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Monday, September 29, 2014

Author Spotlight - Allyn Stotz

Today I would like to welcome, Children's Author, Allyn Stotz to my blog for the week.  



BIO:  

Allyn came from a family of writers. Her father wrote and owned the town newspaper in Edgerton, Ohio and her mother wrote a weekly column. One of her sisters is a freelance editor/writer in the commercial industry. Watching Allyn’s journey to publication convinced her sister and her 85 year old mother to team up and write a novel of their own. They were published in 2012.

Kailee Finds Magic IN Words is Allyn’s second children’s picture book and is the sequel to her first book titled The Pea In Peanut Butter. Both were published by FutureWord Publishing.  Allyn has also been published in various children’s magazines. Look for her  next book, Hippo Bottomless scheduled to be published by FutureWord in 2015.

She is a graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Allyn has also recently been added to Futureword Publishings permanent staff where she helps out with administrative duties.


Allyn lives in Baton Rouge, La with her husband, two crazy dogs and one fat cat. 



AUTHOR INTERVIEW: 

I had Allyn answer a few questions so that you could get to know her a little bit. She is quite the character, so sit back, and enjoy.     

1.         Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Well I hate to bore your readers right off the bat but if you insist! I was raised with my two older sisters and younger brother in the small town of Edgerton, Ohio. One day when I was 15 and desperate for a boyfriend, my sister’s boyfriend paid a boy named Brad one dollar (best dollar he ever spent!) to walk me home from school. I later married that boy (going on 34 yrs now) and we now live in Baton Rouge, LA. I didn’t begin my writing career until about five years ago. Sometimes it takes me awhile to wake up! But I finally did and have discovered that my passion is in writing children’s picture books.

2.         What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on my first attempt at self-publishing a picture book titled The Color of Love. I’ve chosen a local illustrator in my writing group so we are having lots of fun going over the illustrations. She is doing a great job and I can’t wait to see this book in print. Courtney knows how long I’ve been working on this one!

I’m also in the process of getting another picture book, Hippo Bottomless published through Futureword Publishing. I’ve seen the first draft of illustrations and hopefully it will be out the end of this year or early 2015.

And I’m always working on a new picture book so that never stops!

3.         How did you decide what genre and age group you wanted to write for?
I researched and researched about the different genre’s and age groups until I finally decided it was the little ones I wanted to write for. I’m in love with good picture books and little kids so it seemed like a magical fit.

4.         If you could meet any author in the world, who would it be? Why?
Oh I don’t know, there are so many great authors out there! I guess I’d really like to have a sit down chat with JK Rowling. The first question I would ask her is, “What’s it like to get a big royalty check?”

5.         What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Do your research. Find out what type of book it is that you want to write and for what age group. Without knowing that, you’ll probably just go round and round and chances are you’ll have a tough time finishing a story. Once you discover that, find out all the rules and guidelines for writing in that genre and do it right. Polish up your story to the best of your ability, get others to critique it, and spend the money to get it edited properly. Then begin submitting! You can’t fulfill your dream of being published if you don’t submit first!

6.         What would you say is the most difficult challenge you’ve encountered with your writing?
Definitely marketing the book once it’s published. I am having serious problems with this as I have always stunk at selling anything. I cringe at the thought of being pushy or asking anyone for money. But I’m getting better and someday I’m hoping it will pay off. I just want to get my books in mother’s or father’s hands and in their children’s imaginations!

7.         If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
Oh my gosh, you’re going to laugh but I think it would be Carrie Underwoods song Before He Cheats. I want my husband to hear those words over and over in his brain and know that I will key his beloved 1939 Ford if he ever tries that on me! Plus, it’s just a fun song to sing.


CURRENT RELEASE:



THE GIST:

Kailee doesn’t like to read. But, when her mother forces her to practice reading, she discovers that words can take you on all kinds of magical adventures!”

As an added, FYI, this is book two of Kailee's world.  If you haven't checked out book 1, THE PEA IN PEANUT BUTTER, you should.  It's fantastic.  You can find that:  Here

LINKS:

For those interested, here are some links for you to find her latest release:








Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Blog By-Week Thanks to a Germ

Sorry blog readers, no real blog this week.  I have been sick as heck since the 12th.  I’m starting to finally feel better, but my brain is a big ball of cotton and I am unable to function properly at the moment.  Stay tuned for next week, as I will have Allyn Stotz Children’s Writer on my blog to entertain you. 

Until then, enjoy this cute picture of a bunneh…





Monday, September 15, 2014

Angelia Almos - Interview

 Author Showcase and Interview - Angelia Almos


I am happy to announce that I have on my blog this week, fellow writer, and friend, Angelia Almos.  She is a very proliferic writer, and one that I enjoy on a reading level.  She writers fantasy, she writes paranormal, and she writers thrillers.  I can say that I have read a lot of her books and enjoyed them all for very difference reasons. 

Today I am showcasing, her book, Encounter at Shalana. 




What is the book about?

Space pirate Captain Kristy Ryan grew up the only daughter of a notorious privateer in the Border Planet Region. She learned her trade the hard way - there were no free rides on her father’s ship. Now, she has her own ship, the Unicorn, and successfully works in the shadows, the fringes of legitimate trade. Her life is just how she wants it even on those days when her pilot and lover, Andrew Bennet, drives her crazy. But an unexpected visit from the Military Space Alliance changes everything. Her father disappeared while working a dangerous mission for the MSA. Now, she’s being blackmailed into finishing his mission.


Author Interview:

I was lucky enough to get the scoup on Ms. Almos and asked her a few questions that I am always interested in from writers. 

     1.  What are you currently working on?
I’ve got a cyberpunk novella tentatively titled Cybe-Human that I’m trying to finish up. Hopefully be all done with it by the end of the month.

2.  If you could meet any author in the world, who would it be? Why?

Actually, I think I met the authors I would want to meet at a romance writer’s conference a few years ago. J I tend to get sooo tongue tied when around anyone I admire so I actually tend to avoid talking to people I admire. But who I would love to meet even through the “have nothing clever to say” is Carrie Fischer. She is such a clever writer and I admire her ability to make scripts and dialogue funnier. 

3.  When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was a teenager. But it took a while for me to gain the skills needed to be able to actually finish a story past the initial “this is so fun” phase of a book.

4.  Which one of your books was the most difficult to write?
Whichever book I’m currently working on is always the most difficult. I’ve been working on some sequels off and on and I’m finding them to be particularly challenging. I’d have to say the sequel to Horse Charmer has been the hardest because I have no idea where the story concludes. I’ve scrapped several first couple of chapter drafts.

5.  What would you say is the most difficult challenge you’ve encountered with your writing?
Actually sitting down and writing the stories. Even when I have a clear vision of the overall story it can be hard for me to do the actual typing on keyboard to get it down.

6.  In your book, Encounter at Shalana, who was your favorite character and why?
Kristy. She has so much baggage, but is a good person underneath it all, and it was always interesting to watch her scramble away from anything having to do with feelings. Andrew was more fun to write because he’s a smart aleck and so incredibly loyal.


7.  How do you come up with the names?  Of both people and planets?
I knew I wanted to do “normal” names for the characters to ground the story. But I had more fun naming the places as I wanted to go a little more out there. Tropis was easy as I visualized the spot they went to as tropical so I called it Tropic in early drafts and then just changed the C to an S. The ship names were also fun as I wanted the ship names to tie into the characters.




A quick BIO of Angelia:

Angelia Almos’ developed a fascination for sci-fi at a young age. Growing up with a steady diet of Star Trek, Star Wars, and anything else with a space ship, it’s no wonder so much of her imagination focuses on starships and far off places.

Angelia writes space opera, young adult fantasy, and horsey nonfiction. She lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her husband, two daughters, two cats, two dogs, and two pony.

Connect with Angelia:


Where can you find Encounter at Shalana?

Encounter at Shalana is currently on sale for $2.99


Monday, September 8, 2014

Shadow Fire - Official Release

It’s September 8th, so what does that mean?  It is the official RELEASE DAY of Shadow Fire.   



Where can you find it?


AND it is also winner reveal day of the free e-book of said Shadow Fire!

How do I figure out my winner?  Just to keep it fair, I have every comment with a corresponding number in the order it was given.  Then I go to Number Generator and it picks the winner for me.  That way there is no question.  

Okay, onward.  The winner of a free e-book of Shadow Fire is:    Denise    

You should be receiving an email from Amazon with you book today.  If you do not, please let me know asap.  Congrats!  Hope you enjoy the read, and remember, the best way to support authors you love, is to leave a review. 

Don’t worry all you sad losers out there; I will be having another give away soon. 



Monday, September 1, 2014

Character Interview - Cinder

A new week, and a holiday to start it off and I am on top of it.  Shocker, I know.  I am off to look at other people’s junk at garage sales.  Will I find anything I can’t live without?  Doubtful, but it fun all the same. 

But first, I promised Cinder’s interview. 

1.  Hello, Cinder  Why don’t you start off, by telling us a little bit about yourself.

There isn’t a whole lot to tell.  My mother is Star, who is a shadow walker, and was once the queen’s best friend.  My father is a man of the Fire Realm.  So that means I am part walker and part fire. 

2.  What does that mean in the way of gifts or powers if you will?

Well, I can shadow like any other walker can.  I can even realm jump, which is fun.  I don’t feel trapped in any one place.  I like it.  Then from my father, I have the gift of healing, but it’s a bit different than most of the Fire People.  They can simply lay their hands on someone and they are healed.  I have to sorta pull the healing from inside myself and push it into the wounded.  It doesn’t always work, and I haven’t really figured it all out yet, but if I don’t have some kind of connection with the person, it’s very hard to get the healing to work.  I’m working on it.  I’m the only one with this issue, so it’s not like I can go to anyone for help in figuring it out. It’s all me.

3.  What is your connection to Sunny?

My mom and her mom were besties.  The Queen, Sunny and I are friends.  She has Leigha and others from the Water Realm that are maybe closer, but we are friends at least.  I am also part of the guard, and she counts on me to get things done that others maybe wouldn’t.  I’m a good tracker and according to my father, I’m a bit tenacious.  Although I am not entirely certain what that means.  It sounds like a good thing.

4.  What about Leif?  What do you think of him?  Are you blushing?

No!  It’s just that he’s sorta mysterious.  Sunny, the queen, talks about him all the time and he sounds…wonderful.  You know what I mean?  Dark and dangerous and someone that’s deep.  If he wasn’t such a jerk, I wouldn’t mind sitting down with him and talking.  I bet he knows some cool stuff.  He’s been everywhere.  He goes to all the realms.  He knows everything there is to know about combat and stuff like that. 

5.  You sound a bit taken with him.  You do know he tried to kill Sunny, right?

It wasn’t like that.  You weren’t there, so you wouldn’t know.  Sunny said it was an accident, and if she can not be mad at him, then why do I have to be?  I’m not taken with him, either.  He’s not very friendly and besides, no on really knows where he is anymore.  I’m going to find him though.  Sunny asked me too. I am not about to fail the queen.  His butt is mine. 

There you have it. I think Leif may have a run for his money with Cinder on his tail. 

One last note:  Shadow Fire has released!  I know, I know it wasn’t suppose to be until next week, but lucky us!  It’s out.  Here are the links for you to purchase.  Go now!  I will have an official release blog next week, but for the loyal readers, you get an early look.