Feature Friday: Inara Scott

Inara Scott grew up on a steady diet of true love, heaving bosoms, and happily ever after. Romance inspired her first novel, penned at the age of 14, titled A Wild and Stormy Passion. Today, Inara writes anything and everything, including young adult fiction and adult romance. Inara loves to hear from readers, and can often be found avoiding actual work on Twitter (@inarascott) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/inarawrites). You can always email her at inara.scott@gmail.com.

Interview:

A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Inara:
There are a few people who can dash off a fabulous book every two weeks, but for the other 99.99% of us there's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears in this line of work. Write and keep writing. Love what you do. Try to forget about the rest.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Inara:
I don't know that I have one favorite, but I dearly love Dragonflight--the first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. I fell in love with this books because it's got everything I dream about--a Cinderella story; a tough, intense heroine; some romance; hot guys; and OMG DRAGONS.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for A Sleep So Dark?

Inara:
I always wanted to write one of those books where they assemble a team of misfits to save the world, and initially, the heroine for A Sleep So Dark was going to pull other people into her dreams and make them into a real dream team (sorry! pun intended)! But my books always start out as one thing and turn into something else, and somewhere along the way A Sleep So Dark turned into a love story and a mystery, which was even more fun to write than I could have imagined.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing A Sleep So Dark?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Inara:
I think the hardest part about writing this book was making it scary. After my first couple of rounds with my agent, she kept pushing me to up the suspense levels. I really had to pull back and think about how much information I was revealing in each scene. It's hard not to spill too much too soon when you're writing suspense!

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in A Sleep So Dark is your favorite and why?

Inara:
I love Tandy, the main character, because I adore strong heroines, and she's really incredibly tough. But I also have a sweet spot for Bodie, one of the side characters. He's a football player nursing a terrible secret, and when you learn the truth about him, I think it hits you hard.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Inara:
I guess you could say I've done just about everything as a writer. I started out writing adult historical romance, and I don't think I would have tried YA if the first couple of books I wrote had sold. But they didn't, and I was desperate to try something new, and I was inspired by a workshop I went to by P.C. Cast. The Talents, the first book in my Delcroix Academy series, was actually my first book to sell and be published. From there, I started down a dual path, writing both YA and adult romance. I continue to juggle both, and love having the chance to do a little bit of everything.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Inara:
I'm finishing up the third book in the Talents (Delcroix Academy) series, at the same time I'm working on a new adult contemporary romance series. I've been really busy lately!

A.L.:
Have you ever been to private school?  If you went to Delcroix Academy, what would your Talent be?

Inara:
I have not been to private school, but I love the idea! I think I'd be able to manipulate people's minds through my writing. Kind of like Mr. Judan, who can control people through his speech. Creepy, right? ;-)

A.L.:
What's the most emotionally damaging thing you've ever read?

Inara:
Wow, that's an interesting question. I read a YA years ago that was unrelentingly depressing. I've blocked out the title. The protagonist is a boy who's parents are divorcing, and he ends up horribly depressed. He falls for a girl (I think she's the daughter of the person his father was having an affair with) and she's starts to save him, but then at the end of the book she's terribly injured. You think she's going to die, then there's a moment where she might be rescued, and then your hopes are dashed and the worst possible thing happens. He falls deeper into depression and ends up wasting his days playing the Sims. It's awful. I still shudder with horror when I think about that book.

Authors get to write whatever they want, but I can tell you, I've got no interest in reading things that are like that. I need redemption and hope. That's why I read.

A.L.:
What the cutest breed of puppy ever?

Inara:
OMG, totally Havanese! I have a Havanese-Coton mix. He looked like this as a puppy:

The Giveaway:
Inara is giving away a digital copy of A SLEEP SO DARK.  Internationals welcome!

A Sleep So Dark:  Haunted…

After watching her mother die in a car accident, sixteen year-old Tandy McIntyre is plagued by violent dreams. Terrified to sleep and losing her grip on reality, she agrees to attend an experimental group retreat with Dr. Robert Gillman, an expert in lucid dreaming.

Trapped…

In the bitter cold of a Colorado winter, Tandy follows Dr. Gillman and his enigmatic son Cade as they lead a group of troubled teens into the wilderness. There, Dr. Gillman claims he will teach them to control their unconscious minds and master their dreams. But when the dreaming and the waking collide, will Tandy ever be safe again?

Don’t Fall Asleep…


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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winners via email.

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Monday Muse: Katy Perry -- Unconditionally

Some Katy love. This is an awesome video!

Feature Friday: Jennifer Estep

Jennifer Estep is a New York Times bestselling author, prowling the streets of her imagination in search of her next fantasy idea. Midnight Frost, the fifth book in her Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series, was released in August. Killer Frost, the sixth and final book, will be released in March 2014. For more information, visit www.jenniferestep.com or follow Jennifer on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Website: http://www.jenniferestep.com/
Blog: http://www.jenniferestep.com/blog/ 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JenniferEstepAuthor?fref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Jennifer_Estep
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/580315.Jennifer_Estep


Interview:

A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Jennifer:
I would encourage budding authors to read in the genre that they want to write in and to educate themselves about all aspects of publishing, from writing and editing, to getting an agent, to marketing and self-publishing. Also, write in a genre that you enjoy reading. If you don’t like zombie books, don’t try to write one just because zombies are popular right now.

But most of all, I would encourage budding authors to have fun with their writing and enjoy telling their story. If you are having fun with your writing, then I think it will show in the finished product and hopefully make it an enjoyable story for readers as well.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Jennifer:
One of my favorite books is BEAUTY by Robin McKinley, which is a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. I like fairy tale retellings, especially of that story, and BEAUTY is just a lovely book.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Midnight Frost?

Jennifer:
I’ve always enjoyed mythology and reading and watching stories about all the gods, goddesses, warriors, and creatures battling each other and going on all these epic quests. So when I decided to write a young adult series, I thought it would be fun to write something related to mythology and to try to put my own spin on the gods, goddesses, warriors, creatures, and more. So that was sort of the beginning of my Mythos Academy series.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Midnight Frost?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Jennifer:
Not really. For me, the first book in a series – in this case, TOUCH OF FROST – is often the hardest to write because I am creating a world and magic system, along with characters, settings, and more. But after I get all of that established, I can just turn the characters loose and let them have all sorts of adventures.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Midnight Frost is your favorite and why?

Jennifer:
One of my favorite characters in the series is Vic, Gwen’s talking sword. Vic is really confident, and he’s just a really fun character for me to write.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Jennifer:
I wrote about seven books over the course of about seven years before I got an agent and sold my first book, which was KARMA GIRL, the first book in my Bigtime paranormal romance series. And I got a lot of rejections along the way. So getting published definitely did not happen overnight for me. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but it’s been a great ride so far, and I plan to keep writing as long as folks are interested in my books.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Jennifer:
Right now, I’m working on POISON PROMISE, the 11th book in my Elemental Assassin adult urban fantasy series, which is tentatively scheduled to be published in July 2014.

I’m also working on some other projects, including a new young adult series, so we’ll see what happens with those.

Folks can check out my website at www.jenniferestep.com for more information and the latest news about my books.

A.L.:
The Mythos Academy series is now on its fifth book.  Do you see an end in sight or are you just going to keep giving us Gwen until we say no more (which probably won't happen)?

Jennifer:
KILLER FROST, the sixth book, will be the last book in my Mythos Academy series. So readers will get to see how Gwen and her friends take on Loki and his Reapers of Chaos. I hope that fans of the series will enjoy the conclusion.

I’ve had a lot of fun writing the series, and if there is enough reader interest, I may write more in the series or do a spin-off someday. We’ll see what happens.

A.L.:
You write in both the adult and young adult realms.  Do you prefer one over the other?  Likewise, do you have a particular series that is more close to your heart than the others?

Jennifer:
I really like writing in both genres. All of my books, whether they are for adults or young adults, have some common elements, including strong heroines, magic/world building, and lots of action/fight scenes. With my Mythos Academy young adult books, I’m telling a little more of a coming-of-age story with a heroine who is still trying to figure out who she is, how her magic works, and what she wants her place in the world to be.

I enjoy writing in all three of my series – Mythos Academy (young adult); Elemental Assassin (adult); and Bigtime (adult). I think switching back and forth between the series helps to keep me balanced as a writer.

A.L.:
What's your favorite song and why?

Jennifer:
Since we’re approaching the holiday season, I’ll share one of my favorite holiday songs, which is Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24 by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The Giveaway:
Jennifer is giving away a copy of MIDNIGHT FROST for US entrants.

Midnight Frost:  Here we go again …

Just when it seems life at Mythos Academy can’t get any more dangerous, the Reapers of Chaos manage to prove me wrong. It was just a typical night at the Library of Antiquities — until a Reaper tried to poison me. The good news is I’m still alive and kicking. The bad news is the Reaper poisoned someone else instead.

As Nike’s Champion, everyone expects me to lead the charge against the Reapers, even though I’m still hurting over what happened with Spartan warrior Logan Quinn. I’ve got to get my hands on the antidote fast — otherwise, an innocent person will die. But the only known cure is hidden in some creepy ruins — and the Reapers are sure to be waiting for me there …


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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one US winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winners via email.
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Monday Muse: Girls Who Read by Roundhouse London

This is for all my girls!

Feature Friday: J.A. Souders

Sorry this is a little late guys!  My new job is eating my soul!  I'll have the giveaway up ASAP, I'm just waiting on an email from the author!

J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an over abundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble.

Because she never grew up, she decided she’d put her imaginary friends to work and started writing. She now lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children and is an active member of the RWA, SFWA, YARWA and SCBWI. 


Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

J.A.:
Never give up. The road to publishing is long and winding, but if you just keep pushing forward you'll eventually have your dreams come true. Also a good crit group never hurts. ; )

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

J.A.:
This list is always changing, but today that answer is A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrochers.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for The Elysium Chronicles?

J.A.:
A bunch of things, and a really long story involving SeaQuest and me being in the Navy, but basically I was watching a documentary on people's perception of perfection and it's effect on history. I was at the point in the documentary where they were talking about Hitler and his perception of perfection and what it changed. At the same time, my son was playing the video game BioShock. Somehow they meshed in my head and The Elysium Chronicles were born.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing The Elysium Chronicles?  What were they and how did you fix them?

J.A.:
LOL. Yes! A ton! I think the hardest was the corner I wrote myself into at the end of RENEGADE. And...since I can't answer how I fixed it without spoilers, you'll just have to read REVELATIONS to see the answer for yourself. :P

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in The Elysium Chronicles is your favorite and why?

J.A.:
I'm not sure what this says for me, but I'd have to say Mother. She's so deliciously evil that she's so fun to write. Besides, I guess knowing more about her story than everyone else, I feel sorry for her. She's done horrible things. Unforgivable things. But the reasons for those decisions was and is truly heartbreaking.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

J.A.:
Well, I've been extremely lucky and blessed that there really isn't that much to tell. :)  I loved to read as a kid and I was lucky enough that my parents indulged my addiction to books. In high school I had a really awesome teacher named Mrs. Carly who completed supported me in my writings and even pushed me to keep writing, maybe even choose writing as a career path. While I loved it, I figured that I should get a "real" job, so I went to college, then joined the Navy to pursue my dreams of being a marine biologist. Then after I left the Navy, and became a stay at home mom, I realized I missed writing so I started writing again. This time with the intention of being published traditionally. 9 months and 3 books later, I had an agent. A year and two more books, I had my first publication offer for Renegade and The Elysium Chronicles. :)

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

J.A.:
I just finished writing book 3 in the Elysium Chronicles and am awaiting edits from my editor. In the meantime, I'm working on two super secret projects. A science fiction adult manuscript and a contemporary book that has yet decided whether it wants to be new adult or young adult.

A.L.:
When you first started writing The Elysium Chronicles, did you set out to write a thriller?  How did you handle it?

J.A.: 
I didn't. I actually went in with almost no expectations. I had things I wanted to incorporate in a loose outline, but I let Evie tell me her story. It just happened to be a thriller. I don't even think I considered it a thriller myself until my editor said they were marketing it as one. LOL. Genre lines, I guess, aren't all that important to me. I just care about writing an awesome story and let the experts (i.e. my publisher) decide where it fits.

A.L.:
Have any of your own life experiences influenced your writing The Elysium Chronicles?

J.A.:
The navy and my medical and science background were huge influences on my writing. Even though I was writing fiction, I wanted as realistic of a story as I could get in the time and technology that are available. Plus, having all the connections I did, helped a lot with research, so of course, that was a huge influence on how I wrote the story.

A.L.:
Revelations, the next book in The Elysium Chronicles, just came out and Evelyn is no longer in Elysium.  Do you miss your under water world or does it make a special cameo in the new book?

J.A.:
I love Elysium, so yes, while writing Revelations, I did miss the relative simplicity of writing a story that takes place in a relatively small confined space, but the adventure of really showing off the Surface and what War and people and nature have done to what we know as home was really fun and I'm so glad that I was able to write that part of the story. As far as a special cameo for Elysium, I can't say, but the series IS called the Elysium Chronicles. ; )

The Giveaway:

To be Announced

Renegade:  Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie.

Her memories have been altered.

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

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Revelations:  Six weeks after her arrival on the Surface, Evelyn Winters is no closer to unlocking the memories lost in her subconscious than she was when she first came. Isolated in a strange new society, Evie has only Gavin Hunter to remind her of who she once was.

But even with a clean slate, it’s easy to see that Evie doesn’t fit in on the Surface. And as her differences make her feel more and more alone, she can’t help but yearn for that place she doesn’t remember: the isolated city hidden in the depths of the ocean. Elysium. Home.

But she can’t exactly tell Gavin what she’s feeling. Not when he’s the one who helped her escape Elysium in the first place, and has the scars to prove it. Though the doctors say otherwise, Gavin believes that Evie just needs time. And if her memories don’t come back, well, maybe she’s better off not remembering her past.

But the decision may be out of their hands when Evie’s ever-elusive memories begin to collide with reality. People and images from her past appear in the most unlikely places, haunting her, provoking her…and making her seem not only strange but dangerous.

Evie and Gavin can’t wait around for her memories to return. They’ll have to journey across the Outlands of the Surface to find help, and in the end, their search may just lead them back to the place it all started…

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How to Enter: 

TBA

Monday Muse: In This Moment -- The Last Cowboy

can we talk about the secret crush I have on this band? It's not so secret now, LOL. This song is so haunting and cool sounding!

Feature Friday: Ciara Knight

Ciara Knight writes to ‘Defy the Dark’ with her fantasy and paranormal books.  Her debut novel, The Curse of Gremdon, was released to acclaimed reviews, securing a Night Owl Top Pick and five stars from the Paranormal Romance Guild. Also, released in 2012 is her young adult series, Battle for Souls. Book I, Rise From Darkness, won July Book of the Month at Long and Short Reviews.

When not writing, she enjoys reading all types of fiction. Some great literary influences in her life include Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Francine Rivers and J K Rowling.

Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She’s backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages in China, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier in Alaska.

Interview:
A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Ciara: 
I’d suggest they take a deep breath, read and study the craft, all while writing and rewriting their first work in progress. Don’t be in a hurry to get your first book out there, be ready to put the right book out there.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Ciara: 
Of course, I love all the famous ones, but I’d rather expose readers to one they haven’t tried. I’d have to say that Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers. It is full of a strange world, yet it existed around 2000 years ago. The characters are vibrant, and it will leave you wanting more. If you enjoy romance, try her Redeeming Love book set in the Gold Rush Era.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for The Neumarian Chronicles?

Ciara: 
I’ve always wanted to write science fiction, but I’ve been intimidated. My love of young adult literature blended with an alternate future that rose up after a great war. It became a genre smash-up of all my favorite things. Paranormal gifts, dystopian setting, steampunk gadgets, multi-cultural cast and most of all, epic romance. The kind that will survive even the greatest of wars and treachery.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing The Neumarian Chronicles?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Ciara:
Oh, there was a MAJOR snag. I’d written the entire first book, Escapement, in third person hero and heroine point of view. When I was sitting in my car one day a secondary character’s backstory came flooding in and I wrote it by the time I went to bed that night. When I put it out there for the world to read, I was ecstatic about the popularity of the little story I wrote, Weighted (Prequel novella) until I realized it was writing in first person heroine point of view only. Well, I tested Escapement on a few beta readers who enjoyed Weighted and discovered I’d have to do a major rewrite on Escapement. THAT was a nightmare, but it all worked out in the end.
 
A.L.:
Which one of the characters in The Neumarian Chronicles is your favorite and why?

Ciara: 
Raeth. I know she’s a secondary character and I LOVE my main characters, but she has a little of me in her. You wouldn’t know it now to speak to me, but I had to go through seven years of speech therapy. Raeth has a stuttering problem that gives her fits, but she has a big heart and you want her to succeed despite her challenges.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Ciara:
I wrote poems and short stories as a young adult and even had a few published in literary magazines. It wasn’t until WAY later, when I had my second child, that I wrote my first novel. That one is under my bed, but my next one, The Curse of Gremdon, was published.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Ciara:
I’m writing the final installment of the series, Balance. I’m around 22,000 words in and loving every minute of it. After such a long journey, some of the characters are acquiring things they’ve wanted for so long. Of course, it’s only 22,000 words in so I’m sure it’s all going to be destroyed and built back up in the next 60,000 words or so.

A.L.:
What's the most exciting place you've ever visited?

Ciara: 
I think the most exciting was China, because the culture deferred from ours so greatly. I enjoyed landing on a glacier in Alaska to hike once, too. The craziest place would be on a beach in a Chipmunk Costume, but we don’t need to talk about that. ;)

A.L.:
Since you're a traveler, you've probably eaten lots of cool things.  What's the most unique food you've ever eaten?

Ciara: 
Oh, I’m a big sissy when it comes to food. I will tell you at every meal in China there was a fish head on the table. People in my group would tease me and make it talk and I’d come to dinner to find it in front of me at times. Not nice.

A.L.:
Pendulum, the second book in The Neumarian Chronicles just came out.  What can readers expect with this new book?

Ciara:
Pendulum is up for pre-order and will release in e-book December 3rd. Readers will be rewarded for their patience as almost all the questions from Semara and Ryder’s past will be answered. Not to mention they are MUCH closer in this one. ;)

The Giveaway:
A giveaway of an audio version of ESCAPEMENT.

Escapement:  Ten years after the great war of 2185 the queen’s reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my mother’s empire. When my own erratic powers surface I’m captured and tried for treason. Slaves hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to death

Read Goodreads reviews.
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Preorder PENDULUM, the sequel to ESCAPEMENT:

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/pendulum-9

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pendulum-ciara-knight/1117054016?ean=2940045308540

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/364022

How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winners via email.

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Monday Muse: Exo - Wolf

No clue what they are saying, but it's highly entertaining to me. While the howling seems a little silly to me, Exo makes up for it in awesome dancing, costumes, and stage presence. All boy bands should look like a pack of sexy Lost Boys in my brain-world and Exo does a faboo job of doing that. *nods*

Feature Friday: Elizabeth Langston

Elizabeth Langston lives in North Carolina (USA), halfway between the beaches and the mountains. She has two daughters (teen-ish), one husband (a geek like her), and too many computers. When she’s not writing stories or software, Elizabeth loves to travel, watch dance reality shows on TV, and ponder which restaurant ought to get her family’s business that night. Her debut novel, WHISPER FALLS, releases in Nov 2013.

Interview:

A.L.:
What piece of advice would you give to a budding author?

Elizabeth: 
Your voice is everything. Write so much that your distinctive style becomes second nature. It’s no different than being the best in sports, dance, music, or any talent; you have to practice to be good.

A.L.:
What's your favorite book and why?

Elizabeth: 
Wow. There ought to be a qualifier, like What’s your favorite romance? What’s your favorite mystery?

But that’s not the question. So, if I were about to move into an underground bunker, and I was only allowed to take along one book, it would be THE PROPHET by Khalil Gibran. It “speaks to me” on so many different levels, and every time I re-read a passage, I discover something new.

A.L.:
Where did you get the idea for Whisper Falls?

Elizabeth:
It came from two different ideas that intersected. Back in the 1980s, I watched a TV show called THE TWILIGHT ZONE.  The episode “A Message From Charity” haunted me. It featured a modern day boy who “meets” a girl accused during the Salem Witch Trials. Thirty minutes didn’t take the story deep enough, and the ending was not satisfying for me. 

Fast forward twenty years.  I came across some research on indentured servants in 18th/19th century America. A character started speaking in my head—a girl who had survived horrific cruelty with her dignity intact.  Somehow, that servant girl, Susanna, took the place of Charity. And Whisper Falls was born.

A.L.:
Did you hit any snags while writing Whisper Falls?  What were they and how did you fix them?

Elizabeth:
There were two snags. First—writing Mark.  He’s a teen male athlete. I’ve never been a boy, and both of my children are girls. I wasn’t sure if I would get Mark’s point-of-view right. So I interviewed a lot of guys.  Adult athletes. The teen sons of my friends. It helped, but I still worried. When my publishing house matched me with a male editor, I breathed a sigh of relief. He assured me that I’d done a good job and helped me make the final few tweaks.

The second snag was getting the history right. It took years of accumulating research to grow comfortable with Susanna’s half of the story. Most indentured servants could write their names (maybe) and not much else. So there are minimal first-hand materials to learn how it really felt to be “bound” the way Susanna was. I immersed myself in the details of 18th century life and then did my best to figure out what it would be like to work in a miserably hot kitchen without pay, without relief, without gratitude.

A.L.:
Which one of the characters in Whisper Falls is your favorite and why?

Elizabeth:
I can’t choose between Mark and Susanna; I love them both for different reasons. It’s like asking me to pick between my two daughters. Can’t do it.
Instead, I’ll pick one of the secondary characters, Mark’s sister Marissa. In WHISPER FALLS, she is entirely off-page. Marissa has graduated from college and moved to Colorado with a guy. The reader only gets glimpses of her through phone calls or instant-messages with Mark. She adores her brother, argues with her mom, and doesn’t want to admit that her boyfriend is a jerk. We’ll see much more of Marissa in the sequels.

A.L.:
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as an author?

Elizabeth:
I was an incredibly late bloomer with writing. Most of my author-friends knew that they wanted to write from the very first time they picked up a crayon. Not me. The idea to write a book never occurred to me until both of my kids were in school. So I started late, practiced hard, collaborated with a great agent, and finally sold.

A.L.:
What are you working on now?  Sequel?  Something new?

Elizabeth: 
WHISPER FALLS has two sequels. Book 2, A WHISPER IN TIME, is nearly ready for advanced reading copies. I’m still in edits for Book 3, WHISPERS FROM THE PAST.  After we finish this trilogy, I’ll start first-round edits on something new, I WISH.

A.L.:
What's your favorite television show ever? 

Elizabeth: 
THE WEST WING.  Relevant, beautiful stories. Fabulous actors. And the most amazing writing ever in a TV series.

A.L.:
Is there a reason why you chose to set Whisper Falls in North Carolina?

Elizabeth: 
I needed something to be easy. I knew that writing Susanna and Mark would be seriously hard. Setting the story near where I lived gave me one less thing to create from scratch. Of course, I still had to research this part of North Carolina in the 18th century, but happily it ended up being the perfect setting for Susanna.

A.L.:
Why did you choose to write a book that straddles two eras?  Was it difficult?

Elizabeth: 
The TWILIGHT ZONE episode pushed me into the idea of spanning two centuries. I started to plot the book knowing that element of the story. The harder part was picking which two. I knew Mark would live modern-day, but what about Susanna?

I have to thank a librarian on the opposite side of the world for helping me narrow down Susanna’s time period. I was in New Zealand on vacation and dropped by a library to talk with the YA librarian. I asked her opinion about how to make an American historical interesting for NZ teens. She said, “No wars. American wars are boring.”  Okay, then. I matched “no wars” to Raleigh’s history and came up with 1796 for Susanna.

The Giveaway:
For USA or Canada, one signed copy of Whisper Falls.  For international, an Amazon gift certificate $10 USD and a signed bookplate.  (There are two Rafflecopters below, make sure you enter in your correct shipping area).

Whisper Falls:  While training for a mountain bike race, high-school senior Mark Lewis spots a mysterious girl dressed in odd clothing, standing behind a waterfall in the woods near his North Carolina home. When she comments on the strange machine that he rides, he suspects something isn’t right. When Susanna claims to be an indentured servant from 1796, he wonders if she's crazy. Yet he feels compelled to find out more.

Mark enters a ‘long-distance’ relationship with Susanna through the shimmering--and temperamental--barrier of Whisper Falls. Curious about her world, Mark combs through history to learn about the brutal life she's trapped in. But knowledge can be dangerous. Soon he must choose between the risk of changing history or dooming the girl he can't stop thinking about to a lifetime of misery.



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How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the arrow buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be two winners (selected by Rafflecopter) one international, one US/Canada. I will contact the winners via email.

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