WATCH OUT: Julia Knight
SC: I want to welcome you all to another edition of Watch Out. This week I’m pleased to bring you author Julia Knight.
Welcome to Watch Out, Julia, it is so great to have you here.

JK: Thanks for having me.

SC: For the readers out there who might not know about you or your work, can you please tell them a little about yourself.

JK: I’m a British author of (mostly) fantasy with a strong leaning towards romance. I love action, excitement, adventure and a hero to fall for.

SC: Can you tell us a little about your current release?

JK: Ten Ruby Trick is a fantasy adventure with a strong romantic bent. Plus it has pirates. 😀

Here’s the cover copy

Privateer Van Gast thrills in capturing treasure; delights in pulling off elaborate scams; and has an outrageous reputation with the ladies. But there is only one woman for him: fellow privateer Josie—seductive, brave and unpredictable. He’s hoping to make their relationship permanent, until he raids the wrong ship. Now slavers are stalking him, his crew is verging on mutiny and Josie has disappeared.

When she reappears with a new mark wanting Van Gast’s help running the ten ruby trick con, he senses trouble. It seems like Josie has joined up with mage-bound slavers to turn him over to their Master. Van Gast is about to take the biggest risk of all—and find out the true meaning of trust and betrayal.

SC: What influences the topics, and genre’s that you pick to write a story in?

JK: To be honest, I’m always surprised that I’m writing romance! I never set out to, but all my characters nudge me to say ‘Hey, I fancy the pants off of them, what are you going to do about it?’ lol. As for topics, they come from all over the place. Films, random conversation, places—the last manuscript I finished was influenced by my editor saying that my writing style might suit an historical. Two days later I was in the Norwegian fjords and a Viking just popped into my head to tell me his story.

SC: One thing readers might be surprised to know about you?

JK: I usually say that I’m bipolar, but my husband says me being an official loon surprised no one! So I’ll say that I’m a biker chick, leather jacket and all. Though my bipolar means I can’t ride any more – my particular diagnosis invalidates my insurance, sadly.

SC: Your favourite part about being an author?

JK: Immersing myself in a world and getting to know my characters. It keeps me off the streets and out of trouble.

SC: What are you currently reading?

JK: One Hundred Years of Solitude.

SC: Currently listening to?

JK: Metallica. It usually is.

SC: EBooks or paperback?

JK: Both! Ebooks for the value and the sheer amount of books I can get through, paperback for my keepers. Although ebook purchases are easier to hide—I have to hide books from my husband like some women hide dresses!

SC: One thing you have achieved as an author so far that you are very proud of?

JK: Making my editor cry. That may sound a bit odd, but I was proud of the fact she loved a character so much that events in the story made her cry. Not just her either, if my emails are anything to go by. I love provoking an emotional reaction. For me, that’s what writing is all about—how you make the reader feel. Knowing that you’ve done that is a great feeling.

SC: What is your cure for writers block?

JK: Write it anyway. Even if it’s a load of tosh, the act of writing unblocks it all and then I can get on with the real story.

SC: Describe your books in 3 words.

JK: Dark, nuanced, complicated (I totally borrowed this from a review of Ten Ruby Trick. :D)

SC: Procrastination happens to the best of us…What is your guilty pleasure when you procrastinate?

JK: I play a lot of World of Warcraft. Too much probably. I try to be strict and only play when I’ve got my words in for the day. Some days that’s easier than others.

SC: What do you think sets your stories apart from other authors?

JK: Ooh, I’m not sure. Anything I say sounds like I’m saying other authors don’t! I think I’d like to say my characters, and that my romance doesn’t usually follow the normal path.

SC: Is there anything you’re currently working on that you can give us a taste of?

JK: I’m currently working on the follow up to Ten Ruby Trick, called Find the Lady. I can’t really give much of a taste without giving away (part of) the end of Ten Ruby Trick. But here’s a little peek at Van Gast:

Van Gast leapt off the ship before the gangplank had reached the jetty, ignoring a shout of protest behind him. For the first time in maybe ever he was glad to be ashore rather than afloat, back among people and places he knew instead of on a ship crewed by ex-slaves who were having trouble adapting to freedom, their minds still bound by a life-long habit. Their vacant stares, their clockwork numbness, made him itch.

The time spent getting here had been torture, a thumb-screw of bed-rest, a spike of boredom, a hot brand of greyness, of sameness. He wanted colour and noise and excitement. He wanted to get these grey Remorian clothes off and find a really bright shirt, some garish breeches that fitted snugly and a pair of boots he could hide his knives in. He wanted to be Van Gast again, the most renowned racketeer along the western coast, the rack, the one they all wanted to beat. He wanted to run from guards with a fizz of fear and joy in his blood, to con and steal and twist till his pockets ran with money and then spend it all on booze and gambling. He wanted things as they had been before, to take the stupid-but-exciting over the sensible-but-dull, always.

SC: What is the best advice you ever got with regards to writing?

JK: First get it written, then get it right.

SC:Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

JK: Website: http://juliaknight.co.uk . Which also links to my blog. Or you can follow me on twitter @Knight_Julia

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