Happy holidays!!! Whew! Thanksgiving is now behind us, and not we move into the Christmas season. That means Hallmark Christmas Movies, trees being decorated, shopping, wrapping presents and another family gathering soon to arrive. One of the things I love about Thanksgiving is that it is less commercialized unlike Halloween and Christmas. My favorite part from yesterday, was after we ate, we one at a time shred what we were grateful for to our family. As young as two and as old as seventeen for my grandkids they each shared. Then the rest of the adults. Yesterday, was also the first time in eleven years I had all three of my daughters and my grandkids together at one meal. I will always cherish that time.
Then, the SAINTS won their division. Can I have a huge Who Dat!!!!!
Now to my author of the day and their book. This is one you will want to read if you are a science fiction lover. From author G.I. Bell, comes A Star to Dyllis. This book holds promise has a potential best-seller. I hope you enjoy learning about the author the book.
ABOUT THE BOOK
 |
| BUY NOW ON AMAZON |
A seemingly perfect high school student, and her persistent stalker. A former delinquent. A wallflower. A policeman with an odd sense of justice. A sullen teacher. And then in comes a self-proclaimed dimension-sliding Observer. The Observer's task? To fix an anomaly that is causing tears in the fabric of reality. What exactly is happening in this small, perfect town?
A Star to Dyllis features an "Observer" tasked with fixing an anomaly in our world. An Observer is a being that records all ongoing events in all the universes from a distance for universal archives. The anomaly this Observer is trying to fix will tear the fabric of the universes apart if left alone. The anomaly seems to surround a young girl named Dyllis Diarmaid who seems to be the very definition of perfect. She even lives in a town called Perfect. She's admired by her peers and praised by her teachers. There's a deeper truth to her than meets the eyes, however. A truth that Dyllis herself doesn't seem to be willing to explore. The story is told through the viewpoint of multiple characters including the Observer, a naïve policeman, and a former delinquent. Each character has their own opinions regarding both Dyllis and their own situations. They all work together to solve the anomaly in an out-of-body adventure that makes them question their own identities.
A Star to Dyllis features an "Observer" tasked with fixing an anomaly in our world. An Observer is a being that records all ongoing events in all the universes from a distance for universal archives. The anomaly this Observer is trying to fix will tear the fabric of the universes apart if left alone. The anomaly seems to surround a young girl named Dyllis Diarmaid who seems to be the very definition of perfect. She even lives in a town called Perfect. She's admired by her peers and praised by her teachers. There's a deeper truth to her than meets the eyes, however. A truth that Dyllis herself doesn't seem to be willing to explore. The story is told through the viewpoint of multiple characters including the Observer, a naïve policeman, and a former delinquent. Each character has their own opinions regarding both Dyllis and their own situations. They all work together to solve the anomaly in an out-of-body adventure that makes them question their own identities.
Tell your readers a little
about yourself, where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school
etc. Let them get to know the personal you.
I grew up in northeast Ohio,
so I'm immune to heat waves and subzero temperatures. I'm still there now, but
I'll probably be moving down to Texas at the end of the year for graduate
school. One of my fears about moving is that my immunity to subzero
temperatures will slowly wane.
I found myself stepping into parenting shoes for my younger brother at a young age because my parents worked long hours. To this very day, he still comes to me to ask for permission, advice and help instead of my parents. This has actually influenced most of my life decisions. Before every choice I make, I consider how it'll affect my younger sibling. Needless to say, it's a bit irritating when my younger sibling doesn't show even a drop of appreciation. I'm sure a lot of people understand this feeling.
I'm not a very athletic person. My mom once forced me to join golfing in high school. I went to an old girl's high school, so our team was very small, because of that, I was placed on the varsity team. Let me tell you this. I sucked. I sucked so bad that whenever we would have matches, I would be allowed to sit out after hitting the ball 30 times without getting it into the hole. Rinse and repeat about fifteen times. Terrible, terrible times. I can't stand to look at a golf club. Despite this fact and my unathleticism, I do enjoy running. It gives me time to collect my thoughts and think of new story ideas.
I received my Bachelor's Degree at Kent State University, where I studied biology. Despite my major, my favorite class was creative writing.
I found myself stepping into parenting shoes for my younger brother at a young age because my parents worked long hours. To this very day, he still comes to me to ask for permission, advice and help instead of my parents. This has actually influenced most of my life decisions. Before every choice I make, I consider how it'll affect my younger sibling. Needless to say, it's a bit irritating when my younger sibling doesn't show even a drop of appreciation. I'm sure a lot of people understand this feeling.
I'm not a very athletic person. My mom once forced me to join golfing in high school. I went to an old girl's high school, so our team was very small, because of that, I was placed on the varsity team. Let me tell you this. I sucked. I sucked so bad that whenever we would have matches, I would be allowed to sit out after hitting the ball 30 times without getting it into the hole. Rinse and repeat about fifteen times. Terrible, terrible times. I can't stand to look at a golf club. Despite this fact and my unathleticism, I do enjoy running. It gives me time to collect my thoughts and think of new story ideas.
I received my Bachelor's Degree at Kent State University, where I studied biology. Despite my major, my favorite class was creative writing.
What inspired you to author
this book?
I've always wanted to become
an author. When I was around ten, I started to write online. Fanfiction. My
early stories literally had no plot whatsoever, and random characters would pop
into the story out of thin air. Every time I come across my old stories, I shed
a tear. I'm not sure if it's a happy or sad one. Slowly, however, my writing
evolved to develop plot and themes and character development. What I loved most
about writing on fan sites was interacting with my reviewers. I was happy that
some of my stories were able to touch and improve their lives in some way. I
wanted to be able to do the same on a larger scale. Basically, with this book,
I want to be able to reach out to people who may be doubting themselves or
struggling with troubling times. I want to tell people that the world is big
and good and maybe to bring a smile on their faces when they're feeling down. I
also love the idea of multiverses, so that's another big influence.
Where did you get the
inspiration for your book’s cover?
I've always had an idea of
what I wanted the cover to look like. I wanted it to play on the themes and the
feeling of the novel. I also wanted it not to involve any identifiable facial
characteristics so anyone who looks at the cover and reads the book could more
easily picture themselves in the character's shoes and on the cover. Strings
and light play a large role in the story, too, so I wanted to incorporate that
as well. I also wanted to play on the concept that 'everything is in your hands.
Who has been the most
significant influence on you personally and as a writer?
The most significant
influence on me personally and as a writer would probably be my middle school
best friend. We were practically bound at the hip. She helped make me more
passionate about books. Often during recess, we would walk around outside and
build worlds, stories, and characters. We got into a lot of fights over our
shared story/universe because we wanted things to unfold in the story. I
remember one particularly bad fight where she wanted one of her characters to
form a relationship with one of my characters, but I didn't want them to.
Looking back now, our fights were ridiculous and the worlds we created even
more ridiculous. Still, we were able to increase our love and skill at storytelling
through our built worlds. We've grown distant, but she still holds an important
place in my heart.
What were your struggles or
obstacles you had to overcome to get this book written?
The largest obstacle I had
to overcome was the disapproval of my parents. I grew up in an Asian American
household, and my parents always expected me to choose a profession that was
stable money-wise. They're immigrants from Vietnam and had to build lives from
nothing here. Money and luxury were always on their minds. And they always
pushed me to become a doctor or a lawyer because they thought that those
professions were secure financially. Writing as an author was viewed as a waste
of time in their eyes. They weren't approving of me investing money and time
into this book, and they still aren't. It hurts a bit, not having their
support. Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for everything they've provided for
me, and I will definitely pay them back in turn. I only wish that they'd
support my dreams.
A Star to Dyllis features
an Observer tasked with fixing an anomaly in our world. An Observer is a
dimension-sliding being that records all ongoing events in all of the universes
for records and records those things from a distance. The anomaly this Observer
is trying to fix will tear the fabric of the universes apart if left alone. The
anomaly seems to surround a young girl named Dyllis Diarmaid who appears to be
the very definition of perfect. She even lives in a town called Perfect. Her
peers admire her and praised by her teachers. There's a deeper truth to her
than meets the eyes; however, a truth that Dyllis herself doesn't seem to
willing to explore. The story is told through the viewpoint of multiple
characters, including the Observer, a naive policeman, and a former delinquent.
Each character has different opinions regarding Dyllis and their situations.
They all work together to try to solve the anomaly in an out-of-body adventure
that makes them question their individual identities.
My target audience is anyone
struggling with parts of themselves that they want to hide away, parts of
themselves that they don't think are acceptable to society. People who find it
hard to form connections and watch everything from a distance. My target
audience is also anyone who wonders what exactly lies beyond what we know about
the universe. I wanted to reach out to this audience and reassure them that
they're all right and that the world is big -- so big that we don't even know
all of the possibilities. Endless opportunities and endless ways to experience
them, it'd be a pity not to experience what we know and understand about the
world. I had young adolescents and individuals just reaching adulthood in my
mind when I wrote this book, but I'm sure people older think about these things
too.
My greatest success in life
would probably be influencing my brother to be the kind of person who pursues
his dreams and who continually seeks to expand his horizons regardless of what
other people think. Personally, I think that's the most challenging part of
life. Pursuing things without hesitation, a lot of people, including myself,
usually find themselves hesitating through all of their choices in life, and it
can cause a lot of anxiety and stress. I have a weird motherly sense of pride
in my brother.
What one unique thing sets
you apart from other writers in your genre?
It might be the fact that
I'm soon to pursue a Master's in Epidemiology and that I tend to gravitate
toward things that terrify me, which includes epidemiological topics --
diseases and how rapidly they spread are terrifying.
