Hey everyone! I would like to welcome you all to my new feature that does exactly what it says on the tin, it introduces new/upcoming YA to all my readers every Friday. Am so happy to introduce to you to the first author taking part in my new feature, author
Courtney Cole.*claps hands* Courtney is so awesome for wanting to take part and am excited to have her on Reading Away The Days! Enjoy the interview and show Courtney some love by commenting and checking out her novel
Every Last Kiss!
*Title of Courtney's book: Every Last Kiss (Book One of the Bloodstone Saga)
*Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
*Release date: It is available now on Kindle and Paperback!
*A short description of Every Last Kiss:
Every Last Kiss is about a girl who, for thousands of years, has been a Keeper of Fate in the ancient organization, the Order of the Moirae. She literally holds fate in her hands. But, this is something that she forgets because her memories are wiped clean in every life, leaving her to figure everything out over and over again.
In Every Last Kiss, fate is threatened and the main character, Macy, is left to return to ancient Egypt to fix it… to a life where she was Cleopatra’s handmaiden, Charmian. She is meant to repair the fabric of time, but unless she interferes with fate, the one thing that she was born to protect, her soul mate will die. Again.
Courtney's writing journey so far:
I’ve known that I wanted to be a writer from the time I was a little girl. I read stacks of books and if I didn’t like the ending in one, I just wrote my own. But when I grew up, I felt like I should get a ‘real job’ because I was afraid writing couldn't pay the bills... and this girl likes to eat! :)
I majored in Business in college and worked in the corporate world. But trust me, the corporate world is not nearly as much fun as writing. Writing is what I’m good at it, it is my talent—and I’m at a place in life where I can chase that dream and do what I love.
I’ve met so many inspiring people along this journey. Writers are a really awesome group of people. So encouraging and supportive. I think it’s because we know what it is like to wake up at 2am and suddenly know that the chapter four that we just wrote wasn’t nearly good enough- and race downstairs in your pajamas to re-write it. At 2am. Writers understand and because of that, we want to help each other.
Two writers in particular who are just made of awesome are Michelle Leighton and Wren Emerson. Two very talented writers who you will be seeing a lot more of in the future, trust me on that.
*Where did the you get the idea for your novel, Every Last Kiss?
Well, I was pondering fate one day and thinking about tragic people who might change their own fates if they could. That led me down the path of thinking about Cleopatra… and from there, my idea just developed a life of its own. I added some mythology, some romance, some magic. You know, the good stuff.
*The cover of Every Last Kiss is beautiful. Did you have any say in the direction of the cover? Who designed the cover?
The cover is exactly how I wanted it. I was very pleased with it. The wildly talented Christel Michiels from Darkyria Design created it.
*In your book the main character is forced to return to a previous life, one where she was Cleopatra's handmaiden, Charmian. Is this an era you like?
I do find the ancient Egyptian culture fascinating… just as I find ancient Greece and Rome fascinating. That will come to play in later books as mythology takes more of a leading role in the plot.
*Why do you write Young Adult?
There are soooo many reasons I write YA. Young adults are passionate…about everything, including the book characters that they love. It is awesome to write for an audience that truly, truly appreciates your work and falls in love with your characters. Also, I just happen to have a great YA voice. YA sort of chose me.
*What is the hardest thing about being an author?
Hmm. You know, this is the first time anyone has asked me that! Um. There are a lot of challenges… you have to network and market and that means spending a lot of time on-line where you run into distractions (as in getting sucked into blogs, Twitter or Facebook for hours).
But I think the absolute hardest thing is just putting your work out there for people to judge. Reading and writing is a very subjective thing. Not everyone is going to love everything—and as writers, we really have to remember that so that we don’t take negative comments personally.
*Any Advice for upcoming authors?
Write. Every day. It sounds like a silly thing to advise a writer to do, because writers write, right? But it is so easy to procrastinate it, get sucked into the Internet in research, networking, etc. Keep writing. Don't get discouraged. Write what you love and write often.
*Are you working on any novels at the minute?
Yes! I just finished my first contemporary YA. I usually hang out in paranormal worlds, but thought I would try my hand at contemporary. That novel, Princess, will be released this summer. Incidentally, another novel, Guardian, a paranormal YA will be released in July from Whiskey Creek Press.
But right now, I am hard at work on the sequel to Every Last Kiss. My characters keep surprising me and I love that.
Finally some fun quickfire questions:
*Summer or Winter? Summer. I hate the cold!
*Night or Day? I love the night...because it is so mysterious and romantic. But I can’t write at night—my mind works the best during the day when it is fresh.
*Movies or Music? Oh, man. This one is hard. Movies. No, wait. Music.
*Fiction or Non-Fiction? Fiction
*Favourite colour? Hot pink
*Favourite place? My home. Or standing on the shore of Lake Michigan with my toes in the water.
*Favourite Holiday destination? My next vacation will be Hawaii. Although I love, love Disney World. (I’m really just a large child)
*Favourite Book? “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom
*If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 items would you bring?
Okay- I’m assuming you don’t mean people. Hopefully my fave people will be stranded with me…and we’ll make it a party. Woo-hoo! So, if my family and best friends are already with me, then I would bring:
1. A solar powered laptop
2. Twelve million cases of fresh water. Or margaritas. No, I should probably stick with the water. Boo.
3. And… a cell phone with really awesome reception. J
Twitter: @CourtwritesYA
