Interview with the wonderful C.M Stunich.

Interview with the wonderful C.M Stunich as part of our "Bad Boys of Rock" Month 

here at the Hopeless Romantics Book Blog. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions during our “Bad Boys of Rock” Month here at The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog.  We loved “Real Ugly” and “Get Bent” in the Rock Hard Roots Series and thought it only fitting that they should be included in the theme for the month. So here are the questions: 

Having looked at your blog, we discovered we don’t know much about your background. We know you've been writing since you could hold a crayon which is brilliant but have you always been a writer?  Are you a full time writer now? 

I have always been a writer!  From the earliest I can remember, I've been scribbling in notebooks and typing up fantastical stories on the computer.  I was just packing my house to move and ran across massive stacks of old notepads.  I can't say any of the stories I wrote back in the day were any good, but it was a foundation, and I'm proud of them for getting me to where I am today.  And yes!  I am finally a full time writer. =)  It couldn't have come at a better time since I lost my job in July of 2012.  I decided to throw myself into writing head-on and managed to make it in just the nick of time.

Your books are a mixture of New Adult, Young,  Adult novels, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Dystopian, Steampunk, and High Fantasy. That’s so varied. Do you have a favourite genre and why?

It's hard to say.  I think, for the most part, I prefer fantasy, especially urban fantasy, but I've been working on so many new adult novels lately that I'm being swayed over to the dark side. ;)  I can't stop filling up my notebook with new ideas about hot teachers, bosses, cowboys … LOL.  But in my heart, I'm still an old fashioned vampire lover!

You switched from writing mainly PNR to adult/ New adult. What made you switch? 

My readers!  Now, I'm not someone who generally switches to whatever the fad is.  I don't feel the need to follow the trends or conform to anything, but I was getting noticing that a lot of my readers were getting tired of the PNR genre and switching over to new adult.  I had some ideas and a lot of darkness built up in my soul, so I decided to write 'Tasting Never' and haven't looked back since! ;)  When my readers are ready to move to a new genre, I'll be there.  I want to make sure that I'm writing what everyone wants to read because my readers are really important to me, and I've become friends with so many of them.  I just want to see them happy!

Do you have a favourite character from your books? Why?

Well, the easy answer here would be one of my boys.  LOL.  I write guys I want to fall in love with, so you know, I actually fan girl over my own characters on occasion.  But I do think my favorite characters are actually some of my leading ladies.  Never, Naomi, and Natalie to name a few (Tasting Never, Real Ugly, and The Feed are their respective titles).  They have such heart and they fight when others would give up; I admire that.

We absolutely loved the first two books in the “Rock Hard Roots” series. Where did the inspiration come from for the series?

LOL.  I wish I could say I made it all up, but a lot of inspiration came from real life experiences.  I was a metalcore/metal/screamo concert junkie in high school, and I've met some interesting characters along the way.  And, believe it or not, I actually took a lot of inspiration from Japanese Anime.  It's hard to see, but I wove my love of that in there.

What research did you have to do (if any) before writing the series? 

I didn't have to do much research for this book as I had enough memories to fuel most of what I needed to happen.  I did, however, have to look up musical technicalities and instruments since I don't play any.  I had to talk to some experts and watch A LOT of how to videos online.  LOL.  I tried to make sure that at least the spirit of the music was there.

Who are your music influences? What are you currently listening to?

Oh, wow.  Okay, I could go on forever here, but there are a few bands that I know I listened to like crazy when I was writing Hard Rock Roots: Avenged Sevenfold, Atreyu, As I Lay Dying, Agony Scene, All That Remains, Bring Me The Horizon, Bleeding Through, and The Banner.

Do you have any plans for future books in the series, if so what can you tell us about it? Particularly, will Ronnie have a book, his character definitely grabbed my attention. 

OMG!!! Really?  The next book in the series, Tough Luck, is actually told from Ronnie's POV and a girl from Ice and Glass (one of the other bands on the tour), Lola Saints. Before anyone panics, there WILL be another Turner and Naomi book, but I definitely needed to tell Ronnie's story.  He deserves a happy ending!  Plus, the mystery couldn't be fully revealed if I didn't grab a few more POVs. ;)  I can't say for certain yet, but I would also like Dax to have a book as well as Treyjan.  I'm going to see where the wind takes me.

Who would your ideal Turner and Naomi be? 

Ah! I was dreading a question like this.  LOL.  Honestly?  The cover models I used for Real Ugly and Get Bent could not have worked any more perfectly for me.  As far as celebrities or other famous folks, I can't think of any.  I'm very, very picky.  People have been asking me for months who Ty McCabe (from Tasting Never) looks like, and I've refused to commit!!

Are there any new series in the works? We love your writing and would read all sorts!

Aww! Thank you, hun!  I have a stand alone mature YA book called Crushing Summer coming out very shortly after Loving Me, Trusting You and then I've got to finish up some of my older series (The Seven Wicked, The Houses Trilogy, etc).  But I do have a big lineup of stand alone new adults that I'd like to release in the fall.  Hopefully, I'll be posting more info about that shortly!

So that's it. All questions answered openly and honestly. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy scheduly to do this interview. We really appreciate it. xxx

Thank you so much for having me! <3 I'm truly honored that you took the time to host me. =) Cheers!

So that was our interview with the wonderful C.M Stunich. Next Monday we will be hosting the blog tour for "Real Ugly"  and  on Tuesday, we will feature our review of the sequel "Get Bent."

C.M Stunich has also very kindly donated to our "Bad Boys of Rock" giveaway which we will reveal next week. We have ebooks and some fab swag so watch this space. Thank you so much for reading our interview.