Interview with Sarah Gilman - Wings of Redemption Blog Tour - January 4, 2013

Please welcome Sarah Gilman to The Qwillery.  Wings of Redemption, a Return to Sanctuary novella, was published in December 2012.

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery!

Sarah:  Thanks so much for hosting today!


TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Sarah:  I wish I had a really interesting writing quirk, but I don’t. I just type, pace around the house, type, pace, type, pace. I have gotten into the habit of baking bread while brainstorming! It’s amazing how many ideas you have when you’re up to your elbows in flour!


TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Sarah:  Pantser, for sure! I always go into a story with the character’s goals, motivations, and conflicts in mind, but for me, nothing will stop productivity faster than attempting to write an outline. For Entangled books, I submit a synopsis before I write the manuscript, but that’s still a far cry from an outline.


TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Sarah:  I struggle with light sensitivity and I can’t spend as much time in front of the computer as I’d like. I go as far as turning the screen light down and turning Microsoft Word pages gray or brown. I wish I could write on an “e-ink” screen.


TQ:  Describe Wings of Redemption in 140 characters or less. /like a Tweet/

Sarah:  Wings of Redemption is a story about two enemies redeeming themselves and finding a Happily Ever After with each other.


TQ:  What inspired you to write Wings of Redemption?

Sarah:  These characters grew organically from the existing series that revolves around fallen archangels and poachers. As a reader, I’m a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers romances and have wanted to write this sort of plotline from the get-go.


TQ:  Tell us something about Wings of Redemption that is not in the book description.

Sarah:  Kestrel, the archangel hero, has wings based on the American Kestrel: blue, black, and copper feathers.


TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Wings of Redemption?

Sarah:  Most of my writing comes entirely from my imagination, but for this novella I did have some fact-checking to do. I knew the history and the language of Quebec going in, but I don’t live there and I needed to make sure everything I “knew” was correct.

As a French Canadian on my mother’s side of the family (a common heritage in Vermont), I knew that in Quebec, where this story is set, the culture has gone through some interesting changes in regards to religion. The mention of the Quiet Revolution in the book is based on fact—Catholicism lost some ground in Quebec in the last century. This is why French Canadian profanity—used in the book by the heroine—is based on religious words, as opposed to English and “French French,” which rely heavily on sexual words for vulgar language. In Quebec French, profane words literally translate to “chalice,” “host,” “baptism,” “ciborium,”etc.

I put a demon colony in Quebec in the first place because of this history and culture. The human perception of fallen angels and demons being evil—a religious viewpoint that would persist, I think, even if these creatures showed up in flesh and blood and had no idea what we were talking about--plays a crucial role in the world, so I wanted an open door to explore how relations between these beings and humans would differ in Quebec. I plan to develop this much more in future books.


TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? Hardest and why?

Sarah:  Kestrel, the hero, was the easiest character to write. When I’m dealing with a paranormal character, my imagination takes over and I usually have too many ideas. With human characters, the heroine in this case, I battle having too few ideas. I’m honestly not sure why that is. I suppose it’s partially because I want to write fantasy, not things that could really happen. Bank robbery? Boring. A dragon destroying a bank? Now that’s interesting!


TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Wings of Redemption?

Sarah:  When Kestrel shows Saffron a view of the demon the colony on their first flight together!


TQ:  What's next?

Sarah:  The first full-length novel in the Return to Sanctuary series, Out in Blue, is being re-released later this month in mass-market paperback! This new edition has some minor content changes and a brand-new cover!


TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Sarah:  Thank you so much!




About Wings of Redemption

Wings of Redemption
Return to Sanctuary Novella
Entangled Ever After. December 2012
eNovella, 109 pages

Enemies by birth, lovers by choice...

Humans and archangels don’t mix on the best occasions. When Saffron Morin goes to the gates of the demon colony, Eden, in search of her sister, she meets an archangel who is curious one minute and hostile the next, and she ends up the colony’s “guest” against her will.

Kestrel’s archangel psychic talent tells him the human woman’s life is in danger. Despite her family’s association with poachers who hunt archangels for their valuable feathers, he vows to save her life. Enemies by birth, lovers by choice, they give in to growing attraction as days pass.

Even if he succeeds in saving her life, he must hurt her to protect others of his kind, and he may not be able to live with himself after a betrayal he has no choice but to commit. In order to find redemption, the Collector’s daughter and an archangel must first find each other.

Goodreads : Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Kobo

About Sarah

Gilman started her first novel in third grade. She never finished that story, but never gave up the dream. Her fascination with wings also began at that age, when images of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis captured her imagination and never let go. Now a paranormal romance writer, she employs her love of writing to bring the allure of winged creatures to the pages of her novels. Sarah lives in Vermont with her supportive husband and two spoiled cats.



Website : Twitter: @Gilman_Sarah : Blog : Goodreads










The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a digital copy of Wings of Redemption from Entangled Publishing.

How:   Answer The Qwillery's Question:  

Angels or Demons?

Please remember - if you don't answer the questions your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

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There are a total of 3 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry) and Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry).  This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

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Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Friday, January 9, 2013. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*