PK HREZO INTERVIEW AND BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC.

Welcome to my tour stop for Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc by PK Hrezo. This is a New Adult Time Travel Adventure Romance and the tour runs Feb. 10-21 with reviews, author interviews and a few guest posts and top tens.  It also includes a great giveaway.  Be sure to stop by the tour page for all the additional information and list of tour stops.

Today I’m thrilled to be a part of follower and debut author’s Pk Hrezo’s blog tour for her debut time travel story, BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC. that released on November 14, 2013.  I jumped at the chance to be a part of the blog tour when I found out that one of my favorite book review bloggers, Candace at Candace’s Book Blog, was organizing the blog tour. And she did a fantastic review of Pk’s book here that made me really want to read this book.

First of all, I’ve always loved the cover and wanted to read the book from the cover alone. And I was super excited to read this because it’s a time travel story and it’s new adult. It’s the first new adult story I’ve read that’s not contemporary romance. I loved that Pk started the story in the future and where she chose to go back in time. I won’t spoil it for you by telling you where it was, but it’s fantastic. And there’s a contemporary feel to this story that I really enjoyed.

I could totally relate to Bianca, probably because she’s a lot like me—a rule follower, organized, and focused on her goal. And it was great seeing how she and Tristan, her time travel passenger and a maybe has been pop star, grow through the story. Wish I could grow like she does. The romance was sweet, but doesn’t overpower the story.

The plot really moves forward and is filled with twists and revelations, especially through the last one-third of the story. How the time travel feeds into the plot and Bianca’s and her family’s future is pretty amazing. And this book will really appeal to music lovers.

Here's a blurb about PK's book and some info on her:

Book Title: Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc

Author: PK Hrezo

Genre: NA Time Travel Adventure Romance
Recommended Age: 16 and up

Length: 267

Release date: November, 2013

Description:

It’s the year 2069 and
even though eighteen-year-old Bianca Butterman is heir to the family biz, she may never see the day her time-craft license becomes official.

When a government agent starts nosing around the operation, ButtermanTravel, Inc. gets stuck with a full audit—part of a government take-over
scheme to shut down all private time travel agencies. Enter former boy band superstar, Tristan Helms, desperate to retrieve a lost item from his past and willing to pay triple fare for a time-trip to get there, and Bianca has to find a way to complete the job and return home before the government gets wind and shuts down the family biz for good.

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated; a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. We’re a family owned and operated business with one hundred years of experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.

Anxious to attend some special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds?

You’ve come to the right place. We’re a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides. *Terms and conditions do apply

Use our Web conferencing to contact our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, who will
handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.

We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.

 Goodreads |  Amazon Kindle  | B&N 

About the Author:

PK Hrezo is a native Floridian whose life could easily be a Jimmy Buffet song. She shares her home with her firefighter husband and their two children. When not creating characters and their worlds, PK can be found at her other job of rearranging passenger’s itineraries for a major international airline. The only hobbies she loves more than traveling, are reading, writing, and music, and when the four are combined she exists in total bliss.



She blogs regularly at PK HREZO: Fearless Fiction http://pk-hrezo.blogspot.com/

Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog

Hi PK! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer.

I’m a born and bred Florida beach bum, married to a firefighter, have two kids and one big dog. I’ve worked for an international airline for over sixteen years, and although I only really started writing novels seriously over the last five years, I’ve been a writer my entire life. Short stories, journals, you name it! Writing has always been a passion, and I guess I knew it when I realized I was narrating my walks home from the bus stop in elementary school.

2. I can see how your story is perfect for you since you work in the airline industry. Where did you get the idea for this story?

To date, I’ve written six or seven novels, most of them collecting dust. One with my agent. I was right in the middle of drafting a new sci-fi story when the idea for Butterman hit me. I’d been wanting to try a time travel story for awhile, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Once the concept popped in my head for a time travel agency, there was no looking back. I’ve been in the travel industry for a long time, so tweaking what I already know to apply to time travel, was obvious and fun.

3. I loved that you wrote about a time travel agency. That's so unique. You wrote this as a new adult story rather than a YA one. Why and what do you think makes it work better as a new adult story?

When I started writing it, Bianca was seventeen and homeschooled, but part way through it, I realized I was forcing her to be less mature than she wanted be. Eighteen suited her much better, and she was ready to be taking the plunge with the start of a new career. With her new role as time-craft pilot, she needed to be a legal adult, so it worked for the story in many ways. I love the fact she’s still a teenager and learning how to make her way in the real world as an adult. This was my favorite time of life personally, so getting to write it for someone else was so much fun. It was more liberating for me as a writer, knowing Bianca was a legal adult while facing certain situations.

4. That's interesting. I'll have to think about switching to a NA character if my characters ever sound too old to be a teen. I could tell that you really thought out the science of time travel and all its rules. Share a bit about how you created it and any resources you drew on.

I wanted to make sure I was doing the sci-fi genre its due justice. I spent a month researching time travel—everything from devouring the internet to watching documentaries. And of course any book or film I could get my hands on that dealt with it. Eventually, I managed to craft my own time travel science—or the Butterman time travel science, I should say. Since time travel is still fiction, I filled in gaps with my imagination and developed a commercialized industry from drawing on my own in-depth experience with air travel. The story started out as a parody because I didn’t want it to be too science-y, but I realized early on that Bianca wanted to be taken seriously.

5. Well, you did a fantastic job with it. As I’ve already said, I saw a bit of myself in Bianca. How much of you is in her and what challenges did you face in creating her?

Funny enough, I relate more to Tristan, her passenger, than I do with Bianca. But that’s why I enjoyed writing their interaction so much. Bianca is someone I’d want as my time trip pilot, and someone I’d get a kick out of hanging with. There were challenges, because I’d realize I was writing her making a choice I would make, and I’d have to stop and think, “Wait a minute—Bianca would not take a chance like this.”
I wanted her to have a weak side though, since she’s such a strong character, and I wanted her to make mistakes because she’s eighteen, and we make mistakes at that age. A lot of them. So while it was challenging making sure I let her lead the story and not me, I had to keep my author hat on and throw obstacles her way with her age factor in mind. That being said, yes, there’s still a bit of me in Bianca, in that, we both know how to get a job done.

6. So funny how we identify with different characters. I read that you’re a plotter and use the Plot Whisperer formula for plotting your stories. Share a bit about it and how you plotted out this story.

All hail the great and wise Plot Whisperer, Martha Alderson!  Seriously, I can’t recommend her methods enough. There’s a lot out there, and maybe hers just hit me at the right time while on my writerly path, but it was an eye opener. I’ve been studying craft for the last five years, and once I discovered the Plot Whisperer videos on YouTube (free btw) I spent two hours watching all of them and taking notes. I outlined a story based on her guidelines, and that story ended up getting me my agent. I used the same guidelines for Butterman. I’m a heavy plotter. I do detailed character sketches before writing, as I’ve found it helps shape my story while I’m drafting. I then create a detailed chapter outline, knowing how I want the story to end, and what types of crises need to happen in between to bring my main character to her knees. Knowing these things upfront gives me a road map to stay on while drafting. Usually, things change from that initial outline, but that’s okay. I like surprises.


7. One of these days I'll have to check out her YouTube videos. How did Jordy Albert become your agent and what has been your agent’s role in the BUTTERMAN’S (TIME) TRAVEL since it was self-published?

Jordy requested pages of my YA sci-fi, The Desiree, through a blog contest called Gearing Up To Get an Agent. She had the full within a few days after and signed me on after an in depth revise & resubmit.
I knew after I’d written BT that I wanted to SP it. I told Jordy upfront that this was my goal. She’s been very supportive from the get-go. She read the story, gave me some feedback (she’s very editorial, which I love) and said if I wanted her to sub it, we could talk about it. I knew this story could be tricky because it teeters on being upper YA, which is more suitable for sci-fi, and although it’s NA, there’s not a huge market for non-contemporary yet. I also knew it could be tricky to find an editor who didn’t want to cut the more realistic scenes. I really wanted to stay true to the story. With the pub industry in the state it is, I think authors and agents alike have to be innovative and ahead of the game, so having both traditional and indie options is in every writers best interest IMO. I went with my gut on this one, and Jordy’s been very supportive.

8. Awesome how supportive Jordy's been. I know you have a family and have a day job as well as write and blog. How do you juggle it all and what tips do you have for the rest of us?

Lots and lots of caffeine! It’s all about prioritizing—but I know that sounds easy and painless, which it’s totally not, so I’ll be honest and say it’s hard, and there are days I’m overwhelmed, but I make sacrifices to get things done, and sometimes my house isn’t cleaned, or the groceries aren’t bought, but lucky for me I have an amazing husband who helps keep it all together. I gave up TV a few years ago, and only watch movies now and then. I write while kids are in school, and work my regular job at night. There are days I don’t get to write or read, and I hate that, but I also accept the fact I can’t do it all, and do what I can, when I can. And pull my hair out in between.

9. I work too and have a family so I know what you mean about not watching that many movies or TV shows. What are you working on now?

Book 2 in the Butterman series, Induction Day. I’m hoping to have it out by middle to late summer. I’ve also got a life story to write for a local victim of a brutal attack, so I’ll be very busy for 2014, but I’m lucky and blessed to be able to do what I love.

Thanks for sharing all your advice, PK. So there are two giveaways. The first one is a blog tour one. Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter. 

Giveaway:

T-shirt from outofprintclothing.com (US)

$10 Amazon Gift Card (INT)

Bettie Bookpage Pixie ornament (US)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And I'm giving away an e-book of BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through February 22nd. I’ll announce the winner on February 24th. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, please leave it in the comments.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 or older to enter. International entries are welcome.

Here's what's coming up:

On Monday I’m interviewing Terry Johnson and giving away a copy of ICE DOGS, her upper MG adventure story about a girl and her sled dogs and a guy she helps getting lost in the wilderness. I read it in early January and loved it.

And Wednesday next week I’m interviewing debut author Gayle Rosengren and giving away a copy of her middle grade historical novel WHAT THE MOON SAID. It’s about a girl moving from Chicago to farmland Wisconsin during the Great Depression.



The following Monday, I’m interviewing a college student who blogs and is an aspiring writer and giving away a copy of PANIC, a YA contemporary, ELUSION, a YA dystopian, or HALF BAD, a YA Urban fantasy, three books I recently read and enjoyed.

The following Monday I’m interviewing Natalie Lloyd and giving away an ARC of A SNICKER OF MAGIC, a contemporary magical realism MG story I loved. The characters are so well developed and the setting is a vivid, small town set in Tennessee. This is one of my favorite reads of 2014.
 

And don’t forget Casey’s Agent Spotlights.

Hope to see you on Monday!