Interview: Devon Herrera

Devon Herrera

 

Devon Herrera is the wife of a U.S Army Soldier and mother of a beautiful little girl. She works for the Wyoming Department of Revenue in Cheyenne Wyoming and has been in love with reading since she first discovered the Harry Potter series in 4th grade.

She decided to start writing her own novel after reading hundreds of novels by others and self published "Sapphire Universe". This book is absolutely outstanding - my review can be found here.

I have been lucky enough to develop a friendship with Devon through Goodreads & Twitter (thank goodness for the Internet eh?!). Devon is an adorable woman with a heart of gold who is very down to earth but, me being me, I still get star-struck when taking to her!!

Devon has agreed to answer some questions for me and has been my first ever Author Interviewee!

So Ladies and Gents...Enjoy!

1. What inspired you to start writing?

 I’ve always been a huge literature junkie. I am a VORACIOUS reader, around 300 or so books a year on average, so my love for books definitely played into it. As for why I started writing, I know it’s cliche, but the truth is; it was an impulse. I got the idea for a character (Nina) and started playing around with her story in my head for a while. One day, I just sat down and started writing. She kind of took over the story and next thing I knew I had written a pretty decent sized novel. It was so natural and wonderful that there was no going back for me. I knew then and there I would always be writing.

2. What is your process for writing a book? Do you have rituals, writing times etc? How long does a book usually take to complete?

When I get inspired by something, I literally run to my computer and write until I run out of steam. I currently have two other unrelated books in the works besides Dark Universe because of this. One came from a dream I had and I woke up at 4am and wrote three chapters before going back to sleep, and the other was inspired by my husband who is in the military. Other than letting inspiration take over, music is really the only other constant. I have to have music when I write.

3. Where did the idea for Sapphire Universe come from?

It all started with Nina. I had read so many books about people who were damaged, which makes sense because if all the characters were normal and had no issues they wouldn’t be interesting to read about, but I was getting tired of the characters who let whatever happened to them completely ruin their lives. I wanted someone who was damaged but strong, afraid but brave. More than anything I wanted them to grow and become better and stronger. Everything else just fell into place.

4. Do you have a dream cast if Sapphire Universe were ever to be made into a movie?

 YES!!!! For Nina- Nina Dobrev (the name is a total coincidence) Connor- Chris Hemsworth. Lola- Emma Stone (Blonde) Drake- Henry Cavill. Nick- Cam Gigandet. Toni- Amanda Seyfried

5. Will Dark Universe be the final instalment in this series?

No! Nick and Toni’s story will be the last book. It is yet to be titled, but I know it will be told from Nick’s POV.

6. What are your favourite books/ Who are your favourite authors?

There are SOOO many. For Paranormal Romance, Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunters series. For Historical, anything by Lisa Kleypas. For Contemporary I don’t have a favorite but I love Colleen Hoover, J. Lynn, Tina Reber, and Jessica Park.

7. What support network do you have for writing?

I have my family and friends and I have met some amazing authors and bloggers who help me in so many ways every single day, and I seriously wouldn’t be anywhere without them.

8. What does the support from your fans mean to you?

Oh man, how do I even begin to describe this. I always say that writing is like stripping off all of your clothes while standing in a shopping mall and asking people to rate you. Scary stuff that. So when, someone likes my book, or loves my book, enough to tell me and to tell other people it’s the most amazing feeling in the world. I know how I feel when I read a great book, and the knowledge that I’m giving that feeling to my readers is the reason I keep writing. My fans are the Who, the Why, and the How of my writing.

n.b. When Dark Universe is released both Sapphire Universe and Dark Universe will be 99 cents for that first week on Amazon. Also, after Dark Universe is released I will be finishing a stand alone novel about a soldier who comes home from a deployment with ptsd. It will be a New Adult Romance novel, and I am working on a plan to give 50 percent of all the proceeds to the Wounded Warrier Foundation. That book will be out in the fall of 2013 and The Universe Series Book 3- Toni and Nick's Story- will be out in the winter.

I'd just like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Devon for all her support recently - She is Incredible and I BookLove her Loads!!!

XxX

Sapphire Universe

****4.5 loving stars****

Sapphire Universe

Blurb (from author):

Rule #1 Do NOT ignore the signs.

Rule #2 Pay attention.

Rule #3 The less they know about you, the harder it is for them to hurt you.

Rule #4 Comfort is dangerous. It can be taken away.

Rule #5 Need is a handicap. It can cripple you.

Rule #6 He isn’t what he seems. Don’t trust him.

Simple rules made for a simple purpose. Nina Ryan learned early on in life that if you want to avoid being hurt, you need to be proactive. If you pay attention, the Universe will always steer you in the right direction. It will help keep you safe. So, she follows the rules, and she is safe. Until Connor Wright barges his way through all her carefully laid defenses and threatens to destroy the comfortable life she has created. Faithfully following her #1 rule, Nina tries to accept that the Universe has pushed Connor and her lives together for a purpose. Determined to make Nina his, Connor chips away at the walls Nina has placed around her heart and her secrets. Is Nina following the signs that will lead her down the right path, or does Connor hold secrets of his own that will ruin Nina for good? Only the Universe knows.

I stumbled across this book thanks to some Goodreads friends and I'm MORE than pleased I did - Devon Herrera, you my lovely little lady, are amazing :)

It's book covers some serious issues, some of which are very hard to read, but somehow Devon manages to make the reader feel at ease reading about them (sorry if that didn't make any sense!)

For the first time when reading a book, I made notes and highlighted sections to refer back to [go me, organised!]. To keep my reviews spoiler free, I'd rather tell you how parts of this book made me feel rather than divulge any of the story so here goes...

17% Shocked. Confused.
31% touched. Loved. Warm and fuzzy.
50% Angry ... Why?? Grr.
89% deliriously happy.
92% Badass!
100% so glad I bought this book.

Overall a brilliant book, 0.5* subtracted because the pace wasn't steady, it seemed to go way too fast, then it slowed up, then it was perfect, then it seemed to go too fast again.

Favourite Quotes:

"I will always carry you Princess. Not everyone can say they have held their entire Universe in their arms.”
"It’s a message from the Universe."
"The best relationships begin as friendships.”

Will definitely read more of Devons novels so come on Devon - get writing!!

XxX