AP Author Spotlight: L.E. Fred

 

L. E. Fred

 

Blog: http://marsjaws.blogspot.com

Twitter ID: @marsjaws

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/marsjaws

Facebook: http://facebook.com/only.but.a.dream

 

 

Describe yourself in three words:

Vivacious, determined, hilarious

 

Tell us a little about your latest release:

Lucid is a YA sci-fi fantasy about a young teenager who is transported to another world and becomes a hero.

Devon Alexander is a 15 year-old teenager coping with the monotonous reality of his average life. His life receives an interesting reprieve as he has his first realistic dream of a spaceship. The strangest thing about the dream is that he seems to be the only one on board who isn’t in a dream-like trance. Before he can figure out anything about the dream or his strange shipmates, he manages to wake up. The next day, Devon catches a news story about inexplicable comas taking place all over the world. Devon’s life becomes increasingly interesting as he recognizes some of the victims from his spaceship trip.

Devon and an unlikely group of other teens start devising a plan to find out who is behind the strange dreams and the comas. Their plan is not only successful but immerses them in to the fantastical world that only resides in dreams. While in the dream world, the teens learn about the power of teamwork, a new world of culture, and their hidden potential to be heroes.

Suspenseful, funny at the worst times, and just a hint of teenage romance, Lucid takes a group of young adults and throws them into a fantasy world that they only thought could exist in their dreams. In a sense, they’re right.

I got the idea for Lucid, fittingly, from my first lucid dream experience. I never had a lucid dream before, and it fascinated me. Being able to control my dream self was such an exhilarating idea that stuck with me and prompted me to ask a lot of "What if?" questions about human dreams. Eventually, Devon popped into my head and demanded to be the protagonist. The rest is history!

 

What is your earliest memory?

My earliest memory is of a Sprite machine in Lake Tahoe. I was about 2 years old going on a Christmas trip with my family. Don't ask me why I know there was a Sprite machine on the second floor of our hotel. Not really sure why I remember that! I also remember a really large indoor pool and feeling snow for the first time,

 

What would you consider the greatest moment in your life?

While I'm young and always looking forward to the next great moment, my current greatest moment in my life is when I completed a fitness marathon. I am a recent fitness fan who had very humble beginnings. Going from barely being able to jog for 20 minutes to completing 2 hours of mixed martial arts cardio was a really defining moment in my life. I proved to myself that if I try hard enough, I can achieve my goals. Finishing that marathon pushed me to complete other goals in my life, such as finishing my first novel and traveling to other countries in my own.

 

What’s the hardest thing in in life you’ve done?

The hardest thing in life I've ever done was moving away from home for the first time. I stayed home during college to save money, so studying abroad was my first real flight out of the nest. I lived in the English countryside for only 6 months, but that half-year taught me more about myself than my entire life had. The hardest part was being completely isolated from my friends and family. Figuring out how to buy things for myself, take care of myself when I was sick, and *gasp* learning how to cook on my own were some of the challenges I had to quickly overcome.  The Internet was pretty shaky, so I often spent days to myself walking around campus and thinking about the direction I wanted to take in life. When I returned home, I realized how much my trip had taught me as I became a move independent individual.

 

What have you learned in life so far?

The one thing I've learned in life so far is that if you want something, you should go for it. Nothing's going to wait for you to make the next move. Life is too short to have a bunch of "what ifs" following you around all day. If you want to move to Thailand, do it. If you want to run that marathon, train for it. If you want to write that romance novel, go for it! It's much better to try something you really want to do than to be stuck doing something that you're only doing because you want to play it safe.

 

Everyone’s favourite question: if you could invite five people for dinner, who would it be?

Do they have to be real? I'm going to assume the don't. OK, here it goes:

1. J. K. Rowling: this one's sort of a given, but Ms. Rowling opened my eyes to the world of books. Before Harry Potter, I never read a page of anything. Escaping into her world of wizards and magic inspired me to create my own worlds, even at a young age. Writing my first Harry Potter fan fictions (nerd alert!) led to writing my own stories in middle school, which arguably led to my writing now. Harry also helped me during a really rough time in my life, and I'd like to thank her in person one day.

2. Robin Williams: he's been my favorite actor since I was about 4. I'd love to share a joke or two with him and listen to what he has to say. He seems like, underneath that comical guise, a pretty wise fellow.

3. Lara Croft: the video game one, not Angelina Jolie. Lara was my first female role model. I have always been a fan of video games, but she was the first female protagonist that didn't need help from anyone else to get the job done. We need more strong female role models like her, and I'd like to tell her that one of my characters is influenced by her.

4. Jim Carrey: he's another one of my favorite actors who seems wiser than his characters on the big screen. I'd love to share a meal and have a chat with him!

5. Rick Riordan: author of the Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, and Kane Chronicles series, Mr. Riordan is a strong force in the YA fiction genre. I'd love to talk with him about writing for adolescents and also teaching. He was also a middle school teacher; I'm sure we could share some stories together!

 

 

Chance for our readers - what else would you like to know about L. E. Fred?

My Town in Three Photos - New Orleans

by L.E. Fred

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, making it a thriving port in North America. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music (specifically being the birthplace of jazz) and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras, dating to French colonial times. The city is often referred to as the "most unique" in the United States. (Wikipedia)

 

RELEASE DAY: L.E. Fred "Lucid"

Blurb:

Devon Alexander is a 15 year-old teenager coping with the monotonous reality of his average life. His life receives an interesting reprieve as he has his first realistic dream of a spaceship. The strangest thing about the dream is that he seems to be the only one on board who isn’t in a dream-like trance. Before he can figure out anything about the dream or his strange shipmates, he manages to. The next day, Devon catches a news story about inexplicable comas taking place all over the world. Devon’s life becomes increasingly interesting as he recognizes some of the victims from his spaceship trip.

Devon, and an unlikely group of other teens, start devising a plan to find out who is behind the strange dreams and the comas. Their plan is not only successful but immerses them in to the fantastical world that only resides in dreams. While in the dream world, the teens learn about the power of teamwork, a new world of culture, and their hidden potential to be heroes.

Suspenseful, funny at the worst times, and just a hint of teenage romance, Lucid takes a group of young adults and throws them into a fantasy world that they only thought could exist in their dreams. In a sense, they’re right.

About the Author:

L. E. Fred is a young adult with a head full of stories. Lucid is her first completed work, though she has many more on the way. She currently lives in New Orleans at her messy writing desk with her red-furred dog.

Now available on
   

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Excerpt:

Chapter 1

Day 1: Morning

       

Sometimes I feel like denying the morning exists and staying asleep forever. Waking up in my dark, frigid room isn’t exactly my idea of a great way to start the day. I rolled over on my side to check my clock.

Nine-thirty; time to get up for summer camp.

As I tumbled out of bed and pulled on my socks, I recounted the dream I had last night. Normally, I’m not one for remembering my dreams, but this time I don’t think I could’ve forgotten it even if I wanted to. It was so real. It started with me sitting in a spaceship. I could tell I was in space, not because of the stars outside my window, but because of the darkness around the stars. I couldn’t recall any other time I had seen such a deep emptiness except for the time we watched a video in physical science on space.

There were other people on the spaceship with me, sitting in different aisles; it was sort of like a galactic school bus. I remember having a conversation with an elderly man sitting next to me. He repeated at least seven times that he must’ve been dreaming. Finally, I realized that I, too, was dreaming. I voiced my thoughts to the man, and he said that even though it felt like a dream, he doubted we were both sharing the same experience.

How could you be conscious in a dream, anyway?

And since when did more than one person dream the exact same thing?

This seemed to be the topic of conversation on the ship; everyone sounded confused and most felt like they were transported from their bed to this alien place. The idea of abductions was slowly becoming a possibility, and the atmosphere in the spaceship became extremely tense.

Although the other people on the ship were partaking in nervous chatter, I remained silent. I knew that I was merely dreaming, and that this was not an alien abduction. There was no other explanation for why I remained calm. Also, I had always pictured an alien invasion being a lot cooler than something eerily similar to my morning bus ride. After twenty minutes of dream time, the ship landed on a dock. We had reached our destination.

The doors of the ship slid open, and almost automatically, the people started filing out. I thought this was a rather stupid move on their part; if this was an alien invasion, why would they willingly walk out to meet their captors? I do remember feeling a sort of sensation pulling me outside along with the other people, but I was able to fight it off. I figured it was the change in atmospheric pressure or something.

I know better, now.

As I was walking down the aisle, I saw something glittering underneath one of the seats. Maybe one of the passengers dropped a watch. I bent down to figure out what the source of the light was, and I found… nothing.

The light continued to shine from underneath the chrome seat, but there was nothing causing the incandescent light. It was strong, and for the first time on my voyage, I felt heat. I think that was when I was sure I was dreaming; everything other than this light was simply not real. I knew the light represented the only fragment of reality in the bus (other than me,) so I did the only thing I could; I reached out and grabbed the burning ball of light.

As soon as I touched the light, I woke up. I untangled myself from the sheets and stumbled to my mirror. Staring back at me was the reflection of a fifteen-year-old, brown-haired and hazel-eyed boy. I’ll admit I was a bit paler than usual. The dream of the space ship was causing goose bumps to emerge all over my arms and on the back of my neck. Even though I knew it was an illusion the entire time, I didn’t like how the other people in the dream thought that it was real. As I was sorting through the confusion in my brain, my mom came into the room.

“It’s time for work, Devon,” she said with a no-nonsense look on her face. Mom dropped me off to camp on her way to work, and she was never late. “You’ve got five minutes to get ready. Just grab a granola bar on your way out.” She closed the door with a snap.

I shook myself from the silly dream. It was just a dream after all. There were more pressing matters at hand, like getting to camp before the Senior Counselor did. The jerk would fire a Counselor-in-Training like me for showing up two minutes late. I dressed with haste and ran down the stairs. As I climbed into the back seat of my mom’s van, I couldn’t stop dwelling on my spaceship bus ride. It spooked me so much, it even made me forget my granola bar.