Make-Believe Monday with Sandra Sookoo

Today my guest is Sandra Sookoo.

Sandra, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Sandra: The book I’m currently writing is the third in a trilogy. It’s a blend of paranormal and fantasy, with a bit of historical thrown in. The heroine (Mona) was the secondary character in the previous book and the hero (Braeden) was one of the villains in that book. It’ll be interesting for me to discover how these two will work together and how they’ll both redeem themselves.

Debra: Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Sandra: Oh absolutely! That’s part of the fun of being a writer. In THE ART OF FANG SHUI (the first book in the trilogy I spoke of) I created a world based around eight “realms”. Of course, once I created the world, I needed to populate it with different beings. It’s important in world building to remember to create a history and mythology that you’ll remember throughout every book in that series. This way, it’ll be more believable and comfortable for the reader.

Debra: That title tickles me, it's playful and fun and makes me want to read the book! And if you've had fun writing it, that usually plays through into fun for the reader as well.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Sandra: Occasionally I’ll dream about my characters and scenes. More often than not, the next scene or bit of dialogue will come while I’m doing ordinary things like the dishes or making supper. Sometimes, I’ve woken up in the middle of the night knowing exactly what went wrong in a scene and how to fix it. Sometimes I’ll write it down. Other times I’m just too tired to reboot the computer LOL It’s funny how dreams work. I can go to bed hoping I’ll dream out the next sequence in a book. It doesn’t always work that way.

Debra: There is something about doing the dishes, or ironing or taking a shower that gets the creativity flowing, isn't there? That middle of the night waking can be problematic if we can't catch it down on paper somehow. So frustrating when it slips away. Dream journals help but not every time.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Sandra: I really loved Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read those 8 books and everything else she’s written. I spent every bit of my free time growing up at the library, reading there all afternoon then finally checking out 10 books or so to go home and read more. Getting lost in books was the only escape from those not quite so idyllic days. Eventually, I moved on to fantasy stories about wizards and elves, mostly by Terry Brooks. That’s probably what sparked my love of things not quite human.

Debra: Ah yes, Anne was one of my favorites too. It's only recently that I started reading fantasy so I have plenty of catching up to do! Haven't tried Terry Brooks yet but he's on the list. :-)

Sondra, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Readers may visit Sandra at:
www.sandrasookoo.com
Paranormal Romantics blog
Believing is Seeing blog
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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

Last weekend I traveled to Hot Springs, AR with my husband to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. We stayed in the historic Arlington Hotel and Spa. I'll be blogging about the trip this Friday, March 5th on Lucy Monroe's blog.

Today I was interviewed on the Damsels At The Gate blog.

I've been updating the calendar on my website with book signings and conferences for 2010. Also added a list of authors who have been mentors for me on the links page. Will be adding more things this week as well.
www.debraparmley.com

I'm almost done with the revisions for the contemporary romance and will be submitting to agents before the end of March.

Love and light,
Debra