HAPPY NEW YEAR'S 

TO ALL

BOOK-LOVERS!

TO ALL AUTHORS, 

HAPPY WRITING FOR 

2014!

CHRISTMAS DAY's Author on the 'Hump': Anna Sanders

Her latest release in the Befallen Tides series:

DARKNESS UPRISING

1) How long have you been writing?

I've been writing for fun for about thirteen years now. It all started off as fanfic, which I know can be cheesy but its a nice, safe environment for being creative within a universe. It has the potential to be the building blocks for imagination, or a fuller endeavor, in my opinion. From there my interests evolved into written role play, also cheesy yet daring. The universes I wrote within were CSI: Miami, Xmen, Firefly, and (for comics sake, on occasion) Twilight. I didn't start creating my own themes until I delved into NaNoWriMo, that was in 2007. From there I've dabbled less in my favorite shows and gone on to create my own little haven with my own rules.

2) What is a typical working day for you? When and where do you write?

Well, though writing is my passion it isn't the main source of my income. I work as a massage therapist. I'm lucky that I have been able to take two of my, for lack of a better word, hobbies and made them into something lucrative. I love working on people, and I love working on fiction. The majority of my days are spent with clients, so I really have to make a conscious effort to sit down and write. But I find that when I do make the time, its like taking a deep breath of fresh air. Usually I'm spending my off days from massaging writing while my daughters are napping, taking that chance to make a fresh cup of tea or coffee and slamming at the keys as if my life depended on it. However, I do have a wonderful husband who gives me time to be isolated in the lands of demons and angels. He has been very supportive of me and gives me as much time as I need to meet certain deadlines. So I guess the real answer is, I write within the cracks of time in my day when its convenient.

3) What book (or book series) are you known for?

The only series I have out right now is the Befallen Tides series. Winx Rowan is my main dame, and she highly entertains me. I have other books in the works, worlds outside of Winx's planned, as well as more characters for Befallen Tides, but time constraints make it so that these new revelations will take a little while to be unveiled. But its all in the works.

4) Please give us a fun fact about yourself…something that the readers would love to know!

Alongside massaging and writing filling up my days, I have an intense love of community theater, and I've participated in three shows for 2013. I was in a production of the Vagina Monologues in February, then in 12 Angry Jurors in August, and most recently a murder mystery play called Murder in the House of Horrors at the beginning of December. If I'm not found rehearsing lines lately, I can also be spotted out at karaoke on Fridays at a local bar called the Twisted Spoke. I've been told my voice isn't too bad, my favorite song to tackle lately is I Will Always Love You. Some Whitney Houston isn't an easy feat, but the crowd seems to love it when I crack at that one. I suppose I'm a pretty theatrical person.

5) If you were being interviewed two years from now, here on my blog, where would you be (accomplishment-wise) as a writer? Which of your book series would be the most popular? How many titles?

Two years ago having anything published was just a dream. I would have only had my fanfic to share with anyone. This whole series has been the product of a year and a half of intense work. The first book in the Befallen Tides series, Cursed by Darkness, was a book I had written for NaNoWriMo. It took some (exhausting...but exhilarating!) time for editing, but was recently made available in January. I had submitted it for a publisher to read, thinking it wouldn't be anything too impressive, but got a shock when said publisher informed me that it was something that people would like. This entire writing career that I have started has been exciting and immediate. I'm flattered, honored, and humbled by the fact that these books have been purchased and enjoyed by some of the public. And look, I'm even being interviewed! Its all fun and I'm having a great time with it all. But two years ago? I wouldn't have been able to believe it.

6) What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?

I've never thought of anyone interviewing me for my writing. I've thought of maybe being thrown on Conan after some passersby heard me singing show tunes in the shower, or being discovered at karaoke and made an overnight sensation. I'd have been on the cover of magazines, People magazine in particular would be asking if I was gaining weight while the Inquirer was asking if I was losing weight, and I'd belt out ridiculous mash up songs on Glee. Then I'd carry on a secret affair with Adam Rodriguez from CSI: Miami before it ultimately being discovered, I'd have a scandal on my hands, and maybe it would be uncovered that aside from having magical musical talents I'd written a series of books about demons and zombies murdering each other...

But in the future, if I'm to be known for my writing? I'd like to be asked something like, “how do you juggle all of your time and fit in the chance to even think about writing?” And the answer would be, “you make time for the things you love. Period.”

7) How long did it take you to write your current book? In example, how long between coming up with the concept and starting to write, did it take to complete the novel?

The last book I've written for the Befallen Tides series is called Darkness Uprising, and the concept for the book was created over the span of about three months. I started a synopsis of it in February after the second book in the series was published. Then in May I began writing and it was finished by September, to be done with edits and published by October. So for the entirety of the last book, it took eight months. It takes so much out of me to pour my ideas into one manuscript, but cathartic to see it all done with. I'm writing another for the series currently, and I'm hoping it will be ready for edits by this upcoming February in 2014. But honestly there's no way to tell for sure. It can be rather uncertain, and you want to make sure its gone through all the straining and reworking possible before putting it out there like, “Ta-da! Its finished!”

8) What can we expect from you in the future?

The public can definitely expect more Winx Rowan and more Cristis Von Dietrich. But they can also expect a new series that I'm working on, veering away from the Befallen Tides universe and delving into another potentially dark path. I've been plotting away inside this head of mine and there are so many stories brewing. I'm just excited to get to tell any of them.

         9) Alrighty now, just to wrap it up, one last thing. This is the trademark of this blog. What's your favorite bedtime drink? Cocoa, soda, wine? Inquiring minds want to know, please. (Don't worry, you can answer 'water,' if you don't want to say (lol).

My favorite bedtime drink it definitely a nice cold glass of moscato. On occasion it can also be a dark chocolate wine from Chocolate Shoppe. And yes, sometimes water.   

      Thanks for stopping by the blog, Anna!!

      

Happy Holidays, readers!  Stay safe!

WINNERS!!!! (Better later than never...)

Here are the names of Dormaine G's HOLIDAY giveaway WINNERS. 

 Congrats, guys!

Caroline

Sarah

Jennifer

Tammy

Christie

So....The Field's review comes on Sunday, not Saturday...(I'm sorry)

Honestly, I had no clue what I was getting into when I signed up to review The Field by Tracy Richardson.  Usually, I need to have a picture in MY BRAIN about ‘what I think a book is about, where I would like it to end, yada’.  On this one, I just didn’t know.  So I used a technique that I haven’t used since college, practically.  {SHAME, but it works!}  I dipped in, to a random page, several chapters in, and seized a phrase:

Remote viewing

And THAT was all it took.  I LOVE the concept of remote viewing, ever since I first heard the terminology.  Then I saw:

Enhanced consciousness

Yayyyy!  I kept reading…..

So, as it turns out in The Field, there is an experiment in progress, to study the actual presence of 'enhanced consciousness' between bonded pairs.  This basically means that a pair of people, who are relatively close, best friends, lovers, siblings, etc, are able to transmit mind images to each other.  Eric, the main character, and his best friend, Will, ended up going in to be tested/ studied as bonded pairs.  How did they end up getting involved with this?  Since they're teenage boys, you know THERE IS A GIRL INVOLVED.  Eric has a serious crush on the main researcher's daughter, and this is why he goes ahead with this.

As it turns out, Eric's genetic makeup already makes him pre-destined to have skills in the whole psychic/ remote viewing realm, BUT developing his mental powers DO. NOT. MAKE. him happy.  He begins to develop insecurities along the course of the book.

The Field was an interesting read, with catchy concepts, and the author herself is also intriguing.  She mentioned that she loved the book, A Wrinkle in Time, which I also loved as a kid.  My sister and I read A Wrinkle in Time over and over and over.  I can see where Ms. Richardson receives her writing inspiration from.

Good job!

BLOG TOUR!!! presenting.... The Field

Guys, I will be posting a review for this book on Saturday.  Get ready........ 

[book teaser below]

Genre: Young Adult. Paranormal. Mystery.

Eric Horton finds himself plagued by terrible nightmares of explosions, fire, and someone screaming. The more they occur, the more real they seem, causing him to question whether they're just harmless dreams or foreshadowing of a dark and devastating future.

And that’s not the only strange thing happening. On the soccer field, he's been in the zone, saving shot after shot with what feels like a supernatural awareness of where the ball is going to go next. Then there's the connection he feels with Renee, the hot new student from France. It's as if he's known her forever.

Still, all these wild visions and synchronicities pale in comparison to the strange experiments Renee's dad is cooking up in the University physics lab. When he asks Eric to serve as a test subject, Eric must again question whether what he's seeing and hearing is reality—or something far beyond it.

When his best friend Will starts drinking way too much and Renee has eyes for other guys, Eric loses the edge he’s always had in the goal, and confidence in himself. If he’s going to pull it together, Eric must tap into a part of himself that he never knew existed, and that might just be the part that connects us all.

Author on the 'Hump' Wednesday : Pamela Cash

Hump Day is that special day in the middle of the week, where we try to figure out whether the week is just beginning or about to end.  So, I've decided to use Wednesdays to catch up with some other writers.  

So I spoke with Author Pamela Cash on about the creation 

of her books in the Chausiku series.

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One is FREE on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo and BN.   Click below to grab it!

iTunes

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

KOBO

1) How long have you been writing?  

This is a difficult question to answer because I am a lawyer who still practices law so I have been legal writing for well over a decade.  However, even when I was in elementary school I would write short stories.  I have always been a supernatural geek but I found that diversity was lacking in the stories that were published.  The Chausiku story has been in my head for years so I finally decided to put the saga on paper a couple of years ago.  

2) What is a typical working day for you?  When and where do you write?  
Due to the fact that I also like practicing law and have a full-time job, I write in the evenings and on weekends.  My days are full of serious stuff so writing about the supernatural is entertainment for me.  My books aren't heartfelt dramas.  They are for young adults and teens who just like interesting entertainment like I do.

3) What book series (or series) are you known for? 

The Chausiku series is my first series and I am currently working on the third book out of four.  Some readers have asked me if I plan to write any prequels because there is so much going on with the clans in my series.  I have already jotted down some chapters for prequels.  

4) Please give us a fun fact about yourself…something that the readers would love to know!

I love to exercise and I do it almost every day!  Sometimes when I only have enough time to either write or go to the gym, I go to the gym!  Yikes!  But I believe that one can have a passion for more than one thing.

5) If you were being interviewed two years from now, here on my blog, what great accomplishments would have happened for the Chausiko series?  How many books?

The Chausiku series would be a No. 1 Best Seller!  There will be 6 books with the 2 prequels that I have in mind. 

6) What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview?  How would you answer that question?

I honestly don't have a question that I want to be asked.  I am more interested in learning what people want to know about the series or me. 

7) Tell our readers about a surprising turn of events in the series…something that even you, the author, didn’t expect to happen.

There are so many surprises that I don't want to spoil it for the readers!  I will just say that there is a cliff hanger at the end of Book Three just like there is in Books One and Two.

8) What can we expect from you in the future?  Do you have plans for additional books, aside from the Chausiko series?

I absolutely have plans for additional books, aside from the Chausiku series.  I have no plans to stop writing books...ever!

9) Alrighty now, just to wrap it up, one last thing.  This is the trademark of this blog. What's your favorite bedtime drink? Cocoa, soda, wine?  Inquiring minds want to know, please.  (Don't worry, you can answer 'water,' if you don't want to say (lol).

Red wine!  I love a good Meritage or Merlot.

YA Fantasy Holiday GIVEAWAY!

Check out this Holiday giveaway!!!!

CONNOR by Author Dormaine G

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