Ricochet Reviews

Cover Reveal: The Triplex by Lola St. Vil

2012-12-08T03:00:00.000-05:00

Guardians: The Triplex (Book 4)
The team finds the location of the Triplex. But in order to destroy it and
save the world, a horrific decision must be made. Can Marcus do what he
needs to do in order to complete the mission? Or will his heart get in the
way.

Author bio: Lola was seven when she first came to this country from Port-au-Prince,
Haiti. She attended Columbia College in Chicago, where her main
focus was creative writing. She is also an actress and currently lives in
Hollywood with her husband. Lola welcomes interaction with readers. She
can be found on Twitter @guardiansgirl

Review for The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

2012-12-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

I know I've sworn off Ricochet Reviews quite a long time ago, but I happened to find an old one floating around in the land of Drafts.

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

Confessedly, there was a sunken hiatus between the aloof skim of the first few pages and when I began truly reading it. When able to devote any length of time to a book, I've always found it easy to escape into the printed page -- almost like a clumsy Alice in Wonderland rendition, falling to where ever the novel proves elsewhere, Wonderland, is. I tend to find myself unable to come up for air until sifting onto the last few pages, where I hesitate for fear of what might happen when I come to the end. Depending on the book's "level", that excitable, illogical immersion might even raise the notion of death itself.

If you have never read a book so sweetly perfect that a nonsensical sensation of fear for immanent death upon the approach of its impending ending (all the wayward, cliff-hangings, or however) overwhelms some locked away, borderline-insane, closet-fan-girl piece of you, then you are a victim of either blatant illiteracy, unjust censorship, or literary shelteredness, and whichever way you should find yourself a terribly wretched thing. But if you have, in fact, found that moment of perfection - arguably amongst the most perfect moments in a lifetime blessed with the gifts of civilization (and yes, there is a feasible cause for the dramatization of such a silent event) - then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

And then, I have to ask: Does that irrational moment become even more perplexing when you have been, seamlessly and intimately, with Death throughout the entire novel?

Of course.

I don't recall anything so ambitious being so well-executed and effective in my literary travels, though 1894 and Wuthering Heights (or on a remotely lesser level, in an unintentional abstract way, The Hunger Games and If I Stay) fleet around the blurred edges under such criteria. It makes me wonder who ponders on something so abstract, nonetheless who so artfully captures it. Who goes there? Who goes there, and comes back?

The reader is dragged back decades, through the colors of a cruel life and the cheer of Death, into the harsh world of World War II, where a little girl, a book thief, a someone named Liesel Meminger, is suffering. From the beginning you are told her story, one Death harbors an odd fondness for, and the bloody, ashen, charcoaled colors of a short life. As the narrorator isn't one to rush (though a constant point being made in fire and ice), the reader's purpose is to patiently wait as her life is splashed across the pages in a thousand shades of red and black and white.

I'm not quite sure how to describe - no, convey what this book is. I've never read another like it. It's both abstract and clear, brutal and haunting, cold - but never nice. It lingers. It stays and stays until you let the residue crawl from the peripheral of your thoughts to the shaking core of your cerebrum in those brief silent moments of contemplation: before you sleep, in the midst of mechanic routine, and in contrast to the blissfully unknowing life sputtering around you in spite of the thought-provoking hunger left in The Book Thief's wake. It's the kind of read where you're not here nor there because you can't be, for a murky, undescribable while.

You have to be in a meditating, artistic mood to appreciate, if not enjoy, the complex simplicity of The Book Thief. But once you're ready, you'll understand.

It's perfect.

Review: Wings of Arian

2012-07-28T05:00:00.000-04:00

Wings of Arian by Devri Walls
Expected Pub: May 2012 by StoneHouse Ink

Kiora thought she had never heard a lie until she was sixteen. But she was wrong. Her entire existence was based on nothing but. She thought that evil did not exist. Lie. That magic was not real. Lie. And that the land of Meros was all there was. One more lie.

With Aleric telling her that evil is knocking on the door and that she is the only one who can stop them she has a choice to make. Refuse, or start the wildest most painful ride of her life. She reluctantly dips her toe into her new existence of magic and threads, dragons and shapeshifters, and the person who wants to take control of it all: the evil Dralazar. However, this journey was never meant to be hers alone. She will be accompanied by a Protector. To her disbelief, and utter irritation they name the hotheaded, stubborn, non -magical, (albeit gorgeous) Prince Emane. They will have to trust each other with their lives, but right now Kiora would settle for a non hostile conversation. And now it comes down to this, If you had never heard a lie, would you know when you heard one? Is knowing good from evil innate? Kiora finds herself having to decide who lives and who dies on those very questions.

Find Devri Walls:
Twitter ∞ FB ∞ Website ∞ Goodreads

Devri Walls: lives in Kuna Idaho with her husband and two kids. She has worked as music teacher and currently, a preschool teacher. She majored in theater and her love of a story still drives her today. Thankfully, she has ﬁnally found an outlet for all the voices in her head. Her ﬁrst novel, Wings of Arian, will be released on Amazon May of 2012. Find her on Twitter, Facebook or on her blog; www.writingmyfuture.com

Between the gorgeous cover and the intriguing blurb, I was excited to read Wings of Arian. I’m not personally drawn to the angel concept when selecting a new read, but the complete fantasy twist made it interesting. It’s pretty out-there. I loved that it was unique and creative. There’s an art in being strange enough to avoid cliché while still feeling very natural, and it dropped in throughout the entire book rather than awkwardly perching in chunky world building. You’d think having a piece’s oddity being vagueness itself would be a bad thing, but I think it actually worked here. It didn’t feel necessary to get caught up in the little things.

This is a perfect example of escapism – something to get lost in without thinking about it. I think every girl wants something to happen or someone to swoop in and say that their mundane, humdrum life is a front for something exciting and wild. Even if the heroine’s life was interesting to begin with, it’s still a total parallel to that wistful-gaze-in-the-distance-care-to-the-wind type of daydream. I also admired that everything didn’t have to be so easy for the character, especially with the plot being established in such a straight-forward way. It’s a uniquely classic-prophecy concept, which is always enjoyable and entertaining. When I thought I knew where it was going, the story sort of flinched in the other direction. It wasn’t predictable, nor uneventful or anticlimactic, an avoidance that always passes with flying colors. I always love the good-versus-evil theme, and it managed to through in the maintaining of innocence and the impending threat, all wrapped up in a sweet love story. I appreciated that how genuine each of the characters were, evoking the rare and evasive trait of the reader’s sympathy. They were fascinating and distinct, some clever, others funny, many both. It was interesting how perfectly their names fit them, despite being so odd at first.

From the intriguing relationships between characters right down each character’s mannerisms, there was a bold sense of reality in it, even with this estranged magical existence. It’s definitely one of those books that you feel like you’re watching rather than reading: visual, flowing, seamless cuts between scenes, classic set-up, authentic to the genre. It’s hard to explain – I haven’t read many things like it. It’s like a warped cross between The Blood Chronicles by Elizabeth Lorraine, Awaken by Sarah Ross, Tree of Life by Elita Daniels, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, and then… I don’t know, an almost Twilight-ish Harry Potter-esque Lord of the Rings meets a teenage version of Avatar? It’s all over the place, but very much it’s own, not fitting anything but working through everything. There are a lot of pieces of it that remind me of books across the board, plunging in and out of various genres. Perhaps there’s something for everyone inside this book. It’s peculiar, in a curiously good way.

At times the writing switched a little too rapidly between a formalistic, ‘old-fashion’ style and modern phrases or euphemisms. Much of the piece felt overwhelmed with adjectives and adverbs. I personally found both observations distracting, but overall I enjoyed the book. It’s a classic piece of fun, quick-read indie YA. Highly recommended :)

Summer Reads

2012-06-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's the first day of summer!

How are you spending it and what's on your reading list?

Will you be reading on the beach, at the park?

Any stalkable new releases your dying to get your hands on and talk about?

Leave a comment and let me know! Let's compile an epic Summer-Must-Do-And-Must-Read list!

Review: The Void by John Abramowitz

2012-05-18T05:00:00.087-04:00

Title: The Void

Author: John Abramowitz

Series: The Weaver Saga, Book 2

Format: ARC (eBook) via Author

Purchase: Smashwords or Barnes & Noble.

Description: The zombie apocalypse looms as Alex Cronlord struggles to protect her family from a stitch-faced assassin.

Teen Alex Cronlord is a lot of things - at it just so happens that a future-seeing Weaver (so she thinks) is one of them. She's having trouble deciding whether she's running from the Xorda or trying to stop them, and everyone else seems to have a forward option on it. On top of it, she's fighting to save a dead girl she can't find. Unlike her peers, she spends her time failing interviews with the FBI, conversing the foreseen future (or unforeseen past) with an overextended newly-single parent, and deciphering vague images and unconsciously prying for information that will either save her life or explain the loss of another's. Her dreams are nightmares, her nightmares are visions, and her visions are the reality only she can see - if, and only if, she can decode the confusion they bring and follow the right leads (even if that happens to be half-way across the country.)

The Void opens with an exciting and frightening discovery of a body - a corpse that may not yet be dead, seen only in Alex's dreams. It pulls the reader right back into The Weaver Saga's world where it left off in book one -- caught-up and engulfed as the last novel's end. From there it speeds forward, sliding between multiple points of view, giving the story-world a completely 360: as Alex fights for and relives a woman's life (even if it's not who she thinks), her ex-military and recently spilt-up single parent father James fights to help his daughter while attempting to explain his two-faced wife's abandonment (and return), and FBI agent Moira fights for her job beneath a suspiciously replaced supervisor, conflicting feelings for the Wells Society victims she insists she has purest intentions with, and copes with the betrayal of her absent Xorda partner.

As I often find with sequels, it was extremely interesting to observe both the characters, world, plot, and writing itself evolving. Not only is the series consistently clever, unique, and virtually unlike anything else in the YA genre, it steadily remains fun, quick, and easy reading that well suits the market and proofs a delightful, entertaining read with just enough twists and turns to completely capture your attention.

Overall, it was a great read! Fast-paced, fascinating, creative, and curious, the entire novel sped through an insanely unique plot - pulling old and new enemies into the storm and slicing the work up with an intense journey, darker creatures (zombies, Xorda, and wolves - oh, my!) graver circumstances, worse consequences, and an epic cliff-hanger ending. Trust me, while The Void is a definite must-read - it's definitely not somewhere you want to be.

I recommend this for fans The Vladimir Todd Series, Alex Rider, Suck It Up, The Reformed Vampire Support Group, Blood of a Red Rose, and The Maximum Ride Series.

Read my review for book 1!

Scary School by Derek (The Ghost)

2012-05-15T05:00:00.170-04:00

Scary School by Derek the Ghost
Published: HarperCollins
Genre: Middle Grade

Description: You think your school's scary? Get a load of these teachers: "Ms. Fang," an 850-year-old vampire; "Dr. Dragonbreath," who just might eat you before recess; "Mr. Snakeskin"--science class is so much more fun when it's taught by someone who's half zombie; "Mrs. T"--break the rules and spend your detention with a hungry "Tyrannosaurus rex"; Plus Gargoyles, goblins, and Frankenstein's monster on the loose; the world's most frighteningly delicious school lunch and the narrator's an eleven-year-old ghost. Join Charles "New Kid" Nukid as he makes some very Scary friends--including Petunia, Johnny, and Peter the Wolf--and figures out that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky.

Scary School achieves a new level of awesome.

Ghost-kid Derek is looking for peace in halls filled with goons, ghouls, and monsters of every kind. This school is Topsy-turvy, where the uniform is not wearing the uniform and you're taught by vampires and zombies, nearly eaten by a giant squid on your first day, and detained in detention by an old-lady T-Rex that you certainly don't want to be dining with.

How could you not want to attend?

This book is totally my little brothers' humor, and I thought of them often while reading it. It's nostalgic in the way that it captures everything people love about being a creepy kid: dinosaurs, monsters, and acting a little weird and incredibly silly. It's clever, it's unique, it's great for any kid (even the really big ones), and it's laugh-out-loud funny! If you're afraid you may might die of laughter, don't worry - Scary School surely has a place for you afterward.

It manages to make light of what could be a traumatic situation (like, well, croaking in the science lab and left with the depressing task of haunting your school), while still managing to pull through with a few important morals and great themes about growing up (and not). Brimming with likable, amusing characters you'd be crazy not to be fond of (like Derek the Ghost or rule-obsessed Charles "New Kid" Nukid), it's a perfect example that reading can absolutely be fun for any age, and an important reminder that being different can be a wonderful thing.

This quick, middle-grade book is adorable in the creepy way. It's a totally fun must-read grown ups will like, too! Fantastic graphics and drawings are woven throughout the pages, with flocks of bats, ghoulish characters, and ghost-pad notebook lines all reiterating the fun feel of the piece. The story is so real it's actually attributed to a character. How can one get more awesome than that? If I had come across it (expecially) in elementary school, I would've been all over this series! Of course even now I completely relate to our ghostly storyteller (there were a few times I would've liked to die in science class, too), and reading it felt like talking to a quirky childhood friend. And hey! If they open the grades, I'll consider enrolling - it would make high school so much less mundane. Scary School considered a great place for academic challenges and curious, revolutionary rules. Plus the staff is quite up-front, peculiar and interesting: you can actually pronounce all of their names (those being true-to-character... and species), and, I've always had a suspicion that most teachers want to eat you - at least at Scary School they're honest about it!

It's an entertaining cross between Scooby Doo, Monster High, and Growing Up Creepy, made for the age group a few levels before The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I recommend it for fans of all of the above, plus any kid (or parent) looking for something new! :)

Interview with Feather Stone

2012-05-09T05:00:00.019-04:00

1. What works have you released? What are they about? My first and, so far, only creation is The Guardian’s Wildchild. I started writing the story in 2000. That first draft was finished in 2005. Then the rewrites began, then the editing. It was a long process, mostly because I was anal about every aspect of the story’s plot. My focus was to ensure a smooth flow of the story, which was a challenge as the point of view shifted between the main characters.

2. How did you get the idea for your work? What lured you to your topics? I had no ambitions to write a book. Writing was something I did for my own pleasure. That is until I had become so tortured by a vision that I thought that writing about it would stop the constant replay.

Though many might think I’m guilty of an over active imagination, I have to admit to having many paranormal experiences since childhood. No witches or vampires, but plenty of events that cannot be explained away through traditional scientific studies. I met my spirit guide when I was about seven – in the flesh! It’s a long story, but suffice to say that experience had a profound effect on the rest of my life. Later, when I was drowning in a lake, and losing consciousness, I again heard my guide say, “If you stand, you can breathe.” I had just enough resolve to do as he bid. Sure enough. My nose was just above the water.

While I’ve had many paranormal experiences, none have been as profound as the space/time travel that took place over ten years ago. In an attempt to steal the wind from the vision’s sails, I sat at my computer’s keyboard and excitedly told the story. I sought explanations of the who’s and where’s and how’s. Answers came spontaneously. Page after page, day after day the energy of the paranormal experience never dissipated. I became a slave to the disembodied narrator of the story.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “She’s exaggerating. She’s being very grandiose with a flair for the bizarre.” No, I’m not clairvoyant (chuckling). But I do understand your skepticism. This is truly why and how I wrote The Guardian’s Wildchild. I wrote for five years. What was puzzling was the passion I felt while writing. The energy was empowering, dazzling with creative juices I never before believed was possible.

3. In the event that your novel became a screenplay, who would you like to see included in the casting? Sidney Davenport and Captain Samaru Waterhouse are the two main characters. The actor to play Sidney Davenport is Kiera Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean). I searched for an actor to play Captain Waterhouse but only found a model (unknown name) that would fit the profile of an American/Japanese male. Noah Wylie would play Sidney’s brother, Danik Davenport. Gene Hackman to play Admiral Garland.

4. If you could meet anyone or see anything (characters, locations, events, abilities, creatures, etc) from your novel, who or what would you choose? Oooooooooh, that’s close to impossible to choose. I felt close to all of them, even the evil Madame and Captain Butchart, although I wouldn’t want to be in the same room with either of those two. Maybe not on the same planet!

There’s a special place in my heart for Danik. I fell in love with him. His handsome face was nothing compared to his grand sense of fun and loyalty to his people. The problem is I’m too old to be even considered a ‘cougar’. The one character that I could easily spend the rest of my life with would be Greystone. I could use his wisdom and gentle guidance. This character could be easily played by Graham Greene.

5. How did you go about selecting your cover? Thank heavens for the wisdom of the Omnific Publishing marketing staff. When it came time to work on the front/back cover, Micha and her staff consulted me on my vision. They took my ideas and sorted through all the available images that fit the story. They gave me the opportunity to select my choice from a short list and, voila, the beautiful cover was created.

6. Do you have any upcoming projects? When can readers expect them? Next in store for my readers is “Cursed Angel”, a working title. It still involves the paranormal but the characters and setting is completely different from The Guardian’s Wildchild. In fact, I’ve gone from being on the ocean to travelling over the desert. Another difference is that the passion has been turned up several notches. And, again, the ending will be unpredictable. Below is an excerpt, a scene where in the dark street, the two main characters have just been in a battle against a killer - unedited.

Abdul-Muqtadir ran up and inspected the body of Captain Khizar. “Got him right between the eyes, Lizzy. Great shot!” he said grinning at her. She was kneeling on the pavement, vibrating with shock. “Course, I got him first right through the temple.”

The moment felt surreal. She had killed again. And Hashim, was he really dead? Abdul-Muqtadir helped her stand up. “You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, “I think, maybe.” She looked about, still trembling like a leaf. It felt like a nightmare, unreal. “Hashim?”

Abdul-Muqtadir ignored her and set about ordering the men to pull up the vehicles to their location. He returned to Captain Khizar’s body and gave it a nudge with the toe of his boot. “Yep, he’s good and dead.”

Eliza turned back to see where Hashim had fallen. Like a ghost in the night, he was standing a half block away from her. She could see his silhouette, a halo of light surrounding his head and shoulders. His face was dark, except for the sheen of sweat on his forehead. He straightened his shoulders and began walking in her direction clutching his AK47. She took a few steps toward him. The cool night air made her shiver. From the dampness of her clothes, she thought.

Finally, Hashim was standing in front of her. She crossed her arms, still holding her gun cradled in the crook of her arm. He held out his hand, “Give me the gun.”

She looked him over. His flak jacket was torn. Blood was flowing from his left arm and hand, along the barrel of his gun, and dripping onto the pavement.

“You need medical attention.”

“You’re a mess,” he said looking over her disheveled hair and torn blazer. “I need to apprehend that gun.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You worried I might shoot you? I did have some pretty nasty thoughts about you over the past couple of hours.”

“Nasty? I’ve just saved your butt again, Miss Eliza. Now hand over that piece.”

“Or else?” She raised her eyebrows.

“I might have to get rough.”

“Promise,” she said with a sultry smile.

He shook his head. “You keep up that casual attitude and you’ll end up dead.”

“You’re the one that’s bleeding.”

He stepped into her space, put an arm around her waist and yanked hard. Her body was crushed against his. “Eliza,” he whispered. “Don’t you ever run off again! You hear me?”

She saw his eyes were mixed with anger and relief. “Uh huh. You stop being such a grouch and I’ll stand on my head for you.”

A crooked smile slowly eased across his face and nodded. “That’s a deal.” He released her and stepped back.

7. What is the top cause you champion? My heart belongs to nature and, in particular, all the creatures that depend upon the natural environment for survival. I have immense concern about the encroachment of civilization on the wilderness, interference with waterways, and the overall pollution of air/land/water. Closer to home I’ve been involved in the rescue of abandoned and abused animals (cats, dogs, horses). My husband and I support our local animal shelters and are vocal advocates for the humane treatment of all animals.

8. If you could do anything (for a career), besides being a writer, what would do? I worked for the City of Edmonton as a paramedic for several years. In 2008 I retired and now enjoy the freedom of leisure. To read and write at my pace. Or do nothing but sit in silence and immerse myself in meditation.

9. Aside from writing, what are your hobbies? You name it, I’ve probably done it so long as it is legal and is for the higher good of my wellbeing. I play the piano, accordion, guitar; speak French, Spanish and a bit of Japanese; Reiki and Shaman practice; needlework; garden and landscape; photography and water color painting; walk my sheltie and cats. This list goes on and on.

Thanks for participating! So where can readers find you?

Website

Review: Blood of a Red Rose

2012-05-07T05:00:00.030-04:00

Title: Blood of a Red Rose
Author: Tish Thawer
Series: The Rose Trilogy
Publisher: Amber Leaf Publishing
Description: Book 2 in The Rose Trilogy. A paranormal romance that continues to surprise with a heroine that’s embracing her darker side, a vampire whose love starts to waver, and a vampire clan whose new Sire is filled with doubt.

Doubt blooms...
Someone bleeds...
Change is coming...time to take heed.

The sequel in the Rose Trilogy starts off just as it ended: fierce, fast-paced, and twisted. Rose, as quirky and head-strong as ever, is left to deal with the task of coping with and accepting what she had done, and working out the aftermath - and dealing with what it revealed. The first few pages leave the reader caught up in Rose's world, dying to know what she is going to do with the secret locked within her blood and threatening her very nature. In spite of the inner conflicts seen in the first novel, it suddenly seems that disproving the belief that she was untouchably innocent and proving her strength and independence are the last things she needs to be worrying about. Instead, she's faced with her own shocking darkness - and vampires aren't quite so scary anymore. Except, of course, the possibility that if they found out her secret that they might rally to end her (and the threat she poses) the old fashion way: avoiding poison and ditching the fangs.

The boldness of the characters and their story seems to be a successful theme throughout the Rose Trilogy, and the fierce ultimatum between love and life were a creative addition. Choose one, and she just may lose both. The entire twist on what seemed to be heading for a wrapped up, happy ending in the last book is brilliant. As a reader, I was certainly willing to trade a little torture for more time with swoon-worthy Christian and his two-sided red Rose. ;)

The whole idea of, What do you do if by being with the love of your life, you could throw them into madness and eternal darkness? is just fascinating. And, of course, this easily five-of-five-star read executed the concept beautifully. Between going into hiding, attempting to avoid the father searching for her while dying to see him, being hunted by an enemy subconciously assumed neutralized, and trying to figure out the relationship of her nature and her boyfriend being a maybe-Sire, it's definitely not difficult to sympathize with Rose. Knowing super-passionate, completely trusting, sexy, misinformed, and in-love Christian feels so strongly for Rose while being at risk of drifting is completely maddening! Expecially amongst constant disputes, confusion, and edge-of-your seat anticipation. The character development continues to unravel, and is done exceptionally well. The multiple points of view were as efficient as in the first book, helping to drag the reader into a 360: the dramatic irony of varying motives, who's alive, what their plans are, and still being completely surprised at what plays out. All of the untied ends the prior book left exposed were quickly revisited and flowing again in the first few chapters, and it isn't long before the reader can catch up and fall into the novel.

The entire novel flew by. It was a surprisingly quick read: well-written, fast-paced, and completely engrossing. When the reader is convinced one end would come, another completely spun it into a tantalizing whirlwind, followed by the punch of an insane cliff-hanger that stays with you, although the book itself is entertaining, riveting, and fast. The revealed truths behind the privously unexplaind were shocking, while other sub-plots exploded on the sides. The pressure of anticipation built all the way to the last sentence, and the ending was incredibly surprising and terrible and beautifully sweet (and yes, that is absolutely a concurrent effect). The emotions of the characters, even when angry and unfounded, were written so well they felt very real and valid -- and both the twists and revealed answers throughout the piece were insanely clever (and in Terrance's case, just plain endearing) in their complex simplicity - which, in my opinion, has always been a sign of a great storyteller. I absolutely cannot wait to see what becomes of the main characters, and there is some seriously amazing things in-store for the next book.

I loved this!! It's highly recommended for fans of Evernight by Claudia Gray, Fate Fixed by Bonnie Erina Wheeler, The Vampire Academy by Rachelle Mead, and The Vampire Kisses Series by Ellen Schribner.

E : Ready for the next stop in the tour? www.allthingsaboutbooks.com

Want a copy? Get it on Smashwords!

Curious about the series?

Check out my review for book one or RR's interview with Tish Thawer!

Interview with Lindsay Paige

2012-05-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

What works have you released? I've released Sweetness (in English and Spanish), I'm Yours, and Whatever It Takes will be released on June 13, 2012.

What “scene” was the most intense for you to write? There's a scene in I'm Yours where Emily experiences something really hard to deal with. That scene was so intense and would definitely be the hardest one for me to write.

Do you have any upcoming projects? As I said, Whatever It Takes is coming out in June. I'm writing a paranormal romance with Elizabeth Waldie and I'm working on a book titled Don't Panic where the main character has anxiety as I do.

What do you love the most about being an author? Besides the nitty gritty of writing? Interacting with fans! I love hearing their thoughts, whether good or bad, about my books. It all helps me learn and grow as a writer.

What inspires you to write? Life and music would be my two biggest inspirations.

What advice do you have for anyone who is interested in becoming an author? Don't let anyone stop you. I write for two reasons: myself and the reader.

What is one thing your readers should know about you? I love speaking with you! Don't be shy.

If you were to select a different career (besides writing), what would do? Help children with Asperger's in different aspects of their lives.

Aside from writing, what are your hobbies? Playing tennis, listening to music, reading, and taking pictures.

Think 3! Who or what is ____?

• Your favorite author? I can't pick just one!

• Your favorite book/series? Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

• Your biggest literary inspiration? Any author that can make me feel something is a literary inspiration. That said, Nicholas Sparks can always make me feel something.

Do you listen to music when you write? If not, do you have other muses? I do! All the time, in fact. It's a great source of inspiration.

Is there anything unique about your writing process? Not really, haha. I sit down with my laptop and music and get busy!

Which character do you most identify with? Jake because of his situation with his father.

Thank you for participating! So where can readers find you?

Interview with Jolene Perry

2012-04-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

1. What works have you released? What are they about? The Next Door Boys came out last October about a girl who goes to college after a year home fighting cancer. Her goals are to find some independence and not fall in love – she’s half successful. Night Sky is about Jameson whose senior year is falling apart around him, but he’s saved by the very nice distraction of a Native American girl named Sky.

2. How did you get the idea for your work? What lured you to your topics? I got the idea when my husband and I were talking eighties movies in the Taco Bell drive-through. They’re a little before our time, but fun just the same. We were talking Pretty in Pink, and I always wondered what happened to the poor guy who was in love, but didn’t get the girl. That’s the jumping off point for Night Sky.

3. What scene, topic, or section was the most intense (or visual) for you to write? The first scene with jameson and Sky in the swimming pool. And the other was them talking on the phone. Sounds crazy, but I loved the setting of where Sky was, and how she described to Jameson a place he’d never seen, and I loved him picturing her while lying in bed thousands of miles away.

4. In the event that your novel became a screenplay, who would you like to see included in the casting? Julie Jones would need to play Sky. Julianne Hough as Sarah, and Carlos Pena as Jameson.

5. If you could meet anyone or see anything (characters, locations, events, abilities, creatures, etc) from your novel, who or what would you choose? I’d love to meet Jameson, but I’d like to meet him where Sky lives.

6. How did you go about selecting your cover? My publisher did that. I always try to find cool covers as I’m writing, but I had a really hard time with Night Sky.

7. Do you have any upcoming projects? When can readers expect them? Knee Deep comes out this May. I’m hoping for a release date soon for the sequel to The Next Door Boys, and I’m in talks with an editor I’ve been dying to work with on a joint project with Kelley Vitollo.

8. Why did you become an author (or start writing)? I thought it would be cool to write a few scenes just for fun, and before I knew it, I had over a hundred pages, and was completely hooked.

9. What do you love the most about being an author? That my hobby is my job.

10. What or who inspires you to write? Everything. I have a harder time shutting inspiration out than letting it in.

11. What is the top cause you champion? My daugher has Moebius syndrome, and we’re insane about recycling and going nearly chemical free.

12. What advice do you have for anyone who is interested in becoming an author? Develop a thick skin. Know that some people are going to not like the stories and people that you created, and also know that if you’re willing to work hard enough, you can do it.

13. What is one thing your readers should know about you? I have a very hard time taking myself seriously ;-D

14. If you could do anything (for a career), besides being a writer, what would do? I was a high school teacher, a drama coach, a basketball coach, and a track coach – I’d love to do any of those things. I’d also love to be a photographer or a book cover designer.

15. Aside from writing, what are your hobbies? I love to cook. I love to sew. I love anything outside.

16. What is…?

a. …your favorite author? John Green, Jandy Nelson, Sarah Ockler, Laurie Halse Anderson

b. …your favorite book or series? See all of the above

c. …your biggest literary inspiration? Again, see all of the above.

17. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what artists? If not, do you have other muses? I listen to music VERY quietly while I write. I listen to my playlists for individual projects as I run or drive in the car. The artists change with the manuscript.

18. Is there anything that helps you write or is unique about your writing process? I NEVER write in order. Very often I even write short scenes out of order.

19. Which, if any, character do you feel has the most of your characteristics (behavioral or otherwise)? Leigh – my character from The Next Door Boys.

Thank you for participating!

Thanks for having me!!

Title: Night Sky

Author: Jolene Perry
Source: Tribute Books

After losing Sarah, the friend he’s loved, to some other guy, Jameson meets Sky. Her Native American roots, fluid movements, and need for brutal honesty become addictive fast. This is good. Jameson needs distraction – his dad leaves for another woman, his mom’s walking around like a zombie, and Sarah’s new boyfriend can’t keep his hands off of her.

As he spends time with Sky and learns about her village, her totems, and her friends with drums - she's way more than distraction. Jameson's falling for her fast.

But Sky’s need for honesty somehow doesn’t extend to her life story – and Jameson just may need more than his new girl to keep him distracted from the disaster of his senior year

Where to find Jolene Perry:

SFFANZ Nominees

2012-04-26T18:46:00.000-04:00

Rapture by Phillip W. Simpson has been nominated for Best Youth Novel by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand Inc.! Check out the nomination info here: http://sffanz.sf.org.nz/sjv/sjvNominations-2012.html

And the nominees are...

Best Youth Novel Nominees	Battle Of The Birds Lee Murray Taramea Publishing
	Space Race Glynne MacLean Pearson Education
	Fosterling Emma Neale Vintage
	Wings Raymond Huber Walker Books
	Rapture Phillip W. Simpson Pear Jam Books

Read RR's review of the novel here or order it on Amazon here!

Giveaway + Interview with Monica Leonelle

2012-04-26T12:27:00.004-04:00

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Monica Leonelle of Social Punk for the latest release! (At the bottom of the post you will find a Rafflecopter giveaway form hosted by the book tour host - enter for a chance to win an iPad 3, a Kindle Fire, or one of 25 autographed hardcovers!)

Hey, Monica! Welcome to Ricochet Reviews. First off, can you tell us a little about The Socialpunk Trilogy?

Socialpunk is a bit like The Truman Show meets The Terminator, except Mark Zuckerburg is president of the world. I wanted to do a cyberpunk and Socialpunk is classically cyberpunk, down to its roots. I loved the idea of being trapped in a virtual reality, and then acclimating to the real world.

It sounds wonderful! What kind of reader would you recommend your novel to?

Adults and mature teens 14+ who enjoy dystopian or science fiction. The book series is being compared to The Hunger Games, the Divergent series, and the Uglies series.

So, if it became a screenplay, who would you cast?

Brenda Song would probably be my choice for Ima. Ember is a tall girl, but for some reason I think Kristen Bell could embody her. The guys are more difficult, but maybe Cam Gigandet for Nasser, Hunter Parrish for Dash, Matt Lauria for Vaughn, and Raza Jaffrey for Nahum. Of course, most of those people are television stars, so I probably wouldn't get any of my choices if there ever was a movie!

Great choices! Which character do you most identify with?

I would have to say Ima, as she's the main character and the book is told entirely from her point of view. What I love about her is how much she changes from the beginning of the book to the end. She feels very guilty and is constantly struggling with right vs. wrong. She's probably one of my favorite characters out of all the ones I've written.

Interesting! What inspires you to write?

I've been writing forever! I write a ton almost every day, as it turns out. Writing is the way I express myself, so I just fell into it naturally. I started a Gen Y blog in 2007 called Twenty Set. It actually gained quite a bit of steam early on, but eventually I moved away from Gen Y topics. The reason I started that blog, though, is because I couldn't clear my mind! I literally just needed to get things out of my system. So I wrote that blog 4-5 times a week for about six months until my ideas stop churning so quickly. My love for writing as an adult grew out of that experience.

Do you have any advice for someone interested in becoming an author?

Writers should learn marketing because they are either going the indie route or they are under fire to sell through on their advance with a traditional publisher. You can learn more about marketing your writing with my Free Writer Toolkit here:proseonfire.com/the-free-writer-toolkit. More importantly, writers should inject their marketing directly into their manuscripts. Writers often think of marketing as this separate thing from writing, but it's not at all. 80-90% of books are sold through word-of-mouth and most of the marketability of a book is right there in the manuscript. So even if you are going the traditional route, if you are serious about getting published you should hire an editor to go through your book and see how marketable it is. Traditional publishers are looking for marketable books. It's a business and they need to make money.

Awesome! Well, it was an honor to have you. Thank you for participating!

Thank you!

-

Here's a little something about the author and her work!

Featured Author's Bio:

Monica Leonelle is a well-known digital media strategist and the author of three novels. She blogs at Prose on Fire (http://proseonfire.com) and shares her writing and social media knowledge with other bloggers and authors through her Free Writer Toolkit (http://proseonfire.com/free-writer-toolkit).

Social Punk Book Description:

Ima would give anything to escape The Dome and learn what’s beyond its barriers, but the Chicago government has kept all its citizens on lockdown ever since the Scorched Years left most of the world a desert wasteland. When a mysterious group of hooded figures enters the city unexpectedly, Ima uncovers a plot to destroy The Dome and is given the choice between escaping to a new, dangerous city or staying behind and fighting a battle she can never win.

Get your copy of Social Punk!

Amazon: http://monicaleonelle.com/SocialpunkA

Barnes and Noble: http://monicaleonelle.com/SocialpunkB

You Can Enter to Win A Copy Here!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bookies Can Go Green Too!

2012-04-22T05:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Earth Day, Bookies! In celebration of our planet, why not go green? Here's some ways to help out Mother Earth, today!

Recycle a few dust-collectors on an overstuffed shelf! It'll only sting for a second, and just think of the room your making for new ones!

Opt to buy the eBook instead of the hardcover. Save money, time, AND trees!

eReaders are Eco-Chic! You know you want one - so invest in a Kindle! Sure, they require electricity to charge. However, many of them are recycled via refurbished parts! And the rest applies for Nook Tablet, Augen, Kindle - even Kindle for PC: it saves the paper of printing every hardcover on that shelf! (You know it's is running out of room anyway!)

Turn off the computer and read a book! Save electricity and enjoy yourself - now you have a reason to relax!

Shut off the TV and walk the family to the park. Grab a picnic blanket and a book, read tree-side! Plus, you and your kid-brother get some exercise!

Make your next writing journal an eco-friendly one. Not only a reader, but a writer too? Pick up a bio-degradable, recycled-material journal instead of another paper-wasting composition! They're more sturdy (less likely to bend in your bag), usually well-crafted (and beautiful!), and the few extra bucks can feel well-spent! My personal favorite is Find Sasquatch: Leave Nothing But Tracks, but I recommend looking on Etsy or browsing your local stationary or department stores, too! (Tip: I love stocking up on hand-made, recycled products from stores like TJ MAX or Marshall's, too!)

What are your green tips? Leave a comment below and you could be featured on Ricochet Reviews as a featured Green Bookie!

Twitter Party for Until Next Time

2012-04-07T21:33:00.000-04:00

If you're an avid YA book blog follower, there's no doubt you saw the blog tour for "Until Next Time" flying around the web. If you missed it, here's an awesome chance to check it out! Here's an event announcement-invite to readers, from the author:

Twitter Party
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
8 p.m. Eastern

Follow hashtag #UntilNextTime as author Amy Lignor answers your questions for 90 minutes live on Twitter. A $50 cash prize will be given to the person who has a receipt confirming an ebook purchase of Until Next Time and tweets at least once during the Twitter Party. We'll also be giving away a variety of ebooks and print books throughout the event. Let us know if you are planning to attend by tweeting @TributeBooks or @HelloWritersAmy to RSVP.

Or better yet, read all about it on the lovely series' blog here or on the event's Facebook page here and get a head-start on the tweets with the hashtag here!

The end is near! (Well, not really.)

2012-04-03T21:20:00.001-04:00

I've shown this graphic before to mention a temporary leave, but I haven't gotten to apply it to why was created! Today I've got a more suitable application. Ricochet Reviews is changing - not leaving, but changing. Let me explain.

Firstly, I'm going away to school this fall. This means a lot less time for emailing back and forth, and definitely no time to organize blog tours and author correspondence. Which translates into: I'm now reviewing the random books I'm recreationally reading, rather than accepting oodles of requests and dealing with my odd little notification processes. You'll still see plenty for the latest releases, but whether or not I'm accepting requests is going to vary by the week. Secondly, Ricochet Reviews is expanding beyond YA lit -- and dabbling in some other age groups, expecially while tending to a new classics and contemporary literary fiction exploration I've planned. You'll see what I mean in the content to come. Thirdly, the blog is expanding beyond the reviewer classification. Pretty soon RR will be in a pretty little tab, and the overall blog will be deticated to promoting upcoming works and other delicious writing jazz. The debate of switching the URL and platform is still up in the air, too. When that's decided I will definitely be offering an update.

Overall, besides an inside look at what's to expect soon, this is a fair warning: over the next couple of months, there's going to be a lot of "technical difficulties". The layout is getting completely re-vamped, and it's going to utterly rock when it's finished. Until then, don't be scared off if you stop by and the images are 300 pixles off or sidebar's disappearing, or the fonts are being odd and ill-fitting. Once it's complete, 98% of that will be solved -- and for what's left, there will be some available contact forms and other options for convienent, anonymous trouble shooting.

A quick Q&A:

1. Wait! Are you still going to post the review we scheduled?

If you and I corresponded and agreed on a review date, it's still going to be posted unless I personally write you and say otherwise. This change is HUGE and my request acceptance is going to become a little more sporadic than it is now, but my involvement on other, pre-planned bloggerific activities isn't changing.

2. What about participate in my blog tour?

No worries, all that will be posted. See question #1 for more info.

3. What do you mean changing? A new blog?

Yes and no! You'll see some interesting features arise in good time, including "Unflesh" and "Doomsday Darling", but the entire blog is being combined with an author blog and Simply Indie Productions designed services - on one site. I can see how that's confusing, but it'll all come together. You'll see. :)

4. Wait - what do you mean "works"?

I didn't mention I write too? You can find out all about that in my "Projects" tab. There's usually not too much to tell, but I've got a few things TBR and I see an expansion is due. :)

5. Well, in that case. So you are "staying"?

For sure! Ricochet Reviews will still be around, but with less indie requests (only because of time issues with the correspondance - I still adore indies!) and less interviews. You'll see more frequent "traditionally published" reviews and writer's info in the absence.

6. Do you recommend any other sites for our book blogging needs?

If it's too much to deal with during maintence times, go check out the RR blogroll! It's titled "Bloggin' Bookies" and filled with some awesome references :) For amazing reviews and wicked cool giveaways, I recommend checking out YA-Aholic and Electrifying Reviews. For a little bit of awesome-bookie-everything, definitely visit TwiMom101 or What's Beyond Forks? - again, there's plenty more in the sidebar blogroll :)

7. Hang on, I have more questions! What is this madness? You answered nothing!

Keep an eye out for further updates! And, of course, any additions questions can be directed to the comments, Facebook, or email.

Guest Post by Justin Ordoñez

2012-04-02T05:00:00.033-04:00

Please enjoy this guest post by Justin Ordoñez, author of the YA novel (for 18+ readers), Sykosa. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

Marketing, Or How I Proved the Existence of Hell.

Self-publishing requires either A) no skills and being totally deluded as to the reality of success in the book market, or B) no skills and the reality you’re going to have to learn a lot. And that’s a simple fact. Between writing, editing, formatting, choosing a printer, choosing retailers, web development, content generation, typesetting, book trailers and the fifty other things I’m forgetting, you’re certain to encounter a challenge for which you are in no way prepared, and not only are you not prepared, your desire to become prepared hovers somewhere near the axis of zero.

I discovered mine on January 11, 2012--Marketing.

Marketing’s an entirely deceptive term. When a thing is so multi-dimensional and other-worldly abstract, we expect it come coupled with tongue-tying terminology. I mean, who would touch marketing if it was done by someone called a, “Surpurgodunintrihumanthofeelemo-ologist?” (Stands for: “Surveyor, purveyor, and Godlike understander of all intricate human thoughts, feelings, and emotions.”) No one. And that’s just the beginning! As it’s really only one aspect of marketing. You not only need to communicate with the potential book buyer, but with the many marketing channels available, i.e. book bloggers, book reviewers, book recommendation sites, book social networking sites, and many, many more. Essentially, in order to succeed at marketing, when you’re not busy being a social butterfly, expanding your pool of contacts and showing a legitimate interest in people’s lives, you need to be a socially reclusive, type-A, mega-jerk who produces the stuff that gets sent to all the people who are now your contacts.

As this is seriously an enormously enormous undertaking, I did what I’d advise any author do. Write Novel Publicity and get some help. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Problem solved, right? How could it be that marketing is such a huge undertaking you cannot count on Novel Publicity alone? Unfortunately, while Novel Publicity is your access to the market, you are still your own personal generator of content. Guest blog posts, interviews, all manner of interactions still come from you, and they’re a perspective reader’s introduction to your writing, your style, your passion, and ultimately if they’re interested in your work.

These are elements I’m fine with.

Or…

These are elements I thought I was fine with.

After all, it can’t be that hard, can it? Blog-post-smog-post. Promotional-images-smosional-images. You’re a brilliant author who wrote an entire novel, what can this world throw at you that you can’t beat back with your bare fists? Well, a lot, and way more than you think, too. Do you know how to use Calibre? HTML? Gimp? Neither did I, but thanks to our good friend YouTube, I was able to spend a what-would-be-hilarious-if-it-weren’t-so-depressingly-true amount of time learning them. And it was going fine—sure, I was underslept, over-sugar’d, and had begun to scratch myself so frequently I was breaking skin in more than one or two places, but aside from all that, I was a marketing genius! I was…lying to myself. I was scratching my head frequently, and I was encountering a new, unforeseen challenge at every corner. (Novel Publicity would gladly have helped me, but I wanted their time to be used for, you know, generating publicity, not a grade school-style education seminar for me). Then, it finally happened, I realized what I had needed to realize since the beginning.

Children are evil.

No, seriously, they are. Stay with me on this one.

It happened while I was working on the image below.

Let me preface the story like this.

Being an adult means your time getting screwed over on the playground is over. Well, it’s not really over. Adults are as catty as children, but it’s different. Adults are so covert, so pathological, and so politically calculating in their screwing over of others that it trumps all human understanding. Kids simply call you a name and move on, so I suppose I mean to say that, as an adult, your days of outright mockery are over. No longer will you be subject to a choir of second grade girls singing, “Jus-tin, bus-tin, the big fat…” as the song dies since they had called you fat, there was nothing obvious to rhyme it with, and there was no reserve hatred left in them, and since they’re not total nut job psychotics like grown-ups, they move onto the sensitive boy who loves to draw unicorns and hearts.

As you may have guessed, I was talking about myself.

And I was wrong.

My days of outright mockery had only begun!

Why, you ask?

Because I decided to self-publish my novel, and because I lacked skills. The image above did not make itself. In fact, I’m only 20% certain of why it turned out the way it did. Much like a child, I bought in on total faith that the directions I was being given would work, then knocked this “learning comprehension” business aside. And why do I use child in that example? Well, being such an amateur, you won’t know how to correctly ask Google for answers. For instance, in the text up top, a professional knows to type, “How do you create text with a radius of so-and-so so it appears like an arch?” You, on the other hand, type, “How do you make text look like a rainbow?” That’s right. You’re gonna ask as if you were a six-year old, so guess what? You’re gonna get search results from midget-geniuses who’re so young they’re struggling to lose that lisp one gets when learning English.

With your earphones plugged it, that little voice starts at you in much the way that girl (or boy or still girl given your gender and sexual orientation) looked at you when you innocently sat next to her on the bus, that look of, “Who are you and what makes you think you don’t have to maintain fifty feet of distance from me at all times?” “Okay, guys, like, this is simple, like, first thing we’re gonna do is create a path.” Click-click-click-click-click-click! “Okay, looks nothing like what you want, but that’s fine, we’ll fix it later.” Click-click-click-click-click! “Okay, here we go, we color to alpha, create a new layer, color to alpha again.” Click-click-click-click-click! “Take the path tool, debate buying a shotgun now that I’ve convinced you you’ve failed at life, then change the angle, now, if you want to change the color, you use the select tool, but not like you’re used to using it, I’ll now proceed to click around the screen like a swarm of hornets attacking an intruder and not explain a single step.” Click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click! “Alright guys, wasn’t that simple? Make sure you submit your humiliatingly easy questions so my buddies and I can laugh at you before we record the next lesson.”

How long did it take you to read that?

Divide that by four, and that’s how fast the kid said it.

(Blood pressure…rising).

In a way, it’s not the kid’s fault. Children have brains that learn everything quickly, effortlessly, and with no respect for it. It’s not till you’re a teenager when you hit places where, despite your effort, you’re not gonna learn it. Rationally, I understand this. But, as a human being, in a dark corner of my favorite local eatery, constantly pausing/playing/pausing/playing/pausing/playing while I toggle between Firefox/Gimp/Firefox/Gimp/Firefox/Gimp in an ever-failing attempt to emulate this six year old Einstein, I realize: It’s kind of amazing such a young kid knows this stuff. Still, I don’t know if I admire this child or I want to punch him in the face. That’s what this child had done to me. That thin line between love and hate, he has blurred it and I can no longer tell the difference between unconditional love and righteous hatred.

"Wow, Mister, I've never seen anybody as dumb as you before!"

So I add an addendum to my original statement: Children are evil, and so is marketing. And by that I mean: Marketing is responsible for all evil on the planet Earth. I’m serious. It’s hard at its every level. There’s no way to just be “good” at marketing, and nothing will diminish the fact that literal blood, sweat, and tears will be lost to its cause, which ultimately ends up at what we call the “marketplace,” or as I’ve recently been referring to it, “The Death-Vacuum that Took the Giant Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way and Said, ‘Wow, You Look Like a Tasty Candy Bar.’” I hate to use sports analogies since not everyone likes sports, but the only thing more infuriating than marketing may be consistently hitting a baseball.

In baseball, if you hit 30% of the time, you’re a legend.

In marketing, I’m gonna say if you hit 5% of the time, you’re a legend.

Sykosa, my new YA novel for which all this marketing is being done, is a work of love, but more than a work of love, it’s a good book. I went to fantastic lengths to ensure this. Like any good character should be, Sykosa is indescribable, but because we have marketing in this evil world, I’m going to do it anyway. Sykosa’s a sixteen-year-old girl who’s struggling to reclaim her identify after an act of violence shatters her life and the lives of her friends. She’s also kind of a riddle, but that’s alright, because you’ll know—in your gut—this is exactly the decision she would make, even if you can’t articulate why. She likes a boy she probably shouldn’t, except you’re not going to think, “Why is she dating this guy?” because you’ll know—in your gut—this is exactly the guy she would date, even if you can’t articulate why. She’s bright and could do a lot with her life, but she’s letting it slip past her, and you’re not gonna get upset with her, you’re gonna empathize, because you’ll know—in your… Egh, I could go on and on. Sykosa is special, I’m telling you she is, and I’m working this marketing game—which fits me like the worst fitting glove imaginable—to get her an opportunity.

I don’t say that to illicit sympathy. This is marketing, after all.

As I’ve learned, if I wanted sympathy, I woulda joined the military.

Comparatively, they treat you nice there. (I jest).

Still, perhaps you can imagine… What’s it like to watch this child’s mouse clicking about the screen, thinking seven things at once, and me in my chair, unable to eat my entire plate of French fries cause my metabolism won’t allow it, confused cause, as an adult, you need things presented to you sequentially, and logically, and, like, yes, you need people to take at least one breath between sentences! I mean—seriously, when do children breathe? Does it ever happen? Is this one of those things you don’t have to do until you’re grown up?

(Count to ten, Justin. Count to ten… He’s just a child. Nothing more).

Anyhow, Sykosa came out this week, and now she’s finishing her Whirlwind tour. I’m writing this all before it’s happened and I think, I hope, I’ve survived it and things are looking good for the future. For now, all I can say, in my most evening news-ish marketing voice, “Please visit Sykosa.com for lots of Sykosa related stuff, like character profiles, sketches, funny diagrams, a video question and answer blog, and a forty page excerpt.” But, I wonder if it that message can be heard, if amongst this open array of electrical impulses large enough to capture the entire human imagination, and small enough molecularly to be stuffed into box so tiny we lack the technology to even build it, is there room for Sykosa?

Can she break through the mist? Do you hear her?

She’s trying to say, “What’s up!”

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Sykosa eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:
1. Purchase your copy of Sykosa for just 99 cents
2. Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event
4. BONUS: Leave a comment on this post*

Leave a comment, win $100:

One random tour commenter will win a $100 Amazon gift card. Just leave a comment on this post, and you'll be entered to win. For a full list of participating blogs, check out the official tour page. You can enter on just my blog or on all of them. Get out there and network!

About the book: YA fiction for the 18+ crowd. Sykosa is a sixteen-year-old girl trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the lives of her friends. Set at her best friend’s cottage, for what will be a weekend of unsupervised badness, Sykosa will have to finally confront the major players and issues from this event, as well as decide if she wants to lose her virginity to Tom, her first boyfriend, and the boy who saved her from danger. Get it on Amazon.

About the author: Sykosa is Justin Ordoñez's life's work. He hopes to one day settle down with a nerdy, somewhat introverted woman and own 1 to 4 dogs. Visit Justin on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Review: Eve by Anna Carey

2012-04-01T22:08:00.002-04:00

Title: Eve

Series: The Eve Trilogy

Author: Anna Carey

Publisher: Harper

Format: Hardcover, 318 pages

Description: Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth's population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school's real purpose--and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she's ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life. In this epic new series, Anna Carey imagines a future that is both beautiful and terrifying. Readers will revel in "Eve"'s timeless story of forbidden love and extraordinary adventure.

You know when the first chapter begins with "By the time the sun set over the fifty-foot perimeter wall...” you are most certainly in for a ride. Proceeded only by a griping, curious, chilling letter from Eve's mother while dying from disease, the words sets the perfect opening stage for novel’s voice.

The story itself is engrossing from the beginning, though for quite a while (perhaps the first hundred-or-so pages) the purpose of the novel was simply to set up the dynamic of the school - which is really where the vast majority of the allure came from. I've noticed the book is getting a lot of heat from reviewers for the dystopia's cause being so "typically" set up, but I officially waive and veto the complaint: it should be understood, to appreciate the novel, that it's not about the virus or the government set up or the apocalypse itself (though I *really* wish it could have all been more... just, more) but the concept of a naive girl being pruned from an early age to be fearful of men and serve a single purpose being suddenly awakened: an occurrence the sends Eve spiraling into a world far from expectations and even further from her safety-zone, on a marvelous adventure, forcing herself to overcome the stereotypes imbedded within (therefore swallowing the pride of thinking she'd been all-knowing as valedictorian), and to learn to love and trust a man - despite the unfair tide against him erected merely by the world they live in.

Also, the proposed distaste of the "need to repopulate" is actually not unrealistic, as we all automatically desire to jump to. Bear with me while I share a history lesson: after the Black Death, the Europeans all started getting married and having a lot of children quite fast, and for reasons historians and scientists haven't fully gouged, men and women of conception and birthing ages had biologically heightened levels of fertility like very few other times in the history of our race. With dystopian governments, we often find a very primal thing pushing the seemingly modern and complex structure - whether it be hate or dominance or power, or a combination of all three - and I see no reason for a government to push such a seemingly cruel and primal thing. Food for thought alone, perhaps, but I found that really fascinating when considering the dynamics and concepts for this piece.

I think some part of me has a natural "fondness" for gently naive people, especially given just cause to be that way. Though it seems a tad ridiculous for eighteen, the circumstances of being raised in a school designed to physically prepare hundreds of girls for birth (think mass octomom hysteria plus miscarriages plus "childbed fever", obviously a hell-risen nightmare, hence why Eve ran away to begin with), mentally give them a lifelong fear of men via dystopian-government-brainwash (in the process forcing the young women into the uber-prudish and stripping them of any sexual identity at all whatsoever), and tease the mind's capability for education in the old fashion idea that women are satisfied with thinking themselves cultured but incapable of actually being educated. In a way, I sensed the whole "Pride and Prejudice" thing going on (including the tight sister bonds) - subtracting the Regency era's constant pressure for a woman to get married.

All in all, I loved Eve for reasons far beyond Eve herself, and do recommend it for people looking for a fun new read. It was clever and often amusing with an appropriately dark humor, despite lacking emotions I wished the author had delved into more. It was very fast-paced - a lovely read, really. It reminded me a lot of Amanda Hocking's Hollowland - though unlike Remy, Eve harbors less strength from the beginning. For the first half, she lacked the strength for that title and that ferocity is something most YA readers (or at least, certainly me!) crave. I do, however, understand the context of the novel would prevent Eve from having the grit one expects a girl in her situation to have naturally.

Reading Eve, I mostly felt myself quirking an eyebrow at the oddity of the concept. For the first 150 pages, I felt disappointed. The premise is amazing, the plot is wonderful, and every single idea was interesting (though the reiteration of similar points was a bit much at times) – but for that first half, the execution was so poor, the “plague” situation was terribly underdeveloped, and the characters were difficult to relate to and carried rather annoying personalities. What was so amazing about Eve was that I wasn’t sure I could finish it through that half, and then somewhere in the middle, in a flash I completely lost my grip on distaste and fell into the novel. It was this unexpected plummet where I suddenly was incapable of putting the book down. I found myself adoring Eve and wishing things were different, actually liking Arden, and completely swooning over Caleb. Why is this so amazing, you ask? Because as I felt these things suddenly give way, they were also happening to Eve. Her views of the world were being chipped at from the beginning, but when the School’s “Hitler Youth” type mold suddenly shattered, the book just changed – and it was strangely awesome. And while in every other book I’ve seen the “writer’s epiphany turnover” happen it didn’t work at all, the author managed a literary pull-the-table-cloth-beneath-the-vase maneuver, and it was lovely and successful. Everything a good read needs fell in: the tug-at-your-heart-strings love interest, the desperate need for the heroine to succeed, the heart pounding plot with the boom-boom-‘BOOM!’ pace, and the someone-ripped-my-soul out feeling at the end

Something curious occurred the moment Eve finds that Caleb’s not like what she believed men to be (horny brute murders looking to steal your gentle, womanly soul with their cunning ways in the name of evil, basically) but what she didn’t know existed – “a good man”. Arden’s forced to see her selfishness and Eve realizes she’s not perfect, and continues to make understandable flaws – and sometimes, no one rushes to her rescue “just because everyone thinks she’s so flippin’ great” and I love that! She’s capable of making real decisions, of being practical, of adapting, in spite of everything. Though not returning to “point B” (you’ll know what I mean when you read that… censored for spoilers) and leaving the characters I grew to adore in her wake throughout the back bothered me, the post-apocalyptic realm isn’t exactly a comfortable place.

My net complaints fall to this: premise is underdeveloped, New America and the King were sort of… “lame”, for lack of a better term, Eve made a few unacceptable decisions that totally depressed me, and struggling through the first somewhere-between-third-and-half of the book was like breathing sawdust. My suggestion? Stick it out anyway! The characters became dynamic and fun, and the plot warped into something exciting and clever. The ending absolutely killed me, which is always a good sign, and though I’d like to point fingers, I’m pleased (more like absolutely giddy) that the blurb for the sequel promises some revision on that. Note: I am absolutely, positively, undeniably reading the sequel.

I recommend this for fans of Hollowland by Amanda Hocking, The Host by Stephanie Meyer, and Strange Angels by Lili St Crow.

Highly recommended!

Find it on Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.

Book Review: The Sword Guest by Martin Chu Shui

2012-03-27T00:28:00.000-04:00

Title: The Sword Guest
Series: Dragon's Pupils
Author: Martin Chu Shui
Format: eBook
Source: Author

The story centers on Liz, born of half Australian and of half Chinese descent. Growing up in Australia, she isnt very interested in her fathers ancient Chinese stories. She is concerned with problems that are far more contemporary such as environmental issues, and particularly her friends handsome brother who is an environmental activist. But her disinterest in Chinese culture changes when her two worlds collide, after a catastrophic accident sets thousands of ancient monsters loose near her home. Suddenly Liz must learn many new skills and call on all of her Chinese heritage if she is to prevent the monsters from destroying Earth. Helped by her twin brother and best friend, Liz sets out to discover why the monsters exist and how to stop them. When she is injured in a battle, she must travel to China to seek a cure that is spiritual as much as it is physical. But can she find the old man who can help her before the monsters catch her? How will she manage in a country that is so strange and yet so familiar? And can she learn enough about a world she has ignored to stop the monsters in time?

I'm generally not big on dragons, or the "straight stuff" of the fantasy genre, and I haven't read the whole "magical object" focus since His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, so this was another unusual read for me. As I've again been proven in this instance, sometimes it's a really great thing to step beyond the boundaries of a comfort zone. The main characters, Henry, Sue, and Liz, at fourteen, are all younger than the steady 17-19 that the YA genre is crowded right now, and it was also really interesting to see the vast differences in their relativity.

A calligraphy pen with astounding abilities, fearsome dragons, Chinese culture and classic hero-fighting (combated with the level-headedness of Tai Chi instruction rather than a grand mentor) are a fierce and stark contrast with Australia, protests/activism, terrifyingly odd animal behavior, and a couple of fourteen year olds, but that bold mixture actually worked -- and fantastically so.

The tone of the story is really unique. It's observational and funny, but also kindling the scent of "wise retelling" and fresh material. The author definitely harbors an uncanny ability to embody the classic "ole' storyteller" voice, but also manages to relate to the main characters in their youth, capturing unique and interesting personalities in a very creative way. Sometimes it's a bit too excitable, but it suits the piece nearly seamlessly. Aside from that, the writing is very realistic. It captures scene and time well, especially jumping between cultures, countries, and eras.

It really is a great story, embracing two very important reader needs: quick pacing and easy to understand. They contribute beautifully to the anticipation, and the reader is constantly on the edge of their seat.

The Sword Guest is an engrossing tale told like a hurricane: though sometimes it's hard to catch exactly what's going on at first, it's still fierce and engaging. It begins in the calm prior, then darts between the borders and the eye. Something exciting is always happening, and the reader totally feels that. The story starts with what is first interpreted as a parable and later recognized as warned foreboding, and keeps moving.

The premise is absolutely creative and different, and the themes are curiously combined. Paired with genuinely interesting and quirky characters, the Australia-meets-Chinese setting-meets-girl folds in a fascinating dynamic. The culture spun into it all is amazing. Adding in the subplots of environmental issues, protesting and noble causes, heritage, and being made unafraid to embrace one's roots, and there's something special there. It erects an encompassing world, pulls off a lovely cliffhanger, and constructs a piece like no other I've seen. It was different, and simply a fun book to read. It's definitely worth getting caught up in.

Though at times it can feel a little childish - as in recommended for a younger YA, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - but the attributes that hint towards a more middle-grade audience still resonate accordingly, and fit the story quite well. Plus, it was balanced out by a great vocab and real-world-dynamic woven throughout the fantasy. Unique and enjoyable, but simple and classic too, it's a great pick for transition, cross-over readers. It's a fantastic way to leave behind Karate Kid, Avatar, Jackie Chan's Adventures, and "The Mummy" phenomena and move into an awesome genre with a lot to offer.

For an indie read, the eBook is surprisingly well formatted and properly edited, giving it the smooth feel of a traditionally published piece. It's recommended :)

I recommend this for fans of The Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson, Weaver by John Abramowitz, Rapture by Phillip Simpson, and any recently-graduated MG-to-YA reader interested in culture or fantasy.

Find it on Goodreads, Smashwords, or Amazon.

The Strong Female: Guest Post by Sheryl Steins

2012-03-19T06:00:00.017-04:00

Please enjoy this guest post by Sheryl Steines, author of the urban fantasy novel, The Day of First Sun. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

The Strong Female

I am always amazed to hear that, in the year 2012, women are still talking about strong female characters. It’s funny that we’re always surprised when one comes along. Even in Hollywood, actresses still can’t find roles to sink their teeth into. As a reader, I look for characters that I can relate to in some way; a character who is more than a damsel in distress but less than an unfeeling, mean, witch. I’m putting it gently, but I’m looking for someone, who when facing a problem, doesn’t necessarily need a man to bail her out--a woman who can take care of herself in spite of her vulnerabilities. Because in reality, women are multi-layered and complex. We don’t fall to one end of an extreme or the other.

When I was younger, I started reading Danielle Steele, but I couldn't read her for long. Her female characters were far too needy and always put themselves in a position of requiring a savior. Even as a child, I couldn't help but wonder why these characters always needed a man to improve their lives. Why couldn’t they simply take care of themselves? It seemed as though female characters fell into two camps, and only two. They were either villains, witches, someone to be hated and despised, or they were weak, pathetic, your classic damsels in distress. Why is fiction lacking real women, women who can simply be human and celebrate all that they are?

As I got older, I found myself drawn to shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I saw in Buffy a strong character. Yes, she could kick ass, kill the vampires and fight the demons. She also had a brain, could plan, and could save the world each week. But she wasn't uni-dimensional. She also has a side that liked clothes, shoes and boys, a side that was feminine, a little vulnerable; a side that, okay, sometimes needed to be saved. She was a complex female character, real and human, a character with whom I could definitely relate.

The strong female character isn’t a caricature or stereotype. She’s not a total wimp like Snow White, and she’s not a total monster like the evil queen. She falls somewhere in the middle. She’s reactive, emotional, human, sexual, confident and sometimes unsure of herself.

When I originally wrote my character Annie Pearce in The Day of First Sun, I wrote her as a no-nonsense person, strong and smart, the girl who could survive on her own. But she didn’t feel genuine. As the story unfolded and changed, I rewrote her, gave her friends and family with whom she could interact. I gave her feelings, gave her stress. I let the other characters take charge once in awhile and offer some support. I melded two halves into one woman--a strong woman, who can take care of herself and ask for help when necessary. We’re not perfect, so why should our characters be? Instead, why can’t we make them simply authentic?

Charlize Theron made a really compelling comment regarding her character in the movie Young Adult. She said, "Women are usually either really good prostitutes or really good mothers. Maybe women are finally getting the chance to play more honest characters," Theron said. "We usually don't get to play bad hookers or bad mothers -- or anything in between."

Maybe it’s time to be a little more real and a little more honest.

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Day of First Sun eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes: 1. Purchase your copy of The Day of First Sun for just 99 cents, 2. Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity, 3. Visit today’s featured social media event

Help my blog win: The tour blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card. When you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to VOTE FOR ME.

About the book: A vampire, a rogue wizard and an army of soulless zombies are par for the course for Annie Pearce and Bobby “Cham” Chamsky of the Wizard’s Guard. But when the non-magical princess, Amelie of Amborix, is murdered by magical means, a deeper plot unfolds. Get it on Amazon.

About the author: Behind the wheel of her ’66 Mustang Convertible, Sheryl is a constant surprise, using her sense of humor and relatable style make her books something everyone can enjoy. Visit Sheryl on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Saint Patrick's Day Reads

2012-03-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patty's Day, beloved bookies! What are you reading? I'm thinking fae! While Patrick himself was originally an Englishmen, the Irish traditions of the holiday lead me to think of one of Ireland's most famous folklore. :)

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic." ~Adrienne Cook

Here's some suggestions!

Interview with Amy Mah (Vampire)

2012-03-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

A self help guide by Amy Mah (Vampire) for teenage vampire girls, the guide is fully illustrated by manga Artist Heby and is written in an easy to follow A - Z format explaining everything a teenage vampire girl would need to know about living life as a modern Vampire. What is fashionable to wear when eating out? Fang maintenance & how to keep your claws sharp. Should you let a boy bite you on the first date? Easy to understand clear advice is given to every day problems Example: When you get an urge to bite: We all get those normal urges to bite things, and I must point out it is very normal, Claws are all well and good in a fight but a bite gives the extra advantage of getting a refreshing drink at the same time. Lots of girls worry about showing their Fangs in public believing that to show your fangs is rude, but don't be shy they can be a girls greatest asset (ok second greatest asset) if a boy is being rude to you, don't just snarl at him, just bite him! You are a vampire why do you think you have sharp teeth if not for sinking them into a boy that is being rude to you.

1. What works have you released? What are they about? Hehehe no lets just stick to my vampires, or I will really frighten people! I have written lots of boring stuff, I analyze changes in cultures and study the way religion and belief are always changing and so causing a logical event trend. Yes these sort of things are studied and you thought that only happened in books, believe me once you have studied religious belief creating worlds full of vampires is very simple, and in some cases far more believable. Fangs Rule (A Girls Guide to being a Vampire) is I expect what people will want to here about, and it was so much fun to write as I wrote it not only as a vampire but a teenage vampire. The images you see in the book are me, my artist takes me and changes me into my manga self.

2. How did you get the idea for your work? What lured you to your topics?

Things must have a reason I hate it when films are wrong, you can’t swim in blood, no you can’t you are more likely to walk across it when it forms a skin than to swim in it and as for BLADE he is a cold blooded murderer in all senses, vampire killer huh! He ends up killing more humans than all the vampire houses put together. So I’m here to help put over the vampire point of view.

Humans were put this earth to be eaten why else would they taste so nice?

3. What scene, topic, or section was the most intense (or visual) for you to write?

Creating the book was a great way to relax. I hide all kinds of ideas in the writing and then sit back and wait for the fireworks.

4. In the event that your novel became a screenplay, who would you like to see included in the casting?

Gianna Jun

5.If you could meet anyone or see anything (characters, locations, events, abilities, creatures, etc) from your novel, who or what would you choose?

I love ICE she is just so cute and lovable, she likes being who she is, no hang-ups, one day her family will let her reach 16 perhaps in another 50 years or so in the mean time she is proud that she only drinks blood from her own kills and introduces my Amy to naked hot spring bathing.

6. How did you go about selecting your cover?

I have an artist …well no I don’t own an artist but she lives in Asia and draws me, my publisher asked for a cover design and what she did, he my publisher did not like it at first but I said it is sooooooo nice forget about the old fashioned clothes and the little bat wings it is cute, so that is what we went for.

7. Do you have any upcoming projects? When can readers expect them?

Trying to finish off my new book and should be out in early summer if I can find an editor my spelling and grammar is crap ……… er that is called a hint …… IF THERE IS A EDITOR OUT THERE CONTACT ME. You will find it under two titles as I plan to do two types of book. The Night Eternal is more of a normal looking book (from the outside) text and ab/w drawings. Here is the amazon link: (http://www.amazon.com/Night-Eternal-Vampire-Mistress-Mare/dp/1874192472/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329878976&sr=1-4) ‘Vampire’ is special as it is in full color with hundreds of manga drawings to go with my diary type novel text. Here is the amazon link: (http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Night-Life-Amy-Mah/dp/1874192618/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329878976&sr=1-5)

8. Why did you become an author (or start writing)?

To write as a teenage vampire is not only easy but so much fun, some authors complain about finding ideas my problem is trying to hold all the ideas at bay while I earn a living, being trapped between cultures means my grammar and spelling is useless.

I think faster than I can type and I type faster than I can spell

9.What do you love the most about being an author? Living in a world of my own and people thinking it is normal!

Excerpt from the Book

BOYFRIENDS (also see DATING)

Boyfriends are boys that are not friends. Handsome, charming, caring, strong, sweet, cute, hot, fit... Er ………… the difference is obvious. If not then you are still too young for a boyfriend and should stick with your stuffed bats.

Meeting the boyfriend's parents for the first time is a problem, like what to wear and how to act. It's best to have some simple rules to follow.

1. Don't talk about boys you have bitten or have bitten you in the past.

2. Don't tell risky stories like the first time you came on heat and what you tried to do with the head of the council until guards pulled you off him and forced you to give back his pants.

3. Don't offer to raise your dress to show them your family brand at the dinner table.

4. Don't comment on the food, ever. Even if it is still alive and you have to catch it before it runs off, if you have to say anything just point out how you enjoy frisky fresh food.

5. Lastly, no matter how weird, strange, odd, peculiar and down right creepy his parents are or act, try very hard not to point his out to him.

Reasons:

A: Strangely he has somehow failed to notice.

B: Or, he has noticed and is praying hard that you haven't.

C: Remember what your own are like.

CLAW MAINTENANCE

Yes, I know our claws are naturally sharp but we should still use a block of wood as a scratching post so as to keep our fingers strong. I keep a few blocks of wood under the bed so that I can (as my Aunt calls it) "play the piano" while watching TV wildlife films. Some people say it's not ladylike to do this but my Aunt informs me that it is perfectly normal for a girl to play with herself in this way. But I do wish my Aunt would word it differently.

10. What or who inspires you to write?

Just looking about and seeing what is going on around the world, sometime I wonder why people don’t just go climb back to the trees and let another animal have a go at being the dominate specie

11. What is the top cause you champion?

The worldwide stopping of the practice of FGC be it for religious culture or political reasons Female genital cutting (FGC), also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), female circumcision, or female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), is defined by the World Health Organisation as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."^[

12. What advice do you have for anyone who is interested in becoming an author?

Don’t do it for the money!

13. What is one thing your readers should know about you? You mean apart from being mad? Well I am in my 20s and oriental in looks which people then think I look like a carpet but if I say Chinese they think I come from there which I don’t. I was born in Asia but brought up in the west so I am trapped between cultures

14. If you could do anything (for a career), besides being a writer, what would do?

An Assassin unlike the army you still get to kill people but you get good money and a wardrobe full of expensive clothes

15. Aside from writing, what are your hobbies?

Study: I study up on lots of strange stuff,

History: I love reading cultural history.

Anime: I watch lots and lots of anime movies which has corrupted my sense of humor

16. What is…?

a. …your favorite author?

Terry Pratchett

b. …your favorite book or series?

Discworld

c. …your biggest literary inspiration?

The Silmarillion J.R.R. Tolkien

17. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what artists? If not, do you have other muses?

Yes I can multi task so I have 3 computers surrounding me on one of them I play anime clips set to music which could be why my books always read like manga film scripts

18. Is there anything that helps you write or is unique about your writing process?

Yes it is so easy I just write as myself, I step into the world of vampires and take a look about. And believe me the worlds I step into are far more real than the make believe worlds such as Facebook that most people mistakenly think are real.

19. Which, if any, character do you feel has the most of your characteristics (behavioral or otherwise)? Lady Amelia mistress of the Nightmare and Alpha female of the Family of the Pink Bat. She is me, she thinks like me and she acts like me, she is so not a vampire that hides from anything, always getting into trouble for speaking her mind and pointing out stupid stuff like rules which should be no more than guidelines and then only if there is an R in the month.

Thank you for participating!

Where can readers find you?

Amazon (Author)

Amazon (Book)

Interview: Probability Angels by Joseph Devon

2012-03-12T00:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Probability Angels
Author: Joseph Devon
Source: Blog Tour
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Matthew knows that he died twenty years ago. He has, after all, been bouncing around New York city ever since, causing mischief and having fun as a supernatural being. But recently some problems have been cropping up: not only is he hallucinating things in garbage cans, but his mentor doesn’t think he’s working up to his full potential, his best friend can’t offer any solace but drunken confusion, and his wife is dying in Central Park.

See, the past twenty years haven’t meant a thing because now it’s time for Matthew to make his second choice and become a tester of humanity.
And that’s all before the zombies show up.
Come explore the world of Matthew and Epp and see what a samurai from Feudal Japan has to do with the course of modern physics, what a two-thousand year old Roman slave has to do with the summit of Mount Everest, and what a dead man from Brooklyn has to do with the fate of the world.

1. What scene, topic, or section was the most intense (or visual) for you to write?

There are a fair number of deaths in the book, an immortal civil war breaks out halfway through (I guess technically these would be second-deaths). So a lot of those deaths were difficult to write. There are some ruthlessly savage bad guys and a lot of good characters getting caught in a bloody crossfire. And I’m using the word “good” there in both senses of the word. Obviously nobody likes to see a good guy die, but as an author when you have a rich character that you’ve attached to, a good character to write, it’s painful to write their death, if only because of all the work you put into them.

2. In the event that your novel became a screenplay, who would you like to see included in the casting?

One of the main characters, Epp, was flat-out modeled after the actor Lance Reddick. More specifically he was modeled after Lance’s role in The Wire of Cedric Daniels. I’m not saying they’re the same person, but the initial mannerisms and air about Epp was drawn heavily from that actor in that role. The more I got into Epp the more he became his own character but I’d love to see Lance Reddick tackle Epp. Then again I wonder if that would be too on the nose? I also think James Gandolfini could do a great job with one of the antagonists, Hector. He’s due for another good role.

3. If you could meet anyone or see anything (characters, locations, events, abilities, creatures, etc) from your novel, who or what would you choose?

So the premise of my book is that there are a number of humans who died under special circumstances and were offered the chance to stay on earth as immortals and “push” humans so that humans achieve their full potential. It’s a complex world and the relationship between the testers and humans is very rich. The work of pushing takes a lot out of a tester; in fact, they have to revisit their own death during a push. Afterwards they need to rest. These rests can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few decades. And, for various reasons, the places that successful testers go to rest are mountaintops. The summit of Mount Everest gets visited a lot in the book, it’s kind of a sacred place for testers and it is covered with resting testers who have done their part to push humanity forward. I always loved the scenes set up there and it would be an amazing place to see, not just because it’s the summit of Everest but because of what it means to my characters.

4. Do you have any upcoming projects? When can readers expect them?

Probability Angels is the first book of a trilogy. The second book, Persistent Illusions, will be going on tour in a few months. The third book is unwritten right now but I’m doing research and brainstorming and I’ll be writing it as soon as possible.

5. What do you love the most about being an author?

I love when everything clicks in a scene and I know that I’ll be inside my reader’s head. I love when people contact me after reading one of my books and lets me know that I did more than just entertain them (though I hope to do that as well) but that I also moved them or shook them up or touched them in some deeper way. You know? I try and make my books special, something that will stick with you for awhile. When I know that the work I put in is paying off, that’s a good feeling. Oh! And if someone hates me for something bad that happens to a character. That’s always nice too, you know your characters are loved then. Hehe.

6. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what artists? If not, do you have other muses?

I listen to music constantly while I write. My brain needs the distraction in order to focus. It’s weird, it’s like I need to see my story from an angle before I can really get to it. The list of artists is all over the place. I listen to Chopin, AC/DC, Shakira, The Drifters, Hank Williams, Girl Talk. But, again, it’s usually just to shake my head up so I can get into the scene. A lot of times I’ll be inside of my story and trying to track all the characters at a given moment and I’ll turn down my music so I can concentrate. Sometimes I need it and sometimes I don’t.

7. Is there anything that helps you write or is unique about your writing process?

Probably the weirdest thing I do while writing is my Rubiks Cube. My nephew got one for Christmas a few years ago, he was six, and he asked me to solve it for him. So I figured out how to do that and then I bought my own and now I compulsively scramble and solve a Rubiks Cube when I sit back in my chair and need to think about something. I’m actually on my second Rubiks Cube now because the first one fell apart in my hands from overuse.

8. Which, if any, character do you feel has the most of your characteristics (behavioral or otherwise)?

That’s a tough question. My characters all have some characteristics that I find admirable: courage, heart, integrity, empathy, cunning, etc. I’d like to think that those are all my characteristics but in truth I’m probably closest to Matthew. Matthew is the newcomer to the world of immortals and the reader learns along with him all about the testers and their links to humanity. And poor Matthew is constantly struggling to keep up because there’s so much to learn. But he’s kind and helpful and he does a remarkable job of keeping his head about him despite his situation. There’s a lot of debate amongst readers about whether Matthew is one of the heroes or if he is just the tour guide. I happen to see him as one of the heroes. He may not be as powerful as the people he hangs around with, but his general open nature and determination not to get rattled does alter the course of the story in a lot of ways. I think I’m most like him. Nothing special but damned if that’s going to stop me from joining the party.

9. What works have you released? What are they about?

I have three books out currently and a collection of short stories. The short story collection, titled 15 Stories, is widely varied. I hit every genre from romance to suspense to humor. My first book, The Letter, was published almost a decade ago. It’s a coming of age story, as most first novels are, about a group of friends on a road trip across America. Then there’s this current series with Probability Angels, which is being toured now, and then book two Persistent Illusions, which will be touring in a few weeks.

10. What or who inspires you to write?

Simply put? Great art inspires me to write. Anything with a story, be it a painting of a classic Roman scene or a song with coherent lyrics (actually a good beat can sometimes be enough of a story). When I come across art that really hits me it never fails to get me excited about creating, about maybe bringing something into this world that will reach out and grab other people the way my favorite artists grab me. That’s really always my goal, to bring more of the kind of art I love into the world. I figure if I love it so much then other people must too. So revisiting my favorite books or museums or finding a new album that moves me, that inspires me.

11. What is one thing your readers should know about you?

I don’t know how to dress myself. I mean, I know how to operate buttons and zippers, but I’m pretty incompetent about picking out outfits. I shop at places where everything looks the same and wear jeans a lot so I don’t have to think about it.

Where To Find Joseph Devon:

Twitter

Stone Relics by Katy Walters

2012-03-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

What works have you released? What are they about? So far I have released Stone Relics and am soon to publish Return to Rhonan, a tempestuous romance of two couples stretching across two centuries, a story set against the Irish Famine of 1845 – 49 and the present.

Stone Relics is a science fiction set in the near future, 2065. It is a Sci-fi murder mystery with a love interest.

Chief Superintendent Ben Tobin Super Cop is an enigma, his true identity known only to the few. Working as an undercover agent for MI8, Ben is monitored by a secret organization buried in the bowels of Whitehall. He heads an investigation into the gruesome deaths of young women left with putrefying snakes covering their bodies an ancient stone relic of a Prehistoric Snake-Bird Goddess relic wedged at their feet. Other young women are abducted chosen to become sacred prostitutes to a prehistoric Goddess.

Ben suspects this is the work of a sinister cult. They take victims from London, France, Germany and America.

At the start of the investigation, to his horror Ben develops a crippling phobia of snakes threatening the investigation, his job, his life. Desperate, he turns to a psycho-neurologist, a titian haired beauty. Because she is a rebel she is unlikely report him to MI8. Reluctantly she agrees to help him, only to be drawn into a love relationship fraught with danger.

In a world of clones, cyborgs and hybrids, things can go wrong - mutations, psychosis and perversion.

How did you get the idea for your work? What lured you to your topics? In my psychology degree part of the course was on Artificial intelligence. I was fascinated with the strides being made in computer and robotic technology. I thought about how human relationships would fit into an age of future technology. Was a cyborg, half-human - half computer capable of deep emotions, love? How would a fully human react to such a relationship. How would be cyborg feel? What kind of questions would be raised. Was there in these future forms, of clones, cyborgs and robots, room for the deep relationships as we know them in a human family, of mother and child, father and son? Man and wife? Would this near future world even think in these terms?

What scene, topic, or section was the most intense (or visual) for you to write? It was the one early in the novel, where Lucy questions Ben and receives his answer. I cannot go any further as it would spoil the story. But that was the most intense and emotive. Ben’s yearning drew me to tears as I wrote.

In the event that your novel became a screenplay, who would you like to see included in the casting? I would like Keeanu Reeves as Ben and Angelina Joli with titian hair as Lucy. Both have the natures at least on screen that suits the characters.

If you could meet anyone or see anything (characters, locations, events, abilities, creatures, etc) from your novel, who or what would you choose? Ben. He is charismatic even though he is distant even cold in his demeanour. Underneath there is a warmth and understanding, a yearning that touches the soul.

How did you go about selecting your cover? After two disastrous attempts I was fortunate at last to find Ronnell D. Porter, someone referred me to his web site and I was entranced. He has a certain film noir that I love.

Do you have any upcoming projects? When can readers expect them? Yes I am writing a trilogy as referred to above. It is about the Great Irish Famine and the people who suffered and fought in that time. It is also tribute to my Irish family who were caught up in those horrific times leading to their forced emigration to various parts of the world. A shocking time that caught my heart.

Why did you become an author (or start writing)? I began writing an early age. My sister who was seventeen months younger than myself was hospitalized for most of her childhood and adolescence. My way to trying to cheer her up was to write her stories and poems. I think it stemmed really from there.

What do you love the most about being an author? Writing itself, it is like a flow and one rapidly gets caught up in the zone. It is really another state of consciousness, of calmness, of partial and sometimes complete unawareness of time and place. It is a time of euphoria when it is going well, quiet joy, intense sadness, exultation, sorrow, all brought about by the characters on the page. I live with them and in them. It is another world or reality really.

What or who inspires you to write? In the first place an idea which brims or drifts up in my mind often quite incidentally of what I happen to be doing at any one time. Then the first character appears, then another until I am caught up in their new world or their ongoing world I should say. My stories are definitely character driven.

What is the top cause you champion? Compassion. I live by the Buddhist premise, ‘never be the cause of other people’s sorrow. Yet to get that over I could be writing a crime thriller.

What advice do you have for anyone who is interested in becoming an author? Be passionate, disciplined. Write from the heart whether it be romance, crime, supernatural or historical and the writing art will never leave you.

What is one thing your readers should know about you? I don’t know really.

If you could do anything (for a career), besides being a writer, what would do? A painter.

Aside from writing, what are your hobbies? Painting, reading, walking the dog.

What is…?

…your favorite author? I don’t have one as I am an eclectic reader. I love authors form different genres. As a child it was Jeffrey Farnol. Now, it could be Dean Koontz, Phillip K. Dick, W.B .Yeats.

…your favorite book or series? Favourite book Pride and Prejudice and Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep.

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what artists? Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Black Eyed peas.

Which, if any, character do you feel has the most of your characteristics (behavioral or otherwise)? Lucy I should say. Some of them

Thank you for participating!

Thank you for such an interesting interview I have really enjoyed it.

Title: Stone Relics
Author: Katy Walters
Publisher: Oakwood House Publishing
Format: PDF eBook
Source: Author + Tour

Description: Stone Relics is a high octane thriller. Packed with brilliant concepts – of genetics and mind-blowing technology, it shocks and inspires. Chief Superintendent Ben Tobin, a Super Cop is an enigma, working undercover for MI8, his true identity known only to the few.

In a world of humans, clones, cyborgs, things can go wrong - mutations, psychosis and perversion. It is 2065; megalomaniac business men hold the mining rights to vast outlets on the Asteroid belt. The world’s resources are crumbling as these corrupt men hold the Earth to ransom.

Police are faced with a spate of vicious murders and abductions. Young women are discovered with snakes draped over their bodies, a stone relic carved with a mysterious star system, left at their side. A cryptic message points to a sinister cult. To his horror, Ben experiences phobic attacks along with rage, human emotions alien to him. Desperate he turns to American psychologist, Dr Lucy Roberts, a psychologist/psycho neurologist and a rebel. Forced to reveal what and who he is, Ben has to trust she will not expose him. Lucy agrees to help only to be drawn into a relationship fraught with danger. Can she help Ben to experience love? Archaeologists advise the Stone Relics date back 2.5 million years, before the first Homo Erectus. Who carved the star system? How are these early Earth inhabitants linked to the cult?

I don't typicallly read science fiction, and even rarer do I step outside of my beloved young-adult book bubble (unless its an acclaimed literary fiction, a specific recommendation, required reading, or an abnormally alluring paranormal release). But in this case, I am very glad that I did. Despite being so different from what I'm used to, it reminded me of how refreshing it is to try something new once in a while. My bookie "reset" button was in need of attention, and this was the perfect piece to do it.

Like the heart-pounding build of a roller-coaster's ascent, Stone Relics begins in a tense calm - a few sentences of "off" serenity, before immediately lurching into a sci-fi thrill ride that never slows down. From the very beginning, it's very well written and decently paced. The writing is plenty abstract for the equally abstract concept of the novel, and even more so fitting to the scenes. In addition to the alarming ease of the voice in this uber-creepy environment, the writing maintains a swirling consciousness, very visual - as if written as a film (definitely channeling a Twilight-Zone quality) rather than a novel. The tone is so natural and the descriptions so talented that the reader very much feels like a part of this insane otherness to its world. Even the dialogue is enjoyable and realistic, and there are aspects of simplicity in the characters' words that represent them in amazing ways that surge the plot forward. The main character, Ben, is likable from the beginning - even when he outright denies the capablity to love - and his yearn to keep his own dark secrets hidden from the brutality of his world is fascinating and sympathy-inducing at once. His counterpart, Misty, holds a similiar capitivity over the reader: sympathy and curious facination.

Although a personal computer that takes verbal directions seems awesome, and the insanely unique inventions (with everything from bar-code tattoos to super brainiac computers) are completely worthy of envy, the world and the workplace of Ben are really "freaky", to say the very understated least. Imagine that any emotional mistake - any deficiency, any failure, could mean meeting an immediate, untimely, and horrifying death. The idea of such a control being held over a person is terrifying, and that unfathomably fathomable fear is part of the many aspects that drag the readers into the piece. Accompanied by a series of disturbing events, a sense of duo-reality, and an abrupt address to touchy topics (like organ harvesting, grotesque murder, humanity's inadequacy, or even the warped concepts of a tragic future without feeling) -- it's estranged but engrossing, and impossible to put it down.

It's definitely no secret that I adore 1984 (attributed to the infamous pen-named "George Orwell"), and I definitely see similar qualities echoing in this piece in a curious, haunty sort-of-way. It also made me excited to read other sci-fi works acting as "dusty reads" on my shelf, like Clone Codes by Patricia Mckissack and Across the Universe by Beth Revis.

My only complaints about the novel are that, first: the POV switch, while clever in that it adds a fantastically unique dynamic, is a little confusing at times. Although I can distinctly see how the italicized, nightmarish dream scenes are effectively elusive in that the abstract writing adds to suspense of a curling, fantastic mystery, it was still really foggy and off at times, leaving the reader feeling just as misplaced as forewarned Second, the eBook formatting (at least in the format I received, read PDF via Kindle Fire) jumps between different fonts seemingly at random, and its extremely distracting.

I recommend this unique pick for all lovers of science fiction! If you're looking for something new and you don't really fall into that group - this is a great choice to stir things up a bit! *Just keep in mind that this is an adult novel so there is cussing and a few, ah, "sexier scenes" than the books I usually review - so younger YA readers should be weary of that.*

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Guest Post by Brain Holers

2012-03-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Please enjoy this guest post by Brian Holers, author of the literary novel, Doxology. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

Not just for Christians

One of the beauties of self-publishing is that the gatekeeper has been fired. In this new world of books made possible by the Internet, no one is left to guard the door. To tell the reader what is what. This state of affairs may introduce an element of confusion for dogmatic readers, but the good news is, new breeds of literature are being created. Self-publishing allows literature to cross over in new ways. Traditional Christian fiction publishers, for instance, disallow most references to sex, and even the most juvenile profanity. Self-publishing changes this. Not to suggest a writer should ever debase a genre—as writers we are obliged to choose our words carefully. But the old Christian books kept many readers away. “I’m not going to read that. That’s Christian. It’s boring.” Still, nearly every Christian I know periodically swears, fights, and even becomes amorous from time to time. Christians like good stories too, with depth of character, excitement, whimsy, action. The success of a book like The Shack shows the need for stories of real people dealing with real problems, in a faith-based context. It doesn’t even have to be good literature. As humans, we all look for answers. Stories are stories. Conflict builds to crisis, which leads to a form of resolution. Sure, some people never doubt their faiths, even in the face of horrible tragedy. Others do. Some never ascribed to a faith in the first place, and instead spend their days casting about for a context to this condition we call humanness. The problem with much traditional Christian literature is this; when a character is pushed to a crisis, and the only change we read is “he fell on his knees, then and there, and accepted Jesus into his heart,” that incident may describe a beautiful sentiment, and may have value to a real person in real life, but as a reader, it doesn’t tell me anything. A reader wants details. He wants to see the sweat break out. She wants to hear the thoughts and words that accompany the character’s condition. Literature is literature. We want to see development. We want to get inside the characters. We want to get to know them. That’s why we care. Regardless of the genre label put on the book.Doxology is a story in between. The book has a religious message; given its primary setting in rural north Louisiana, that message is Christian. But the characters are just people. They experience the same emotions all people do—love, joy, loss. Their conflicts grow and grow until they must be resolved. Like real people, they go astray, take paths of separation from God, or just from what is good for them. They experience desires that can never be fulfilled, want things that can never be had or even understood. They discover the traits in their lives that aren’t working, and set out to find new habits that will work. Many Christian values are universal—a belief, despite evidence to the contrary, that our lives are worthwhile. An understanding that letting go, and learning how little we are in charge, makes life more manageable. A certainty that the kindness and compassion we offer to others is returned to us a hundredfold. Some say God. Some say the universe. But we all--when we’re honest, and when we pay attention, have a sense of something looking out for us, giving us what we need. Putting people we need into our lives. We give credit for these gifts as we see fit. Good literature promotes a point of view by showing the reader how a character’s modes of operation and beliefs work for her (or don’t). Good literature, whatever its genre, lets the reader inside. Lets the reader do part of the work. Doxology, in this vein, is a story at the crossroad of God and man. It presents God as the characters experience God, and as real people experience God, looking out for them, giving them what they need. Coming to understand how God has been there all along.Doxology is a love story. Faith plays a role, as it helps the characters find answers and resolution, improves their lives. Like Jody and Vernon and the others, we all look for redemption from brokenness of the past. They and we find it, as people both real and imaginary alike do, in family, friends, productive work, a sense of place, a faith in something greater. Doxology is a story, first and foremost. Its characters face problems. Their conflicts grow. They look for resolutions and ultimately find them, imperfect as they are. We the readers get to know them, and we care. We sympathize. They matter.

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Doxology eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win!To win the prizes:

Purchase your copy of Doxology for just 99 cents

Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity

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Help my blog win:The tour blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card. When you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to VOTE FOR ME.About the book: Fathers, sons and brothers reconnect over tragedy in this blue-collar Southern tale of love, loss, and the healing power of community and family. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.About the author: An arborist by day and a novelist in every moment he can steal, Brian makes up stories from the treetops. Visit Brian on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Interview with Amy Lignor

2012-03-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

1. What (and how many) works have you released? What are they about?

The Heart of a Legend is a work of historical fiction that focuses on the romance between Billy the Kid and Paulita Maxwell. Not a great many people have heard of this lady, or their partnership, but it has been said that Paulita was the mother of Billy’s son. (And if you take a look at the picture, the legend certainly ‘looks’ to be true.) I have released the first eBook in the Tallent & Lowery adventure series titled, 13, which we are now looking at getting into print. These are great adventures based on the slightly sarcastic Head Librarian at the New York Public Library. Leah Tallent runs across a strange man who’s very interested in attaining a treasure that’s buried inside the cornerstone of the NYPL. When this particular artifact is found, they are led on a journey that actually ‘connects’ the Winchester Mystery House to the Vatican, Jack the Ripper, Aleister Crowley, Loch Ness and Ireland. I love doing the research on these and a bestselling author has actually stated that these titles are, “The DaVinci Code with heart.” I also released a YA titled, Mind Made, over a decade ago that was based on my daughter. A paranormal world where a quartet is stuck in some seriously odd situations where they must find a way to get out of the ‘nightmare’ they’ve landed in.

2. How did you get the idea for your work? What lured you to your topics?

Angels have always been a true passion of mine, so I was absolutely thrilled when YA fiction began coming out with more and more titles that focused on angels and not the vampires that have been the ‘top of the heap’ for so long. J I wanted to do something different, however. I wanted to write a story that was still filled with the suspense, adventure and romance that a YA book should offer, but I didn’t want my angels to be tormented souls or ‘fallen.’ I wanted to have them be ‘fresh off the line,’ so to speak, and have to go through the same human emotions we all have to, while keeping their faith in each other. After finishing Book II now, I have to say that they’ve become my absolute favorite characters.

3. What scene, topic, or section was the most intense (or visual) for you to write?

I love when Matt and Emily - the angel/warrior team - is training. As best friends, it’s beyond exciting to pit them against each other in various situations, and when they are battling, the intensity of the two that stems from the love and power they have for each other is really thrilling.

4. In the event that your book became a screenplay (or documentary), who would you like to see included in the casting?

The two young characters I would want to be completely unknown. Seeing as that the premise of the story is about ‘new’ characters, it would be thrilling to find ‘new’ actors out there to play them. For the teachers, I would like the actors we all love. One of them I would love to be played by Keifer Sutherland, for the magnificent voice, alone. And Gary Oldman would make a great ‘counterpart’ to him.

5. If you could meet anyone or see anything (characters, locations, events, abilities, creatures, etc) from your novel, who or what would you choose?

The 'up above’ factor comes into play here. I would love to see everything without having to leave this earth for good. I’m not ready quite yet J Those hallways, those rooms, and that incredible library would be a magical place to visit.

6. How did you go about selecting your cover?

I had the idea for the angel, seeing as that the warrior will be the cover for Book II. Emily is incredibly strong, but she can break - and the artists at Tribute Books ran with that and honestly produced a cover I was just astounded by. They deserve 100% absolute credit for the amazing job that was done!

7. Do you have any upcoming projects? When can readers expect them?

Books II of The Angel Chronicles has been completed, so hopefully that will come along soon. And the Tallent & Lowery series (Book II) which is called, The Sapphire Storm has also been completed and we are currently looking at turning them from ebooks into hardcover editions. I am also working with a YA story called “Meet The Reaper” which began on Goodreads and seems to have caught on, so I am continuing to put that one together and hope to have it completed by the end of the year.

8. Why did you become an author (or start writing)?

I loved books when I was growing up, and I had one of those brains that would not stop. I had this imagination that constantly thought up new places and characters…all I wanted to do was tell stories. My favorite class in grade school and high school was writing, and it was really he only thing besides English that I was any good at. J I’m not exactly a mathematician. Writing took hold and became my passion, and it hasn’t let go yet. Thank goodness!

9. What do you love the most about being an author?

I feel such a sense of accomplishment and excitement when that cover is put on and readers tell me that they enjoy the book. It makes me so proud and so happy when a story makes someone else feel good, or even inspires them to write. And I love working with authors. My company, The Write Companion, was started because I wanted to help debut authors, and the ones I have met are such great people and truly good friends, that I am thrilled that I can help them.

10. What or who inspires you to write?

My family. My mom was a career librarian and taught us all about books and how much better they were than any other form of entertainment, and I’m glad I listened. She is so inspiring, and she and my daughter, Shelby, are always there to support me, cheer me on, and even lift me up when I have had a seriously bad day, or far too many rejection letters to deal with. LOL. They are my true inspirations.

11. What is the top cause you champion?

Animals. ASPCA, the World Wildlife Federation…I want so much to be able to stop the killing and senseless abuse of animals. If I had billions I would buy a million acres of land and become Noah. I would even build an ark if they wanted one. Animals should NOT be harmed. Children should NOT be, either. It makes me truly sick when I see headlines (and they ALWAYS seem to be there), where an animal or child has been hurt. That is the moment when I believe we should bring back public hangings.

12. What advice do you have for anyone who is interested in becoming an author?

Don’t throw your work in a drawer because of a rejection letter. I know - boy, do I know - how awful and depressing and frustrating it is to receive one. But, unfortunately, you’ll receive more than one. These letters are not sent because your book is bad. 90% of the time it’s a form letter anyway that’s sent because there was no time for the person on the other end to even read the book. They got through two paragraphs of your query letter and didn’t want that particular subject. Please keep going! You absolutely do not know if the next letter you receive will be that acceptance. And, believe me, every one of your favorite authors received rejection letters. Just think how awful the literary world would have been if they’d stopped.

13. What is one thing your readers should know about you?

I love humor. I love to make people laugh, so if some of my words or characters are a bit flippant or sarcastic at times, it’s because I truly think that without humor - especially in this day and age - we’d all be zombies.

14. If you could do anything (for a career), besides being a writer, what would you do?

I’d work with animals in some sort of capacity. I don’t think I could be a vet, though, because I’d never be able to send them to the great beyond when their time was over. I’d want them to live forever.

15. Aside from writing, what are your hobbies?

I love movies! Spending time with my daughter, reading, reviewing, and working with other authors.

16. What is…?

…your favorite author? I have no idea how people narrow this down to one because I have a different ‘fav’ for each genre. Ummm…I’ll go with Dean Koontz on this one.

…your favorite book or series? The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff

c. …your biggest literary inspiration? Hypatia: The first and last female librarian and philosopher in the Royal Library of Alexandra. (And…Stephen King. The man has a brain that’s packed with everything from humor to horror and I don’t know how he does it).

17. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what artists? If not, do you have other muses? No. I’m one of those that needs all quiet to hear my own brain. But my mammoth dog, Reuben, sits beside me each and every day that I get on the computer. He ended up being the inspiration for a book I wrote called Precious Stones, which I will someday - hopefully - get published.

18. Is there anything that helps you write or is unique about your writing process?

I still am one of the ‘old schoolers.’ I constantly keep a pad of paper and pen beside me, because I will be working on a chapter, or sleeping, or doing the dishes - and a line or a locale or a ‘twist’ hits me square between the eyes and I am constantly writing things down.

19. Which, if any, character do you feel has the most of your characteristics (behavioral or otherwise)?

Leah Tallent. She is a real pain in the butt but she loves books and she can solve puzzles that others would give up on. I love puzzles and I am a bit brusque at times J, but I absolutely LOVE books and would KILL to live in the New York Public Library.

Thank you for participating!

Thank you for having me! J

Title: Until Next Time
Series: The Angel Chronicles

Author: Amy Lignor
ASBN: 9780983741855
ISBN: 9781465992697
Pages: 295
Release: February 1, 2012

About: How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul? Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache. When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literallychange an angel's path and a warrior's plans. From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart.

Author Bio: Amy Lignor began her career at Grey House Publishing in northwest Connecticut where she was the Editor-in-Chief of numerous educational and business directories. Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13. She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer. Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico.

Where to find The Angel Chronicles:
Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Kindle
Nook
Smashwords
PDF

Barnes and Noble

Where to find Amy Lignor:
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Blog
Goodreads

Wix

Where to find Tribute Books:
Website

Facebook

Twitter

Tours Facebook

Ricochet Reviews

Cover Reveal: The Triplex by Lola St. Vil

Review for The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Review: Wings of Arian

Find Devri Walls:Twitter ∞ FB ∞ Website ∞ Goodreads

Summer Reads

Review: The Void by John Abramowitz

Scary School by Derek (The Ghost)

Interview with Feather Stone

Review: Blood of a Red Rose

Interview with Lindsay Paige

Interview with Jolene Perry

SFFANZ Nominees

Giveaway + Interview with Monica Leonelle

Bookies Can Go Green Too!

Twitter Party for Until Next Time

The end is near! (Well, not really.)

Guest Post by Justin Ordoñez

Marketing, Or How I Proved the Existence of Hell.

Review: Eve by Anna Carey

Book Review: The Sword Guest by Martin Chu Shui

The Strong Female: Guest Post by Sheryl Steins

The Strong Female

Saint Patrick's Day Reads

Interview with Amy Mah (Vampire)

The Silmarillion J.R.R. Tolkien

Interview: Probability Angels by Joseph Devon

Stone Relics by Katy Walters

Guest Post by Brain Holers

Not just for Christians

Interview with Amy Lignor

Find Devri Walls:
Twitter ∞ FB ∞ Website ∞ Goodreads