This interview was originally posted on Book Wyrming Thoughts as part of the Banovic Siblings blog tour. You can read the full interview here.
Hi Gillian Felix! Welcome to Book Wyrming Thoughts. Feel free to make yourself virtually comfortable. :3 Let’s start off the interview with knowing a bit about you. Tell us a little about yourself.
Thank you for having me. It is always fun to kick back on Bookwyrming’s virtual couch. Very comfy, love what you’ve done with the place..
How did you come up with the idea for The Banovic Siblings?
The Banovic Siblings is the second novel in the Family Portrait series which was originally written as a television series, I have 24 episodes written and parts of episodes 2, 3 and 4 make up The Banovic Siblings.
What was the hardest part of writing The Banovic Siblings?
Sometimes I have to get myself emotionally worked up to get into a scene, sometimes I’m not in the mood to get worked up, but I have to in order to bring forth the emotions to put into the scene/chapter.
Are any of the characters in the book similar to you or someone you know in some way?
We all have moments when we take a walk on the dark side or straddle the fence of crazy, and that’s how these characters are. I think readers would identify with them and see a bit of themselves in them. I bring a bit of my experiences into each character, I think as a writer you have to kind of be able to do that to make it authentic. Haze I would say is most like me, I suffered financially when I just moved to Los Angeles and couldn’t identify with the culture just like him.
Is there a message in your novel that you hope your readers will take?
Actions have consequences. In the case of Adriana, she does things that she thinks she’s gotten away with, and gets into trouble. When you do something bad and you think no one’s looking, think again. Adriana is discovering that she is not invincible and that’s a hard thing for her to accept.
What’s the hardest part about being an author?
It feels like everyday there is something new or some change in marketing, it is hard to keep up. These days authors are not just authors, we are entrepreneurs. I’ve been an entrepreneur from a young age, with the business aspect of producing a book and actually writing, sometimes it feels like there are not enough hours in the day.
What is one thing that you have learned in your previous novel(s)?
I am learning how to relax in interviews; I get very nervous because I am a very private person and don’t talk much.
If you were not a writer, what would you be?
I’d be a television producer, like the late Aaron Spelling.
If you could rewrite the ending of any book, what would it be?
I would re-write the ending of Harmattan by Gavin Weston. It is brilliantly written, but the ending was very sad and I wished the hero would have gone on to have a happier life. It is realistic, not everybody get a happy ending.
Can you tell us what other projects you are currently working on?
I am working on the 3rd novel in the Family Portrait novel series, I may call it Bastard’s Brew. What do you think? By now people have gotten to know the characters and fans are starting to choose their favorite characters. Book 3 will feature more about the mysterious bad boy Kevin Banovic. It is scheduled to be released in March/April 2014.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Thanks for having me!
I’d like to thank the wonderful ladies over at Book Wyrming Thoughts for taking part of my tour.
