Shawn Maravel's Blog - Posts Tagged "interview"
A Short Q&A About Know Thy Neighbor
Know Thy Neighbor is an interesting title, where did you come up with it and what does it symbolize for you?
Originally I was going to title the book "To Know Your Neighbors". This title was essentially a compounded question, "What does it really mean to know your neighbors?". Given the mysterious nature of Evangeline's neighbor John Smith, I wanted to focus on that aspect of the story when coming up with a title. Neighbors, unless they become friends over time, are often these people we know merely by what we observe and overhear. In time we grow to think that we "know our neighbors" pretty well. The fact, however, remains that we really know very little about them. Evangeline has a growing curiosity about her own neighbors, one in particular. And for good reason.
Of course, after running the title by readers and my husband, we collectively decided to compound the title that much more and came up with Know Thy Neighbor. Same basic idea, a lot less to remember. ;)
This book is the last one you will be publishing before becoming a first-time mom. Do you think your writing will focus more on a younger audience once you've had your son or do you plan to stick with the same type of writing style for a while?
I love the idea of writing stories that our son and other future children will be able to read when they're younger but it's not something I've fully considered just yet. I have an almost nine-year-old little sister as well as a three-year-old little sister, so I've already run the idea of writing for a younger readership through my mind. The problem with that is it's not something I'm familiar with, so until I have a solid story idea and know how I would approach it, I think it's best to hold off.
I also happen to really enjoy writing New Adult books. I am in love with love stories whether they're hot and heavy or sweet and realistic. I hope to pick up a few stories that have been on the back burner and see if I can't finish those first. Then I'll look into maybe writing something for a younger audience but it's not something I'm dead-set on just yet.
Know Thy Neighbor was a back burner story was it not? What kind of pressure is there for you to complete a story you've already invested so much into and how do you go about picking it back up?
Yes, it was. The pressure is unbelievable. I would argue that for every story I've published there are two that I haven't. Having an idea and starting to write it down is only the first step. I go into every novel I start knowing full-well that I may never actually finish it. Sometimes the idea fades, or the inspiration fades. I generally start writing my stories knowing little to nothing about how I plan on ending it. This may sound crazy or unorthodox but it's how I work. I like the idea of letting a story and its characters dictate the remainder of the story once I get things going.
It's hard investing so much time into these novels that I may never actually finish because I really do love each and every idea, the problem is, it's not as simple as just having an idea. It's all about the follow-through. I have novels for both my Volition series and the Rider series on the back burner as well as another stand-alone novel. Like I said, it's my goal, before adding any more books to my bag of tricks, to try and finish one or all of those first.
Picking up Know Thy Neighbors roughly a year after starting it and actually completing it this time was a near-physical relief. I really enjoyed the characters and the story and I'd put so much into it that I was really disappointed when I stepped away from the story for the second and third time. It all comes down to finding that spot that holds you up and pushing past it.
What do you think readers will enjoy from this story that you feel differs from your first four novels?
As the author, I feel that Know Thy Neighbor is drastically different than my previous novels, though I'd have to hear it from my readers to know that this is in fact true. The pace is very quick and Evangeline has a personality all her own. My favorite thing about writing is creating characters and I feel that I have created very different and real characters that my readers will be able to enjoy. The theme and the plot are also vastly different. While I think that the book would be hugely popular with my male readership, I also think that my female readership will enjoy it just as much. There aren't any paranormal elements like my Volition series or motorcycles like my Rider series but to its core this book is just really a stand-alone and stand-out novel among my novels, it's hard to say as to why...but it just is. haha.
Originally I was going to title the book "To Know Your Neighbors". This title was essentially a compounded question, "What does it really mean to know your neighbors?". Given the mysterious nature of Evangeline's neighbor John Smith, I wanted to focus on that aspect of the story when coming up with a title. Neighbors, unless they become friends over time, are often these people we know merely by what we observe and overhear. In time we grow to think that we "know our neighbors" pretty well. The fact, however, remains that we really know very little about them. Evangeline has a growing curiosity about her own neighbors, one in particular. And for good reason.
Of course, after running the title by readers and my husband, we collectively decided to compound the title that much more and came up with Know Thy Neighbor. Same basic idea, a lot less to remember. ;)
This book is the last one you will be publishing before becoming a first-time mom. Do you think your writing will focus more on a younger audience once you've had your son or do you plan to stick with the same type of writing style for a while?
I love the idea of writing stories that our son and other future children will be able to read when they're younger but it's not something I've fully considered just yet. I have an almost nine-year-old little sister as well as a three-year-old little sister, so I've already run the idea of writing for a younger readership through my mind. The problem with that is it's not something I'm familiar with, so until I have a solid story idea and know how I would approach it, I think it's best to hold off.
I also happen to really enjoy writing New Adult books. I am in love with love stories whether they're hot and heavy or sweet and realistic. I hope to pick up a few stories that have been on the back burner and see if I can't finish those first. Then I'll look into maybe writing something for a younger audience but it's not something I'm dead-set on just yet.
Know Thy Neighbor was a back burner story was it not? What kind of pressure is there for you to complete a story you've already invested so much into and how do you go about picking it back up?
Yes, it was. The pressure is unbelievable. I would argue that for every story I've published there are two that I haven't. Having an idea and starting to write it down is only the first step. I go into every novel I start knowing full-well that I may never actually finish it. Sometimes the idea fades, or the inspiration fades. I generally start writing my stories knowing little to nothing about how I plan on ending it. This may sound crazy or unorthodox but it's how I work. I like the idea of letting a story and its characters dictate the remainder of the story once I get things going.
It's hard investing so much time into these novels that I may never actually finish because I really do love each and every idea, the problem is, it's not as simple as just having an idea. It's all about the follow-through. I have novels for both my Volition series and the Rider series on the back burner as well as another stand-alone novel. Like I said, it's my goal, before adding any more books to my bag of tricks, to try and finish one or all of those first.
Picking up Know Thy Neighbors roughly a year after starting it and actually completing it this time was a near-physical relief. I really enjoyed the characters and the story and I'd put so much into it that I was really disappointed when I stepped away from the story for the second and third time. It all comes down to finding that spot that holds you up and pushing past it.
What do you think readers will enjoy from this story that you feel differs from your first four novels?
As the author, I feel that Know Thy Neighbor is drastically different than my previous novels, though I'd have to hear it from my readers to know that this is in fact true. The pace is very quick and Evangeline has a personality all her own. My favorite thing about writing is creating characters and I feel that I have created very different and real characters that my readers will be able to enjoy. The theme and the plot are also vastly different. While I think that the book would be hugely popular with my male readership, I also think that my female readership will enjoy it just as much. There aren't any paranormal elements like my Volition series or motorcycles like my Rider series but to its core this book is just really a stand-alone and stand-out novel among my novels, it's hard to say as to why...but it just is. haha.
