Hello Joy and welcome to Coffee Time Romance. Please pull up a chair and we will share some hot coffee and allow the readers to get to know more about Joy Nash.
Lots of cream and sugar in my coffee, please 🙂
I hear in addition to writing books, you are an architect. That sounds really thrilling. Why not tell the readers how the day begins for Joy?
Being an architect is a lot less glamorous than it looks on TV and in the movies! (I can say the same for being an author, lol).
I work part time for a construction company, so most of my time is spent on project management – checking plans, scheduling subcontractors, contract details, answering field questions, keeping up correspondence with clients, architects, engineers, contractors, and building inspectors. The fun days are when I get to a job site for a visit.
Joy, you have such a vibrant glowing face, You know you are going to spoil me with your series, cause once you read one, it will be hard to not read the others. How did you get involved with the Immortals series?
Jennifer Ashley pitched the original idea for Immortals to Dorchester. Dorchester was looking for a multi-author series idea to follow their previous Crimson City and 2176 multi-author series, and decided Immortals would be perfect. Robin and I were approached by Dorchester to collaborate with Jennifer on the series.
Writing connected books with two fantastically talented authors was a wonderful experience. I didn’t know Robin or Jennifer before the project started, and I’m so glad to have them as friends now. Jennifer was a very wise group facilitator and so easy to work with, as was Robin. We generated some amazing creative energy with the Immortals series. It was also great that Dorchester got behind the series in a big way, and that reader response was so positive!
Often people new to the series asks if the books have to be read in order. If you’re interested in reading the first four Immortals books, which were released in 2007, you should read The Calling by Jennifer Ashley first. The second and third books, The Darkening by Robin Popp, and my own book The Awakening take place simultaneously in the overall Immortals timeline, so either could be read first after The Calling. While each of the books has a satisfying resolution its romance and conflict, the fourth book, The Gathering by Jennifer Ashley, is a resolution of the overall four book story arc.
In contrast, the Immortals books coming out this fall – The Redeeming by Jennifer Ashley, The Crossing by Joy Nash, and The Haunting by Robin T. Popp, are all stand-alone titles, and can be read in any order. While they’re set in the same Immortals world, you don’t have to read the first four books in the series to understand what’s going on in each book. An anthology, The Reckoning, containing stories from all three Immortals authors will be out in March 09.
Immortals: The Crossing is an engaging read. The dialogue is sharp, the characters robust and the storyline awesome. I can tell you put everything into the making of this series. Would you enlighten the readers about this mesmerizing book?
I had an inkling while I was finishing up The Awakening, that if I got a chance to write Mac’s book that I would send him to Hell. Mac is half god, half Sidhe, and very powerful—at least as long as he stays in the human world or the Sidhe realm of Annwyn. But death magic makes him ill, and he can only stay in a death realm for a short time without becoming incapacitated.
That’s why I decided to make Mac’s heroine, Artemis, no stranger to death magic. During Artemis’s previous job as a psychic ops officer in the Army, she encountered many nasty demons while working to safeguard the world from death magic. She is very powerful, and knows a lot of forbidden magic, which, unfortunately, is now her only hope to get out of the predicament she finds herself in. Pursuing Artemis into a death realm and then into Hell itself is the ultimate challenge for Mac.
Because of the events at the end of Jennifer Ashley’s previous book, The Gathering, Mac is struggling with a dark side of himself for the first time in the 700 years he’s been alive. I was fascinated by the notion that Mac, a creature of light, must recognize, embrace, and conquer his unexpected dark side in order to save those he loves.
Are your heroes molded from anyone in particular?
No, I never have anyone specific in mind when I create my characters. I take bits and pieces from myself, from people I know, and from people I or see in TV and in movies–both real and fictional. When I encounter a compelling character in a book or movie, I try to analyze the exact reason why I’m drawn to him/her.
Was it hard coming up with character names for your heroes and heroines?
It can take some thought, but it’s one of the most fun parts of writing. When I do Celtic characters, I tend to stay away from the more unpronouncable Celtic names.
When is your favorite time to compose?
I much prefer writing first thing in the morning, before the day’s distractions start. That’s when I’m most creative.
How long does it take you to finish a book from start to submission?
Usually six to eight months, depending on how much research I have to do for the story.
Do your characters ever wake you up in the middle of the night and insist you write?
Not usually in the middle of the night, but often very early in the morning. Sometimes they don’t want me to go to bed at night, either!
Are there any other works in progress at the moment you would like to share with us?
Yes! I’m into edits for the Immortals: The Reckoning Anthology, which will be released in March 09.
2009 will find me launching a new contemporary romance series. A Little Light Magic will be out in June 09. Set at the Jersey Shore, A Little Light Magic, as the title implies, is lighter in tone and magic than either my Immortals or Druids books – but the emotional and romantic elements are just as strong!
Later in 2009, the Druids of Avalon series returns with Silver Silence by Joy Nash, in which the wandering Druid Rhys pursues Breena, the women he loves but cannot claim, two hundred years into the future, where they struggle to stop a dark mage from preventing the birth of King Arthur.
What do you look for in a story?
As a reader, I look for an interesting, flawed character who is thrust into a really tough position. I like a lot of emotion, a fairly complex plot, and a good deal of action. My ideal hero has had a tough past, and sometimes the only thing that distinguishes him from the villian is that the hero refused to let the pain of his past lead him to the dark side. He’s more noble than that – but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t made mistakes. He usually has something in his past he regrets deeply.
What three words would describe Joy Nash?
Open-minded – I can always see all sides of a conflict or problem. I think this helps with my writing, though in real life it can get problematic when I have a decision to make!
Busy! Honestly, I don’t know what the words ‘free time’ mean. But I love my life and all my projects and wouldn’t drop anything off my plate.
Optimistic – I want that happy ending, dammit!!
Growing up, did you ever keep a journal and write notes about the stories you would love to write?
As a teenager, I wrote the most awful angst-ridden poetry, and the occasional short story. While I loved to read, I didn’t attempt anything novel length until about eight years ago.
Joy would you share you website, blog or myspace with us?
My website is www.joynash.com, and you can link over to my blog from there very easily. I don’t yet have a myspace…I keep thinking about it but never seem to find the time to get it going.
If you were to plan a wedding, tell us what it would consist of?
I had a big traditional church wedding when I got married twenty three years ago. If I were planning a wedding today, I’d do something much less formal, with a lot fewer people. I’d focus on great music, great food, and great friends. Ideally, the weather would be perfect, and we’d hold the ceremony and the party outside in a park with lots of flowers in bloom all around.
Do you have a favorite cookie that you can’t live without? A favorite cake that calls your name?
My favorite cookies are homemade oatmeal cookies using a recipe from the round Quaker Oats box. I make them chewy, and leave out the cinnamon and raisins. With a glass of cold milk, they’re the ultimate comfort food for me.
You wake one morning to find that you and your spouse have changed identities for a whole week. What fun things would you do that week?
If it’s up to me, we’d be college students backpacking across Europe! My husband might have some other ideas about that, though… lol
Joy, thank you so much for sharing time with us today. This has been fun and I look forward to read your outstanding series.
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