Author Interview: LAURA BINGHAM author of "ALVOR"

I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Bingham, author of her first novel titled "Alvor". I have posted a review of Alvor as well so check it out! It was a FANTASTIC book! As well, Laura has given me a signed copy of Alvor to give away which I will post a contest for here in a different post. Since the name of our site is sooo long, I will call us T.L.G.B.R.S throughout the interview. So......drumroll please.....I introduce to you, Laura Bingham.

T.L.G.B.R.S: Do you think you would have thought of the idea for "Alvor" if you did not have a set of twins yourself? The reason I ask is that I could not really imagine "alvor" without Bain and Erin in it.

Laura: It's impossible to know. The whole idea of the story included twins in the first place. I even tried to figure out how to make it not be twins, but I couldn't. It had to be.

T.L.G.B.R.S: As an author, especially right after your first book comes out, when someone compliments you on your book, or for example you told of a little boy who bought your book and you saw him a few hours later laying on the grass reading it, or the little girl who came up to you at one of your signings and sat down next to you and just chatted with you for a while...obviously it must feel great, but describe the feeling, tell us how you felt when those things actually happened.

Laura: Each experience is different. The boy reading on the grass happened a week after my book was released. It was the first piece of evidence I had that maybe Alvor was good enough to catch kids. With each experience, I don't think about how great my book is, I think about how great it is that there are people out there who want to read and learn and aren't afraid to live in the moment. It isn't until the moment is over that I realize how precious it is that I was given the opportunity to become a small part of someone else's life.

T.L.G.B.R.S: Lets see, mom of 5, wife, clogging and other dance teacher, you own a dog and 3 small horses (which i think is so cool by the way), seriously, how do you even have time to think, let alone have the time to create a book that is as wonderful as Alvor?

Laura: I usually tell people it's because I don't watch tv. But, really, I love writing. It's like a book that I can't put down. When I'm writing, I think about it and want so much to get back into the world and story that I'm creating. I only write for a couple hours a day, and only a few days a week most of the time.

T.L.G.B.R.S: You had mentioned that working with a smaller publisher is not a lot of pressure. No deadlines, no marketing expectations or expectations of future work. Now that you have completed your first "masterpiece" and the opportunity came along, do you feel "ready" to take on the big boys?

Laura: It's not like I would have said no to a bigger publishing house. I just decided to take the contract in front of me instead of waiting to find out if anything better would ever come along. My career goal is to keep moving forward.

T.L.G.B.R.S: You were told "writing a book is 1/3 of the work of writing a book". Obviously there is much more involved, but what would you say has been most difficult as a new author in writing your first book?

Laura: I may be able to write a book, but how do I get the rest of the world to buy it? That's the hard part.

T.L.G.B.R.S: SO, we know you are working on a part 2 to "Alvor" now, what is your actual goal? is it to be a trilogy? you must have some idea of where you want this to end up..share with us what you can.

Laura: Right now, I would say trilogy.

T.L.G.B.R.S: Do you have any other stories you are working on, or are you going to complete the Alvor trilogy and then begin any new projects? And also, if you are going to write other stories, will they be YA/fantasy as well, or do you have another genre that you are interested in writing?

Laura: Yes, I do have more ideas up my sleeve, as it were. I have completed a totally unrelated to Alvor fantasy story, which I have hopes of cleaning up soon. But there are still more concepts I want to explore. All young adult writing. I think that's where I fit the best.

T.L.G.B.R.S: Even though you have said that after your husband gave you an inspirational thumbs up to write you had the whole idea for Alvor just pop into your head, how long did it actually take you from start to finish, including revisions, editing, etc to come up with the finished product?

Laura: I spent 6 months writing Alvor and four months revising and editing it.

T.L.G.B.R.S: Even though there is a big age gap between your twins and the twins in the book, is the relationship with yours similar to that of Bain and Erin? Bain and Erin seem to be best friends and share such a love for each other. Is it the same for your kids?

Laura: The personalities of Erin and Bain are not shared by my own children, but the relationship is. Twins are such an unusual thing. There is a bond between them that I can't compare to anything else I've witnessed. They do look out for each other, understand one another and so many of the characteristics I have seen in my own children inspired the relationship with Erin and Bain share in the book. One of the sweetest gestures I see in my twins is them holding hands, especially if their nervous, excited, afraid or eager to share something. It is a potent thing to behold.

T.L.G.B.R.S: I have seen on your website that you have so many books that you love. Can you name a few that you have read that stand out as your "favorite" or a few authors that you most admire....

Laura: I'm not at home where I can see all my books, but I know a few I fell in love with. I don't want it to seem cliche, but I love the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and Maximum Ride series.

I admire the authors as well as the books for the 13th Reality series- James Dashner is a shining example of opening doors for the world to get to know him, Fablehaven- Brandon really paved the way by taking small press and ending up on Times News Best Sellers, Hound of Rowen, The Tapestry series by Henry Neff- nice man, illustrates his own books- which I could never do, but I think is very cool.

But there are tons of other books that I love. I could no easier choose a favorite star in the sky. Each book teaches me something different and takes me for a different ride.

T.L.G.B.R.S: For anyone who has read your book, they will know why I am asking this. As a young girl, was CinderELLA one of your favorite books or was it just fitting?

Laura: I was just having a little fun, but what girl doesn't want to end up living happily ever after?

T.L.G.B.R.S: So you love ice cream...what food do you most despise?

Laura: Pineapple, bell peppers and anything deep fried.

T.L.G.B.R.S: How do all of your children and your husband feel about Alvor?

Laura: My husband says that, "Um, I've always been excited about the story. Um, You don't need to put everything that I say. hhhh. It's a fun story with very vivid descriptions that help me picture a world that I would want to be part of. I also enjoy seeing my wife's creativity."

Me- "Do I have to say that?"
him- "Yes."

My eight year old still dreams about it. My twelve year old helped me write by giving me feeback along the way. He made me read to him almost everyday.

Now my husband is reading it to my five year old twins, and they beg him for more every night.

It's so weird hearing someone read my book to my kids.

T.L.G.B.R.S: Do you ever have ideas about what you are writing "pop" into your head randomly when you are doing other things that you need to write them down, or do you do most of your creating when you actually are sitting down writing?

Laura: Yes. So much. In fact, I dream about books that I haven't even written yet. I never write things down unless I'm actually sitting at a computer or purposely writing in a notebook. I let the thoughts linger in my head and grow into a workable piece of material.

T.L.G.B.R.S: Besides dancing, do you have any hobbies that you love?

Laura: Reading and playing with my kids and taking walks. Do those count?

T.L.G.B.R.S: If you could possess any magical abilities or magical "tools" which one would you choose and why?

Laura: I'd like a changing brooch. I could do so much with that--- travel the world, that's definitely one of my biggest dreams.

T.LG.B.R.S: When you did teach science, what grade did you teach, and what was your favorite part of science to teach?

Laura: I taught eighth grade Earth Science. My favorite thing to teach was AP Biology. That rocked.

T.L.G.B.R.S: Give us a book and/or an author that you are very much looking forward to reading in the near future...

Laura: Maze Runner and Catching Fire

T.L.G.B.R.S: What is your favorite T.V. show?

Laura: I don't watch TV. Hardly ever. Probably have too much laundry or something. My most favorite TV experience in the world is sitting in my grandpa's living room while he's in his lazy boy recliner flicking through a hundred and twenty channels. I love that. We never really watch anything, but it's our unspoken way of hanging out together.

T.L.G.B.R.S: What would YOU do for a Klondike bar? (sorry, had to ask!)

Laura: Nothing. I'd pass. Now if you're talking cheesecake, you might have something.

T.L.G.B.R.S: You seem to be the type of author who really loves her fans and appreciates them. Tell us about your most memorable fan moment.

Laura: You're right. I love all my fans. The one that made me cry on the spot was a little seven year old who skipped into a book store I was signing at. She came up to me and gave me a big hug, and with her arms still around my neck, she told me that her big sister read my book and said it was just as good as Harry Potter, only better and because of that, she knew she was going to love it too. What could I do? I was powerless.

There you have it. Laura Bingham, author of the amazing book "Alvor". You can check out Laura's site from our homepage or by visiting her site at:

http://alvor-daretodream.blogspot.com/

Laura was kind enough to give us a signed copy of Alvor to give away so check out our contest post for details. Laura, thank you so much for your time. It has been a pleasure speaking with you and I hope I speak for everyone when i say that i can NOT WAIT for the next book in this series!

Dave

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