Laura Akers was someone who I never even knew existed
until one day she messaged me on Twitter in regards to a post I had made about
reading a book by Simon R. Green. I’m glad she did.
Laura’s passion for John Taylor (Simon R. Green’s
protagonist from his Tales of the Nightside series may border on obsession but…
Well it’s kind of unhealthy.
Pretty sure if she could she would live inside
those books.
Unfortunately you can’t live inside books. Something that pains me
to know end or I’d be living in Robert B. Parker’s Boston or one of a thousand
comic book universes.
What you CAN do, however, is create a world of your
own, by WRITING a book. Hell you can create a whole UNIVERSE. See why us writer
folks get a little headcase-y sometimes? The power…the power… Bwah ha ha ha
ha!!!
But I digress…
As many of the conversations that I’ve had with Laura
have done. They may be all over the place but they are always one thing.
Entertaining.
Which is something that Ms. Akers brings to her debut
novel which I’ve had the pleasure to be included in the beta-reading of,
entitled The Law of Rule. The entertaining part that is. Not the digression…
Ok, enough of that- on to the interview!
1. Ok,
Laura, you once commented to me that writers love to talk about
themselves, so here’s your chance. Tell us all about why you’re
so awesome.
Jung's
Briggs-Meyer test indicates I'm an INFJ. (Introverted, Intuitive,
Feeling, Judging) It's the rarest type, only 1% of the population.
Plato, Gandhi, and Thomas Jefferson were INFJ's. Oh, and Adolph Hitler.
What
does this mean? I might seem outgoing, but after group contact I need
to go hide in my house to rejuvenate with a book and cup of tea.
And secretly plan world domination.
I
grew up in a small town in the Imperial Valley, California. It's
economy is primarily agriculture and it's surrounded by desert. I drove
tractors and rode horses, competing in professional rodeo barrel racing.
I've
played the piano since I was three and that uber-feminine instrument,
the trumpet. I got to tour Europe, Canada and the East Coast of
the USA with a concert/marching band. I'm currently stalking Paul
Williams so I can talk to him about his lyrics for "Old Souls" from
Brian De Palma's movie "Phantom of the Paradise."
Originally,
I planned to be a veterinarian. I became a lawyer by age 24.
Overachievement is my middle name. I try not to inflict it on anyone.
2. So
you love books, anyone who follows your Twitter can see that you spend
as much time reading as anything else, so what made you decide
to throw your hat in the writing ring?
Being
an only child, books were my best friends. I read across most genres,
both fiction and non-fiction. Some of my favorite writers are Michael
Chabon, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Dorothy
Sayers, Georges Simenon, Robert van Gulik, Simon R. Green, David
McCullough...(This list will take too much room. Must stop!)
Starting
around age seven, I began to write short stories using hot pink and
green ink on notebook paper. I was so cool. I also started a
neighborhood
newspaper called "The Treasure News." It was handwritten and liberally
doused with glitter. When I was 13, I mailed off what I considered to be
an epic romance to Good Housekeeping magazine. Never mind I was 13 and
didn't know anything about romance. I liked
escaping into my head and playing with my imaginary friends. Wait, I
still like that.
3. The
Law of Rule. Your first novel. Actually IS it your first? Or just the
first one that you’re ready to shop around? Give us some background
on it and tell us what The Law of Rule is all about?
I
have two other books that I've finished. One is a Regency Romance
titled "The Three Antidotes." The other is a mystery/thriller/romance
called
"Dior or Die."
Then
Simon Rule muscled his way into my life (which is rather out of
character for him) and I started The Law of Rule. The other books are
there, waiting to be edited. Since I was a prosecutor for twelve years,
people always tell me I should write about my experiences. There's never
been anything done like that before, of course. No one's ever heard of
Law and Order.
I
decided it would be a lot more fun to put a prosecutor 150 years in the
future. Simon Rule is a rising star in the Intergalactic DA's office,
destined to make the god prosecution unit in record time, until all the
evidence goes missing in his high-profile serial killer case against
Danny Perdition. He's demoted and given assignments to planets no one's
really heard of. With him in exile is his investigator,
Vas Mondragon, who's a vampire with a problem controlling his blood lust
and who's also addicted to couture fashion and his archaic iPod.
Simon
wants to find out what happened in the Perdition case and bring whoever
tampered with it to justice. He also has
to contend with being
mind-nabbed by an ancient god, something roaming about his moldy
apartment, assassination attempts on his life and the threat of world
annihilation only
the Karma Police can stop.
4. Do
you have an overall plan for Simon’s adventures or are you taking it
book by book? And how awesome would it be to write a short story
collection featuring Mr. Rule and title it Simon Says?
At
this point, I see Simon's story as a trilogy. I'm definitely a pantser,
not a plotter. I have an overall idea of where I'm going, but too
much structure's a bit confining for me. I'm not a person with notes all
over the wall, like Rust Cohle. (Cool people will get that reference)
Simon Says? I visualize a short story collection with just such a title!
Some really awesome Canadian suggested it
to me. What a coincidence.
5. How
do you write? Are you one of those people that park themselves in front
of their laptop and hammer away until it’s done? Or do
you go old-school and pen/paper it? Do you listen to music as you write?
Or do you just perform some strange magic ritual and have fairies come
and deliver it to you chapter by chapter?
I
write wherever I can, whenever I can, mainly on a laptop. When my
daughter had geometry tutoring at a coffee/tea shop that played dreadful
music, I always took headphones so I could listen to iTunes while
writing. In my "Dior or Die" book, I listened to the James Bond theme
when I wrote a car chase scene.
Since
my main character in The Law of Rule is part-Fae, I know about fairies.
They look pretty, but they cause more problems than they're worth.
I want them to stay the hell away from my manuscripts.
6. Besides Mr. Rule, do you have plans for doing other stories?
Writing's
in the blood, so I will never stop. I'd like to do some non-fiction,
maybe a memoir about my parents. Also, I have a personal story.
I won high-profile homicide cases at 7-9 mos. pregnant and had my
daughter five days after the last conviction. Got demoted by the DA,
told I was lazy and was written below-standard performance. I sued him
and won. That case made California Supreme Court law
on the issue of retaliation in the workplace.
Publishers/agents love that
story and
mob me for it, but I don't particularly want to write it and get doomed
to discussing that misery forever. I might change my mind someday. Am
thinking of developing it into a story for The Moth.
7. Your Twitter info indicates you’re a Toastmaster- how did you get into that and what do you like about it?
A
former law clerk told me it would be a terrific opportunity to meet
people. A club was forming in the town I lived in right about then, so
I figured it wasn't coincidence and joined. Although I don't have any
problem talking in front of people, I needed to get away from sounding
like I was sending everyone away to prison for life. I went to LA and
took stand-up comedy classes so I could learn
to lighten the hell up when I talk. I'm doing much better now.
Toastmasters is an inexpensive way to better your public speaking skills
and make friends.
8. It
also indicates that you’re a part-time Batman. I’m fairly certain that
is the best job ever. When you aren’t being Batman or writing,
what are you doing?
When
I was about five years old, I demanded a Batman
costume for Halloween. I patrolled my neighborhood to keep it safe. My
iPhone cover is the Batman logo. People always tell me my level of
morality is like Batman (I'm fairly sure Batman is an INFJ)
I'm
still practicing law, primarily criminal defense. I also train speakers
of all levels, from writers who need to learn to pitch or promote
their books to experienced people who want to freshen up their
presentations. I coach lawyers in trial skills and teach them to
remember they're human. That's the hard part. I have a German Shepherd
and a cat that work as my office staff. My daughter is a
senior in high school, speaks fluent Japanese and plans to go to art
college in LA. She also doesn't drive yet, so I'm still a chauffeur.
9. I
know that you were formerly a prosecutor- does that mean you’ll
fact-check all the law stuff (for free) for me in LEGACY since the
main character, Alexander Vance aka Paragon, works for the District
Attorney’s office?
Of
course I'll be glad to help you out, as long as you make sure all the
legalities are based on California law. If you make me learn the
Canadian
system, I might have to come up there and whack you with a hockey stick.
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