Interview With Author Natasha Larry

Yesterday I posted my review of Natasha's "Darwin's Children"- a must read for any YA paranormal lover- and today Natasha was gracious enough to tell us a bit more about her writing and herself!

Describe "Darwin's Children" in five words or less.
Comic lore with a twist.

Where did your inspiration from "Darwin's Children" come from? 
I’d have to say that my greatest inspiration was my love of comic books. I’m a huge comic fan, even though I got into them so late in relation to most. I read my first graphic novel less than four years ago but, I have managed to cram a great deal of various different comics into those four years. Once I started, it was instant addiction. I drew a lot of my ideas from comics and then adapted and evolved them into Darwin’s Children. My other main source of inspiration was the people and events in my own life. A lot of my characters unintentionally took on the personalities of those closest to me.

Why did you decide to incorporate a plethora of different magical races in your book? 
Originally, it was never even considered. Those races just ‘popped’ into my writing on their own. Maybe I should elaborate a bit… I write in a certain way that my fiancé calls ‘absent authoring’. When I get in the zone, the words just appear on the page and then later, when I am revising, it’s almost like I’m reading it for the first time. I put a lot of thought and research into many of the main components but, from there, the characters wrote the story, I didn’t.  

Why did you decide to change up the "common vampire" in your book? 
I don’t really think I did. Its been done many times that vampires can exist in daylight, they just prefer night, etc. I tried to stay in the realm of ‘fringe lore’ when it came to the vampires and take it in a familiar but not overdone direction. 

How does it feel to have your book so well received by reviewers (ie. on Amazon, Goodreads, etc.) and book lovers in general? 
It’s a real honor and a bit of a relief, really. I mean, I know that I love it, but to see others’ reactions to it, it feels amazing. I was very concerned that I may not have taken enough care to remain as original as possible and mostly, I was worried that there may not be as much action as expected from this genre. I could’ve added more fight scenes, but I felt that this story needed to be character driven and I stayed true to that feeling.  

Do you intend to make a series out of "Darwin's Children"? If so, can you give us some glimpse of what we can expect in the next book? 
Absolutely. The first novel is currently under adaptation into a graphic novel, the second novel, Blood Magic (working title), is currently being edited and revised by my publisher. The third is almost ready for editing as well. I definitely have long-term plans for the Lerner Clan. Expect to see a lot from them. Here’s an excerpt (unofficial, of course) from Blood Magic.

*****

Haylee Mitchell knew that their unnatural and extraordinarily powerful enemies surrounded them on all sides. She also knew that those enemies held weapons soaked in their own blood aimed right at them.

Haylee sat with her best friend and watched the four most powerful supernatural beings in the world approach Mason Lerner and John Gramm. She could see Lucy’s face in the glow of a dull street lamp and her delicate fairy features were savage and unforgiving.

I guess being attacked by a bunch of dead guys didn’t help our case, Haylee thought to herself bitterly.

“What is Allison Young’s decision?” a male voice boomed suddenly.

Haylee stopped listening now. She knew that Allison was somewhere hidden from their view, fighting with every inch of her strength to protect him. All of this because of love. To defend a relationship that threatened to halt evolution in it’s tracks.

Haylee picked back up on the conversation in time to hear Mason tell Landon of the inner circle that she was on her way. She knew that he was stalling now in the vain hope that this would not come to a fight.

Haylee began to think of all the supernatural creatures that could kill her. A vampire or even a vampire slayer, and became angered by the fact that a fairy might end her life tonight.

She could feel the fire from Jaycie Lerner, itching to break lose. Hopefully her father could get through and make them all see the truth.

It was a vain hope.

Suddenly the scene in Big Spring Park changed right before Haylee’s eyes. Allison was loose. The Second Tier screamed for her blood. Chaos erupted all around them, and Haylee couldn’t focus her eyes on any one thing. 

Her family was surrounded by anarchy. They might be dying. The last image Haylee saw before that final flash of red was Lucy grabbing Jaycie Lerner by the neck. No one got there fast enough and the being created to protect her was going to snap her neck. 

*****

Who are your favourite book characters (from both characters you have written and that other authors have written)? 
I’m going to have to stick to my heart with this one. My favorite book characters are Batman and Wolverine. There’s something to be said of the tortured, reluctant hero. And by Batman: I do NOT mean the campy Adam West Batman or the unimpressive Michael Keaton Batman. I mean the gritty, miserable, haunted Batman of the comics.  

What are you reading right now? 
I haven’t really had much time for reading but I did recently enjoy The Dome by Nova Sparks.

What do you do when you are not writing? 
I have a 3-year-old, so I spend a lot of time with Dora and Boots, but for fun, I like to read my comics, I’m a history nerd, and I enjoy playing XBOX with my fiancé.

Any words of wisdom for aspiring authors? 
I still consider myself an aspiring author. My best advice would be to take rejection with a grain of salt and take constructive criticism as help and listen to it. Also, networking with other writers and getting tips from them is crucial.

Special thanks to Natasha for stopping by the blog today and special thanks to Book Lovin' Bitches!