Meet the Author - JM Sullivan

Today I'm delighted to welcome JM Sullivan to the Writer's Block, who is launching her latest novel, Second Star, and has come to answer some questions.

1) First of all, tell us a little about yourself and what you write.

Hello everyone! My name is JM Sullivan. I'm an author and also the host of Twitter’s #AuthorConfession game. When I'm not writing or hanging out with my writing friends, you can find me at home reading and watching movies or attempting to bake with my family. Most of the time though, my head is in the clouds imagining twisty versions of my favourite fairy tales, because you guessed it, I am a retelling writer. I love retellings because it's fascinating to me how many unique takes can be given to the stories that we’ve grown up with. Whether exploring the origin of a villain, changing the setting, or putting it in a whole new time period, giving a small spin to a familiar tale can breathe completely new life into it and make something totally unique. For me, that’s as close to magic as I think I ever need to get.

2) Tell us about the new book

Second Star is a futuristic retelling of Peter Pan, set in space. It's a dual POV story that follows the lives of Lead Hand Mechanic Peter Pan and Captain Wendy Darling as they try and save their crews from Neverland. On a search and rescue mission from the London Brigade, Wendy’s path crosses Peter’s on her mission to retrieve Captain Hooke and his long lost crew. Before she finds the Roger, Wendy meets Peter, who tells her the upstanding Captain is not all he pretends to be. With this new information, Wendy must decide who to trust to save her crew-and she must do it quickly before darkness consumes them all.

3) What authors would you say have influenced you?

I think that I'm influenced at least in some way by all of the authors whose works I love. Getting lost in their worlds makes me want to make my writing strong enough to be able to do the same to my readers, and I think I draw off of the different parts of each of their writing styles that I love the most. But, if I had to give a specific name, Marissa Meyer is an incredibly talented writer, whose retellings are absolutely seamless in meshing old favourites with characters and world building of her own. I’ve said it jokingly before, but seriously, she is the kind of writer I want to be when I grow up.

4) What kind of atmosphere do you like when writing?

Ideally, my picture of a perfect writing session is in a calm, quiet environment with some mood music playing to match my WIP and a cup of hot coffee beside me. In reality, that hardly ever happens (I am typing this as my kids are running around the room and playing make-believe), and I have to adjust. Really, as long as I have my laptop, some music, and caffeine, I can generally make it work.

5) What's the strangest thing you've done as research for a story?

Strangest? Hmmm. I don’t know that anything I have done for research can be called strange in itself (although, my Google search history might raise some brows), but I have done quite a variety of things! From studying related stories to taking kickboxing for fight scenes, I try and apply as much of my real life experiences to my writing as I can. If it’s something I think I can use, I make a mental note and try and work it in when I get back to my story.

6) If your book was adapted for screen, who would you want to cast?

It’s funny that you ask this, because I actually have made a fan casting, and I even have a nice aesthetic! If Second Star was to be made into a movie, I think these actors/actresses would do a phenomenal job:

-Wendy Darling: Mandy Moore
-Peter Pan: Stefano Masciolini
-James Tiberius Hooke: Eduardo Verastegui
-Elias Johns:  Channing Tatum
-Jensen Michaels: Nicholas Hoult
-Marisa DeLaCruz: Shannyn Sossamon
-Arielle Dawes: Katherine McNamara
-Aidan Boyce: Freddie Stroma


7) Finally, what's the best advice anyone has ever given you?

Tell your story. Get the words on the page. It may not be pretty at first, but you can always go back and fix parts that don’t work.  To be a writer, you’ve got to take that first step. Until it’s out of your head and on paper, you won’t have anything.

Thank you for joining us today, and I wish you every success with Second Star.

Happy writing.