Pump Up Your Book Chats with Lindsey Fairleigh and Lindsey Pogue, Authors of ‘After the Ending’

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Lindsey Fairleigh lives her life with one foot in a book—as long as that book transports her to a magical world or bends the rules of science. Her novels, from post-apocalyptic to time travel and historical fantasy, always offer up a hearty dose of unreality, along with plenty of adventure and romance. When she’s not working on her next novel, Lindsey spends her time reading and trying out new recipes in the kitchen. She lives in the Napa Valley with her loving husband and confused cats. You can visit Lindsey’s blog at lindseyfairleigh.blogspot.com.

Lindsey Pogue has always been a little creative. As a child she established a bug hospital on her elementary school soccer field, compiled books of collages as a teenager, and as an adult, expresses herself through writing. Her novels are inspired by her observations of the world around her—whether she’s traveling, people watching, or hiking. When not plotting her next storyline or dreaming up new, brooding characters, Lindsey’s wrapped in blankets watching her favorite action flicks or going on road trips with her own leading man. You can visit Lindsey’s blog at lindseypogue.wordpress.com.

Thank you for this interview, Lindseys! Can you tell us why you wrote After The Ending?

LF: I’m not really sure. LP and I were driving home from a book conference–this was while we still worked at Copperfield’s Books (Napa) together–and we started talking about a story idea. I’d been thinking about writing something entirely epistolary that chronicled an adult woman’s post-apocalyptic experience. During the two-hour drive we toyed with the premise, tossing ideas back and forth, and by the time we arrived at LP’s house, we had characters, a rough backstory, and a very general outline.

LP: An interesting fact about this project is that we actually started this as a blog. It was still about two friends who survived the apocalypse, but it was told only through their emails. The more we wrote, the more we realized that the characters and their stories were too one-dimensional. We wanted to give ourselves the space to explore our characters, to show the audience who they were outside of their quirky and often melodramatic emails. We wanted more and it turned into a nearly 500 page book with first person narrative and a few straggling emails.

Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

LP: For me it was portraying my character’s Ability without it being repetitive. It was really difficult to express other people’s emotions and feelings and expressing Zoe’s without them being the same, especially when they’re all living in a world where so much is unknown and changing, where Zoe’s in situations with other people and their all feeling something similar. Needless to say a quarter of the way into the story I was trying to think of different ways to say “I could feel” and which words I could use instead of “emotions”.

LF: For me, there was a specific chapter that was really difficult because it was such an emotional scene for Dani. It’s chapter 3, the second Dani chapter, when the virus really starts destroying her comfortable world. I’m very connected to Dani–she’s pretty much a real person who lives in my head–so I really felt her pain and desperation as I wrote that scene.

Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

LP: Friendship is definitely the major theme in book one. But I think it’s important to note that the power of hope is what truly enables our heroines to survive and thrive. We wanted to focus more on Zoe and Dani’s characters and how they’re affected by such abrupt devastation, rather than the crumbling state of the world. Thoughts LF?

LF: I totally agree. LP and I talk about this all the time–focusing on hope and friendship as the main themes–and it’s something we worked really hard to weave throughout the book. There’s definitely action and physical conflicts, but we purposely put the spotlight on the relationships–both romantic and platonic–to show the more personal side of the struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. After The Ending is definitely on the softer side of science fiction, and we love that!

Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

LP: I’ve learned so much about myself during this process, so let me think for a moment…My biggest lesson learned is that sometimes the spontaneous ideas are the best ones. So, if you have a good idea, write it down! If your memory is anything like mine, you won’t remember it later, so carrying around a notebook or having an app on your phone is definitely helpful and has saved my sanity on more than one occasion.

LF: Listen to reviews, both positive and negative, but don’t change your writing based on each one. I think Karen Marie Moning said it best when she said, “…precisely what one reader doesn’t like is what another reader loves…the moment you start altering a book or a painting or any type of art as if it’s a public collaborative, you crucify its soul. I’d rather irritate a few people and delight a lot than touch no one.”

Would you like to tell us about your home life?

LF: It’s nothing too crazy. I live in a farmhouse in the middle of a vineyard in the Napa Valley with my husband and two cats. I spend my days writing, first in bed and then at my desk when my computer gets too hot, walking or riding my bike, and working in the garden. I really like to experiment with cooking, so I spend several hours most nights in the kitchen. I think it’s my form of meditation. Like I said, nothing too crazy.

LP: My beau and I bought a beautiful house in the Napa Valley almost two years ago. Our weekends are generally spent working in the yard–which is fine with me because I love the sunshine! When I’m writing, I’m in the backyard soaking up some rays with the newest addition to our family, Beast the cat, who follows me around everywhere he can. I’m also in the process of rearranging my office so that I’ll have a more tranquil and welcoming space to write when I have to be indoors. Other than that, if I’m not watching action movies with my man during my free time, I’m reading while he’s watching sports.

What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

LP: We made sure to get an article in the paper and had our first book signing. LF has been the mastermind behind our online marketing, I’ll let her answer that one.

LF: Oh boy! *rubs hands together maniacally* I’d say the first thing we did promotion-wise was to really focus on getting the book into the hands of readers to garner honest reviews. Reviews, both good and bad, sell books. We signed up for KDP Select (which is free, but requires ebook exclusivity to amazon.com) and used three free days, effectively giving out over 15,000 copies of the book, which has resulted in more reviews that we expected. We set the bar low, and have been pleasantly surprised. We also utilized Netgalley, some of the IBPA services, and Goodreads to get the word out and earn reviews. Overall, it’s been very successful.

What is the most frustrating part of being an author?

LP: Hmmmm. I have a day job in addition to writing. So, for me it’s not having the time I want to be able to write. It’s challenging to be creative when I’m not inspired during my tiny allotment of time, and my inspiration often comes at night…when I’m supposed to be getting my beauty sleep….so that I can wake up and go to work. That’s very frustrating for me. But mostly, just not having the time I would like to designate to writing is disheartening sometimes.

LF: Negative reviews. It crushes a little piece of my soul every time I read one, but I just remind myself that no book has universal appeal and that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Luckily, the positive reviews for After The Ending far outweigh the negative, and I’ve been able to stumble across advice from some of my favorite authors on how to personally deal with this same issue. Slowly but surely, my skin is thickening.

What is the most rewarding part of being an author?

LP: For me, there are a few very rewarding aspects to being an author, like a sense of accomplishment and pride. But I think we can both agree that the fact that people actually love the story we created and want more is indescribably awesome. What say you LF?

LF: Positive reviews. Just like negative reviews are the most difficult part of being an author (or any other creative profession), hearing that someone loved my writing is so overwhelmingly wonderful. When a reader mentions an emotional connection to the world and characters we’ve created, it puts an uncontainable smile on my face. Knowing that my words have made someone laugh, cry, or stay up late to find out what happens, is one of the greatest feeling in the whole world.

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How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

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