rise above the 40’s. Yes, I have trust issues with Mother Nature this year. She sure didn’t show up for the Summer Solstice. (Hello, note that it is SUMMER Solstice and not winter.)

I am trying not to feel blue that the #GrandmaProject is winding down (for now). The Grandkid Zone was a huge success. They loved the bunkbed (they called it the bonkbed for a few days lol), and they dug into the toys with enthusiasm. It was fun to see them playing with stuff their dad and their aunts had played with. #Happysigh

Understandably, my brain is a little unfocused on books. So of course, I thought I’d interview myself about Maestra Rising. It’s kind of a goofy tradition of mine that I started way back when no one wanted to interview me about anything.

So, if you’re new to the blog, I released the eighth book in my Project Enterprise series this month to a little fanfare. (Lol) News and radio totally missed this important event, but I am forgiving. And a hermit.

There was some fanfare here on Veronica Scott’s blog and over on N.N. Light’s Book Haven (in case you missed them). I also received a great review from Whiskey with My Book. But yeah, no parade or anything. (Grin)

So, you’re probably wondering where and when the interview will start and how that will go. It pretty much goes like this:

Me: So, the eighth book in a single series. How does that feel?

Myself: It feels pretty good. As you know, we decided to end Project Enterprise with five books, but the fans didn’t like that, so we rebooted it with Found Girl a couple of years ago.

Me: And you created a problem for yourself by doing that?

Myself: (sigh) Why yes WE did. I shifted the action to a new galaxy and then got some people lost. In, er, space (you can see Veronica Scott’s blog for more detail on that). We tried hard to deal with that in Lost Valyr, but too many things happened, so I was determined to bring them home in this book.

Me: Whenever you get determined, we—and your characters—endure a major hosing.

Myself: Is that a question?

Me: We’ll move on from that. Ahem. So, this book that was supposed to be sixty thousand words ended up how long?

Myself: (mumbles) It might be over one hundred thousand.

Me: Might?

Myself: Okay, so it is a BAB. But it is a lesser BAB.

Me: It is true you have three books longer than this one. What else makes us happy about this book?

Myself: The Easter eggs. I hope that the book is readable for anyone new to the series, but if you’ve stuck with me through seven books, I think—hope—there are some moments in there for some faithful reader delight. And there are some song Easter eggs in there, too.

Me: What do you hope readers will also find if they read this book?

Myself: I always hope readers find what I look for in a book: action, adventure, romance, and some chuckles. If you love this in your reading, then I think you’ll love Maestra Rising.

Me: You sound like you’re done.

Myself: Stick a fork in me.

Me: I don’t think so.

Myself: Fine. Yes, I’m done. Possibly overdone.

Me: (looks away whistling—okay, trying to whistle).

Thank you for reading this far. You obviously have fortitude and persistence!

Perilously yours,

Pauline