Today I'm proud and honored to be interviewing the spectacular and enchanting STEVIE KOPAS, critically acclaimed author of the post-apocalyptic zombie survival adventure series THE BREADWINNER TRILOGY, which is being re-released by Permuted Press in the Spring of 2015. The previous release of BOOK ONE: THE BREADWINNER and BOOK TWO: HAVEN received numerous 5-star ratings and rave reviews when they were previously released in July 2013 and February 2014.
So get your zombie apocalypse survival gear ready, give Stevie some encouraging words in the Comments section below this post, give her a click on the Facebook "Like" button below, share a post on Facebook and a Tweet or 3 or 4 or more, visit her excellent Author Website and her Amazon Author Page, and put your eyeballs back in their sockets and help me give a hearty welcome to the beguiling and talented Stevie Kopas!
So get your zombie apocalypse survival gear ready, give Stevie some encouraging words in the Comments section below this post, give her a click on the Facebook "Like" button below, share a post on Facebook and a Tweet or 3 or 4 or more, visit her excellent Author Website and her Amazon Author Page, and put your eyeballs back in their sockets and help me give a hearty welcome to the beguiling and talented Stevie Kopas!
Stevie Kopas was born and raised in New Jersey and has been living in Florida since 2004. Stevie is the author of THE BREADWINNER TRILOGY. Book 1: The Breadwinner was her debut novel. Haven, the follow up to The Breadwinner, was released February 2014. Stevie signed a publishing contract with Permuted Press in May 2014. THE BREADWINNER will be re-released in March 2015, and HAVEN will be re-released in April 2015. The third installment in The Breadwinner Trilogy, ALL GOOD THINGS, will be published in May 2015. Stevie's short story "Nefarious" appears in the AT HELL'S GATES anthology, published September 21, 2014. Nefarious is the origin story of Moira Eckhart of The Breadwinner. Stevie enjoys video games, everything horror, coffee, and is an apocalypse enthusiast. She is the associate editor for the music and horror website Horror Metal Sounds, and she writes book reviews for The Bookie Monster.
LET THE INTERROGATION BEGIN!
Stevie, why do you write?
I have fun with it. I like building worlds and tearing them down, and I suppose in my own way it’s my version of architecture or engineering. If I didn’t write I’d be a serious basket case.
Tell us about your current or most recent writing project, and what you wish to accomplish with it.
At the moment I’m finishing up the final book in The Breadwinner Trilogy entitled ALL GOOD THINGS, and most recently I finished up a short story entitled Patient 63 for the next AT HELL'S GATES anthology release. With ALL GOOD THINGS, it’s tough, but I’m glad to be putting an end to The Breadwinner. It's been a fantastic ride but, as the title implies, all good things come to an end. Patient 63 was a completely different type of story for me to write, and I really hope people enjoy a different take on the apocalypse scenario. It’s a scenario I’ve rarely seen executed in fiction.
In your mind, what is your greatest accomplishment?
Putting the right shoes on the right feet...? There are small accomplishments littered throughout our everyday lives that we don’t give ourselves enough credit for. It’s okay to stop and pat yourself on the back for not flinging coffee in someone’s face when they cross the line with you, or for remembering to unplug your hair straightener and not burn the house down.
(The Reality Bender is making a Note To Self: Stop flinging coffee in people's faces and put away the matches.)
In your mind, what is your biggest failure?
Never completing the Blood Harvest campaign on Left for Dead on expert. It’s the only level I never finished on the hardest difficulty… and so it’s one of the only achievements in the game I never got credit for. Life is hard.
If you could be one fictional character—it can be anyone, modern or classic, movie, book, TV show, legend, myth, or even comics—who would you be, and why?
Rosalind Lutece from Bioshock Infinite. Why? The more delicious question would be why not.
I have fun with it. I like building worlds and tearing them down, and I suppose in my own way it’s my version of architecture or engineering. If I didn’t write I’d be a serious basket case.
Tell us about your current or most recent writing project, and what you wish to accomplish with it.
At the moment I’m finishing up the final book in The Breadwinner Trilogy entitled ALL GOOD THINGS, and most recently I finished up a short story entitled Patient 63 for the next AT HELL'S GATES anthology release. With ALL GOOD THINGS, it’s tough, but I’m glad to be putting an end to The Breadwinner. It's been a fantastic ride but, as the title implies, all good things come to an end. Patient 63 was a completely different type of story for me to write, and I really hope people enjoy a different take on the apocalypse scenario. It’s a scenario I’ve rarely seen executed in fiction.
In your mind, what is your greatest accomplishment?
Putting the right shoes on the right feet...? There are small accomplishments littered throughout our everyday lives that we don’t give ourselves enough credit for. It’s okay to stop and pat yourself on the back for not flinging coffee in someone’s face when they cross the line with you, or for remembering to unplug your hair straightener and not burn the house down.
(The Reality Bender is making a Note To Self: Stop flinging coffee in people's faces and put away the matches.)
In your mind, what is your biggest failure?
Never completing the Blood Harvest campaign on Left for Dead on expert. It’s the only level I never finished on the hardest difficulty… and so it’s one of the only achievements in the game I never got credit for. Life is hard.
If you could be one fictional character—it can be anyone, modern or classic, movie, book, TV show, legend, myth, or even comics—who would you be, and why?
Rosalind Lutece from Bioshock Infinite. Why? The more delicious question would be why not.
Now available on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Google Play, & Kobo
What is your ideal writing environment, and can/do you attain it, and if so, how?
I like it either super quiet or ridiculously loud. Chaos or calm. Coffee or wine. Choices, choices, they make all the difference.
What is your primary writing inspiration? It can be anything: people living or dead no matter their occupation, or places, concepts, groups, inanimate objects, etc.
The thoughts in my head need somewhere to go. I look at other works of fiction and often wonder, how would I do that differently? Or, what would I want to read if I was writing this? So I suppose other artists inspire me daily.
You’re stranded on a deserted tropical island full of life-sustaining fish, game, and flora, and don’t know when or even if you’ll ever be rescued. You get to choose three people to be stranded with you, and it can be anyone, whether you know them or not. Who would those three people be, and why?
One person: Tony Stark. First we’d discuss how he can give me some of that Stark money to make the world - and my life - a better place. And then he would put on that Iron Man suit and we would just fly off the island and back to civilization. Problem Solving 101.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? in 10?
I’ve never mastered the art of telling the future. Can I go back and change my greatest failure?
You can speak briefly with any one dead person, and ask them one question. Who would that person be, and what would you ask them?
Hmm… I try to pick a different person every time I answer this… so I’m gonna go with Lee Harvey Oswald and my one question would be "What’s your favorite color?"
(The Reality Bender's answer is "Yellow... no, wait: Blue! Aaaahhhh!")
I like it either super quiet or ridiculously loud. Chaos or calm. Coffee or wine. Choices, choices, they make all the difference.
What is your primary writing inspiration? It can be anything: people living or dead no matter their occupation, or places, concepts, groups, inanimate objects, etc.
The thoughts in my head need somewhere to go. I look at other works of fiction and often wonder, how would I do that differently? Or, what would I want to read if I was writing this? So I suppose other artists inspire me daily.
You’re stranded on a deserted tropical island full of life-sustaining fish, game, and flora, and don’t know when or even if you’ll ever be rescued. You get to choose three people to be stranded with you, and it can be anyone, whether you know them or not. Who would those three people be, and why?
One person: Tony Stark. First we’d discuss how he can give me some of that Stark money to make the world - and my life - a better place. And then he would put on that Iron Man suit and we would just fly off the island and back to civilization. Problem Solving 101.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? in 10?
I’ve never mastered the art of telling the future. Can I go back and change my greatest failure?
You can speak briefly with any one dead person, and ask them one question. Who would that person be, and what would you ask them?
Hmm… I try to pick a different person every time I answer this… so I’m gonna go with Lee Harvey Oswald and my one question would be "What’s your favorite color?"
(The Reality Bender's answer is "Yellow... no, wait: Blue! Aaaahhhh!")
Check out Stevie's short story NEFARIOUS in this awesome anthology!
Stevie, share one weird dream you had with us, and what you learned, if anything, from it.
I was a judge in a costume contest on a farm. The three finalists were a giant witch head, a giant Frankenstein head, and a giant mummy head. I chose tiny pigs running around on the ground. The moral of this story is: bacon wins.
I was a judge in a costume contest on a farm. The three finalists were a giant witch head, a giant Frankenstein head, and a giant mummy head. I chose tiny pigs running around on the ground. The moral of this story is: bacon wins.
I need a BLT now.
What advice do you have to share with other aspiring writers?
Stop calling yourself an “aspiring” writer. You’re a writer. Focus on being great and leave the titles alone.
In your mind, what is the most rewarding thing about writing?
Making myself, and others, happy in the process.
In your mind, what is the most frustrating thing about writing?
Not enough hours in the day to get all the writing done that I’d like.
How do you respond to negative criticism, including bad book reviews?
I don’t. One time I did, because it was a personal attack on me. But after that I realized that there’s no point in worrying about the negative because the positive has so much more impact.
Stop calling yourself an “aspiring” writer. You’re a writer. Focus on being great and leave the titles alone.
In your mind, what is the most rewarding thing about writing?
Making myself, and others, happy in the process.
In your mind, what is the most frustrating thing about writing?
Not enough hours in the day to get all the writing done that I’d like.
How do you respond to negative criticism, including bad book reviews?
I don’t. One time I did, because it was a personal attack on me. But after that I realized that there’s no point in worrying about the negative because the positive has so much more impact.
Now available on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Google Play, & Kobo
Both members of a married couple are close and well-loved friends of yours, and you discover beyond doubt that one is cheating on the other. What, if anything, do you do? Does sex (gender) enter into your decision, and why?
Unless I’m a part of that marriage, it’s none of my business.
Do you listen to music when you write, and if so, what are your favorite flavors to listen to?
I listen to the same thing over and over again. The album Ghosts I - IV by Nine Inch Nails.
What is the biggest distraction or impediment to your writing, and to completing your writing projects?
My day job.
Does time and the world around you ever “disappear” when your muse is upon you and you’re “in the writing zone”? If so, describe the feeling.
I feel like I somehow discovered time travel and worm holes.
How often do you edit, and when, and how many rounds of edits?
I edit one to two times when I’m finished with the project. But while I write, I always go back and read what I’d previously written to get back in that moment, and sometimes things change then too. I’m no editor. I leave the good editing to the pros.
Unless I’m a part of that marriage, it’s none of my business.
Do you listen to music when you write, and if so, what are your favorite flavors to listen to?
I listen to the same thing over and over again. The album Ghosts I - IV by Nine Inch Nails.
What is the biggest distraction or impediment to your writing, and to completing your writing projects?
My day job.
Does time and the world around you ever “disappear” when your muse is upon you and you’re “in the writing zone”? If so, describe the feeling.
I feel like I somehow discovered time travel and worm holes.
How often do you edit, and when, and how many rounds of edits?
I edit one to two times when I’m finished with the project. But while I write, I always go back and read what I’d previously written to get back in that moment, and sometimes things change then too. I’m no editor. I leave the good editing to the pros.
Yes, although Stevie may bitch-slap me for it, I went there.
How do you research prospective literary agents or publishers for representation and publication of your works—i.e., what tools and resources?
The internet and word of mouth.
If you’ve been traditionally published, describe the feeling you had when you received and accepted your first contract/ offer.
I was truly excited, like, stoked.
You have one paranormal or psychic superpower. What is it, and what will you do with it?
I guess I would want to tell the future! (See previous answer above.) That way I could better answer questions about my future self.
Are you superstitious about your writing habits? If so, what is/are that/those superstition(s)?
I only write on days ending in Y.
You have to commit a major crime to save the life of someone you love. Will you do it, and if so, how far will you go?
I would do major damage in the line of murder if anyone in my family or my husband-to-be were in danger.
The internet and word of mouth.
If you’ve been traditionally published, describe the feeling you had when you received and accepted your first contract/ offer.
I was truly excited, like, stoked.
You have one paranormal or psychic superpower. What is it, and what will you do with it?
I guess I would want to tell the future! (See previous answer above.) That way I could better answer questions about my future self.
Are you superstitious about your writing habits? If so, what is/are that/those superstition(s)?
I only write on days ending in Y.
You have to commit a major crime to save the life of someone you love. Will you do it, and if so, how far will you go?
I would do major damage in the line of murder if anyone in my family or my husband-to-be were in danger.
And we now pronounce The Reality Bender's Doom
...and now he is hopefully redeemed.
In your mind, what is the ultimate sin?
Hating yourself.
In your mind, what is the ultimate blessing?
Loving yourself.
Who is your favorite literary character that you’ve ever written/ created, and why?
Michelle, from Haven and All Good Things. She’s a mess. She’s my favorite antagonist. She’s hot, she’s smart, she’s crazy as hell, she’s got all sorts of issues, and she puts herself first. Sometimes apocalyptic fiction needs a break from all the “good guy” stuff and we need a nice peek into the mind of a person living in a world that they truly belong in.
You discover your best friend is lying to you about something important to you, and hurting you, themselves, others, or all of the above with that lie. What do you do about it?
“B@#$%, you need to get your $#&% together.”
You’re faced with a horde of desperate, hungry, potentially violent people in a world where the trucks and trains no longer deliver the goods. What do you do?
Call my good friend Tony Stark. We bonded on an island once.
Why should people read your work?
Shameless plug: I worked hard on the books I wrote and I continue to work hard. I want to provide entertainment, and when you read them, you’ll be entertained. Pick up a copy of At Hell’s Gates Vol 1 to read my short story Nefarious and keep your eyes peeled for the Permuted Press release of The Breadwinner, Haven, and All Good Things in Spring 2015. The audiobook of The Breadwinner will also be available in the spring.
Hating yourself.
In your mind, what is the ultimate blessing?
Loving yourself.
Who is your favorite literary character that you’ve ever written/ created, and why?
Michelle, from Haven and All Good Things. She’s a mess. She’s my favorite antagonist. She’s hot, she’s smart, she’s crazy as hell, she’s got all sorts of issues, and she puts herself first. Sometimes apocalyptic fiction needs a break from all the “good guy” stuff and we need a nice peek into the mind of a person living in a world that they truly belong in.
You discover your best friend is lying to you about something important to you, and hurting you, themselves, others, or all of the above with that lie. What do you do about it?
“B@#$%, you need to get your $#&% together.”
You’re faced with a horde of desperate, hungry, potentially violent people in a world where the trucks and trains no longer deliver the goods. What do you do?
Call my good friend Tony Stark. We bonded on an island once.
Why should people read your work?
Shameless plug: I worked hard on the books I wrote and I continue to work hard. I want to provide entertainment, and when you read them, you’ll be entertained. Pick up a copy of At Hell’s Gates Vol 1 to read my short story Nefarious and keep your eyes peeled for the Permuted Press release of The Breadwinner, Haven, and All Good Things in Spring 2015. The audiobook of The Breadwinner will also be available in the spring.
Available May 2015 on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Google Play, & Kobo
Stevie's Links
Author Website: www.someonereadthis.com
Stevie on Twitter: @ApacoTaco
Stevie on Facebook
Stevie's Facebook Fan Page
(give her a "Like"!)
Stevie's Amazon Author Page
Author Website: www.someonereadthis.com
Stevie on Twitter: @ApacoTaco
Stevie on Facebook
Stevie's Facebook Fan Page
(give her a "Like"!)
Stevie's Amazon Author Page
Thanks so much Stevie for playing in my virtual sandbox, and for participating in this interview. Best wishes to you for success in all your writing, worldly, and otherworldly endeavors! Be sure to give Stevie a shout out, keep an eye out for her BREADWINNER TRILOGY coming from Permuted Press in 2015, and show her your support by sharing her links on all your social media sites and posting reviews for her works on Amazon, Goodreads, and other parallel universe websites where her amazing work appears. Kudos Stevie for a great job, and keep up the excellent work!
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