Showing posts with label ya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ya. Show all posts
Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Author Interview: Abeni Morris and Folami Morris
About the Authors:
Folami and Abeni Morris are a sister-sister writing team. Together they wrote (and rewrote) The Exemeus series, somehow managing to accomplish it without murdering one another. Despite their tendency to finish each others thoughts and stick up for each other constantly, no, they’re not twins and thus deserve their own individual bio.
Folami Morris
Folami grew up in the tiny city of San Mateo Ca, where nothing ever happens and no one ever leaves. She went to Xavier University for undergraduate, getting her B.A in physics and her B.S in Biology. After graduation she returned to California, to live in an even smaller city, where even less happens, Antioch Ca. During this time she escaped the monotony by hanging out with her imaginary friends Hyalee and Dephon, and by writing the Exemeus.
She finally escaped to Queens NY and now realizes that quiet and tiny aren’t so bad.
Abeni Morris
As luck (and logic) would have it, Abeni grew up in the same tiny little town as her sister, then she too escaped to the tinier town of Antioch. She has yet to leave. She received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood development from Cal State East Bay. She is the mom of two amazing kids, who swear that they deserve a percentage of the book proceeds and a ton of the credit. At least she raised dreamers.
Website: www.FolamiandAbenimorrisbooks.com
Website: www.theexemeus.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Exemeus/231400970230388
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16189172-the-exemeus
Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?
We plan everything. We make sure that later there are connections to previous story lines or conversations. It helps us to connect everything together and to make sure we’re setting up themes for later.
Do your characters ever want to take over the story?
Yes, definitely. This story wasn’t supposed to concentrate on Hyalee nearly as much as it did. She just had so much to say. Luckily, it made the story better.
What is your favorite food?
Anything with a shell, we are both seafood fanatics.
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Abeni: A night owl
Folami: I’m both, I rarely sleep. So I love the night when everyone is asleep and the morning before everyone wakes up.
Where do you dream of travelling to and why?
Abeni: Brazil, because I’ve heard that their carnival is amazing.
Folami: I would like to go to Tahiti, I heard that it was beautiful. Also it has amazing beaches.
Do distant places feature in your books?
Yes, Egypt and the Bermuda Triangle. We tried to make the story travel beyond American borders.
Do you listen to music while writing?
Sometimes, we love to listen to upbeat music when we write adventure scenes. We listen to slower songs when we write sadder scenes. Music sets the mood for us to write.
Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
What have you learned about writing and publishing since you first started?
It’s hard,especially, the advertising and promotion. Publishing is just as hard as showbiz.
Is there anything you would do differently?
Abeni: I would have made sure that the first two chapters were more intriguing.
Folami: I would have given a little more thought to the setup of book two, because there are a few problems I’m currently encountering with writing it.
Who, or what, if anything has influenced your writing?
Abeni: Mrs. Poole my fifth grade teacher.
Folami: Mrs. Poole did not have the same effect on me. My writing didn’t change until Mrs. Gardner in the ninth grade. She really taught me about critiquing my own work and making sure that my writing is coherent.
Anything you would say to those just starting out in the craft?
Abeni: Believe in your dream and just keep trying and writing. Eventually, something will work out if you believe in it enough.
What are three words that describe you?
Abeni: fun, outgoing and creative
Folami: Positive, imaginative, and unique
What's your favourite book or who is your favourite writer?
Abeni: Twilight
Folami: Demons at Deadnight
Blurb of your latest release or coming soon book
YA Fantasy Romance
Hyalee Smith is dead, she just doesn’t know it yet.
Her short life was devoted to love and to hate. Love of the man who stole her heart, hate for the man who stole the world. Murdered by the government she swore to destroy, fate has given her another chance to make it right. But to save the planet, she needs the help of the most powerful mystic the world has ever seen—unfortunately he hasn’t been born yet.
In a world where fear is the only currency, Dephon has committed the ultimate crime: inspiring hope.
His only goal is to make it safely through ninth grade, but on a post-apocalyptic Earth run by the Treptonian government, it isn’t that simple. Heir to a legendary power, Dephon Johnson is the only threat to the government’s rule. And on Trepton, all threats must be eliminated. When hundreds of assassins are dispatched to neutralize him, Dephon is forced to fight back. His only chance of survival is to enlist the aid of the greatest warrior the world has ever known. The only problem is, she's been dead for 13 years.
Excerpt
Singleton stopped the vehicle and hopped out. “Come on,” he said, leading the way through the brush. What else could I do? I jumped out of the car and followed.
Smoke was billowing through the air, and it took me a few moments to realize I seemed strangely immune to any effects of the fire. Singleton had stopped inches from the flames.
“You’re way to close!” I shouted--and I had to shout to be heard, because the fire was roaring. “You’re going to burn to death!”
He turned and looked at me, and without looking away from me for a second he took a deep breath and stepped backward into the flames.
For a moment I couldn’t move, couldn’t say anything. It came to me in a flash that he had decided he didn’t want to live if we couldn’t be together. Was he insane?
“No!” I screamed as I rushed forward. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I had to do something. I loved him. I could survive without touching him, seeing him, hearing him, but I couldn’t live without knowing he was alive. I ran frantically toward the flames, trying to locate him in their glowing embers.
Instinctively, I knew what I had to do. I thought cooling thoughts, water-filled thoughts as I yelled his name, my voice cracking to be heard over the deafening noise of the inferno. A strong hand reached out, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me into the fire.
Thank you Folami and Abeni, good luck with your books!
Friday, 16 November 2012
Author Interview: Angela Felsted
Angela Felsted is a Northern Virginia native who is overly fond of Olive Garden and Red Lobster. She grew up in a faithful Mormon home with three brothers and one sister where she learned to stand up for herself by tickling her attackers until they broke out into laughing fits. Her work has appeared in issue fifteen of Drown in Your Own Fears, Chanterelle's Notebook and Vine Leaves Literary Journal. Her chapbook, Cleave, was published by finishing line press in 2012.
Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?
I try to get a handle on my characters before I do anything else. Then, from there, I usually come up with a skeletal outline of key events. But I’ve yet to begin a book that stuck to the script. Often I’ll get half way through and a better story will emerge.
Do your characters ever want to take over the story?
Yes, and I let them. Nothing worse than a story that feels contrived.
What is your favourite food?
Oh man, this is hard. I used to be a junk eater. I loved chocolate milkshakes, cookies, and cheesecake. But lately I’ve been trying to do better about eating healthy. Give me a nice salad with strawberries, baby spinach, and walnuts.
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
I stay up way too late. Although, I’d probably feel better physically if I could kick that habit.
Where do you dream of travelling to and why?
I’ve been to a number of places already: Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Denmark . . . Hawaii. I’ve never been to Spain, though. That might be a nice place to visit.
Do distant places feature in your books?
Nope. My book takes place in my home town, featuring the same roads, schools, and landmarks that I became familiar with as a child. Writers are often advised to write what they know, and that’s exactly what I did.
Do you listen to music while writing?
I prefer silence. Mostly because I have small children who fill the house with noise whenever they’re around. Maybe that will change as they grow. I don’t know.
Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
CHASTE is a YA contemporary romance that deals with some tough stuff like prejudice and relationship violence.
What have you learned about writing and publishing since you first started?
I’ve learned that it’s never enough simply to write a good book. Because there is so much more to publishing than being a good writer—like marketing, self-promotion, design, creativity, and persistence. I’ve also learned that every good book has been helped along by family, friends, crit-partners, and the feedback of a myriad of supporters. I’ll never think of writing as a solo endeavor ever again.
Is there anything you would do differently?
Probably not.
Who, or what, if anything has influenced your writing?
My personal struggles have influenced my writing for sure. My upbringing, the colorful and not-so-colorful characters that have taught me about people throughout my own life.
Anything you would say to those just starting out in the craft?
Work hard, do your best, and try to be happy for those who find success, even if it takes you a bit longer.
What are three words that describe you?
Quiet. Creative. Curious.
What's your favourite book or who is your favourite writer?
That is a really tough question. I have a lot of favorite writers and books. Picking one is just too hard, but I have a particular love for authors who write from the heart: Laurel Garver, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Carrie Jones.
Blurb of your latest release or coming soon book:
by Angela Felsted
When he steps into his physics class on the first day of senior year, Quinn Walker is too exhausted from staying up all night with his three-month-old nephew to deal with moral dilemmas. As a devout Mormon who has vowed to wait until marriage for sex, the last thing he needs is a very hot and very sexy Katarina Jackson as his physics partner. Regrettably, he has no choice.
Kat feels invisible in her mansion of a home six months after losing her older brother in a fatal car crash and will do anything to get her parents’ attention. Since her pastor father has no love for Quinn’s “fake” religion and her ex-boyfriend refuses to leave her alone, she makes an impulsive bet with her friends to seduce her holier-than-thou lab partner by Christmas.
List of previous books if any:
Cleave
Scarred
Any websites/places readers can find you on the web:
https://www.facebook.com/ChasteNovel
www.angelafelsted.com
www.rabblewriters.com
Thank you Angela and good luck with your books!
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Book Spotlight: Not Afraid to be Real by Maranda Russell
by Maranda Russell
Young Adult, Poetry
Blurb:
More than just a poetry collection, "Not Afraid to Be Real" is a raw, honest, down-to-earth look at what it is like to be human. Within these pages you will find poems representing a wide variety of subjects, including the ups and downs of romantic love, the everyday frustrations we all face and the overwhelming grief felt by those who have lost a loved one. Of course, there are some lighter, more humorous poems to lighten the mood as well, so go ahead and dive in!
A selection from the book
All Poems copyright Maranda Russell
The Art of Love
Deep red is for passion
and dark blue is for trust.
Love, like art
doesn’t have to be complicated
to be good.
Sometimes simple designs
make the best backgrounds.
If the focus is lost
the canvas becomes chaotic,
the colors run
and soon the masterpiece
turns into an eyesore.
Anchor
Your hand in mine,
gripping, holding, whispering
“please don’t let go.”
You need to know
that I’ll still be there
when the rest of the world
loses its grip.
But the pathway is dark,
and I stumble, almost
breaking our vital connection.
Your hold tightens,
the force of your fingers -
all that’s keeping us together.
I thought I was the comfort,
here to hold your place,
but time has shown my weakness
and you’ve become the anchor.
Watching the Special Olympics
Bowling–
I didn’t even know
they held a
contest for that.
I watch as an athlete
tosses the ball,
the eight pound
weight hitting
the lane with
a thud. He turns
around and
flashes a big
smile as the ball
rolls straight
towards the gutter.
Does he show any
sign of disappointment?
Any sense of loss?
Not if the big belly
laugh and the clumsy
high-fives are any
indication.
Like to read more?
The book is avaible below:
http://www.amazon.com/Not-Afraid-Be-Real-Collection/dp/1612251439/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_3
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/not-afraid-to-be-real-maranda-russell/1112109693?ean=9781612251431
http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Not-Afraid-Be-Real/Maranda-Russell/9781612251431?id=5514565473264
Maranda Russell, Children's Author & Poet
http://www.marandarussell.com
www.facebook.com/Maranda.Russell.writer
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Book Spotlight: Broken Aro by Jen Wylie
Book One of The Broken Ones
By Jen Wylie
Published September 2012 by Untold Press
Genre: YA epic fantasy
Blurb:
Open your eyes to darkness. What do you see? Does the darkness frighten you? Now imagine the darkness being the cargo hold of a slave ship. Your city has fallen. Your family is most likely dead. You don’t know anyone around you, and some of them aren’t even human. Giving up would be so easy to do, but not for Arowyn Mason. Not after being raised in a military family with seven brothers. Every great story should begin with a plan. Aro’s was to escape and to survive.
Escape comes, but at a price. As they reach the shore, Aro and the other survivors learn that freedom doesn’t mean safety. The slavers want their property back and will do anything to get it. The party uses every ounce of their brute strength, a hearty helping of cunning, and even ancient magics to keep themselves alive. Sickness, danger, and even love surprise them at every turn. Dealing with danger becomes their way of life, but none of them ever considered that nothing can be quite as dangerous as a prophecy. Running turns into another race altogether as her world falls to pieces again and again.
Read an extract of the book after the jump
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Author Interview: Michael J DeRosa
Michael J. DeRosa is a college graduate with a B.A. in composition, and graduate work at the Juilliard School of Music. He has been a teacher for many years in private, public and performing arts schools. He is the father of four children. As a teacher with a great love of children, writing a teenage adventure story was second nature to him. He has adapted his novel into a screenplay and a TV pilot, as yet to be produced.
Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?
I think good writing has to do a little of both. So I outline the entire story first. I know the beginning and ending in my mind before I write anything. Then I make a list of things I would like to see happen in the story, and then organize those things into a logical order. At that point I have a working outline, but some things will require more than one chapter. So I adapt the rough outline into a chapter by chapter outline. Then when I start writing and “fleshing” in the story, the characters lead the way, and I can let the story flow, without it running wild.
Do your characters ever want to take over the story?
Of course that’s always a danger if you’ve created real, unique, strong characters, which is a must for a good story. That is also something else I know before I start writing. Good characters take on a life of their own, which can send you down roads that might not take you where you want the story to go. That’s another reason why I outline everything first. Instead of having to end up scratching dialogue and events that divert the story, the outline lets me know beforehand that, I’m off track before I write something I like, but I’ll have to eliminate later in the process.
What is your favourite food?
My favorite food, like Garfield’s, is lasagna. Like my stories it has everything in it. It’s satisfying, and fills you up, not leaving you hungry for more. It’s a complete meal in one that only leaves you waiting for the next good meal. I like stories that do the same, and that’s what I strive to write.
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
I am definitely “night owl”, and I do my best work and get my best inspirations late at night. My pet peeve is daylight disturbing my sleep. However I get the menial tasks of typing, editing, and rereading what I thought was so great the night, before accomplished during the day. That being said, you just never know when “inspiration” is going to hit you. It could be while you’re driving in the car or stuck in a waiting room. That’s why I always carry a pencil and paper with me wherever I go to jot down those fleeting thoughts before I can forget them.
Where do you dream of travelling to and why?
I don’t have much of the wanderlust, and the places I dream of seeing aren’t near a five star hotel. That’s one of the reasons my story takes place on all seven continents at mysterious ruins that cover the globe. For instance Tiahuanaco is at 14,000 feet with air so rarified that it burns to breathe in. Writing about them brings me there through my characters, and from the comfort of my living room. I’m fascinated by ancient megalithic sites that defy explanation and seem to predate known history. I do dream of going to see them with my own eyes, but I’m a bit of a coach potato, so I let my characters do take the adventures for me.
Do distant places feature in your books?
Exotic distant places are what my story is all about! In fact I’ve written in my personal notes that the real stars of my story are not the characters, but the places that they go to. I’ve spent years reading and researching about ancient megalithic structures that cover the entire earth that are so intriguing and fascinating that they inspired me to create a story as to why they exist. There are all sorts of theories, from ancient aliens visiting in prehistory, to civilizations that were destroyed by Noah’s Flood which try to explain them. Somehow strange unexplained forces and events are always associated with these ruins, and placing that in the story only adds to the adventure.
Do you listen to music while writing?
That’s an unfair question, because I went to Juilliard as a music composition major. So like the plumber’s own house that leaks, “listening” to music is more like work than something that relaxes me. There is always music going on in my head. So when I’m writing a part of my story, I can picture the whole thing happening in my head like I was watching a movie. My mind can’t imagine the movie without a film score playing in the background while I picture it. In fact I’ve already adapted my novel into a screenplay, and I’ve written a fully orchestrated main theme for it, just in case I can get it attached to the project.
As a first time author, “Gateway of the Sun” is my latest release. However, the story is the first installment of a trilogy. I have already outlined the entire trilogy, and also adapted the first into a screenplay, and a TV Pilot with six episodes completed based on the main adventure in the first story. The synopsis pretty much spells the story out. What perhaps it doesn’t cover is that it’s full of comedy. The two main characters are ordinary eighteen year old teenage boys that are thrust into a very unusual situation, (not hardened mercenaries on a mission). The characters are best friends but diametrically opposite personalities. One is a grounded logical physician’s son, and the other is quirky creative thinker with more street smarts than formal education. They are mysteriously “teleported” into dangerous situations at exotic locations. Being that the main ingredient of comedy is the element of surprise, this situation is ready made for some laughs. The best comparison that I can think of to this type of story would be “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.” The physician’s son is always trying to figure out what’s going on, while his friend is busy reacting emotionally to their circumstances.
What have you learned about writing and publishing since you first started?
I’ve learned that it’s a lot of work, and a constant learning experience. Writing the story is the easy part. I’ve had a lot of publisher’s say that they really like the concept but no buyers. So I finally decided to self-publish, faced decline that’s changed the publishing industry. I’ve had to learn how to do all the things that a publishing company would normally do for an author. I had no idea how much work was involved in publishing. There are print styles to decide on, and formatting and layouts. Each part of the publishing process is done by experts in their fields, and never by one person. To self-publish your own novel is to take on the many tasks that all the people who work for a publishing company normally do, and it is a monumental task! Now that thanks to the new development of the Print-On-Demand technology, the publishing is behind me, I have an even more monumental task to accomplish. That task is namely to market the novel. Unfortunately marketing skills are not something that most creative people are blessed with, and in my case, it is only my stubborn determination and belief in my story that drives me through what I find to be the incredibly boring task of figuring out how to get people to buy my novel.
Is there anything you would do differently?
I’m not sure I could have done anything differently, as each step leads to the next. But if there was one mistake I made, it would be this: I had just finished the manuscript way back in 1992, and my wife and I began to contact publishers and agents. I only had one copy, we hadn’t even obtained a copyright yet, when an agency named “Macintosh and Otis” asked to see the entire manuscript. I told my wife, “I’m not sending my only copy to some “fly-by-night” agency in N.Y.C. so they can steal it.” Years later we were driving down Park Avenue near Grand Central Station when my wife said, “That’s the building where that agency that wanted to see your manuscript is.” In shock I said to her, “Are you kidding me! With an address like that they must be the biggest literary agents in New York!” They are, in fact they still represent the works of John Steinbeck! So if there was anything I would do differently it would have been hand delivering my only copy to them immediately! You really have to know your players to win this game.
Who, or what, if anything has influenced your writing?
I guess pretty much everything I’ve ever read has influenced my writing. I definitely have a style all my own though, and I’m not trying to imitate anyone. The story I’ve created however is based on the kind of adventures I enjoy reading or watching myself. So there’s a little of “Indiana Jones” mixed with “Abbott and Costello” and spiced up with the paranormal mysteries that Charles Berlitz wrote about in “The Bermuda Triangle.”
Anything you would say to those just starting out in the craft?
If you’re just starting out to write something, study your market first. It’s no fun to write a great story that will sit on a shelf because no one wants to read that kind of thing. I believe that at the heart of writing is storytelling. If you’re telling a story that no one wants to hear, it kind of defeats the purpose of storytelling.
B&T: That's where we differ, I can only ever write the stories I want to read, not what the market might like :)
What are three words that describe you?
Funny, (I’m always joking around, trying to make people laugh.)
Informative, (I’ve been a teacher for many years, I’m full of information that I like to share.) Inquisitive, (I ask a lot of questions, and I’m always delving into things that are unexplained.)
What's your favourite book or who is your favourite writer?
My favorite book would be “Mysteries from Forgotten Worlds” by Charles Berlitz, whom I am a great fan of. But had the question read “what is your favorite story”, then that would more in line with my favorite writer, JK Rowling and the entire Harry Potter series.
B&T: Another Harry Potter fan, me too ;)
Blurb of your latest release or coming soon book
What if you were instantly teleported thousands of miles away? “Gateway of the Sun”: A story where “Young Indian Jones” meets “Stargate” on a very excellent adventure!
What if you were instantly teleported thousands of miles away? Two teenagers accidentally harness mysterious forces in New Hampshire at America’s Stonehenge. All at once they find themselves high up in the Andes Mountains of Peru, where evil savages are about to sacrifice a young virgin girl. Driven by curiosity, they recreate the phenomenon and go on a globe-hopping excellent adventure that rivals Bill and Teds. The paranormal forces whisk them to the archeological wonders of the world; each sacred stone ruins revealing more about spontaneous teleportation, a real but little known occurrence. Why do astronomically aligned megaliths stand on every continent? Who engineered it all? The answers lie at the heart of their adventure, but can they control the phenomena before it’s too late?
List of previous books if any
This is the first story I’ve published, but I’ve written many.
Any websites/places readers can find you on the web.
http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-Sun-Michael-J-DeRosa/dp/1450595472/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349629860&sr=8-1&keywords=Gateway+of+the+Sun%
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Joseph-DeRosa-author/157287897655295
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6076361791111609287#overview/src=dashboard
You can read an extract of Michael's books on the book spotlight here:
http://booksandtales.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/book-spotlight-gateway-of-sun-by.html
Thank you, Michael and good luck with your endeavours!
Book Spotlight: Gateway of the Sun by Michael J. DeRosa
by Michael J. DeRosa
YA/Speculative Fiction
Blurb:
What if you were instantly teleported thousands of miles away? Two teenagers accidentally harness mysterious forces in New Hampshire at America’s Stonehenge. All at once they find themselves high up in the Andes Mountains of Peru, where evil savages are about to sacrifice a young virgin girl. Driven by curiosity, they recreate the phenomenon and go on a globe-hopping excellent adventure that rivals Bill and Teds. The paranormal forces whisk them to the archeological wonders of the world; each sacred stone ruins revealing more about spontaneous teleportation, a real but little known occurrence. Why do astronomically aligned megaliths stand on every continent? Who engineered it all? The answers lie at the heart of their adventure, but can they control the phenomena before it’s too late?
Read an extract from the book after the jump
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