Sep 10 2013

Guest Post from E.D.C. Johnson, Author of Moonflower

Today, I’m excited to welcome a fellow author to my blog. But first, I just have to post this music video, because it’s A*M*E*S*O*M*E*S*A*U*C*E (okay, I admit that I use that word in ridiculous amounts on this blog, along with excessive squees, exclamation points, smiley faces, and hearts, but I mean it in the truest definition of the word here). I seriously LMBO watching this & didn’t anticipate the surprise at all (and wonder if they got J.J. Abrams to direct it considering all the lens flares, hahaha).

So, if you didn’t find that funny, it’s okay, you’ve just lost your sense of humor 😉 Now, here’s a little bit about E.D.C. Johnson before we get started with the interview.

EDC Johnson grew up in the Midwest, graduating from Michigan State University with her BFA in Art Education and her MA in Art Education from Western Michigan University. She currently lives with her husband and daughter in Palm Harbor, Florida. Her decade of experience as a public school art teacher has inspired her to write fiction novels that will entice young readers. You may see some of her illustrations in Renee Mallet’s: Fairies, Mermaids, and Other Mystical Creatures.

J: Tell us about what you write.

EDC: I write young adult paranormal fantasy romance novels (and yes I believe paranormal and fantasy are two different things, with Moonflower bordering on both). It is my desire to write books that will entice students to read. My illustrations are a segway for those young readers that are intimidated by novels. The writing I do is not childlike. It respects their real life struggles as they become adults and I write in a way that addresses important issues, which appeal to the young and “more experienced” alike.

J: As a middle school teacher Language Arts teacher, I applaud your efforts! Can you tell us what part of your main character is in you?

EDC: Josephine Woods is much like me at her age. I put a few of my quirks in her. Like me, she doesn’t eat eggs and she hates to cry. Her experience with her father’s death was inspired from my interactions at the age of 16 with my own paternal grandfather on his deathbed. Her propensity for inner monologue reflects the inner dialog I live each day as I personally over analyze the interactions I have with others. I’m sure there are even nuances that I’m not aware I wrote into her but these are a few of the big ones.

J: It’s funny how those nuances sneak in there! Many of my friends often say they think of my MC in 18 Things as me, but I thought I was hardly like her (not a geek at all, okay, that’s a total lie!) Can you tell us something fun about yourself, related or unrelated to writing?

EDC: I like to travel and hope to do much more in the future. I have been lucky enough to travel around the world to Paris, France; Seoul, South Korea (and outlining areas); Costa Rica; all over Ireland; the Bahamas and of course Canada.

J: That’s awesome! Out of those places, I’ve been to the Bahamas (three times on cruises), Canada (we used to camp there when I lived in Michigan), and I also went all over Ireland (in the summer of 1999 with a group of friends from college).

Okay, now for the lightning round, The Fabulous Fun Five! (for my students reading my blog, and you know who you are, brownie points if you can tell me in class tomorrow what kind of title that is)

M&Ms or Skittles? Skittles

CD or iPod? CD

DVD or Movie Theater? DVD

Day or Night? Night

Staying In or Going Out? Staying In

Wow, I didn’t guess that last one with all your travels 🙂 Be sure to check out Moonflower, and spread it around the blogosphere like peanut butter and jelly!

Synopsis: After Josephine Wood’s father dies of cancer, her mother up-roots the two of them and moves to the city. Josie hates her city life, but her teenage issues are of little consequence when they have a car accident and she wakes up in a strange land alone. Lost, with her school backpack as the only connection to her world, Josie struggles to find her way home. She is found by Lucius Conrí, the son of a Marquess, who possesses royal blood and the gift to shift into a wolf’s form at will. Can the kind-hearted Lucius help her find her way while winning her love, or will she fall for Donovan Conrí his older, more serious brother and heir to the Conrí wealth?

Thanks for visiting, EDC, and I wish you the best on your publishing journey!

I’d like to know what everybody is reading this week. I’m reading Gone by Lisa Gardner for book club, and I since I’m A*L*W*A*Y*S reading a YA book, I also picked up Possession by Elana Johnson this past weekend. I’m enjoying both of them . . . reviews to come soon 🙂

Sep 2 2013

It’s Labor Day! Pop Into Travel!!

Happy Labor Day! Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I did. Hubs and I stayed at the Inn on Fifth in Naples while my mom watched the kids (Thanks, Mom!) . . . we walked the fancy Fifth Avenue while sipping on the Starbucks early released Pumpkin Spice Frappucciono’s Saturday afternoon, took a swim in the rooftop pool, then rode on The Naples Princess Dinner cruise Saturday night while salivating over the multi-million dollar homes along the way (of which only 25% are full-time residences). Then Sunday we enjoyed beautiful Naples beach (lots of pelicans, flying fish, and dolphins to watch at the pier), then ate lunch at Tommy Bahama (our first time doing so and all I can is Fish Tacos=YUMM-O!), walked up and down the historic Third Street district while sampling bad a** coffee (not my words–it’s the title of their shop, lol), then did dinner at Agave Mexican restaurant before enjoying some drinks at the closing of McCabe’s Irish Pub and Grill. This morning we slept in before traveling to Tin City for some delicious breakfast at the Mon”Key” Bread Factory (if you’re ever travelling this way, you seriously need to stop here for some treats!).

On The Princess Dinner Cruise

While all of this was fantastic, I would’ve been perfectly content just relaxing in the hotel room, where the mattress wasn’t as old as our 15 year marriage, where there were nine different HBO channels to choose from (hey, we don’t even have basic cable!), and where I could finish reading an excellent book. It seemed fitting I was reading Pop Travel by Tara Tyler, since I was traveling! Anyone who has ever wished they could escape airports and the endless delays of flying (and who hasn’t?!), will love this novel. In Tyler’s novel, teleportation was the answer, but every new technology has glitches. Tyler says she was Inspired by Michael Crichton’s incredible style to take on the challenge of writing a fast-paced techno-thriller. I think she succeeded and that you’ll enjoy the ride . . . . the book also reminded me of the highly acclaimed novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Before I delve into my review, here’s the scoop on Pop Travel:

In 2080, technology has gone too far for J. L. Cooper. He is happily hidden in his simple, secluded life as a private detective in a small town, far from any pop travel laser teleportation stations. Until he takes on a client who insists pop travel made his fiancé disappear.

When Cooper investigates, he finds evidence of pop travel’s deadly flaw, sparking a series of murders, attempts on his life, and threats to his brother. He’d like to pass off the evidence but knows he’s being watched and can’t trust anyone. And who would believe him?

The only way he can save his brother is to fool his observers while looking for a way to expose the problem. He decides to go to the source and confront the Creator of pop travel. On his way, Cooper meets Southern siren, Geri Harper (an undercover FBI agent) who tags along despite his protests. When they reach the Creator, he has plans of his own and leads them on a wild detour.

I had the pleasure of meeting Tara Tyler, my fellow Curiosity Quills sister, in July, and let me say, her novel is every bit as lovely as she is!

Tyler didn’t waste any time jumping right into the action–I was hooked from page one! There was just enough back-story presented for clarification without the annoying info dumps. I commend Tyler’s ability to write strong characters . . . specifically, the mixture of external and internal conflict with Cooper was very well done. And the setting was so cool and the plot that rotated around it very believable! I could easily imagine the United States heading down this scary road. Coincidentally, I’ve become increasingly wary of that white panel van surveillancing my neighborhood on a weekly basis. Yeah, it has ice cream stickers on the sides and blares the “Do Your Ears Hang Low” jingle, but my guess after reading Pop Travel is it’s all a cover-up for Big Brother to keep their ears low . . . to the ground . . . listening in carefully to all of us.

Hey, some of you may laugh, but after the Edward Snowden scandal, the Intelligence community have been up to their ears in hot water (hey, my middle school students are reading my blogs now–I have to use as many idioms as I can to educate them!) . . . Spying on regular citizens through their compucenters (computers)? Reading our vid messages (e-mails)? Monitoring our Qnet (web) searches? With the direction the NSA is heading, I can totally picture Tyler’s storyline happening in real life. Okay, I am a writer myself and frequently hear voices in my head, so my paranoia may just be my muse whispering to me in the dark corners of my mind again (or am I just saying all of this as a coverup so the NSA won’t send the ice cream man to kidnap me?)

You decide. In the meantime, what are your thoughts? Want to read Pop Travel? Do you think it could be a case of fiction imitating life? I’m really hoping Pop Travel will be made into a movie one day because it’s the type of plot that would be PERFECT for the big screen . . . if the FBI and NSA will allow it 😉

Aug 26 2013

My Review: Broken Forest by Eliza Tilton

Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press

Release Date: May 1, 2013

Paperback, 236 pages

Intended Audience: Young Adult

Blurb: Hopeless he’ll never be more than the boy who didn’t save his brother, 17-year-old Avikar accepts his life as the family stable boy, trying to forget the past. But when his sister, Jeslyn, is kidnapped, the thought of losing another sibling catapults him on a desperate quest. With his best friend by his side, and using the tracking skills he learned from his father, he discovers Jeslyn has been taken, kidnapped by one Lucino, the young lord of Daath, a mystical place thought only to exist in fables. And Lucino has plans for Jeslyn.His shape-shifting brethren feed off the auras of humans, and Jeslyn’s golden hue is exactly what Lucino needs to increase his power. The longer it takes Avikar to reach her, the more entranced she becomes with Lucino’s world, and the harder it will be for Avikar to set her free.

He failed his family once. He won’t fail again.

Review: I want to say in full disclosure that Eliza and I share the same publisher. I was given her book in exchange for an honest review. I wouldn’t have accepted the offer if I didn’t think it sounded like a book I’d enjoy, and I wasn’t disappointed! It had my four favorite things in a book: love, adventure, fantasy, and a twisted ending!

The opening page immediately drew me in and from the very start, I could tell Tilton had a gift for storytelling. There’s danger, there’s desire, and there’s decision. You won’t read the first few chapters of this book asking yourself, “Who gives a crap?” I’m a middle school Language Arts teacher, so I can testify that kids have short attention spans. They inhale violent video games. They think life can be encapsulated in a text message. I can say with conviction that my students would enjoy this book because there’s something for everyone here and because the story moved along at a good pace. Her plot and characterization were spot on. Every scene was manipulated for maximum impact. This was Tilton’s fantasy world, but I felt like I was a part of it (and who wouldn’t want to be . . . did you see that beautiful cover? Seriously one of my favorite book covers of the year!)

The *BONUS* is the characters are inspiring. My favorite character remained Avikar throughout the book, but the other secondary characters were enjoyable too. As the plot unfolded, I was interested in what happened next for everybody. Needless to say, I can’t wait for Book Two in The Daath Chronicles, and I’ll be purchasing the print copy for my classroom!

Kudos to Eliza Tilton. Here’s more on the author if you want to ~~stalk~~ learn more about her:

Eliza Tilton is the author of the YA Fantasy, Broken Forest, published by Curiosity Quills Press. You can find her blogging about video games and writing on her blog and doing bi-weekly posts on author media over at YAStands.

She graduated from Dowling College with a BS in Visual Communications. When she’s not arguing with excel at her day job, or playing Dragon Age 2, again, she’s writing. Her stories hold a bit of the fantastical and there’s always a romance. She resides on Long Island with her husband, two kids and one very snuggly pit bull.

Twitter / Tumblr / Website / Pinterest / Facebook

BUY LINKS: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / KOBO Goodreads

*How about you? Read any good books lately?

Aug 21 2013

The Lure of Fools . . . Oh, How I Pity Them!!!

Today I’m pleased to welcome another CQ Author to my blog, Jason King! Who is Jason King and what does he write? I’m glad you asked!

BLURB:

“Adventure is the lure of fools, and excitement glamour to the gullible. The siren song of the world is as music to the wanderer’s feet, but that dance leads only to the soul-less grave.” So Jekaran’s uncle has warned him. But that doesn’t stop him from leaping at the exhilarating chance to single-handedly rescue a beautiful woman from a gang of lecherous thieves.

But the bored farm boy quickly finds that he is no match for the group of angry street thugs, and only escapes death by bonding a magical sword that grants him the strength and skill of a master swordsman. Unfortunately, a peasant wielding such magic is forbidden and punishable by death.

Thus Jekaran finds himself a fugitive with his fate tied to that of the exotic and mysterious, Kairah; a fey woman who must deliver a dire warning to the king that, if heeded, could prevent the very extinction of humanity.

ENDORSEMENT:

“A deep and intriguing magic brings a fresh feel to fantasy in this visually stunning journey. Jason King weaves powerful stories that grip the reader to the last word with a perfect blend of amazement, fear, love, and destiny. Anybody drawn to dangerous adventure won’t be able to resist The Lure of Fools. It’s Lloyd Alexander for a new millennium.” -James Wymore

HA! Toooo funny he mentions Lloyd Alexander . . . I just read his short story, The Stone, with my class today!

And now, a word from our sponsor (or Jason giving a short introduction;-)

This is a promotional reading of the first chapter of my new book, THE LURE OF FOOLS, from Curiosity Quills Press. It’s an action/fantasy adventure in the same vein as books by Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, or Jim Butcher.

My friend Mark Hanson is an actor and was a great sport doing the reading with next to no prior notice. Right now Lure of Fools is available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo, but the paperback will be available before the end of the month. I will also be signing at Salt Lake Comic Con in September, so if you’re in the area come say hello. Enjoy!

Anyone can read the first three chapters by going here.

The rest of the book’s info can be found on Curiosity Quill’s website. And please share! If you’ve ever been a debut author, you know the exciting feeling of sharing your ~~baby~~ novel with your millions of rabid fans . . . but we can’t deliver to those fans if they don’t know we exist yet!

Congratulations on your debut, Jason, and I hope your release is as magical as your book:-) I pity the fool who doesn’t check out this great story! (Sorry, was I the only one hearing Mr. T’s voice through this entire post because of the title? Hmm, probably!)

Aug 5 2013

(Never) Again!!

Today is the beautiful cover reveal for my blogger buddy, Theresa Paolo!! I know from personal experience with my debut novel, 18 Things, how crucial it is to share things like cover reveals to help create buzz for an upcoming release, so help spread the word on your social media hangouts! Now what better way to get this party started than to give the lowdown on her first book:

Just when she had finally moved on…
…He moved back.

When college freshman Liz Wagner hears her ex’s voice for the first time since he moved clear across the freaking country, she does what any respectable girl would do: Dive into the girls’ bathroom.

Zach Roberts—the Zach Roberts—is back. And he’s everywhere Liz looks—infiltrating her friend group, buddy-buddy with her brother. It’s enough to ruin college altogether. But what choice does she have but to put on a happy face and pretend he didn’t leave her vulnerable and alone in a pile of emotional wreckage?

Pretending works, until tragedy strikes and the only person available for comfort is the one person she wants to stay away from. When Zach turns out not to be the jerk she convinced herself he was, but the boy she used to love, Liz needs to decide whether to open her heart again to the boy who tore it out.

Add it to your Goodreads now!

And if you haven’t heard of Theresa yet, let me introduce you:

Theresa Paolo lives in the same town she grew up in on Long Island, NY with her boyfriend and Milton, their big eyed goldfish. She has a hard time accepting the fact she’s nearing thirty which is why she writes New Adult and Young Adult books, reliving the best and worst years of her life through her characters. She put her love of writing on hold while she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Dowling College. On November 11^th 2011 at 11:11 she made a wish. Two hours later she was laid off. Jobless for the first time since she was sixteen she was determined to make her wish come true. Writing became her life again and after many nights of ignoring her boyfriend to spend time with her characters, she finally received the call that all her hard work, finger crossing and eye crossing paid off. She signed with Berkley (Penguin) and her debut novel, (NEVER) AGAIN, a NA romance, will be out in Fall 2013. When she’s not writing, she’s behind a camera or can be found in the blogosphere or on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

So what do you guys think? Plan on reading (Never) Again? Is there anything in your life where you said ‘never again’ only to find yourself eating your words later on? I can think of two off the top of my head: gaining my weight back after my second pregnancy (yeah, writing is a huge workout time suck) . . . and moving back to my hometown (if someone would’ve told me at 18 that I’d move back here to raise my kids, I would’ve moved to Africa just to make it not come true).

See you Wednesday for IWSG!

Jul 22 2013

#SizzlingSummerEvent Hosted by YA Bound Book Tours Giving Away Two, that’s right, TWO Loaded Kindle Fires!!

Giveaway for Kindle YA. Notice the really pretty one in the bottom left-hand corner?

Are you interested in winning one of these Kindle Fires? Wellll, read on 🙂

Giveaway for Kindle NA

Maybe you saw this tweet from me yesterday: Wondering if runnin topless across a field with #18things across my chest in red lipstick is good marketing idea? Maybe there r easier ways?

As many of you know, one of the biggest issues authors face is promotion. It takes money to market, and not all of us have extra income to spend *put your hands in the air & wave them around if you’re a teacher like me*

Thanks to Trisha Wolfe and Dawna Raver’s brilliance, we formed a top-secret organization *busts out super-maniacal laugh and rub hands together evilly* in an effort to allow a group of authors to pull their resources and come up with a HUGE giveaway to promote each and every ~~babe~~ talent *slaps hand & whispers don’t give away the secret!*

So it’s with great pleasure I announce the Sizzling Summer Giveaway event hosted by YA Bound Book Tours featuring 50 authors!

This giveaway event will take place this week, July 22nd to July 27th. Book ~~Superheroes~~ Bloggers from all over the country are hosting a promo post provided by an author (excerpt, dream cast, playlist, character interview, etc.) and rafflecopter giveaway code for 2 Kindle Fire HD’s pre-loaded with some of the author’s books.

Today, I’m hosted on The Eater of Books with a post about my top 10 rules for creating bucket lists. Later in the week, I’ll also be hosted by Once Upon A Dream Books and Fiction in Fiction in Fiction, but I’m not sure which day since this is a blast event, which means they can post any they chose.

You can check out the blogs during the week, or you can follow on Twitter with hashtag ‪#‎SizzlingSummerEvent.

Are you going to check out the blogs? Good! Give yourself a smiley sticker and prepare to win so you can squander your money on more e-Books . . . who needs food anyway? 🙂

Jul 18 2013

It’s A Small World Afterall . . . My Love/Hate Relationship

I’m sure we’ve all heard the expression, “It’s a small world after all.” Love the ride at Disney (ADD side note: funniest description I’ve ever read of this ride is in the opening pages of Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Do yourself a favor & click on the link to read the free preview on Amazon, and prepare to really ROTFLMAO!) . . . where was I? Oh yeah, love the ride, not a big fan of the saying. Ever since the invention of the Internet, this world just keeps getting smaller and smaller, to the point where I am afraid for the kind of world my 13yo and 9yo daughters are growing up in.

I miss when my kids were small, and when I was too, lol.

I’m frightened enough that when I took my English 6-12 certification exam a couple of weeks ago (in preparation to teach middle school Language Arts, and you should read the awesome story about that if you haven’t!), and I had to write a persuasive essay about an invention I wish would’ve never been invented, I wrote about social media sites.WARNING: If you’re my 13yo daughter reading this now (b/c she occasionally cares enough to see what her old mom is up to), you may want to melt me with that laser look you’re so good at when I’m done with this blog post. So get it ready now. And remember Mom loves you.

It drives me nuts to see my daughter’s iPod Touch attached to her hand . . . to the point where she challenged herself to a 5 day detox and couldn’t last 24 hours. I walk into a house to pick her up from a party and instead of everybody talking, they’re texting the person next to them on the friggin’ couch! They constantly ask, “How many Instagram followers do you have?” to the point it becomes bullying because if you don’t have at least 1,000 followers then you’re not cool. (Just made said daughter take down her account because she let too many strangers ‘follow’ her). Her ‘boy’ friends inhale violent video games through Xbox Live into the wee hours of the night. Her girlfriends think life can be encapsulated in a 140 character Twitter message or Facebook status update. BUT THERE IS NO COMMUNICATION! To the point where we run into one of her friends outside of school at a Shrek the Musical Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre performance tonight, and they don’t even know how to properly SAY hello to each other.

You see, my daughter lost her iPod Touch three weeks ago, so she couldn’t text it, email it, tag her in a FB status, post a duck face with her friend on Instagram, ect . . . . and by the way, these past three weeks have been HEAVEN without that little Apple. Dreading officially getting her a cell phone before school starts up again, but we’ll need to because of the logistics of my job change Note: this will be her first cell, and I’m proud of that. When I taught 3rd grade this past year, the majority of my class had cell phones and a FB account . . . at 8 years old. Yeah, and we wonder why we have such an ADD problem in this country now. Oooh, squirrel!

But here’s the LOVE part. Yanno that Shrek show I mentioned? I got to meet a publishing sister/blogger buddy all the way from Ohio there tonight. Why? B/c when hubs and I were trying to win the tickets through a, wait for it . . . YEP–Facebook contest, Tara Tyler saw it and said she’d be attending the show. I asked, do you mean in your area or are you visiting on vacation? She answered she was vacationing in Florida and did I live near there? Um, heck yeah! And this is the 4th blogger buddy I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person due to social media. Well, I wouldn’t have any blogger buddies without social media, would I?

Tara Tyler and me 🙂

The other part I love? As a debut author, I could probably expect to sell 100 books to my friends and family without social media. But the social media frenzy caused my reach to multiply that by 10 so far, and it keeps growing. For the past 3 weeks, 18 Things has trended in the top 100 for Coming of Age fiction on Amazon, ranging anywhere from the 30’s to 100. Why? I haven’t done any real promoting since March. I’m guessing all those people who came across my debut novel through the What Are Your 18 Things bloghop and then the 6 week book blog tour have finally gotten around to reading and recommending it (the book came out in January). That’s the power of word of mouth, and it starts with social media sites, and most importantly, it’s all FREE!

In the end, I love connecting with fabulous people like you and the thought of a couple million people potentially reading my book. But on the flip side, I hate all the murderers and child molesters that potentially could be looking at my daughters on one of those sites too. It’s a win-lose situation, but I know social media isn’t going anywhere, and I must adapt or die . . . which happens to be one of my favorite quotes from the movie, Moneyball. If you’ve never seen this inspirational true story, make some time to watch it!

What are your thoughts? Do you LOVE social media, or do you love to hate it? Have you meet any blogger buddies in real life yet? Oh, and don’t forget to check out Tara Tyler’s new novel, Pop Travel, a sci-fi noir, cat and mouse game where the hard-boiled detective is chased across the world, “popping” with teleportation, which has a deadly flaw he is determined to expose. How cooool does that sound?!

Jul 15 2013

I Spy With My Little Eye . . . Two Awesome Cover Reveals!!

One way authors like to help each other out around the blogosphere is to host cover reveals, and today I get to share two covers for some blogger buddies very near and dear to my heart. The blogosphere just wouldn’t be the same without them!

First up is a Paranormal Suspense With Strong Romance Cloaked in Fur

Available August 5, 2013 through Crimson Romance

As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.

A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.

About The Author

T.F. Walsh emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in a regional city south of Sydney with her husband. Growing up hearing dark fairy tales, she’s always had a passion for reading and writing horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories. She balances all the dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.

Author Links

Second up is a New Adult Paranormal Romance titled Courage, Mark of the Nexus-Book 2

Available in E-Book & Paperback on October 15, 2013

Cover Credits:

Design: Carrie Butler

Photography: Subbotina Anna & Yuri Arcurs

Where to find Courage (Mark of Nexus #2):
BOOK PAGE | GOODREADS |

Book Bloggers may start requesting e-ARCs via this form.

Book Trailer for Book 1, Strength

Thanks for stopping by today!! Don’t forget to add T.F. Walsh and Carrie Butler to your Goodreads, Twitter, and like them on FB. And have a fantastic week 🙂

Jun 12 2013

Are Ya Looking For the Next Summer Read? Introducing Debut Novelist Teshelle Combs!!!

Tessie, Tess, Tessa, T . . . no matter what you call her, Teshelle Combs is just one huge batch of awesomesauce! She’s a UCF graduate like me (except she wasn’t afraid to take a chance and actually majored in English/Creative Writing), a soul singer with goosebump inducing abilities, a brutally honest Beta reader, a super nanny, and frequent volunteer for all things at our local church.

Now she can add published author at the ripe old age of 24! Add having a baby to the midst of all this, and well, you can see why I named one of my new characters in 18 Truths after her! Not even sure if she knows this, since it’s after page 100 where she left off in Beta reading. She might totally be creeped out now while reading this, but too late! I already got my interview *shakes fist in the air* Haha, sucker! Oh, and you can stalk her too at her new official FB author page!

Thanks for joining us today, T! Help me introduce you to my 5 fans (heehee, inside joke from last week’s blog). Give us 3 words to describe your personality

T: Happy. Loving. Kind. –I actually just cheated and asked my husband for the answer for this one. Apparently, he likes me or something.

*mutters*Not as much as I like you!

T: What’s that Jaim-O?

Oh, nothing! Nothing at all *coughs* Can you give us a sneak peek into what it’s like to be a debut novelist? Any insights about self-publishing?

T: I am very, very new at authorship. My debut novel, Core, was just released on June 1st. So far, my favorite part is being able to hold it in my hands. That tied with my very first sale. I did my crazyhappy dance for about ten minutes, which is pretty impressive at 7 months pregnant.

Self-publishing –or indie publishing, which is what I call it because it makes feel all cool –is a lot of fun and a lot of work. The fun part is designing everything, choosing exactly what I want to say, setting my own royalty prices, and involving a team of people I love to help me. The hard work part is the marketing, the ordering of three proof copies because you can’t figure out how to set the margins just right, the hiccups that you have to figure out to fix everything all on your own.

I was afraid I wouldn’t feel like a “real” author if I indie published, but honestly, I was wrong. I feel accomplished, like I worked hard for what I have.

You should! The world of publishing is constantly changing, and wise is the author who changes with it! Tell us about what you write.

T: I write contemporary YA fantasy and sci-fi. Core falls into the fantasy genre. The story is about an emotionally calloused boxer, Ava, who is catapulted into the world of dragons, sirens (nightfolk and werefolk), and danger. She’s chosen to be the rider of an honest, caring red dragon, and life-wrecking mayhem ensues.

Besides boxing, there are a slew of combat scenes, utilizing dragon abilities and swordplay, which makes for action-packed reading. (I like to run these scenes by my brother, who’s great at all things action).

I love bad guys, so I have quite a few villains in my novel, and–rather disturbingly–they are some of my favorite characters. The more twisted, the better.

What else? I also like to travel to places (even if it’s through research and imagination), so my characters start out in Miami, and get to visit Peru and Ireland in this story.

Oh, I’ve been to Ireland! One of my top 5 moments on my life list! *Shameless plug: If you like life lists, you should check out my debut novel too, 18 Things* Speaking of books, what’s your favorite craft book? Favorite fiction book?

T: My favorite craft book is probably Research in Writing. I love to include interesting facts in my work and before I wrote Core, I probably typed up about 30 pages of research on dragons, Chimbote, Peru, Ireland, sirens, and some other secret little tidbits.

My favorite fiction book? If we’re going fancy-pancy literary, it’d be Beloved by Toni Morrison. But if I’m thinking all-time favorite, changed-my-literary-life, pee-my-pants-it’s-so-good? THE HUNGER GAMES. I love kick-butt female protagonists, I love dystopias, and I love the dryness of it all, the reality woven through the make believe.

I also have a problem peeing my pants while reading books. Started 13 years ago . . . well, you’ll see after you give childbirth! Oh, I see you’re doing the potty dance yourself, so I’ll just ask one closing questions. Tell us anything FUN about yourself, related or unrelated to writing.

T: I have these special powers: my toes can swell to remarkable sizes in just a few minutes. I can smell anything unpleasant, even if it’s miles away. I can go to the bathroom 15 times a day. I can use my belly as a portable reading desk. I’ve evolved past the need to remember anything, even details that would be significant to other people, like what the current month or where we parked the car.

Jealous yet? Well go incubate your own baby! This one’s mine!

Hahaha! You’re a hoot, T! I love you . . . in a completely sisterly way, I promise! *watches T bolt from the room and shrugs*

Well now that it’s just the eight of us (last week proved I have at least 7 fans!), I want to thank you all for your encouraging comments after sharing my pity party publicly. If you missed the blog, you can find it here. My family cheered me up by taking me to Disney. We hit Hollywood Studios the first half of the day for Star Wars weekend, then moved on to Magic Kingdom!

Also, thanks for giving me some easy questions! Cheryl wanted to know what kind of coffee she should drink. I’m still scratching my head at the fact she’s never drank a cup! If you invest in a Keurig machine,

which you should because it’ll allow to try hundreds of flavors any time of the day whenever you want within seconds with just the press of a button . . . even though it may cause you to be all hyper and write really long-winded sentences, you could also drink tea and hot chocolate if you end up not liking coffee, but I think you will love it. I have a sweet tooth, so I love the Cape Escapes, especially the caramel. So sweet you don’t even need cream and sugar! When I’m not using the Keurig, I’m slightly less squirrely and like Barnie’s Santa’s White Christmas with some Baileys coffee creamer. But I’m a coffee snob and Barnie’s can be damn hard to find, so Dunkin’ Donuts French Vanilla will also do the trick. I do love Starbucks, but their coffee is rather bold, so you may need to ease yourself into it.

Now for Marisa’s question . . . what movie should she rent? This is sooo easy since Oz the Great and Powerful just released today on DVD! Saw this one in the theatre and it quickly became a family favorite 🙂

What about you guys? Any good picks for coffee virgins? Any other movies we should rent from that big red box? Interested in reading Core? Hope you’ll all join me next Wednesday for the tale of one amazing squirrel–it’s gonna be nuts!!!

Apr 17 2013

Somebody Like You . . . or Me (Welcome a Contemporary Romance Author with a Southern Flavor)

So I’ve been working hard on the sequel to 18 Things and haven’t felt much like blogging. I’ve wanted to visit other blogs, but I’ve limited myself in order to get some work done . . . hope you’ll forgive me and we can still be friends:-) I just can’t seem to fit social media in and writing *sighs* But this Wednesday I’m back with an interview with a wonderful buddy of mine, author Lynnette Austin, who I met through my Southwest Florida Romance Writer’s Group!

L: Jamie, thanks so much for having me on your blog today.

J: The pleasure is all mine:-) So Lynnette, can you tell us in 20 words or less what your book is about?

L: How about fifty words? I know, I know. That’s bending the rules, but…sometimes you just have to color outside the lines. J

In Somebody Like You, rancher Cash Hardeman loves longneck beers, while heiress Annelise Montjoy prefers champagne. Both have a secret—she’s trying to save her grandfather’s life; he’s trying to save the family ranch. Cash belongs in Maverick Junction, Texas, Annelise in Boston, or could it be they belong together?

J: Sounds fantastic!!! Your book is with Grand Central Publishing. How did your deal come about and how do you like working with them?

L: Nicole Resciniti, agent supreme, sold the three book series to Grand Central. We actually had multiple offers which sure made my heart beat a little faster! After some discussion back and forth between us and the publishing houses, we decided to go with Grand Central. The fun part of this? Our writing group, Southwest Florida Romance Writers, was hosting a conference at the time GCP made their offer. I stopped by Nicole’s, and she shared it with me. We went inside to a houseful of editors down for the conference, all of whom congratulated me on my sale. What could be better?

I love working with Grand Central Publishing. I made a quick trip to New York City last fall to visit a friend and fellow SWFRW and had the opportunity to have lunch with Lauren Plude, my fabulous editor, and Amy Pierpont, senior editor at GCP. Can you say fabulous? It was really great to visit the office and see, as Amy said, where the magic is made. I also got a chance to meet some of the others who work so hard to bring our books to life.

J: Nicole is agent supreme for sure! I’m looking forward to meeting my editor for the first time in July *squeeee* What does your typical writing day look like?

L: Even though I continuously promise myself I won’t, the first thing I do is check my email to see if there’s anything that needs taken care of, anything that won’t wait. Then I pull up my WIP and get busy. I like to work in the mornings, but with tighter deadlines I’ve found myself working most of the day. At the beginning of a book, I figure how many words per day I have to write to meet my deadline and stay at my computer till I get there.

I generally start by reading over what I wrote the previous day and making light edits. Then I pick up where I left off. A quick tip. I’ve found it works so much better for me if I don’t stop writing at a chapter or scene end. I usually quit for the day right at the beginning of a new scene. I write just enough that when I turn on my computer, I remember where I was headed and can jump right back in. I’ve already set the stage. It can really help eliminate what many call writer’s block. There is no where-do-I-go-today moment. I’m already on my way. Also, my storyboard keeps me on track.

I seldom reread what I write that day. By the next morning, I can see it through fresher eyes and make better decisions. Besides, it’s extremely important to keep the story moving forward. It’s really easy to tweak and fiddle around with what you’ve written, but that’s not going to get you to the place where you can type “the end”.

J: Great advice! Somebody Like You takes place in Texas . . . have you ever visited? What’s your favorite place in the world?

L: I have been to Texas, yes, several times—and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each and every visit. It’s a great state and very unique. I’ve covered the state north to south and east to west, and, believe me, there’s some miles to cover there!

My favorite place in the world. Hmmm, that’s a hard one. I’ve lived in Pennsylvania, New York, Wyoming, Florida, and Georgia and love them all. I’ve traveled in Europe, Africa, Central and South America. In North America, I’ve been in all fifty states with the exception of Alaska and have traveled fairly extensively in both Mexico and Canada.

If I had to choose one spot, though, I’d say Bantry Bay, Ireland. Two friends and I rented a small cottage there for a week and fell in love with the small town and its people. The bread in the market is made daily by a local and brought into the small store. The postmistress couldn’t sell us stamps when we arrived because it was too early, so she shared biscuits and tea with us in her living room. Our kitchen window looked out over the green, green hills and farms, and our living room window looked out over the bay with its beautiful blue water. My dream is to return there.

J: Hubs and I visited Ireland for 2 weeks in 1999–would love to go back and visit that small town!

What would you like the world to know about you and your books before you leave?

L: I was a reader long before I started to write. There’s nothing like picking up an incredible book and losing yourself in the story, in the characters and their world. I sincerely hope my books will provide that for readers. A lot of time, thought, and effort go into every single one. I have fun spending time with my characters and hope my readers do, too.

My newest book, Somebody Like You, written as Lynnette Austin, is the first of at least three in the Maverick Junction series. There’s something so sexy about a cowboy, and Cash, Ty, and Brawley, the heroes of the series, have it in spades. Cash and Annie have to fight hard in order to be together. I like strong, independent heroines and a hero that’s every bit as self-confident. The next two books, Nearest Thing To Heaven (June 4, 2013) and Can’t Stop Loving You (November 4, 2013) showcase equally strong heroes and heroines caught in the act of falling in love. Having married my high-school sweetheart, I’m a strong believer in forever love.

I do write under the name Lynnette Hallberg, also. Chantilly Lace and A Pretty Face is a contemporary Western set in Wyoming. Moonlight, Motorcycles, and Bad Boys, along with Just A Little White Lie, are set in small town Georgia. I love to create small towns with all the flavor and quirky characters they seem to grow. Enchanted Evening takes place in Pittsburgh and Night Shadows, a romantic suspense, has that special magic only New Orleans can provide.

I’ve had a great time with you today, Jamie! Thanks again for having me over.

J: Thank YOU! And you’re welcome to stop by any time! If you’d like to get to know Lynnette some more (and who wouldn’t?!), you can find her on FB and Twitter.

*So, are you interested in reading Somebody Like You? It’s only $1.99 for the Kindle version–what a steal! And do you forgive me for being a bad blogger buddy, but a good writer *on hands and knees pleading* Hope to see ya’ll soon~hugs!

Jamie Ayres

Novelist of YA Coming of Age Love Stories with a Paranormal Twist

Category Agents, Authors, Books, Oh My!!!