Bibi Rizer

Hey Guys! It's a new week, which of course means a new SPOTLIGHT! And this week we talked with Bibi Rizer. She's the author of the newly released "Electrify Me." And it did. It was wickedly good! You can read my review here, and purchase your own copy of it here. 

All Gloria Falcon wants is to have a nice New Year’s Eve with a nice man. Is that so much to ask? But after seven disastrous New Years in a row, this year she’s trying something different. Committed to spending her New Year’s Eve manning the phones at a suicide crisis phone line, Gloria is sure the karma she earns will break her New Year’s curse. But when a blackout cancels her night of philanthropy, rather than spend the night moping in the dark, she goes on a ride along with the cute electric company lineman who failed to fix the power. 

Charlie Zhang is not much of a New Year believer either. He’s coasting through life after being discharged from the army and trying not to let his cynicism of pretty much everything define him. When Gloria Falcon climbs into Charlie’s life, and his repair truck, neither of them expect this to be the New Year’s Eve that changes their minds, and their fate, forever. 

So, you know the drill, we ask the questions, they give the answers, and here are Bibi's! 

1-  Did you always want to be a writer?

I remember getting my mom to make little stapled booklets for me before I could write. I would fill them with pictures and scribbled “writing”, so forever I guess. I started writing my first novel when I was about ten (I still have it!) Then I won first prize in the first short story contest I ever entered when I was sixteen. I was so mortified that I didn’t write much of anything for about ten years.

2- What's your favourite book?

Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood is probably my all-time favorite book. But Harry Potter has meant a lot to me too. And The World According to Garp by John Iriving.

3- What's your favourite children's book?

Harry Potter I guess. I also really loved the Narnia books as a child.

4- What inspired this story line?

A friend of mine worked a suicide help line one New Year’s Eve and that got me thinking about all the people who work on New Year’s Eve. What if two of them met and fell in love?

5- How did you make the choice between indie/self publishing and traditional publishing?

I’m traditionally published as a YA writer which has been great. But I wanted to try something different.

6- Can we expect to see more from you in the future?

Yes! Electrify Me is the first in a series of stand-alone novellas, all set on holidays. The next one, due out in late February or early March 2015 is called Objectify Me. I also have two other series kicking off in 2015 – The City of Dark Pleasures,a dystopian erotic romance serial and The Vikings of Vinland, a historical series.

7- Who has been your biggest supporter?

My husband has been very tolerant over the years, not the least of which about the patchy way in which my income comes in, but he doesn’t really understand my books. Not his thing. I have a supportive writing group on Facebook.

8- What are your most and least favourite parts of being a writer?

My favorite part is the solitude. My least favorite part is the solitude. J

9- What's been the biggest hurdle for you?

It’s hard to access your readers, hard to get reviews and to build a following. That’s been a challenge. It’s difficult for me since my existing audience is for YA and my new stuff is erotic and NA so there’s not much crossover.

10-What's your Pet peeve or share an embarrassing moment.

I had a public reading once where about five people showed up. That was horrible.

11- Who's your favourite disney princess? 

If we’re including Princess Leia then she wins by about a million light years. If not, then Merida by far.

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about Bibi's journey as a writer! I know I always love getting these answers. 

See you next week!