Meet Christina Ow

Christina Ow

A little bit about christina:

I love reading novels that take me on a ride of wild emotions. Books have always been an escape for me, for a few hours I love to live the lives of characters I grow to cherish and admire. I’ve always had an active imagination and because of it I’ve lived in my head more than I have been in the outside world. I’ve always imagined scenarios and wondered how it would turn out in the end, and what kind of emotions it would invoke.I'll began writing down the many stories in my head in 2010. I have a Diploma in Law and I’m currently in my last year for my BA in International Studies. Writing was never a career path for me it was just a release as fashion design is my true passion, and now writing has become a vital part of me and my family as my twin sister (M.O.) is also a writer. I hope to always continue with my love of writing no matter what the future holds for me

Lets learn a little bit more with some questions: 

What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

Being able to express my imagination on paper and the fact that there is no limit or boundaries when creating an entirely fictitious new life I can live in for a few months.

What genre(s) do you write?

Romance, Paranormal, Suspense, Contemporary

What genres and authors would we find you?

Nicky Charles, Quinn Loftis, Bernadette Marie

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

When you have to describe a very painful scene. I really don’t want to do it, but the book really needs it. I end up feeling guilty destroying a life.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Both. I like planning out my books especially the series. It gives me a sense of direction and how and when the characters are to grow.

                  

In Star Bright I was a pantser. I knew who Maria was and who Dave was at the beginning of the book but when the other characters come in, they just shaped them and they became these other people, very different from whom I thought they would be. Maria grew into this fierce confident woman, mother and wife and this was all because of Dave and to some extent Ricky, the villain. 

Why do you think people should choose your books over another author?

I don’t think my book is better than anyone elses. A book is suppose to relax you, make you think or open peoples minds. It just depends on what rocks the readers’ boats, and if my books are it, that’s cool.

What do you hope readers take with them after reading one of your stories?

It’s not wrong to dream, true love does exist and to always think of yourself and be selfish sometimes. Or you could risk getting lost or stuck.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

In Star Bright. The message is don’t make excuses when you are in an abusive relationship because there is a man out there just waiting to show you what true love is.

‘I am the master of my destiny, the leader of my actions, the dictator of my world for the power lives in me and no one else.’

How long have you been a writer?

I love writing poems and I’ve done so for many years. I started writing novels in 2010, so two years.

How much time did it take from writing your first book to having it published?

Star Bright, it took me six months to finish writing it, about three months of queries and finally four months of editing.

What other careers have you had?

I was an intern at a law firm for three months and then I did two months as an apprentice at a fashion house. I also feature in other artists songs

Do you write under more than one name? Why?

No. I use only one pen name Christina OW. My real name is Rinah Lidonde

Are any of your characters based on real people or events? 

Star Bright yes. Spousal abuse is everywhere so this was my way of writing a happy ending to all of them.

How would you describe yourself if you were “speed dating” your readers?

I’m an onion. One peel at a time and you’d have to be very patient. Trust doesn’t come easy to me.

What’s something fans would find fascinating about you?

I’m a twin. We have the same interests, writing being one of them but we are two completely different people, its even visible in how we write.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?

 The romantic suspense thriller, Fatal Jealousy will be released in January 2013. Twins Ellsa and Ellie are completely different in character, personality, taste and interests. Apart from the striking resemblance to each other, they share the one thing siblings shouldn’t…. the same taste in men.They keep falling for the same man, creating a quiet rivalry between them. Determined not to let a man come between them ever again, Ellie and Ellsa agree to stay away from each others relationships. But when they meet Dale Carson, an FBI agent and a bachelor, their love lives are turned upside down. But they aren’t the only ones taken by the rogue. His partner and long time lover, Gwen Johansson, also called dibs. Carson is interested in only one of them. He is pulled by Ellie’s passion for love and art, and most importantly, him. What starts as a sexual chase, ends with his permanent retirement from bachelorhood. But their love story is not a smooth one. Carson’s day job comes knocking on his front door and before he knows it, his whole world is ripped apart. Out of all the possible suspects, Ellie has the most evidence stacked up against her. She is implicated in the brutal murders of her ex-boyfriends, and Carson is faced with the horror of arresting the love of his life. With two suspects of his own, he is convinced she is being set up, but he has no way of proving it.

What books or authors have most influenced your life?

Stephanie Meyer, Ann Rice, Sydney Sheldon, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Danielle Steel, Sherrilyn Kenyon

How do your family and/or friends feel about your book or writing venture in general?

The rest of my family is like congratulations. My sisters are very encouraging and excited for me but my mom takes the cake! My mom is so supportive. She’s more excited than I am! Once the book cover was out, she sent it to everyone who’s ever sent her an email.

That’s why I use her name as my author’s name. She’s done everything she humanly could to help me become the person I am and do everything I set my mind to. She deserves all the credit.

Where are you from?

Kenya but right now I live in South Africa. I’m still in University for a BA in International Studies, Communications and media studies

How do you come up with the titles?

I try to sum up what the story is about in five words or less

Has your life changed significantly since becoming a published writer?

Not really. The only thing that has changed is my demeanor in all my ventures. I’m more confident with what are do, school, writing, designing. There is an extra 50% in everything I do.

Do you work on one project at a time? Or do you multi-task?

Multi-task. When I get stuck in one story it helps to go to the next story.

                                                                                                  

When not writing, how do you relax?

I read novels.

Please share with us your future projects and upcoming releases.

Fatal Jealousy- three women, two of them twins, interested in one man and it all gets deadly and bloody fast.

Love Forever After- it’s a love story that is very out of the norm. It’s about a guy who is so in love with his wife and can’t take the fact that she is dead. He goes on this destructive path and his wife is forced to come back and force him into this unorthodox solution for his depression.

Guardian Assassin- It’s a about a guy who pushes three women to ‘get rid of’ their abusive husbands.

Fate series- Werewolf and magick series

Slave Bound series- A regency series about four siblings

Please share any links you would like listed 

 

Facebook - Christina OW

Twitter - @christina_ow

Wordpress - christinaow.wordpress.com