Interview with Demetra Fisher: Part 2.

In this two part interview, novelist Demetra Fisher talks about her life and her influences 
on what has led her to become a published author. Her first novel, In Your Dreams, will
be appearing shortly in book stores and online. Part one focused on her background,
life experiences and interests. 

http://bloginterviewsfb.blogspot.ca/2012/08/interview-with-demetra-fisher-part-1_12.html

Part Two, below, talks about the
specifics of her book, the characters and the genre.

How much of you is in your main character?

There is a bit of me in Alex; mostly my likes and dislikes. 
Alex is an English major and loves to read; we share that. 
Also her interest in psychology, which leads to her curiosity about
the supernatural is the same path that I traveled when I was close to
her age. Oh, and her hair (laughs); we have the same difficulty taming
those unruly curls!

Did you draw off real life experiences for the characters in this book?

I was a late bloomer in a way, so I did draw from that experience.  
For the most part, Alex is generally unconcerned with her appearance, having 
more important things to concentrate on.  However, that all changes when
she meets someone to whom she is attracted.  That was the same for me and 
for most of my friends, although for them, it happened when they were much 
younger.  Some of the other scenarios in the book are also drawn from 
real life experiences, although not all of them are my own.

How much and what type of research did you do for this book? 

I did a fair amount but not a lot.  Mostly, I just incorporated
information I've gathered over the years whenever I investigated the 
many different paranormal subjects that interested me.  Dreams 
and dreamstate activity always intrigued me so I have studied that pretty 
extensively in the past.

When you were forming the ideas for your book and in the 
beginning stages of writing it,  did you have in mind 
that it was going to be a series, or did that just develop?

As I said before, I had no idea where my story was 
going when I first began writing it.  I just let it flow 
and as it unfolded and I got more deeply entrenched,
it made sense that it should be written as a trilogy, given my
target audience. 

Your book is aimed mainly at the Teen/Young Adult audience. How mindful 
of that are you when you write?

Very! Teens have little extra time in which to develop a love of 
reading and I am aware of that.  Most spend as little time as they can get away with on 
their assigned reading because of all the other sports, clubs, 
and social activities that they would much rather focus on.  The books 
in my trilogy are designed to encourage readers to contemplate some rather sophisticated 
topics, but written as easy, quick reads to fit in with their busy schedules.

In your view, what is acceptable in that genre and what is not?

Well, I think that anything that pertains to teens and their lives and 
futures is acceptable.  That includes all kinds of relationships, 
varied social situations, and exposure to more adult activities like drinking
and sex. Even if teens are not participating in those particular activities,
they are most certainly, at the very least, thinking about them, so intentionally leaving those 
topics out is kind of demeaning to their intelligence and budding sophistication.
If you do that, you will lose their interest very quickly because your subject
material and characters will not be relevant to their lives and thought processes.  

How would you describe your writing style and in this book specifically?

All of my writing tends to be emotionally based as well as being
visually descriptive.  I try to have my reader feel whatever my
characters are feeling as if it were their own experience.
It's tricky with a YA audience because you have to make the
story and the characters' experiences believable, yet you have
to be sure to capture and retain their attention.... make them
want to read more. It needs to be an interesting and descriptive
read, but has to move along at a fairly quick pace. Challenging
for a writer like myself, who tends to get a little wordy.

Why Young Adult as a chosen genre for you? 

Well, two reasons, really... One: As I said before, I want
to entice young readers to develop a love of reading.  I do
that by creating stories that feed their imagination and also encourage
them to question the subject material.  Like, "Could that really happen?
Is this even possible?" That isn't difficult as teens have a natural
inclination to question the validity of almost anything.  By giving my
readers lots of concepts to explore, I'm hoping they will be encouraged to
build on their own belief system, and solidify their ideals and principles
individually, and not just rely on what they have been taught to accept.
Two: I think that because teens are especially hard to please,
targeting the YA audience makes me focus more on the skill of writing rather
than just the storyline.  

Do dreams play an important role for you in your everyday life? 

They do. I have always been interested in what our dreams mean on a subconscious level and I have read many books on the subject.  It is always interesting to try and interpret what you've dreamed.
I believe that all our dreams have meaning.  After all, the brain doesn't shut down when you sleep... quite the opposite!  Sometimes we do our best thinking while we are asleep. And our dreams often reflect that.

Some of the imagination in your trilogy is presented as abstract concepts such as reincarnation and the ability to predict future events. Are you a believer of those concepts?

I have a very open mind with regard to the abstract. Unlike most people, I don't necessarily have to have concrete physical proof that some things exist in order for my mind to accept that they very well might.  Those concepts are not a stretch for me at all.  As such, I can write about those subjects as if they are in fact, real and do indeed, exist.  And for all we know, that may actually be the case.  We are here on earth for such a short time,
it would almost be acquiescent of us to assume that only what we've come to know and are familiar with, is all there is.

Again, where can we find your book and when will it be released? 

The target for release is in mid-September and it will be available as both an e-book and a printed copy on Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com.

Below is a brief excerpt from In Your Dreams.

   As I walked, my mind replayed the evening’s events.  I was disappointed and I couldn’t help but wish that tonight had turned out more like my dream.  I was still shocked by it all - the dream and how vivid it was.  It had all seemed so real.  And that guy, Taylor, no, wait…Tyler Caldwell.  Wow, was he ever hot!  How on earth I had managed to come up with him, I would never know.  I found it interesting that my first memorable dream was so mind-blowing.  Is that the way everyone dreams?  Or is it only because it’s the first time I’ve ever remembered?

   My thoughts expanded to replay the entire dream in my mind, start to finish.  I was amazed that even now, I was still able to remember everything that I saw, heard and felt, right down to the way the punch tasted and the flowers on the table in the foyer had smelled.  Incredible, that it could replay in my mind exactly as it happened the first time, with all my innermost thoughts and intense emotions clearly detailed.  I could recall everything I’d experienced, including the intensity of my reaction to meeting Tyler Caldwell - especially when he took my hand - with such clarity that it really was as if I had lived it.  I shook my head in disbelief that this memory was in fact, more vivid than some of the most precious memories I held from my past.  Like my high school graduation when I had graduated with high honors and my parents had been so proud.  Or my first visit to the ocean when I was eight and determined to ride the waves, I had almost drowned until my Dad fished me out of the salty water.  Christmas when I was five, and I got my shiny new bike that I had begged and begged my parents for.  I couldn’t wait to ride it and even though it was winter, my dad let me try it out in the basement until the snow melted in the spring and I could then take it outside.  There were countless other memories that for some reason right now, paled in comparison to this newly acquired memory.  Maybe, that’s because it’s all just happened.  By tomorrow I will have forgotten everything.

Or so I thought…