Feature Friday: Interview with Dana Michelle Burnett

Today we have Dana Michelle Burnett here with us to talk about her new book, Haunted. Everyone, please welcome Dana...

In your book, Alastor Sinclair is a ghost from the Civil War-era. Is his character modeled after a real-life Civil War soldier or is he completely your creation?  He is completely my own creation.  While I was dreaming him up and researching the Civil War, I was always looking at pictures of the soldiers from both sides.  It didn't matter which side they fought on, they all had this same intense look and in those old photographs, blue eyes look almost white and really draw your eye.  I think if there is anything about those pictures that stuck in my head, it was those eyes, so of course, my fictional soldier had to have those same eyes and intense look.

While Spiritus was narrated solely from Becca’s point of view, parts of the story are told from the point of view of a new character. What made you decide to write the story of Haunted from the perspectives of two different characters?  For Haunted, I really felt that the story of Becca and Alastor needed an outside observer to push it forward.  It's one thing to read about Alastor coming to Becca, but what does it look like from the outside?  I wanted the reader to experience that mystery and see the effect this relationship has had on Becca from the outside as well.

Why did you choose to add the element of voo doo to the story of Haunted?  I've always loved the idea of voodoo and New Orleans.  It's all so mysterious and romantic at the same time that I couldn't resist putting it in the story.

What inspired you to write such a ghostly series?  The old houses of Corydon were my inspiration.  I have to drive through Corydon to go to the grocery, so I'd see those old houses and wonder who used to live there, bit by bit the story took shape.

Becca’s struggle to keep a strong grip on her sanity in Haunted is something that I didn’t expect to encounter, especially after I read Spiritus. What made you decide to turn the story in that particular direction?  How could you have a relationship with a ghost and not go a little crazy? 

Your descriptions of Alastor as a ghost are incredibly vivid and make the reader feel as if he is real. Do you find it difficult to write such striking descriptions?  Not at all.  Alastor was easy to write for because he is so dashing and teasing.  It was really easy to picture how he would move and react.  I consider him to be almost a force of nature and I guess that's why I compare him to thunder or clouds so often.

What motivated you to create a character like Becca?  Becca seemed a perfect match for Alastor.  I couldn't really picture one without the other.  There might even be a little bit of myself in her as well.

Becca is Alastor’s wife from over a century ago. Why did you decide to include the aspect of reincarnation in both Spiritus and Haunted? I loved the idea of a ghost coming back for a lost love, but that had been done again and again.  I was waiting for my daughter one day at her dance class and heard the term "old soul" in a conversation.  I began to think more about my Alastor and Becca, why couldn't he come back because she is his wife reincarnated, but then why wasn't he reincarnated?  That's when I came up with the twists and turns in their relationship.

It’s very obvious that Becca and Alastor share a love that surpasses the span of time. Do you think a happy ending is possible for them?  It won't be your typical happy ending, but yes, there will be a happy ending for them in the next book.

Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with us today, Dana! I hope you all enjoyed that interview. Be sure to pick up a copy of Dana's Haunted, too. Click here to see our review of the book.

Feature Friday: Emlyn Chand

Today we welcome Emlyn Chand from Virtual Book Tours. Emlyn is the author of Farsighted. So to begin we ask her a question that I've been dying to know the answer of since I read this book.

1) How difficult was it for you to write a story with the main character being blind? How did you go about writing such a delicate subject? (I know you haven't read my review but I thought you did it very successfully!)

Oh, yay! Thank you for the praise :-D Well, to connect with Alex, I read books about coping with blindness in a school setting and spent a great deal of time pondering how I might behave if I couldn’t see. In the story, Alex has always been blind; he’s always known the world to be a certain way. Not everyone understands that, and they have trouble talking about it with him. I gave Alex a tendency to overcompensate. He knows who he is and what he’s capable of, and he wants the world to know it too, so sometimes he overdoes things a bit.

2) What convinced you to use the runes throughout the book? Especially when you have so many magical type items at your disposal to write about.

Ooo, good question. Runes are a device that can be used without site as Alex does. I also found shaping each chapter around a rune gave the story order, which made me feel happy and comfortable. Whenever I got stuck and didn’t know what should happen next, I was able to learn more about that chapter’s rune and get the inspiration I needed to continue. The runes themselves tell a story, one that is successfully completed. I felt that boded well for Farsighted. There will be other psychic story-telling devices later in the series too!

3) Shapri seemed to have the hardest time out of everyone in the book adjusting to the idea that she had an ability. Will we be seeing her develop more and becoming more accepting of herself in the next book? Will she finally have a breakthrough?

Yes, definitely. At the beginning of book #2, Shapri is already more in touch with her abilities and willing to discuss it openly. Each of the novels in the series is told from a different main character’s perspective, Shapri’s turn to narrate will be in book #3, and boy, will she have to grapple with her powers then!

4) The idea of your powers controlling you if you don't learn to control them, isn't necessarily new. But the way that you implemented it brought something fresh. As we watch all of the characters grow and develop, will there be more conflicts within themselves? Or needs to use their powers for selfishness? After all, it's a lot of responsibility to have for a few kids.

They will. Each character has his or her own private struggle. In the beginning of the next book, many new people begin to move into town and some of them do use their powers for personal gain in a way that hurts others. At least one of our main characters is not the best of guys either. Remember, “with great power, comes great responsibility.”

5) Now for a few simple, fun and silly questions, if you had to live off of 1 food for the rest of your life, what food would you choose?

Hmmm. Maybe pizza? It’s not necessarily my favorite food, but it’s so diverse. There’s a lot I could do with my pizza to keep it fresh :-P

6) Describe to us the place where your magic happens (where you write).

The comforting hum of its patrons wraps me in a warm embrace. Scents of vanilla, sausage, and coffee pour through my nostrils and make me feel at home. The springy cushion beneath me melds to my form. My keyboard is waiting. Ahhh, Panera.

7) When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew?

Oh, so many different things. The earliest one was a zoo keeper who takes care of elephants. The longest desire was to be a Disney animator. I used to be a pretty good cartoonist, but now I’m out of practice.

8) Favorite type of music?

Happy music! I love Frank Sinatra and all things croon. It just makes me “smile in my heart.” When I’m driving I listen to pop, so that I don’t fall asleep at the wheel… yeah, I totally have done that before.

9) When can we expect book 2? I saw at the end of this one that it 2012, but that's quite a vague answer... ;) Also, do you have anything else in the works?

Yes, yes, I do. Book #2 in the Farsighted series, which is called Open Heart, will indeed be coming in 2012. I’m hoping to have it ready sometime in the spring, probably later in the spring. I will also be releasing the first book in a new series called The Timewalker Chronicles this year. It’s of the YA science fiction persuasion, and I’m so so excited about it :-D

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Thank you, thank you, thank you for joining us Emlyn! It was so much fun and you were a joy to have. We hope you keep us in mind when you're looking for publicity on The Timewalker Chronicals, I know that I will be first in line for Open Heart so I can't wait to see what you do with this other series.



Feature Friday: Larry Peterson

Today we welcome Larry Peterson on The Ink Puddle with Tribute Book Tours. Larry is the author of the book The Priest and the Peaches. This is a book that deals with a lot of loss and struggle and knowing that, we asked him to write about a personal experience of his own in which writing has helped him through.

"Historical fiction novel set in the Bronx in the mid-1960s

Take a seven day journey with the five, newly orphaned Peach kids, as they begin their struggle to remain a family while planning their dad's funeral.

They find an ally in the local parish priest, Father Tim Sullivan, who tries his best to guide them through the strange, unchartered and turbulent waters of "grown-up world." A story that is sad, funny, and inspiring as it shows how the power of family love and faith can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles."

Since "The Priest and The Peaches" deals with "struggle & loss" you have asked me to post something about my own experience working through "pain" and how books and writing have helped me push through. Well now, you have truly challenged me. In fact, many of the requests from book reviewers such as you are forcing me to look inside myself and, I must admit, that many of  the memories that have been stuffed into the far recesses of my mind have been resurrected and it is sometimes unnerving for me when they start suddenly and unexpectedly begin reappearing. (Man, I feel like I'm writing in a journal here and maybe it is a good thing--not sure). Understand this---writing and books have come after the fact.

I was 15 when my mother died. Strangely, I could hardly remember a thing about her. The sound of her voice, what she liked to eat, her favorite color, favorite actor, etc. The only thing I remembered was  that she loved the "I Love Lucy" show. That was it. Even writing the book did not jar the memories loose. What has freed some memories from their dark cave has been posts like this one. They have forced me to think about what has been. This is a place I rarely go. I mean, I do know that this place exists but I avoid it. Sometimes I think that sub-consciously I have done this as an act of self-preservation. I'm not sure. We are all so uniquely different yet we are all so similar. Fascinating--

I have personally experienced the death of my folks when I and my siblings were quite young. I have lived through the death of my daughter at birth, the death of my first wife from cancer, the death of my kid brother and the death of my best friend. My second wife is recovering from chemo treatments and her cancer is in remission. I have had major surgery for prostate cancer and, after almost five years, I am cancer free. I also have MS which, for five years, left me almost unable to walk. That was 25 years ago and today I am doing great and walk around just like most folks. How all of this affects my writing, I have no idea. I guess it must and maybe someday I'll figure it all out.

Here's the thing and I know you guys are a lot younger than I so, take some advice from an "old guy". The key to overcoming adversity, first and foremost, is having faith in God. Now, I know a lot of folks think that is "gobbley-gook". But many know I am right. Faith is that great intangible. You can't see it or touch it or smell it. But, it is the greatest of all gifts and all one has to do is ask God to walk with them. He'll DO IT! Once you do that you have laid the very foundation to build an inner peace that will transport you through any adversity you may encounter. Then--write your little heart out.

Thank you so much Larry for stopping by! I really did enjoy your post and you being here! If you want to know more about Larry here are the links to his...

Blog                        Facebook                        Twitter 

Feature Friday: Christopher Walker

Today, I’m really excited to say that we have Christopher Walker, author of The Lightforce Rebellion, here with us. Everyone, please welcome Chris…

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 
Hi, my name is Christopher Walker and I currently am a technical writer for a computer storage company up in Washington state. I'm a Star Wars fan, enjoy reading fantasy and sci-fi fiction, and this book represents my first step to becoming a full-time writer.

What is it like to self-publish your own book? 
It's empowering because I don't have to wait for a large publisher or agent to accept my work. Although my eventual plan is to publish a few of my novels through New York. So the upside is that it's very easy to do. But the down side is that it's, well, very easy to do. That's why if you've browsed around any of the major eBook retailers you'll see a glut of self-published novels with horrible cover art, and probably even worse writing. 

Where did you get the idea for Foronar, the world that Zach finds himself in for most of the story in The Lightforce Rebellion? 
The name just popped into my head. Not sure where it came from. But the world itself was based on a place some of my friends and I built up online in this virtual world called SW City (swcity.net). It's miles and miles of virtualized terrain we made while we were growing up in high school and college. SW City is a little more light-hearted and whimsy than Foronar, but some of the elements of SW City found their way into Foronar. 

There are obviously a lot of fantasy elements in your book, such as the races of cloud- and rock- people that inhabit Foronar. Where did you get the idea for these two unique races? 
The cloud people, the Cirrans, actually came fairly directly out of SW City from a race of cloud beings I had invented called Nimbusians. And those were based on a Nintendo character named Mallow. One of my friends from SW City also invented a counterpart race called the Submins who were very physically similar to Nimbusians. I toyed with using them, but eventually I ended up creating an entirely new race of volcanic beings and named them the Fyros, and they fit right in with the story I wanted to tell. 
And I justified using the fantasy characters by saying that the Cirrans the Fyros are both made out of the four basic greek elements of earth, air, fire, and water. The Cirrans are made out of air and water and the Fyros are made out of earth and fire.

You put a lot of detail into describing the worlds of Foronar in your book. Do you plan to write other stories set in this same world?   
I would certainly like to. I left the door open for more adventures, so hopefully it won't be too long before I can write another.

Your main character isn’t exactly the typical hero that is seen in most novels. What inspired you to create a character like Zach?
Zach is a 14 year old Kansas boy who is the protagonist of the story. Zach kind of came up out of combination of elements. I wanted to do a story about bullying, but there's also a bit of me in there at 14. For example, he's from Kansas. I'm from Kansas. He goes to my school. I went to my school. As an aside, I actually put in those demographic elements because I figured that I won't be writing too many stories set in the modern world and I wanted to do an homage to where I grew up while I had the chance. Hopefully I didn't make Zach a Mary Sue because I tried to give him characteristics that I didn’t have at that age. For example, I never would have gone through that door in the tree. 

The characters in your book are really fun to follow throughout the story. Do you have a favorite character from the book or one that you relate to more than the rest? 
Erika was really fun to write. I approached her with some trepidation because she's female and I'm not, and she's 14 and I'm not. And I think she turned really well! 

Do you have a certain process that you go through when you’re writing?
I plotted the story out ahead of time on note cards, using various methods like Dramatica and a few of Holly Lisle's tricks. I then used the note cards as a guideline while writing the story. I set a goal to write about 4000 words a week, because I figured I had four evenings a week that I could write. So I wrote 1000 words a day. By the end of it I was writing two days a week and 2000 words a day. 

Where do you do your best writing? 
I did a lot of it out on my balcony, and a lot of it on my couch. And only some of it on the new writing desk I bought. 

Are you working on anything new right now?
I'm noodling around an idea involving space Nazis. It'll be science fiction/fantasy, but not young adult. 

What do you do when you aren’t writing? 
I'm probably working, watching Survivor or some random movie, or playing a game with my friends. 

I’ve heard that you’re a fan of Star Wars. If you could be any character from Star Wars, who would you choose to be?
Well, I'll be playing a Jedi Consular in the new Star Wars MMORPG "The Old Republic". I wouldn't want to be any of the named characters. Their lives are much too harsh and exciting.

I’ve read that you are also working on a voice acting career, in addition to writing novels. Can you tell us a bit about what that’s like? 
Voice acting is great fun because you get to do all these crazy voices, and you really get to act. I actually play the lead in an audio drama you can find on Amazon and Audible called "Stitched Crosses" about a knight named Marcus who's become disillusioned with the Crusades. 

Has any of the work you’ve done as a voice actor inspired your writing at all?
So far they haven't crossed over, because typically I'm voicing someone else's writing. However, having multiple voices is very useful when reading your work aloud. And kind of fun.

Thanks for joining us today, Chris! I hope you guys enjoyed that interview. Be sure to check out Chris’s book, The Lightforce Rebellion. And, if you want to get a glimpse at the virtual world that was the basis for the world in book, give swcity.net a look. 

Feature Friday: LK Rigel

Words can not describe how excited I am to have LK Rigel here with us today! A fellow friend from H.P. Mallory Writer's Club and the author of Give Me, she has a post that you guys will love.

Wonderful book that you when you're done reading this guest post you need to go pick up. Like now. :) In fact, it's even on sale right now for $0.99! Down from it's usual $3.00. (So you have no excuse now!)

Without further ado...

Fairy stories are popular right now. They can be as fun to write as to read because with fairies, you just never know! Fairies exist in a range from cute, little, fanciful, playful and full of magical fun to dark, threatening, large, uncontrollable and full of sexual danger. Why wouldn’t we want to read about fairies?

Because fairy powers and weakness vary so widely in different cultures, each fairy story or series can have different “rules” of its own. A few of the many common rules of fae:

Fairies hate iron. Iron can bind a fairy and nullify his or her magic. It also gives fairies horrific headaches. In my Tethers series (beginning with Give Me) the war between the fae and the wyrders starts over iron. When a wyrding woman changes all the iron to make it more malleable, one of the side effects is that it no longer hurts the fae. The fae king Idris wants to know the secret, and he’ll destroy all wyrders to get it. 

Fairies don’t like bread or salt. Haha. I don’t understand where this comes from, but it’s a fun fact. It’s a good idea to keep a holy cake in your pocket when you go abroad at night, especially on Mischief Night (Halloween) when the fairies flood the human world to do … mischief. If you see a fairy, throw crumbs or salt at it – and run!

Fairies hate to be thanked. They feel insulted by thanks. As if a mere word is enough to acknowledge their favors! Related to this, it’s dangerous to accept a favor from a fairy – because your thanks won’t be enough. The fairy will want something in return, and if you’re in a fairy story you know he’ll want the one thing you don’t want to give at the time it’s most inconvenient to give it. Accepting fairy magic generally does not turn out well. If you think about it, in most fairy tales there’s always a problem with the wish a fairy grants.

In fae, time is different. Never, never, never go into the fairy lands unless you have an exit strategy. Time passes so fast there, a hundred years can feel like a day. Be careful! In the Tethers series, the breaking spell that lets a human escape fae is to say “I forgive you” to the one who is keeping you three times. 

Fairies like to steal babies and replace them with changelings. Okay, now personally I don’t get this. Babies require a lot of work, and fairies are more interested in play. If they wanted a human to play with, wouldn’t they steal one that’s at least potty trained? 

The enduring element of fairy tales is the magic. No matter how technologically complex our lives become, the world is still full of mystery, unfairness, cruelty – and boredom. When our all-too-human troubles become overwhelming and unsolvable, it would be fabulous to be able to throw a little fairy dust on our problems and make everything wonderful and exciting. In our imaginations, fairy stories let us do just that.

What are your favorite elements of a fairy story?

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Thank you sooo much for joining us today LK! It's been a blast having you and I cannot wait to see what's next in this series!

To see my review on Give Me, click here!

  

Feature Friday: Sally Lundy-Frommer

I am very happy to welcome Sally, author of Yesterday's Daughter, here with us today! We asked Sally her reason for choosing vampires as your protagonists in her book and also, who her favorite vampires have been throughout time. 

There was no conscious decision to select vampires as the characters in Yesterday’s Daughter, as there was no real choice to write a book.  The decision was made for me in that the characters formed in my dreams and in my imagination as vampires.  Why my subconscious selected these mythical creatures as inspiration, that’s open to speculation.  Since I don’t have access to a psychiatrist or someone who analyses dreams, I’ll take a stab at answering the question of why I chose to write about vampires.

 
The easy answer would be to say that I’m a huge fan of vampire books and movies.  I’ve seen every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and watched Christopher Lee drain more than a few damsels in distress.  I read Stephen King’s, Salem’s Lot and the first time I saw the movie, I had nightmares for a couple of weeks.  And let’s not forget Octavia Butler’s, Fledgling.  Who can forget Shori who appears to be a child, maybe eleven years old, but is actually 53 years old.  

 
I could say all those books and movies going in my head like quarters in a slot machine were bound to produce like output.  I’m sure that’s part of it.  But, when I search deep, what draws me to vampires is time.  They have time to experience life, experiment, make mistakes, and witness the great and small.  When you compare the lives of vampires you can’t help but be struck by fleeting span of the human life.  The idea of creating characters that may have lived at the time of Mark Anthony, discussed brush strokes with Michelangelo or watched the sky as Sputnik passed over causes my imagination to churn with possibilities of what characters can do when they are not constrained by time.  There is so much opportunity to create an enormous literary canvas when my characters are not married to a specific era.  

 
So what have some of my favorite vampires done with all that time on their hands?  Take the vampire Godric from the Sookie Stackhouse books, he’s like a thousand years old and chooses to meet the sun, to die, because he can’t bear the terrible things he’s done.  He is one of my all-time favorite vampires.  Of course, I hate the evil he’s done.  But I like Godric because he wants to do the right thing.  It’s so easy for vampire characters to be jaded as Lestat is in Interview with a Vampire.  But for all the death and mayhem Godric leaves in his wake, I have compassion for him which isn’t easy, given his bloody history. 

 
There are numerous vampires, that are all my favorites for different reasons; Spike because of his ability to make me laugh and Blade because of his constant struggle to fight the thirst.  I could go on and on, but in closing, no one can deny that all these characters have at least one thing in common, time.  

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Thank you so much for coming in Sally! I loved your post, especially the Buffy references as I am a true Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanatic (literally). 

Yesterday's Daughter Summary:

"Yesterday’s Daughter is an emotionally laden paranormal vampire romance novel woven with layers of betrayal, love and loss. Grace Stone, who later learns her true identity is Sapphira, is a loner who survives abuse in the foster care system after being abandoned as a child.

A brilliant student, she escapes from her brutal foster parents as a teenager and creates a life for herself. But, her life is little more than existence; plagued with questions about what she really is, a family that she has never known and the never-ending need to keep her differences hidden. She is alone and lonely, believing it will always remain so until Malachi appears in her life.

Malachi, a Guardian of the vampire communities, has searched for his life mate, Sapphira, for decades. He refuses to cease searching for Sapphira even though she is believed dead by all. Conflict arises over the decades between Malachi and his family because of his refusals to accept another mate. But his very soul drives him on to continue his search, knowing that he could not exist if Sapphira were not in the world, somewhere."

To purchase Sally's book on Amazon, click here. For Barnes and Noble, click here.

And of course, Sally's personal bio!

I was born on a farm in the rural South to a family of migrant farm workers. At an early age,my family moved to the urban North-East. Now I live in the suburban North-East with my husband and a large assortment of plants. I hold bachelors and masters degrees in Human Resource Management and currently work in the health care industry. 

Feature Friday: Rachel Firasek

 

Today, I'm pumped to say that we have Rachel Firasek with us!
Everyone please welcome Rachel...

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Hey Rachel! I’m so glad you’re stopping by The Ink Puddle. Can you start off by telling us a little about yourself?

Thank you for having me! About me....hmmm...I'm an author, mother, wife, sister, daughter, shephard, friend, office manager, chameleon, and a master of wearing hats. I live in a busy world of chaos and courtesy. :) It's a fun life!


What’s your writing process for creating a novel? (For instance, do you use an outline or do you just wing it?)

I'm mostly a total pantser---something I've been trying to break. Recently, I've found a plan that works pretty good for keeping me on track. I've began mapping the basic story line and using it as a guide for my pantsing.

What is the premise behind your Curse of the Phoenix series?

Three women with troubled pasts are turned into Phoenixes by Osiris, god of the Underworld. They'll pay penance for past sins until he deems them worthy of the return of their mortality. As part of their penance, they must die for a worthy soul--over and over again.

I love how each of your books covered one specific story and character’s life. Do you have a favorite character from your story?

Sadie, is really special to me--she's the fiery phoenix. She's in the third book: The Last Beginning which will come out in January. Ari was easiest to love. And Ice was my challenge.

When and where do you do your best writing?

I have a small wooden desk that my husband's older brother built at the age of 12. It's old, a little rough around the edges, but sturdy--kind of like me--if you call 34 old. :) The desk is tucked into what used to be my breakfast nook and has the best view in the house.

Now, let’s go for some fun questions…
What’s your favorite part about Christmas time?

Oh, I'm not a big Christmas fan, but their is a tradition that I love. I adore going to look at lights. Since my kids are older and my hubs is not so crazy about the tradition, I usually have to do it on my own after work.

Best TV show of the year?

True Blood of course--even if most of the season was suckish. :) I'm a vampy girl.

If you could go back to your 21 year old self and tell her anything, what would you tell her?

Wow, I'd already done most of the damage. It would probably be: don't wait until your kidlets are older to write. They won't remember the sacrifice and won't care when they're teens. (that's a totally selfish thought. lol.)

Any New Years resolutions?

I set goals not resolutions. So, my goal next year is to write: 2 novels, 3 novellas, 4 shorts and to find a rhythm with my blog.

If you could have any superhero ability in the world, what would you choose to have?

I want to fly. I dream about flying all the time and it's way cool in my dreams. No-not superman flying, I look like a ballerina walking on clouds. (in my dreams)

And of course, what can we be expecting next from you?

I have a contemporary novella that I'd like to revamp and get out. Oh, and I have two YA novels in mind this year. Of course, I'll have to come up with a new PR series. I can't go without my taste of dark wrapped in.

Thank you so much for having me on today!!!
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Thank YOU Rachel! I hope you guys enjoyed the interview and I really hope you read these books. And did we mention how gorgeous those covers are? Simply breathtaking! To see our review of The Last Rising, the first book in the Curse of the Phoenix series, click here.

Feature Friday: Lola James

Today I'm so excited to welcome a fellow H.P. Writer's Club friend to The Ink Puddle, Lola James for a guest post. Lola is the author of Bound to Remember, Book One of the Spellbound Series. Check out this summary:

"Vampires and Witches and Greek gods, oh my!

Toni is a young doctor that doesn’t remember she’s on the run from her past as the lover of the Greek god Hades! 

Ben is a nurse and vampire is trying to escape his recent heroism and finds himself working with Toni. Ben can’t believe his eyes; Toni has an uncanny resemblance to an old friend of his, Joanna. And Toni well she can’t help but find Ben irresistible.

Enter Kevin, Toni’s sexy but arrogant Ex. Kevin’s jealousy of Ben blinds him from his main objective, Toni.

With an unexpected kiss between Ben and Toni in front of Kevin heats things up for everyone, but cools when Ben’s “vampire” secret is revealed to Toni. 

Ben insists that Toni is in danger for knowing he’s a vampire and Toni knows that she’s not in danger; But to make Ben happy she enlists the help of her best friend, a self-proclaimed witch named of Annie. Annie is eager to help but she has a little more than magic up her sleeve and the results well you’ll just have to read and see…."

I don’t know about you but this is definitely on my TBR list! Now without further ado…

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Judging a book by its cover?

What we don't judge books by their covers?

We've all been told not to judge a book by its cover but we know that we do. The truth is sometimes the cover is all we can judge. Let's say it's a new author, like me and you don't know anything about me, but you do like the cover of my book. You’re more than likely inclined to buy the book just based off the cover.

In this new wave way of reading with e-readers (okay maybe not that new), we only have an e-book cover to see. It's not like you can pick up the book look at the thickness of the book or pictures inside, nope just the cover. So for an indie author, like me a cover can make or break you!

I published my first book, Bound to Remember, about a month ago. I had a cover created by a professional artist and I Loved that cover. It spoke volumes for the story, so I slapped it on my book and put it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble but no one bought it. I had the good sense to have a backup cover just in case (and the advise of a fellow blogger/writer) so I changed my cover the same day and in a week I saw more sales. Now, can I credit jump in sales solely to my cover? No, but I truly believe the cover made a difference.

You see the cover is a picture into the author’s world. Whether it be a fantasy or reality the reader can see the characters, city, weapons, scenery, or something related to the book from the cover. For me as a reader this helps me when reading from a new author. It helps me understand the story better.

Now a little about me…

I have always loved reading and writing! I also love anything dealing with Vampires, Witches, and Greek Mythology. My stories emanate from my imagination and the fact that I’m a hopeless romantic! I write mostly Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy stories with suspense and a little humor.

In my spare time I travel, anywhere my husband takes me, I read, and I shop, mostly for shoes.

I have one book available now Bound to Remember and Fate's Design will be out by the end of November. Both the beginning of two Paranormal Romance/ Urban Fantasy Series with a twist.

If you are interested in learning more about me:

Email me: lola@lola.james.com
Visit my Website: www.lolajames.com
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/1lola_james
View my Blog: http://lolajames-author.blogspot.com
Friend me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/LolaJamesAuthor

Buy my book Bound to Remember on:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Smashwords

Smooches!

Lola

Feature Friday: Brian Rowe

Today we have Brian Rowe, author of the Happy Birthday Trilogy, for a guest post!

How I create my stories usually differs with each book. There's always some elements of my real life in my stories, and all of my novels I've written so far have originated from events that have actually happened to me. Now, that doesn't mean I've actually aged seventy years in 70 days or anything; I'm still aging normally,  and just celebrated my 27th birthday. But I've always been interested in the obsession we have as a society with birthdays, and I wanted to explore that in this Birthday trilogy.

I don't brainstorm a whole lot, actually; I'm lucky enough to have creative inspiration all the time, and usually I have more ideas than I know what to do with. I really hate to sit at my desk and just ponder things. I like to go with my instinct and, whenever possible, let the voices of the characters guide the way. I never intended Happy Birthday to Me as a trilogy, but the ideas, and Cameron and Liesel especially,  just wouldn't leave my head. After I finished the first book, I simply felt like the story wasn't done. And It didn't take long to imagine the scarier Book 2 and the apocalyptic Book 3. I'm now so thrilled I wrote these two sequels, because they're the most fun I've had so far in writing fiction.

If Happy Birthday to Me were made into a movie, first of all, I'd hope it'd retain the dark edge of the books, and not be a G-rated tween fantasy film. The casting process is tricky to think about because the actors who would be perfect for these roles now would probably be too old if it took 3, 5, or 10 years to get the films made. But I were the casting director of the first book right now, I would have a blast in casting these roles. The easy choice for Cameron would be Zac Efron (he made a similar what-if film with 17 Again), but I'm a big fan of Glee and I actually think the adorable Darren Criss would make a great Cameron. Liesel is a red head in the books, and the perfect red head would be Emma Stone. For Wesley I really like the young actor Kyle Gallner, and for Kimber, Chloe Grace Moretz. I also think a big name should be cast for the Mrs. Gordon character, since she's arguably the most interesting adult character in the first book. Frances Conroy from Six Feet Under would be a great choice, as would Kathy Bates. 

I hope you all check out my YA trilogy Happy Birthday to Me! Book 2 is now available, and Book 3 will be available in December.

Brian

Feature Friday: Julie Kagawa

Sorry this post is a bit later than usual, we've had computer issues ALL day.

As many of you know, the fourth book of The Iron Fey series came out this week: The Iron Knight. Tuesday, Julie Kagawa did a book release at Barnes and Nobles in Louisville and I was lucky enough to be able to go! Julie read the first chapter of her new book, answered some questions from the audience then autographed books and talked to fans!

Julie reading the first chapter of The Iron Knight.

 Me and Julie. I know, I always look awkward in photos!

It's Julie with Ash and Puck!
(I snagged this picture from her blog since I didn't get a good pic of the boys!)

The awesomeness inside the goody bags we got!

 More awesomeness in the goodie bags...

So needless to say, it was one of the coolest things ever. I didn't buy the physical book because I'd already purchased it on my Kindle, so I had her sign the picture of Ash, Puck and Meghan. And thanks to a random person I don't know, I had her sign the back of my Kindle too! She was so down to earth and fun, just pumped to be living the dream. If you ever have the chance to meet Julie Kagawa, DO IT.

Feature Friday: Stephanie Nelson

So to go along with our review on Stephanie Nelson's book Craved, today she shared with us her sound track to go along with the book.

We are Broken.....Paramore

The Only Exception...Paramore

All I wanted......Paramore

I Caught Myself...Paramore

Conspiracy.......Paramore

If You Only Knew....Shinedown

I Dare You.......Shinedown

Someone Like You...Adele

Set Fire to the Rain...Adele

Near to you....A Fine Frenzy

Beautiful Disaster....Kelly Clarkson

Save You.....Kelly Clarkson

Mercy....One Republic

Secrets.....One Republic

All the Right Moves...One Republic

Sex on Fire.....Kings of Leon

Closer.....Kings of Leon

Bring me to Life...Evanescence

Bet You Wish You Had Me Back.....Halestorm

I'm Not An Angel.......Halestorm

All for Believing.....Missy Higgins

Warm Whispers.....Missy Higgins

Innocent....Fuel

Won't Back Down....Fuel

So what do you guys think? How well do you think the playlist goes along with Stephanie's book?