Author Interview: S.R. Johannes author of Untraceable

Praise for Untraceable:

"Grace is a spunky, independent, nature girl who doesn't need a boy to save her. With wilderness survival, a juicy love triangle, and more twists and turns than a roller coaster, this fast-paced novel had me holding my breath until the very last page—and still begging for more!"  
-Kimberly Derting, author of the The Body Finder 

"This thrilling story is a dramatic entanglement of mystery, deception and teen romance. The action flows like a brisk mountain stream interspersed with rapids, holding suspense to last page." 
- Kirkus Reviews

A little about Shelli and how she got into writing:

I have been in marketing since I got an MBA. When I had my daughter I had five months off and started writing an idea I got when my hubby and I travelled to his home in the UK. I think my daughter showed me I could create beautiful things from nothing.

Can you tell us a little about your novel, Untraceable?

It is a contemporary wilderness thriller. Think of a modern day Katniss in Hunger Games mixed with the setting of Gary Paulson's Hatchett. Grace's father is a ranger and goes missing in a national park. She is determined to find him and discovers horrible secrets that cost her alot.

Where did you get the idea for Untraceable?

My hubby came home one day from camping and said "I was so deep in the woods, crazy people could do anything and get away with it." A year later, I went to Cherokee NC and stumbled upon the bear pits there. Those two ideas came together and Untraceable was born.

I really like the cover of Untraceable. Who designed it and did you have much say in the designing process?


I was in luck that I did. Vania at VLC_photo.net did the photography. I gave her some ideas and told her my idea and she brought it to life. I love it and it turned out better that I expected.

Your main character Grace, has lived in the wilderness her whole life. Do you think you could live in the wilderness and have the skills to survive?

Ha! Alone-I wouldn't last a minute. I could if my hubby was with me.

Untraceable is the first book in The Nature of Grace series. How many books will be in the series?

I know there is a second one but I haven't gotten beyond that. It's not a planned trilogy but there is more issues Grace can tackle. Right now, Uncontrollable (book 2) is scheduled for summer 2012. It will be set in winter.

Why should we read Untraceable?

So my kids can eat? :) Kidding. My book is contemporary. It is a "stay up late and night and read." It is not paranormal. It is not dystopian. It is not fantasy. It is a real girl, in a real world trying to make a difference.

Some of Shell's Christmas favourites:

Favourite Christmas song: Silent Night



Favourite Christmas read: Elf on a Shelf


Favourite Christmas movie: Hmmm, it's either Christmas Vacation or Christmas Story.




What do you want left under your Christmas Tree this year? Nothing. Everything I want wouldn't fit :)

Untraceable is available in paperback and ebook at Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and other sellers.

Follow:

@srjohannes
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IMM #24

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren were everyone puts up the books they have bought, received or got from the library!
 
 
 
Hey! This is my last In My Mailbox of the year! This time next week it will be Christmas Day (*dances around the room*) I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I have had a great book year and I hope to have an even better one next year, as well as celebrate my 1st blogoversary in March! Thank you to everyone who has followed, commented or just read my posts, I heart you all! This week on the blog is know exception with loads of great posts with the run up to Christmas which I hope you will check out throughout the week, with review of A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton a January 2012 debut, a review of Shift by Jeri- Smith Ready, along with author interviews from Jeffery David Payne author of Far From War, April Barbosa, Shelli Wells and Jeyn Roberts author of one of my fave 2011 debuts, Dark Inside. Finally this weeks YA Feature is author M.C.Moore with The UK Faerie Ring Blog Tour stopping by with an interview and giveaway along with the Midsummer Eve Hop starting on Wednesday with a massive swag pack giveaway on my blog.Phew, such a busy week we will be having, now onto my IMM this week!
 
 
This week I received one book for review!
 
Airel (The Airel Saga #1) by Aaron Patterson & Chris White
 
Airel (The Airel Saga, #1)
 
 
I received this book for review which I will be posting in February as part of the Airel-Arson Pyxis Blog Tour. Thanks to StoneHouse Ink Publishing for sending it. www.StoneHouseInk.net
 
My brother gave me my Christmas money early so I decided with some of it to buy a few books I wanted, Check them out:
 
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
 
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium, #1)
 
 
I have been debating whether to buy this book for a while. I really want to see the movie that just released with Daniel Craig so I thought now was a good time to pick up the book. Anyone else read it? Opinions?
 
Unleashed (Wolf Spring Chronicles #1) by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie
 
Unleashed (Wolf Springs Chronicles, #1)
 
 
I have been wanting  to read this book since I first saw it a few weeks ago. It sounded really good, I like wolf stories so I am hoping this is good. I also read the Wicked series by Nancy and Debbie and I loved it so I can't wait to read this.
 
The Girl From World's End by Leah Fleming
 
The Girl from World's End
 
 
I don't know if you guys know this about me but I love fiction romance books set during both the World Wars. My mum loves to read these sort of books and she got me into them. YA is my first love but I have a soft spot for these sort of books.
 
What did you get in your mailbox?
 
*NOTE: The UK Faerie Ring blog tour by Kiki Hamilton kicked off yesterday which I organised. Click this link to see the current posts up on some great blogs with reviews, guest posts and giveaways!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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YA Feature: Introducing YA author Jessie Harrell



*NOTE: This week's post is a day late as my internet went down, sorry!*


This week on Reading Away The Days YA Feature is YA author, Jessie Harrell. Jessie is the author of her debut novel, Destined! Check out the interview with Jessie and leave a nice comment below! Enjoy!

A little about Jessie:


I'm a creative person by nature, but ended up in the law, which doesn't allow much creative freedom.  I've been scrapbooking for years and have always enjoyed crafts and photography as creative outlets, but hadn't written creatively since high school until a few years ago.  At the time, my husband suggested that "we" write children's books, because (his words) "how hard can that be?" and I quickly learned it was WAY harder than it looked.  But when I sat down to write Psyche's story, the words just seemed to flow.  And I fell in love with writing.


Can you tell us a little about Destined your debut novel?



Destined is a retelling of the myth of Cupid & Psyche, but it's different from the other retellings on the market because Destined is not set in the present day. Destined is firmly rooted in ancient Greece, yet the writing and dialog is fresh (has a very modern feel), so it should not be hard for today's readers to become immeshed in the past.  But more than that, Destined is a story about love, loss and redemption.  The summary from the back of the book probably says it best:

"When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.

Destined is a fresh and heartachingly romantic retelling of the Cupid & Psyche myth from debut novelist, Jessie Harrell."

Where did you get the idea for Destined?

Well, Destined relies heavily on the original myth, of course, and I fell in love with that while I was majoring in Classics in undergrad.  I'm not sure where the ideas for tweaking the story came from really.  I just knew that I wanted Psyche to be strong, and much more than a pretty face. I wanted her to take responsibility for her own actions; I wanted her to have a friend; and I wanted the gods to have real personalities.  From there, it was just brainstorming...

In Destined your main character is given a prophecy of a destiny she can't escape. Do you beileve in destiny? That if something is destined to be you can't change it.


Yes and no.  I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason.  But I also believe that you get back out of life what you put into it.  So, for example, if someone told you that you only had months to live but you refused to accept that and kept a positive attitude, your chances of beating the prediction would be dramatically better than if you rolled over and accepted it. Does that make sense?


The cover for Destined is beautiful! Who designed it and did you have much say in the designing process?

Why, thank you!  I found my designer, Josh Longiaru, on line and we worked together on every aspect of the cover.  We had some basic ideas, but when I found Perri's picture and she agreed to let me use it on the cover, we were really in business.  Josh was great at putting all of the elements together for me and making suggestions, but I had the absolute final say on all aspects of it. SO. MUCH. FUN.

How does it feel to have your debut novel out there for the whole world to read. I would guess exciting and nervous at the same time?

Absolutely. The part that made me the most nervous was sending out the ARCs. Up until that point, only critique partners, my editor, and a collection of beta readers had read it and given me feedback (assuming we don't count the agents who declined representation).  I was terrified that those early reviewers wouldn't like it.  But when the reviews started coming back so favorably, I couldn't wait until release day. It makes me giddy when I see someone on twitter who posts that they've started reading it, or finished it.  I'm just dying to know what people think about it-- good or bad.

Is Destined the first book in a series? If so how many books will there be?

Destined is a stand alone novel.  However, I am outlining another book that will be set in the same ancient-with-a-modern-tone world, but will revolve around another couple and a myth all my own.

Why should we read Destined?

Because it has Greek mythology in it -- what more do you need?  LOL.  Truly, you ask a humbling question and one that I can't express that as well as my reviewers have.  Carina from Germany had this to say in her Goodreads review and I hope it answers your question:

"This is a very seductive and beautiful story which I can recommend to everyone who is looking for a romantic and well written novel. Destined is now definitely one of my favorite books of 2011 because it has everything I want in a story: interesting characters, an exciting storyline and a lovely style of writing."


Thank you to Jessie for the interview. Destined is available to buy now!


Amazon (paperback) or (Kindle)
Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Follow Jessie:
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Author Interview: Megan Curd

A little about Megan's writing career so far:

I actually never imagined myself becoming a writer, but my friend encouraged to try my hand at writing. After some prodding by her, I wrote BRIDGER. It was a blast! Since then I've enjoyed writing as much as I can. I have two books out now, both BRIDGER and FORBIDDEN, and I'm working on the sequel to BRIDGER, as well as a novella for the series. I'm hoping to have the sequel out by this spring. It's been such a blast to write! Having people read my books, well, that's just something I could have never imagined. I'm humbled and excited every time someone buys a copy. :)

Can you tell me a little about Bridger the first book the Bridger series?


Ashlyn is a typical teenager, who has to listen to her grandma tell her stories of their past and the folklore from their country of origin, Ireland. Things get a little out of hand with her best friend as she begins to uncover secrets dealing with her family, and she finds out the stories her grandma has been telling her aren't all just stories! Grandma has quite a history to tell, and Ashlyn finds out just how true fairytales can be.

I really enjoyed writing BRIDGER, and I think readers will have fun jumping into Ashlyn's life! I can't wait to put the sequel out there in the spring.

 Where did you get the idea for Bridger?

To be honest, I called my mom and told her that my friend wanted me to write a book, so we googled "Cool Legends" and found the Irish folklore that became the bedrock of BRIDGER. It was a lot of fun to read the legends, and you really get into the legend more in the sequel as you learn more of the different fae that make up Ashlyn's story.

Bridger is the first in a series how is work coming on the next book?

I'm about halfway through writing it. My husband is actually on paternity leave, so I'm hoping I get close to finishing it before he goes back to work. That is, providing my son lets me write! He's four months old, so he's he boss of the house, of course. :)


You recently released the first in The Guardian Chronicles, Forbidden can you tell us a little about it? 

Oh man, I love FORBIDDEN! :) I really enjoyed the interactions between the characters, and getting to know each of them. It sounds crazy, but they really wrote the book. Levi is a Guard, and he's watching over Hannah. He's forbidden to interact with her or let her know he exists, but he's too attracted to her to not give in. When he does, all hell breaks loose - literally! It's a fast paced read, and I think readers will enjoy the interactions between the characters.

Where did you get the idea for Forbidden?

I actually had a dream about a guy who had been condemned and was trying to gain redemption. It was kind of ironic, actually, because I went to church after waking up! I spent the whole service thinking about it, and wrote the first three chapters on my iphone in the car after the service. (Not a safe/smart move, but there you have it!) :)

Both your books have paranormal elements to them. Would you like to try any other genres in the furture i.e. dystopian, contempory etc

I've contemplated possibly writing a dystopian, but I'm not sure if I could write a book without any otherworldlies in it...they just seem to creep into my books on their own!

 Are you currently working on any other projects?

I'm working on the sequel to BRIDGER, which is tentatively called TRAITOR, and a novella in Memaw's point of view, tentatively called ASSASSIN RISING. I'm having a lot of fun with both of them! I can't wait to have them in the hands of my readers! I hope they enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing them.

Megan's favourite reads!

Favourite book as a child and why?

As a child I loved the GOOSEBUMPS series. I was a huge fan of the scary, plot-twisting books that kept me up at night. I think I read all of the R.L. Stein books. I also liked the ANIMORPHS series. I'm pretty sure any book I pick up has always had a paranormal aspect to it, so my books probably come by it naturally. :)


Favourtie book as a teenager and why?

The HARRY POTTER series was amazing. They captured me and haven't really ever let me go. I still enjoy re-reading them, and I truly believe J.K. Rowling is one of the best world and character building authors I've ever read. I hope I can be half as good as she is!



Favourite book you have read this year and why?

My favorite book this year has been THE LIGHT OF ASTERIA: KAILMEYRA'S LAST HOPE by Elizabeth Isaacs. I was impressed by her characters, and her sequel, THE SECRET OF THE KEEPERS is out now! I would recommend both of them to readers.

(NOTE: The Light of Asteria: Kailmeyra's Last Hope Blog tour runs January 2012 hosted by me (Megan @Reading Away The Days with many great blogs involved!)

A book/author you would reccommend to my readers?

Like I said, Elizabeth Isaacs is a great author. I also recommend Suzanne Collins. Her HUNGER GAMES series is just flat-out awesome. I can't wait for the movie to come out!

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IMM #23

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren were everyone puts up the books they have bought, received or got from the library!
 
 
 
Hey! This IMM is books I have received in over the last few weeks. Check them out!
 
Kevin's Point of View by Del Shannon
 
Kevin's Point of View
 
I received Kevin's Point of View for review from the author. I am going to read and review it in January and I will also have an interview with author of Kevin's Point of View, Del Shannon on the blog in late January.
 
Ink by S.J.Davis
 
INK
 
 
I received Ink from the author for review as well as a Ink bookmark & Tote. I will be reading Ink in February and putting my review up in March as part on the Ink blog tour. I am currently organising the Ink blog tour on behalf of author S.J.Davis. Anyone that would like to be involved with the tour for either a review, guest post or author interview contact me for more info!
 
New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin
 
New Beginnings
 
 
I won New Beginnings from author Rebecca Emin. I am going to be reading it in February. The book releases on January 23rd 2012 and I will have an interview with author Rebecca Emin posted on the day of the release so look out for that :)
 
Pure by Julianna Baggott
 
Pure (Pure #1)
 
 
I was very happy to receive this book for review. Pure is the first in a new series from Julianna Baggott released February 2nd 2012. I am really getting in to Dystopia novels at the moment and I am really excited to read it. I will be reading it in January and I will also have an interview with author Julianna Baggott on the blog in February. Thank you to Headline Publishing for sending me a copy to review! www.headline.co.uk
 
What did you get in your mailbox?
 
NOTE: I am currently reading A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton which is a January 2012 release. I posted an interview with Ruth on yesterday on my blog. I would really appreciate it if you would check it out an leave Ruth a nice comment. Ruth's Interview!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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YA Feature: Introducing Debut 2012 YA author Ruth Warburton


Hey! This week on Reading Away The Days I am excited to have a great interview with 2012 debut author Ruth Warburton. Ruth is the author of January 2012 release A Witch in Winter. A Witch in Winter is an amazing book, with a great and fresh storyline with some great characters, one word Seth Waters! Enjoy the interview with Ruth and don't forget to pre-order your copy of A Witch in Winter.

A little about Ruth and her writing career so far:

I was quite a bookish child and I always loved reading and writing stories. The first story I can remember writing was when I was about seven and it was about a factory caretaker called Cardy. He's patrolling the factory one night when he sees things flitting about in the rafters. Suddenly he realises it's Halloween and the flitting things turn out to be witches...

I wrote a lot more stories after that though for some reason I didn't write any more about witches – it's funny that I took so long to come back to the subject. The stories got longer and longer until I suddenly found I was writing actual book-length books. But they all went under the bed – I never tried to get them published – partly because I work in adult publishing and I know how incredibly hard it is to get published, and how much the odds are against you. I also didn't fancy subbing to agents I might have to sit next to at a dinner – I thought it would be embarrassing all round! Then one day I started a new story and it somehow came out as YA, and I realised that this was a whole different set of agents, ones I'd never worked with. So I decided to give it a go, and a couple of years later, here we are.

Can you tell us a little bit about your debut novel A Witch in Winter released January 2012?

 Eek, I can't believe it's so close to publication now! It makes me feel a bit funny every time I think about the book being in the shops. What can I tell you about A Witch in Winter... well, it's about a girl called Anna who moves with her dad to a tumbledown house in a little fishing village – Winter. They've been forced to move because Anna's dad lost his job, and she's miserable, missing her friends, hating the creepy house, but trying not to add to her dad's depression by complaining about the situation.

When she discovers an old spell book in a chimney, it seems like a bit of fun to try out a love spell with some girls in her class. The next day Seth Waters dumps his girlfriend and declares his undying love for Anna.

Anna knows she has to try to undo the spell – even though she's falling for Seth – and that's where her problems really begin...

Where did you get the idea for A Witch in Winter?

 I was listening to a programme on the radio about romance in books, and one of the commentators said that the conundrum in modern romance is keeping the hero and heroine from falling into each others arms straight away. After all, if you're in love, why wouldn't you? And I was thinking that for me, the biggest reason not to fall into someone's arms would be if I wasn't sure how he really felt about me. And suddenly the idea of the spell came into my head. Anna gets Seth's love, but she pays a huge price – she can never be completely sure if it's real or not.

I love the cover for A Witch in Winter. Who designed it and how much say did you have in the designing of the cover?


Isn't it amazing? I love it too! The designer is called Michelle Brackenborough. Originally the concept was quite different with a red colour scheme, so I was quite surprised when I saw the current version, but I absolutely love it.

To be honest, I didn't really get much say – authors don't usually. This is probably a good thing as I'm not a designer so my ideas would have been pretty rubbish! If it had been up to me then I don't think I would have chosen a design with a girl's face on it, because I hate it when the jacket photo doesn't match the picture in your head. But actually the girl on the cover is pretty close to my image of Anna – although the Anna in my head isn't quite as pretty, she's a bit more ordinary looking, whereas I think the model is absolutely beautiful. Someone on facebook asked if it was me on the jacket! I was quite tempted to say yes, but the bad news is... no. It's not me.

How does it feel to be releasing your first novel?

 Amazing! And a bit scary. But mostly amazing.

Why should we read A Witch in Winter?

 Um... so it becomes a bestseller and I can buy an island in the Bahamas? To which I would naturally invite all my loyal readers ;)


As it is near Christmas I thought I would ask Ruth some fun Christmas related questions!

Favourite Christmas read and why?

Oh so hard! I can think of half a dozen candidates – if I had to pick one... probably An Edwardian Christmas by John S Goodall (I think it's sadly out of print). It's completely simple, just pictures of a family preparing for Christmas – they pick up their friends from the station, go to buy a goose, go out with a sledge to cut holly... there are no words and lots of detail in the drawings so it's a lovely to imagine your own stories about the characters and their conversations and quirks. I used to look at it with my mum on Christmas Eve when I was little and I still love reading it.

Favourite Christmas film and why?

 I don't really have a favourite Christmas film – which is weird because I love films. And one of the best thing about Christmas is the way all the TV channels roll out their big guns. When we were little my sister and I used to go through the Christmas bumper Radio Times very solemnly and circle all the films we intended to watch. But there's no one film that particularly sums it up for me.


*LOL I do the same thing with the Radio Times at Christmas :) * Megan @ Reading Away The Days*

What do you want for Christmas?

 A fireplace! We've just moved, and our old flat had a real fire. Our new place has chimneys but all the fireplaces were ripped out in the sixties and replaced with gas. Christmas isn't quite Christmas for me without a roaring fire and somewhere to hang stockings and throw satsuma peel, so I'm saving up and I hope we might get at least one of the fireplaces replaced in time for Christmas Day. At this point though, it might be a squeeze.

Favourite Christmas song?

 I absolutely adore Christmas songs, I put them on loop on the 1st of December until everyone's ears are bleeding. My favourite are the really traditional carols, particularly the ones that are starting to become half forgotten, like Adam Lay Ybounden or The Cherry Tree Carol. But I have a huge weakness for 1950s classics - Santa Baby is brilliant for shimmying around the kitchen peeling sprouts! If I had to choose just one... ooh, that's hard. Maybe The Sussex Carol – because it's a beautiful carol, and because I'm from Sussex.




Thanks to Ruth for an awesome interview. I am currently reading A Witch in Winter. Look out for a review before Christmas. Don't forget to pre-order A Witch in Winter now!

Check out Ruth on FB: http://www.facebook.com/ruthwarburtonwriter
Follow Ruth on twitter: @ruthwarburton
Head to Ruth's website and pre-order A Witch in Winter : www.ruthwarburton.com
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The CONduct Series Blog Tour- Author Interview!


Welcome to my stop on The CONduct Series Blog Tour! For my stop the awesome author that is Jennifer Lane talks abouts about how she came up with the idea for The CONduct Series to some of her favourite reads! Enjoy the interview and leave a nice comment for Jennifer below!

A little about the CONduct Series:

You might notice I emphasize the "con" in The Conduct Series. That's because this is a romantic suspense series about two convicts recently released from prison who meet on their parole officer's doorstep. Sophie Taylor is a former psychologist who went to prison due to an ethical breach with a client who used and manipulated her. Grant Madsen is a former Navy lieutenant who went to prison when his Mafia family forced him to pull a job. As they crawl their way back to dignity and hope, they begin to fall in love, neither knowing about their hidden connection waiting to reveal itself like a ticking bomb.

Where did you get the idea for the CONduct Series?

They say "write what you know". Fortunately I haven't gone to prison (yay) or met a hot criminal (boo) but I am a psychologist, so I thought it would be fun to explore my worst nightmare in a fictional tale. I'm also drawn to stories about redemption and healing, which I witness every day in therapy. I tried to use psychological knowledge about post-traumatic stress, family relationships, and the importance of mentors to give a sense of validity to the story.


Is there any other genres you would like to tackle? i.e. dystopian, paranormal etc

My next novel (Against the Tide) will stick to the romantic suspense genre but it will be the first time I'm tackling Young Adult, so I'm very excited for that opportunity. Honestly I'm not that into paranormal right now. I find normal life so engrossing that I'm not seeking an escape into the paranormal. I've only read a few dystopian novels and they rock my world. I wonder if I could be creative enough to come up with a credible dystopian plot? I'm sticking to romantic suspense for now because I love the emotional connection of romance and the suspense of life-threatening action.


What genres do you like to read yourself and what are some of your fave titles?

I like general fiction--novels like Memoirs of a Geisha and The Help. I also love family dramas and military stories like Word of Honor by Nelson DeMille. (Men in uniform are dreamy!) Currently I'm into the I-Team romantic suspense series by Pamela Clare.


Why should we read the CONduct Series?

I'm blessed The Conduct Series has received some wonderful reviews, but one thing I've learned as a newbie author is that reader tastes are so unique. I tried to create complex, intelligent characters who make you laugh and cry, and if that's the kind of thing you like, you might dig this series. Or you might think it's rubbish!

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