Author Interview: Jodi Meadows

Incarnate
Newsoul #1

Synopsis: New soul
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.
No soul
Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?
Heart
Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?
Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Read my review HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jodi Meadows Interview

1. Where did you get the idea of Incarnate?

I took it from a vault in the underworld. In order to get the key, I had to offer a kitten's soul, fairy blood, and a butterfly's wings. Then I was able to access the vault, which was shaped sort of like a book, if books had teeth. That's where I get all my ideas now.

2. How long did it take you to write?  What obstacles did you overcome?

I had the idea three years before I started writing, and I did intense planning for about a month. By then, I was really ready to get the story out. The first draft of INCARNATE took about two months to write. The obstacles were considerable. A few times, I had to wake up before dawn!

3. What were your expectations of the publishing of your book?

I didn't have any expectations. I'd been trying for years to get published, but with no results. By the time I wrote INCARNATE, I had no expectations. I just wanted to write something I loved.

4. What made you decide to write a book?  What made you decide to write about reincarnation?

I've wanted to write books since I was in 7th grade and realized writing was a job for some people. An actual career choice.

As for why reincarnation? I have lots of story ideas. The reincarnation one was the one that people decided to accept.

5. How did you come up with your characters?  Who can you relate to the most and why?

My characters appear fully formed in my head. Based on the world they live in, I knew they would have to be certain ways -- like Ana would have to be isolated and defensive -- but the character development process is still kind of mysterious for me. They just arrive with all their baggage and it's my job to get to know them.

I tend to relate to Ana's feelings of insecurity, that constant need to catch up, and the desire to be better at the things I love.

6. What's next for you?

Probably another cup of tea. Maybe a cookie. Man, I love cookies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~