#YAIndieCarnival: Author in the spotlight - K.C Blake

29.3.13




Author Bio:   K.C. Blake is a ninja on the keyboard.  When she is locked away in her office, pounding out another story, no one dares disturb her.  She probably wouldn’t hear them anyway.  They don’t get it.  They think she’s in her office, but she’s lost in another world.  Sometimes she is fighting vampires or hunting ghosts.  Sometimes she is running with a werewolf pack or falling in love with a misunderstood creature.  Her books appeal to lovers of the paranormal.  Whether you are twelve or fifty, you will fall in love with her stories.



Website: http://kasi-kcblake.blogspot.com
Twitter: @kasiblake
Vampires Rule Fan Page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vampires-Rule/184193604955442
K.C. Blake Fan Page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/K-C-Blakes-Author-Page/246146215412824
Goodreads Page:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4809417.K_C_Blake

Interview:

1) What is your all-time favorite book and why?
City of Bones.  I love the way Cassandra Clare writes, so visual that I can see it, and I love her awesome characters.

2) Is there an author you could be compared to or popular fictional characters your book's characters could relate to and why?
I don’t think my characters are like any other characters I’ve read about.  My writing is my own.  I’ve been told I have a unique voice, a unique way of writing.  Some people love it and some of don’t.

3) Can you give us your favorite quote from one of your books and explain it?
This is a hard one. I can’t think of one off the top of my head, so I will use one that people have put on Goodreads as their favorite.  It is from Vampires Rule.

“Stop!” she screamed. “Don’t hurt him.”
“Back off!” Billy shouted.
She yanked harder on Billy’s arm.
“He isn’t a vampire anymore, idiot. Look! Do you see that big, yellow thing up in the sky? That’s called the sun. It’s shining down on him, and he isn’t exploding. His fangs are gone. He’s as human as we are. Case closed.”
Billy stared up at the sky, his jaw slack. “Not possible.”
Jack mumbled, “They don’t call me Jackpot for nothing.”
“What?” Billy blinked at him.
“Private joke.”

I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.  Jack was a vampire and now he’s not, and his brother just found out.

4) What types of things/people/music inspires you and makes you want to keep writing?
There isn’t any certain thing that inspires me.  Once in a while a movie or book will speak to me.  Sometimes a person I know will say something that sends me into a ‘what if’ daydream.  As for music, I love listening to songs while I write.  What I listen to depends on what sort of scene I’m writing.  I need a song that captures the emotions of the scene.  Then I can picture it in my head, and I’ll listen to that song a hundred times if I have to in order to finish what I’m working on.

5) Describe your typical writing day or week.
Within five minutes of waking I am thinking about whatever book I’m working on.  I might listen to music and daydream about it for a while, or I might jot down some notes.  Usually I spend time on-line before pulling my book up on the computer.  I check email, do some research, and play games (lol) before starting to work.  Then I work on and off all day until I get a chapter finished or am too tired to keep going.  I take breaks quite often.  If I don’t, my eyes and head hurt so bad the next day that I can’t work at all.

6) Is there a food or drink do you have to have when you're writing?
No.  Eating and or drinking distracts me from the writing.  If anything, once in a while I will have some chocolate, something I can just pop into my mouth.  I’ll use it as a reward.  I get one after I finish a certain amount of pages.

7) Can you tell us what you're working on right now (& possibly provide an excerpt & cover)?
I am editing a book called Bait, the first in a new series.  Here is the blurb for it:

At sixteen, Bay-Lee Bishop is not your typical girl.  The last thing she wants is to be popular, but flying below the radar isn’t easy when you’re the tallest girl in the eleventh grade.  She works hard to keep a steady C point average, never raises her hand in class, and avoids extra-curricular activity of any kind.  The other students would be stunned to learn she’s living under an alias as she and her uncle move from town to town, just barely staying a step ahead of the monsters hunting her just because she’s Van Helsing’s daughter.

Life is weird.  Then it gets worse.  A reaper uses her closet to cross over with a dire warning the day before she’s whisked away to her new school.  This time it’s the school she was always meant to attend, a school that trains hunters.  

This is what she’s been waiting for her whole life, only it isn’t anything like she imagined. The other students hate her, something evil is killing hunters, and her mentor refuses to give her the slightest bit of help.  Determined to make her father proud, Bay-Lee focuses on her training.  Nothing is going to distract her.  Not border monsters or wraiths or the boy with jungle green eyes.

For Bay-Lee, love is not an option.  But try telling that to her heart.

Excerpt: (keep in mind this book is still being edited)
At some point during the night a stranger crawled into Bay-Lee’s bed while she snored softly, unaware.  The mattress springs squeaked in complaint beneath the additional weight as he reclined on his side and stared down at her face in the moonlight.  It bothered him that she continued to sleep.  After all the stories he’d heard about this girl, exploited rumors verging on myth, he’d expected more from her.  Shouldn’t she be able to sense danger?
This was Van Helsing’s daughter?  She looked insignificant, vulnerable beneath the green sheet.  He could snap her neck so easily—and maybe he should.  The world would continue on, undisturbed, but the dark cloud hanging over his head would finally dissipate.
A fraction of moonlight filtered through partially open curtains, not enough to see clearly, but it didn’t matter because he’d seen pictures of this girl on Van Helsing’s desk.  Her features were burned into his retinas.  Every time he went into the office he tried not to look at the photographs, purposely pointing his gaze elsewhere.
There was something about her, something unsettling which inevitably pulled him back to stare at her reproduced image.  She looked like an average girl at first glance.  A pretty face framed by dark hair that nearly reached her waist, parted in the middle and layered stared back at him.  Of Brazilian descent, her eyes were the darkest of browns, nearly black.  They hid a mountain of secrets.  She had attitude to spare and the camera caught it, recording it for future historians—if the prophecies were correct, they would want to study her.
She possessed a ‘bite me’ expression that must drive vampires crazy.
Fortunately, he was not a vampire.
Her mouth bothered him the most. Full lips haunted his dreams with a secretive smile curving the ends and a bottom lip that begged to be nibbled on. Sometimes, when he wasn’t carefully controlling his thoughts, he wondered what she would taste like.  In his dreams, when he wasn’t fully in control of his mind, he kissed her without ceasing.  He wondered what would happen if he kissed her in real life.  Would it stir something deep in his soul?  Would the prophecy come true?
Something hard lodged in his throat and he swallowed.  It was a near miss, so he swallowed again.  Kissing her shouldn’t even be a blip on the radar. This girl was the reason he didn’t have a home or a family.  It was her fault he’d grown up on the outside looking in, her fault people whispered behind his back, and her fault he was destined to die young.
Bay-Lee stirred in her sleep.  Mumbling, she pushed against his chest with two fingers.  “Go ‘way.”
Cute like a box of kittens, for a second he forgot to hate her.  His heart momentarily softened—not for long.  The unfamiliar sensation was enough to wipe the half-smile from his face.  Delivering a mental kick to his brain, he reminded himself this girl was the last person in the world he could let his guard down around.  She was worse than trouble.  If he wasn’t careful, this seemingly harmless meeting would lead to his total destruction.
Ready to wake her, he leaned in close and whispered her (fake) name.  Like him, she was forced to live under an alias.  Michelle.
Vampires Rule:  FREE

They don't call him Jackpot for nothing.

Jack has always beat the odds... until now. When a werewolf tried to kill him, vampires saved him. When he got tired of life as a vampire, another attack gave him back his mortality. Now Jack just wants to live a normal life, but what's normal about having a hunter for a girlfriend, a brother who wants to stake him to be on the safe side, and a werewolf building an army to rule the world?

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Vampires-Rule-Series-ebook/dp/B004YZB8XU

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/54214



Werewolves Rule: $2.99

The second book in the Rule Series

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/83046


Shifters Rule: $2.99

Third book in the Rule Series


Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/246117

Crushed: $2.99

The Noah sisters rule Titan High with their beauty, brains, and magical powers.

Each year they play a secret game: Crushed. The girls pick their targets carefully and blow enchanted dust into the boy’s faces, charming them, but this year Kristen makes a grave mistake. She chooses the wrong boy and almost dies that same day. Coincidence? Maybe.

But something isn’t quite right about Zach Bevian. He doesn’t behave like a boy who’s been Crushed. He goes from hot to cold, from looking at her with contempt to asking her out on a date. She doesn’t know what to think. Does he hate her or is he truly falling for her? Is he trying to kill her, or is he trying to save her?

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Crushed-The-Witch-Game-Books-ebook/dp/B005CJ8H9A/ref=pd_sim_kstore_5

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73251

Witch Hunt: $2.99

A magical game of Hide n Seek begins.

Find the missing player and win.

The game resets, everyone forgets, and they start to play again.
Starr Hughes hasn’t believed in magic since her mother died. As a reporter for the school paper she’s only interested in cold, hard facts. When she hears rumors that the mysterious It-Squad members are about to play a secret game, she is determined to learn all about it, especially since she’s been in love with one of the members half her life. Hiding under the headmaster’s desk, planting bugs, and breaking into a fellow student’s locker are all on her to-do list.

Starr is about to discover that witches not only exist, but they need her help. Someone is using the game to steal their memories, their powers, and maybe even their lives.

ATTENTION: Although this is the second book in the series, each book has its own set of characters and can be read as a stand-alone book.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Hunt-Witch-Game-Series-ebook/dp/B007JCNEYQ/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/171249

Bait:  (coming Summer 2013)  FREE

If you don’t think monsters in the closet are real, ask Bay-Lee.

At sixteen, Bay-Lee Bishop is on her way to a new school, a training ground for hunters.  Before she leaves she gets an unexpected visitor, a reaper with a warning: It kills you on your birthday.  For years she’s dreamed of becoming a great hunter so she can avenge her mom… but school is nothing like she imagined.  The students resent her, a border monster is running loose, her mentor refuses to help her, and hunters are dying on their birthdays.  If she’s going to live long enough to reach her goal, she’ll have to solve this mystery before the day of her birth arrives.

The last thing she needs is to fall in love.  No problem.  Bay-Lee is focused and determined.  She barely notices boys.  Then she meets Nick Gallos, a gorgeous boy with jungle green eyes, a reckless heart, and a past darker than her own.

Don't forget to download your FREE copy of my book, Daisy Madigan's Paradise here and your FREE copy of Raven here.

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. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy
7. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
8. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
9. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
10. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
11. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
12. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
13. Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy
14. Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga
15. Courtney Cole Writes
16. Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
17. Ella James
18. Maureen Murrish
19. Valerie Sloan
20. YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings
21. Terah Edun, author of Red Madrassa and An Amlah's Diary

Click here for more Indie News:

The Liebster Blog Award

23.3.13


I’ve been nominated by the very lovely Alice Huskinsson, author of The Man in The Haystack.

The purpose of the Liebster Blog Award is to recognise blogs with fewer than 200 followers that deserve a look. I have rather a few more than 200 (luckily) so I'm cheating and choosing a few other bloggers that might have more too. My job is to:

(a) List 11 random facts about me;

(b) Answer 11 questions Alice has set me;

(c) Set 11 questions to ask other authors;

(d) Tag 11 authors (or more... or less!) who should bask in the Liebster glow.

To my nominated author friends – it means doing the same as I am doing here! ie. Post a blog linking back here, with 11 random facts about you, answer my 11 questions and nominate 11 new bloggers to answer 11 new questions you have set them – they can be about anything! If you want to do it but the thought of finding 11 other bloggers to tag and thinking up questions puts you off, just write 11 random facts about yourself, and answer my questions!

11 random facts about me

(1) I am gluten and lactose intolerant (but I do indulge in a little cake on a Saturday and/or Sunday otherwise life wouldn't be worth living)

(2) I love disaster movies

(3) The only time I've ever been on a horse, everybody laughed at me when I got off. I still can't understand how I could have done it so wrong!

(4) The first time I ever put make-up on, my Mum told me to take it off. She said I looked like a China doll. Is that a bad thing?

(5) I sometimes chew my tongue when I'm deep in concentration

(6) I met my husband when I was just 16

(7) I hate gardening and window cleaning.... urgh

(8) I met Kiki Dee on my birthday (Boxing Day) a few years ago. She gave me a signed CD for a birthday present

(9) I once stalked Bonnie Tyler around Faro airport

(10) I recently worked on a movie which starred Lucia Moniz, the famous Portuguese actress from Love Actually

(11) I'm a Goth at heart (it never really left me)

Now, the 11 questions Alice asked me:

(1) I stumbled in to the ‘author world’ when I was encouraged by several people to turn my dating blog in to a novel. How did you arrive in the author world?
I started writing years ago but it wasn't until two years ago that I wrote my first YA book, Raven. Originally, I'd planned to try and get published traditionally but when a friend suggested Amazon KDP, I jumped on the bandwagon. I haven't looked back since!

(2) The ‘onesie’ has become very popular in the fashion world with the help of THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX stars. I’m from Essex and you will rarely find me lounging about at home without my onesie! Which item of clothing would you sorely miss if it was taken away from you?
LOL, Alice. Do you really have a onesie? Actually, I've seen them in Primark and I have thought about it. I bet they're lovely and warm. I'd be lost without my jeans. You can usually find me in one of my many, many pairs. I just love that you can wear them with anything.

(3) As a youngster I was taught to play the piano. Classical music was my thing and I played it quite well. Did you ever learn to play a musical instrument? If so, which one and do you still play? If you never played one, do you regret it/would you like to?
Like most kids at school back then, I had to play the recorder but I was terrible at it. I used to just try and copy the girl next to me. I must have sounded awful. I do regret not learning to play something though. Given the chance again, I'd say the piano.

(4) Name something on your bucket list and tell me why it’s on there?
I've always wanted to go to Cape Canaveral and visit the Space Centre. Not really sure why. Its just always been on my list.

(5) When I was a child I used to dream about being a photographic model when I grew up. What did you aspire to be, and did you ever achieve it as an adult?
I wanted to be an archaeologist, then a psychologist and there was probably a time I wanted to be actress too. But I know I'd be terrible at all those things.

(6) My favourite track of all time is I’m Not In Love by 10cc, for no other reason than it completely moves me. What is your all time favourite track?
Probably Cry Little Sister by Aiden from The Lost Boys movie soundtrack. I just adore it!

(7) Aside from your spouse/partner, tell me about your best friend.
She's my complete opposite in every way. She's blonde, I'm brunette. She's loud, I'm quiet. She's confident, I'm shy. She's just larger than life and so much fun to be around.
She used to live around the corner from me but she moved back to England a few years ago. We're planning on moving back soon and we're going to settle in the same town. I can't wait to hang out with her again.

(8) On average, how many books do you read a month, and what is your favourite genre?
Lately, I've read more than my average. Probably about 3 or 4.

(9) Paperback or electronic reader?
Both. I buy them both.

(10) Put a link below to a blog that you enjoy reading.
http://melissapearl.blogspot.pt/

(11) If a movie was made of THE MAN IN A HAYSTACK, my leading character Mae would be played by one of three actresses – Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet or Cameron Diaz. Who would you like to play the leading character in a movie of your latest novel?
I have two leading ladies, Emma Jane and Lana Beth Morgan. I'd like a young Vivien Leigh lookalike to play Emma Jane and do you remember that gorgeous girl who appeared in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics Jasmine Breinburg? Someone who looks exactly like her.

Here are the 11 questions I am asking the 11 authors I plan to tag:
1) I always wished I had a middle name but I'm just plain old Suzanne (Suzy) Turner. Do you have a middle name? If so, what is it? 
2) When I write my books, I usually have a rough idea of the general plot but I usually go off on a tangent and change it dramatically halfway through. What about you? Are you a plotter or a pantster?
3) I was always a 'pink' girl until I had all my hair chopped off and then for some reason, I changed my favourite colour to blue. What's your favourite colour and why?
4) I always loved the name Sheharazade. If you were to re-name yourself what would it be? (he he he... no I probably wouldn't be brave enough to go for the aforementioned name!)
5) I used to have the most amazing dreams where I was flying. Is there a recurring dream you remember having as a child?
6) My favourite TV shows at the moment are Castle, Scandal, Bones, Lost Girl, Haven, Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones. What are some of yours?
7) If my life was ever made into a movie, I'd want Sandra Bullock to play me. Who would play you?
8) In an ideal world, I'd have enough money and resources to spend half the year in England and the rest in Canada or the US. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
9) I'd change my feet if I could. If you could change anything about your appearance, what would it be?
10) The Time Spirit series by Melissa Pearl, The Marchwood Vampire series by Shalini Boland, Scarlet Vamporium by Poppet are just a few of my fave indie books. Name two or three of your all time favourite indie books.
11) I can speak Portuguese but it's getting a bit rusty. Can you speak any other languages?

I am tagging the following authors to continue the next chain of the Liebster Blog Award. 

#YAIndieCarnival: Goodreads

22.3.13


If you're an author and you're not on Goodreads, then why are you sitting here reading this? You should be over there, like right NOW creating your author profile page. It's a crucial social networking site for authors and readers alike. Did you get that? I said READERS... yes, that's where a lot of readers will go to to get ideas about their next book. They can easily get recommendations from their peers and other followers with similar reading tastes as them.
When I first joined Goodreads, I wasn't entirely sure about it. But then, let's face it, I wasn't entirely sure about anything related to social networking. And then, when I was invited to do a giveaway I soon found that thousands of people were adding my books to their 'To Read' list. And then the reviews started flowing in too. It was a win/win situation for me and so I was hooked.
I've since linked my blog to my Goodreads profile so that people can see my blog posts right on Goodreads if they want to. I've also added my book trailers. You can add upcoming events and join groups. You can quite easily spend hours on Goodreads!
Find me right here - feel free to add me as a friend. The more, the merrier!

Don't forget to download your FREE copy of my book, Daisy Madigan's Paradise here and your FREE copy of Raven here.

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. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy
7. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
8. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
9. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
10. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
11. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
12. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
13. Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy
14. Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga
15. Courtney Cole Writes
16. Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
17. Ella James
18. Maureen Murrish
19. Valerie Sloan
20. YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings
21. Terah Edun, author of Red Madrassa and An Amlah's Diary

Click here for more Indie News:

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