A Visit With Author Engy Albalsel Neville

 

A Leap In Time is a time travel romance from talented new author, Engy Albalsel Neville. The story takes place in modern day Los Angeles and ancient Pompeii (come on – how intriguing is that?) and is the first book in “The Travelers” series.

Here’s the blurb:

The morning after hanging an antique painting, Lexi Carter notices strange noises in her living room. Scared beyond words, she confronts the sounds only to discover that the landscape itself has come alive. Did Roman soldiers on horseback just gallop across the thing?

She impulsively touches the painting and is sucked into the world of ancient Pompeii. Lexi meets Marcus, a Roman Adonis, who occupies her every thought, and sends her senses into a tailspin.

The year is 59AD and Pompeii is at its peak of glory and prosperity. Lexi is faced with the decision of choosing between two worlds, her modern day Los Angeles or ancient Pompeii…with the man who captured her heart and soul.

Buy links:  Amazon US; Amazon UK

 

Engy, a very warm welcome! Can you tell us a bit about your new book? It sounds very intriguing! Where did you get the idea for a time-travel story set in  Pompeii, of all places?

Thank you for having me! I’m so excited to answer some questions about my favorite storyline.

I’ll start with the easy part first, the decision to have the story take place in Pompeii almost fell in my lap. While on our honeymoon about 5 ½ years ago, my husband insisted on a detour through Pompeii (we were driving from Positano to Tuscany). Begrudgingly, I agreed because I really just wanted to get to Tuscany.

Once we got there, I was so glad we went. I felt an immediate magnetic connection to Pompeii. As soon as we got home, I changed the location of the story from England during the Jane Austen era to ancient Pompeii during its peak of prosperity.

The time travel part came to me about 15 years ago while I still living in Los Angeles. I was working in the entertainment industry and like most gals in their early twenties, I was happily dating with rose colored glasses firmly in place. After a series of meh relationships that left me heartbroken, the idea of time traveling to another world where men were gentlemen and didn’t fear commitment came to me. From there, the story took a life of its own.

That’s so romantic!  Tell us…what sort of research did you do while writing the book?

Aside from going to Pompeii in person, I read several books, visited the Pompeii exhibit in NYC and spent endless hours online researching the lifestyle, clothing, rituals, foods, etc. I wanted a deeper sense of knowledge and appreciation for that time period in Pompeii.

What led you to publication? Why did you choose to go with a traditional publisher vice publishing independently?

Part of going the traditional route was maybe getting validation from someone unbiased that my writing was worthy of publication. A Leap In Time lived with me for so long, it was important for me to know whether my writing had an audience.

As for finding the right publisher, I’m very diligent about research and when it was time to publish A Leap In Time, I read up on almost every publisher in the country, their requirements, genres they preferred, etc. Doing that immediately ruled out more than half of the publishers out there. The rest was submission and waiting for a response.

Very smart!  Do you listen to music while you write, or do you prefer quiet?

Depending on the scene I’m writing, I like a little music. While writing A Leap In Time, I loved listening to the Gipsy Kings on replay the entire time.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

Hmmm! I love to travel and love to eat so a job that merges the two would be perfect.

A traveling chef, maybe?  Lol.  Okay – who would you cast if A Leap in Time became a film? (I can tell you this – that Marcus bloke sounds very hot!)

Yes, He’s totally HOT! Not to mention, the perfect guy.  When I was writing, the actor Martin Henderson was an inspiration for Marcus’s looks. Something about those sparkling green eyes. For Lexi, my mind immediately goes to Nina Doprev.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your future writing plans? Since “The Travelers” is a series, can we look forward to another book soon?

Absolutely, I’m working on book 2 in the series Loved In Time and have plans to write a 3^rd and 4^th book in the series.

Engy, thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your fascinating (and romantic!) writing story with everyone.  The best of luck to you in your new writing career.

I look forward to reading A Leap in Time and I thank you for appearing on the blog!

Thank you for having me! This was so much fun! I hope readers enjoy Lexi and Marcus’s story as much as I loved writing it.

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