Behind the Quill with Fabio Bueno

Behind the Quill is totally rockin’ with debut authors lately! This week I’m featuring the exceptional Fabio Bueno, author of Wicked Sense. This awesome YA paranormal romance was released to the masses this week but I was able to cast a spell on Fabio to make him answer my questions – ahem – catch up with him during all the excitement.

Here’s what he had to say:

Me: Your debut novel, Wicked Sense was released Monday. How does it feel to finally have it finished and out there for the world to read? What did you do to celebrate its release?

FB: It feels great—and weird. It was my baby, and I only let a few people read it: critique partners, family, beta-readers, editors… But now the novel is out there, on its own. It feels like a having a kid leaving for college, I guess: you’re ecstatic for her, but at the same time, the little kid is no more and doesn’t belong to you anymore.

Me: What was the biggest challenge you faced while going through the self-publishing process?

FB: Self-publishing gives you total control. You can do everything. On the other hand, you must do everything : ) Of course, I’ve hired professional editors and designers, but I’ve decided to do other things myself, like laying out the printed book and designing the website. It’s a lot of work, a lot of fun, and a lot of research. The biggest challenge was the overwhelming amount of information I had to absorb in a relatively small period.

Me: Did your wife read Wicked Sense? Your kids? If so, what do they think about it?

FB: My kids ask me to read it all the time, but they’re too young. Wonder Wife can be a tough critic, but she loved it. I knew then that I had a winner  🙂

Me: Tell us about the prestigious Sandy contest and what it felt like when you received word that Wicked Sense had won first place.

FB: It’s a great honor for any writer just to be among the three finalists. But when they told me my novel had been awarded first place in the YA category, it felt unreal. It was at a time that I needed a push, an incentive, and the award certainly helped me in that aspect.

Me: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

FB: A scene that takes place at Green Lake Park in Seattle is my favorite. In this scene, all the sights and sounds are, well, not fiction. I wanted to capture the exact unique flavor of the city, so I went a few times to the park and registered the people and the place. And I wrote the chapters there too. It was almost as if the characters were alive, strolling through the park. A great experience.

Me: Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with in the future?

FB: Wicked Sense is the first book in the Singularity series, so I’ll be revisiting its characters and themes soon. In a new project I’d like to explore the theme of the nature of good vs. evil; what makes a person one or the other, and if those labels stick in extreme situations.

Me: What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

FB: Playing hard rock really loud while writing : )

Me: Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

FB: Strangely, the authors that influenced me the most are from the nineteenth century: Jules Verne (love his imagination and the way he explored the unknown) and Mark Twain (for his fine observations and sharp tongue). I try to bring these characteristic into my work, with a modern spin, of course.

Me: What is your favorite food? If you cook, what type of food is your favorite and would you mind sharing a recipe?

FB: Please don’t laugh, but I love popcorn. I’ve watched a Good Eats this year that explained the best method: use a wok pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil, popcorn, and salt, and cover it with aluminum foil. Then pop them on high heat, always shaking the wok pan so the kernels don’t burn. Perfect popcorn!

Me: I’m totally going to share this with my husband. He loves popcorn, too!
Are you a pet owner? If so, what pets do you have and their names?

FB: We have two parakeets at home: Blueberry Jell-o and Fluffy Feather. Captain America was also with us, but he decided to move away from home : (

Me: What would you like your readers to know about this book or you in general? What do you want readers to see in your books?

FB: In this book, I thought it’d be fun to give a voice to both sides of the relationship in a YA paranormal romance: Wicked Sense is told in alternate chapters between the male and female protagonists. The reader gets a glimpse of the male dynamics as well, which is an aspect seldom explored in the paranormal genre.

Me: Tell us about your current or upcoming release. Will you have a new book coming out soon?

FB: I’m currently working on a sequel for Wicked Sense. Another project is a darker YA novel with an original premise.

Me: What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring authors?

FB: This is going to sound very cliché, but here it is: read and write. A lot. Sorry, but there’s no secret. It’s just “read, write, repeat.” If you’re starting, you’ll get better. If you’re already good, you’ll get even better! Grow at your own pace; don’t worry about time or other writers. When you’re ready, you’ll know (and you’ll keep reading and writing, like all writers :).

Me: Excellent advice, Fabio! I’m excited to hear that you’re working on a sequel to Wicked Sense and you’ve already piqued my interest with the dark YA novel as well. Thank you so much for letting me steal some of your time!

For all you YA lovers, don’t forget to check out the Goodreads giveaway (until Sep 19th). Win 1 of 5 signed copies!

Here’s the blurb for Fabio’s debut novel, Wicked Sense:

Witches inhabit our world, organized in covens and hiding behind a shroud of secrecy—the Veil.

Skye’s London coven sends her to Seattle’s Greenwood High to find the Singularity, an unusually gifted witch who may break the Veil and trigger a dangerous new era of witch-hunting. Things get complicated when Skye meets a charming new classmate, Drake. Skye’s job becomes even trickier when she clashes with Jane, an intimidating rival witch.

Drake falls for the mysterious Skye, but odd accidents, potion mix-ups, and the occasional brush with death kind of get in the way of romance. Once he discovers Skye is a witch, he goes to war for her, even though his only weapons are a nice set of abs and a sharp sense of humor.

Fighting off wicked Jane and the other dark forces hell-bent on seizing the Singularity’s immense power, Skye and Drake will risk everything to save the covens.

Going on a date has never been harder.

Here’s a little more about Fabio:

Young Adult writer, book lover, SCBWIer, family man, gamer, runner, sports fan, movie snob, coffee drinker, blogger, geek, engineer, x-men hopeful, daydreamer. I live near sunny Seattle, WA.

Want to know more? Of course you do! So go check out Fabio’s website here, follow him on Goodreads and Facebook, too!

So, what did you think? Have any more questions for Fabio Bueno? If so, post them in the comments and I’ll see if I can get him answer a few of them for us.