Interview with Author Joey Paul

Today I welcome author Joey Paul back on the blog. We did a fun interview to celebrate the release of her new book! Check it out below.


How did the idea for your book come about?

I was talking to a friend about our favourite Sci-fi show, and we were throwing ideas back and forth about what kind of worlds and planets the Doctor could come across. My idea was a world where everyone died at 60 resonated with us both, but also gave me the idea for Lights Out. Originally it was going to be a standalone, but as I started writing it, I realised there was no way I could finish it the way I wanted in one book and thus the trilogy was born!
 
Tell us about how the cover came to be.

My cover designer is also my best friend, she and I wanted to make it clear that the lights, and the colours of the lights mattered a lot to the story, which they do. We already have the whole series planned cover wise, but for this cover we wanted it to just showcase the events and the lightbulbs that told the story of the event itself. I adore the cover and can't wait to see the next two done!
 
Talk about your main character. Was she based on your own experiences or completely fictional?

Lock was a mixture, but mostly, she's completely fictional. I'm not an amputee, though I did end up in a wheelchair when I was a teen, and while Lock's world is a lot more “equal” there are still parts of wheelchair life that some people just aren't aware of, like cracked pavements and buses not always having the access you need. Lock is a fiery character in that she knows what she wants, what she believes, and what she thinks is right she will follow. I have loved watching her grow through the series and I can't wait to show the world just how different the Lock you first meet in Light Out is compared to the final book.
 
What influences your writing? Television, movies, music, other books or art?

I'm gonna go with all of the above, though I don't watch much television or movies and I struggle with music because of Auditory Processing Disorder, but I do read a ton. I think it's important to read as a writer, but it doesn't have to be to the level that I or other writers do. You gotta do what works for you. I'm also influenced a lot by just dreaming up situations and seeing how they might work in reality. I've always had a wild imagination, and it's helped with this kind of work!
 
If you could be any fictional character, who would you pick?

Oh! That's a hard one! I think it would have to be someone like Kinsey Milhone from Sue Grafton's Alphabet series. I adore her and have always managed to re-read the whole series once a year – even though she died a few years ago and the final book is never coming out, which saddens me, but I understand why Grafton wouldn't want people to mess with her fictional world.
 
What is your favorite book?

Eeek! Oh don't make me choose!! I adore reading, I do, it's something that has got me through a whole ton of hospital stays and moments when I just don't want to be where I am. I'm going to cheat here and say that my favourite book is all of the Alphabet series by Sue Grafton because I can always sink into those pages and feel at home.
 
Who is your favorite singer?

As I said above, I don't do well with music because of hearing issues, but I do love a UK band called Busted. They were the first band I saw live, and when they split in 2005 my heart broke, but then they got back together in 2015 and it's just like yes! And out of the three, I have to pick Matt Willis.
 
If you had to make a playlist or soundtrack for your book, what songs would you include?
Hmm...I don't think I could do this myself, it would be something that I'd ask a friend to do. They have much more of a wide range of musical knowledge than I do!
 
Here’s a question I love to ask! What book have you read that you would love to have written yourself?

Oh! This one really makes you think, doesn't it? I'm not sure, I read so many books, but I do wish one series that I've read that I could've written myself, or at least a couple of the books because it's a US based series, but has the characters (in two different books) come to the UK and she gets SO much wrong! I wish I could've written those so that I could've gotten it all perfect! But that's just me!
  
LIGHTS OUT BLURB:
Ever since the war ended, the United English Cityships have had equality. The rules are clear. You are born, you live and the day following your sixtieth birthday, you are sent off for your final sleep.
 
Lock is a firm believer in the system. It means that everyone is truly treated equally. It’s only when she checks in an attendee who claims to be younger than her chip says that Lock starts to realise there may be someone gaming the system.

The problem is the corruption goes higher than Lock could even begin to imagine. As her belief in the world she lives in starts to crumble, Lock finds herself wanting justice for those who have gone before their time.
 
Can she do it? Or will they silence her before she can get the word out?
 
LIGHTS OUT BUY LINK: Universal ebook link: http://www.books2read.com/LOUT
Paperback:
Paperback:
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1724658352/
BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lights-out-joey-paul/1131528867?ean=9781724658357
BOOK DEPOSITORY: https://www.bookdepository.com/Lights-Out-Joey-Paul/9781724658357?ref=grid-view&qid=1562735792503&sr=1-1
BOOKS A MILLION: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Lights-Out/Joey-Paul/9781724658357?id=7282804459968
INDIE BOUND: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781724658357
  
BIO:
Joey Paul is an award-winning indie author, exploring the young adult genre. She has released fifteen books in total so far, with the sixteenth due out in 2019. Her current works include the "Dying Thoughts" series, which is eight books and the "Lights Out" trilogy, as well as several standalone novels. She writes across genres, with crime, mystery, paranormal, sci-fi and dystopian being the ones most frequently on her list. She is writing her next two books at the moment, having recently finished her last two.
 
Joey is disabled and a graduate from The Open University with a BA (Hons) in Health & Social Care. When not reading medical textbooks, she enjoys reading crime novels, medical dramas and young adult novels. When she's out and about, she likes looking for Tupperware in the woods with GPS satellites, otherwise known as geocaching. And when she's not doing THAT, she's sleeping! She's 37 and has been writing since she was retired from her job on medical grounds at the age of 19. She plans to write for as long as she has ideas or until someone tells her to stop!
 
AUTHOR LINKS:
BLOG: www.joeypaulonline.com/
TUMBLR: authorjoeypaul.tumblr.com
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/JoeyPaulOnline
TWITTER: twitter.com/MsJoeyBug
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/authorjoeypaul
GOODREADS: http://bit.ly/1UcS61E
 
 
 

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