Catching Up with Julie Cross
The Reading Cafe is happy to welcome back Julie Cross. On August 1st, Julie will be releasing a special book close to her heart in Letters to Nowhere. She is here today to discuss discuss her new release, as well as what else we may have to look forward to in 2013
Before we start the interview, let’s refresh your memory about Julie.
I’m the author of the YA sci-fi trilogy, the Tempest series (St. Martin’s Press). I’m also the author of the YA contemporary novel, Letters To Nowhere.
I live in central Illinois with my wonderful husband and three kids currently between the ages of 7 and 12 (the kids not the husband). My writing journey began in May, 2009 with a short story in a notebook.
Within a year, I had written seven (some good some God-awful) young adult novels. Not being a college graduate and having spent the previous fifteen years teaching gymnastics and working as a YMCA Program Director for Recreational Gymnastics, professional writing wasn’t in my plans. Not even close. But ever since the day I started that short story, I haven’t been able to stop. It was love at first sight.
After about a year of writing, I had a three book deal with St. Martin’s Press, and a film option with Summit Entertainment. Crazy, right? I know. It wasn’t until August of 2011 that I quit working full time in order to be at home with my kids more and of course, write more. My young adult time travel debut novel, Tempest, released on January 17, 2012. The rest of my personal story remains unwritten.
Now lets catch up with Julie.
TRC: Hi Julie. Thank you for taking the time to revisit with us at The Reading Cafe to discuss your new release “Letters to Nowhere”, and what else you may have in store for us in 2013/2014.
Julie: In addition to Letters to Nowhere, I’m also the author of the YA sci-fi/time travel trilogy, the Tempest series. Right now, the first two books in the series (TEMPEST & VORTEX) are currently available wherever books are sold. The third and final book, TIMESTORM, will release in the US on January 28, 2014.
I also have a co-authored New Adult contemporary series that just recently sold. It’s not announced yet so I can’t give too many details, but it’s called HALFWAY PERFECT and my co-author is Mark Perini, who happens to portray, Jackson, my main character in the Tempest series, on the book covers. You can get more info about that on our joint blog http://markandjuliegchat.blogspot.com/
TRC: Letters to Nowhere is scheduled to be released next week. Can you please tell us the premise of Letters to Nowhere?
Julie: Letters to Nowhere is about a 17 year old elite level gymnast who’s just lost both her parents in a tragic car accident. Karen moves in with her coach and his teenage son so that she can continue training. And of course you can imagine that the “teenage son” becomes a major part of this story.
TRC: Is this a standalone novel, or will this be part of a series?
Julie: Originally, I wrote it as a standalone but after much persistence from early readers and my own desire to keep writing characters in this world, I’m planning two more books now, RETURN TO SENDER and LETTERS TO YOU. Hopefully I’ll be able to release both of these this fall/winter.
TRC: Can you please tell us how you came up with the idea of Letters to Nowhere, since this was totally different then your Tempest series?
Julie: The idea of writing a YA/NA novel set in the world of gymnastics is something I’ve wanted to do since I first began writing. But the actual premise for Letters to Nowhere came to me on a flight home from NYC right after my first novel, Tempest released. I kept thinking about a potential female gymnast main character and developing her. But I knew I needed something bigger for her to battle. An obstacle that would nearly make it impossible for her to reach her dream. Then I thought about how big a role parents of elite gymnasts play in their child’s life. And what would happen if I took away that support system? Is her dream really her own or a reflection of her parents? Even if it is her own can she find the strength and the drive to continue on her own?
TRC: Why did you decide to self publish Letters to Nowhere?
Julie: My husband is actually the one who really encouraged me to dip my toes into the self publishing world. I had been on submission and recently sold three new projects, and none of them fit the Letters to Nowhere mold exactly. And LtN obviously didn’t fit in with time traveling YA associated with the Tempest series. Then all the beta readers that had so kindly read draft one of Letters to Nowhere had been emailing to ask when it would be published. I never went on submission with traditional publishing houses for this book or anything. The timing was never exactly right or I was waiting to hear back on another project. And I finally decided that I just needed to get it out there. It’s the book of my heart and I wanted people to read it. Self publishing is hard work and it would have been impossible without the help of my husband doing all the technical and business type tasks.
TRC: Was it difficult to switch between different genres like Letters to Nowhere, as opposed to your Tempest series?
Julie: Letters to Nowhere was much easier to write than any Tempest series books. Contemporary or realistic fiction is always going to be easier for me to write. The challenges with genre switching for me only come with marketing myself as an author. Sometimes it’s hard to sell a book that’s so different than your debut novels.
TRC: With two books already released on your Tempest series (Tempest & Vortex), can you please tell us when we can expect the third book of this trilogy?
Julie: I’m actually quite proud of Timestorm (Tempest #3) and I hope readers feel a sense of satisfaction when reaching the end of the trilogy. Basically, I was able to answer almost all the remaining questions that had been hanging in the air over the course of two books and I was able to do so in the first 30-50% of the book. And then it’s new challenges and new battles to be won for the rest of the novel. It was exhilarating to finally write the pages for this huge plot that I’d planned almost three years ago.
TRC: Can you please tell us what you are currently working on, and what are your plans for 2013 or 2014?
Julie: I’m currently working on a few projects that I’m feeling out. One is a New Adult called Third Degree and it’s about former child genius who, after being rejected for medical residency programs, decides to pursue a third college degree by enrolling again as a freshman, but this time she’s majoring in being 18.
I’m working on the sequel to Letters to Nowhere as well as the co-authored project with Mark Perini. I also have a Mature YA/New Adult crossover set in the world of professional baseball that should release sometime this fall. In addition, I’ve created a NA anthology that I can’t spill too many details about at the moment, but it’s got an amazing premise and an even more amazing line-up of authors.
TRC: We know you love to write Young Adult. Have you considered writing a New Adult novel, as that is also close to YA, but for the next age level?
Julie: I love to write YA because it’s my favorite genre to read but I think it’s the fast pace of the stories and it’s all the first experiences and that coming-of-age aspect. I just love that theme. I do have some New Adult titles coming up on my schedule soon, but I also consider the Tempest series to be New Adult because my main character Jackson is 19 and in college when the first book opens. All the characters I write fall between 17 and 19 years old so I’m almost always straddling that line between the two genres.
TRC: Thank you, Julie for answering our questions. We wish you good luck with Letters to Nowhere. We also look forward to working with you again in the future.
Julie: Thank you so much for allowing me to participate in this interview!
If you would like to learn more about Julie, you can visit her at the following links:
Website:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Goodreads:
TRC: Can you tell how you came up with the idea of Riversong, your first novel? What is the premise of this series, and how many books are you planning? 
TRC: Riverbend
TRC: In February of this year, you released a new standalone novel, Caramel and Magnolias. Can you please give us a brief description of this book? 
TRC: Would you please give us a brief description of Summer at Mustang Ridge?
Rhyannon: This was such an easy question to answer because I had included images in the cover art file I put together for Berkley’s art department. I sent them a gorgeous photo of Gerard Butler for Ben, and one of the adorable Anna Friel for Reese
Rhyannon: I’m currently working on the copyedits for Make Me Yours, which will be in the WICKED AND DANGEROUS anthology that’s coming out in October. I’m also working on KEEP ME CLOSER, as well as some exciting self-published projects that will be coming out this summer. 🙂
