Cover Reveal - Into the Spiral by Erin Danzer

Look at this pretty! :)

Fifteen-year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Lambert wants to get out from under her older brother’s shadow. When Ronnie gets a tattoo and then is struck by lightning, she suddenly finds herself able to see and hear things in shadows that don’t appear to others. Then Ronnie meets Gavin Clearwater, the hot new guy in all of her classes and finds out he can see and hear the same things she can.

Gavin tells her about the Spiral Defenders, a group of warriors that travels through space and time to defend the planets of the Spiral. After meeting the Commander of the Spiral Defenders and realizing his intentions might not be pure, Ronnie struggles between following her destiny to become a Spiral Defender and trying to regain the life she had before being struck by lightning.

Publication Date: Friday November 23

Published by: Hydra Publications

Author Bio:

Erin Danzer wrote her first book at 10-years-old for a Young Authors competition, where she was awarded an Honorable Mention and discovered a passion for the written word. She’s written several novels and short stories since that spark ignited. She writes a monthly short story serial, The Cassandra Serafin Chronicles, posting alternately on her blog and in Literary Lunes bi-monthly online magazine. Erin resides in Wisconsin with her husband, two children, and their cat.

Where to stalk Erin:

website: www.erindanzer.com

Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/ErinDanzerYAAuthor

Twitter: @erindanzer

Cover Reveal: PROMISING HOPE by Emily Ann Ward

Hi, everyone! I'm so happy to be on Angela's blog today to show off the cover and synopsis for my YA fantasy book, Promising Hope. I could talk for a long time, but let's just get to it, shall we?

The curse is broken, but the war isn't over. Grace is under the spell of a love potion, torn between her obsessive love for the prince and her calling to protect Dar and the shape changers. Though Dar wants nothing more than her freedom, he's being held as a prisoner in the palace and watched at every turn. Miles away, Sierra is the reluctant savior of the shape changers as she tries to keep Evan alive in his lust for blood.

Grace and Dar struggle to make the political alliances needed to bring the shape changers back home while dealing with new doses of the love potion. But the king sides with the Protectors, who are willing to do anything to keep the magic away, even controlling the kingdom. When the man who cursed the shape changers ten years ago reappears at the castle, the Avialies abandon their attempts at peace in order to keep their family's future secure. The consequences of their actions catapult a sequence of events that threatens Grace, Sierra, and the Avialies in ways they could have never prepared for.

In this sequel to Promising Light, the war is just beginning, and no war is without casualties.

Promising Light is the first in the series: Grace, a young noble, must decide whether to help a shape changer family break a curse set on their family by the powerful Protectors. If you haven't read it, here is a chance to win an ebook copy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Maybe you've already read Promising Light. If you watch my blog, I will also have ARCs of Promising Hope up for grabs in a couple weeks! Sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on that.

Promising Hope on Goodreads
Promising Light on Goodreads
My Website (with samples, info on where to buy, and more)

Someday Famous YA Author -- Lisa Nowak

I've talked about this talented author a couple times before. We met a few months ago while on the Rain Boots Required YA Author Tour. She's smart, funny, and writes awesome stories. She was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about her writing and the Full Throttle series.

A Little About Lisa

Lisa is the author of Running Wide Open and Getting Sideways, a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon with her husband, four cats, and two giant sequoias.

A Little About Lisa Q and A Style

1. What inspired you to write this series?

Getting to know the racing community. I was really impressed by this particular subculture of American society. They’re the kind of people who will fight fiercely on the track, then turn around and lend a part to a competitor in the pits. They’re willing to take anybody in as one of their own. Sure, they might think you’re a little odd if you don’t fit the mold, but since you love racing, you’re one of them. Not that they don’t have their rivalries and squabbles. But I guess all families are like that, right? In fact, that’s probably the perfect analogy. The racing community is like one big family. They might not like everything you do, but they love you, and they’ll stick up for you.

2. Who got you interested in racing? Tell us a little about your career as a race car driver.

There wasn’t really any one person who got me interested. I started teaching myself how to work on cars after I took the first one I owned (a ’72 Gremlin) to a shop and felt like I got ripped off. I’ve always been pretty independent (go figure, an indie author who’s independent) and a tomboy, so it was only natural for me to want to know how to work on my own car. That led to an interest in cars in general, which led to racing.

I started competing in the Street Stock division at Eugene Speedway in 1987. That was the community I truly fell in love with. I dedicated my first book to them. My most memorable experience there was rolling my car, and it was more fun than scary, though the repairs afterward weren’t exactly a picnic. After four years, I moved to Hickory, North Carolina because I was obsessed with the sport. Back then, if you lived anywhere but the South, only diehard fans cared about it. I spent almost five years there, racing at Hickory Motor Speedway and Tri-county Speedway, but I wasn’t very competitive. I’d say I spent more time learning how to build cars than driving them. It was a valuable experience, though, because I really came to enjoy the metal fabrication process. In 1995, I moved back to Oregon and raced at Portland Speedway in the Limited Sportsman division until they tore up the asphalt and went to dirt in 2000. They closed entirely the year after that.

These days I sponsor a driver at Sunset Speedway. Last year it was a 12-year-old boy, and next season it’ll be his 15-year-old brother, who took the Pure Stock championship in 2011 before he was even old enough to have a drivers’ license. Being a sponsor is so much less stressful than building and driving a car. Stock car racing can be a fairly high-contact sport, even though it’s not intended to be, which results in a lot of maintenance and repairs. It’s like having a second full time job, only one that takes all your money instead of paying you.

3. Gardening and racing. Two occupations at opposite ends of a spectrum, yet you enjoy them both. One is full of excitement and adrenaline, and the other, well, not. Does one cancel out the other to keep you balanced? What aspects of each do you love the most?

“Balance” is a good way of putting it, Angela. In fact Cody (my MC) talks about that very concept in Getting Sideways, only the “yin” to his racing “yang” is karate. I was just getting into gardening when I was driving, and it did seem to be therapeutic. Now, as a landscaper and a writer, I’ve found that the physical aspect of the landscaping balances the mental aspect of writing. It’s been very helpful to me to have two distinctly different ways to spend my time. When I’m getting too much of the one, I can rely on the other to bring me back into balance.

4. What more adventures are in store for Cody? How many books can we expect from this series?

There are five books in the series, but they’re not all written from Cody’s point of view. After the first two, Jess comes into the picture. She’s Cody’s love interest. Only she’s not really that hot on having a boyfriend, especially not Cody. She mistakes him for a player and doesn’t want anything to do with him at first. As the daughter of an alcoholic, and a girl mechanic struggling to be taken seriously, she has some trust issues. Jess narrates Driven and Redline, which will be published in 2012. The last book, which doesn’t have a title yet, is written from a split POV.

5. What is one question that you'd like to answer that hasn't been asked of you yet? And answer the question.

Why did you write a contemporary realistic boy book? Are you flippin’ crazy?

I guess I probably am. I never thought about marketing when I started this series, I just wrote about a subject that was near and dear to my heart. Writing from a boy’s perspective is a lot of fun for me. There seems to be a fifteen-year-old boy living inside my head, and frankly it kinda sucks because he hogs all the pizza.

Thanks, Lisa!

Thanks for hosting me, Angela. :)

Running Wide Open and Getting Sideways are now available! I know you'll want to purchase them now, so here are the links:

Running Wide Open: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Getting Sideways: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. 

To find more about Lisa, you can check her out on these sites:

Blog: http://lisanowak.wordpress.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lisa_Nowak
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LisaNowakAuthor
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/LisaNowakNewsletter

Someday Famous YA Author -- P.J. Hoover!

There's this author. I've seen her book, Solstice, around for a while now, and I recently bought it. I'm super excited about reading it. My friend, Megg Jensen, has read it and absolutely loved it. It's a must read.

Today, I'm pleased to introduce to the Someday Famous YA Author series, P.J. Hoover.

About P.J.

P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is also a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS and SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice, takes place in a Global Warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, and The Necropolis, chronicle the adventures of a boy who discovers he’s part of two feuding worlds hidden beneath the sea.

Q AND A

Thanks so much for hosting me! I’m honored to be here! 

1. What made you decide to include global warming in your novel, Solstice?

Well, at first it seemed like just a nice twist. I have zero idea how it first came to me, but once the idea implanted, I found it perfect. That said, the whole global warming aspect blossomed into so much more than I ever could have imagined.

2. The cover is gorgeous! How was the cover designed? Did you have any input?

Thank you! I also kind of feel like I won the cover lottery 

I sent in ideas and words that came to mind when I thought of SOLSTICE, but ultimately, my agency picked the stock photo that was going to be used. It was nothing like I had imagined, but I found it to be perfect and really convey the sense of the novel. The cover artist took it from there, and the final result is what you see.

3. What inspired you to write Solstice?

Well, I adore mythology. And I always wanted to write a myth retelling. And so that is what I set out to do. But I surprised myself with the final result, because SOLSTICE is not really a retelling at all, but more a what happens after the myth. Kind of like a sequel to Mythology 101. 

4. OMG! Tell us about how you learned to solve a Rubik's Cube in under 2 minutes? Was this a skill you learned as a kid?

LOL! As a kid, I was able to get one side. But when I hit my thirties, I started doing some soul searching. I learned to solve the Rubik’s Cube. I memorized Kubla Khan by Samuel Coleridge. I started Kung Fu. And I started writing novels. I have to admit the Rubik’s Cube makes a nice party trick. People are always impressed, and it is fun to do.

5. Do you still work as an engineer or are you a full-time writer now?

I’m a full-time writer now. I have two kids (ten and seven), and so the writing job gives me way more time to spend with them. I love the balance of motherhood and writing. The kids help me with brainstorming and give me lots of ideas, and the writing gives me a purpose besides cleaning toilets when they are at school.

Thank you again for letting me be here!

ABOUT SOLSTICE

Piper's world is dying. Global warming kills every living thing on Earth, and each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles which threaten to destroy humanity. Amid this Global Heating Crisis, Piper lives with her mother who suffocates her more than the chaotic climate. When her mother is called away to meet the father Piper has been running from her entire life, Piper seizes an opportunity for freedom.

But when Piper discovers a world of mythology she never knew existed, she realizes her world is not the only one in crisis. While Gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper's life spirals into turmoil, and she struggles to find answers to secrets kept from her since birth. And though she's drawn to her classmate Shayne, he may be more than he claims. Piper has to choose whom she can trust and how she can save the people she loves even if it means the end of everything she's ever known.


Check out the awesome Trailer! 

I know you'll want to buy this book right this second. Get it on Amazon for only 99 cents!

Thank you, PJ Hoover, for taking the time answer my questions. It's been fun! And thank you, the readers, for checking the interview out.

Someday Famous YA Author -- C.K. Bryant

Today we have the awesome opportunity to meet the author of the YA novel, BOUND, C.K. Bryant, Q and A Style.

C.K. Bryant is a loving wife and mother of two wonderful boys, living in Magic Valley, Idaho. Her debut novel, BOUND, is now available on Amazon. 

Q: Congratulations on the release of your debut novel, Bound. What is one thing you think you will enjoy about being a published author?

A: Thanks. I think the best thing about being published is being read. I've waited so long to have my story out there for readers to enjoy that hearing how others love the story has been almost euphoric. Nothing brings me more joy than to hear someone say they loved the story and can't wait for book two.

Q: What is Dark CARMA?

A: Dark C.A.R.M.A. was originally a group of five authors who had banned together to pool their resources and connections to launch their debut novels. Each letter of CARMA stood for the first letter of each other author's name. Unfortunately, two of the authors dropped out because their books weren't ready, leaving us as Dark CAR.  Not exactly a great name, so we just kept it CARMA since that's what everyone knew us as. The concept to ban together was a great one. More exposure, more money for marketing, more brain power for awesome ideas. In the end, it still worked out well and I think we pleased the people who won all the wonderful books and prizes.

Q: What inspired you to write Bound?

A: It sounds cliche, but Bound evolved after I had a very vivid dream. I don't usually remember my dreams, but this one stuck with me for days and just wouldn't leave me alone. I told a friend about it and she suggested I write it down, that it might let go then. I took her advice, but instead of letting go, it grew into a 4 book series. I love the story and the characters have become my best friends over the past two years. Sharing that friendship with others has been a phenomenal experience.

Q: On the "Other Projects" tab on your blog, you have several works going. What can your readers expect next?

A: My next project is to work on BROKEN, the second book in THE CRYSTOR Series. It's been written for a year or so, but it needs some work. I hope to have it out in the spring. After that, I hope to work on Aquatara and the three other books in that series. I think the young adult market will like the concept of a water spirit and her story has been on my mind a lot lately.

Q: What's one question that no one else has asked you during interviews that you'd wished they had--and answer it.

A: Oh, wow. I haven't done a lot of interviews, so this is a hard one. I love unique questions, so maybe something like, "Who was the first person who believed in you as a writer?" I didn't have a lot of support growing up. My parents didn't encourage me to do anything creative. To them it was a hobby and a waste of time. So the first person that believed in me and my talent as a writer was ME. That's important, because we have to believe in ourselves before anyone else will. There have been many who believed in me throughout the years, but when I'm struggling to find the right words and doubting my abilities, I have to reflect back on the days when it was just me and my muse.

Thank you so much for this opportunity, Angela. You've been such a gracious host.

And thank you, C.K., for participating in this blog series.

Now, a little about the awesome book, BOUND.

When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive. BOUND is a heroic tale of true friendship, infinite sacrifice and untamed love.

First off, OMG. I love this cover. Second on (get it? lol), this sounds like a great book!


For more information on C.K., check out her blog or buy her book on Amazon. You may also want to get familiar with the other Dark C.A.R.M.A. authors. 

Someday Famous YA Author -- Elle Strauss

Today we have the pleasure of meeting Elle Strauss, author of CLOCKWISE.

ABOUT CLOCKWISE:

A teenage time traveler accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward.
(12+)

Boy watching with her best friend would be enough excitement for fifteen year old Casey Donovan. She doesn't even mind life at the bottom of the Cambridge High social ladder, if only she didn’t have this other much bigger problem. Unscheduled trips to the nineteenth century!

When Casey gets talked into going to the Fall Dance, the unthinkable happens--she accidentally takes Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time.

Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just ‘brotherly’ protectiveness?

When they return to the present things go back to the way they were before: Casey at the bottom of the social totem pole and Nate perched on the very the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her little brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again.

Which of course, she does.

 Sounds pretty cool, right? Now, let's meet Elle, Q and A Style

Q: Why time travel?

A: I'm never really sure how to answer this question. I think I like the puzzle effect of time travel, the complications that occur when two time frames overlap and how to untangle it.

Q: The cover for CLOCKWISE is very different from most YA covers out there now. I love it! How did you come up with such a great cover?

A: I actually did a vlog on the evolution of the cover. http://youtu.be/4QBwsKi6yI4 The short version is it's my 17year old daughter's concept and sketch which I took to a guy who's good with Adobe Illustrator. You can watch the vlog to see how that evolved step by step and the story behind it.


Q: I recently read on your blog you are planning the second and third book, that "Clockwise" will become a series. Awesome! Was this novel intentionally written for a series? Will the series be a continuation in the storyline or a new story altogether?

A: I'm in the midst of writing the sequel right now. I didn't originally plan a sequel for this story line, but was (and still am) planning a companion book featuring a character who shows up briefly towards the end. I put Clockwise up on Wattpad and the readers there started clamoring (yes, actual clamoring ensued) for a sequel. A subplot I'd cut from the first book is now the main plot in the second and has made opportunity for a third. So to answer your question, each book will be able to stand alone, but they will work better as a set. In other words, same characters, different situations.

Q: If you could go back in time for one hour, where would you go?


A: Funny you should ask that. I would go to New York in 1924 to the El Fey Club, and dance the Charleston. If you tell me (on twitter @elle_strauss or Facebook Elle Strauss - author) what year you'd go back to for one hour and what you'd do, I'll enter you in for a chance to win time travel YA novel, TEMPEST by Julie Cross. Use the hashtag #onehourbackintime

Thanks for having me, Angela!

Thank you, Elle, for answering our questions AND for offering such a cool contest! Hey everybody, go buy CLOCKWISE now. And when you're done, enter Elle's contest to win TEMPEST!

Find CLOCKWISE on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The ebook is only 99 cents for a limited time!

Someday Famous YA Author -- Tymothy Longoria

When I first began my publishing adventure, I met several awesome authors online. Although time hasn't allowed me to become great friends with many of them, I'm happy that I've at least had the opportunity to keep in touch with some and check up on others occasionally. Tymothy Longoria is one of those authors I've been able to check up on.  Every time I do, I'm inspired to dive back into my writing to create something bigger and better than I originally planned.

He's inspiring, hard working, motivational, and one of the friendliest authors I've met online.

Today, I'm super stoked to be able to introduce you to him, Q and A style.

Q: I've read a lot about what your novel, The Stories: Book One, is (epic, fantasy, legendary...), which sounds totally awesome and I can't wait to someday read, but I'm wondering if you could tell us what it is about and how you came up with the idea to write this epic novel. 

A: Word. I wrote maybe two chapters and I was so excited about the whole concept/idea I couldn’t keep it to myself. So I asked a writer who I had a really good rapport with if she would be willing to read. She did and gave me some notes. The first thing she wrote was you have the makings of an epic fantasy here. So that’s where epic comes from of course. Legends. The Stories are…legends of lore. Of written history. Simplified, The “Stories” is named after the fairy tales and mythical characters that have become immortal in literature. My good friend and author of For Nothing Nicholas Denmon said this: “I think yours is a C.S.Lewis / Brother's Grimm love child with hints of Steven Erickson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen. What I mean by that is of course you take from the Grimm stories and you have some religious undertones throughout, after the CS Lewis fashion. But where it is unique is that it is not a retelling of the Tolkien type of epic fantasy (orcs, dark lord, elves, etc), but is rather a unique epic fantasy in that I do not believe multiple Grimm stories and characters have ever been woven together into a tapestry of epic proportions, generating a story where all pieces fit together in the grand scheme of the greater quest-”

I think I can answer what it’s about by borrowing my own synopsis from the agency website.

The Stories centers around L’orrah Ineyez a.k.a the little red riding hood. L'orrah is 14. For the past four years she has been living alone in a veritable hole in the earth, coming out only at night to train with a blade left behind by her grandmother Sarah. She uses it against the beasts that have seized control of the land and are killing anyone unlike them. She fights. For what? Wolves (not werewolves, mind you) are out to get her. The Stories begins as the master of the Wolves hunts down and kills the leaders who had him sentenced to death years before and leaves L'orrah to die as well. L'orrah survives; her blade and red cloak her only companions. She decides to fight back and trains herself in the ways of battle, becoming cold and taciturn in the process.

But even with her new abilities and strength, L'orrah cannot fight the Wolves alone; with the help of the last descendant of the Boars Three, a mysterious Piper, and his companions, L'orrah sets out to right the wrongs committed by the Wolves and their master. But her journey for revenge and justice takes a dark turn. She realizes that there are things about herself that have been kept hidden-and that this red riding hood was born to give Wolves nightmares. Through her pain and anguish she will see to it that they never awaken from them. First however, she must embrace the true darkness within. L'orrah and her friends must unite against the evil that looms and grows more powerful than anything they’ve ever come across.

The idea came to me in a vision. Seriously. An image came to me. A girl in a red hood was running in a dark forest. Running from what? I didn’t see, but I heard the stampeding horde that chased her. From that…I figured why not take that red hood and make it something. It quickly evolved and The Stories was born.

Q: You recently signed with an agent, Bree Ogden. Congratulations! I've read that you have considered self-publishing in the past. What changed your mind to seek out an agent to publish traditionally? 

A: Thank you so much. I am blessed to have her as my agent. She is out of the box cool. In the industry I think it’s safe to say that people want whats tested and proven. Not me. I wanted a unique voice for my unique story.

This answer will be much shorter. I support all writers. Self-pubbed. Indie. Traditional. They all deserve support and respect. For me, it was only a consideration to self-pub because I didn’t know what I had. The idea, the potential of the series and so forth. It comes down to my faith. I had faith that someone, somewhere to snatch it up. I mean, and I have read before writers saying to try traditional first anyway. That’s when I saw a truck pass by right in front of me with the name Tim Lowder on the side. I took that as a clear sign from God to go louder than the pod/self-publishing house I had been communicating with a few times before. To go louder for me-was to attempt traditional.

Q: When you aren't writing, how do you enjoy spending your time?

A: I spend as much time as I can with my family-my wife and two kids. They are everything to me, of course and they support me 100%. So, I guess even when I’m writing and “away” from them, they are right there with me. Music runs through my veins alongside the Spanish and Greek blood and I really, really enjoy plugging in the headphones and getting lost in some writing. Well, see? When I’m not writing, I’m writing. Deviantart and art as a whole. I love it. I enjoy sitting back and I have spent hours just perusing amazing art. God. God is everything. I spend time with Him. For me, it is what motivates me the most. He leads me. Of this I have no doubt.

Q: On your blog, you suggest MTV have a category for Best Book, Best New Book, Best Author, and Best New Author. I totally think this is a rad idea. Out of the books you've read thus far in 2011, what books and what authors would you nominate in the above suggested categories? 

A: Now this is a hard question to answer. But I’m the guy suggesting this, right? Basically, so many of the movies that are nominated and win these awards are BASED off or developed from b o o k s. Ya know?

I’m not one for best anything. Everyone deserves to receive praise. Everyone that tries, ya know. The reason I thought this up was because I felt through all of the hoopla and the beautiful actors potraying the characters dreamed up by authors-there is an author. A creator. But I do have a few opinions too. ;}

I’ll say Lord of the Rings for best book. It’s a legend. Understatement of the year. First, because I just finished it a few weeks ago. I started earlier this year. So it’s fresh on my mind still. Secondly, because its inspiration transcends genre, I think. So that’s why I nominate it.

Best New Book: Now I’m going to cheat here and nominate a book on my to-be-read list. Carrier Of The Mark by Leigh Fallon. Because Fallon is one of the nicest authors I know, that’s why.

Best Author: I’ve started reading Graceling by Kristin Cashore at the urging of SmashAttackAsh a.k.a. Smash. Also I’ll be reading Steven Erickson, author of the The Malazan Book of the Fallen soon as well.

Much to read. Much to share.

Best New Author: Leigh Fallon :}

Q: And for the final question, I'm going to let you choose. Ask yourself a question that you'd love to answer that hasn't been asked in other interviews, then answer it. 

Ah, indeed.

Plotter or panster?

My wife and I were talking the other day. We came to the conclusion that I am most definitely a by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer. In fact, some short stories I’ve written that have appeared online in the children’s macabre literature and art magazine Underneath the Juniper Tree- awesome, have been written with no previous outlining or plotting whatsoever. It’s me. I mean yes, I’ve plotted before but I find that those notes are quickly trumped by my hands wanting to type what they want.

_________________________

Wow! Thank you, Tymothy, for taking the time to answer my questions for the blog.

Okay, peeps. How cool is Tymothy? Very. Watch out for him and his novel, The Stories. They will be famous in the very near future. :)

For now, you can check Tymothy out at these places:

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Dreaming of Wordstock

The Wordstock Festival here in Portland has been around for about five years. Every year of its existence, I've wandered the aisles of beautiful books and writing services being promoted and celebrated by local authors, publishers, editors, and the like. Then I'd sit in on a reading or two and get uber-excited to meet the authors.

While listening to the readers, I'd also fantasize that someday I'd be up there reading my pages. Lets put a little emphasis on the word FANTASY here because if I were to ever get up on a stage to read my pages, mouth farts, drool, and hiccups would probably be the only thing exiting my lips. Stage fright anyone? In Autumn's words from my novel, Dream Smashers, "One can still have hope." And in my words, "One can still dream."

This is my first year to have a published novel. I thought for sure they would definitely let me read at the festival this year, because, well, I have a published novel, darn it. Plus, I'm from the same area the festival is held, total shoe-in. Plus, plus, I whispered nice things to the book, like, "Please impress the peeps responsible for inviting authors to the festival," and "Don't fail me now," before sliding it into the bubbly envelope and addressing it to the Wordstock powers.

I waited patiently everyday for the mail-person to deliver my invitation to the ball. Did I ever receive one? Sadly, uh, it probably got lost somewhere and should arrive any day now.

Disappointed by the loss of my invitation, I scrolled through the very impressive list of YA and Middle Grade authors whose invitation didn't fall through the door panel of the mail truck. OMG! No wonder mine got lost.

Take a look for yourself: The List of YA and Middle Grade Authors attending Wordstock 2011

How is a local author supposed to compete with that? Sigh. Well, there's always next year, right?

Oh, and did you see on that list one of my favorite authors? Maggie Stiefvater! How cool is that? Very.

Chin up, peeps, we'll get there someday. Peace out for now.

(Someday) Famous YA Author -- Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Last month I read GLIMPSE, a super-cool YA novel by Stacey Wallace Benefiel--the first novel in the Zellie Wells Trilogy. A definite great read. Today, we have Stacey on the blog to participate in the (Someday) Famous YA Author series. Yay us!

Here we go--Q and A style!

Question: I loved reading "Glimpse" and I'm just about ready to read the second book in the Zellie Wells Trilogy "Glimmer." I better hurry because book three will be out this summer. How exciting! Tell us a little about the series and what inspired you to write it.

Answer:  The Zellie Wells Trilogy is about a pastor's daughter with psychic powers. That's the core of it. My sister and the show Roswell are what inspired me to write Glimpse. We were both big Roswell fans and when the show ended, my sister encouraged me to try to write something like it. I didn't want to write about aliens and I was afraid of messing up the lore of vampires or faeries or anything like that. So, I made up my own powers and applied them to a girl who was very much how I was when I was young.

Question: Zellie comes from a Christian family and goes to church. Have you had much criticism for bringing religion into the stories?

Answer:  I grew up in a religious household and went to church three times a week. Many of my friends went to my church and it was a large part of my social life. What I wanted to convey in the books was that someone, even a pastor's daughter, could both be a regular teenager and a Christian. And then I threw in some powers that seriously messed with both of those sides of Zellie. I haven't had any criticism for bringing religion into the stories. Most of the criticism I get is about the sexuality in the books and I think this is moreso because Zellie is a pastor's daughter. Again, my aim is to make her a regular, well-rounded teenager and it's been my experience that crushing on boys in Youth Group is just the same as crushing on a boy in your English class.

Question:  What are your plans after Zellie's story is finished? Will you continue writing YA?

Answer:  I actually never set out to write YA. When I wrote the first draft of Glimpse in 2005, I didn't really know what YA was. Glimpse started out as a Family Saga, but through many editing suggestions from prospective agents and publisher's, it became YA. I think a better term for what I write is Crossover. My books are for older teens and beyond. I do have more plans to write within the Zellie world - Ben, a character introduced in Glimmer is getting his own spin-off. I don't, however, know if I will write what other people consider to be YA. I think I maybe broke a few too many YA rules. :)

Question:  How long have you lived in the Pacific NW and what do you love best about living here?

Answer:  I moved to the Pacific NW in 1993 to attend U of O in Eugene. I lived there for four years and then moved up to Portland for a little less than a year. I did a four year stint in Los Angeles and then moved back up to the Portland area in 2002. I love a lot of things about living here. I like rain. No. I really do. I'm one of those people that gets sunburnt from being outside for five minutes. I love being able to go to the beach, the mountains, the desert or the city all within less than a day's drive. What I enjoy most about the Pacific NW is that I feel like I belong here more than I ever felt like I belonged in Missouri. I was a weirdo in Missouri. Here, I'm pretty normal. :)

I interrupt this wonderful Q and A dialogue (are you surprised?) to say that OMG! I ♥ this answer! Rain is AWESOME and I'm so happy we have the same outlook on this subject. As many know, I love similarities and we are totally similar now! The Pacific NW Rocks. There is no such thing as weird here. Have you watched Portlandia? Exactly. Okay, I'm done. Back to the Q and A. 

Question:  Why is your house orange on purpose if your favorite color is green?

Answer: An excellent question with an easy answer. Our neighbors painted their house green about two weeks before we were going to paint ours. Orange is my second favorite color. Now, the neighbors house is painted this weird eggplant brown color and totally clashes with ours. The orange paint job still looks good, though, and it was really hard work painting a whole house, so it's gonna have to clash for a few more years.

Thanks for the interview! Fun questions! 

ORANGE and GREEN are totally cool. You should invite me over and we can paint green and orange rainbows on the sidewalks. :) I'm going to crack open my Kindle to read Glimmer now to find out more about this Ben character. Is he that one guy who did that one thing during that one part in Glimpse? Do we ever get to see that guy again?

Thank you, Stacey, for participating in the interview. And thank you, the readers, for checking us out.

For links to Stacey's Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook and to purchase her books, please visit her website: http://staceywallacebenefiel.com/

(Someday) Famous YA Author -- Addison Moore

Someday Famous YA Author is a series of interviews with awesome authors, famous now or future famous, who write for young people.

Addison Moore has gotten around since March 26th, 2011. Her name has graced the screens of more Kindles and eReaders than many best sellers--in only less than a two month period. She's been called "The Next Indie Sensation" and "Indie Phenom." That's a lot to live up to, but I'm here to tell you her debut novel, ETHEREAL, lives up to the rumors and name calling.


Many authors dream of seeing this screen shot I took tonight. (I totally just learned this little trick. You should be proud and tell me how awesome I am now. Google taught and proud.)

 

Can you see it? It looks a little blurry to me, but you'll have to trust me when I tell you that ETHEREAL ranked #186 in the Paid Kindle Store, #6 in two categories, and #7 in one. That shot would make any newly published or long-time published author smile for a month.

ETHEREAL (Celestra Series Book 1)

Description from Goodreads

Skyla Messenger is a dead girl walking.

When her newly remarried mother moves the family to Paragon Island, to a house that is rumored to be haunted, Skyla finds refuge in Logan Oliver, a boy who shares her unique ability to read minds.

Skyla discovers Logan holds the answers to the questions she’s been looking for, but Logan’s reluctance to give her the knowledge she desires leaves her believing Logan has a few secrets of his own.

Skyla’s bloodlines may just be connected to the most powerful angelic beings that roam the earth, and the more she knows, the more danger she seems to be in.

Suddenly an entire faction of earthbound angels wants her dead, at least she still has Logan, or does she?

How cool is that? Very.

I'd like to introduce you to an awesome author, who happens to also be super nice, (Someday) Famous YA Author, Addison Moore.

Addison:

Angela, first, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog! I’m thrilled to be here!

 

Me: 

The pleasure is mine. 

I bought ETHEREAL a week or two after it came out on Kindle. It sat in the device until last week when I had a moment to pick it up. Then, I couldn't put it down. I totally fell in love with the characters, Skyla, Logan, Gage... I won't talk specifics so the peeps who haven't read the novel won't be upset, but I'll say that the tension between the characters was perfect. I sometimes felt so angry and hurt right along with Skyla. (And sometimes I wanted to slap her.)

 

What or who (or both) inspired you to write this story and these characters?  

Addison: 

Thank you for your kind words. I really enjoyed writing this story. It’s actually a marriage of two stories that I abandoned years ago because I pantsed (writing with no outline)  myself into a corner with both of them. It was the characters that kept drawing me back to the island. I just couldn’t get them out of my mind so I fashioned a unique storyline just for them.

 

Me:

ETHEREAL just came out and it's been received very well as far as I can tell. Have you been given much feedback from readers other than the reviews? If so, what's one of the best things someone said that made you feel all warm and tingly inside?

 

Addison:

Oh my gosh. I cannot tell you how amazing it has been to receive emails, DM’s, tweets, blog comments, facebook messages, and messages on goodreads! I have been blown away by the response by readers and their kind words about my story. Mostly people want to know when book 2 is coming out. And that makes my day every single time!

Me:

Tell us how you came about publishing ETHEREAL. I noticed you have an agent, but did you publish this novel independently or through a publisher? What's the scoop?

 

Addison:

I self-published Ethereal and plan to do so with the rest of the series and other projects as well. My agent came about after Ethereal was out for three weeks and I’m very excited about the future.   

 

Me:

You left ETHEREAL at a point where I wanted to turn the page and keep reading, but couldn't. Now I'm super excited to read the second novel, TREMBLE. Please tell us a little about it.

 

Addison:

TREMBLE is ready to launch as soon as next week. The tension between Sklya, Logan and Gage really heats up when Sklya starts to develop feelings for Gage as well. A new character is introduced and really turns Skyla’s world upside down. 

 

Me:

Here's a couple of easy questions for you.

 

What is the last book you read that you'd like to recommend to others and why?

 

Addison:

I didn’t just finish it, it was probably a few books back, but I have to recommend THE BOOK THIEF. What an awesome novel with an amazing premise. And how can you go wrong when the narrator is death?

 

Me:

I'd normally ask what your favorite food or drink is, but I read somewhere you drink Dr. Pepper and overdose on chocolate often. So, I'll ask something else: Who is your favorite super-hero and why?

 

Addison:

I’m pretty sure she’s the antithesis of a super-hero, but I’m going to say Cat woman. Every since I was little I’ve had a fascination with that sexy costume of hers. Can you blame me?

 

Me:

Is there anything you'd like to add?

 

Addison:

Celestra series coming out sometime this summer. Book 3 will include Chloe’s diary in its entirely. I’ll have the cover for that one up my blog soon. =)

Me:
Thanks again, Addison! And congratulations on the success of your novel. I wish you the best.

 

Addison:

Thank you for hosting! I had a blast!

Addison Moore is a USC graduate who enjoys writing young adult paranormal romance. Ethereal is her first published novel in the Celestra series. She lives with her family and two dogs on the west coast.  

Coming Soon! TREMBLE (Celestra Series Book 2) 

Buy Ethereal on Amazon 

Follow Addison's Blog

If you enjoyed this interview, please follow my blog. There will be more great interviews like this in the future. Have a great weekend! Peace out for now.

 

 

(Someday) Famous YA Author -- Mindi Scott

Someday Famous YA Author is a series of interviews with awesome authors, famous now or future famous, who write for young people.

If you've read my blog in the past, you'll know I adore Mindi Scott. She writes books with teens in them. Her debut novel, FREEFALL, was published last year by Simon Pulse. Read Here

About FREEFALL (description taken from Goodreads):

How do you come back from the point of no return?

Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend, Isaac, alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time when Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn't wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend's death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely.

Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth soon realizes he isn't the only one who needs saving . . .  

If you enjoy contemporary novels with real characters, you'll love FREEFALL.

Mindi has graciously given her time to answer some questions for the blog today. See how cool she is? Here we go...

Me: Seth has become like the guy that should have his own poster because all your fans would probably buy it and hang it on their walls to goggle and daydream over. Unlike many YA novels, Seth feels like a real guy you'd find at any high school. I think that's one of the reasons peeps are so drawn to him.

Since the story is told in his POV AND in first-person, I'm wondering how difficult was it for you to pull that off so well. What was the process like to wrap yourself inside a teenage guy's head?

Mindi: Oh, man. A Seth poster! My editor teases me because of how much I do not see him like that. I think he is a very good-looking boy, but I've just spent waaaay too much time in that kid's head, you know? (That said, thinking about Rosetta never fails to make things get all slow-motion-y. I'm a straight woman, but she had such an effect on Seth that I still haven't totally gotten over it.)

Let me try to think back on my process of writing Seth. One thing I did a lot of during that time was read other young adult novels from male points of view. There was probably a solid year or more where I read very little from female POVs so that I could stay focused. Also, a good portion of my waking hours were spent thinking about Seth and trying to imagine how he'd see things, how he'd feel about them. At the start, I'd write sentences in my own words and then work on how to make them sound like him. Usually, it involved cutting out about half of the words, and then pulling out a thesaurus to change most of what I had left. Eventually, his voice came naturally, but it took a lot of practice to get to that point.

The other day, I randomly flipped open a copy of Freefall and read a few sentences and was like, "Whoa. How did I do that?" because it is very much not me and all Seth. I'm the only one of us who is the real person here... right? ;-)


Me: There are so many things I LOVE about "Freefall." The characters and setting and plot...oh my. What inspired you to write this story?

Mindi: Awww, thank you! I'm so happy to hear that!

The inspiration for this story came mostly from Rosetta, who appeared out of nowhere one day. I then pondered who would be The Boy Who Could Love Her. He turned out to be Seth and I decided to tell the story from his point of view instead of hers. Yay! Quite simply: I wanted to bring these two very different people together. So I did. 

Me: Your next novel, "Live Through This," comes out next fall. (Which seems like forever from now.) What would you like the world to know about this novel? What stage are you at in the process--are you still editing or is it complete?

Mindi: I am still editing. I have a lot left to do to get it ready, so it is lucky for me that the release date is next year! For now, I would like the world to know the following about Live Through This:

a. This story is about a girl who lives in Kenburn, the same town in which Freefall takes place. No guarantees (since I am still editing and things are changing), but there's a good chance that a familiar character or two might pop up at some point!

b. I've been told that this book is similar to Freefall in that it addresses Issues without reading totally like an Issue Book. There's also emotional stuff along with some humor and hope. And, seriously, lots of flirting! This time around, I believe that the overall tone is livelier, but the lows go much lower. We'll see if others agree when the time comes!

c. I wrote this book for exactly one reason: It was the book I needed to read when I was a teen. I'm hoping more than anything that the girls and guys out there who might need it will find it.


And now the easy.

Me: I have to admit that many of the things that drew me to "Freefall" before I had heard about it were similarities I have with you, the author. I LOVE that you're a vegetarian. I adore that you live in Washington. Washington authors are so rad. We both have worked for attorneys in the past. Plus, we both enjoy Blind Melon. I'm sure you're more of a fan of Blind Melon than I am, but still. I'm more like an early 1990's Blind Melon fan.

That said, what's your favorite vegetarian dish/food to eat?

Mindi: We do have a lot in common!

Hmm. Let's see. My favorite vegetarian dish lately is stuffed bell peppers. I keep inventing all these new recipes (with mixed results, naturally) and I'm so hooked.


Me: What is your favorite Blind Melon song?

Mindi: I might very well be more of a BM fan than you (and most people!), but I do want to clarify that while BM will always be a part of me, I don't listen to their music much these days. I had their first three CDs on constant repeat while I was going through some rough stuff in my 20s. Sometimes it's hard to go back to that. Plus, despite what my debut novel might have people believing, self-destructive musicians really, really, really are not my thing these days. :-)

That said, I love just about everything off the Soup album. My all-time favorite BM song is "Galaxie" and a close second is "Walk." "Walk" is about battling addiction, I believe, but some days, it really relates to life in general:

And under a sun that's seen it all before
My feet are so cold
And I can't believe that I have to bang my head against this wall again
But the blows they have just a little more space in between them
Gonna take a breath and try, try again.   

Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Angela! These were fun questions!  :-)

Back to Me:   I may seem like a stalker, but I'm truly not. Mindi Scott's a really cool author and I like to know stuff about really cool authors so that I may share their novels with the world--or at least the few people who follow this blog. ;)

Thank you  Mindi for spending some time with us! And thanks to my followers for checking out this interview. Be sure to also check out FREEFALL if you haven't already at your local indie book store or HERE from Amazon. Also, keep an eye out for LIVE THROUGH THIS fall of 2012.

I'm not sure what it is about the music from the early nineties that conjures dark sentiment for me. Perhaps it was a despairing time, an age of wandering alone to a murky rhythm, destination unknown. Late teens and early twenties were like that. Hell, mid-thirties are still like that. Whatever the reason, Blind Melon, Nirvana, Soul Asylum, Spin Doctors and all those other rad bands from that era always cause me to reminisce. It's probably that way for everyone. Perhaps it's the mourning of lost time. Anyhoo, in honor of Mindi Scott, I was unable to find a video of "Walk" (which I am bummed about), but here is "Galaxie" instead.

And since we are going back in time, a song that still melts my tear ducts, "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum.

If you enjoyed this interview, please follow my blog. There shall be more in the future. :)

Peace out.

PS -- I TOTALLY LOVE STUFFED BELL PEPPERS, TOO! What's your favorite dish?

Upcoming Stuff

If you've been a follower of this blog for some time, you'll remember the series Someday Famous YA Authors from last year. I'm happy to announce the series will resume this month. Prepare to meet some fabulous authors!

I'm receiving the last of the proof reader notes for Land of Corn Chips this weekend and will have the advance reader copies ready to send out to awesome bloggers very soon. Some are already scheduled to receive an ARC. If you are a book blogger/reviewer and would like to review Land of Corn Chips, let me know and I'll add you to the list to receive a pdf. Land of Corn Chips is a novel written for ages 8-12 and up.

Dream Smashers will be getting a facelift. That's right. It's not even two months old and already needs some cosmetic surgery. Don't worry though, the important guts will remain the same. We're shining up the packaging to make it pretty enough for all those eBook buyers. Yes, it's true, books are judged by their cover and we are a society that likes shiny things--even shiny books.

Last weekend we watch THOR at the theater. Oh my. I'd love to see it again and can't wait for it to come out on DVD. For reals. This weekend we will probably go see PRIEST. Have you watched it? I hope it's wicked cool. I'll let you know. I also can't wait for PIRATES next weekend. Ah, so many movies! But for now, I leave you with this magnificent bit. When you get to :19 seconds, pause it. You have to be quick though!

Did you pause it?

Peace out for now.

The Soulkeepers by G.P. Ching

The Soulkeepers, a YA novel by G.P. Ching, has been released! To celebrate, the author will be posting excerpts of the novel and an insiders look on how she came up with the idea for the novel. On Saturday, learn how you can win an iTunes gift card and a copy of the book.

Join the celebration and learn more about this awesome book at G.P. Ching's blog.

About:

When fifteen-year-old Jacob Lau is pulled from the crumpled remains of his mother's car, no one can explain why he was driving or why the police can't find his mother's body. Made a ward of his uncle and thousands of miles from home, Jacob's life feels out of control. 


A beautiful and mysterious neighbor, Dr. Abigail Silva, offers to use her unique abilities to help him find his mom. In exchange, she requires Jacob to train as a Soulkeeper, the biologically gifted warrior she swears he is.


He agrees to her demands, desperate for any clue to the mystery of his mother's disappearance. But soon Jacob finds himself trapped in a web of half-truths, and questions Dr. Silva's motives for helping him.

_________________

How cool is that? Very. Check it out!


Peace out for now.