(H.A.L.F #1)
Publication date: January 7th 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
H.A.L.F. 9 has taken his first breath of desert air and his first steps in the human world. Created to be a weapon, he proved too powerful for his makers and has lived a sedated life hidden from humans. But H.A.L.F. 9 has escaped the underground lab he called home, and the sedation has worn off. He has never been more alive. More powerful. Or more deadly.
Erika Holt longs to ride her motorcycle east until pavement meets shore. She bides her time until graduation when she’ll say adios to the trailer she shares with her alcoholic mother and memories of her dead father. But a typical night in the desert with friends thrusts Erika into a situation more dangerous than she ever imagined.
Circumstances push the two together, and each must make a fateful choice. Will Erika help H.A.L.F. 9 despite her “don’t get involved” rule? And will H.A.L.F. 9 let Erika live even though he was trained to kill?
The two may need to forget their rules and training and if either is to survive the dangers of the deep beneath them.
Do you have any tricks you use to get into the mood to write or do you simply sit down and roll with it?
Writing is like working out. You don’t start with sprints or the most difficult part of your workout. You warm up first.
It’s the same with writing (at least for me). I create an environment in my writing space and invite the muse to come play. I put on music, essential oils in the diffuser, stretch and meditate before I begin. Generally I read over at least a few pages of what I wrote the day before. If the story still isn’t coming to me, I spend fifteen minutes or so doing a writing exercise. Most of the time, that will clear any blockage I have.
Where do you get inspiration for your characters and plot lines?
As far as characters go, honestly I’m not sure where they come from. I make them up. I don’t create characters (intentionally) based on people I know or on myself. When creating a character, I just go with what comes to me. I do a lot of work on creating backstory including writing backstory scenes for major characters; I interview main characters; and use the “Snowflake” method to explore motivations/goals, etc. for main characters before I begin writing. Generally, the characters come to me quite easily as I begin to flesh them out. I guess that if I spent enough time to analyze it, I may be able to piece together the bits and pieces of characters from people I’ve known and from the various parts of myself. But I don’t waste time analyzing it. There’s too much writing to do to spend my time analyzing. 😉
Plot ideas come from many places. Anything and everything can be fodder. Dreams, news stories, songs. All of these have inspired plots and twists in my stories.
How old were you when you started writing?
I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing something. I wrote stories and poetry all through school and college. But I went to law school in my mid 20’s and stopped all creative writing. I continued to write non-fiction articles and journaled some. In 2007 I began writing fiction and poetry again and have been writing consistently since then.
I’m living proof that it’s never too late to pursue a dream. 🙂
If you could collaborate with any famous author, who would it be and why?
George R.R. Martin. I would love to pick his brain. How does he create his legion of characters? And how does he keep them – and all of their various story lines – straight?! GRRM is crazy talented. Any “collaboration” would be me frantically taking notes and trying to keep up! But yeah, I have such respect for his work. He would be my dream collaboration.
If you could spend a day with any fictional character, which one would it be and why?
Thor! 😉 He’s the god of thunder, has a hot body and wields Mjölnir. I’d get to meet the goddess Sif, hang out with Odin and whiz around the nine realms. I’d ride the rainbow bridge with Thor any day.
Favorite band/musician?
I love music! It sort of depends on my mood at any given time. Right now I’m listening to a lot of old U2, White Stripes and Moby (I know, strange combination). All are in my “soundtrack” for my current WIP, The Makers (Book 2 of the H.A.L.F. series).
Instead of picking one band, I’ll pick a genre. Alternative. First wave and current alt. That’s what I listen to mostly.
Favorite city you’ve visited so far?
Vancouver, Canada. It’s a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and water. It has great food, fabulous culture, lots to do and friendly people. In my fantasy world, I can afford to summer there in a beautiful apartment facing the mountains in one of the shiny high-rises downtown. 🙂
A city that you’d like to visit?
I’ve always wanted to visit Paris, France. The artist in me wants to visit museums and cathedrals that I learned about in art history classes. And the foodie and wine lover wants to eat my way through France! And I’m in luck. My husband has promised me a trip to Paris next year for a … well, let’s just say it’s a milestone birthday. 😉
Favorite food?
I love food of all sorts. Pedestrian and gourmet. American and international. It’s a tough call to choose one favorite. I could probably eat mashed potatoes and gravy for every meal and not tire of it. And though it doesn’t agree much with my stomach, I often crave chicken tikka masala with naan. Yeah, I could eat that every day.
If you had to pick one city to be lost in for the rest of your life, which one would it be?
Wow, these are hard questions! To choose just one of things that I love. ;-P
Even though I live in the suburbs, I enjoy cities so much. I’ve been to most of the major cities in the U.S. and Canada. I’ve enjoyed all of them.
But if I had to choose only one to get lost in for the rest of my life, it would have to be NYC. It’s a world unto itself. I love how you can be anonymous there. For some people that may sound scary. But I grew up in a small town where everyone knew everybody; everyone knows your business. And in a small town, you can get pegged as one thing or one type. But I’m an eclectic person. I tend to reinvent myself from time to time. So the idea of being in a city where one can get lost – where one can be herself – whatever self she wants to be. That’s very freeing for me. And freedom is what my life is all about.
Natalie is the author of H.A.L.F., a young adult science fiction series, and The Akasha Chronicles, a young adult fantasy trilogy. She lives in the high desert of Tucson, Arizona with her husband, tween daughter, and two young cats.
Natalie spends her time writing, reading, gaming, geeking out over nerd culture and cool science, hanging out on social media, and meeting readers and fans at festivals and comic cons throughout the western United States. She likes to walk in the desert, snorkel in warm waters, travel, and share excellent food and conversation with awesome people. She was raised an Ohio farm girl, lives in the desert Southwest, and dreams of living in a big city high rise
