Slam Book with Shay West

Hello, bookworms!

It's been a while since my last Slam Book post and I'm so glad that another author is game for it!

Presenting Dangerous Reflections author *drumroll and confetti* Shay West! Here we go!

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Shay West was born in Longmont, CO and earned a doctorate degree in Human Medical Genetics from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical. Dr. West currently lives in Grand Junction, CO with her two cats. When not writing novels, she plays with plushie microbes and teaches biology classes at Colorado Mesa University. She is the author of the Portals of Destiny series and the Adventures of Alexis Davenport series. She has also been published in several anthologies: Battlespace (military scifi), Orange Karen: Tribute to a Warrior (fundraiser), and Ancient New (steampunk/fantasy).

You can find Dr. West and more of her work at Shay-West.com. [Source]

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NICKNAME: Shaydy (like shady LOL)
AGE: 41
ZODIAC SIGN: Libra
DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 3 WORDS: Total science geek

FAVORITES
COLOR: purple
ACTOR: Benedict Cumberbatch
ACTRESS: Karen Gillan
SONG: God’s Great Dance Floor
BAND/SINGER: Chris Tomlin
BOOK: Lord of the Rings trilogy
MOVIE: Guardians of the Galaxy
BOOK-TURNED-MOVIE: The Green Mile
BOOK/MOVIE QUOTE: I’m your Huckleberry.
FICTIONAL CHARACTER: Eowyn from LOTR trilogy
FOOD: my mom’s home-made spaghetti
HOBBIES: reading and amateur photography
GUILTY PLEASURE: watching endless hours of Netflix
PET PEEVES: people who drive too slow, people with entitlement issues

LET’S GET PERSONAL! *aka obligatory cringe-worthy questions*
Note: I don't know how other countries do it, but in the Philippines, these questions are always, always included in a slam book. :)
DEFINE ‘LOVE’: Depends on the type of love you mean. there’s agape love which is unconditional love, eros is the sensual, physical love, philia which is used with regards to friendship, and storge, the love a parent has for a child. It’s a very complicated emotion tossed about with hormones and all that.
WHO IS YOUR CRUSH? I actually don’t have one at the moment. LOL I divorced last year and am happily avoiding all things that have anything to do with guys and dating ;)
WHO IS YOUR FIRST LOVE? Someone I knew back in my 20’s. I really thought we were going to make it but he ended up leaving to go to school in Utah. I haven’t seen or heard from him in close to twenty years.
UNFORGETTABLE MOMENT: Earning my PhD in Human Medical Genetics
MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: Far too many to even be able to think of just one LOL In high school, I called the football player I had a crush on. *blushes just thinking about it* He was so nice, humouring the nerdy girl that had a serious crush.
IF YOU COULD BE ANYTHING/ANYONE/ANYWHERE RIGHT NOW, WHAT/WHO/WHERE WOULD YOU BE? A wizard living in a remote castle surrounded by a moat. LOL

THE REAL STUFF...

1. Dangerous Reflections was a beautiful mix of historical fiction and young adult contemporary. I love it. What inspired you to write it?
I was getting ready for work one day and thought it would be so awesome if my reflection changed to someone else. After a bit of work, the premise for the series was born.
2. I’m sure Dangerous Reflections is purely fiction… but is Alex's real life (without the time traveling) anything like your teenage life?
Alex’s life is a mixture of my middle school/high school life and stuff from my adult life. I had a difficult time in middle school, but not nearly to the degree that Alex has to deal with. And writing was therapeutic when dealing with my divorce, though a lot of those emotions come into play in the last book of the series (Desperate Reflections).
3. I like that you talked about bullying in this book. What made you decide to include that?
I dealt with bullying a LOT in middle school. And though it would be nice if we could simply “teach” people not to bully, I don’t believe that will ever happen, any more than we can “teach” men not to rape. For me, dealing with the bullies and learning to let their words wash over me helped more than simply wishing they would stop. After a time, the bullies left me alone. It’s no fun to pick on someone if they honestly don’t care what you think or don’t react to your words in any way.
4. I’m excited to read Twisted Reflections! Are you planning to write a 3rd book?
The third book is already out for sale! And it’s really intense, much more so than the other two. And a lot of emotion comes out in this one.
5. Any advice for new writers?
This one is always hard since there’s always so much going around. But based on my own experiences, I would have to say knowing the rules for the genre you’re writing in and read a TON of books in that genre so you get a feel for it. If you want to write paranormal, you need to read those books to know what’s expected. Same with romance or fantasy or steampunk or young adult. Deviating too much from the norm will make it difficult to group your books with others that are similar and that makes it hard for people to find your book, whether it’s only online or in a bookstore.

Thank you so much for answering my Slam Book, Shay! :D

You have to admit that while reading books is absolutely fun, knowing the authors behind our favorite books is a different kind of fun altogether! It's like we get to see the book in a slightly different light. So I hope I can get more authors to answer my Slam Book.

Hope you enjoyed this, guys! 'Til next time! :)