The Crossroads Blog Tour FINALE

This is the FINAL day of The Crossroads Blog Tour and I want to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to Judith Graves for organising the tour and to all the authors who took part. It's been a lot of fun and I've added a lot of fantastic books to my TBR pile.

Also, thanks to everyone who has commented on the posts and you have all been entered into a contest to win a Crossroads swag pack! The winner will be chosen at random and will be revealed soon.

Now on to the book giveaway. I mentioned at the beginning of The Crossroads Blog Tour that I was going to give away a copy of Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White so...for your chance to win, just leave me a comment with your name, e mail address and the country you live in. Again, the winner will be chosen at random and revealed soon. The deadline is Midnight tonight PST so that gives you a little longer to enter. Good luck and Happy Halloween!

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 16)

Welcome to day 16 which is the FINAL day of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Angie Frazier, author of Everlasting (June, 2010) and The Midnight Tunnel (March, 2011). Check out the Goodreads description for Everlasting here and for The Midnight Tunnel here. Everlasting is Angie's debut novel and The Midnight Tunnel is her first MG book.





How did you come up with the idea for Everlasting? What was your inspiration?

The smallest things give me inspiration—a news story, a picture, a dream. In this case, it was a series of vintage travel posters for places in Australia that were on the ceiling of a cottage I was renting one winter. They were done in the Art Nouveau style and they all had this adventurous feel. From there, my imagination just kicked into gear and took off.


Is it a standalone or a series? If it’s a series, how many books will be in the series?

Right now there are two books sold, the sequel releasing in June 2011. I would love to be able to write a third and final Everlasting book, so I’ll be hoping Scholastic wants it!


Just for you Angie, Everlasting has been likened to an Indiana Jones adventure for teens, what’s your favourite Indiana Jones film and quote?

I love how readers have drawn parallels between Everlasting and Indy! The Indiana Jones movies are all fantastic and he is glorious with the one-liners. One of my favorite quotes is from the third movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but just writing the line doesn’t do it justice! Here's the Youtube clip:



Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

Oh, the ideas never cease :) I’m finishing up the second Suzanna Snow middle grade mystery right now (the first is due to release March 1, 2011) and then I am going to start working on a new YA proposal for a dark, paranormal historical set in 1899 Paris. I’m excited for these new projects!


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I am most definitely a “pantser”! I find myself trying to outline, but it always changes as I go. I discover new things about my characters and story that shift around all my plans. I like it that way. I think writers should try and be open to changing everything—it’s OK to write one full draft and then realize it’s not the right plot. Take your time and do it right.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

Mini Butterfingers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, mini Mounds and Almond Joys….oh, you mean besides the candy? :)


Favourite scary movie?

**shivers** SO not a scary movie person. I can’t watch them! I will forever be scarred by the opening scenes of Scream.


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

I would want to be something that isn’t scary (see above answer reiterating my aversion to scary things!). So my list would be short: mermaid or unicorn!


Thank you so much to Angie for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Angie and her books, you can visit her website here. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter. And in case you're wondering what the cover for The Midnight Tunnel looks like, here it is...


Don't forget to comment on this post to be in with a chance of winning a special Crossroads swag pack!

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 15)

Welcome to day 15 of The Crossroads Blog Tour - better late than neve, I've been at work all day and having stupid computer problems so now I'm running behind! Ugh! Anyway, today I'm featuring Rosemary Clement-Moore, author of The Splendor Falls (2009), Prom Dates from Hell (2007), Hell Week (2008), Highway to Hell (2009), and Texas Gothic (July, 2011). Check out the Goodreads description for The Splendor Falls here. I love gothic novels :)


How did you come up with the idea for The Splendour Falls and how many books will there be in the series?

The Splendor Falls is a stand-alone novel, though there are links between that book and my next one, Texas Gothic, which comes out next year. The idea comes from my love of old fashioned gothic novels. Haunted house, vulnerable but plucky protagonist who doesn’t know who to trust, brooding hero, mysterious surroundings… All those things went into the book, plus a dash of Southern atmosphere and modern sass from my heroine.

What can we expect from the sequel (if there is one)?

The next book, as you might guess from the title Texas Gothic, is another spin on the gothic novel. This time there are ghosts and magic in the Texas Hill Country, where Amy Goodnight is house sitting for her witch of an aunt. A modern mystery mixes with an archaeological dig plus a healthy dose of spooky stuff and good bit of romance and humor.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I’m working on another paranormal book for Random House, though I’m not sure how it will tie in to the others. I love paranormal novels. Magic makes the world so much more interesting!


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I’m a modified-pantser. I usually have an idea of the main turning points of the book, and I do better when I know how it ends. In fact, I often write the end before I get there, so I’ll know where I’m going. That would actually be my advice--if you ever feel ‘stuck’ in a scene, jump ahead to the next place where you KNOW what has to happen. Often the reason you’re stuck is because you don’t need the scene you’re working on.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

Dressing up and decorating the front porch for the trick or treaters!


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

A fairy. Magical and cute, too!


Thank you to Rosemary for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Rosemary and her books, you can visit her website here. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter. And in case you're wondering what the cover for Texas Gothic looks like, here it is...


Don't forget to comment on this post to be in with a chance of winning a special Crossroads swag pack!

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 14)

Welcome to day 14 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Stacey Kade, author of The Ghost and the Goth (June, 2010) and the upcoming sequel Queen of the Dead (June, 2011). Check out the Goodreads description for The Ghost and the Goth here. I love the idea that the girl is little miss popular who was hit by a bus and died. I tend to picture the "bus death" scene from Final Destination which is probably similar to how it happened. I also love the idea that the only person that can see little miss popular but dead girl is a geek. GENIUS.


How did you come up with the idea for The Ghost and the Goth and how many books will there be in the series?

I don’t know where this idea came from. I never know with any idea—they just show up, and I love that. I do know that Alona came first. I didn’t know it was her, but I knew it was the ghost of a dead girl who’d gotten run over by a bus!

There will be three books in the series.


What can we expect from the sequel?

More trouble ahead for Will and Alona, more bickering but more kissing, too! They’re trying to help some ghosts move on, but someone new in town is causing problems between them.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I’m working on book three in the series now, so definitely paranormal. I think, at some point, it would be fun to try to write a book without the paranormal element, but my brain goes there so automatically I think it might be a bit of a struggle.


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I’m naturally a pantser, but when you’re writing on deadline, you have to give a little bit! : ) So, I write a rough synopsis and go from there.

My writing advice comes from Anne Lamott in the book Bird by Bird: Write a crappy first draft. You can always clean it up later!
What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

I love seeing all the creative costumes!


Favourite scary movie?

I’m not much for scary movies, which is weird, I know. I tend to watch them with my eyes shut!


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

Hmm. I don’t know. It seems like all of them have some pretty big downsides, you know? I definitely couldn’t be a vampire—I get light-headed at the sight of blood, mine or anyone else’s!


Thank you to Stacey for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Stacey and her books, you can visit her website here. She is also active on Twitter. Unfortunately, the cover for Queen of the Dead has not yet been revealed but I'm interested to see what it looks like! AND, I've just found out that it's coming out on June 7th which is my birthday!! So I know what I'll be asking for...

Don't forget to comment on this post to be in with a chance of winning a Crossroads swag pack.

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 13)

Welcome to day 13 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Jackie Morse Kessler author of Hunger (October, 2010) and the upcoming sequel Rage (April, 2011). Check out the Goodreads description for Hunger here. I believe there will be four books in the series and each protagonist will represent one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.


You’ve written quite a few books, are any of them YA?

HUNGER is my first book intended for teens, which is why I have a slightly different byline (Jackie Morse Kessler) for it than I do for my adult books (Jackie Kessler). The dystopian superhero duology The Icarus Project (coauthored with Caitlin Kittredge) was aimed at adults, but older teens who like their superheroes not too clean-cut would probably enjoy reading BLACK AND WHITE and SHADES OF GRAY.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I’m currently writing the third Horseman book, LOSS. That book is about a bullied teenage boy who gets tricked into becoming Pestilence.


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I used to be a strict pantser. Now I’m somewhere in between; I find the right beginning, then after a few chapters I’ll write a synopsis and use that as a guideline for the rest of the book (or, in the case of RAGE, throw it out completely.) My writing advice is you can’t fix what you don’t write. Get it down, then worry about getting it right.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

An excuse to be someone or something else…or an excuse to eat chocolate. Hmm. I can’t decide which of those is my favorite!


Favourite scary movie?

Hmm. Probably the original Halloween, before everything got explained (family connections) and redone (Rob Zombie). When it was just a psychopath (who mysteriously knew how to drive a car even though he’d been catatonic since he was a child) who slaughtered teenagers (and a dog) for no reason other than Just Because, that was damn scary. And to this day, the theme music terrifies me.


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

You know what? I’m happy playing God by being a writer. (My characters tend to go through very bad things; I wouldn’t wish that on anyone—especially on myself!)


Thank you to Jackie for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Jackie and her books, you can visit her website here . She is also active on Facebook and Twitter. And in case you're wondering what the cover for Rage looks like, here it is...


I like! Don't forget to comment on this post to be in with a chance of winning a special Crossroads swag pack!

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, originally started by Jill at Breaking the Spine , that highlights upcoming book releases everyone is waiting on...hence the title. This week's pick is Wither by Lauren DeStefano. Here is the Goodreads description:

"Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she trusts, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

I'm really getting into the Dystopian genre now and so this one is definitely on my wish list as it sounds like an amazing read. In fact, I've heard some positive feedback for the book from early reviewers. So what do you guys think, is this on your wish list? What are you waiting on?

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 12)

Welcome to day 12 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Jeri Smith-Ready, author of many books including her YA debut novel Shade (May, 2010) and the upcoming sequel Shift (May, 2011). Check out the Goodreads Description for Shade here.

US hardback

UK Paperback

How many books will there be in the series? And what can we expect from Shift?

At this point, I think there will be three books in the series. Originally I thought four, but after writing SHIFT, the number 3 keeps coming up as significant. So think it would be better as a trilogy. But I need to start writing Book 3 before I can be sure. So ask me again in six months!

In SHIFT, we’ll find out the answers to a lot of Aura’s questions about her parents and their connection to the Shift. But of course those answers will lead to more questions, as answers often do. On the personal side, the love triangle will be settled, but not until after it gets much more complicated (a love pentagon?).


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

Yep, everything I’m writing or have written is paranormal. In December, I’ll have a short story in a YA vampire anthology called ETERNAL: MORE LOVE STORIES WITH BITE. Then SHADE’s sequel SHIFT comes out in May. My fourth vampire book for adults, LET IT BLEED, comes out in August. In the fall, Logan Keeley from SHADE and SHIFT gets to tell his story in an anthology called ENTHRALLED, which is a collection of stories by the authors on this year’s Smart Chicks Kick It Tour.

And since both the SHADE and the WVMP RADIO series will be ending in the next couple of years, my mind is already cooking up some new ideas. One is an adult urban fantasy series that has a cast of unique monsters (some new, some classic) and humans who have developed some odd paranormal abilities to deal with them. The other is a YA stand-alone that I can’t even begin to talk about. It’s so new and fresh in my mind, I worry that it’ll wither if it’s brought out into the light.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

Either carving jack o’ lanterns or visiting this amazing corn maze in southern Pennsylvania. Neither of which I’ve done for the last two years, I’ve been so busy writing books. But this year I’m taking the last two weeks of October off from writing—the last several months have been crazy with deadlines—so maybe we’ll get to do our fun Halloween traditions again.


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

A werecat! But only if it didn’t hurt to go through the change.


Favourite scary movie?

Dark City. It’s more science fiction than horror, but those Strangers are freaky!


Thank you to Jeri for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Jeri and her books, you can visit her website here. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter. And in case you're wondering what the cover for Shift looks like, here it is...

Nice, isn't it?! Don't forget to comment on this post and you will be entered to win a swag pack from The Crossroads Tour!

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

Finding Sky UK Blog Tour

I am extremely delighted to welcome Joss Stirling, author of Finding Sky to the blog today. I really enjoyed this novel and one of the questions at the forefront of my mind was "would there be another book?". Thankfully, Joss has now answered this for me. Not only will there be another book, but Joss will take over my blog to explain her experiences of writing the second book, how it came about as well as *insert dramatic tension building music here* revealing the title!!! Over to Joss...

The phone call came as I sat in a hotel in Dover, about to get a ferry to go on holiday in late July.
"Hi, Joss, we've been discussing Finding Sky and would really like another one. Can you do it?"
"When for?"
"Well sort of as soon as possible, like it would be nice to have it yesterday but we'll give you until the beginning of 2011. What do you think?"
No author worth their salt will turn down a commission even if they had other commitments lined up. "Sure. No problem." Put down the phone. Aargh! In fact, the experience of writing the sequel is proving a very enjoyable one (working on chapter 11 today). The biggest decision was whether to write another Sky/Zed chapter or to move to one of Zed's brothers. I opted for the second as I felt it would manage both - you'd move on in story terms and you'd get to see how Sky and Zed are getting along a few months after the end of Finding Sky. I always fall a little in love with my heroes and Zed's super-intelligent brother, Yves, is proving very cute to spend imaginative time with. He seems all well behaved and sorted, but I am enjoying ruffling his feathers and pushing him out of his comfort zone to find the wild boy within. His partner, Phee, is the opposite - very mixed up and from an unstable background. They are having to travel a long way to meet in the middle.

I've also been reading the reviews (thanks, guys) and wondering how to make it even better than Finding Sky. 'More time on the kissing' was one comment so I am thinking how to up the boy/girl tension and passion to make it a book where you can feel the sparks fly between the main characters. So it is worth reviewing - authors do listen if they think you have a point!

Now, I really must get back to my book. I'm about to bring Zed and Sky in to the frame so I have to have a little quality imaginative time thinking where they have reached in their relationship. And I get paid for doing this??? What fun!

Thank you to Joss for letting us in on the good news and I'm really glad that future books will feature Zed's brothers as we still have so much to learn about them. The good thing is however, that we can still keep an eye on Sky and Zed at the same time, albeit through another's eyes. I highly recommend Finding Sky as an alternative YA Paranormal that does not contain vampires, werewolves or angels and if you're interested, you can read my review here.

Now, time for the reveal. The title to the second book is going to be...

Stealing Phoenix

And I can't wait to read it. There is no set release date as of yet but since Joss is currently working on the novel, I'd guess it was going to be in the latter half of 2011. To find out more about Joss and Finding Sky, you can visit her website here. Joss is also active on Twitter.

The next stop on the Finding Sky UK Blog Tour will be tomorrow at Rhiana-Reads. Be sure to check it out!

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 11)

Welcome to day 11 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Karen Kincy, author of Other (July, 2010) and the upcoming sequels Bloodborn (2011) and Foxfire (2012). Check out the Goodreads description for Other here.


How did you come up with the idea for Other and how many books will there be in the series?

In a nutshell, I decided to write Other after reading one too many novels where werewolves/vampires/whatever are living right in human backyards/sewers/cities, but humans are too dumb to notice. Yeah. You would think that a few centuries of action-packed battles and ancient feuds would have clued in the nightly news. So I thought to myself, what would happen if we did know? How would our culture, laws, advertising, etc. be changed? The worldbuilding for Other proved to be addictively fun, ranging from laws about driver’s licenses (you must list paranormal heritage) to shopping (centaurs browse produce in grocery stores).

To answer your second question, Other is the first book of the series, followed in Fall 2011 by Bloodborn (a guy who hates werewolves becomes one) and 2012 by Foxfire (fox-spirits, faceless ghosts, and family secrets in Japan). Who knows, more might follow if people love the first few enough!


What can we expect from the sequel?

In Bloodborn, we meet Brock, a character from Other who hunts werewolves, gets bitten, and becomes the very thing he hated. He fights the change, afraid it will kill him, while seeking revenge and a second chance at love with a girl he dated before he became a werewolf. He doesn’t get to sit around and angst, though, because pretty soon he meets up with the pack and the police are on their tails. Brock’s hometown of Klikamuks, Washington gets left far behind as they flee across America, running into all sorts of backwater and big city Others along the way…


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

Yes, I’m currently writing an outline for a Super Secret Project set in 1955, which involves food and magic gone wrong. That’s all I’ll say!


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I used to be a seat-of-the-pants writer, but that got me into a load of trouble. I meandered far from the path and got lost in the plotless wilds of several novels. I once mapped out a new path in Other by writing every single scene on an index card, ended up with over one hundred, and spread the different subplots on my bed to make sense of them. With Bloodborn and Foxfire, the synopsis came first.

My advice: even if you don’t like synopses, write the blurb first. Just a few tantalizing paragraphs that capture the essence of your premise—and what makes it marketable. Not something that would make you pick up a book in a bookstore? Redo it, and get it right before you write hundreds of pages.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

Spookiness! On a perfect Halloween, a pumpkin-orange full moon rises from the fog lurking over dark fields where wary walkers keep their eyes on the shadows…


Favourite scary movie?

I don’t really watch scary movies, but I do have to say The Exorcist sufficiently creeps me out. Oh, and The Ring! Where the dead girl crawls out the TV… shudder. Broke the fourth wall between the movie and the viewers enough to make me crawl over my couch in an attempt to get away.


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

I’ve been asked this question so many times now… but currently I’m leaning toward dragons, just because you get to be huge and scaly, breathe fire, and swoop around. This may be because I’m now reading Firelight by Sophie Jordan, and I also adore Dragon’s Bait by Vivian Vande Velde, with its amethyst-eyed dragon shapeshifter Selendrile, who’s also very sexy.


Thank you to Karen for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Karen and her books, you can visit her website here. She is also active on Facebook and Twitter. Don't forget to comment and you will be entered to win a swag pack from The Crossroads Tour!

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 10)

Welcome to day 10 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Amanda Ashby, author of You Had Me At Halo (2007), Zombie Queen of Newbury High (2009) and the upcoming novel Fairy Bad Day (2011). You can check out the Goodreads description for Zombie Queen of Newbury High here.




How did you come up with the idea for Zombie Queen of Newbury High and will it be a series?

I had the idea for writing a zombie book because there were so many vampire books out there that I thought it would be cool to do zombies. I then brainstormed with my zombie loving husband until I had a title and then it was just a small matter of figuring out a plot to fit (which, as it goes, isn’t always the easiest way to plot a book!!!!!)

I plotted Zombie as a stand alone book so there are no plans to make it a series, but one day I might go back and write a novella or something just to see what happens to Mia, Chase and Candice next!


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I’ve got a new YA book coming out next year called Fairy Bad Day and I’m currently working on the third book of a mid-grade series about an eleven year old girl who gets turned into a djinn the day before she starts sixth grade. So yup, all paranormals. I’ve also got an idea for a darker YA paranormal that I’m itching to write!


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

Sigh. I wish I could outline and I do try all the time to do it, but it never works so I’ve been forced to accept that I’m a panster. One piece of writing advice is to never give up. If this is your dream then you need to go for it no matter way. I know that sounds very corny, but honestly, it can be a rocky road to publication sometimes and it can very tempting to stop.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

Sugar!!!!!!!


Favourite scary movie?

Shaun of the Dead


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

Oooh, good question!!!!!! I’m thinking Shoe Demon so I could use my powers of evil to get as many cute pairs of shoes as I wanted. Does that make me sound shallow?


Thank you to Amanda for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Amanda and her books, you can visit her website here. She is also active on Facebook. Don't forget to comment and you will be entered to win a swag pack from The Crossroads Tour!

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 9)

Welcome to day 9 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Joy Preble, author of Dreaming Anastasia (2009) and the upcoming sequel Haunted (January, 2011). Dreaming Anastasia is inspired by the lost Russian princess, Anastasia Romanov and you can check out the Goodreads description for the book here.






How did you come up with the idea for Dreaming Anastasia and how many books are there going to be in the series?

The story of the Romanov family tragedy has resonated with me for a very long time. And basically, one day, Anne’s character came to me. She was this ordinary high school girl who seemed to have a destiny that wasn’t ordinary at all – she came out of my head funny and snarky and smarter than her teachers. And some part of me wondered – what if she met a mysterious guy who turned her world upside down. Because I love that type of story. And somehow the Russian stuff chose to join in the fun. I did originally conceive of the story as a trilogy, although Dreaming Anastasia was a one book deal. But then came HAUNTED… so I hope you guys all enjoy book 2. Cause then I’ll get to do the third!


What can we expect from the sequel? *WARNING: SPOILER ALERT*

First and foremost, Ethan returns and the romance between him and Anne heightens considerably! So for those who wanted more romance in book one, hang in there; it’s coming. But Ethan’s been gone for awhile… and Anne’s got a new boyfriend named Ben. Plus Tess is back and just as feisty as ever. And Baba Yaga, too. But the story starts with the appearance of a mysterious and malevolent Russian mermaid called a rusalka. After that, there’s more peril, some serious kissing, and a lot of shocking revelations! And did I say kissing? And evil mermaids? Yup.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

Somewhere in the middle of HAUNTED I swore I’d never write another paranormal mystery/historical fiction again. But I actually have a time travel story that’s been knocking at my brain. Right now though, I’m plotting out book 3 of the DA series, and actually hard at work at another project that’s not paranormal at all; much more realistic fiction with a literary bent. Hope to have more to tell you sometime this fall.


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

Both, actually. I generally start out and just write. But after about 30-40 pages, I pull it in and outline, develop characters more, really get a fuller grip on who these people are. But I need to write a character for awhile first; let him/her speak and act and give me hints.

What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

Candy. Lots of it. After that, I guess it’s getting to dress up as someone I’m not. I’m a horrible costume creator, but I have fun anyway.


Favourite scary movie?

Jaws still makes me jump. So does Alien. And for psychological fright, nothing beats The Exorcist. But my absolute favourite is the 70’s version of The Shining with Jack Nicholson. “Wendy, I’m home!!” And those creepy twins. *shivers with delight*


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

Definitely I’d be a witch. But not like Baba Yaga. I’ll keep my hands in tact, if you please.


Thank you to Joy for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Joy and her books, you can visit her website here. She is also active on Twitter. And just in case you're wondering what the cover for Haunted (book two) looks like, here it is in all its glory...


Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 8)

Welcome to day 8 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Linda Joy Singleton, author of the Dead Girl trilogy - Dead Girl Walking (2008), Dead Girl Dancing (2009) and Dead Girl in Love (2009). She has also written The Seer books amongst others. Whilst I have not read the books yet, I'm definitely interested in the concept of jumping into another person's body and have had this in my mind for a long time. If you're interested, you can check out the Goodreads description of Dead Girl Walking here.


How did you come up with the idea for Dead Girl Walking and how many books will there be in the series?

DEAD GIRL is a trilogy, so that’s three books plus there a short story on my website called SABINE MEETS DEAD GIRL. The idea came over 20 years ago, and it was going to be a light romance about a middle-school girl who is out riding her bike when she sees a cat stuck on a pole and falls while trying to save the cat—then nearly dying herself and going to the light where she meets her grandmother and makes a wrong turn into a popular girl’s body. I only wrote 3 chapters and a synopsis back then and then rewrote off/on over the years. The original title was TURN LEFT AT THE MILKY WAY (and if you’ve read the book, you know Amber who has a bad sense of direction turned right). I came up with the body-switching idea in 1988 and it was published in 2008.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I have a spin-off coming out some time in 2011 with Flux which I hope starts a new series called GOTH GIRL mysteries. The book is a spin-off from THE SEER, starring snarky Goth Thorn and her psychic finding ability leads her to a grave and also into the arms of a mysterious masked guy. I’m hoping to write a second book with Thorn. If not, there’s a futuristic book I’d like to write.


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I am a dedicated outliner. I actually like synopses, too. I consider an outline like a map, and when embarking on a long journey (writing a book) it’s much easier to find my destination (The End) with a map (synopsis.)


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

My best friend and I share a birthday near Halloween. So it’s always been a favourite holiday. My family always has a party where we dress up in costumes, dance, have cake walk (for candy) and celebrate birthdays.


Favourite scary movie?
I’m old-school here and prefer less graphic scary movies like those by Alfred Hitchcock. I also liked the first few movies by M. Night Shamalan. I scare easily and can’t stand people getting killed violently on screen.


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

Well I like being human so I can’t pick a unicorn, although I think they’re cool. So I’d make up a super-heroine who wears a glittery pink cape and has super long red hair and goes around magically turning sadness into smiles. Or maybe a “book fairy” who matches everyone a book they’d love to read.


Thank you to Linda for for answering my questions! To find out more about Linda and her books, you can visit her website here.

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 7)

Welcome to day 7 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring Kitty Keswick, author of Freaksville (January, 2010) and upcoming sequel Furry and Freaked (2011). I have to admit to having not read Freaksville yet but I want to, especially as it features a male exchange student from England! Check out the Goodreads description here.



How did you come up with the idea for Freaksville and how many books will there be in the series?

A dream inspired me, I often write from dreams it’s the best plotting tool ever. There are three. Book two, FURRY & FREAKED which is my favourite so far will be out in 2011.


What can we expect from the sequel, Furry and Freaked?

At the end of Freaksville Kasey’s world was totally changed. Book two isn’t as light-hearted as one, which I think most will enjoy better. Kasey’s powers are growing and with that she struggles to keep her humanity.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

Furry & Freaked. I have others; I’ve been working on a series with Judith Graves.


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I’m a bit of both, at first panster but then I have to make sure it works so then I’ll go back and plot things out and fill in holes.

In order to be a better writer, one must read. Also you have to be able to look at your work as an editor or reader would. If the scene you just spent a week on doesn’t work, it doesn’t work and hitting the delete button is a hard thing to do, but if the words don’t add anything to the story get them off the page.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

It’s my favourite holiday from the crisp bit in the air to the changing leaves, but most of all I love the fantasy element. I had to restrain myself at Target as there are soooo many cool decorations nowadays.


Favourite scary movie?

American Werewolf in London.


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

I can’t choose, something would just have to bite me and make me one of them.


Thank you to Kitty for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Kitty and her books, you can visit her website here. And here's what the sequel, Furry and Freaked looks like...


Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 6)

Welcome to day 6 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring the very lovely Jordan Deen, author of The Crescent (January, 2010) and upcoming sequels Half Moon (January, 2011) and Full Moon (2011). I fell in love with The Crescent when I first had the opportunity to read it and if you're interested, you can check out my review here.

How did you come up with the idea for The Crescent and how many books will there be in the series?

Hey Lynsey, thank you so much for hosting me and participating in The Crossroads Tour! The story for ‘The Crescent’ came late one night while I was home alone with just the dogs and my five year old. My large german shepherd wouldn’t let me into the house and my overactive imagination went into overdrive. Within a few minutes I had robbers breaking into my house and hiding in my closet waiting to attack me. I ended up letting my dogs in the house to inspect every room! ‘The Crescent’ is a trilogy. The second in the series ‘Half Moon’- will be released January 13, 2011. The final book in the series, ‘Full Moon’ is currently in the outline phase.


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I’m definitely not an outliner to the point that it has to be all outlined and regimented. I like having some fluidity to my life and to my writing. So, I’ll come up with a loose outline for where I want the story to go, but most of the time I don’t stick to it. However, the one thing that I insist on is stopping to write down ideas I have when I have them. That is best advice I can give. Carry a notebook and write everything down. You never know when inspiration will hit you!


What can we expect from Half Moon? Will Lacey choose Brandon or Alex?

Ooohhh a spoiler! You naughty girl. A good writer never ruins the book for her readers. I won’t say whether Lacey chooses Brandon or Alex, but I will say you can expect new prophecies, legends, lore, and some serious plot twists that no one will see coming.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I always have novels in the works. I think most writers do. That is how our creative mind works. I’ll be somewhere, meet someone, or be in a situation that I think will make a good book. I do love paranormal books, but the current book I’m working on is an edgy young adult novel. But, I will be working on ‘Full Moon’ shortly.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

The costumes. By far. I love dressing up and going trick or treating with my son, nieces and nephews. It is by far my favourite holiday. What other day is it socially acceptable to dress up like a fairy and go out in public? Awesome!


Favourite scary movie?

This is going to sound lame, but I’m really a fan of Underworld, Blade, American Werewolf in Paris… not necessarily scary movies—but I love them all the same. My favourite classic scary movie is Nightmare on Elm street, by far.


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why? Can I only be one? I recently finished reading Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. I’d love to be Evie—the main character. She has a bit of it all. She can see through glamors, she spends most of the book thinking she is normal except for one unique talent only to find out she’s been lied to. I wouldn’t want to be the beginning Evie, but the ending one would be awesome, although she is faced with a horrible decision, ultimately she makes the right one and I admire her as a character overall.


Thank you to Jordan for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Jordan and her books, you can visit her website here. Jordan is also active on Twitter and facebook. And just in case you're wondering what the cover for the 2nd book Half Moon looks like, here it is...

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 5)

Welcome to day 5 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring the amazingly talented and very lovely Shannon Delany, author of 13 to Life (June, 2010) and upcoming sequels Secrets and Shadows (february, 2011) and Bargains and Betrayals (2011). I have to say that I *loved* 13 to Life and if you're interested, you can check out my review here.


How did you come up with the idea for 13 To Life? What was your inspiration?

It was so random I’m still amazed it came together. It started with the following things: the phrase, “13 to life,” the fact I was interested in using werewolves as paranormal and symbolic creatures, and the concept that life’s short. Then Jess showed up on the scene with her emotional baggage and Pietr introduced himself.


How many books will there be in the series?

*cough* Three books have already been named and turned in: 13 to Life, Secrets and Shadows and Bargains and Betrayals. Other things are *cough* in the works.


There’s a lot of YA books been released in recent months about wolves, what makes your book standout? (besides the fact that it’s awesome, obviously)

Thanks! I’ll take the obvious approach and bring up the Russian heritage shared by my werewolves and their connection to Cold War paranormal research. Some fun for readers will be (throughout the series) to guess what characters and references I make that can be traced to “legitimate” Cold War research and where I start blowing smoke. The not-so obvious thing separating my werewolves from others relates to the title and canine physiology. Readers know what I mean.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I have notes started on about a half-dozen different projects, mostly YA and mostly paranormal. My most immediate pursuit will be the polishing of my NaNoWriMo 2009. It’s paranormal but much more—erm—devilish in nature.


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I’m character-driven so there’s a lot of “writing by the seat of my pants” that happens. I follow the characters until I have to nudge them back on course (they like to run off with the story sometimes, not to name names *MAX*).

My advice? Read a lot and write even more. (And it should go without saying that the reading you do should be diverse. I realized recently that I read remarkably little within my genre—when considering overall books consumed.)


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

Watching people and seeing them dress in their fantasies or fears. It’s a great exercise for a writer to try and guess who is under the outfit and why they chose that particular “mask..”


Favourite scary movie?

Here are a few favorites: The Others (creepy with a twist), Memento (psychological thriller with a twist), The Ghost Writer (creepy and mysterious with a perfect ending), Signs (scary and twisty), Ginger Snaps (had to get a werewolf one in here).


If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

Werewolf. I get to be plain ol’ me, running around in daylight or adventuring under the moon in a fashionable fur. And I’d have a delightful excuse for liking my steaks rare.


Thank you to Shannon for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Shannon and her books, you can visit her website here and also the 13 to Life website here. Shannon is also active on Twitter and facebook. And just in case you're wondering what the cover for the 2nd book Secrets and Shadows looks like, here it is in all its glory...



Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 5)

Welcome to day 5 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring the amazingly talented and very lovely Shannon Delany, author of 13 to Life (June, 2010) and upcoming sequel Secrets and Shadows (february, 2011) and Bargains and Betrayals (2011). I have to say that I *loved* 13 to Life and if you're interested, you can check out my review here.


How did you come up with the idea for 13 To Life? What was your inspiration?

It was so random I’m still amazed it came together. It started with the following things: the phrase, “13 to life,” the fact I was interested in using werewolves as paranormal and symbolic creatures, and the concept that life’s short. Then Jess showed up on the scene with her emotional baggage and Pietr introduced himself.


How many books will there be in the series?

*cough* Three books have already been named and turned in: 13 to Life, Secrets and Shadows and Bargains and Betrayals. Other things are *cough* in the works.


There’s a lot of YA books been released in recent months about wolves, what makes your book standout? (besides the fact that it’s awesome, obviously)

Thanks! I’ll take the obvious approach and bring up the Russian heritage shared by my werewolves and their connection to Cold War paranormal research. Some fun for readers will be (throughout the series) to guess what characters and references I make that can be traced to “legitimate” Cold War research and where I start blowing smoke. The not-so obvious thing separating my werewolves from others relates to the title and canine physiology. Readers know what I mean.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I have notes started on about a half-dozen different projects, mostly YA and mostly paranormal. My most immediate pursuit will be the polishing of my NaNoWriMo 2009. It’s paranormal but much more—erm—devilish in nature.


About your writing style, are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice be?

I’m character-driven so there’s a lot of “writing by the seat of my pants” that happens. I follow the characters until I have to nudge them back on course (they like to run off with the story sometimes, not to name names *MAX*).

My advice? Read a lot and write even more. (And it should go without saying that the reading you do should be diverse. I realized recently that I read remarkably little within my genre—when considering overall books consumed.)

What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

Watching people and seeing them dress in their fantasies or fears. It’s a great exercise for a writer to try and guess who is under the outfit and why they chose that particular “mask..”


Favourite scary movie?

Here are a few favorites: The Others (creepy with a twist), Memento (psychological thriller with a twist), The Ghost Writer (creepy and mysterious with a perfect ending), Signs (scary and twisty), Ginger Snaps (had to get a werewolf one in here).

If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why?

Werewolf. I get to be plain ol’ me, running around in daylight or adventuring under the moon in a fashionable fur. And I’d have a delightful excuse for liking my steaks rare.


Thank you to Shannon for answering all of my questions! To find out more about Shannon and her books, you can visit her website here and also the 13 to Life website here. Shannon is also active on Twitter and facebook. And just in case you're wondering what the cover for the 2nd book Secrets and Shadows looks like, here it is in all its glory...



Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.

The Crossroads Blog Tour (Day 4)

Welcome to day 4 of The Crossroads Blog Tour and today I'm featuring the very lovely Judith Graves, author of Under my Skin (March, 2010), the upcoming sequel Second Skin (2011) and the third book in the series Skin of my Teeth (2012). Judith is also the organiser of the tour so hats off to her for all her hard work.





I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading Under My Skin and I must offer my apologies for not putting my review up yet (as I read it a little while ago now). Under My Skin is not available in UK stores but you can buy it from online sellers. If you are a UK book blogger and are interested in reading the book, I will shortly be putting it in a tour on UK Book Tours.

Warning, some of the answers in this interview contain spoilers

In UMS, Eryn uses an ATHAME. How do you pronounce this? LOL

An athame (atha-may) is a ritual dagger used in Wicca, witchcraft, etc. It’s not typically used as a weapon, but in Eryn’s world…sure. Why not? It’s made of pure silver, has a rosewood hilt, is infused with powerful magic (Dutch witches, ya know), and has saved her life on a daily basis.


In UMS, Matt and Alec are brothers and whilst Matt has healing abilities, Alec is all human. How come?

First, Lynsey, you used “whilst” and “is all” in the same sentence. That was just cool. ;) Second, is Alec “all human”? Hmmm…you sure? Better read Second Skin to find out.


What can expect from the sequel Second Skin? Will we find out why Logan wants Eryn so much and what the prophecy is all about?

If you enjoyed the various beasties in Under My Skin, you’ll get a thrill out of the new creatures introduced in Second Skin. They’re a real scream. Eryn gets to explore the dark side a smidge, perhaps too much. Be ready for a few revelations and more hot scenes between Eryn and her two love interests, Wade and Alec. As for Logan and the prophecy – no spoilers here - you’ll have to read Second Skin for the goodies.


How many books will there be in the series?

Three.


Are you writing anything else at the moment or have any ideas in the pipeline? Will they be paranormal in nature?

I’m working on several other projects. One is another paranormal YA, and I’ve been meaning to finish a YA contemporary – like forever.


I know you’re a big music fan and I’d like to know how influential music is in your writing. Do you have a playlist for Under My Skin? Did you write any songs based on the book?

I do have a playlist for UMS and the other books in the Skinned series, but it constantly changes as I write and new plot tweaks develop. As a songwriter, I write tunes based on characters and their emotions. I wrote one from Eryn’s point of view called, “You”. Here’s a vlog of me belting it out from my music room for my blogger friend, Mel from He Followed Me Home (http://hefollowedmehome.blogspot.com/): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxrurf7cdzw


I wanted to ask about your writing style. Are you a pantser or an outliner? What would your one bit of writing advice would be?

I outline and plot to death, but most of those ideas get tossed. Best writing advice: push to the finish – get to the end – then worry about cleaning up the mess in revisions.


What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

The decorations. The candy. The movies. The costumes. The creep factor. Oh, hell, I love it all.


Thank you to Judith for answering my questions! To find out more about Judith and Under My Skin, click here to visit her website. Check out the Goodreads description for Under My Skin here and Second Skin here. In case you're wondering what the cover looks like for Second Skin, here it is in all its glory...


Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Click here to get today's question and links.