Writer's Wednesday - Anne Carter!

ANNE CARTER


1. Tell us about yourself.

I am a writer. I am also a mother, a wife, a sister, a mother-in-law and a grandpigma. I am a bookkeeper, a reader, a photographer, a lighthouse nut. I am a fan of chocolate, LOST, Rob Thomas and sunshine. I despise small minds, prejudice, being cold and licorice. I enjoy classic rock, cosmo martinis, big epic films and concerts at the Greek Theater. I am a lover of books containing romance, mystery, adventure and heartache. I’m a traveler who’s been to London, Singapore, Barcelona and Edinburgh. I’m also a traveler who would visit New England, Provence, the Black Forest and Alaska. But most of all, I am a writer.

2. I heard that when you wrote Point Surrender, you spent time in a lighthouse. Is this true?

Absolutely true! Dimick Lighthouse in Port Townsend, Washington, is where I met my muse while finishing the last four chapters. There is no better inspiration that a real lighthouse!

3. What was your inspiration behind Point Surrender?

Only that I’ve been a lighthouse fanatic for many years, and have been writing for many years, and it was bound to happen eventually that I’d set a story in one. The cover art is a photo of Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon, which was the physical inspiration for the lighthouse in the story. Lighthouses are mysterious, romantic, have auras about them. They affect people in many different ways. Lonely, possibly haunted, or maybe they are protectors, guardians, sign posts. All good fodder for mystery & romance—with a ghost or two for good measure.

4. Do we have the pleasure of reading about Case and Amy in future books?

Case and Amy do appear in the second book in the “lighthouse trilogy” (see below), especially Case who is one of the hero’s BFF’s. :)

5. Now, I understand you have a new lighthouse book coming out soon called Cape Seduction. What is that about?

Here’s the blurbo: “In 1949, up-and-coming starlet Darla Foster goes missing after the release of Cape Seduction, a tragic romance filmed in a California lighthouse. Now, sixty years later, the long abandoned lighthouse is causing trouble for its present-day owners. Has the sexy, eccentric actress returned to avenge her stolen life?”

The story bounces back and forth between 1948 and 2008 in alternating chapters. Of course, both storylines converge in the end...

6. So when did you actually begin writing?

You mean, today? It was this morning. Oh, before? It was in 8th grade. I took a creative writing course and just never stopped. Short stories mostly, but today I have seven completed full-length novels (and an 8th nearly done).

7. When were you first published?

In 1996, my first short story appeared in THEMA Literary Journal. I was paid, too! My first full-length work was IN TOO DEEP, published in 1998, in ebook. First paper book was STARCROSSED HEARTS, September, 2001.

8. What is your proudest achievement in writing?

Tough question. I am proud of everything I do. That may sound a bit cheeky but those who write know what a tremendous accomplishment it is to get to “THE END.” I believe CAPE SEDUCTION is my best work yet.

9. Are you working on anything right now?

Yes. A bizarre and out-of-the-box romance that takes place in the world of 1980’s glam rock n’ roll. Subject matter may be too intense for children and the narrow minded.

10. Any advice for aspiring authors?

Read lots, write more, and familiarize yourself with the aspects of marketing. Because when you get your contract, that’s when the real work starts.

11. Where can readers buy Point Surrender? When and where can they find Cape Seduction?

POINT SURRENDER is available at Amazon, BN.com, various online booksellers and may be ordered from your favorite brick and mortar store. All of my books are available as electronic versions for your Kindle or other ebook reader at Fictionwise.

CAPE SEDUCTION will release later this month from Echelon Press in “e” format, trade paperback due out in May, 2010. Watch my website for the news! Visit me at http://beaconstreetbooks.com.

Writer's Wednesday - Norm Cowie!

NORM COWIE

It is my pleasure to introduce my first author for Writer's Wednesday... Norm Cowie!

1. Tell us a litte something about yourself.

Tell you a little something, huh? Okay, let’s see, after the economic disaster my 401 K retirement plan is little … the number of hairs on my head are little … my ego is little … no, wait, my ego is big. More like a super ego. Or that’s my Id … can’t tell them apart, ask anyone.

2. So I understand you have a book, Fang Face, that was just released by Echelon Press. What's it about?

Fang Face is my first immature, er, young adult book, published by Quake, an imprint of Echelon. It’s about time I wrote for an audience I can relate with. My wife swears she’s raising three kids, not just my two daughters. Anyway, Fang Face is the story of a teenaged girl who is bitten by a vampire that somehow got into the house. Then she’s bitten again. She learns that a third bite will turn her into one of the Undead, so she and her family have a choice …let her become fully vampire, or… fight the evil vampires. So the family whips out crosses, garlic and SuperSoakers and prepares to do battle with the biters. Oh, and there’s funny stuff, too.

3. What inspired you to write a comedy about vampires?

I didn’t really plan on writing about vampires. I planned on writing about teens. So I started a book about this ugly guy named Trug and some friends, and I decided I needed some girls in the story. Earlier on, I’d written a short story about a girl who was turning vampire and how her family got involved in stopping it and I really liked the interaction between the girl and her sister and parents. I just combined the two stories, and it went off from there. As far as making it humor, most stories about vampires are horror and romance nowadays. Not many authors approach it from the funny aspect of vampires, like you never see fat vampires since they’re all on the Atkins diet, do vampires get razor rash if they bite a guy who hasn’t shaven, what tastes better, type A or type O blood? What will you do if you’re a vegetarian and you get ‘changed’ into a carnivore?

4. Do you have any plans for a sequel to Fang Face?

Plans? Bwah-ha-ha. I have more than plans. I’m busy working on its sequel WereWoof. Yep, I’m getting into the ‘were’ world. There are funny things about werewolves that need to be explored, like what if you get turned into a werewolf, but you’re allergic to dogs?

5. Now. The Adventures of Guy. What's that about?

The Adventures of Guy was my first series, and won Preditors and Editors award for best Sci-Fi fantasy. Reviewers compare them to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. They are humor mixed with fantasy mixed with Betty Crocker’s cake mix. So not only are they a lot of fun, but they taste good, too.

6. I noticed you were also involved in both the Missing and the Heat of the Moment anthologies. Can you tell us about those and your stories in each?

Both of these books were written to benefit charities. “Missing” for the National Center for Exploited and Missing 401K’s, er, I mean Children. And the Heat of the Moment was written to benefit families who suffered losses in the California wild fires. Karen Syed, publisher of Echelon, has a big heart, and it’s wonderful she devoted time and resources to this project, not to mention trying to round up a bunch of authors which is kind of like trying to herd cats. My stories are short stories using the same characters from my Adventures of Guy series. Buy the books, people, they go to benefit worthy causes.

7. So, now that we know about your books, let's move back to the basics. How'd you get into writing?

One word: laptops. Or would that be two words, lap tops? Anyway, I’m a natural reader, storyteller and typist, and once they created cutting and pasting, I was off to the races.

8. Judging by your previous works, is comedy your genre of choice?

Actually, humor is my genre of necessity. I don’t have the patience to craft mystery, and whenever I try horror, the humor keeps popping out. You can forget romance, too (I’m a guy, we don’t get romance). Plus I find I do my best writing while sitting on a Whoopie-cushion.

9. What is your proudest achievement so far in writing?

Writing believable women characters. I get a lot of positive feedback about my female characters from females (Males generally just complain I don’t use the word ‘fart’ enough). Considering I don’t get women at all, I’m really proud women identify with characters in my stories. I’m still waiting for some feedback from vampires to let me know if I nailed them too.


10. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Yes, stop aspiring and start doing. If you’re writing your first book, finish it. And don’t bore your readers. Like Leonard Elmore says, ‘leave out the parts people skip.” Or something like that.


You can find Norm on http://www.normcowie.com/ and http://www.fangplace.blogspot.com/

Writer's Wednesday!

Just thought I'd stop by to let everyone know that I'm starting a new segment on my blog called Writer's Wednesday!

Each Wednesday I'm going to be posting an interview with a new author!

(Cue exciting clapping)

This Wednesday, I'm interviewing Norm Cowie, author of the new young adult novel, Fang Face! So make sure to stop by and listen to all that he has to say!

The Pixie Chick's Lana has invaded my blog!

"Lana Richmond will not be the left behind when all her friends are using the magic of Hobbitville to escape their small Midwestern town for more exciting places. She's been trying–and failing–to use the garden's portals. The bruises haven't quite faded when Lana takes matters into her own hands and meets a stranger who promises to help her…on Halloween. Will Lana have the courage to follow her wanderlust, or will she settle for being the only Pixie Chick who can't work the Hobbitville magic? "


Hey Everyone! Lana Richmond of Pixie Chick fame here. Once more I've beaten Regan to the blog! Cut her some slack, she can't possibly be as internet savvy as us teens! (besides, I know all the shortcuts) Alyssa's been awesome, posting stuff about Pixies and Regan all week - let's give her a big round of applause!

Tomorrow is Halloween! I love this time of year! And our school has a masquerade dance too which makes it all the more fun. Sort of a spooky-cool way to mingle. I've found people get really bold when they're hiding behind a mask. It's easy to be brave and strike up a conversation when the risk of a brush off or outright rejection is minimized.

The best part of this year's masquerade is that I can use it for cover to get into Hobbitville alone. My friends, the Pixie Chicks, are great, but we're sort of at an impasse and they're not all that supportive of my intentions. I want to use the magic of Hobbitville and actually see some part of the world beyond my hometown! And I met someone who can help me. The Pixies think I'm just leaping without looking, but what they don't know won't hurt them - and most likely it won't hurt me either. I'm adventurous, but not totally stupid.

Wish me luck!
Lana Richmond,
band geek, Pixie Chick, and Hobbitville magic seeker


Link for all my Kindle titles:
http://tinyurl.com/rbkindle

Echelon buy link for Shadow Stone:
http://tinyurl.com/TheShadowStone

Regan's Realm blog: http://www.regansrealm.blogspot.com/

Has Lana and the summary intrigued you? Here's an excerpt from Shadow Stone:

Lana is alone on the day before Halloween, on a mission to test every statue in Hobbitville.
She moved on before she made herself crazy with circular arguments. "The lost thing's always in the last
place you look because you stop looking once you've found it."

"It is pretty silly to keep looking once something's found," a deep voice rumbled out of the darkness.

Everything inside her jumped. The vertical leap would impress the NBA, if her body had actually followed
through. Instead, her heart was lodged in her throat, and she was having trouble forming any verbal reply.

"Over this way," the deep voice rolled over her again.

With that voice, he was surely no one she knew, except she should know everyone local who might be in
Hobbitville. Anticipation thrummed that this might be one of those ideal guys she'd been hoping for earlier. She turned slowly, letting her ears guide her closer to him, into the deep shadows thrown by a narrow arbor covered in fading moonflowers.

"I don't recognize you," she said, keeping her voice soft. It was really all the volume she could muster.

"You will."

"Is that supposed to sound ominous?" Something about him rattled her way down deep. She wasn't sure if she liked that yet.

He laughed, just as deep and warm as his voice, and she swore she felt the sound against her skin. Weird. Not scary. Not much anyway. She peered at him, wishing for more light.

He had to be someone from school messing with her. But no one at school had a voice like dark chocolate drizzled over a warm brownie. The sound of it made her feel gooey.

And now she was hungry, too.

Interview with Regan Black!

Today I have interview the one and only, Regan Black! You've been hearing about her stories - Pixie Chicks, Hot Spots, and Shadow Stone - all week, and now have fun and listen to what Regan has to say!

Also, make sure to check back in tomorrow when Regan will actually be guest blogging!

1. What inspired you to jump into writing?

I'm not sure. Probably reading. I have journals of poetry that go back to elementary school. Of course I jumped into novels when my husband came to work at home for the second time in two years. I'd been working on a poetry book then, and it never occurred to me that I could write a 'big' book, but having him underfoot drove me nearly crazy. I started ficitonalizing how we met so I could remember why I'd fallen in love with him. It's the worst romance novel ever written, but it saved my sanity (and probably his life) The best part was realizing I could write a 'big' book.


2.How long have you been writing?

When I look back, I can see that expressing myself through poetry, short stories and journals has always just been a part of my life.


3.What is your proudest achievement in writing to date?
The latest release. Always. Whether it's a short story or full length novel, I'm proudest when I earn another contract and release date. I was so excited when my first book, Justice Incarnate, sold and I'll never get over the amazing, overwhelming feeling when I held that first paperback in my hands. I guess it was an addictive sensation, because that's what I'm consistently working toward.


4.How did you come up for the idea for the Hobbitville Saga?
Honestly, it's a page out of my past. Shh- don't tell anyone back in my hometown. Aside from the statuary being portals to parts unknown, Hobbitville was the nickname for the private garden where kids from my high school would dare each other to trespass. As an adult, I can tell you it was actually a beautiful example of a sculpture garden, but back then it was a little creepy after dark. My imagination often ran away with me even then. We thought we were living on such a razor's edge - how silly and sheltered it must seem to teens today. None of us ever vandalized the place or did damage, but the woman who owned it had to know we'd been through, teenagers just aren't that quiet even when they think they are.


5.Do you have any other Hobbitville stories in the works?
Yes. I'm working with Echelon Shorts for a special New Year's story. And I'm planning a bigger book detailing Claire and Shane's adventures mapping the Hobbitville gardens around the world.


6.What would be any advice you’d give to aspiring writers?
WRITE! Generally the more you write, the better you get. Study the how-to guides, join a writer's group, read and re-read your favorite novels, and keep writing. Short stories, epic novels, and poetry: write from the beginning to 'the end' and you'll learn so much about yourself every time. And one last thing - Believe! Only you can tell the story in your heart the way it was meant to be told.

The Shadow Stone by Regan Black

Shadow Stone by Regan Black

From Echelon Press:

"Lana Richmond will not be the left behind when all her friends are using the magic of Hobbitville to escape their small Midwestern town for more exciting places. She's been trying–and failing–to use the garden's portals. The bruises haven't quite faded when Lana takes matters into her own hands and meets a stranger who promises to help her…on Halloween. Will Lana have the courage to follow her wanderlust, or will she settle for being the only Pixie Chick who can't work the Hobbitville magic?"


A Halloween-themed Hobbitville treat, we now are granted access to Lana’s story. Not only are we enabled to see who she is now (as well as her determination to be able to jump), but we also learn a little bit about her past before the Pixie Chicks. What’s most important, though, is the discovery that all of the jumping through Hobbitville doesn’t always lead a person to ideal places…

A bit different from the previous two Hobbitville stories, Shadow Stone has a more mysterious edge to it with a hint of creepiness that makes the story an absolute joy to read!

The plot itself was creative and slightly different from Hot Spots and Pixie Chicks. Its branch into the mysterious was beneficial not only to the plot, but to the characters as well. It served a great purpose to further advance Lana’s character and allow us to fully understand her adventurous, yet lacking of patience, personality.

Furthermore, the new information we receive regarding jumping, and the different locations one can jump to, is interesting to say the least. Black has taken an idea and has slowly created a phenomenal world – a magical world with both its good and its bad – out of it. Kudos to Black!

Now that I’ve read stories on Brie, Clarie, and Lana, I am anxiously waiting for (or should I say hoping for) another story focusing on the fourth Pixie Chick, Austin.


Check back in tomorrow when I will be interviewing the one and only Regan Black!

Hot Spots by Regan Black

Hot Spots by Regan Black

From Echelon Press:

The gardens of Hobbitville are full of secrets, and the Pixie Chicks will do anything to keep it that way, including some innovative matchmaking. But even the efforts to keep Sierra clear of the garden can't hold off fate.

While trying to divert her best friend's pesky neighbor from breaching the gates of their haven, Claire is having trouble keeping her personal secrets. What can possibly be important enough not to tell the other Pixie Chicks?

And does the surprise visitor at Brianna's house have anything to do with it?


Contrary to The Pixie Chicks’ focus on Brie’s exploration of Hobbitville, Hot Spots is more tuned to Claire’s own experiences of jumping. Sierra, meanwhile, also becomes less of a pain as the Pixie Chicks have found an effective means of drawing her attention elsewhere.

I must say that Hot Spots is a great continuation of the Hobbitville Saga. As this is the second introduction to the characters, they begin to have a more developed feel as Black delves deeper into their personalities and motivations. The reader has the opportunity to understand Sierra’s feelings toward The Pixie Chicks as well as catch a glimpse into her own emotions for a certain member of the opposite sex. Claire's own motivations for jumping are revealed in a delightful manner, and I know that I definitely wished for Claire's happiness in the situation.

Furthermore, for lack of a better term, there are no dead words or scenes in the story. Black sticks to a tight format, only adding scenes necessary for the overall plot without leaving it boring and dull. This format creates a fast pace for Hot Spots that is both enjoyable and entertaining to read.

Hot Spots should be on the list of all young adults looking for a quick and fun read.

Check in tomorrow for a review on Regan Black's newest release - Shadow Stone! The third installment in the Hobbitville Saga.