Ember Raine Winters is a single mother of
2. Living in Bakersfield California. She has an Associate’s Degree in Political
Science and Philosophy from the Local Junior College and she loves to read.
Anything she can get her hands on, but mostly Science Fiction and Fantasy. She
self-published her first book in March and hopes to publish many more in the
future.
“I never thought one moment could
change my life forever. In an instant life as I knew it was over. My new life
was the stuff of legends. I just hoped I was strong enough to survive
it.”
A series of what were called The
Immigration Wars changed the way of life for the former United States. It
was thrown into chaos and a dictator came into power.
On the eve of Alexa's sixteenth
birthday her world changes forever. Her father is arrested for treason and she
finds out her mother is really alive. She and her best friend Jacob must travel
across country to meet her so they can free her father from the tyrannical
leader of the government. Everything is not as it seems in the resistance and
secrets and lies will be revealed along the way.
They must rely on each other and
their new friends to be successful. But, trust isn't easily given in the
resistance and Alexa must find a way to save her father and keep her friends
safe while on the run from both the government and the resistance.
Pick up your copy at
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a single mother of 2. I just self-published
Born To Resist in March. It was my first novel ever published. I have the
second in the series, Born For War, set to be released on October 25th. I love
to read! Anything fantasy or Science Fiction. I recently got in to Romance
novels as well. I love football and you can find me any given Sunday watching
the game in my living room screaming at my TV or in Oakland watching the game
in person.
When did you begin writing?
I have always loved to read and write. I never
thought anything of it. When I was in high school I had a poem published in
some anthology, but I can't remember where anymore. It's been a long time. I
just recently decided to try my hand in writing fiction. Born To Resist was
written over two years ago.
Describe your writing process. Do you plot or write
by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?
I am a fly by the seat of my pants type of writer. I
don't plot. I let the characters and the story tell themselves. The funny thing
is I never believed that the characters told the story until halfway through
writing Born For War. It just kind of flowed right out of me and stuff I had
never even thought of before was suddenly on the page… And it was good! I
realized then that it hadn't really come from me at all, but these characters
that I had created. It was really cool! I love writing I write all the time! I
even got the word app for my phone, so I write anywhere and everywhere
inspiration hits.
Can you tell us about your most recent release?
Born To Resist is set in a dystopian future after a
series of wars left the government in the hands of an evil dictator. He was
supposed to be the good guy, saving the country from the hostile takeover
perpetuated by angry illegal immigrants and the Mexican government. It is set
17 years after the wars. Alexa’s dad is arrested for treason and the only way
to get him back is to go to California and find her mother, who she thought was
dead and is now the commander of The Resistance. There is a light romance in
it. Her best friend Jacob becomes more than a friend and she meets some new
friends along the way.
How did you get the idea for the book?
I had just gotten done reading The Divergent Series
by Veronica Rossi and I realized something about dystopians. I always loved
Dystopian books with strong female leads. It was all about a problem that we
see within our own society and write the absolute worse thing we could possibly
imagine happening. There were a lot of problems with illegal immigration at the
time and it got me thinking about what could happen in the future if something
wasn’t done about it. So, I wrote about my own alternate future.
Of all your characters, which one is your favorite?
Why?
Jed is definitely my favorite. He is this big huge
alpha male. He is also wise and noble and at the end of the day he is nothing
more than a big teddy bear. He doesn't say much, so when he talks everything he
says is important.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing your
book?
The most challenging part was after the book was
actually written. The editing and finding people to help with editing and beta
reading on a serious budget. I was initially going to pitch it to agents and
then found out they weren't accepting books in my genre. I had heard horror stories
about self-publishing and didn't want to at first, but eventually decided that
if it was the only way to get my message out there I would have to do it.
Which authors have inspired your writing?
Obviously, Veronica Rossi, but also Suzanne Collins
is also one of my favorites. Marie Liu and Lee Straus were also big
inspirations to me as well.
What projects are you currently working on?
Born For War is set to be released on October 25th.
I am actually very early in the process of writing a contemporary romance about
PTSD. I hope to get more of that written next month after the tour is over and
Born For War is released.
What advice would you offer to new or aspiring
authors?
I don't know if I am qualified to offer any advice.
I guess the best I can say is don't get discouraged if agents and editors
reject your work. Self-publishing isn't the end of the world. If you put some
time and money into it you can make it work for you.
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