Author Interview: Gabrielle Blue

Gabrielle Blue is the pen name of two sister's that write together!

Hey Tessa & Gabby! Thank you so much for doing this interview with me! You are sister's who have just recently published your first YA novel Children of the Lost Moon. Can you tell my readers a little about your novel?

Certainly - it's our favorite subject. The maincharacter, 17-year-old Savannah, longs to be a fencer, a saber fencer.She wants to hold the Olympic gold medal. Savannah can feel the glorious weight of it around her neck, the medal solid and cold against her skin. So what can go wrong, you ask? Well, for starters, finding out your new fencing coach is not actually human, but alpha of a shapeshifter pack.  Then finding out shapeshifters are the only thing standing between the human race and something else you never knew existed… werewolves.  Becoming embroiled in an epic battle between shapeshifters and werewolves can certainly mess up your Olympic gold medal plans!

How did the idea for Children of the Lost Moon come about and how did you decide to write it together?

We wanted something wildly successful, to be quite honest. A novel for young adults with the passion of the Twilight series for unusual relationships, yet with a much stronger femaleprotagonist - a main character who  would be a good match for someone…a little more than human.

Children of the Lost Moon cover is great! Who designed it and how much say did you each have in it?

We completely designed it together, and as always, both of us have equal say in all of our undertakings. We're quite glad you like the cover!

How does it feel as sister's to write together? 

Writing together has been a phenomenal experience. We started with a vague shared idea which blossomed as we went along. Both contributed to the thought process, the plotting, character development, etc., but because we wanted on "voice," Tessa volunteered to write the actual words. It was Gabby's idea to make the main character a fencer. Tessa ran around in a panic, "But I know nothing about fencing!" It was great fun and we learned so much about  writing, each other, and of course, fencing.


Do you both enjoy reading? What sort of books do you like to read yourself?

We definitely do enjoy reading - not sure how you can write if you don't read! Tessa is eclectic and doesn't have a particular favorite genre. She'll read anything printed, be it novels or short stories, articles, the sides of cereal boxes... even perhaps, skywriting. Gabby's favorite novels are thrillers, either young adult or adult. Medical thrillers and survival stories are high on the list. She also reads everything printed, however, even gum wrappers!


Are you currently working on any other projects at the moment either together or individually?

Gabby is working on a young adult thriller, 29 Spikes; Tessa is working on a young adult apocalyptic, Exigent.


Why should we read your novel, Children of the Lost Moon?

So we can make money? LOL... seriously, though, if you enjoy a strong female character, have a penchant for saving the world, and/or love those otherworldly characters that most people think cannot exist, then you'll love Children of the Lost Moon.


Children of the Lost Moon is available now to buy click here: http://cotlm-novel.blogspot.com/ or here: http://tiny.ly/Iazi (for Amazon)

You can follow Gabrielle Blue on Twitter  , check out their website and follow on facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/tessa.b.jones (for Tessa - the "Blue" half of Gabrielle Blue)http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1373322503 (for Gabby- the "Gabrielle" half)


 

Four Hundred Hours to Four Hundred Days Blog Tour: Author Interview &Giveaway

I am one of today's stop's on the Four Hundred Days Blog Tour. I am so excited to have author L.Carroll on my blog! Let's welcome L.Carroll! *Claps hands*

This blog tour is for the upcoming release of L.Carroll's 2nd book in the Lor Mandela series, Four Hundred Days. For all you guy's that haven't heard of this series. Check out a short description of book one in the series along with the description of the Four Hundred Days!

Book #1: "Lor Mandela- Destruction from Twin's" is a book about the dying world of Lor Mandela, the little girl appointed to save it, and the sixteen-year-old teenager from Iowa who gets sucked in to the whole affair. It's a book that keeps you guessing right up to the end.

Book #2: "Lor Mandela- Four Hundred Days" follows Audril Borloc, the heiress to the Lor Mandelan throne, as she disobeys her father the High Ruler, and sneaks away to Earth to save one of her dearest friends from an evil tyrant. Her journey takes her to the haunted cells of Alcatraz Penitentiary; a creepy abandoned sawmill in the Midwest; and back to Lor Mandela, where she learns that sometimes friends can turn out to be enemies, foes can become allies, and just because someone dies, it doesn't always mean that their dead.

How are you feeling about the release of Book #2 Four Hundred Days? Was Book #2 easier or more stressful to write that Book #1?

I'm alot more excited about the release of Book #2. When "Destruction from Twins" released, I was sort of in a surreal stupor. It didn't sink in that I actually finished the whole book and it was actually published until well after DFT released. Now that the "Oh m'gosh, I'm published" haze has faded away, I can enjoy the process so much more! As far as which book was more stressful to write, its a toss up. They both had their stressful, as well as their personally rewarding moments, but, for what it's worth, I finished "Four Hundred Days" a lot faster.

The next set of questions is a little bit of a "book history" where I find out an author or blogger's favourite books at a certain time's of their lives. L.Carroll is this first author to try it out and she though it was a "fun idea":

*Favourite book (s) as a child and why?

When I was a child I love "The Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The main reason I liked them so much had very little to do with the books themselves, although they were really great. It was because I thought Laura Ingalls and I shared the same birthday....only 100 years apart. I found out later that her actual birthday and mine were a little over a month apart, so I did all that reading for nothing! NO, just kidding!

*Favourite book (s) as a teenager and why?

Ooo, this is a tie between "Bunnicula" by James Howe, and "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by Barbara Robinson. Both of these books were hysterical and I was very into humour when I was a teen.

*Favourite book (s) as an adult and why?

Let's see... my favourite fantasy novels are, of course, the Harry Potter Books, and "Prisoner of Azkaban" would have to be my choice of those. I was floored by the intricacy of the plot of this book!

My fave classic is either "Pride and Prejudice" or "Emma" both by Jane Austen, mainly because her characters are so alive and effervescent.

*A book that has stuck with you , that taught you a lesson and why?

I've read a lot of motivational books, but I'd have to say "The 5 Love Languages" by Dr. Gary Chapman. This was such an enlightening book with regards to personal relationships. It taught me that not everyone on this planet thinks like I do, (gasp), and helped me to communicate with those around me far more effectively.

*Favourite new release this year and why?

I've been reading a ton lately. Mostly books I've already read, but a few new ones as well. The best new book I've read is probably "2012 the Final Revelation" by Lisa J.Flaus. This book follows the lives of two people in different parts of the world whose paths cross due to a castastrophic event. It's not the typical "end of the world, gloom and doom" 2012 novel where all mankind are wiped out. It's a story of love and hope. The awesome thing about this book is that it was so well thought out and so thoroughly researched that the whole time you're reading, you have to keep reminding yourself that this is fiction!

Thanks to author L.Carroll for the awesome interview! Come back July 7th for the cover release of Four Hundred Days!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Giveaway:

Want a chance to get your hands on a signed copy of Four Hundred Days by L.Carroll and yes it is INTERNATIONAL! All you have to do is:

*Leave a nice comment for L.Carroll
*You don't have to be a follower of my blog! However if you do, you get +1 extra entry into the giveaway (Leave GFC name if you follow)
*Leave an email for me to contact you if you win!

Extra Entry:

* Enter the giveaway to win a Expiation by Greg Messel's by spreading the word about the Four Hundred Days blog tour Click here! (Come back and tell me the name you entered it with) +2

-Giveaway Ends 11.59PM July 15th
-Giveaway sponsored by L.Carroll

*Check out the cover reveal of Four Hundred Days Click Here! *



A Quick Update!

Hey!

I just want to do this quick post to update you guys on a few things. First of all I want to thank all the authors that have been patient with me getting posts up a little late with some of their interview's and giveaways! I am really loving the new job! Just trying to get into the swing of things with keeping the blog updated as well, as I don't want it to start to get behind because I LOVE doing it and talking with all you guys! So thank you for you patient!

Another little announcement, is that my giveaway of Starcrossed by Josphine Angelini ended yesterday. I will announce the winner at the weekend, as I didn't anticipate so many entries and I don't have the time to go though them during the week as I like to check everyone is following etc. So I will definitely get around to it this weekend! I promise :)

I still have loads of giveaways going on so don't forget to check out the giveaway tab along the top of the blog and you can also find the giveaways down the right hand side of the blog as well.

Have a good week :)

Megan

Winner of a bookmark from The Knight Trilogy Jewerally Range

Hey! The winner of the bookmark charm is..................Aik!

Aik choose bookmark 3

Aik has been contacted via email. The winner has 48hrs to reply!

You can check out more giveaways by clicking the current giveaway tab or by checking out the pics on the right side of the blog!

Megan :)

Interview with author Michelle Franklin + Giveaway

                  

Hey, Michelle! You are the author of the Haanta Series: the longest, ongoing, online romantic fantasy series. Red Willow Press just recently acquired the rights to publish the 1st book in The Commander and the Den Asaan Rautu series. Can you tell my readers what the Haanta Series is all about?

The Haanta Series is a fantasy series that begins with the alliance of two nations, Frewyn and the Haanta. Their alliance begins when Commander Boudicca MacDaede and the Den Asaan Rautu fall in love and must find a way to remain together despite the regulations set in place by their respective nations: Rautu as a warrior of his people and is not permitted to have a mate, but when he meets the commander and fights by her side for nearly a year, he decides to take her as a mate and keep his relationship a secret from his leaders. When they are forced to go to war against a common enemy, the two nations unite, allowing Boudicca and Rautu to stay together.From there, the series branches out to Rautu finding his lost brothers, King Alasdair of Frewyn finding a queen, Boudicca discovering things she never knew about her family, etc.     

Thousands of readers visit your site to read daily short stories featuring all their favorite characters from the Haanta Series novels. Where did the whole idea for the Haanta series come about, and why did you decide to first publish them online rather than enter the world of publishers and agents?

When I lost my job due to the recession, my editor said to me: "You know, you haven't written a novel in a while." At this point, I hadn't written anything in six months. It was Christmas vacation and I figured I couldn't look for another job until after New Year's, so I starting writing short stories about a farmer-turned-commander and a giant. I started posting them online just to see what people thought of them. People seemed to like them so I wrote a few of them every day. When I had written about 700 stories, I decided that these two needed a novel. I wrote the first four books and a few of the stand-alones before sending them out to publishers.I put them out for free online chapter by chapter and many people seemed to enjoy them so I began to query agents.

How does it feel when you hear back from fans of your novels? How much they have gotten gripped in your novels and how they have fallen in love with your characters?

Everyone enjoys positive feedback, and I'm very fortunate to have many readers who enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it. A few people have written to me asking about certain characters and if they will appear in future books. It's nice to see that people become so engrossed with what they are reading.

The cover of The Commander and the Den Assaan Rautu series is amazing. It is so detailed and beautiful. Who designs the art work for you novels and how much say do you have in it?

The cover and all the art in the series is done by Twisk, the very first reader I ever had. She found the stories online and sent me an email asking me if she could draw some of the characters. I said, "Of course!" and a day later, she sent me a picture of Unghaahi, Rautu's brother. I love it and encouraged her to make as many as she wanted. A week later, she made a mural of a scene in book 3 and I was so astonished by it that I cried. She asked me if she could be the artist for the series and had to say yes. She has drawn 1-2 images a week for the past year and has been my creative partner ever since. As for my having a say in the art, I don't tell her anything. She reads all the stories and novels and makes art based on what inspires her most. 

You have also published Tales from Frewyn: Short Stories from the Haanta Series Vol. 1, which features daily short stories. The cover of this is also beautiful. Why did you chose for this cover to be not to be in colour? (In my opinion it makes it even more beautiful)

Personally, I prefer black and white. The artwork is so detailed and has such an art-nouveaux quality that I often feel colour will detract from it. I wanted the covers for all the books to be black and white but I was asked to at least have the first cover in colour.   

The commander and the Den Assaan Rautu series is mainly fantasy mixed with romance. Is there any other genre you would like to tackle? i.e. chicklit, horror, dystopian, paranormal etc.

I was told by many agents and publishers to write paranormal because that's a hot genre right now, but I refused. High fantasy and epic fantasy have always been my genres of choice. I used to write chic-lit and urban fantasy, but I was never happy with how those books turned out.

When will the next book in the series be available? How many books is the series going to span?

Commander and Den Asaan Vol 1 is available now and Vol 2 will be available at the end of August. Khantara, the stand-alone book about Rautu's father, will be available at the end of July. The series so far is 21 books. We'll see how far it goes!

Thanks to Michelle for the interview :) You can purchase Michelle's books via Amazon, Smashwords & BarnesandNoble

You can check out Michelle's Official site: http://thehaanta.blogspot.com/ and the Official Art site: http://artoftwisk.blogspot.com/

Follow Michelle on twitter: @MrsDenAsaan & facebook

Giveaway Closed

Michelle has kindly offered an Ebook of The Commander and the Den Asaan Rautu!

To Enter:

*You must be GFC Follower (Leave follower name)
* Leave a comment on this interview for Michelle

Extra Entries!

*Tweet about the giveaway @teamwolf1988 (Leave Link) +1
* Follow Michelle on twitter @MrsDenAsaan (Leave twitter name) +2

-Giveaway Ends 20th July
-Giveaway sponsered by Michelle Franklin

In My Mailbox (#9)

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!

 

This week I received some fantastic books IMM for review and a few that I won during the Midsummer Eve Blog hop. So here they are:

*Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith (Released on 16th August)

"After her husband leaves her for another woman, twentysomething Londoner Alison Temple impulsively applies for a job at the very P.I. firm she hired to trap her philandering ex. She hopes it will be the change of scene she so desperately needs to move on with her shattered life. At the all-female Fitzgerald’s Bureau of Investigation, she spends her days tracking lost objects and her nights shadowing unfaithful husbands. But no matter what the case, none of her clients can compare to the fascinating characters in her personal life. There’s her boss, the estimable and tidy Mrs. Fitzgerald; Taron, Alison’s eccentric best friend, who claims her mother is a witch; Jeff, her love-struck, poetry-writing neighbor; and—last but not least—her psychic postman. Her relationships with them all become entangled when she joins Taron for a road trip to the seaside and stumbles into a misadventure of epic proportions! Clever, quirky, and infused with just a hint of magic, this humorous literary novel introduces a memorable heroine struggling with the everyday complexities of modern life."

I won Alison Wonderland during the Midsummer Eve hop via author Helen Smith ! Its a signed ARC and  am really excited to read this book. It sounds awesome, a quirky chick-lit read. I am hoping to read this before the release date of Alison Wonderland on August 16th.

*Never Bite A Boy On The First Date by Tamara Summers (2009)

"I've got a few issues. I'm a vampire now. One of my classmates was found dead, with telltale fang marks. I didn't do it! (really!) Nobody believes me, so ... I'm going to have to find the real killer. I've already got three suspects. (three very cute suspects.) One more problem: I am seriously falling for one of them ... but what if he's the killer?"

I won Never Bite A Boy On The First Date via Emma @Bellebooks ! TY. I have never heard of this book before but it sounds like a good book, totally a book I am looking forward to reading.

*Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

I gave in and finally bought Divergent. I have been wanted this book for a while and have heard great things about it. I managed to get it for £3.97, which I was really happy with. Can't wait to start this when I have time.

*Soul Quest by Amy Jones (Ebook)

Goodreads

I downloaded Soul Quest on Smashwords with a free coupon Amy sent me. I am taking part in the Soul Quest Blog tour in August. I am going read Soul Quest sometime this month in prep for my review during the blog  tour.

*Legacies of Talimura: War of the Witch by Angel Haze (Ebook)

Goodreads

Angel's book just went live on sale on smashwords and amazon a few days ago, she kindly sent me a copy to read in advance before my interview with her later this month. TY to Angel.

What did you get in your mailbox?

I currently have a few giveaways ending this week. The Knight Trilogy Jewellery Range Giveaway ends today! Win a charm bookmark inspired by The Forest of Adventures by Katie John. Katie kindly send me a charm bookmark in the post as a surprise and I have to say they are so pretty in real life.

Giveaway of Starcrossed by Josphine Angelini ends tomorrow July 4th and finally An ebook of Rippler by Cidney Swanson ends July 7th.

 

 

Introducing: YA Author Angela Carlie interview & giveaway (YA Feature #7)

Hey this week's YA to feature on the blog is Angela Carlie, author of Dream Smashers, Lands of Corn Chips and upcoming novel, Loramendi's Story. Please welcome Angela to Reading Away The Days by commenting and if your interested purchasing a copy of one or both of her awesome novels!

A short description of Dream Smashers:

Dream Smashers, a YA contemporary (March, 2011), is for mature readers. It's a coming of age story about a girl struggling with destructive relationships in her life. Specifically, the relationship with her meth addicted mother. Dream Smashers is also a story of first love and lasting friendships.

A short description of Land of Corn Chips:

Land of Corn Chips is an action packed novel for ages 8 and up (May, 2011). Eleven-year-old Nate Hansen never believed in dragons before an eccentric man with a purple-feather hat kidnaps him. Spirited to the Land of Corn Chips on the back of a mechanical yellow dragon, Nate must find a way to avoid being ground into compost. His only hope of escape is to earn the friendship of the local wrestling gang and zombie kids, and to believe in a parent he no longer trusts.

A short description of Loramendi's story:


A YA urban fantasy eBook, Loramendi's Story, will be available in August. It's the first book in the Lords of Shifters novels. Lora wants nothing more than to be the wind behind sexy windsurfer Chance's sails. But fulfilling that wish just became...complicated. After seventeen years of normal life, someone wants Lora and her family dead. And the attempted massacre isn't nearly as strange as the reason behind it.

Angela's writing journey so far:

My life is a constant struggle with ideas. I love them. The idea of having a beautiful garden, of being a super-star mom with a handful of kidlets, and the idea of cooking scrumptious meals every evening. The fact is, I hate gardening, I'm an average parent of one child, and cooking and I don't get along.

I've also always been in love with the idea of being a novelist and have tried to write full-length novels several times in the past and then gave up halfway through the process. It wasn't until 2008 that I actually finished one of those novels. Of course it wasn't truly finished and went under several rewrites and has been edited and critiqued by many groups of peeps. That book may never be read by the public, but it gave me the motivation to write more novels.


*Where did you get the idea for Dream Smashers?

Of all the stories I've read dealing with addiction, they always portray the addict as the victim or are told from the addicts point of view. But what about the other victims? The people who don't have a choice in the matter, the family, friends, children? I wanted to write story for them, especially for the children of addicts, to show them that even though it may not feel like they have a choice in the matter, they do. Sometimes letting go is the hardest thing to do, but sometimes it's all you can do. And that's okay.

My family has had its fair share of addiction. A close relative in particular has been a meth addict for over twenty years. This helped shape the idea of writing Dream Smashers and who my target audience should be.

*Dream Smasher's is part love story! I love, love stories in novels.  Do you think a love story is essential in any good read or not?

That's kind of a deep question. ;) I think all stories have a love story in them. It may not be the type of love you're talking about here, but essentially all human relationships involve love. So, I guess, the answer would be yes.

*Where did the idea for The Land of Corn Chips come from?

I originally wrote Land of Corn Chips for my son. He's not a big reader and I had hoped that if I wrote a story with elements he was interested in, he'd enjoy reading it. He did!

The idea came from so many different sources: sitting through pee wee football practice day after day, watching WWE every Monday and Wednesday nights with my son, and previously working at a chip factory are just a few of the inspirations for this novel.

*The Land of Corn Chips is very different to Dream Smasher's! Do you like to write different genres and mix it up with each book?

I do enjoy challenges, but love writing fantasy type novels even more. I hope to spend time writing in this genre in the future.

*Are you working on any other projects at the moment?


Yes! I'll be working on the other novels in the Lords of Shifters series along with another YA urban fantasy series that will be released simultaneously with Lords of Shifters. More information on that will come in the near future. It's going to be a blast! I can't wait to share it.

*What is the hardest thing about being an author?

Time management. Working full-time, raising a son, and all the other normal everyday responsibilities leave very little time for writing let alone editing, critiquing, networking, marketing, and every thing else required of an author who wants to reach out to an audience.

*Do you have any advise for aspiring authors?

The one thing I'd recommend is to get involved with a critique group of some kind. Have your work read by every willing writer/editor type person you can find. You don't have to take the advice given, but listen to it and acknowledge that there are different ways to tell your story. If the same issues come up with different readers, definitely take those issues into consideration.

Finally some quick fire questions:

*Summer or Winter?Winter
*Night or day?Night

*Movies or Music?Movies

*Fiction or Non-fiction?Fiction

*Favourite colour?Hooloovoo

*Favourite place to write?Earth

*Favourite holiday destination?Maui, HI and Leavenworth, WA

*Favourite book?There are too many to have one favorite.

Land of Corn Chips is available now as well as Dream Smashers

For more information on Angela's novels please visit Angela's website and blog: http://angelacarlie.blogspot.com/ or http://angelacarlie.com/

You may also visit DarkSide Publishing for other great reads: http://darksidepublishing.com/

Giveaway

Angela has kindly offered an Ebook of her YA novel Dream Smashers!

To Enter

*You must be a GFC Follower (Leave follower name)
*Leave a nice comment for Angela on this post

No Extra Entries this time! 

-Giveaway Ends: 15th July
-Giveaway sponsored by Angela Carlie