A Writer's Words - Interview with Jodi Meadows

I am really excited to welcome Jodi Meadows to the blog. Jodi kindly agreed to do an interview with me, and she's a wonderful author. I'll leave her official bio below, but Jodi has written the Newsoul trilogy. This series is incredible- I have a review of Incarnate posted here, but it is fantastic. I have never read such a uniquely designed world, and Ana is an incredibly protagonist. She has an amazing intrinsic strength despite opposition. This series is full of characters that are interesting to read about. With the release of the last book in the trilogy, Infinite, upon us, I've truly enjoyed participating in the readathon! There's currently a readathon of this series going on, which is how I've discovered and fallen in love with these books, so I would definitely suggest you pick them up! Also, the covers for this series are some of my favorites, so enjoy! The trilogy consists of three full length books and a novella, Phoenix Overture. 



Here's a little bit about Jodi from her website!

The official stuff:

Jodi Meadows lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut.

*A Kippy is a cat.

The unofficial stuff:

Like many writers, I’ve always wanted to do this professionally. You know, after I decided against being an astronaut.

Unlike many writers, I didn’t skip straight from picture books to adult novels. I have fond memories of going to Bookstop every month for the latest Baby-Sitters Club (which I kept reading, even after I realized they were never going to let the paranormal elements be real), and even fonder memories of hanging out in my middle school library. The librarians probably knew exactly what they were doing when they suggested book after book and discussed them with me at length. I, of course, had no clue they were turning me into a book addict, but it worked out for the best. Once I found the books where magic and other fantastic elements were real, I was hooked.

When I was twenty, I met a boy, moved 1,500 miles, and married him all within six months. I now realize that was crazy and dangerous, but it seemed natural at the time and, again, worked out for the best. Not only did we stay madly in love, he worked full time at a hard job so I could stay home to write books and, hopefully, one day get published.

The other crazy thing we did was fall in love with ferrets. They have their own bedroom.

My hobbies, aside from spending all my money on books and Kippy/ferret treats, revolve around yarn. I love crocheting, knitting, and spinning. In addition to several handspindles, I share my living room with a spinning wheel named Bob.

Visit Jodi Meadows's Website

And now, to the interview!

Hi! Thank you so much for taking the time to join us! Congratulations on Infinite's release! This is an incredible series, and reading along and the live shows have been such a great way to discover this world. 

              

Which character was the easiest, and which the most difficult to write?

Ana was probably both of those. Her voice came naturally to me, but emotionally she was often very difficult to write; she's been through so much abuse. Digging into her motivations, reactions, emotions, and fears was really sad. Fortunately, she's a very strong person and she began overcoming her past!

Did any of your characters develop differently than what you'd expected as the story progressed?

Absolutely. I didn't expect Cris to play such a large role in the story, but in the beginning of ASUNDER when he walked on, I knew that something was going to happen with him. 

How did writing the Incarnate series help you grow as an author?

It taught me a lot about writing what I love, and not worrying what other people might think about my story. It's my story first, and if I don't enjoy writing it, no one is going to enjoy reading it. Later, when I've revised it and had time to begin separating myself from the story -- then it can belong to other people, too. But first it has to be mine.

What does your writing process look like?

It's different with every book! There's a saying that goes something like, You don't learn to write books; you just learn to write this book.

That's really true for me, too. But with a lot of books lately, I do better if I plan ahead what's going to happen, what kind of things need to be revealed, and what the ending will be like. I don't need to know everything, and there is certainly room for surprises, but I need to have a solid roadmap before I start.

What inspired the idea of sylph?

The sylph just sort of appeared in the first chapter as I was daydreaming the beginning. I knew there had to be something in the woods that would frighten Ana and get her into trouble. It took a while before I figured out what they were, or even what to call them. (There are actual mythological creatures called sylph -- spirits of the air -- but there's so little lore on them, I felt comfortable making them my own.)

What is one aspect of your books you wish existed in our world?

Dragons! 

I suppose that's going to be an unpopular answer.

I know you mentioned your love of dragons in the last live show, are there any dragon characters you've read that are your particular favorites?

Oh gosh, yes, I love lots of fictional dragons. Smaug, of course (he's been on my mind), and the dragons from SERAPHINA by Rachel Hartman, and . . . I don't know. There are so many excellent dragons, and I'm blanking on names right now. *gulps coffee*

Congratulations on your new duology! The Orphan Queen releases in 2015, and while the synopsis sounds awesome, is there anything more you can tell us about the protagonist?

Yay, thanks! I'm super excited about this story. Umm, the protagonist. Well, she's really good with daggers. And with pens. She has an obsession with forgery and writing in other people's handwriting, so because of her, I ended up buying a lot of dip pens and ink to learn more about what she was doing. 

How has it felt to start a new series after Infinite?

Good! A little scary. There's always the worry that people won't like it as much as the INCARNATE trilogy, but . . . it's a good second series, I think. And I really hope people will like it. 

What are some of your favorite YA books you'd recommend?

I have a huge list of recommendations! But some I'm doing events with soon: 

EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton

DEFIANCE by CJ Redwine

HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire

THESE BROKEN STARS by Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman

I've seen quite a lot of ferret love from you on Twitter and you said you would dress as a ferret for the Incarnate masquerade. When did you get your ferrets?

I've had ferrets for a little over ten years now! I don't know. They just seemed like my kind of pets. 

Thank you to Jodi Meadows for stopping by. I real love reading this series, so I was so excited to be able to have an interview with you! 

Now, for everyone, I'm going to leave you with the summary and link to the first book. Hope you enjoyed this interview, and if you've read the Newsoul trilogy, I'd love to discuss it!

NEWSOUL
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.

NOSOUL
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.

Incarnate on Goodreads   

From the paper world,
V