Archive for the ‘Author Interviews’ Category

In the Penalty Box

Posted: January 27, 2021 in Announcements, Author Interviews, Blog Tour Hosting, Recommended Reading, YA Bound Book Tour
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1. Tell me about your writing process? Do you have the story mapped out in your mind or on paper before writing? Or are you a “pantser,” making it up as you move along?

LYNN: Before I met Kelly, I was a Seat of the Pants writer. I absolutely LOVE the rush of sitting before a blank word document with only my ideas and thoughts. But that only works when it’s only you writing. When you bring in a partner, things change. So…I learned how to plot! And don’t tell my fellow pantsers…It’s actually NOT that bad. I always thought I would be “confined” to what I’d outlined, but I’m learning that’s not true. We’ve deviated from our outline before and it’s been just fine. Kelly and I use Google Docs, and we try to alternate chapters, me taking the male point of view and her the female point of view. Sometimes, if one of us gets busy or can’t quite write as much as the other, we’ll jump into the other point of view, but we come back through it and make sure it’s our voice. It’s a great system. 

KELLY: What Lynn said! Ha ha ha! But seriously, we usually start by chatting on the phone and making notes in a shared Google Doc. We focus on coming up with a basic synopsis and the main characters. After we have a solid idea, we start plotting out each of the important story “beats” (i.e., inciting incident, midpoint a.k.a. when everything changes, climax, etc.). We also add a few sentences with basic information pertaining to each chapter (i.e.,What happens, how it moves the story/plot forward, etc.). Knowing what happens next is also very beneficial when writing with another author or solo. It also prevents us from writing ourselves into a dead-end or in circles. Starting our co-writing process this way is beyond helpful! It also helps to have the world’s best co-author! Love ya, Lynn! xoxo

2. About how long did it take you to write the book?

IN THE PENALTY BOX took us about four months to write. We started it in late August/early September and finished at about 98,000 words in late December. But then the editing phase started. Our super agents worked with us to make IN THE PENALTY BOX shine! Once it was ready, they started shopping the manuscript. We were over the moon when editor extraordinaire, Stacy Abrams of Entangled Teen, bought it in the Fall of 2019.  

3. What was your inspiration for this book? What gave you the idea to write it?

We love sports and both played them in high school and college. There’s so much adventure and excitement in competitive athletics, so it felt pretty natural for us to tackle that. It was a blast writing the highs and lows related to training for sports along with the complexities of having a secret relationship and family issues during it as well. We hope you enjoy reading IN THE PENALTY BOX as much as we enjoyed writing it! 

4. Do you have any other books in the works?

We do! Yay! We signed a twelve book deal with Entangled Teen for a series titled, TWIN RIVER HIGH. It’s a reimagining of Sweet Valley High meets Gossip Girl. The first one is called GUTTER GIRL, and we are so excited to share Jace and McKenna’s story with you! We’ve already written the next three books in the series as well. We think you’ll absolutely love the characters we’ve created and the world of Twin River! Oh, and the drama, there will be lots of drama! The series is scheduled to start releasing in Spring of 2021. Keep an eye on our social media for the exact release dates, cover reveals, and future titles!

5. Will this be a stand-alone, or do you have a series in mind for this book? (This question is only for books that are not currently shown as part of a series).

We have already written and turned in the stand alone sequel to IN THE PENALTY BOX. It’s tentatively titled, CROSSING THE LINE. It features one of our favorite secondary characters from IN THE PENALTY BOX and it will star a new face as well! Can you guess who will be the star of CROSSING THE LINE? 

6. If you had to compare this to any book out there, what would you say this like? Or is it a combination of a few books? Or is it like nothing we may have read before?

Hmmm… That’s a good question! We’ve never read a YA book quite like IN THE PENALTY BOX. That being said, we definitely were inspired by works of authors who write YA romance novels, such as Kasie West, Stephanie Perkins, Sandhya Menon, Ali Novak, Beth Reekles, Jenny Han, and Miranda Kenneally.

7. Do you have any interesting facts or anything about your book (or the writing process) that you want us to know about?

LYNN: It’s pretty interesting that Kelly and I have never met in person. I was scheduled to fly out to North Carolina during release week so we could meet, hang out and do all the fun book release week festivities together, but with COVID-19…well, you know how it’s kind of pooped on a lot of planned activities. I’m really hoping we can meet up in person for the release festivities of GUTTER GIRL (Twin River High Book #1)

KELLY: Lynn likes to joke that I have a memory like an elephant. For example, when I was three-years-old and in preschool, I was patiently waiting my turn for the water table, as one does, and then before I could begin my turn, center time ended. I was a little salty that I didn’t get to play at my favorite center, especially after waiting so patiently. So, unable to stop myself, I stepped up to the water table and plunged my hands into the lightly bleach-scented water. Needless to say, I got in trouble. I remember the entire incident vividly and my brain is packed with many more! When it comes to co-writing multiple books in multiple series, all at the same time, my memory comes in pretty handy! For anything that Lynn and I can’t recall, we refer to our Google Excel spreadsheet, that has every series, story, character, and worldbuilding detail that we could ever need! The spreadsheet was totally Lynn’s idea and it is fabulous! It’s a must have resource for us! P.S. I like exclamation points and I cannot lie! Ha ha ha! Don’t worry, we always go through our manuscripts and delete all of the “unnecessary” exclamation points before turning them to our editors. 

The Cutting Edge meets Friday Night Lights in a sizzling new hockey romance from bestselling authors Kelly Anne Blount and Lynn Rush!

In the Penalty Box 

by Lynn Rush and Kelly Anne Blount  

Genre: YA Contemporary 

Release Date: January 5, 2021

Entangled Teen! 

Summary: 

Willow: Figure skating was supposed to be my whole world. But one unlucky injury and now I’m down…but I’m definitely not out. I just need to rehab—a boatload of rehab—and who’d have thought I could do it on the boys’ hockey team? Of course, the infuriatingly hot captain of the team seems to think I’m nothing but sequins and twirls. What’s a girl to do but put him in his place? Game on. 

Brodie:  Hockey is my whole world. I’ve worked my tail off getting my team in a position to win the championships—hopefully in front of major college scouts, too—so what’s a guy to do when a figure skater ends up as our new goalie? Of course, the distractingly sexy skater thinks I’m nothing but a testosterone-laced competitive streak. And surely she’s only biding her time to heal, then she’s gone. Game over.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0879HJ7MV/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_Mkq9Fb7ZZPVHW

B & N:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-penalty-box-lynn rush/1136846457?ean=9781682815762

About the Authors:

Lynn Rush: New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author, Lynn Rush, is a full-time writer, wife, and trail runner living in the Sonoran Desert, despite her fear of rattle snakes. Known as #TheRunningWriter, Lynn can’t resist posting epic sunrise pictures while running in the desert with her trail sisters, even if she has to occasionally hop a scorpion.

When she’s not running or writing, she’s watching movies that fuel her everlasting love of superheroes, vampires, and all things Supernatural. The books she reads usually carry the same theme, but this former college athlete loves reading sweet sports romances as well.

She’s madly in love with her Ironman husband of 20+ years who is the inspiration for what true love is. You can find her on social media as @LynnRushWrites and her website is: www.lynnrush.com 

Website: www.lynnrush.com 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LynnRushWrites

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/lynnrush

Kelly Anne Blount: USA Today Bestselling author and Wattpad Star Kelly Anne Blount has more than seventy-three-thousand followers on social media. Her Wattpad stories have been read more than twenty-million times. She’s contributed to Tap, Wattpad’s new app for chat-style stories, where her work has been “tapped” more than fifty-million times. She is a writer and reviewer for SpoilerTV, which has allowed her to develop an incredible network of film and TV stars.

Two of her Wattpad works, including Captured (seventeen-million reads), have been optioned for film by Komixx Entertainment, and she is regularly invited to present seminars about social media at author events.

Stop by any of Kelly’s social-media platforms (@KellyAnneBlount) and stay tuned to this website for announcements and information about upcoming releases and events.
​
Kelly Anne Blount is represented by Jennifer Wills (jennifer@theseymouragency.com) and Nicole Resciniti (nicole@theseymouragency.com) of The Seymour Agency.

Website: http://www.KellyAnneBlount.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KellyAnneBlount

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/kellyanneblount

Blog Tour Schedule

January 18
Living in a Bookworld   Promo
What Does the Fox Say   Review
Ruei’s Reading Corner  Review

January 19
|Lisa Loves Literature  Review
Baroness’Book Trove  Review

January 20
Cathrine Goldstein    Promo
Westveil Publishing   Promo 
Library of a Book Witch  Review 

January 21
Lilly’s Book World  Review
Chapters Through Life  Review
Hawthorn Book Reviews  Review 

January 22
Confessions of a YA Reader   Promo
Lala’s Book Reviews Review

January 25
Becky on Books Review
Read Your Writes Book Reviews  Promo
Amy’s MM Romance Reviews  Review

January 26
Pine Enshrined Reviews  Promo
Lisa Loves Literature  Review

January 27
The Obsessed Reader  Promo
411 on Books, Authors, & Publishing News   Promo
The Avid Reader   Promo

January 28
Stars Books and Tea  Promo
Teatime and Books  Promo

January 29
Sascha Darlington’s Microcosm Explored  Review
The Eclectic Review  

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Bones of the Redeemed

Posted: November 25, 2020 in Announcements, Author Interviews, Blog Tour Hosting, iRead Book Tours, rafflecopter, Recommended Reading
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  1. How do you come up with character names?

This can be fun and challenging at the same time. In many of my novels I write about real historical figures so that’s a no-brainer, but for fictional characters I look up names that were popular in the era and try to match a name with the personality of a character. I have one manuscript where I have changed the protagonist’s name three times. The names just weren’t jiving with my vision of her personality. But, I finally settled on one that is perfect!  

2. Talk about what you want to achieve as an author.

What is really important to me is connecting with other people through my books. Whether that connection serves to entertain, inspire, or educate, it’s all good to me. One of my favorite things to hear is when someone has read my books and it has inspired them to look into the history of that time period or that character to find out as much as they can about it or them. It’s great to have that particular interest in common with someone. I’d love to continue writing novels as long as I am able. I have so many different ideas, and writing novels allows me to transport to a different time period or reality, and it takes me out of myself. I plan to keep writing and being open to people and opportunities that come my way!

3) As an author – what do you enjoy most about writing process? What feels like a chore?

As an author it’s really fun for me to create a world and characters from my imagination. When I taught middle school I used to tell my students that when you write, you can be or do anything you want. It’s really so liberating. I also enjoy when I get into the zone and the words just tumble out. Characters will do and say things I never expected and then I find myself saying, “How interesting! Now, what am I going to do with that?” It’s always fun and always a challenge. The chore part, if you could call it that, is all of the publicity, promotion, and marketing that come along with the author’s life. That part alone could be a full-time job in itself, and it takes me away from what I really love which is living inside of my stories. However, it is a necessity and it can be fun in its own way. It gives me the opportunity to interact with readers and get to know people I never would have known if I wasn’t an author. So there’s definitely an upside to being a business person as well as an author.

4) How did you do research for your book? 

The research for this book started long ago. So long ago, I forgot where exactly I got some of the information. My late father, who was such an inspiration to me, told me about the Penitente Brotherhood, a lay confraternity of Spanish-American Roman Catholic men who are active in New Mexico and Colorado. Bones of the Redeemed is very loosely inspired by this brotherhood, but takes their practices quite a bit farther. My book poses the question of what might happen if leadership in one of these types of organizations went off the rails—which, as we know can happen in deeply religious communities.

I did a lot of reading on the Brotherhood, and I also interviewed a couple of Catholic priests, one whose father and some of his brothers were members of the Penitente Brotherhood here in New Mexico. 

For the archaeology aspect of the book, I actually took some graduate courses in anthropology and archaeology at Millsap’s College in Jackson, Mississippi when I lived there. I had a very early draft of the novel and I asked my professor to read it. He helped me tweak where necessary. More recently, I have a friend who is a retired archaeologist and she reviewed the book for me as well. 

5) What’s next? Do you have any new books in the planning or writing stage?  

I’ve started another series that has been so much fun to work on. The first book is called Grace in the Wings. Grace, the protagonist, is an aspiring costume designer working in the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway, 1920.  When her sister, the star of the show, is murdered, Grace has to step out from the wings of her backstage life and into the spotlight of stardom to find the killer. 

Right now, I am working on the second book in the series titled Grace in Hollywood. Grace has left Broadway behind and has moved to Hollywood to work in the silent films of 1924. In this book, a big-time director is murdered and a young woman she is mentoring is accused of the crime. Grace sets out to clear the girl’s name, and in doing so, inadvertently sets herself up to be the next victim. 

 

 
 
Join us for this tour from Nov 9 to Dec 4, 2020!

 
Book Details:

 

Book Title: Bones of the Redeemed (A Southwestern Mystery) by Kari Bovee
Category:  Adult Fiction (18 + yrs), 298 pages
Genre:  Historical Mystery (1952)
Publisher:  Bosque Publishing
Release date:  November 2020
Content Rating:  R for abuse, does contain the f-word a few times,

Book Description:

A pit of corpses. An ancient cult. A quest for redemption that could leave her dead… New Mexico, 1952. Archaeology grad student Ruby Delgado is plagued by guilt after losing her son. So when her latest excavation drops her down a sinkhole filled with suspiciously mutilated bodies, she’s driven to bring the murderer to justice. But when digging deeper brings her dangerously close to a sinister religious sect, she could be their next sacrifice… Discovering some of the victims were crucified, Ruby pushes hard to give the evidence to the authorities. But when her trail crosses the path of a beaten man left for dead in the desert, she realizes she may be the only person who can save the community. Can Ruby stop the sacrifices and slay her inner demons, or will hers be the next body laid to rest? Bones of the Redeemed is a hair-raising standalone Southwestern mystery. If you like complex heroines, cult conflict, and hard-won redemption, then you’ll love Kari Bovee’s grisly tale.

Buy the Book:

Amazon

Add to Goodreads
 
 
Meet the Author:

When she’s not on a horse, or walking along the beautiful cottonwood-laden acequias of Corrales, New Mexico; or basking on white sand beaches under the Big Island Hawaiian sun, Kari Bovee is escaping into the past—scheming murder and mayhem for her characters both real and imagined, and helping them to find order in the chaos of her action-packed novels. Empowered women in history, horses, unconventional characters, and real-life historical events fill the pages of Kari Bovée’s articles and historical mystery musings and manuscripts. An award-winning author, Bovée was honored with the 2019 NM/AZ Book Awards Hillerman Award for Southwestern Fiction for her novel Girl with a Gun. The novel also received First Place in the 2019 NM/AZ Book Awards in the Mystery/Crime category, and is a Finalist in the 2019 International Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Awards and the International Chanticleer Goethe Awards, as well as the Next Generation Indie Awards. Her novel Grace in the Wings is a Finalist for the 2019 International Chanticleer Chatelaine Awards and the International Chanticleer Goethe Awards. Her novel Peccadillo at the Palace is a Finalist in the 2019 International Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Awards and the 2019 International Goethe Awards, as well as a Finalist in the 2019 Best Book Awards Historical Fiction category. Bovée has worked as a technical writer for a Fortune 500 Company, has written non-fiction for magazines and newsletters, and has worked in the education field as a teacher and educational consultant. She and her husband, Kevin, spend their time between their horse property in the beautiful Land of Enchantment, New Mexico, and their condo on the sunny shores of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Connect with the author:  Website ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram~ Pinterest

 
Tour Schedule:
Nov 9 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Nov 9 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – book spotlight
Nov 10 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
Nov 12 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Nov 12 – _Fan_of_Books_ – book review
Nov 16 – 100 Pages A Day – book review / giveaway
Nov 17 – Literary Flits – book review / giveaway
Nov 18 – PuzzlePaws Blog – book review / giveaway
Nov 18 – Books and Zebras @jypsylynn – book review / giveaway
Nov 19 – She Just Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Nov 23 – I’m Into Books – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 23 – Splashes of Joy – book review / author interview / giveaway
Nov 24 – Stephanie Jane – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 24 – Leels Loves Books – book review / giveaway
Nov 25 – Bigreadersite – book review / giveaway
Nov 25 – 411 ON BOOKS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHING NEWS – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Nov 26 – Olio by Marilyn – book review / giveaway
Nov 27 – JBronder Book Reviews – book review / author interview
Nov 30 – Rajiv’s Reviews – book review / giveaway
Nov 30 – Sadie’s Spotlight – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 1 – Pine Enshrined Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Dec 2 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Dec 3 – Library of Clean Reads – book review / giveaway
Dec 4 – Adventurous Jessy – book review / giveaway
Dec 4 – High Society Book Reviews – book review / giveaway 

 

Enter the Giveaway:

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Secret Legacy

Posted: September 16, 2020 in Author Interviews, Blog Tour Hosting, giveaway, Recommended Reading, Xpresso Tours
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Secret Legacy
Carissa Andrews
(The Windhaven Witches #1)
Publication date: September 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Paranormal

☆☆~~ 50% of Royalties Donated to the American Cancer Society! ~~☆☆

Nestled in the woods of Windhaven, Blackwood Manor waits to unleash a dark and deadly legacy…

When Autumn Blackwood shows up at Windhaven Academy for the Witching Stick Orientation, she hopes to find out what dormant powers she could possibly possess to have been accepted to the elite supernatural school. Instead, the academy is in chaos as everyone frantically hunts for two missing girls.

But as school begins with Autumn no closer to figuring out her powers, strange occurrences start to follow her everywhere. Even at home, Blackwood Manor keeps many secrets, and Autumn can’t escape its haunting past.

New friends urge her to learn more about her family’s history in order to unlock her powers and make sense of what’s happening at Blackwood Manor, but Autumn’s not so sure. Once an accident brings Autumn face-to-face with death, however, she realizes her gifts are tied to a legacy that can either save or doom them all…

Fans of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, Joe Hill’s Locke & Key, or MR Forbes’ Necromancer: The Complete Series will love The Windhaven Witches.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Interview with Carissa Andrews

  1. Tell me about your writing process? Do you have the story mapped out in your mind or on paper before writing? Or are you a “pantser,” making it up as you move along?

In the past, I was definitely a pantser. I loved the idea of letting the story take you where it wanted to. These days, though, I map out the plot first and go from there. I start by creating a loose “skeletal” outline for the series (if there is one), then the book or books. Once those are in place, I go in and create chapter-by-chapter outlines that allow me to see where the story really is going at a glance. The process is almost like pantsing, since it’s the first glimpse into the way the story will go. I don’t typically try to force the plot into my idea, instead, I look for patterns and what would make a cool twist or plot development.

  1. What was your inspiration for this book? What gave you the idea to write it?

Secret Legacy has a long legacy. (Thus, its name! HA!) It originally started out as part of a dream I had when I was 14 years old. The dream itself felt so real that I could swear to this day it was a past-life memory. I’d never been in a house with such grand (or old) features before. The dream took me into what would become my “new bedroom” and from there, I found a small door hidden behind the wallpaper. I couldn’t get it opened at first because the handle was missing – which, in my dream, I found I the closet. (Spoiler: that’s not where my main character finds hers. HA!) When I opened it… I was shocked to find what I did. I woke up just after opening it. So, to me, in many ways, the mystery of the house and the little door were the primary focal points in Secret Legacy, but there’s a lot more hidden beneath the surface – which starts to come out in the following books.

  1. If you had to compare this to any book out there, what would you say this is like? Or is it a combination of a few books? Or is it like nothing we may have read before?

It’s hard to say what it’s like for sure. In some ways, it’s similar to The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, though I only recently read it thanks to a few readers suggesting it was like that book. Some of the themes are definitely the same. Supernatural beings, ghosts, finding out you have powers you didn’t know you had. But Secret Legacy follows a character who’s twenty, so she’s much older than the fourteen -year-old in Armstrong’s books. The house aspect of Secret Legacy reminds me of The Haunting of Hill House. There are hidden rooms, strange places, and of course, ghosts… I also have had a number of readers liken it to The Gateway Series by EE Holmes, and I would have to agree with that in some ways. So, if you like any of those books, you’ll likely enjoy Secret Legacy.

  1. Do you have any interesting facts or anything about your book (or the writing process) that you want us to know about?

One of the fun things we’ve done this year with Secret Legacy is that we’ve created a live-action trailer for it. My husband got the idea of doing something bigger for it and he’s always wanted to take a stab at filming and directing. He took the book, wrote a small script, and created the storyboard/scenes/set. (Yes, he built most of the set for it!) The entire process has been an experience, particularly thanks to the pandemic, but one that I will have such fond memories of for the rest of my life. We gathered up some of the most amazing young people we know, asked them if they’d join us in this crazy experiment, and we found that we surrounded by some incredible talent. From actors to makeup artists, we really have it all. It’s safe to say, you’ll likely see more live action trailers coming from our court in the future.

Author Bio:

“An author emerges from the depths of Minnesotan waters. Sci-fi/Fantasy is my pen of choice.”

Carissa Andrews is a Minnesota-based genre-bending author who writes a combination of science fiction, fantasy, and dystopia. When not writing her own books, she’s busy reading them.

Carissa’s internationally bestselling trilogy, The Pendomus Chronicles, is now in digital, print, and audiobook formats. She has hit the scene as an up and coming speculative fiction author who uses a mix of scifi and fantasy, twisted in modern mythology and alternative history. Check out The Final Five, Oracle, Awakening, and Love is a Merciless God!

Carissa has big plans for 2020. Check out her upcoming series, The Windhaven Witches.

For more information on their release, visit Carissa Andrews’ author website: http://www.carissaandrews.com and sign up for her newsletter notifications.

She lives in central Minnesota with her husband and brood of five kids. Not to mention, her insane husky puppies, Aztec and Pharaoh.

Carissa is also a freelance graphic designer, writer and content creator, social media manager, and marketing professional. She writes consistently on topics of science, technology, art, writing, photography, graphic design, health, self-improvement, and more. Her articles can be found published across the interwebs. Carissa is also a Top-Rated Freelancer on Upwork, and can be contacted for freelancing opportunities: http://bit.ly/UpworkCarissaAndrews

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