Monday, October 5, 2015

Interview with P.I. Alltraine, author of 'Heartbound' #YA #fantasy #romance



P.I. Alltraine is an award winning poet and author. She has won several international poetry competitions, and her poems have been published in separate anthologies.
She teaches English Language and Literature in London. She earned her degree in BA English from Queen Mary University of London, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and Master’s in Teaching at the UCL Institute of Education, University of London.
Before moving to London, she lived in the Philippines where she was ensconced in the rich culture encrusted with dark myths and enchanted tales. She draws inspiration from these in her writing. Although she has lived indifferent places and experienced different cultures, she always enjoyed the constancy of writing in her life. Her favourite authors include John Milton, Virginia Woolf and James Joyce.
Her latest book is the YA fantasy romance, Heartbound.
For More Information
About the Book:

Title: Heartbound
Author: P.I. Alltraine
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Pages: 177
Genre: YA fantasy romance

Petyr has never found it necessary to consider the humans as anything more than distant, inferior beings–until now. They are the cause of the fatal disease that has plagued his realm, taking the lives of too many of his kind. As a future leader of a realm in peril, Petyr must find a way to resist and cure the affliction. He must enter the unfamiliar realm, appear to be an ordinary eighteen-year-old human, observe, and learn.

However, things don't exactly go according to plan. Instead of embarking single-mindedly on his sober mission, Petyr meets an 18-year-old girl who does things to his emotions that he can't quite fathom or control. Petyr is falling in love, and he almost forgets the gravity his choices have on his entire world. Despite the risk it poses to his life and hers, he wants to know her, and he wants her to know him–and his world.

For More Information

  • Heartbound is available at Amazon.
  • Watch the trailer at YouTube.
  • Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.


Thank you for this interview!  I’d like to know more about you as a person first.  What do you do when you’re not writing?

I’m an English teacher, so my days are always pretty hectic. I’m also a spoken word poet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2q4JxaN1fw

When did you start writing?

Writing is something I always knew I could do. When I was at school, some of my friends could sing, some could draw… I could write. I was the editor in chief of the school paper so I edited and wrote news articles, I wrote many of the school plays I performed in, I entered poetry writing competitions and performed spoken word poetry, I wrote the speeches I delivered in oratorical competitions, declamation, debates, etc. At the time, I thought I was doing so many different things, but looking back, everything I chose to do involved writing. When I was writing Heartbound, there were times when I didn’t agree with my characters’ actions, but I couldn’t change anything because it wasn’t my decision anymore. That’s when I realised what being a writer truly meant. Everyone can write a story, but to create a world with a life of its own, that takes a writer.

As a published author, what would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?

 I’ve written many short stories, academic essays and poems in the past, but committing to writing a novel and living the world I’ve created, hearing the characters’ voices for so long have really pushed me to grow as a writer.

If you could go anywhere in the world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?

I always get so much inspiration when I’m in the Philippines. A place where myths and legends are embedded in the culture never fails to spark my imagination.

If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what would you do?

Listen to some music, eat some good for and just relax with some good company.

Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?

In a whole new world, of course.

Back to your present book, Heartbound, how did you publish it?

It was a very quick process for me.  First, I did some research on credible agents and publishers that would be interested in my genre. I randomly picked one from the list, just to see how the process worked and what a rejection letter looked like. Two weeks later, I got a request for the full manuscript, and two weeks after that I was offered a contract. I had a difficult decision to make because I hadn’t really tried anything else at that point. However, from what I heard, querying agents could take months for a reply (even a rejection reply), and even if someone took me on, there was no guarantee they could sell it to a publisher—and I already had a publisher interested. In the end, it made sense to seize the opportunity.

In writing your book, did you travel anywhere for research?

I love to travel, so I do most of my writing when I’m on holiday, surrounded by nature and the most beautiful places. Right now, I’d like to go back to the Philippines. I always get so much inspiration when I’m there. It’s such an incredible, magical place.

Why was writing Heartbound so important to you?

The story came to me and demanded to be written. I know, I know. It’s the most clichéd answer ever, but writers keep saying it for a reason. It’s hard to describe the impact of a powerful idea. When it hits a writer, it’s no longer a choice. You have to write it, or it will drive you mad.  In my case, I was minding my own business, and all of a sudden, there was this image in my head. It hit me so hard that I had to stop what I was doing. I picked up a pen and paper and started to scribble. My husband walked in and found me on the floor with pieces of papers around me. At that point, the outline of Heartbound was completed—chapter by chapter, from beginning to end.

Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think that is?

My ideas tend to come to me unexpectedly, and they bug me until I pay attention and write them. I think for most writers, there’s something innate within us that sparks that need, that hunger to write.

Any final words?

Heartbound is a fantasy so it’s littered with elements that are out of this world (literally). But at its core, it’s about questioning and finding one’s own identity, trying to find a resolution between who you’re meant to be and who you want to be. It’s about finding the bravery and courage to go against the tides, refuse to conform, and fight for something that means everything to you but means nothing to everyone else.

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