Book Giveaway!

Be one of the people to win a digital signed copy of the the new release Sophia:Within!

We will be giving away two copies, just leave a comment and we will select a random winner. You have until the 7 of April 2013 to enter.

Only time will tell if Sophia, Alec and the world are ready to accept the mission that has been passed down for many generations. This is more than a story of reincarnation. This is a story that never ended following the reign of the Greek gods.

What has been hidden for thousands of years is about to surface in a small New England town. The impact on this rural village is ageless, but only the chosen time travelers know what is happening, the reason it is happening and how to control the outcome.

The Men of Ages have walked the Earth unnoticed since the time of Greek mythology and have kept their ancient war alive by transporting the lead warrior in a most unusual time machine. There is only one way to stop the cataclysmic demise of the human race and Sophia is the answer. But, Sophia is a teenage girl faced with many human and nonhuman desires that create a tortuous path from antiquity to the present day. Love conquers all; or, so it seems.

KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY!

Win a Kindle Fire for your kid...so they'll leave yours alone!

It is time for the second annual Kindle INDIEpendence Day giveaway. This year we have even more authors and prizes. Contest begins July 1st and ends July 7th!

Grand Prize: 1 Kindle Fire
1st place: 1 Kindle with special offers
2nd place: a choice of 20 free ebooks from the 29 participating authors
3rd place:  a choice of 15 free ebooks from the participating authors

There are tons of ways to enter including tweeting about the contest, following the authors on facebook or Twitter, blogging about the contest and even purchasing the participating books. Just fill out the rafflecopter form below!
This is also a blog hop. Be sure to visit the other blogs on the list and learn more about Indie authors of YA and MG novels. You can add your blog and get extra entry points as well!

a Rafflecopter giveaway form is above!

INTERVIEW with Margaret Chatwin

INTERVIEW with Margaret Chatwin 

--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.

An unforgiving justice system imprisons two teens for the crime of defending themselves. Escape isn’t an option, but survival may not be one either.

-How did you get the idea for the story?

Three things factored into that, really. The first was a book. Although 101 has nothing to do with religion, I actually got part of the idea from a religious based history book. The story followed two groups of people that were constantly at war with one another. The one group just wanted to live their lives in peace, but the bullies living across the way couldn’t seem to leave them alone.

The stories of war, the way they prepared for, and executed it, has always intrigued me, so I let that play into 101.

The second thing, and the thing that helped me come up with the idea of the NAO, (which is a new form of justice system) is that I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of mercy and forgiveness. Some people lack it and I started to wonder what life would be like if everyone jumped to conclusions. If no one ever got a chance to explain, and if we were instantly punished for our crimes.

The third thing is that I’ve always believed in the power of one. One person CAN make a difference, either for good or bad. Take Thomas Edison or Hitler for example. Each was only one person but look what an impact they had on the world.

You may think you’re just some little nobody, but you’re not. You have amazing abilities. I just wanted to illustrate that in my book 101.

--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?

From my book 101? Humm, I’m thinking I’d most like to have dinner with Riker. Because, although he’s a bit of a side character, he’s the one most like me. I just think we’d get along great. But I really like the main character, Trigg, as well. It would be a toss up. I guess it would come down to who was doing the cooking. :)

--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

I never have read much. As a child I wasn’t a very fluent reader. As a teen I had a very difficult time finding books that matched my style and could hold my interest. Then, as a young adult I developed some issues with my eyes that left me with headaches if I read too much. My eyes are getting much better, now, and I’ve found myself reading more and more, but still not a lot. Probably just because I never formed the habit. I do love books though! I love to have them near me even if I can’t or don’t read them.

Out of the books I have read, my favorite children’s book is: Pig Pig Grows up, by David McPhail. A cute, cute story with a really great ending.

My favorite YA book will always be The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton. That was the first novel I ever connected to and also the one that gave me the most inspiration to write.

As far as an adult novel goes, I really like The Night Watchman, by Mark Mynheir. It just has some really witty one-liners that I got a huge kick out of.

--Do you have any other works in progress? Any teasers or release dates?

I’m always working on something, even if I don’t finish or publish it. I’m addicted to writing and I do it day and night. Currently I am working on revamping and rewriting one of my old manuscripts about a young man who’s on the self-destructive path of addiction. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’ll publish it, or not. I think it’s a great story, but I write what the character drives me to write. They get so inside of me that I become them, and in this story, my main character, Dane, is a pretty big jerk. I’m just questioning whether a reader will be able to connect and love him with his many faults.

Besides that, the story contains descriptive drug use and other illegal activities. And Dane has a pretty foul mouth. In some ways I’m just a little embarrassed to have my name attached to that type of story. Don’t want to offend anyone. I’ve debated about taking out the cussing, but it just never feels right because of who he is.

Here’s a little taste of Dane’s attitude. (He overdosed the night before, scared the sense out of his sister and parents who do not know he uses, and he’s currently in the hospital. His doctor is speaking to him.)

(DR) " . . . and the tissue in your nose is being destroyed by whatever it is you snort all the time. What is it, cocain, meth?"

"I don’t snort anything." What did he think I was going to do, admit that shit to him? Bare my soul so that he could turn me in? No way!

"You’re only nineteen and you run an extremely high risk of having a severe stroke, a major heart attack, or maybe straight up heart failure the way you nearly had last night. Dane," he said in the most serious tone anyone had ever addressed me in. "Some people can use for twenty plus years and manage to survive, you aren’t one of them. You’re deterioration rate is much too high for that. If you don’t stop doing whatever it is you do, you’ll be dead in a year. Maybe less. I guarantee it."

His words didn’t alarm or scare me in any way. I honestly thought, oh what the hell do you know?

--If a fairy godmother told you your life could be like a favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?

 I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, "not one of mine." I always end up creating issues that I certainly wouldn’t want to deal with, even for 24 hours. I’d have to look around and find a book about flowers and butterflies, and choose it.

--Do you need anything to write (music, coffee, etc)? Are there any songs on your playlist- songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?

Quiet! It has to be very quiet when I write. I get so deep into my thoughts that it’s almost like I’m dreaming and if anything from the real world cuts in – well, there goes the thought or feeling I just had. Can’t snack on chips while I’m writing because of that obnoxious, crunch, crunch, crunch rattling past my own eardrums.

I do get a lot of inspiration from music, though. But I don’t listen to it while I’m actually writing. Usually I’ll put on the song, gather the vibes it’s omitting then shut it off and run for the computer.

--If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

I’d be a mind jumper. I’d want to be able to hop inside someone’s brain for a bit. I’m totally intrigued by what makes a person do what they do, think what they think, and say what they say. I’d like to have all the behind-the-scenes action. What makes you you? What thoughts, feelings and emotions govern all that you are, and do? I want to know the things that people can’t really bring to light through words. Those things that have to be felt, not heard, in order to truly understand.

--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?

I’m a pretty big home-body. I love to just be home hanging out with my loved ones. I also like to garden, both flowers and vegetables. This year, thanks to some help from Youtube, I’ve been learning how to harvest the seeds from my flowers. I’m going to try to plant my own next year and see how it goes. With any luck I’ll never have to buy flower packs again.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?

I just want to thank all the people that have taken the time to read my books and give me feedback. I’ve been writing since I was 13. I’m now 40 and until last year I’ve been too afraid and too embarrassed to even let people know I write. I decided to finally go for it and because of my kind readers and their honest remarks, I’ve not only improved on some of my writing faults, but my confidence has grown. I know I’m not even close to being the best writer in the world. And I know I’m far from perfect in many areas, but I’m very grateful to those who’ve overlooked that and enjoyed my books anyway.

Margaret Chatwin
Author
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5342646.Margaret_Chatwin

Margaret Chatwin here LIVE!

GUEST POST by Margaret Chat win

Control Freak, or just a Freak?

Don’t you just hate it when your in line at the supermarket, and after what seems like days of waiting, you finally have a visual on the conveyor belt – but then, the person in front of you strikes up a conversation with the cashier? The sanity saving beep, beep, beep, of the bar code scanner has stopped altogether because she’s now ceased doing her job to talk. She’s just standing there holding a jar of Mayo and laughing about something that, even with your imagination stretched to the brink, you don’t find the least bit funny.

Okay, maybe it’s the blazing temperature of the store that has you feeling so pent up and edgy. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the relentlessly screaming child in the cart directly behind yours. Yes, of course it’s directly behind yours.

And as you stand there, roasting in the bowels of that place down under, (not Australia) you can only think two thoughts. One; I wish I’d remembered to pick up some Calgon from aisle fifteen so it couldtake me away. And two; I wish this was a scene in the book I’m writing, because I’d delete it and start over.

Ahh, the beauty of being a writer. It let’s you enter a world where you have The Control Factor. Where you are IT! The top dog. The big kahuna. A place where every word that falls from someone’s mouth is because you put it there. Every sharp inhale of air, every gaze that rises to meet another, and every flicker of a smile is all because of you. Heck, even the weather obeys your every command.

Well, it’s no wonder writers spend so much time tapping away at the key board. Each stride enhancing the undescribable connection they have with the place and the character they’ve created then molded into precisely what they want.

But writing isn’t always a walk in the park. Good writing can be quite a challenge, in fact. It’s very multi-dimensional, and force the writer to become – well – a little schizophrenic. What I mean by that is this, first and foremost the writer has to be a writer. He/she has to turn letters into words. Words into sentences and sentences into flowing, comprehendible paragraphs.

At the same time, the writer must become the character. Must totally disconnect from themselves in order to feel and think as if they were that person. Throw in another character, do that same block out maneuver, and on top of that, make him/her distinct enough in word and action that when bouncing between the two characters there’s a notable difference.

Want a really good time? Toss a third or fourth character into the scene.

And lastly, but also simultaneously, the writer must become the reader. They must forget all the millions of details that didn’t get written into the story, take a step back and see if it makes sense without them.

For me, that is the hardest part and I sometimes have to walk away from a story long enough that I actually can forget. Then, when I have a clear head and a fresh mind I can more fully become the reader.

I for one, have loved being a writer. For all it’s joys, friendships, sorrows and challenges, I have loved it. It has kept my mind and emotions keen, and it has been very therapeutic. Which is good, because writing will drive you crazy! :)

Pirates Revenge Douglas Boren (interview)

www.dougboren.homestead.com

INTERVIEW:

1) Who was your favorite character to write in this novel?

I would have to say that my favorite character is Rafe.  In many ways, the main character is really me. He is the personification of what I would feel, think, and do. I readily identify with his anxieties, frustrations, anger, sadness, and ultimately, love.

Having said that, I have to point out that the Black Widow is in some ways, a female version of Rafe (or myself) although a bit darker.  I really enjoyed writing about her. She was probably the most “fun” to write about.

But aside from the favorites, I truly believe that it is the camaraderie and bonds of loyalty and love that bind all the characters together in the story.  It just wouldn’t be the same without the irascible Angus, or the stoic Baka’mu, or the paternal Sam, and of course, the tragic and beloved Maggie. Captains Green, Sands, Coffey, Bailey, and all the others are based on my real life friends and tend to show their real personalities.

2) How is this novel different from the competition?

This is a difficult novel to “pigeon hole”. Technically it is historic fiction, but it is so much more than that. There is romance, sex, humor, action, thrills, disgusting terror, gore, adventure, education, and the giving of a moral, or lesson.  I like to think that in my book, you will see the painstaking historical research of James Michener, the adventurous ride of Clive Cussler, and the shocking take your breath away impact of Stephen King.

3) Share one secret about this book in its development.

When I began, I really wasn’t all that excited about doing it.  It was basically a favor to my wife, who enjoys the romance novels with the dashing pirate holding a buxom damsel.  That’s just not me.  I had to force myself to get started, but once I realized that I was going to do this on my terms, I fell in love with it.

This was a difficult book for me to write.  Not because of writers block, or word choice, or grammar, or any of the other usual things you might think. It was difficult because I know the real nature of pirates.  How could I pen a story about such brigands in a factual realistic way, and yet make you, the reader, feel compassion for them, identify with them and root for them?  Pirates were the terrorists of their time.  They were not the lovable ruffians that today’s culture makes them out to be.

This was a hard balance to achieve.

4) Share one secret about yourself.

Are you serious?  That’s why they are called secrets!  Hmm, let’s see.  Ok, how’s this… I wish I had lived Jimmy Buffet’s life!

5) Who is your inspiration?

Depends on what you are referring to.  In life as a whole, the Most Beloved of all worlds, The Lord God Almighty inspires me to tears of love and joy.

In my personal life, it is my wife Barbara.  I’ve never know anyone with a more loving heart and basic goodness. She is my rudder, and my guiding star.

In my writing, it would have to be James Michener.  His story telling of historical fiction is part of what made me want to write in the first place.  If I can be even a fraction as good as he was, I’m happy.

Andy Gavin and The Darkening Dream

http://www.amazon.com/The-Darkening-Dream-ebook/dp/B006PIMYLY

By Andy Gavin, author of The Darkening Dream

1) Who was your favorite character to write in this novel?

My 900 year-old vampire. He’s just so deliciously evil and fun to write. Al-Nasir, as I affectionately like to think of him, is mid-upper management, like an undead Executive Vice President of Acquisitions. I wanted a personage of exceptional age, power, and menace, yet also no CEO or CTO level player — even if he has aspirations.  Al-Nasir has been sent west from Europe to Salem Massachusetts. This is no small thing for a vampire, particularly in 1913. A steamship is a dangerous place for the daylight challenged — especially if they have a habit of snacking on the crew. But come he does, under mysterious orders from the loose cabal of occult baddies with whom he works. Al-Nasir finds things. And with the patience and tenacity only the dead can muster.

2) How is this novel different from the competition?

I've always been a huge vampire fan and I've read and watched a large percentage of the oeuvre. But also as a history buff I wanted to write a supernatural story that was more grounded in real history and legend. I'm always thinking, "that could have been so much better if they didn't make up the historical backstory" so I started with the villains. What kind of ancient evil creatures might still be around? What do they want? And what legitimate human reason would they have to destroy the world (Buffy-style)? I don't exactly answer the question in TDD, because the motives of 5,000 year old baddies should be mysterious. But trust me, they have a plan, and the sheer audacity of it will literally shake the foundations of the heavens.

3) Share one secret about this book in its development.

The book was once twice the size, about 186,000 words! Eek gads! It’s 95,000 as published. And even at that big size there was at least a novel worth of material on the outline that I never wrote. The bigger drafts included 60,000 words of Joseph (Sarah’s father) backstory set in the 1880s and 1890s Austria-Hungarian Empire. This detailed how he got his powers, and how he became entangled with the Horn and its pursuers, particularly his nemesis Khepri. There was some really cool stuff, but ultimately I and my editor concluded that it was backstory, and didn’t move the primary plot along fast enough. Other things that got cut were a huge bit where al-Nasir and Parris break into the Masonic Lodge in Boston and Parris’ own backstory, involving how he met Betty.

4) Share one secret about yourself.

I’m a ridiculous foodie and wine guy (I blog about it here), to the level of being a certified sommelier and attending 27 course truffle diners. Yet, I also have a secret weakness for “comfort” food (particularly candies) like Skittles and Spicettes.

5) Where does your inspiration come from?

WithThe Darkening Dream my inspiration was both visceral and cerebral. The visceral part was this image I had – and some might consider me disturbed – of a dead tree silhouetted against an orange sky, a naked body bound to it, disemboweled, and bleeding out. The sound of a colossal horn or gong blares. The blood glistens black in the sunset light. Bats circle the sky and wolves bay in the distance. But sacrifice isn’t just about killing. It’s a contract. Someone is bargaining with the gods. And on the cerebral side, I've always been a huge vampire fan and I've read and watched a large percentage of the oeuvre. But also as a history buff I wanted to write a supernatural story that was more grounded in real history and legend. I'm always thinking, "that could have been so much better if they didn't make up the historical backstory" so I started with the villains. What kind of ancient evil creatures might still be around? What do they want? And what legitimate human reason would they have to destroy the world (Buffy-style)? I don't exactly answer the question in TDD, because the motives of 5,000 year old baddies should be mysterious. But trust me, they have a plan, and the sheer audacity of it will literally shake the foundations of the heavens.

6) Tell us a little about your target audience, what kinds of readers are most likely to enjoy the book? 

The book has a couple different audiences. At one level it's a fast paced horror story packed with action, pretty solid characters, and even a bit of dark humor. I tried to marry a fairly hardboiled realistic tone with some pretty wild and dark stuff. The overall effect is pretty creepy and should appeal to those that like HBO fantasy dramas (True Blood, Carnivàle). There's also a lot of interesting history and religious and occult detail in there which appeals to an older more historically oriented audience. But I tried not to ever let it bog the story, which just moves and moves. Finally, the book has young characters and some romance for the younger fan of urban fantasy (Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher).

7) What can you tell us about the awesome cover? 

The cover photo-illustration is by award winning fantasy artist Cliff Nielsen. In deciding what to do about the cover I combed through the more recent books in my 10,000 novel collection and put aside ones with covers I liked. Going through those I found like eight (including the new edition of Narnia!) with covers by Cliff. But it was really the Map of Time cover that totally sold me. I had to have him do mine. So I called.

8) What type of music do you like listening to? Is there are particular song that fits your novel?

I’m a very eclectic music listener. 70s and 80s rock. Some new stuff (including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry). Lots of classic Jazz (like Miles Davis), lots of classical. All sorts of weird stuff from Ottoman court music to Tibetan monastic chants to medieval Spanish tunes.

Lyrics interfere with serious writing or editing so trance techno is one of my favorite genres for that. Or something spacy like jazz or Tangerine Dream if I don’t want to pound.

If I was picking the soundtrack to the film version of the book I’d use mostly period music. Scenes with the villains might be different. Al-Nasir begs for a remix of Nasirid court music, or sufi music, both are  pretty weird and exotic sounding. Instrumental when he’s in normal mode, then blending to an amped up electronic remix when he gets “aggressive.” Parris might have as his tune something like Loreena McKennitt’s “The Mystic’s Dream.” Which if I had to pick a single song that typified the mood of the book, would be it.

9) What was the first paranormal book you read?

The 1^st real novel I ever read was Isaac Asimov’s David Starr, Space Ranger. That started me off bright and early (seven or eight) with my long pattern of reading speculative fiction. I pretty much only read fantasy, science fiction, or supernatural novels. An early one I remember that you might consider paranormal was Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key. Many of his books involved children with superpowers running from “the authorities.” These are great books, and sadly many are out-of-print.

10) What other projects are you working on or having coming out next?

I have a second finished novel (it’s been through four major drafts and a full line edit). It’s called Untimed and is a YA time travel novel that chronicles the crazy adventures of a boy no one remembers, who falls through a hole in time and finds himself lost in the past. It’s very different with an extremely immediate first person present voice (in this book the only thing anyone can hold on to is the present). It rocks. Seriously rocks.

Right now (as of early May) it’s out on submission to New York and London publisher’s via my agent, Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky.

She Speaks to Angels

She Speaks to Angels  out now only .99cents

http://www.amazon.com/She-Speaks-Angels-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B007PSPT5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338823647&sr=8-1

The Hunted of 2060 Reviewed by BookTaste!

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The Hunted of 2060 by Ami Blackwelder.
Createspace Publishing. www.amiblackwelder.blogspot.com

There’s a beast in all of us!
SWEET young love and hey nonny-nonny ─ it’s the Shakespeare touch, but . . . Like the bard of old, author Blackwelder ambushes romance with dark pit-traps. She’s good at this and easy to read, because her fantasy hangs close to our real world.

In The Hunted of 2060, as in her other books, she makes weird events totally credible. I’d say she can claim as her own a new genre, Reality Fantasy. Or you can read this as an allegory, set in Alaska, on our changing world. Mostly, however, it is a rattling good story about a lovable girl called April who is not quite human.

She doesn’t know it to begin with, and her guy is normal. This is a good original take on forbidden love. It’s Planet Earth in 2060 complete with hover trains, skycars, robot waiters and hologram books. We have defeated an Alien invasion, yet traces remain of a strange species whose DNA can blend to the form of any earthly creature.

The Hunted of the title are hybrid aliens, resulting from mixed mating with humans. There is a hit squad seeking them out and exterminating them. To her horror, April discovers she is one of these halfcastes, with peculiar relatives. I won’t spoil the story by divulging more, but think polarbear, deer, bird, wolf. Such a family menagerie may seem a bit daft, but Ami Blackwelder’s controlled skill carries this plot convincingly.

Could be movie material too. ─ Cathy Macleod, April 2010.

The Day the Flowers Died Review- Book Lover

This novel is captivating. The details. The history. The flow of a romantic story interlaced within the framework of such brutality. I could have been reading a Harlequin Romance novel, but it was much more than that -sophisticated, educational, genuine, and heartfelt. I was cheering for Eli and Rebecca from chapter one and enjoyed each chapter to find out what will happen to them, to their forbidden love. Set in a time of prejudice, it is truly one of the best love stories.