Please welcome today’s guest author Christina Ow and make her feel welcome by leaving questions and comments for her in the comments section following this post. I’ve kicked things off with some interview questions which Christina has graciously answered. However, I’m sure there are questions I didn’t ask. If there’s something you’d like to know or a topic you’d like to discuss with Christina please post your questions and comments in the comments section.
My Interview With Christina Ow:
Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself – when did you first know you wanted to write – what was your journey to publication like – do you have a spouse or significant other – kids? Pets? Where in the world do you live? Where did you grow up? What real life events and experiences fuel your writing?
My name is Rinah Lidonde. I am a full time student (studying International studies and Communication and Media studies) and a part time author. I love reading novels that take me on a ride of wild emotions. Writing was never a career path for me it was just a release as fashion design is my true passion, and now writing has become a vital part of me and my family as my twin sister is also a writer.
I’ve always loved to write but I used to write poems in high school. I love novels and I was fascinated by how my favorite authors could put a story down vividly and with great description and I also wanted to do that.
Getting the first book I wrote published was difficult. One year later and over twenty rejections my second book Star Bright was published by 5 Prince Publishing. The rejections were disheartening and I gave up a few times but one day my editor’s twitter update popped up on my account and I thought ‘why the hell not?’ I submitted it to her and she loved it. Now, I use the rejections as motivation.
Not everyone will love or believe your work, but there’s that one person that will.
I’m a single girl and I live in South Africa for my studies but grew up in Kenya, my home country.
Abuse, relationships love, people fuel my writing. Star Bright is based on domestic abuse and how a woman should fight for her safety, her life and her right to live a happy, full, fear free life. Fatal Jealousy was more about sibling rivalry, love affairs gone horribly wrong- things you watch on real life crime TV
Q: To tell or not to tell – do you tell people what you write? Do your close friends and family members read your books? What have some of their reactions been?
I don’t tell anyone what I writing and really hate it when they try to read it before it’s done. It throws me off because I’d be worrying if the ending would what or as good as what their mind is creating.
My family is like congratulations. My sisters are very encouraging and excited for me but my mom takes the cake! My mom is so supportive. She’s more excited than I am! Once the book cover was out, she sent it to everyone who’s ever sent her an email.
That’s why I use her name as my author’s name. She’s done everything she humanly could to help me become the person I am and do everything I set my mind to. She deserves all the credit.
Q: What really makes you tick as a writer? What drives you? What inspires you?
I just want to put a good story out there. Hopefully inspire people as well as entertain them.
Q: Please tell us a bit about Your Book.
Fatal Jealousy
When you’re worst nightmare comes true….
Twins Ellsa and Ellie are completely different in character, personality, taste and interests. Apart from the striking resemblance to each other, they share the one thing siblings shouldn’t…. the same taste in men.
They keep falling for the same man, creating a quiet rivalry between them. Determined not to let a man come between them ever again, Ellie and Ellsa agree to stay away from each others relationships. But when they meet Dale Carson, an FBI agent and a bachelor, their love lives are turned upside down.
But they aren’t the only ones taken by the rogue. His partner and long time lover, Gwen Johansson, also called dibs.
Carson is interested in only one of them. He is pulled by Ellie’s passion for love and art, and most importantly, him. What starts as a sexual chase, ends with his permanent retirement from bachelorhood.
But their love story is not a smooth one.
Carson’s day job comes knocking on his front door and before he knows it, his whole world is ripped apart.
Out of all the possible suspects, Ellie has the most evidence stacked up against her. She is implicated in the brutal murders of her ex-boyfriends, and Carson is faced with the horror of arresting the love of his life. With two suspects of his own, he is convinced she is being set up, but he has no way of proving it.
Case Title: Woman Scorned
Q: Please tell us a bit about the idea behind Your Book. What inspired the story? What part of the story did you get first? How did it build on itself till you had the complete story? What was it about this story versus other ideas that compelled you to write it?
Lol! I’m not quite sure. Sibling rivalry on a higher scale I think?
PS. I’m a twin and we are nothing like Ellie and Ellsa, well the jealousy part. Her type of guy is Kellan Lutz and mine, Shemar Moore.
Q: Please tell us about the process you use to take an idea from idea to complete novel.
First I think about the story. I play out the beginning and if it makes sense I try to figure out the middle part, the core stories and how many characters I’d need to tell it. Once that makes sense I move to the climax, playing out different situations with different characters until I get to the one that either makes me really comfortable or really uncomfortable but still works. Then I think about the ending. I hate writing sad endings but I also don’t want to write fairy tale endings, unless the story was a nightmare for the characters.
Then I spend days playing it over and over again in my head from start to finish. If I end up really loving the story I write it down in a summary. I don’t always stick to it because the characters end up taking a life of their own but it acts like a guide. I put a writing playlist together and I’d try to get songs that are close to the context of the story I want to write. After a few weeks of further contemplation I start writing.
Q: What internal conflicts or character weaknesses did your characters have to overcome in order to reach their happily ever after ending?
Ellie Jabari had to overcome her hate for cops which made her relationship with Dale very difficult. You have to read the book to see what forced her to change her decision. Also she had to, what most would consider a naïve trait, stop being blind to her sister’s vices and learn to trust others.
Q: What do you envy about the characters in your book(s)?
True love. I won’t say more than that, you’ll just have to read the book and see what I mean.
Q: Please describe your book in five words that are not in your blurb.
Intense, Realistic, inspiring, suspense, romantic
Q: What aspect of writing do you find the most difficult?
Writing sad scenes. I hate killing characters, but for the book, Love Forever After, to have some deep emotions and for the other character to grow, it had t be done.
For Star Bright it was writing Maria’s abuse. But I wanted the readers to say her happily ever after was long over due. That they were happy for her and her new life and the new strong person she’d become.
But for Fatal Jealousy it was more difficult because the scene was between the sisters and been a twin like Ellsa and Ellie it feels like the greatest betrayal
Q: What advice, resources, or useful information can you offer aspiring authors who might be reading this interview?
When it comes to getting reviews, try- as difficult as it may be- it take constructive criticism with an open mind and use it to make your other work better. You will encounter haters, that’s a given. With such people, don’t play into their spiteful nature. The only reason they write unconstructive nasty things about your work is to discourage and annoy you. Shake it off and keep doing what you love.
Work doesn’t stop with writing the last word to your novel. Writing the book was the hard part- there is nothing easy about writing- but the testing part is marketing it and getting it to as many readers as possible.
It’s worth the struggle when you invite others to your imagination and they love living there as much as you do.
Please Answer These Questions As A Reader:
As a reader I am always curious about the reading habits of the authors I enjoy, so I have a few questions about your reading habits.
Q: As an author, where do you learn about books you might want to read? Do you research the books in depth before you buy them, read an excerpt or do you buy without a great deal of research?
Yes. I like reads that inspire emotion in me and when I end up with books that don’t, it’s a little annoying. That’s why I look at the excerpts, blurbs, reviews- good and bad. It’s also the reason I encourage my readers to write honest reviews for my books.
Q: When you are learning about a book what five words are most likely to get you to buy the book?
Romance, suspense, Regency, sacrifice, thriller
Now for some just for fun:
Q: On Twitter are you A.) The life of the party engaging with my friends and followers B.) Mostly a promoter – I use Twitter primarily to promote my books C.) Mostly a lurker. I follow a lot of people looking for useful information – some of which finds its way into my books.
Lol! I’d say B and C. Research is the greatest way to make your books more authentic and also Twitter is the best way to promote books by gaining followers who do help.
Q: What’s your favorite holiday and why?
I love to got to Mombasa( in Kenya) it’s very hot but wonderful. The best part is we all go as a family so that makes it even more fun,
Q: What was the last book you read that you really loved – enough that you’d recommend it to someone else?
Stephanie Rowe’s Order of the Blade. It’s the best series I’ve read so far.
Q: What’s your favorite place to read? Do you have a favorite food or beverage you like to eat or drink while reading?
Chocolates, I love chocolate!
Q: Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Internal extrovert
Q: Describe your ideal romantic getaway?
I’d like to go to Venice and just spend time on the river , spending all our time in the yatch.
Q: If you were to be stranded on a desert island with one of your characters which character and why?
Dale Carson
Q: When you’re not writing what other hobbies or interests do you engage in?
I’m a fashion designer. Why? I wouldn’t be able to tell you. It’s just apart of me, like a limb.
Star Bright
A haunting mistake that brought them all together…
Maria’s fear and hate for men is solidified by Ricky’s abuse and his obsession to kill her. In an effort to save her son, she runs away and crosses paths with Dave, a man going through his own tribulations with his wife. He is determined to protect her, show her that not all men are evil and that true love exists. And he in turn, finds a woman worthy to be a mother to his daughter.
Maria finally finds peace in her new roles as a mother, a wife and a home maker but that dream is short lived when a ghost from her past threatens to take it all away from her in the most brutal and torturous way.
But Maria isn’t alone anymore, her father finally shows up to do what he was supposed to five years ago. Protect his daughter.
Fatal Jealousy
When you’re worst nightmare comes true….
Twins Ellsa and Ellie are completely different in character, personality, taste and interests. Apart from the striking resemblance to each other, they share the one thing siblings shouldn’t…. the same taste in men.
They keep falling for the same man, creating a quiet rivalry between them. Determined not to let a man come between them ever again, Ellie and Ellsa agree to stay away from each others relationships. But when they meet Dale Carson, an FBI agent and a bachelor, their love lives are turned upside down.
But they aren’t the only ones taken by the rogue. His partner and long time lover, Gwen Johansson, also called dibs.
Carson is interested in only one of them. He is pulled by Ellie’s passion for love and art, and most importantly, him. What starts as a sexual chase, ends with his permanent retirement from bachelorhood.
But their love story is not a smooth one.
Carson’s day job comes knocking on his front door and before he knows it, his whole world is ripped apart.
Out of all the possible suspects, Ellie has the most evidence stacked up against her. She is implicated in the brutal murders of her ex-boyfriends, and Carson is faced with the horror of arresting the love of his life. With two suspects of his own, he is convinced she is being set up, but he has no way of proving it.
Case Title: Woman Scorned
Buy Links for Star Bright
Buy Links for Fatal Jealousy
Contact Author
Facebook- Christina OW
Twitter- @Christina_OW
I LOVE the cover of Star Bright. How much input did you have on the cover art? It’s a lovely cover.
Thanks Laurie.
I had most of the input. I gave a very detailed description to the 5 Prince Publishing artist Viola Estrella, of what i want wherre I want it and viola!
I’m glad you enjoyed the interview Mary.
Very interesting interview.
Thank you for the introduction to a new author – for me. I enjoyed the interview.