Coffee and Conversation with L.V. Pires

Hey folks! We’ve got an ABC event coming up this weekend! Author L.V. Pires will be presenting “Build Your World with Tips and Tricks” on Saturday, June 13th at the Broadneck Library in Annapolis, MD. Click on this link for more information and to register!

Today we are lucky to have L.V. Pires visit us here in the Cyber Café.

Lisa Veronica Pires is the author of several stories for young readers, including EXTENSION, THE PORTRAIT, and SUMMER OF WINGED CREATURES.  She is the recipient of the Eileen Spinelli Award and a graduate of Spalding University’s MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Now that you’re settled in, let’s get started. First off, what’s your favorite coffeehouse beverage?

Caffe Medici – that’s orange, chocolate, and espresso.

And your favorite snack?

I lived in England for a year and got hooked on Flapjacks.  The chocolate ones are the best.

Loving this chocolate theme! What was your favorite book as a child?

Witches by Roald Dahl

As a teen?

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews was one of my favorites.  It’s when I first realized I had an inclination towards the dark and disturbing.

And now, as an adult?

Essential Tales and Poems by Edgar Alan Poe.

 

What advice for beginning writers do you wish you would have followed?

I wish I had started my MFA program sooner.  I’m about to graduate from Spalding University’s MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.  The experience, practice, and guidance I received in this program gave me the confidence to write and publish.

What is your favorite writing how-to book, technique, or website that has helped you improve your craft or provided inspiration? 

The Art of Fiction.

Where’s your favorite place to work?

I tend to work best from my home.  Noise doesn’t bother me.  I can write through anything, but prefer silence if it’s available.

How were you inspired to write your current or upcoming release?

EXTENSION was inspired by a conversation with a friend about cryogenics and life after death.  We wondered what would happen if doctors figured out how to bring people back from death using cryogenics and cure the underlying cause of the person’s initial death.  Inspiration set in and a futuristic world and characters emerged.

What is your favorite line(s) from this book?

“Unmoved by the guard’s plea, Colby stepped forward and slid the rest of the man’s stumpy middle, inch by inch, into the shower, watching as each section of the man’s torso, neck, and head disappeared beneath the hot white lasers.”

If you followed the career path you chose for yourself in high school, what would you be doing for a living now?

I’d be a Foreign Service Officer, ideally living in an exotic location.

You’ve been locked in a bank vault Twilight Zone style, so you finally have time to read! Your glasses are fine, (whew,) so what’s the first book you crack open?  

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

If you could go back in time and make changes to any of your published books, would you?

No.  My published books are the result of hard work and effort, lots of late nights, and tough decisions.  They are a road map of sorts to my growth as a writer.

For one day, time travel is a reality and you have the opportunity to visit any famous deceased author you want. Who do you pick?

Edgar Allan Poe, of course!

You magically find a $100 bill in your box of cereal. In what frivolous way would you spend it?

Cool gothic photos on eBay.

What is your favorite quote?

“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague.  Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” – Edgar Allan Poe

If you could sum up your best advice for new writers in only four words, what would they be?

Don’t be scared. Write.

Okay, time for the lightning round—no more than four words per answer!

Do you . . .

Outline or wing it?  Wing it.

Talk about works-in-progress, or keep it zipped?  Talk, talk, talk.

Sell by proposal or completed draft?  Completed draft.

Prefer writing rough drafts or editing?  Rough drafts.

Dread marketing/blogging or love it?  Somewhat dread it.

Read Kindle or traditional books?  Traditional books.

And finally, what’s your favorite:

Time to work?  Early morning, late night.

Music to listen to while writing?  No music.

Writing tool?  Computer, brain, muse.

Pair of shoes?  Patent peep-toe pumps.

Guiltiest pleasure?  Traveling alone.

Line from a movie?  “I see dead people.”

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy writing and illustrating, friends. And don’t forget to register for L.V.’s ABC event this Saturday!