Author interview time again! Today we have Laura Bastian with us. Her wonderful new book (YA light sci fi)  “Eye On Orion” just came out.

First: the cover and the back blurb:

Falling in love with your gorgeous new neighbor isn’t a bad thing, but when he turns out to be the bodyguard of a princess from a planet nine billion light-years away, life gets complicated.

 Seventeen-year-old stargazer Holly Adams never imagined she’d find herself trying to prevent the overthrow of an alien government. When Jai and his sister Amira move into the house down the street, Holly is immediately drawn to them. Jai acts suspicious of her from the start, making Holly more curious about their oddities. When Holly learns they are from a different planet, she does what she can to help protect Amira from Shander, a man who wants to marry her by force in order to take over the kingdom her father rules.

Mistaken identity, a botched kidnapping, and a first kiss that bonds Holly and Jai for life are hard enough, but when Shander believes Holly to be the princess, things get even more dangerous.

Next: an excerpt from the book:

“Do you think there could be life out there somewhere on other planets?” he asked quietly.

“I do.” I rolled onto my side, and propped myself up with my elbow to see him better.

“Intelligent?”

“Yes.”

“Green?” he asked.

“No.” I smiled.

“Really? What makes you think there are others out there?”

“Why not?” I shrugged with one shoulder. “Why would God stop here? Why not make more? What about you? Do you think there is life out there on other planets?”

“I do.”

“Green?” I asked.

“No. And I am sure they are intelligent,” he said with a small smile.

“And what makes you think so?” I asked, returning the smile.

He rolled onto his back and looked at the sky. “Because with so much space, there has to be something else like Earth somewhere. It is just so far away you would never find it unless you knew where to look.”

“I wish I knew where to look.” I lowered myself onto my side, resting my head on my arm extended straight on the blanket. “The discovery of other worlds out there would be fantastic.”

He turned to face me again. “It would be.”

Then: The author herself and the interview –

Eye On Orion

Eye: They say “the eyes are the window to the soul”. If we could look into your main characters’ eyes, what do you think it would say about them?

          Jai’s eyes would show he’s brave with a hint of nerves hiding behind it. He’s rough, with tenderness peeking through when he looks at those he cares for. He’s willing to fight for what he believes in and will hold tight to the promises he’s made.

          Holly’s eyes would show she’s confident but only when she reminds herself to be. She’s not afraid of looking or being different from those around her. Her eyes would show she believes in the unbelievable, and she’s willing to look past the surface to see the truth.

On  is for “On film”- If you had to pick a movie cast for your main characters, who are your top choices?

          Oh, man. I never know how to answer this question. I know who would play the bad guy, Shander: Simon Baker who plays Patrick Jane on the CBS show The Mentalist. (http://www.imdb.com/media/rm209510144/nm0048932?ref_=nmmd_md_pv#) The rest would be up to someone else to pick.

O is for “Origins” – What is the story behind this story? How did you come up with the idea for this book?

          Two things came together to blend into this story. I had a dream once upon a time where some teens from another planet came to Earth and had some adventures. Then a little while later, I was given an assignment for an online writing class I was taking to help me renew my teaching license I’d let expire while I stayed home to raise my family. The assignment was to look at 3 pictures, pick one and then write a five page story about that picture. I took the one that had two teens at a bus stop looking lost and confused. I wrote the five pages, then continued on because the story didn’t feel done. Ended up with over two hundred pages. Funny thing is, on revisions, that scene with them at the bus stop was taken out and rewritten to something else. But that’s where it started.

R is for “Reader”: What are your favorite genres to read?

          I love Young Adult fiction. Fantasy and sci-fi are my favorites. I read a lot of them. Lots of times it’s to learn my craft, but I think those are my favorites. I also love epic fantasy and anything with magic is my first pick. I do enjoy a good clean romance, and have found those are now the only books I can read for pure enjoyment because I’m not dissecting everything about them to learn how to make my own writing better.

I is for “Inspiration”: Your main character finds inspiration in the stars. What kinds of things inspire your writing?

          Life. There is so much magic and surprise and joy and heartache and redemption in everything around us. The man who is struggling to overcome an addiction. The woman fighting to keep her kids fed. The teens enduring then overcoming bullying. A child fighting cancer or some other debilitating illness. You see something on the news, or online that sparks and idea. You see how people overcome the real life hardships and you just want to incorporate that magic into your own writing.

O is for “Obstacles”: What kinds of obstacles (without spoilers) do your characters overcome and what do you feel like you learned from their growth?

          Personal self-worth. Realizing each person is a wonderful creation in a universe full of unexplained wonders.

          Standing up for yourself and Doing hard things. There’s a scene where Holly is mistaken for the princess and kidnapped in her place. She has to figure out how to save herself and what to do with the results of her actions.

          I learned that even though we may or may not chose something in our own lives, there are always consequences that follow. And the way we deal with things dropped on our laps, or something that slaps us across the face determines how the world sees us as well as how we see ourselves.

N is for “New”: Your main character runs into a lot of ‘new’ things in this story, from things she didn’t know existed to new relationships. What kinds of ‘new’ things have you encountered in your life that you think have changed you?

          Being a new mom. Five times over and seeing that each one of my kids is an individual, and what worked with one may not work with another. Being a new teacher even though that’s what I had wanted to be since I was in 4^th grade. Being a new writer and learning all the ins and outs of writing a story that works. Being new in a town and neighborhood after finally feeling like I felt welcome in my old neighborhood. Being a new published author and seeing my book baby take its first steps out into a big world.

          We all have to try new things. Some are harder than others. Some are fun and exciting, and some make us want to cry. But I really think the reason we are on this Earth and not somewhere else completely is to try new things and see what we do with that experience. Learn from it or fight it.

Thanks so much for letting me visit your blog.

Laura

Thanks to Laura for coming to visit!

Finally: Here is where to find Laura:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDBastian

Website:   http://www.lauradbastian.com/

And to find her book:

Amazon: 

Barnes &Noble: