Steamy sex, scandal & secrets...

Strings Attached by Mandy Baggot 

1 November is the launch date for Mandy Baggot’s new contemporary romance novel Strings Attached. This is a story full of sex, scandal and secrets with some sandwiches and sauce thrown in for good measure! Here is the blurb:-
Between the past and the future there are always strings attached
Caterer George Fraser has a mission. She’s going to prove everyone wrong. Ambitious owner of catering firm Finger Food and black sheep of her family, she’s determined to succeed in business where she’s so far failed in her personal life. Asked to cater for gorgeous rock star Quinn Blake’s after-show party her life suddenly takes a turn for the dramatic.
Magnetically drawn together, George and Quinn embark on a relationship that no one must know about. But is Quinn everything he seems or is there more to his star life than he’s telling her?
Things hot up when George is invited to the wedding of the millennium and her integrity very soon becomes compromised. With celebrity obsessed colleague Marisa in the mix and her beloved Adam spending more time in her life can George keep her secrets and hold on to her ambition, or will love finally get in the way?
You can take part in the blog tour and find all the dates and websites taking part by visiting Mandy’s website at www.mandybaggot.webs.com
Strings Attached is available to buy from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com on Kindle here Amazon UK and here Amazon US
And also in paperback here Amazon UK and here Amazon US

YA Indie Carnival BE AFRAID: Best Indie Scares

Be afraid... be very afraid... because this week us Indie Carnis are recommending our scariest indie reads.

I had no difficulty in choosing my spookiest book because this one had me sitting at the very edge of my seat, biting my nails, eyes wide open in fear.... it's Asylum Lake by R.A Evans.

Here's the blurb:

The State’s second largest Psychopathic Hospital opened in 1917 on 600 wooded acres overlooking a small lake near Bedlam Falls, Michigan. Through its doors came the weak and the weary, the disabled and the discarded, the frail and the forgotten. But an open door is an invitation, and some visitors, once invited, are loath to leave. The hospital abruptly closed in 1958 under a cloud of mystery. It has remained empty and silent, save for the memories trapped both within its walls and far below the surface of the nearby lake that bears its name. At the bottom of Asylum Lake, the unremembered are growing restless.
Brady Tanner is trying to outrun memories of his own. After the sudden death of his wife, Brady retreats to the small town where he spent the summers of his youth. But he soon learns small towns can be stained by memories…and secrets, too. As Brady is drawn into unearthing these secrets, as he discovers a new love in an old friend, he is also drawn into the mystery of Asylum Lake and the evil that lies submerged beneath its sparkling surface. What is the source of this evil – and what does it want with Brady Tanner?

And here's my review:

Being a real scaredy cat I usually tend to avoid reading anything that might freak me out a little, but lately I've succumbed to a number of thriller/horror movies (and really enjoyed them!) so I figured I would take the plunge and try to read something within the same genre. When I first read the blurb on Asylum Lake, I decided to give it a go.
The first night I started reading, I woke up in a cold sweat after having a really scary nightmare! It didn't put me off though and I persevered. I am so glad that I did. R.A Evans has a real talent for the written word and, other than the odd minor spelling error, I couldn't fault his beautiful prose. The story flowed brilliantly and I found it to be a real page-turner. Although I was expecting the ending to conclude with more of a bang, it did leave me feeling more than satisfied.
Asylum Lake would make a terrific movie.... are you listening Hollywood? R.A Evans is a name you should be taking notice of!
All in all, a fantastic thriller / horror (still not sure what to call it!). I shall eagerly await Evans' next novel.

For more indie books that will scare your socks off, check out my fabulous fellow carnis...

1. Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series

2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 

4. T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5. Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga 

6. Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7. Lexus Luke 

8. PJ Hoover, Author of SOLSTICE, Blogging at ROOTS IN MYTH
9. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy 

10. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
11. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed 

12. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
13. Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga 

14. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
15. Dani Snell's Refracted Light Reviews 

16. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
17. M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping 

18. Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
19. Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind 

20. Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
21. Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler 

22. Nicole Williams, author of Eternal Eden, Falling Eden
23. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter 

24. Abbi Glines: Breathe, The Vincent Boys, Existence
25. Ten Things Authors Should Know About Social Media

OUT NOW! Fairy Thief by Johanna Frappier

I'm so excited to announce the release of Fairy Thief by my great author pal, Johanna Frappier...

http://www.amazon.com/FAIRY-THIEF-paranormal-fantasy-ebook/dp/B005Y5J5MU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1319639799&sr=1-1

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Hey Suzy! So nice to come over here to your blog and visit you again; thank you soooooo much for having me! I wanted to share a little blurb with you about my new book, FAIRY THIEF, which is Book 2 in The Fairy Circle Series.
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It has been a year since Saffron Keller traveled to the Fairyrealm. She had no intention of ever mixing with fairy-kind again. When the fairy, Ny, steals the soul of her human love, Markis, she finds herself entangled once more in all that is beautiful and magical and torturous. To find Markis, she must travel through different realms - alternate planes of existence and spaces of time – all before her life in the Earthrealm passes too far into the future. Not wanting the help of the possessive fairy, Li, whom Saffron has shared turbulent past lives with – she is instead paired up with two immature boy fairies, Tai and Wo, who try her patience to the very limits of tolerance. As the three pass through realms they meet others who hinder and help them on their way: Orji - the handsome man with the bad bed-side manner, Deva - the cow who has the twins besotted, a monster of a prince, and the most vile dragon lady in one hundred realms.
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FAIRY THIEF is currently available as an eBook on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and other eOutlets. It'll also be available as a paperback in about a week (fingers crossed!).

Thanks for telling us about Fairy Thief, Johanna! I can't wait to get stuck into it!

For the love of England

I've been back from England a couple of weeks now and I'm still feeling pangs for it. The truth is, I really want to move back there. I've lived in Portugal for 25 years now and I feel ready for a new adventure. I've always held a secret love for the country of my birth and given the chance, I would have moved years ago. But when you have a husband with a successful business in Portugal, it's not really that easy!
Many of our close friends and family are helping me nudge him in the right direction... so we'll see what happens. Watch this space!
In the meantime, if you have a look at some of the photos we took, you'll soon realise why I'm so desperate to go back.... it's a writer's dream! It's the most inspiring country full of beautiful historical buildings and lush, green countryside. Yes I do understand that it has many downsides but then doesn't everywhere? Nowhere is absolutely perfect, is it?
Have a look and let me know what you think...

Q&A with Catherine Stovall

Please welcome author Catherine Stovall, who is stopping by today as part of her Virtual Book Tour to launch her new book, Stolen. To be in with a chance of winning a copy of Stolen, simply leave a comment below...

Name one book that made you think 'wow'? Why did it have such an effect on you?

Insomnia by Stephen King. The first time I read the book I literally couldn’t put it down. The story is unlike anything I had read before (I was about 15) and the characters were positively captivating. I have since re-read the book many times and am still in love.

Who is your favourite author and why?
Anne Rice is my favorite author and I own even her early works under the name Anne Rambling. Her writing shows her love for her characters and helps to give them a complete three-dimensional existence. She also has the ability many author’s lack to give her works a strong finish.

Name one of your all-time favourite book covers?
I positively adore the Cassandra Clare covers for The Immortal Instrument series. They are well designed and positively beautiful.

If you could have a dinner party with any authors from any time in history, who would you choose and why?
Oh, I love this question! I would choose Charles Dickens for his outlook on the hardships of life, Emily Bronte because she represented women in a time where the literary field was not a woman’s profession, Anne Rice because she is the Queen of Horror and my literary idol, Stephen King because of his knowledge of the profession, and Dean Koonts because I would love to learn a few tricks about writing with such suspense.

Who, or what, inspires you?
Everything in life inspires me. Even though I write fiction, I try to tie in reality as much as possible. I am always stopping whatever I am doing to jot down a note or two for later. Music is probably the most inspiring though. Without my iPod, I would be completely lost.

Where is your favourite place to write?
Curled up under the covers is my favorite place to write. My kids, husband, and pets distract me a lot but I write my best when I am in familiar and comfortable setting. Plus, the interruptions remind me not to get to lost in my own world and miss time with them.

What is your favourite film that was based on a book?
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I typically will only read the book after I watch the movie if it is one that I haven’t read yet. I do this because the movie is never as good. With The Road, I watched the movie afterwards and I was impressed. They did an excellent job of recreating the story.

What is your book about?

Jenda and Soborgne are best friends and everything they do, they do together. Unfortunately, this time the girls may be joined at the hip in a far more horrible way: by death. The girls are kidnapped and held captive by Belle and Matteo, two vampires with a plan. Belle, a sociopath in life and death, is searching for an heir to her reign as the only vampire to hold the secret to surviving the sun. Matteo is a lost soul who would give anything to be loved and to see the light of day. As the four characters’ worlds collide, blood is spilled, lives are lost, and rules are broken. Disappointment in love and life bring out the worst in humans but, with vampires, it leads to a chilling tale of romance and terror.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of this fabulous book, simply leave a comment below...


If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the main characters?

Belle ~ Delta Burke

Jenda ~ Emma Stone

Matteo ~ Alex Pettyfer

Soborgne ~ Selena Gomez

Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I have a pet snake. He’s a Ball Python named Berkowitz.

Tell us something interesting about the area where you live.
I just moved to a very small community about 15 minutes from the small college town I did reside in. I don’t know anything interesting about where I live now. We have less than 800 residents and there’s not much that goes on here.

Winter or summer? I really prefer Fall. Winter is way too cold and summer is way too hot. That’s the joy of living in Missouri. The weather is always extreme.

Ebook or paperback? Both. eBooks for when I am on the go or lunch at work and paper back for those times when I just need the comforting feel and smell of an old favorite.

Favourite food? Cheese. I love cheese. I put it on everything.

Sporty or couch potato? Not really sporty but not a couch potato either. I like to get out and go on photo shoots in strange out of the way places, go walking in the historical district and hit all the thrift shops, and hike and rock climb with my best friends.

Cook or be cooked for? Be cooked for. I use to enjoy cooking but now its just so time consuming.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of Stolen, 

simply leave a comment below...

YA Indie Carnival: Halloween or perhaps not?

Memories of living in England (I'm the little 'un)

This week, us Indie Carnis are talking about our favourite childhood Halloween memories...
Unfortunately, I don't have a single one! Living in England until I was ten, I don't think we ever really celebrated this spooky night. And when we moved to Portugal, there was even less chance as we lived (what I felt to be) right in the middle of nowhere so no trick or treating for me! 

I've watched tonnes of (mainly American) movies and TV shows where kids get all dressed up and go out scouring for candy and I used to feel like I missed out a great deal. Especially the dressing up part! I LOVE fancy dress.

The memory I do have is of a special British 'celebration' a few days later, 5th November, Guy Fawkes night. My family and I used to head to the local park where there was a giant bonfire. I remember crisp cold nights, pink cheeks and red noses, woolly gloves and lots and lots of excitement. We would stand around the bonfire eating baked potatoes and toffee apples, there would be sparklers and these strange necklaces that when cracked would glow in the dark. And then, to finish the evening off, there would be fireworks! Just thinking about it gives me goose bumps. Winter was coming and that was always my favourite time of year in England... oooh I've come over all peculiar, I do miss England, I really, really do.

Want to read more Halloween memories? Then take a tour of the other Indie Carnis below...

PS. if you're curious about Guy Fawkes Night, visit Wikipedia to find out more.

The Fuji Mermaid Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews
Leopard Girl Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels
Fire Breather Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Strong Woman Nicole Williams Author of Eternal Eden, and Fallen Eden. She is also a contributing author in the Glassheart Chronicles
Champion Sword Swallower Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Snake Charmer Amy Maurer Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Pretzel Woman Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms
The Giant T. R. Graves T.R. Graves: Author of Warriors of the Cross
Jungle Woman P.J. Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis
Shape Shifter Alicia McCalla Author of the upcoming science-fiction novel Breaking Free
Tarot Card Reader Heather Cashman Author of Perception
Fortune Teller Abbi Glines Author of Breathe, and the upcoming Existence and Vincent Boys
Knife Thrower Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful, Fractured, and Fair Maiden
Fire Dancer Lexus Luke Author of Manitou, The Sky People Saga
Fire Breather Suzy Turner Author of December Moon and Raven
Dragonslayer K. C. Blake Author of Vampire Rules
Elephant Trainer Gwenn Wright Author of Filter
Ring-Leader Kimberly Kinrade  author of Bits of You & Pieces of Me and Forbidden Mind.
Prestidigitator Darby Karchut Author of Griffin Rising and the upcoming Griffin’s Fire
Lion Tamer Madeline Smoot Author of Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
Siren M. Leighton Author of the Blood Like Poison Series, Wiccan, Caterpillar, Madly & Wolfhardt & The Reaping
Horse Whisperer Cidney Swanson Author of Rippler
Flying Trapeeze Artist Heather Self awesome book blogger.

YA Writers' Chat

YA Literature, Why it Sells and Where it is Going  

YA author Claude Nougat

YA literature made headlines in 2011 when the children's books critic for the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Gurdon, accused some YA novels for being too violent and inappropriate for a teen market. More recently an article in the New York Times suggested that modern YA literature had lost the freshness of Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland and moved into dark areas. The Harry Potter series was mentioned, referring in particular to Rowling’s “demonders” and her acknowledging that  inspiration for them came from a bout of depression she had suffered.
On the other side of the barrier, the Historian Amanda Foreman, author of  “Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire,” told a reporter from the NYT (Pamela Paul, August 6, 2010) : “good YA is like good television. There’s a freshness there; it’s engaging. YA authors aren’t writing about middle-aged anomie or disappointed people.”  
I met with YA author Claude Nougat to discuss this, and we both felt that the resulting chat could be of interest to both YA readers and authors. The conversation is both here and on her blog (http://claudenougat.blogspot.com/)  

YA author Suzy Turner

I recently released DECEMBER MOON, the second book in the Raven Saga, and Claude has come out with RECLAIM THE PRESENT, the second book in her Fear of the Past Trilogy (which, incidentally is a fantastic read!).
Our points of view, as you will see, are somewhat divergent because, while we are both into YA literature, we come to it from widely different angles. I am very much into a fantasy world filled with vampires, changelings and witches, whereas Claude is into a paranormal world filled with historical characters - the forebears of her protagonist. The link to her book can be found above, while my book is about a young girl who discovers she possesses a unique ability inherited from her unusual family, links to which you'll find all over my blog!

Claude: What’s your take in this controversy? Do you think YA authors have moved into forbidden territory for young adults – too dark, too forbidding, too violent? I don’t think everyone has, I know I haven’t but then I’m not into Peter Pan/Alice-in-Wonderland stuff either!
Suzy:  Not at all. if you look back to the kinds of stories that were read to us as children, you'll see that they were just as dark and forbidding if not more so than in many of today's YA books. The Grimms Brothers' stories, for instance, were full of dark, terrifying tales!
Claude: What I love about YA literature is that it is such a flexible genre: it contains everything from fantasy to paranormal - like both our books - to all sorts of other things, like dystopian fantasy, science fiction, thrillers. Just about anything goes, all genres are mixed and can even be found within a single novel - like mine which combines paranormal with historical elements. Mind you, I spent a lot of time doing historical research and travelling to the places I describe to ensure accuracy! Do you see that as an attractive feature of YA literature? Is that why - or at least one of the reasons - you wrote your book?  
Suzy: Absolutely and I think this is one of the reasons why it is such a popular genre not only for young adults but for older ones too. One of the reasons I wrote my book is because I felt the place in which it was set, had a story to tell. Powell River in British Columbia, Canada, bewitched me into creating a tale of fantasy!  
Both of our books have one thing in common though and that is the "search for self" element within. Both of our main characters are trying to discover who they really are, albeit in very different guises.
Claude: Yes, that’s what I liked about the YA classification: it gave me a chance to explore in depth the "search for self". When you are young, there's so much to learn about the world around you, but particularly about yourself. Tony, my protagonist – a computer whiz kid - is learning about himself in a very peculiar way: through his forebears who come back to him as ghosts, explaining to him what their life was like, what work and love meant to them. Normally that is something you learn from your parents and friends - I thought this was a different way of exploring one's roots. Going deep into the past. Your protagonist learns about herself by travelling abroad, from London to British Columbia and meeting family she didn’t even know she had! Isn’t that right?
Suzy: Yes, Lilly actually grew up in London stuck in the confines of a tiny apartment, not allowed to go out and have friends, other than the one she secretly had at school. When her parents disappear and she moves to Canada, it is there that she begins to learn more about herself - through the family she never knew existed. In the beginning, she is so naive because she never had the chance to grow.
Claude: Actually, searching for self is something that concerns us as adults too! We never stop discovering things about ourselves and trying to adjust to new challenges in our lives…Which I suspect is why YA literature has an enduring appeal to all ages! My Fear of the Past Trilogy focuses on the fundamental question: how much of ourselves do we inherit from our family and how much can we call our own? Are we born a virgin slate or do we inherit our character traits from our forebears? Bottom line, is there such a thing as free will?  Is this something your books are also concerned with, and in what way?
Suzy: That is an interesting question, Claude, and one that is quite difficult to answer. In the beginning, Lilly is quite obviously born a 'virgin slate' until she discovers the truth about herself and then her true self - and her inherited ability - comes out. She really does discover that she is a different person after that moment. The same can be said of December Moon (Lilly's best friend).
Claude: Overcoming the inheritance from the family can be hard, particularly if it’s a heavy one – like my protagonist who has a family extending back 900 years! But it can happen to anybody who meets the ghosts of his forebears the way he does!  This is why the title of the first book in the trilogy suggests the answer: Forget the Past! Go ahead and live freely, without harking back to it! In the second book, Reclaim the Present, the protagonist has another living-in-the past experience that teaches him that whatever he has inherited from his forebears – even if he’s been dealt the same cards in terms of inherited looks and character – it is up to him how he plays his cards! His life is in his own hands! To sum up, in my opinion, what distinguishes YA novels from other genres are coming-of-age experiences.  
Suzy: Absolutely, but there are also those YA books filled with violence in them, the kind that shocked Ms. Gurdon and probably turns off quite a few parents.  
Claude: Yes, but this is to be expected in a search-for-self kind of literature: not all kids are born with a golden spoon in their mouth! How do you feel about the role of violence in YA novels? Do you think violence should be avoided? Or is there a way to "integrate" it without making it "inappropriate" for teens?
Suzy: I don't like to read violence just for the sake of it. If it is necessary to push the story forward then that's fine or if the main character needs to learn something through violent elements then okay. I just hate violence for violence sake. Raven, for instance, has little violence. There is talk of death but no gruesome scenes. Its sequel, December Moon, however, focusses more on the vampire characters in the story, some of which are evil, and the only way for them to be stopped is to be killed... so it does contain some pretty frightening scenes!
Claude: Don’t scare me! Say, like what? Can you give me an idea of what happens in December Moon? I remember that was the name of your protagonist’s best friend back in London, before she moved out to British Columbia…
Suzy: lol Yes that's right, December is Lilly's best friend and she discovers a family secret too... one which takes her to America, away from her not-so-nice aunt, and back with her mother, not far away from Lilly. That's all I can give away though!
Claude: Thanks Suzy, I enjoyed the chat! Just to sum up: YA literature’s success seems to be due to its versatility. It’s not stuck in a genre, it’s open to all of them! And that means it’s open to innovation and new themes. And it’s focused on themes that are of continuing interest and relevance to all age groups, not just Young Adults! Those two reasons largely explain its enduring success. Would you say that’s right?
Suzy: Oh yes absolutely, Claude. Its versatility is one of the defining facts about YA literature that makes it so appealing, not just to read but to write too. I love writing in this genre and I hope to continue to do so for years to come! Thanks for chatting with me Claude... it’s been a blast!


What's your take on the YA genre? Do you think there's too much violence in today's teen books? Feel free to leave a comment below!

Fear of the Past by Claude Nougat

December Moon by Suzy Turner

The Magical Mystery Tour

What inspired me to write 

The Prodigal’s Foole by RB Wood

I’ve been asked this question quite a bit over the last couple of years. The answer is somewhat complicated.
I’ve loved writing since I was a young adult, but have always had a ‘creative outlet’ of sorts. When I was very young, it was drawing and art. From my yearly teens through college, it was music—and in fact I have a bachelor’s degree in math and computer science, but exited school debt-free due to music performance scholarships.
But reading and telling stories has been a constant through out my life.
When I was younger, I had many start-stop moments. It wasn’t until my children and partner said “Why don’t you write your stories down,” that I started up seriously again. This was in 2008-2009. The funny thing about being in your forties…you tend to finish what you start—at least for me anyway.

The Prodigal’s Foole is the first of The Arcana Chronicles series, and quite frankly came about because all the ‘magic stories’ out there had a similar throw-away comment—something to the effect of “Normal people can’t know about magic” or “Normal people aren’t observant enough to see magic.” The whole premise of the series (along with it being a good old-fashioned “good vs. evil”) is…what would happen if normal folk started paying attention? All that power….who would control it (Religions, in my book) initially? What would the impact of the last 50 years of technology do to a magical world? This will be explored throughout the series.

For more information about RB Wood and the The Prodigal's Foole, visit http://www.rbwood.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/rbwoodwriter
Podcast (The Word Count): http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-word-count/id392550989








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Co-writing The Apocalypse Tour by Suki Michelle

Suki Michelle talks about CO-WRITING THE APOCALYPSE GENE, the new YA Urban Fantasy coming out today!

Co-writing The Apocalypse Gene was an intense and ultimately fabulous experience. Carlyle and I have weirdly compatible skill sets. He has a great feel for unwinding a plot and choreographing fight scenes. I love to follow characters in real-time, establish voice, and create settings. We’re both relentless tweakers and our own toughest critics. Like in a courtroom, every concept, every phrase was sentenced (pun intended) to life or death. If undecided, we sent the text to hard labor to see if it would earn the right to live on our pages. During the writing process, we both came up with bizarre ideas and scared each other badly, but we never argued (cough).
When Carlyle wrote scenes with Olivya, a 15-year-old psychic girl with aura-sight and sweet dreads, he made her a bit too aggressive, and I had to remind him she’s not a dude. When I wrote scenes with Mikah, our male protagonist, I made him sweet and sensitive, and Carlyle would scoff and “man him up”.
My day job is in medical transcription. For hours on end, I type reports about disease, disaster, and death - not only depressing but monotonous, so I entertain myself with the what-if game. One day I got an idea for a story but had no clue where to start, so I approached Carlyle.

“Hey Carlyle,” I say, “can you help me write a story?”
“Maybe. What’s it about?”
“The world’s population is dying off from an incurable pandemic. Its origin is linked to vampires.”
“Vampires? Nah. The undead have done to death,” he says. “Think of something else.”
“You’re right. Okay. No vamps. A new kind of Immortal.”
“Cool,” he says and gives me the patented Carlyle-intense-look. “Go on.”
My noggin churns. My brow furrows. “Hmmmm. Let’s think about the Immortals later. First we need characters. How about a boy who feels everything that everyone else feels? His hair is all shiny, and he looks super-hot in a tight black T-shirt.”
Carlyle laughs. “Does he like girls?”
“Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Decisive as always, Suki. How about you think up a love interest while I get a snack.” He leaves for the kitchen and returns with a plate of potato chips and hot salsa.
I grimace at his choice of dipping sauce and say, “Okay, I got it. The boy meets this girl in virtual school. She’s amazing, psychic, sees auras.”
“Why virtual school?”
“Duh! They’re rockin’ the apocalypse, remember? The streets are overrun by gangs who worship chaos. Dangerous. Everyone goes to school online.”
Carlyle gets a pensive look as he munches. “It has potential,” he says, then his face breaks out in a huge grin. “Let’s do this!”

For the next three years, we discussed, bantered, and argued until The Apocalypse Gene was complete, a true collaboration that could not have been written by either of us alone. The experience was harrowing, hilarious, and unbelievably fun . . . and we still love each other.

The Apocalypse Gene is available on 10/17/2011. Learn more about the debut Giveaway at www.theapocalypsegene.com

YA Indie Carnival: fan zone

Welcome to another YA Indie Carnival! This week we are writing about our best fan experience and I can honestly say that to receive any kind of positive comments is simply amazing, so imagine how incredible it is to know you have fans?!
The very first time I hopped around the room like a total nutter (regarding my book, that is) was after a close friend of mine re-posted news about Raven. Immediately, one of her friends (who I don't know) commented that she liked the sound of it. Moments later, she'd bought it!
About a week later, I noticed a post on my facebook page... she'd devoured it and was DESPERATE for the sequel. She wrote to me as well, telling me how much she'd loved my first book and would I 'please, please hurry up and finish December Moon?!' Needless to say, I was so overjoyed (hence the hopping around the room like a complete wacko).

I'd also like to mention my lovely cousin, Lesley, who sadly I don't actually know very well as I left England when I was ten and I guess all us cousins kind of drifted apart. It was only through facebook that we've all become pals again (fab, eh?!). Imagine my surprise then, when she left me a comment telling me she'd bought Raven and absolutely loved it... so much so that she's since since bought the sequel and loved it even more! It means so much to me that she loves my writing and when she wrote a message telling me how proud she is to be my cousin, I was close to tears. Lesley works as a nurse... doing such wonderful work for the sick and needy and I am incredibly proud and honoured to be her cousin.
A few weeks ago, after 20 odd years, I finally met up with her at a family party and she told me she's a huge fan. I just love her! Here's a picture of the two of us.
For more memorable fan moments in the YA Indie Carnival, check out my fellow fabulous indie writers below.

YA Indie Carnival News

Courtney released her Bloodstone Saga finale, My Tattered Bonds.

Check out The Paranormal Plumes Haunted Book Tour in Savannah Halloween Weekend! http://www.theplumessociety.com/

30% of the royalties of Lexus Luke's Manitou The Sky People Saga go to the ASPCA.

The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines will release on Oct 21. Here is the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aAp6chU-d6o

For a limited time, Kimberly Kinrade is selling signed copies of her YA paranormal thriller/romance Forbidden Mind. As an All Hallow's Read bonus, she is also including some awesome gifts with each purchase... including a very special bonus to the first 5 lucky people who place an order. Get a copy for yourself and buy one for a friend in celebration of All Hallow's Read. For more details, visit http://bit.ly/qGMQkz

Filter Giveaway on Gwenn Wright's blog!http://hereventuality.blogspot.com/2011/10/von-strassenbergs-giving-it-away.html. When she reaches 100 followers she will give away a signed copy of Filter AND one of her fancy new mugs!


The Fuji Mermaid Dani Snell’s Refracted Light Reviews
Leopard Girl Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels
Fire Breather Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Strong Woman Nicole Williams Author of Eternal Eden, and Fallen Eden. She is also a contributing author in the Glassheart Chronicles
Champion Sword Swallower Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Snake Charmer Amy Maurer Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles
Pretzel Woman Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms
The Giant T. R. Graves T.R. Graves: Author of Warriors of the Cross
Jungle Woman P.J. Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis
Shape Shifter Alicia McCalla Author of the upcoming science-fiction novel Breaking Free
Tarot Card Reader Heather Cashman Author of Perception
Fortune Teller Abbi Glines Author of Breathe, and the upcoming Existence and Vincent Boys
Knife Thrower Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful, Fractured, and Fair Maiden
Fire Dancer Lexus Luke Author of Manitou, The Sky People Saga
Fire Breather Suzy Turner Author of December Moon and Raven
Dragonslayer K. C. Blake Author of Vampire Rules
Elephant Trainer Gwenn Wright Author of Filter
Ring-Leader Kimberly Kinrade  author of Bits of You & Pieces of Me and Forbidden Mind.
Prestidigitator Darby Karchut Author of Griffin Rising and the upcoming Griffin’s Fire
Lion Tamer Madeline Smoot Author of Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
Siren M. Leighton Author of the Blood Like Poison Series, Wiccan, Caterpillar, Madly & Wolfhardt & The Reaping
Horse Whisperer Cidney Swanson Author of Rippler
Flying Trapeeze Artist Heather Self awesome book blogger.

Q&A with author Tom Elliott

Name one book that made you think 'wow'? Why did it have such an effect on you?

“Grapes of Wrath” hands down. John Steinbeck’s characters brought to life a sad chapter in the lives of the Americans affected by circumstances they could not control – the “dust bowl.” His narratives of the 1930s – economic distress of families, prejudice (against the “okies”), people displaced from the land dear to them and forced on the road - ring true today in modern America. I grew up in the Florida Everglades winter farming region, where the lives of the migrant workers parallel the plight of the Joad family of “Grapes.” The great Edward R. Murrow drew this parallel in spectacular fashion with his “Harvest of Shame” telecast on CBS-TV.

Who is your favourite author and why?
Daniel Silva. His stories of Gabriel Allon, an assassin for the Israeli Mossad intelligence service, weave fiction and historical fact into incredible action narratives. And his description of the European settings in which Allon principally operates puts you there by Gabriel’s side as he dispatches the bad guys. Interestingly, this skilled assassin’s day job is as an expert restorer of classic works of art – Van Gogh, Titian, etc. – which adds further texture to the stories.

Name one of your all-time favourite book covers?
Northern Lights by Nora Roberts. The view of a small, red single-engine airplane against a huge mountain captures the grandeur of Alaska. But maybe my selection is influenced by the fact I am a private pilot who would love to fly those routes but cannot because I am no longer medically certified to fly.

If you could have a dinner party with any authors from any time in history, who would you choose and why?
Steinbeck (see above), Daniel Silva, Nelson DeMille, David Baldacci, and John Grisham, because I love their novels.

Who, or what, inspires you?
Authors who write with skill and insight.

Where is your favourite place to write?
In my home office, but my computer goes on the road with me.

What is your favourite film that was based on a book?
The Bourne Identity, starring Matt Damon. Wonderful acting and an engaging story line. Based on a novel by the great late Robert Ludlam.

What is your book about?

The setting is the winter-farming region of the Florida Everglades on the eastern short of the great Lake Okeechobee. This is a little-known area of Florida, even for those who live nearby on Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Charles Lockhart, Chief of Police of the small town of Lakepoint in that Everglades area during the mid-1950s, embarks on a relentless search to solve a 10-year-old crime in which two prominent young men of the community were killed. The case is based on an actual double murder in the Everglades that remains unsolved to this day. In unraveling the case, the Chief reveals the distinctive deep-south culture of a part of Florida that is starkly different from the glamorous societies on both coasts only a short distance away. As the he moves to solve the crime, the Chief must also deal with the murder of a black man, something not considered significant in the segregated society of the time. The plot takes twists and turns through the Everglades, the “gold coast,” the State Capital, and the Big Cypress swamp. The solution to both crimes brings the Chief into searing conflict with the community’s leaders and townspeople. The novel introduces numerous unique characters, including the rugged “Glades pioneers” and Billy Coyote, a Seminole Indian and friend of Chief Lockhart’s since they were teenagers.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the main characters?

Chris Cooper would be ideal as Chief Lockhart.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I spent 40 years as a communications official for Fortune 500 companies. My most interesting assignment was conducting the media relations for RCA’s role in the space program, including the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Tell us something interesting about the area where you live.
My area of Connecticut is both a major ”bedroom community” for the commuters who work in New York City and a significant business center in its own right. At one time, the region ranked third in the number of corporate headquarters located in the U.S, but that might have changed given all the mergers that have occurred.


Ebook or paperback?
Lakepoint is available in paperback from Amazon.com and also in Amazon’s Kindle e-book.

Favourite food?
Being a southerner, barbeque of any kind – beef, pork or chicken.

Sporty or couch potato?
I work out every day, tend our garden, and spend the rest of the time writing so I’m definitely not a couch potato.

Cook or be cooked for?
Cooked for by my wife, Kay, a superb cook, except when we’re having barbeque.

Link to your website:
www.elliottauthor.com

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Tom! You certainly have an interesting background!

Q&A with authors Suki Michelle and Carlyle Clark

Name one book that made you think 'wow'? Why did it have such an effect on you?
Suki: The Poisonwood Bible. Kingsolver’s rich, evocative prose inspired me to take the plunge from writing poetry to writing stories.
Carlyle: Deadwood by Pete Dexter he captured both the similarities and strangeness of the people in the American West as well as the American West itself, a new slant on something that has been done so much was really impressive.

Who is your favourite author and why?
Suki: It varies, but right now I’m loving Guy Gavriel Kay because, let’s face it, he’s a master storyteller.
Carlyle: Oh man, that’s a long list so I just list the few that I have read or will read everything they write, James Lee Burke, Steven Erikson, Brandon Sanderson.

Name one of your all-time favourite book covers?
Suki: Those big shiny Dr. Suess hardcover books. They were so magical when I was a kid.
Carlyle: The cover of Stephen King's The Gunslinger. It was evocative of so many things at once, with the feel of the west but also a folklore and fantasy feel as well as an epic feel.

If you could have a dinner party with any authors from any time in history, who would you choose and why?
Suki: Sylvia Plath because of her wit, intelligence and finely honed sense of irony. Over salad, I’d try hard to cheer her up and hope that by dessert, she’d no longer want to do away with herself.
Carlyle: Charles Dickens, because I love the way he mixed up the horrific living conditions of industrial age London, with humor, and irony.

Who, or what, inspires you?
Suki: Oddballs, those that see the world differently, whether it’s because of their genius, their insanity, their dysfunction, or all of the above.
Carlyle: The challenge of creating something that feels real and worthwhile

Where is your favourite place to write?
Suki: In a hermetically sealed chamber designed to eliminate all extraneous noise.
Carlyle: Anywhere I can be sealed away with only some music and the occasional distraction of a snuzzling dog nose, a cat trying to walk across the keyboard, or a quick peek at Suki's lovely face.
Suki: AWWWWW!!!!

What is your favourite film that was based on a book?
Suki: The Green Mile - probably one of the few movies I’ve found to be better than the book.
Carlyle: No Country for Old Men. The acting was superb and added so much to the starkness of the piece.

What is your book about? 

The Apocalypse Gene takes place in the near future during a time of global pandemic. Olivya, a highly sensitive psychic with aura-sight, lives in Hospice Row with her mother where they care for the dying. Olivya finds that being “sighted” in such dire circumstances is too much to take, and she tries hard to suppress her talent.
In V-school, she meets the gorgeous, charismatic Mikah. an elite Empath in a clan of demon hybrids, The Kindred. Mikah tells Olivya that the Kindred are linked to the pandemic, but without initiation, he is barred from learning their truths. When Olivya’s mother falls ill, Olivya and Mikah embark on a quest to uncover Kindred secrets, and the two kids discover that the pandemic is far more than a mere disease.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the main characters?
If Zoe Saldana were 15 and had sweet dreads, she could play Olivya. Logan Lerman would make a great Mikah. Halley Berry (with make-up that makes her appear tired) could be Mama. Lawrence Reddick from Fringe IS Changarai, the Kindred eldest.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.
Suki: I love Sookie Stackhouse even though she both pronounces and spells our name wrong.
Carlyle: I talk to myself out loud, often in the voice of our cat who isn’t really a cat but a demon imp from the seventh ring of hell.

Tell us something interesting about the area where you live.
We live across the street from a brand new 24-hour Walmart. Not inherently interesting, but if we get a hankering for a Snicker’s bar at three a.m., we’re in luck, and that’s a win-win because there’s no better place for people-watching than Walmart at three a.m.

Winter or summer?
Suki: Winter. My ancestors are from Russia, a short trek to Siberia.
Carlyle: Summer. My ancestors are from Mars where it’s twenty-million degrees, even at night.

Ebook or paperback?
Once we swore we’d never abandon our lovely paperbacks and hardcovers. Then we got Kindles and everything changed.

Favourite food?
Suki: I love all foods, as long as they’re chocolate.
Carlyle: Mexican food and medium-rare hamburgers.

Sporty or couch potato?
We are both couch-potatoes, but we’re in denial about our utter couch-potato-ness so we exercise every day and act all sporty and stuff in an effort to perpetuate that self-delusion.

Cook or be cooked for?
Suki cooks, Carlyle is cooked for, but mostly we go out.

www.theapocalypsegene.com (Book Website)
www.theapocalypsegene.com/cy-chi (The Apocalypse Gene Blog)
www.facebook.com/TheApocalypseGene.