Crazy Stupid Love Giveaway Hop: Sunshine by Nikki Rae

Hosted by Talk Supe

In support of the New Adult craze, I'm introducing:

Sunshine (Sunshine Series, #1)
by Nikki Rae
ebook, 330 pages
Published January 28th 2013
GoodReads | Amazon

18 year old Sophie Jean is pretty good at acting normal. Sure, she’s not exactly happy, but happiness is nothing compared to being like everyone else. She can pretend she’s not allergic to the sun. She can hide what her ex-boyfriend did to her. She can cover up the scars she’s made for herself. Ignore anything. Forget anything. Then Myles enters her life, and he has more than a few secrets of his own. When accident after accident keeps happening to Sophie, she can’t help noticing that he’s everywhere. That he knows too much. That she’s remembering too much.
It’s one thing covering up her own dark past, but does she really need to worry about people finding out just how much Myles likes her? Or that despite how much she doesn’t want to repeat past mistakes, she kind of likes him back? Not to mention the fact that she now has to conceal that Myles drinks blood-that he says he’s about four hundred years old.
She almost forgot about that part.
But Sophie has no plans to ruin the normal life she has created for herself. She can deal with this little glitch, no problem. Even if word has gotten around to the wrong vampire about Sophie and Myles, even if she’s putting the few people she loves at risk. Suddenly, those who were monsters before are just people, and the monsters? They’re real. Now being a normal human being is the least of her problems. Now she has to stay alive.

About the Author:

Nikki Rae is a student (at Richard Stockton College) and writer who lives in New Jersey. She also works part time at Petsmart and loves animals. When she is not writing, thinking, or reading, she is most likely hanging out with her gecko (Neil Gaiman), drawing in a quiet corner, or drinking tea by the gallon. Sunshine is her first book.

What inspired you to write Sunshine?

A few different things. Mainly, I got really bad sun poisoning on a trip to Aruba with my family (Ugh, it was so horrible).So I basically spent the rest of the trip in a hotel room by myself. Sophie and Myles showed up in the haze of pain and aloe-vera lotion. Some of the story came then, but mostly, I just listened to what they had to say until I broke my knee a year or two later and had nothing else to do. I finally just started writing and writing until I had the first draft.

What's your top three favorite paranormal beings as the male lead in a romance & why?

Oooh. That’s hard. I really like Sin (Swoon by Nina Malkin), who is a golem, Caspian (The Hollow by  Jessica Verday) who is a ghost, and Eric Northman (The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris) who is a Viking vampire. : ) I like them all for different reasons, I guess. They all have different personalities and problems that come with their supernatural abilities. But I think I probably like it most when they seem human.

What's your stand on sex in YA?

Bring it. Lol. No, in all seriousness, I believe that there’s a time and place for it. When I was a young adult, I found it strange that when characters were in love, they never had sex, or if they did, it was off camera. I completely understand why some YA authors would not include sex scenes. YA spans a wide range of ages, some of them on the younger side. The fact of the matter is, if the plot and story point to two characters having sex, they should. The way that’s it’s done is way more important than the fact that it is happening. No one is saying an author has to bust out Fifty Shades of Grey caliber sex scenes (and for the love of god, please don’t), but to just build up to something that your characters, readers, and you know is supposed to happen but doesn’t is cheating them and yourself.

What's your stand on "bad boy" males in YA romance?

I have a love hate relationship with them. Mostly, I kind of get annoyed when there’s a “bad boy” with a heart of gold or something in a book, TV, show, or movie. There’s nothing wrong with them. They can absolutely work, like Noah Shaw in The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, or Sinclair Youngblood Powers in Swoon. They work because there is more to them than just being a “bad boy”.  Noah has a dark past, and Sin wants revenge for something that happened to him. The main problem with the whole “bad boy” thing is that there usually isn’t a reason for it other than for the main character to fall for the guy “from the opposite side of the tracks”. So I guess the simple answer would be: yes, I like the occasional bad boy when it’s done right. : )

Do you prefer damsels in distress, socially awkward, or kick-ass heroines & why?

I prefer a mixture. Similar to the bad boy question, I think it’s okay to have a bad ass or socially awkward heroine as long as they have a reason for it. Are they protecting someone from something? Are they afraid of people for a particular reason? Usually, I can’t STAND damsels in distress. However, I can deal with any type of character as long as they learn and grow from their experiences. 

What's the future of Sunshine?  (series, trilogy, saga, etc)

It’s a series. Right now, there are at least three books, but it will most likely end up being four.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three books would you have?  E-readers are not an option, because they would die rather quickly with no power.

Oh man. I would bring: Tale of The Body Thief by Anne Rice because I never get tired of that book, Who Killed Amanda Palmer: A Collection of Photographic Evidence, because it has beautiful pictures of my hero, Amanda Palmer in it, as well as stories from Neil Gaiman, and probably a book like John Dies At The End because it’s funny.

If Sunshine was adopted into a motion picture would it be a soap opera, prime time weekly show, cable show, or big screen only?

Hmmm…I think it would be kind of cool if it were a movie. I think soap opera would be too overly-dramatic for it, and I don’t feel like you could quite tell the entire story in short half hour or hour segments of a TV show.

Tell us your dream cast.

Oh lord. I never know how to answer this question. I don’t usually find actors that look a whole lot like my characters in my head, but I can try to narrow it down for some of them.
Sophie: Emily Browning (Sucker Punch).

Source

Myles: oh man. It’s hard. Gaspard Ulliel (Hannibal Rising) has his dimple, but Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) kind of has his eyes. Agh. It’s so hard.

Source

Source

Jade: Jade was almost completely made up out of Jade Puget from AFI.

Source

Boo: Aaron Yoo (Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist)

Source

Trei:  Jamie Chung (Once Upon A Time)

Source

Alex: Miss Mosh (alternative model)

Source

Adrienne: Hayden Christensen (Jumper)

Source

Phew, that was hard. Haha.

What 10 songs would be on the musical soundtrack for Sunshine?

It was really hard, but I think I have a list:
1. “Blister in The Sun” by The Violent Femmes
2.  “Sorta Fairy Tale” Tori Amos
3.  “Frozen Creek” by Circa Survive
4.  “Conversation 16” by The National
5.  “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division
6. “Glass Slipper” by The Dresden Dolls
7. “Devil’s Song” by Anthony Green
8. “Out And In And In And Out” by Portugal. The Man 
9. “10lb Mustache” by Man Man
10. “Sun Hands” by Local Natives

We love fashion, so tell us a little about Sophie's style. (Hair, clothes, shoes, etc)

Sophie is definitely unique. She’s got magenta hair. She wears combat boots everywhere. She loves punk and torn jeans and faded band T-shirts. Sophie’s allergic to the sun, so she has to wear a trench coat that covers her extremities while she’s outside, as well as wrap around shades. I’d probably describe her style as a cross between punk/goth/grunge.

I really got a kick out of interviewing Nikki Rae.  I was excited before but now I'm ecstatic!

This blog hop runs from 12:01AM Feb. 21st through to 11:59PM Feb. 28th. 

 This giveaway is US/CAN/Internatiional!
There will be 2 winners!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

{Author Interview/Book Excerpt}: Awakened by Khadija Craddock

About The Novel:

Awakened (Wak, # 1)

by Khadija Craddock 

Ebook

Published November 20th 2012

Alaya Eveland is an aspiring track star at Equinox High in Equinox, Florida. She was beginning to make a name for herself throughout the city for her amazing speed and her infallible track record, but her obsession with being the fastest young woman in the world causes her to kill her mother and herself. Miraculously she was given a second chance at life. However, Alaya is too grief stricken to care much about her school career and only focuses on track and Octavius, a striking mysterious boy in her class. She is drawn to Octavius in ways beyond words, but she doesn't know why. Despite having a best friend and a crush on her teammate Shemroy, she still feels a heavy amount of burden and pain from killing her mother. But it seems maybe she was really better off dead, for she soon learns she needs blood to sustain her life, her father has to kill her for existing, her ex-boyfriend has gone rogue, her favorite adversary has gone missing and people end up dead. Nothing is as it seems and no one is who they say; not even Alaya.

I had the same dream I usually have. I'm in a world of swirling washed out colors of chiffon skirts with no bodies inside of them. They twirl forming shapes and silhouettes of human figures. They twirl to a moist rhythm. It’s a rhythmic sound of bones and flesh; like biting through watermelon. 

The scene changed. There is a white sterile box with four glass windows with a window on each wall; seamless and no shades. I’m lying in the middle of this box, fetal position on the floor. I hear a loud thumping pulsing obnoxiously in my ear, reverberating in every cell of me; throbbing and warming me. I look up like someone called my name and I see a pair of tremendous, gleaming, maroon colored eyes absorbing me. They appear sad, wistful, and dangerous. In a blink the lights go out, but this time the throbbing pulse didn’t ebb and my body temperature continued to rise. The lights flashed back on after a few seconds. The windows were now covered with a crimson mud and the pulse throbbed on, creating waves with every beat and every pound. I hunched my body closer into itself as the stark pain that seemed to start from my throat and radiate throughout the very core of me, seized me. I convulsed and twitched with each moan that escaped my lips. This time my dream was more intense and real. I never felt any dry pain in my throat before.

Is this real? I need to wake up from this demanding anguish. I cinched my eyes shut instinctively from the pain like how abdominal muscles contract and heave automatically in a bath that’s too hot. 

Unexpectedly I’m hit against the side of my face with something hard. I open my eyes to see what or who hit me in the face. I was confused; I was actually lying on something hard and dark. It looked like wood, I could tell by the grains, which I could see clearly since the side of my face was smashed against the cold surface. I didn’t get smacked in the face. I must’ve fallen out the bed—hard. The side of my face ached but not as much as something else. I roughly placed an open hand on my face dragging my skin down.

“Ah! What the hell...” I sucked in air through pursed lips. “Ah!” I collapsed my body into.

The aching pain saturated my body and oddly enough my throat, just like the dream. I was engulfed in a muted darkness as the moon gave way to a subtle blue luminous. I tried to lift myself up, but it felt like trying to lift an elephant. I finally realized the aching pain and feebleness was hunger. I managed to heft myself off the floor with the help of my bed and sat on the edge of it. I need to eat something. I scraped myself from the edge of my queen size mahogany canopy bed with white chiffon fabric draped around the canopy hanging down loosely at each post. I waded to the door with heavy feet. I hugged myself tight; but it only made it difficult for the pain to escape my body, but it was still comforting, and so I hugged on.  I dragged myself down the stairs sliding my body along the black walnut banister.  Any second I just know my knees will give. The house was dark and lonely except this perpetual pain that seemed to have a presence of its own. The last thing I remember was walking into that darkness.

When I woke up I was lying on the floor, I could tell because it was cold, hard, and smooth. There was another source of coldness radiating from somewhere near and a soft hum from the same location. I rubbed at the sleep in my eyes and realized I was lying in front of the open fridge. One might say I was sleeping in it.

What the heck!  

I blinked trying to remember how I got here and why. I sat up with a stretch and a yawn, then I looked down and there was food sprawled around me, well what was left of food. I got up and brushed the debris off my boxers and tee. I looked down and blinked rapidly at what I saw.  I threw my hand over my mouth trying to keep the vomit from pooling out as I gagged. Did I eat that?  I picked up an empty package of raw steak. What the hell is going on with me…why did I eat all this stuff? For one Bataar doesn’t even let me eat red meat; that was for him.

I closed the now empty refrigerator door. I gagged once more but this time I had to run to the bathroom to release what my body didn’t want or what my brain told me was disgusting.

What inspired you to write Awakened?

I love to read fantasy and paranormal romance novels, among others, but I noticed there aren’t many books in that genre that have a protagonist of color. I wanted to write a book that represented my African heritage. There is rich and vast African and African American history that I think should be shared no matter what race you are. I was doing research on African religion and mythology for another book I started to write. I came across the Oromo culture of the Kushites. They believe in the creator god Wak or Waaq. I found it interesting and thought this would make for a great vampire story, but I had to put that in the back burner because I was already working on a project. However my brain had other plans. While writing in the kitchen I had a vision. I couldn’t ignore the vision because I knew this would be the opening to my book and so I wrote it down and still I put it aside. Yet it was tugging at my heart and so I proceeded to end the latter project for the new one.

Your GoodReads bio stated that you used to be a substitute teacher.  Were any characters in this book inspired by former students?

Oh yes. I may not be a full-time teacher but I was very passionate about my students, especially the ones I had the pleasure of getting to know. I had the pleasure of teaching English and Creative Writing for Barringer 9th grade Academy for almost the whole school year and I loved them. They inspired me to be a better writer and I wanted to be a wonderful teacher for them. The first book I worked on before I was inspired to write Awakened contained many characters that was inspired by those students. Awakened was inspired by the class I taught after I was dismissed from that class. At West Side High I taught high school seniors and juniors and they were just lovely. I adored them I can be a little verbose, I know, I’m sorry but I can talk about these kids for days lol. Octavius, Shemroy, Alaya and Tori were inspired by my students.

What's your top three favorite paranormal beings?

Vampires, werewolves, and did I say vampires?

What's your stand on sex in YA?

I think sex is a major part of society and nature. There is no escaping it; even if you live in a dungeon your whole life. Ultimately your body will develop those thoughts and feelings even if you don’t know it’s called sex. Most young adults are already having conversations or thoughts about sex and yes some are active participants. I’m not saying a YA book should be explicit, of course not, but if a YA book ignores it than it’s not a YA book. It’s not realistic and readers won’t be able to relate. A YA book doesn’t even have to contain sex but it should address it and I think it should be addressed in multi ways depending on the story of course and the author.

What's the future of WAK?  (series, trilogy, saga, etc)

My plan is for Awakened to be a trilogy. The second book is called Descendant; to be released in December 2013.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three books would you have?  E-readers are not an option, because they would die rather quickly with no power.

It would be nice if they made solar powered E-readers. Someone should market that just in case such a scenario does occur. Well let’s see, I will probably take Twilight by Stephanie Meyers, Whoreson by Donald Goins, and My blood Approves by Amanda Hockings. Whew! That was tough for the little vacillator living in my head.

If Awakened was adopted into a motion picture, tell us your dream cast.

That’s actually something I was thinking of sharing on my author’s blog at http://outsidetheouside.blogspot.com. It just so happens I have a picture of each main character that I found on the internet that matched my idea of how I wanted my characters to look. It’s all in my One Note notebook. For Alaya I would want Kaone Kario and Yasmin Warsame to play Shana, Alaya’s mother. Terrell Carter or Maël Caloc or Kofi Siriboe for Octavius. Raldon Lumpkins (someone I saw on the internet not a celebrity lol) or actor Sterling Sulieman for Shemroy.  Brandon Fobbs, Jordan Fisher, or Romeo for Kinua. Bryan Ikenna Okwara or Brad James for Mr. Lomai. For Tori I would l love to have Amira Ahmed. Adris Alba for Bataar. I like Amina to be played by model Milan or Sundai Love. I want Tom to be played by Lucas Medeiros. You can find more character information at my blog or at http://www.shelfari.com/books/31811843/Awakened-%28Wak-Series%29 .

What 5 songs would be on the musical soundtrack for Awakened?

Okay Katrina I know you said five but I had to add one more.

·         Across the Ocean- Azure Ray

·         Let it be me- Ray Lamontagne

·         Fade into you- Mazzy Star

·         Breathless- Corinne Bailey Rae

·         Outside- Staind

·         My Way Home- Kanye West ft. Common

In Awakened, Alaya has an obsession with "speed".  If Awakened was adopted into a video game, would it be on Nintendo WII or Xbox 720?

It would be for Xbox 720 easily. A track and field game would be fun…I think they made that already. Ha! I don’t think they have a vampire game. Lol, can you imagine?

We love fashion here, so tell us a little about Alaya's style. (Hair, clothes, shoes, etc)

I too love fashion and I tried to represent that in the story. Alaya has big beautiful curly hair that she likes to flaunt by wearing it down. She is a lover of vintage from her vintage GTO to her collection of vintage tees. She always dresses in something chic and stylish even if it’s something simple and comfortable; but it will be stylish and chic. Her father, Bataar, always brings Alaya something vintage from his business trips. Although she loves vintage she does a modern take on it and all her shoes go perfectly with each outfit. I must say I’m jealous of her wardrobe.



Links:

Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AB0XWHW
Author's Blog: http://outsidetheoutside.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/undone_ebook
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorkhadijacraddock
GoodReads (Author): http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4637224.Khadija_Craddock
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/khadijacraddock

Thanks so much for visiting!  Khadija is an Indie/Self Pub author.  Be sure to show her some love!

Tour Stop {Author Interview}:Mad World: Sanctuary by Samaire Provost

Mad World: Sanctuary (Mad World #2)
by Samaire Provost
Paperback, 214 pages
Published August 30th 2012 by Creatspace

The year is 2017, and the Black Plague infection has swept across most of the United States, leaving death and chaos in its wake. Martial law is the rule rather than the exception, with outbreaks cropping up when they're least expected. Alyssa and her friends must not only battle outbreaks of the disease, but also find themselves pursued by government agents – men and women determined to track them down at any cost.
Fleeing north to the fabled Sanctuary, Alyssa, Jacob, DeAndre, Caitlyn, Risa and Luke face disturbing ordeals and terrible tragedy as they encounter unbelievable situations in their struggle to reach safety. Using their skills and wits in their fight to survive against ever worsening odds, they weather hardship, betrayal, and the ever-present specter of death as they flee north, all the while vowing to protect one another – and most of all their precious 5-year-old Luke, from a world gone mad.
Sanctuary, the second installment in the Mad World series, is a heart-rending adventure of astonishing revelations, tragic discoveries, agonizing separations and devastating losses that test these friends to their limits. With heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat suspense at every turn, this is a story you will not be able to put down.
Find out what happens next.

1.     Talk or Text? 
Talk. I like real conversations. That being said, if I am apart from my best friend, the texting will be fast and furious.

2.     Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
 Cyber Monday. Although I am not one for shopping, I prefer to do it online.

3.     New York or Miami?  
Ooh, that's a hard one. I love sunshine and beaches, so Miami would be great. But I also want to visit NYC someday and go to all the museums and see some Broadway Plays.  So, it's a tie, I guess.

4.     What's your favorite favor ice cream? 
I love Chocolate Mousse Royale from Baskin Robbins.

5.     Cable or internet? 
Internet, definitely.

6.     Facebook or Twitter? 
I love both, but I'm much more active on Facebook.

7.     If you can be any character in your novel, who and why?  
I'd like to be Risa. She is so brave, it really become apparent in books 3 & 4.

8.     What inspired you in writing this novel?  
I'd just finished reading a zombie apocalypse novel and I wanted to give the genre a try. I thought I could add to the offerings.  I love writing about strong females, and this series definitely has it's share.

9.     What motivated you in writing this novel? 
I began writing the first in the series, EPIDEMIC, and the more the characters spoke to me, and told me about their journey, and I saw how brave and courageous they were, I became more and more motivated to tell their story.

10.  What makes your zombies so scary? (Are they traditional zombies or cyborg zombies from out of space?)
They are more traditional zombies, and what makes them scary is: they're evolving.  Learning.  Getting stronger.

11.  What makes the hero(ine) badass?  
There are several heroes in SANCTUARY, and what makes them so badass is their sheer bravery and courage, and their willingness to do anything to get the job done, whether that is a rescue, or just getting through a bad situation.

12.  How's the weather in Cali?
It's been a bit cold this winter... I can't wait for the sunshine to return.

About the Author 

Born naked. Clothed and fed shortly thereafter by adoring parents who looked on in bemusement as their daughter became a reading, writing, free-spirited, feral, animal loving, bleeding-heart chocolate lover who laughs easily. Samaire Provost is a California writer of Young Adult novels. Her love of paranormal stories, odd plots, and unique tales as well as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, E.A.Poe, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and Stephen King has deeply influenced her writing. 

Connect with Samaire!

Facebook | Twitter  | Goodreads | Amazon | Blog

This Tour Stop is courtesy of CLP Blog Tours !

ARC Review {Author Interview/Giveaway}: Heartbeat by Faith Sullivan

Heartbeat
by Faith Sullivan
Paperback, 214 pages
Expected publication: February 5th 2013 
Amazon | GoodReads
My Review: ♥♥♥♥

Katie and Adam are afraid of love.
She carries the scars of a first kiss gone terribly wrong.
He uproots his life to flee the stinging betrayal of an ex.
When trust is no longer an option, all romance is suspect.
As a young paramedic, Adam rescues people for a living but cannot save himself. Katie, just out of high school, struggles with a tortured home life she cannot escape.
Everything changes when Katie hops into the front seat of Adam's ambulance. Overwhelmed by what they are feeling, neither possess the confidence to make the first move. They walk away from each other, full of regret.
To find her, Adam risks his future. To be with him, Katie sacrifices her security.
Little do they know, what little time they do have, is being measured by a heartbeat that is slowly dying out.

It’s always an honor to be among the first to review a debut novel of an Indie author.  I was pleasantly surprised to be approached. While I assumed from the cover and synopsis, this would be a love story, I wasn't nearly as prepared for the intense emotional impact of this literary journey.

Heartbeat was such the almost perfect soul mate story. I say almost because there were colossal hurdles woven into the scenario. Reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, the world was totally against these two.  Katie is a sickly recent high school graduate living at home with her granny and father. Adam is a paramedic with emotional baggage. They meet by chance due to a car accident and thus begin their saga. It's not by far a smooth wooing. These two have social issues, villains, and haters.

After the initial meeting is a series of near misses with a lot of longing and fantasizing that'll make you (the reader) swoon. The composition is genius! It's broken down into nice short chapters that had me whipping through and before I knew it I was done. There's alternating points of view so you can get the full spectrum of the two lovebirds. I was a tad disappointed with the transition from infatuation to physical. I expected the piano playing scene to have a theatrical flair considering how the hug blew me away. Overall this was a nicely crafted dramatic romance and bitter sweet novel.

I would definitely recommend to drama fans, New Adult seekers and standalone novel fanatics.  Big Thanks to the author for entrusting me with an honest review.

Great story! What was your inspiration for this story?

To remind all of the jaded single people out there (myself included), that taking a chance on love is worth the risk.

The characters seemed so realistic.  Is there a real life Katie and Adam out there?

Alas, they are only the product of my imagination.

What was the motivation in choosing this particular setting?

The frigid, winter landscape is almost a character in and of itself. I wanted to show through this freezing cold setting that love can penetrate any darkness in the soul. Adam and Katie are loners, but they are able to shine a bit of light into each other's worlds. Through the small town Pennsylvania setting, my goal was to show how confined and limiting such a location can be, until of course you find the right person to share it with. Then that's all you need to feel happy, no matter where you are.

Is there a real medical term for Kate’s condition?

She suffers from Immunodeficiency (or Immune Deficiency).

What was the motivation of having multiple villains?

Since HEARTBEAT is told through alternating points-of-view between Adam and Katie, I wanted each of them to have to face their own villain. Katie has to deal with her controlling father, while Adam is pitted against Chuck, his troublesome co-worker.

Are you a fan of the “Happily Ever After”?

Actually, I'm not. I like to read stories that end well from time to time, but as a writer I tend to gravitate more toward generating an emotional response in the final pages.

Will you continue writing New-Adult novels?  What’s next?

Absolutely. Right now, I'm working on UNEXPECTED, a New Adult contemporary romance set in New York City, circa September 11, 2001.

I like that your bio reveals nothing and you encourage your fans to seek out information via conversation. 

I don't intend to be so mysterious, LOL. I'd rather the writing just speak for itself. Plus I'm not all that interesting. My characters have way more exciting lives than mine.

So here’s a few things  I’m curious to know:

Peanut Butter or Nutella?

I love a generous slice of peanut butter pie.

Coffee or Tea?

I have to have a mug of decaffeinated tea every night.

Facebook or Twitter?

I'm Twitter obsessed. I'd love for you to follow me @_FaithSullivan_

Favorite show on television right now?

There's so many, but right now I'd have to say BEING HUMAN.

Favorite novel?

I'm an admirer on how Beth Revis' likes to throw the reader off guard in her ACROSS THE UNIVERSE trilogy.

Favorite author?

I think Lauren Oliver's ending to DELIRIUM is one of the most gut wrenching chapters I have ever read.

Physical book or e-book?

Either or, I enjoy both.

Favorite Musical artist?

I'm a fan of the gritty authenticity in Pink's voice.

Favorite Song?

I find "Hey Ho" by the Lumineers to be the theme song for HEARTBEAT.

Whose your all-time favorite American Idol?

Hands down, David Cook.

Super Bowl 2013: 49ers or Ravens?

I have no clue when it comes to football...baseball, on the other hand, is a different story.

Favorite APP game?

Unlike Katie in HEARTBEAT, I love Words with Friends.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Author Interview & Giveaway}: A Shade Of Vampire by Bella Forrest

After reading the debut novel, A Shade Of Vampire (Review here), the author Bella Forrest joins us for Q&A and a giveaway:

This novel was released on December 14th and already has had almost 13,000 downloads, and it is ranking #27 in Amazon's free best seller's list.

1) Who designed your cover?

I designed the cover myself.

2) What was the inspiration behind it's title and design?

a) The design:
The inspiration comes from the Blood Shade – the dark island where the story
is set. It’s a unique place in that, whilst it’s dangerous and threatening, it’s also
magical and enchanting.
b) The title:
I won’t reveal my inspiration for this now because it may give away some things
that are to come in the next few books.

3) What inspired you to write this story?

A man I loved, who passed away much younger than he should have.

4) What inspired the setting?

You know, I’m not really sure how to answer this. It pretty much just appeared, fully
formed in my head.
I’m very visual by nature. When I sit down to write an outline for a novel, it’s almost
like I’m creating a movie. Stories form in my head as if I were watching a film.
And I just “saw” this setting. After that, I looked for images that sort of matched my
vision to help with the description.

5) What authors do you admire and why?

Oh, there are so many!
But for the purposes of this interview, I’ll list three:
1) Jane Austen. I’ve read most of her novels at least three times. I’m a hopeless
romantic and her characters and stories feed my addiction. They were just made for
me!
2) JK Rowling. In my view, she is one of the most incredible story-tellers of our time.
Needless to say, I’m a major Potter fan.
3) C.S. Lewis. His excellent books were such a huge part of growing as a reader when
I was a child. I still revisit his stories to this day, from time to time.

6) Do you consider this novel YA (young adult) or NA (New Adult)?

I’d classify this as young adult.

7) What inspired you to tackle the taboo topic of Stockholm syndrome/capture bonding?

Honestly, I’d never even heard of this syndrome before you mentioned it - I had to
Google it! So I was not tackling this topic at all.
I was just writing a love story.

8) What message to you want to convey to your readers?

Essentially when I write stories, I write about love. But I don’t write with the
intention of conveying a particular message. I get too lost in my own world for that.

9) I've never heard of Sofia's unusual mental condition. Will this be to her advantage in future novels?

Quite possibly!

10) Surely there's a sequel in the future! When can we expect more?

I’ve already told readers about three months. But I’ve also told them not to murder me
if it’s slightly later! Every day I get readers writing to me to hurry up. I really don’t
like thinking about deadlines when I write, but I promise I’m trying my best!

UPDATE(1/3/13): 
The author has extended this giveaway for another few days, 
also to include International shipping.
Oh, and the book will be signed!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Can't wait for the giveaway to end?
Buy it now on Amazon:

{Author Interview}: The Promise by D.D. Chant

The Promise (The Lady Quill Chronicles, #1)
by D.D. Chant
GoodReads | Amazon

Dear Reader,
I wish to tell you a tale that began with a promise destined to change the lives of many.
When only a child, Lady Adele of Berron lost her family during a dreadful battle and was betrothed to a stranger.
Lord Rafe of Valrek, only a boy himself when the battle of Calis raged, grew to be a feared warrior and trusted advisor to his King. But sadness filled his past and Adele served only to remind him of all he had lost.
However the promise that bound these two together caused great anger to some.
What, Dear Reader, happened in those days of treachery and darkness? Incline your ear that I may whisper the secrets that you so desire to hear......
Lady Quill

Q: Do you like classic novel remakes or do you prefer the original?
I prefer the original but sometimes the remakes can be fun!

Q: Where do you see your writing 20 years from now?  (Will you still be YA?)
Yes, my books will always be sweet romances because that is what I like to read myself.

Q: What inspired you to base "The Promise" in Saxon England?
I love historical romance and it was the perfect setting for the story I had in mind. The plot focuses on honour and loyalty, in particular the loyalty between the foster brothers that they put over and above everything else.

Q: How did you come up with the names of the characters?
Apart from Rafe and Adele’s names which I chose because I thought they fit their characters best, all of the others are Saxon names.

Q: Is the romance in this novel based on a true story?
I think that the awkwardness and uncertainty is definitely something that we can all relate to but it isn’t a romance that has actually happened no.

Q: Will there be a sequel?
Yes! ‘The Promise’ is the start of a series called ‘The Lady Quill Chronicles’ each book will centre on a different foster brother but they are all tied together by the same story arc. There will be at least 5 books in the series.

Q: What's the hardest thing about writing a "love story"?
I think the first 30.000 words are the hardest as you’re still feeling out the story and the characters. Also not getting too excited! Sometimes you have so many ideas filling your head and you have to rein in and remember to slow down, especially toward the end.

Q: What's the easiest thing about writing a "love story"?
When you’re over 30.000 words and the story starts to take shape, you know your characters and you know exactly where you’re going next.

Q: Do you ever worry your content could be too steamy for underage readers?
Lol! No, that’s not a problem for me! To me romance is about the little things, the things that are mundane and only mean so much because they are between you and that particular person. Like sitting on the same small bench with the person that you're attracted to, you might sit next to someone on a bus or on the tube and not really notice the proximity. But because this is them it suddenly becomes a big deal, you're aware of every inch that separates you and feel  every breath he takes. That is what I love reading about: the emotions that are inspired by this person just being there! That  is what romance means to me anyway!

Q: In general: Cliff hanger or happy ending?
Depends: if there is going to be more books I’m fine with a cliff hanger, if not I’m a sucker for a happy ending!

Q: In general: Love triangles....yay or nay?
NAY!!!

I just can’t take it if both guys are nice and one has to be disappointed, it’s not fair!!! Plus if it’s the alpha/beta combination I always want the beta to get the girl and I’m always disappointed!

Q: In general: love at first sight or wooing?
Wooing every time!!! To me love at first sight just means that both leads are shallow and only care about the others appearance. Having someone ‘fall in love’ with you because you’re pretty is NOT a compliment! He doesn’t like you, he couldn’t care less about you, (your personality, your likes and dislikes or your thoughts) the jerk’s only interested in your assets!!!


Q: Anything else you would like to add?
Thank you so much for the interview! I had great fun!!!

About the Author:

Hi everyone!
        My name is Dee Dee, I’m twenty five and I live in a beautiful part of Devon, England with my family. I have a younger sister, Amy who is a brilliant guitar player, some chickens, Duck, geese, pheasants, a cat (that adopted us when we moved in!!!) and some Koi.
        Broken City is actually my second novel. My first, as my Aunt so delicately put it, was crazy but in my defence I was only sixteen at the time. On the plus side I learnt a lot (or so I hope) and two years later ‘Broken City’ was finished. Due to the support I have received from everyone I have just started work on the next in the Broken City series!
        I have written another book ‘The Promise’, which is set in Saxon England it’s the beginning of a series and I have just finished my third book which is set in the distant future and is also the start of a series. It will be available for purchase early next year!!!
        I really hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them.
        I love reading and have a kindle: I read almost anything with adventure and romance in it! I also like to cook and wear impractical high heels!!! And as you might have noticed I have a horrible addiction to exclamation marks!!!

Fun In The Sun Giveaway Hop {Interview/Giveaway}: Silver Knight by Caron Rider

Hosts: Ex Libris and Cari Blogs

Silver Knight
by Caron Rider
Paperback, 278 pages
Published February 24th 2012

When seventeen-year-old Diana recognizes an elderly priest in a video on YouTube, she realizes that reincarnation is real and that she’s been alive before! Every night in her dreams, she relives her past learning that it’s kill or be killed. Now a bishop at the Vatican whom she saved in another life calls on her once more. She is needed to help defeat evil within the catacombs of Rome. But when she arrives in Rome, she meets Alexander – the man of her dreams! Through the centuries she has loved him…betrayed him...been killed by him. Will she give him another chance or this time will she strike first?

Do you have a cyber addition to YouTube (Its okay if you do.)? What inspired you to interwine this particular social network with your plot?

I'm not sure what a cyber addition is but YouTube is such a monster socially with everyone having watched at least 1 video from there at some point. And we hear every day of some YouTube video going "viral." I thought, What better way to initiate part of the plot structure than with a viral video from YouTube?

Aside from YA, what genre would you classify "Silver Knight" ? (I.E. horror, paranormal, thriller, mystery, romance, dystopia, post apocolyptic, etc.)

It's tough because it is a combination of genres. It has some fantasy, paranormal elements, adventure, a little mystery and a bit of romance.

Will there be more to Diana's story, or is this a stand alone book?

There is definitely more to come. In fact, the sequel, Silver Demon, will be released in June.

The synopsis is a bit of a tease. Care to give us a little more intel?

There is a ton that's not in the synopsis but I don't want to give anything away. Basically in Silver Knight we learn about Diana's previous lives and how they relate to her present situation. She dreams of being killed in various horrible ways by a demon that she falls for, but she also betrays him. So now she meets him again while on a mission. What should she do? Other characters are introduced and we learn a bit about them as well and how they relate to Diana. Names are pretty important in Silver Knight.  For instance, Diana is the Roman goddess of the hunt and moon. The ancient symbol for silver is the crescent moon. So I tried to have a thread of unity running throughout the story in several different layers. I really hope you enjoy it!

Your bio on Good Reads states that you were a history teacher. History teachers scare me! With all due respect, Ma'am, what made you transition to writing YA?

Lol. That's the attitude I want to fight! My students HATE history, mainly because they miss out on a lot of the fun, interesting little tidbits. This was my way of showing them that history can be entertaining and to make them curious about what really happened or IF something really happened. Let me stress that this is NOT a history book, but many situations in the book I didn't make up, though I did put my own little twist on it. Then too, I moved away from my students this past year and missed them. So this was a way I could connect with them again.

Were the characters in "Silver Knight" inspired by real students?

No, not any one particular student, but rather a composite. Some reviewers have suggested that Diana doesn't talk like a "typical" teenager but allow it because her character is an old soul. But I actually know similar teenagers. And some of the teenagers who have contacted me about the book have said that they relate to her. So I think I hit a good balance.

Anything else you would like to add?

It's not a long story (about 280 pages in paperback), so it's a light, entertaining read that I hope makes you curious about history. Thanks so much for interviewing me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Interview/Guest Post: Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal

Jessamine by Eugenia O'Neal

Jessamine tells the story of Grace Hylton, an African-American, who arrives on the Caribbean island of St. Crescens full of doubts about her husband’s political aspirations, doubts about her marriage and doubts about the wisdom of relocating. Her native-born husband, Julian, has lived most of his adult life in the States but has come back to St. Crescens, determined to pull his country out of the cauldron of corruption, nepotism and crime into which the leading political dynasty has taken it.

An architect by training, Julian buys and restores Jessamine, an old Great House. What the Hyltons don’t know is that Jessamine is home to the ghost of Arabella Adams who lived there as a governess during the late 1800s.

Jessamine is told from the alternating viewpoints of the two women – both foreigners, both married to local men. An old injustice binds them across the century that separates them, but can Grace discover its roots before St. Crescens is plunged into violence and chaos?

Your bio states you're from the British Virgin Islands, and the main character travels there.  How are the events in the story influenced by your history? 

Jessamine is actually set on the fictional island of St. Crescens which is where Grace Hylton goes to live after her St. Crescian husband decided to give up being an architect in Philadelphia and return home.  He left the island after graduating from high school but has been back on visits and has grown increasingly discontented with the corruption of the island's political leaders so he forms his own political party, the People's National Party, and is running in elections slated for later that year.  Grace comes to join him and offer her support.

St. Crescens isn't based on any one island in particular.  A reader from St. Croix, St. Lucia or from Babados or any other island might recognize elements.  For example, St. Crescens erupts in violence when black people become unhappy with their lack of advancement and with the level of taxation and repression.  A lot of Caribbean islands actually went through that experience - on Tortola a riot destroyed almost all the houses in the capital in 1859, Jamaica had the Morant Bay rebellion in 1865, Barbadians rioted in 1865 and St. Croix had its Fireburn in 1879.

Is this story a spin off or were perhaps influenced from one of your previously published short stories in The Caribbean Writer?

I'd say the story was most influenced by a visit I made to one of St. Lucia's old churches back in the 1990s and by all the Caribbean history I've read.

Is this YA friendly?  (Is there any explicit content not suitable for teen readers?)

There is a self-pleasuring scene which I'd rate as spicy and there are a couple of lovemaking scenes which are quite tame by the standards of the day but YA seems to require a lot of action and I wouldn't say Jessamine has a lot of that.

One GoodReads other beta readers have labeled this book as a mystery.  Is it?

Yes, in a way.  Grace sets out to find the answers that Arabella wants or needs and clues have to be decoded.

Is this a stand alone novel, or will there be more to this tale?

Stand alone though I may set other stories in St. Crescens and may return to the characters.  Or not.

 

I've heard through the web vine that you often include actual history lessons within your fictional novels.  In your guest post you can discuss the eras you like to write about either in your new release or previous published novels.

 

Slavery in the British-ruled islands and countries of the Caribbean came to an end on 1^st August, 1834 and today we celebrate that important event with festival parades, re-enactments and so on. Few people think about what happened after the Emancipation Proclamation was read – about its impact on societies which, for hundreds of years, had been based on a sugar economy that was dependent on slave labour. Changing a culture or a way of life has never been easy and it wasn’t easy to transform societies that had defined themselves by the enslavement of black people.  It took scores of years to heal those societies and create equality. Some might argue that, even now, despite the tourist ads, we’re still not there yet.

I was in a very old church in St. Lucia looking at murals which had been painted in the early 1900s of Biblical scenes in blackface when the character of Arabella came to me. I can’t really explain how that happened, just that I knew there was a woman and that she was dead and that she had seen terrible things and that these things had happened after slavery.

In Barbados, they had a folk-song they made up when emancipation was near “Licks and Lock-up done with” which revealed the hopes of the people for what their life would be like. In fact, abolitionists and missionaries and, of course, the slaves themselves were very optimistic about what freedom would mean for them. Their optimism was somewhat misplaced. Even before the end of slavery, planters in the West Indies were having a hard time turning a profit. By the early 1800s, the glory days of West Indian planters were well behind them. Hurricanes, droughts and competition from other sugar colonies drove many of them into bankruptcy while the rest hung on, desperate to survive.

The Mother Country was unsympathetic. In 1846, the British Government passed the Sugar Duties Equalisation Act which had the effect of lowering the import duty on sugar coming from non-British colonies. The effect on the planters was devastating. By 1852, 464 sugar and coffee plantations had gone out of business in Jamaica and by 1858 sugar production in Grenada fell by half. All of the West Indian islands were reeling.

Growers in Central and South America were already out-producing them and, in Europe itself, beet had been identified as a source of sugar. With the abolition of slavery, planters in the British West Indies lost their free labour, while their competitors in Spain’s colonies did not as slavery would continue there into the late 1870s.  Planters were compensated for the loss of their slaves but they had failed to centralize their operations as the Cubans did and to modernize. The mountainous conditions also made it hard for them to mechanize. Unable to adapt, they resorted to trying to force the freed labourers to remain on the plantations despite the pitifully poor wages they offered.

Workers who moved off the plantations were taxed more heavily than those who remained. They taxed the people on their horses, their goats, their fishing boats, etc.  In the Virgin Islands, a move to raise taxes resulted in a riot which destroyed most of the houses in the capital, Road Town in 1853. More than ten years later, in Jamaica, more than a dozen whites associated with the repression of the people were killed in an uprising that was brutally quelled by the Governor and militia. By the end of the Morant Bay uprising in 1865 more than 600 blacks are thought to have lost their lives. Eleven years later, in 1876, blacks in Barbados rioted for mostly the same reasons. Eight rioters lost their lives and 400 were jailed. These uprisings and rebellions occurred up and down the Caribbean and were a direct result of the repressive measures the planter-control assemblies and the planters, themselves, instituted to keep the former slaves and their descendants working on the plantations for next to nothing.

This is the context in which the story of Jessamine takes place. It is the setting for Arabella’s half of the story but it is set on the fictional island of St. Crescens which meant that I could manipulate events to my purposes. Emancipation wasn’t a magic wand that, once waved, made everything all right. Freedom and the right to such simple things as the vote and the ability to choose where you wanted to work had to be fought for. Many people sacrificed their lives for those principles. Jessamine is my salute to them.

Expected publication: June 2012

GoodReads (novel) |  Facebook (author) |GoodReads (author) | Amazon