The two main characters in the book, Andrew and Kristine are twins, but they have pretty different personalities. Do you have a favorite of the two?
Good question! I pretty much based their personalities off me and my own twin brother. My brother was very willful and stubborn, but had(s) a heart of gold. I was more withdrawn and scared of a lot of things. So, I wrote Kristine’s character to kind of match mine, except made her a lot more athletic and in-tune to things around her. But, I do like Andrew more, because of his snarky attitude and passion for history, which I share. He’s also fearless, which I never was.
What is your favorite genre? What is your all-time favorite book?
My favorite genre is mystery. Throw in fantasy and futuristic elements, and I’m sold! My all-time favorite book is tricky. I like so many! Lord of the Rings would have to be a clear winner though. I absolutely devoured those books, as well as The Hobbit.
I know you have three busy kids, who were probably pre-teens/teens when you wrote this book. How do you find time to write? What advice do you have for other moms who are aspiring to be authors?
My kids are all grown now. I still have two at home, one soon-to-be 20-year-old son and my soon-to-be 17-year-old daughter (both have birthdays in May) so it’s not too hard. Now that I am a grandma though, I do try and help my daughter on the weekdays. Still, I also freelance, so I just juggle my time. Moms who are looking to branch out in the publishing world, I won’t lie to you: it’s difficult and very time-comsuming, but it can be done. You have to have thick skin and a major passion for writing. Don’t give up on your dreams. Sometimes I wrote when the kids were napping, in school, and sometimes, even early in the morning or late at night when everyone was sleeping. If you love writing, you will make the time.
You wrote the book with your dad. Was writing a book together challenging? Why or why not.
You know, I love writing with my dad. We both have the same way of thinking, if you will, and always have. We can bounce ideas off each other and basically think similar. In fact, this series was based off an idea he had for a book called The Ruby Locket. I thought it would make a great children/YA series, so we started brainstorming about time-traveling twins and Viola! There are still challenges though. He lives across the country in Tennessee, so we can’t just get together like we used to. Also, I’ve done most of the legwork, when it comes to querying agents and publishers, book signings and what not, but it’s only because I’ve done it for so long, I’m pretty much an expert now! Our pen name is Julia Lawrence, Julia for my first name, Lawrence for his first name.
Is there an author you’d really like to meet?
I would love to meet Obert Skye who wrote the Levin Thumps series. Me and my kids went to his book signing, but didn’t get to meet him. I LOVE his books! He is a genius!! I always thought his books should be turned into movies because of his incredible gift of imagination and awesome writing ability.
This book is about time-travel. If you could travel in time, like Andrew and Kristine, in which time period would you like to go?
I would love to go to ancient Egypt at the time of Moses, and Jerusalem, at the time of Christ. Wow, what stories I would have to tell! I would also love to go clear back to ancient Crete and Atlantis (yes, I believe it existed!) I would learn so much!
There are two book published and a third soon-to-be, how many books are there total in the series?
There are six books. We haven’t started on the fourth yet, mainly because we got discouraged with our previous publisher, who basically did nothing to market and promote the first two, as well as edit them well. (I’m so embarrassed) We do have the outline of the whole series and many notes, so we decided we are going to finish the series, if only to say we did it! 🙂 The first two are listed on Amazon and the third will be available soon.
Thanks Julia for letting us get to know you.
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