Friday, September 9, 2011

Fangirl Friday: G.P. Ching

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GP Ching is the author of The Soulkeepers series and rebel suburbanite who makes wicked cookies, kicks patootie at Guitar Hero, and thinks guinea pigs are the perfect pet.  You can find her online at GPChing.com

The Fangirl met G.P. at a local RWA meeting, after much proding from her crit partner (Kienna Riley), she decided to ask G.P. for an interview.  After being sucked into the first book of the SoulKeepers series, The Fangirl wants to share her Fangirlness of G.P. with the world.






Magan: For those that haven't read the Soulkeepers series, can you tell them what it's about?

Warning: Spoilers. If you haven't read the Soulkeepers yet, you may want to skip to the second question.

G.P.: Weaving Destiny is the second book in The Soulkeepers Series. In the first book Jacob Lau discovers he is a Soulkeeper after a brutal car crash leaves him orphaned. A Soulkeeper is genetically gifted human being that has the power to fight Watchers, otherwise known as fallen angels. Soulkeepers only come into their power when a stressful event activates the gene.

At the end of the first book, Jacob's girlfriend Malini shows signs of carrying the Soulkeeper gene. Weaving Destiny is Malini's story and picks up three months after the end of The Soulkeepers. Malini desperately wants to determine if she's a Soulkeeper. She's frustrated because she's thrown into The Soulkeepers' battles without the necessary power to protect herself. Fitting in matters because the Soulkeepers are so much of Jacob's world and she's afraid if she doesn't find her power, she'll lose him. It doesn't help that a new Soulkeeper named Mara comes to town who takes an interest in Jacob. Malini has to sort out her insecurities about Jacob while she figures out who she is and what she is becoming.

Magan: What inspired you to write this novel?
G.P.: After I wrote The Soulkeepers, which was inspired by a conversation I had about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Weaving Destiny just came to me. The characters in my head decided what would happen. I wrote the book in a fraction of the time it took me to write the first.

I will say that as the story unfolded, I thought a lot about self-esteem in young women. Girls sometimes define themselves by their boyfriends. Sometimes, women don't give themselves enough credit for what they can accomplish on their own. It was important to me that I write a story where Malini is the hero of her own destiny. She changes during this book from someone who things happen to, to someone who makes things happen.

Magan: Did you have to do any sort of research to write this novel? How did you go about that?
G.P.: I did some research on the game of cricket. There's a scene where Malini has a vision of her father and grandfather talking about a game. Of course, since Malini is Indian, it couldn't be baseball. The more popular pastime in India is cricket. So, I needed to learn enough about the game to write the scene. Most of the other research was done as part of book one.

Magan: How did you decide to go with Darkside publishing? What makes it the best home for your novel?
G.P.: DarkSide Publishing specializes in Young Adult novels for the eBook market. There have been many publishers in the romance genre that have done this for years but for YA it's still an emerging market as more young people get eReaders. I think ePublishing is the way of the future and felt that DarkSide had the most attractive business model.

Magan: Did you have any pitfalls or times that you wanted to give up on writing? What kept you going?
G.P.: I've never seriously considered giving up writing entirely. I love writing. I'll do this until I die. I certainly have enough manuscripts started to keep me busy until I die!

As far as pitfalls, sure I have bad days when I'm not happy with a review or with how many books I've sold that day. That stuff can be frustrating. But reviews and sales are just the icing on the cake. The joy is in the writing itself.

Magan: What's next for you writing-wise?
G.P.: The Official Weaving Destiny Blog Tour starts September 12! Visit www.gpching.com to enter to win your choice of Kindle or Nook. Plus over a dozen blogs are participating with reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways. If you want to win a free copy of either of the Soulkeepers eBooks, follow the tour!

Return to Eden, Dr. Silva & Gideon's story, will be available Winter 2012. There is room in the story for additional books beyond Return to Eden if readers want more from the series at that point.

I also have a stand alone YA called Grounded, a futuristic dystopian. I can't talk too much about that one yet, but I'm very excited about the possibilities.

Magan: Did you have any sort of a musical playlist for this novel? If so, could you share it with us?

G.P.: Yes. My playlist is available at www.thesoulkeepersseries.com, on the Weaving Destiny page. You can also watch the book trailer there.

Magan: If Soulkeepers were to be made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
G.P.: This is a tough one. I think Jacob and Malini would have to be played by yet unknown talent. There just aren't enough young multi-cultural actors. However, generally speaking, if I had to pick well-known actors that fit the descriptions in the book, I would say Parminder Nagra as Malini, and a young Keanu Reeves as Jacob.

Magan: Favorite book, movie, food?
G.P.: My favorite books (I couldn't possibly name just one): Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Memiors of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin, The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

My favorite movie is a classic - Better Off Dead with John Cusack.

My favorite food is a cheeseburger and onion rings from Schooners in Bloomington IL.

Magan: Words to live by?

G.P.:"Don't you know about destiny, Malini? Destiny is not a place that we navigate to like a pinpoint on a map. Destiny is a fabric woven from our choices. It is the cloak we wear every day and the shroud that covers us in our death. You can't wait for destiny to find you. You make it for yourself." -From Weaving Destiny


Thanks again for the interview!  And blog readers, look for my upcoming review of SOULKEEPERS and a special giveaway!

8 comments:

  1. G P is great. I enjoyed the first book very much and look forward to her future publications.

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  2. AWESOME interview! Have to go check this series out now!

    And that quote at the end? E-p-i-c.

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  3. Great interview! Thanks for bringing GP to us, Fangirl! :)

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  4. Really great and knowledgeable interview. Each point is excellent and great for our knowledge.domain registration india

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  5. Series is amazing I hadn't read a book for several years when I stumbled across soulkeepers, I just wish the third book were out sooner, they are amazing!!

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  6. Series is amazing I hadn't read a book for several years when I stumbled across soulkeepers, I just wish the third book were out sooner, they are amazing!!

    Dan Henderson

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  7. I just got my kindle a week ago and I saw your book on there for free I bought it and was done in a day or so I just couldn't put it down then I bought your second and I just finished it after 2 days love your books cant wait for the 3rd one sounds like it'll be epic!!

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