Belladonna (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #2) by Fiona Paul Blog Tour! -- Author Interview

I would like to give a warm welcome to Miss Fiona Paul who is the author of the brilliant Secrets of the Eternal Rose Series. She is here today for an interview to do with the Australian Blog Tour of Belladonna which is Book #2 in the Secrets of the Eternal Rose Series. 

If you would like to see my review of Venom (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #1) please click here 

To start with, here is a synopsis of the novel:


































So let the interview begin!

Quick Q's

1. IPAD or Kindle?
   Nook :)
2. Favourite dessert?
   Tiramisu!
3. Favourite movie?
   The Crow
4. Favourite Actor/Actress?
   I don't really have one. I love Jennifer Lawrence a lot.
5. Morning Person?
   Ha Ha. Maybe like 0200 in the morning person.
6. Favourite singer?
   I'm gonna go with Chris Cornell from Soundgarden because I just saw them live.
7. Superman or Batman?
   Iron Man
8. Favourite animal? (Any in the world)
   Tiger
9. Favourite element? (Water, Earth, Air, Fire)
   Fire
10. Beaches or Pools?
   Beaches, all the way.

Long Questions 

1. Where and when is your favourite place to read? 
Down the street from my building, there is a huge city park called Forest Park. Also, in front of our art museum is a huge sloping hill called Art Hill where I like to bring a blanket there and read.
2. What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Well, I like eating or exercising--two things I definitely enjoy. I also like reading, movies, live music, cooking, outdoor sports like hiking and kayaking, and having adventures in faraway lands.

3. If you could have any magical power, what would it be?
I would choose to be invisible. I don't even have a cool 'I want to sneak into the Room of Requirement' reason or anything. If I were invisible I could sneak onto airplanes and cruise ships and take all sorts of trips and I really like to travel :) If I were actually given this choice I might have to choose a more active power, like flying or time travel or shooting fireballs out of my eyes, but invisibility would definitely tempt me.

4. Who is your favourite and most relatable character in the Secrets of the Eternal Rose series?
Falco because he is sarcastic and tells it like it is. He's also kind of moody and impulsive and speaks before he thinks, all of which describe me. 

5. Where is your favourite holiday destination?
So impossible to choose. I am going to say my favorite travel destinations are Iceland in the summer, Thailand in the winter, and New Zealand all year around.

6. What inspired you to name the books the way they are? 
I did not name any of them, actually :) My understanding is that Penguin's marketing team named the first one, the book development team named the second one, and my editor named the third one. Actually, my editor gave me a short list of two and asked for my opinion. One of the two was STARLING and I latched on to it immediately. 

7. Do you have any regrets about something that you wrote in one of the novels? What would you change?
Hahaha. OMG Daniel. I could write hundreds of pages about regrets and things I would change if I could go back. Welcome to the life of a writer. It is ALL regrets and lost chances. Just a smattering of highlights from my 'Venom regrets file: I would have Cass find Falco the next night at the tavern instead of in the cemetery because the people who said it was dumb for her to go back there are right. I would speed up that turtle-slow beginning where I describe every brick in all of Venice, I would remove some of those flowery lines that seemed so perfect when I wrote the book but now seem horribly purple. I could go on forever here. 

I trust my friends/family to tell me if a typo sneaks into the finished copy and if it does, I will have it fixed. Otherwise, I don't even like reading passages at events because I will find something I want to change. Always. Were it up to me, no book would ever be finished because I would revise them for ten years ;)

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And so that concludes the interview. A massive thanks to Miss Fiona Paul for visiting and I cannot wait until the third installment of the Secrets of the Eternal Rose- Starling!