Day 8: The Crossroads Blog Tour & Kindle Giveaway! Jackie Morse Kessler and Judith Graves

Welcome to the final day of The Crossroads Blog Tour!

I hope you’ve had fun following the tour. Today is the LAST day to get your research answers in to tour host Judith Graves for a chance to win a KINDLE pre loaded with books from ALL 13 participating tour authors! Details are at the end of this post.

Thank you to Judith Graves for inviting me to join The Crossroads Blog Tour this year. It was a great opportunity to discover new authors and to interview authors that have been favorites of mine for a long time now.

Karen: I love your Riders of the Apocalypse series. Each book has tackled a difficult subject. HUNGER - anorexia, RAGE - self-injury and LOSS - bullying. How did you come up with the idea to combine the riders of the apocalypse with these issues?

Jackie: Thank you!  I had the idea for HUNGER – an anorexic teenage girl becomes the new Famine – for ten years before I started writing the book. I had many influences there, including Neil Gaiman, Sir Terry Pratchett, Piers Anthony and Marvel Comics. I’m a former bulimic, and I wanted to write a book that exposed eating disorders for what they are. When the book sold, my agent said to me, “So which Horseman are you going to write about next?” And I was like, NEXT???  Self-injury and War’s Sword seemed a good fit. As for bullying and Pestilence, I think bullying is a disease that’s run rampant—especially these days, when cruelty can be so casual, thanks to the Internet’s so-called anonymity.



Karen: Can you tell us what BREATH, the fourth and final book in the series is about? Please say Death (my favorite character) get his own story? lol

Jackie: DEATH GETS HIS OWN STORY!!!  It looks at depression and suicide. (Having Death’s book be about sunshine and rainbows feels off somehow…)

Karen: YAY for Death! Okay…that sounds weird but I stand by it! I can’t wait for his story! ( Pre-order Breath (Riders of the Apocalypse) – a portion of the proceeds will be donated to To Write Love On Her Arms)

Time for some Halloween fun!

Jackie: Hooray!

Karen: Would you spend a night in a haunted house?

Jackie: Heck, no. I’ve watched Supernatural. I know the deal.

Karen: If you could make a magic brew, what would you make? Why?

Jackie: Ooh. Magic? So, like, anything would be possible? I would TOTALLY make myself TALLER. Just a little. Just enough to get better head shots when I spar in tae kwon do.

Karen: At 5”, that would probably be at the top of list too!

Thank you Jackie!

Author links: Website | Twitter | Books

Karen: Your mention on your website that you love tragic romance, werewolves, vampires and magic. Name your favorite book or movie for each and tell us why they're your favorite.

While I’m an avid reader, I’m also a huge horror movie buff, so I’ll take the movie option. Don’t blame me if I can’t limit myself to one favourite – there are just so many classics worth mentioning.
~ Tragic romance: Wuthering Heights – alright, we’re starting off with a book and happy am I to recommend that you read Emily Bronte’s classic gothic novel first. Then, dry your tears and dive into the many film adaptations.  Ghosts, mist, moors, brooding heroes, and rebellious heroines. Dysfunctional relationships, sure, but the drama! The romance! My fav is the 1970 production staring Timothy Dalton….oh my.


~ Werewolves: An American Werewolf in London is hands down the greatest werewolf film I’ve seen. It has a Buffyesque dark humour and yet inspires nightmares – the perfect blend in a horror flick. The special effects were ahead of their time, the acting / directing / cinematography – to DIE for. If you haven’t seen this film yet – get it. Now.

Another great in the wolfy genre comes in not one, but three movies, the Ginger Snaps series filmed and produced in Canada. Besides all the amazing werewolf lore and pop culture references, you’ll never think of sisterhood the same again.


~ Vampires: If you’re going to appreciate a solid vampire film, you have to have a well-rounded foundation – hence – another book. Read Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, then take in two film adaptations, Bela Lugosi in the 1931 movie, and Gary Oldman in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version. From there, I suggest you brush up on the original Lost Boys and Fright Night (the 2011 take had its moments – DAVID TENNANT!), as well as the Underworld series and, of course, 30 Days of Night.


~ Magic: The Craft (1996)– it’s Mean Girls with magical powers. Nuf said.

Thanks for the cool question, Karen. I feel a movie binge coming on.






Thank you Judith! Great choices, especially for this time of year.

Judith Graves is the author of the Paranormal YA Skinned series, as well as co-authoring the upcoming Most-Wanted Monsters series with Dawn Dalton beginning with Killer's Instinct (Book #1). Coming soon!

  
Author links: Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

****TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ENTER TO WIN THE GRAND PRIZE!****

Grand Prize and How the Crossroads Tour works:

Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research 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 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.

Answers are to be emailed to tour host, Judith Graves by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.

The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE preloaded with 13 free titles from the participating authors!

Crossroads Blog tour: Main page | Twitter
Twitter chat hosted by Mundie Moms on Monday 1/29 from 8-9 CST/ 9-10 EST

Participating bloggers:
Late Bloomer Online
A Simple Love of Reading
Scribing Shadows
For What It's Worth – All of this weeks posts can be found here!
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Most-Wanted Monsters
A Life Bound by Books

The Crossroads Blog Tour swag pack giveaway!

Leave a comment and I’ll pick two people to win swag provided by the blog tour authors!

Winner announced tomorrow!

Leave an email address / twitter handle or way that I can contact you if you win. International ok.

Day 7: The Crossroads Blog Tour & Kindle Giveaway–Christine Fonseca & Lucienne Diver

Welcome to Day 7 of The Crossroads Blog tour!

Be sure to enter for a chance to win a KINDLE – preloaded with books from all the Crossroads Tour authors! (Details at the end of this post)




Karen: Welcome to For What It’s Worth Christine! You write a little bit of everything, fiction, non fiction spanning several genres; gothic romance, psychological thrillers and urban fantasy, YA & adult. Do you have a favorite genre?

Christine: I really don’t think about genre, fiction or nonfiction, or whatever. I just focus on the story/information that wants to be told. That and my deadlines (LOL!). I have loved writing the self-help books for kids, the Gothic romance and the thrillers. I even am toying with something completely new – a younger YA book that has humor in it (shocking, I know).

I will admit, though, writing Transcend was thrilling for me. So much so that I have other psychological thrillers plotted and ready to write.
 
Karen: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Christine: I fantasized when I was a teen and college student about writing the “great American novel”, living in NYC and having publishing lunches. LOL – pretty humorous, right?

As I grew-up, and my need to be independent and “responsible” took over, I married and quickly got into other fields, stowing away that creative aspect of myself. Until I hit my 40s. I’m not sure what it was, but turning 40 was pretty enlightening. I started giving myself permission to listen to the voices in my head (lol!) and write down their stories. In 2010, just after my 44th birthday my first book came out. It’s been a fun ride ever since.

I still have my day-job, and huge responsibilities regarding college tuition for them, etc. But at least I no longer ignore my creative passions as I did through my mid-twenties and thirties.

Karen: Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?

Christine: My first, not-for-publication story was a short story written in 1st grade – my attempt at writing a myth. I remember it distinctly! My first for-publication attempt was a parallel universe story that is being reworked.

Karen: I'll end this with a Halloween season question! Which scary (imaginary) creature would you least like to bump into in a dark alley?

Christine: Least like to…definitely a mindless demon—a fallen angel, maybe…but not a mindless demon.

Author links:  website | Facebook | Goodreads | Books

Karen: What inspired you to write your first book?

Lucienne: Actually, my first "book" was written in fifth grade in response to a class assignment.  It was supposed to be a short story.  It came out at over 100 pages.  I've been writing ever since, though not with the regularity that I do now.

Karen: Do you have anything in common with your characters from either your Vamped or Latter-Day Olympians series?

Lucienne: You know, in some ways I think it helps as a writer to be a mass of contradictions <g>.  Like Gina in the Vamped series, I love Project Runway.  I love to be fashionable, though I could never pull it off with her flare.  But like Tori (Latter-Day Olympians), I couldn't tell one designer from another if they tapped me on the shoulder, and for the most part, I find perfection (or even near perfection) too much work to even attempt.  Sadly, I don't have any superpowers.  I haven't been Vamped (yet, anyway).  My family line, so far as I'm aware, doesn't trace back to a drunken liaison with the god Pan and one of the immortal gorgons, so there's no demi-god in me.  I could probably kick butt if cornered, but that would be about it.

I love both heroines, because they're both very true to themselves, and they're both snarky and tough in their own ways.  I think that's where we all come together.

Karen: You've written about vampires and God's, is there something else or another genre you would like to give a try?

Lucienne: I'm working on a dark, mainstream/suspense young adult novel in my "spare" time.  I'm looking forward to finishing that up after my current Latter-Day Olympians book and seeing how that flies.  It's more difficult than anything I've done before, because I naturally default to humor, and there are some situations in which my natural tone is far too flippant.  There are days that I'm sure I can't pull it off and others when I enjoy the challenge.  Mostly, though, it was an idea I'd had for some time that one day decided that it had to be written, like NOW.

Karen: What is the last great book you've read that you would tell others to read RIGHT NOW?

Lucienne: That's tough to say, because in addition to being an author, I'm also an agent, and the last books I read are all in manuscript form and won't be out on the market for a year or more!  How about this: Rosemary Clement-Moore's Maggie Quinn books were my gateway into reading young adult fiction.  Delacorte has just brought out an omnibus of her first two books called Brimstone.  I highly recommend everyone running out to buy it.  Or any of Rosemary's work.  I think she's awesome.

Karen: Thank you Lucienne!

Author links:  Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Grand Prize and How the Crossroads Tour works:

Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research 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 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.

Answers are to be emailed to tour host, Judith Graves by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.

The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE preloaded with 13 free titles from the participating authors!

Crossroads Blog tour: Main page | Twitter
Twitter chat hosted by Mundie Moms on Monday 1/29 from 8-9 CST/ 9-10 EST

Participating bloggers:
Late Bloomer Online
A Simple Love of Reading
Scribing Shadows
For What It's Worth
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Most-Wanted Monsters
A Life Bound by Books

Day 6: The Crossroads Blog Tour & Kindle Giveaway with Janet Fox!

Welcome to Day 6 of The Crossroads Blog Tour! I hope you’re having fun following all the great author interviews on the participating blogs and answering those daily research questions for a chance to win a KINDLE – preloaded with books from all the Crossroads authors. (Details & links are at the end of this post.)

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Karen: Welcome to the blog today Janet! Your latest novel, Sirens, sounds fascinating. You describe it as a "noire romance" involving a gangster and a ghost. What is it about?

Janet:  SIRENS is told in alternating voices, between two girls; but the primary voice is that of Jo Winter, a 16-year-old whose father is a bootlegger for a New York gangster. Jo’s brother Teddy came back from World War 1 “damaged” (today we’d call it PTSD), and then disappeared mysteriously. Lou O’Keefe, the other girl in the story, is the gangster’s girlfriend, and she knows something about Teddy, who resurfaces in a way...but is he alive or not? The two girls uncover a tangle of secrets and lies – and Jo finds romance with a young jazz musician – while searching for the truth about Teddy.

Karen:  Your YA historical romances Faithful and Forgiven feature two strong young women during a period of time (the 1900's) where those qualities were frowned upon. How were you able to show that strength while still staying historically accurate.

Janet: I try to stay true to my characters. I believe that a strong girl in 1904 is not going to be much different from a strong girl in 2012: she’s going to know what she wants from life and love, and she’ll stand up for herself when it counts. The historical context is a framework for a story about a character.

Now, having said that, I know that many expectations were placed upon girls growing up in the early 1900’s. They were expected to behave according to a set of rules, marry a certain kind of man, dress according to station, etc. It’s important to me that I let the reader know what those expectations were and why they existed to a degree. A girl who stepped out of that mold was not considered typical. But I put myself in that situation and let my own emotions feed those of Maggie and Kula. Emotionally, we are all the same. If my historical details and context are true, and the emotions of my characters are also true, then conflict arises naturally from the clash of the individual against the constraints of society.

Karen: Do you have any upcoming writing projects that you can tell us about?
Janet: Sure! I’m working on something now that I’m quite excited about. It’s totally out of the box for me – a science fiction project told from two points of view, that of a 16 year old girl on earth and 16 year old boy on the moon. They eventually come together...

And, you know, it’s the same story that I’ve told before: if my societal rules and science constructs are true and the emotions of my characters are true, the conflict arises. Because this story is also about how we as individuals live within (or don’t live within) the constraints/rules of society.

Karen: What is your favorite quote and why?

Janet: Wow. Okay. It’s from Andrew Marvell’s poem, The Garden:

The mind, that ocean where each kind
Does straight its own resemblance find ;
Yet it creates, transcending these,
Far other worlds, and other seas ;
Annihilating all that's made
To a green thought in a green shade.

And the reason it’s a favorite is because I love being in nature and find it most restful, and because I do think that our minds can transcend thought and experience and find peace in a “green thought”. Yup, weird, but I love it.

Karen: That's not weird at all. I find that being out in nature soothes the soul. Thank you Janet! Sirens releases on November 8th and is available for pre-order.

Author links: Website | Twitter | Books

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Grand Prize and How the Crossroads Tour works:

Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research 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 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.

Answers are to be emailed to tour host, Judith Graves by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.

The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE preloaded with 13 free titles from the participating authors!

Crossroads Blog tour: Main page | Twitter
Twitter chat hosted by Mundie Moms on Monday 1/29 from 8-9 CST/ 9-10 EST

Participating bloggers:

Late Bloomer Online
A Simple Love of Reading
Scribing Shadows
For What It's Worth
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Most-Wanted Monsters
A Life Bound by Books

Day 5: The Crossroads Blog Tour & Kindle Giveaway with Ty Drago & Carrie Harris

Welcome to The Crossroads Blog tour! Authors Ty Drago and Carrie Harris are here today to talk about the looming zombie apocalypse & what the heck a “whack-a-ding-hoy” is!

Be sure to enter for a chance to win a KINDLE – preloaded with books from all the Crossroads Tour authors! (Details at the end of this post)

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Karen: Tell us a little about what Will and the gang are in for in The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead, the sequel to The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses.

Ty: Thirteen-year-old Will Ritter and the rest of the Undertakers have won their first victory, but the celebration is cut short when a new threat emerges through the Void between worlds. Lilith Cavanugh, the Queen of the Dead, is even more ruthless and dangerous than her predecessor, and her ambitions are even more sinister.

To defeat her, the Undertakers will need to prevent an assassination, rescue Will’s family, and somehow convince a skeptical F.B.I. agent that their cause is just. But how to you convince a grown-up that monsters are real?

Karen: The zombie apocalypse is upon us. What are your three must have items?

Ty: First: my son Andy. He's been planning for the zombie apocalypse for years! He knows exactly where to find sanctuary, how to equip yourself, how to locate food, where to deliver the most effective blows to the walking dead, etc.  I wouldn't last a day without him with the zombies closing in.

Second, a shotgun and a truck-load of shells. Yeah, I know.  A Quaker with a shotgun???  Well, this Quaker don't intend to be lunch for no rottin’ cadaver, and if that means relieving said cadaver of the ten pounds of meat atop his shoulders, then so be it! (Whew!  We are talking hypothetically, aren't we?)

And finally, I'd bring Jonathan Maberry's ZOMBIE CSU. You just can't beat it when it comes to zombie info, and knowing your enemy is half the battle!

Karen: I love all the fan artwork sent in by kids on the Join the Undertakers.com fan site. Is it exciting when you can have that kind of response from and interactive experience with the reader?

Ty: When I got into middle grade fiction, Heather Brewer told me that I'd love the audience, that there is nothing like fans of that age group!  Well, she was right. The enthusiasm I get when I visit schools or do other personal appearances is absolutely incredible! The fan letters warm my heart. Just knowing there are so many readers out there just waiting for Book Two of the Undertakers' story makes me want to work that much harder on Book Three!

Karen: Do you have to tone down the gore for the mid-grade level? It seems like the kids don't have any problem with it if their drawing are any indication lol

Ty: Gore in middle grade fiction is nothing new. Just ask Darren Shan. I wanted to make the Undertakers more character driven than plot driven; it's a story about the kids, not the Corpses. That said, this is a "zombie" novel - sort of - and you have to deliver on the promise that implies!
Gruesome things happen in my pages. And, as far as I can tell, my readers wouldn't have it any other way.  I know I wouldn't!

Karen: Thanks so much for the fun interview Ty!

Author links: Website | The Undertakers | Books

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Karen": Welcome to For What It’s Worth Carrie! According to your Short and Sweet Bio: "I am whack-a-ding-hoy. I write books that are also whack-a-ding-hoy" Um….elaborate please :-)  

Carrie: I first heard the phrase “whack-a-ding-hoy” in a video game called Afterlife. It’s one of those sim games where you have to maintain heaven and hell, and your guides are this very snarky demon and a really airheaded angel. And the demon says things like, “DEMONS DO NOT DRINK ROOT BEER.” And the angel says things like, “That’s totally whack-a-ding-hoy, boss! Tee hee!” And I have no idea why I’m telling you this, except that I really liked that game. Anyway, whack-a-ding-hoy means really crazy, and that describes both me and my books, I think.

Karen: You say that you are the "ultimate geek girl" Plan your ultimate geek dinner. Who would you invite?

Carrie: I guess that depends on whether or not I can invite fictional characters. I hope so! Because I think a dinner with Spock, Sheldon from Big Bang Theory, Wil Wheaton, and Batman would be about SEVEN HUNDRED DIFFERENT KINDS OF AWESOME. Although Sheldon would probably have to bring his couch, because he wouldn’t like mine. And after dinner, we’d all play Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock, which Spock would naturally win, because HE’S SPOCK FOR GOD’S SAKE.

Karen: As someone who's worked with actual brains for a living (as an autopsy coordinator/statistician and a manager of the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center) and written about zombies in your debut novel Bad Taste in Boys, how do you think you would fare during a zombie apocalypse? 

Carrie: I feel like I’m fairly well prepared for the zombocalypse. I play a lot of zombie video games, and I know a lot of things about zombies, but my most important element of zombie attack prep is that I married a ninja. So my survival plan is to stand behind him and all his ninja friends and yell helpful things like, “Get him in the head!” Which will probably annoy the crap out of them, but remember the valuable zombie knowledge I possess? I’m a valuable, if annoying, asset.

And yeah, I’m proud of that.

Karen: What is Halloween like at your house? Do you go all out with decorations and costumes? 

Carrie: Oh yeah! I go way the heck overboard, partly because Halloween has always been my favorite holiday, and partly because it’s my son’s birthday. So we start talking about our costumes around Christmas, and all of us change our minds about 700 times before settling on something. I’m not really able to decorate quite as extremely as I’d like because my kids are still young, and walking down the Halloween aisle at the store sometimes freaks them out. But I’m PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE, and the future includes plastic zombies in cheerleader costumes. I think that future is awesome.

I also think YOU are awesome. Thanks so much for having me to visit!

Karen: I had to tone down my Halloween decorating after one year I sent all the small kids screaming down my walkway in terror. Oops. But all the Dad’s were taking videos lol

Author links: Website | Blog | Connect | Books

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Grand Prize and How the Crossroads Tour works:

Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research 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 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.

Answers are to be emailed to tour host, Judith Graves by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.

The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE preloaded with 13 free titles from the participating authors!

Crossroads Blog tour: Main page | Twitter
Twitter chat hosted by Mundie Moms on Monday 1/29 from 8-9 CST/ 9-10 EST

Participating bloggers:
Late Bloomer Online
A Simple Love of Reading
Scribing Shadows
For What It's Worth
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Most-Wanted Monsters
A Life Bound by Books

Day 4: The Crossroads Blog Tour & Kindle Giveaway! Amanda Ashby

I’m welcoming author Amanda Ashby to the blog today as part of The Crossroads Blog Tour!

Be sure to enter for a chance to win a KINDLE – preloaded with books from all the Crossroads Tour authors! (Details at the end of this post)

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Karen: Hi Amanda! I read that it took you a while to discover that you wanted to be a writer and several false starts before you were published. What keeps you going during the rejections?

Amanda: This sounds new-agey but at the time I really did believe I would sell a book one day (despite all the evidence to the contrary). And so there was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that forced me to keep going. Plus, I’ve always been a pretty simple person and it doesn’t take much to make me happy, so within the rejections I would always look for the positive. Like when you move from getting form rejections to personal rejections or when you get a request from a manuscript (even if it then led to a rejection), I would take each of these things and use them as a step to help me get to the next place. See, I told you it sounded very new-agey, but it really did work for me!

Karen: You write about a variety of paranormal, magical creatures & situations, which are your favorites and is there something you haven't written about yet that you would like to?

Amanda: I had such a laugh writing Zombie Queen that it definitely holds a place as one of my favorites, just because zombies lend themselves to humor so much! As for something I haven’t written about yet, I’ve always been a bit obsessed with beserkers and for years I’ve been trying to secretly sneak one into a book. It hasn’t happened yet, but I will get there one day and I imagine that the results will be pretty messy!!!

Karen: Odd random fact about you that I read on your website. You HATE bananas. Like really hate them lol Why?

Amanda: I hate bananas because they are truly evil. I hate the smell of them and I totally hate the sensation of them when they run slide down your teeth. I also can’t bear sitting near anyone that is eating a raw banana. Oh, and don’t even get me started on what they look like when they are in a fruit salad. Though, because life is ironic, my daughter LOVES bananas and insists on eating squished banana on toast. All. The. Time. It is wrong. Very, very wrong!

Karen:  I LOVED Zombie Queen of Newbury High! (I'm always holding out hope for a sequel *sigh*) How do you think you would fare during a Zombie Apocalypse?

Amanda: Oh, thank you! I’m so pleased you liked Zombie Queen. Once upon a time I had planned a sequel involving Candice and Mia going undercover into a zombie lair. I might even have a first chapter written down somewhere – I must go looking for it!

Anyway, I would be terrible in a zombie apocalypse because I wouldn’t take it nearly seriously enough. My friends Caleb and Maryanne who used to work with me in the library, would always get very upset when I would laugh at their own preparations, which were very detailed and included sensible things like weapons, water, food and vehicles. Whereas my plans involve comfortable shoes, M&M’s and a companion who looks tastier than I do!!!!

Karen: I think that sounds like a very sensible plan! lol

Author links: Webiste | Blog | Twitter | Books

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Grand Prize and How the Crossroads Tour works:

Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research 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 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.

Answers are to be emailed to tour host, Judith Graves by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.

The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE preloaded with 13 free titles from the participating authors!

Crossroads Blog tour: Main page | Twitter
Twitter chat hosted by Mundie Moms on Monday 1/29 from 8-9 CST/ 9-10 EST

Participating bloggers:
Late Bloomer Online
A Simple Love of Reading
Scribing Shadows
For What It's Worth
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Most-Wanted Monsters
A Life Bound by Books

Day 3: The Crossroads Blog Tour & Kindle Giveaway! Joy Preble & Leanna Renee Hieber

Today I’m interviewing Joy Preble and Leanna Renee Hieber for The Crossroads Blog Tour!

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a KINDLE – preloaded with books from all the Crossroads Tour authors! (details at the end of this post!)

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Karen: Welcome to the blog Joy! Your Dreaming Anastasia series is described as a genre blend of "fantasy, folklore and romance". Is it difficult to combine those genres into one story?

Joy: Yes. I like to say that if I’d known what I was doing when I first envisioned this series, I might have had second thoughts. But stories have a way of luring in to write them how they need to be written.

Karen: In Haunted, Anastasia is haunted by a malevolent mermaid - which does NOT sound like a very good thing but is there a ghost that you wouldn't mind be haunted by?

Joy: I guess it might be fascinating to be haunted – at least briefly—by the ghosts of famous historical figures. Like what would Abe Lincoln say if he popped out of the ether and sat down next to me on the couch. Hmmmm… I think there may be a book in that.


Karen:  What are your upcoming projects?

Joy: I have a different paranormal YA mystery, THE SWEET DEAD LIFE, coming out next year from Soho Press in the inaugural line of their new Soho Teen imprint.  It is set here in Texas and is the story of Jenna Samuels and her stoner brother Casey… who returns from a fatal car accident as her guardian angel, all his many flaws still firmly intact. It is funny and bittersweet and I hope you will all love it. The follow up book, still untitled, comes out in spring 2014!

Author links: Website | Blog | Books

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Karen: Thanks for being here today Leanna. You're an author, actress and playwright. Which one of those creative outlets is the most challenging for you?

LRH: I’m a born actress and storyteller. I love writing novels, plays are the hardest for me because I have to be so concise with my words and I’m just not a very concise person.

Karen: When did you first know you could be a writer?

LRH: It was always something I did. I didn’t think of making a career out of it until I was working as a professional actress and realized all I really wanted to do was work on my novels. That’s when I knew I had to make a career shift, and I haven’t looked back. Thankfully, I’m doing both, acting and writing and I’m very happy doing so. (You can find me playing Deputy Kellion in the wizarding web-series Auror’s Tale: http://youtube.com/aurorstale )

Karen: What were your early stories like?

LRH: All about lonely souls trying to make friends. All my stories are about people who are sort of outcasts in one way or another finding friends, love and purpose in life.

Karen: One last Halloween inspired question to close out the interview!
If you could mix a magical brew, what would you make? Why?

LRH: I would mix a magical brew that could teleport me instantly to my friends’ houses. I have so many beloved friends scattered across the country I’d really love to be able to visit them in an instant.

Author links: Website | Twitter | Books

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Grand Prize and How the Crossroads Tour works:

Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research 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 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.

Answers are to be emailed to tour host, Judith Graves by October 28th at MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.

The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE preloaded with 13 free titles from the participating authors!

Crossroads Blog tour: Main page | Twitter
Twitter chat hosted by Mundie Moms on Monday 1/29 from 8-9 CST/ 9-10 EST

Participating bloggers:
Late Bloomer Online
A Simple Love of Reading
Scribing Shadows
For What It's Worth
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Most-Wanted Monsters
A Life Bound by Books

Crossroads Blog Tour Kickoff! Stacey Kade & Kindle giveaway!

Welcome to Day 1 of The Crossroads Blog Tour! Eight days, thirteen YA authors – eight Blogs and one amazing grand prize!

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 I’m thrilled to kick off the tour by hosting one of my favorite authors, Stacey Kade! I adore her Ghost & the Goth trilogy and I’m dying to read her new Project Paper Dolls series. Book #1 – The Rules has an expected release date of April 23, 2013, from Disney-Hyperion. Goodreads

Check out my interview with Stacey then read "Grand Prize and How The Crossroads Tour works"
 at the end of this post to find out how you can win a Kindle by following The Crossroads Blog Tour! Good luck!

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Karen: Your Ghost & the Goth trilogy is now complete with the release of Body & Soul and you have a new series coming out in April of 2013 called Project Paper Doll. How does it feel to dive into a new world that seems quite different from the Ghost & the Goth series?

Stacey: Oh, boy, it was one of those things—starting in a new world was a fun, fresh challenge, but also kind of scary. By the time I wrote Body  & Soul, I felt like I knew Alona and Will and their world instinctively. The third book was, in many ways, the easiest to write.

So, I really underestimated the fumbling and fear that would accompany jumping into a new world that I didn’t know. That being said, it was a blast to have the freedom to stretch in a new way. To find the new boundaries.

I always want to continue to grow as a writer. I think that helps keep things fresh for me and for those who read my books.

Karen: Do you get writer's block? If so how do you deal with it?

Stacey: I think of writer’s block more as a symptom rather than a problem, if that makes sense. Usually, in my experience, it’s caused by one of two issues. It can be that the conflict just died. No conflict, no story. If the problem has been resolved or if there’s no real impetus for the problem to be resolved, your story stalls.

But most of the time, for me, it’s because I’ve tried to force a character to do something he or she wouldn’t do.

I can even give you an example. Looking back on it now, it’s so obvious, but at the time I really struggled.

In Queen of the Dead, there’s a scene where Alona is helping Will clean up after he was attacked by Mrs. Ruiz’s spirit. Alona can tell that he’s intrigued by Mina, the mysterious ghost-talker they bumped into while there, and her feelings are really hurt. She trusts Will and there’s obviously a developing relationship of some kind between them, but he’s interested in this other girl…

What I struggled with there was I wanted to show her hurt but also that the relationship between them was changing. It had grown deeper.

So, in my first (awful) draft of that scene, Alona was actually crying and expressing her hurt, telling him how she felt.

Ugh. Yeah, the scene just completely died there. And I couldn’t push past it.

It was my husband who helped me figure out, by asking, “Well, when this has happened to you in the past, what was the problem?”

And I fought it initially, but then I realized, “Duh, Alona would never let herself be this vulnerable, this fast.”

She would be hurt, but her way of handling hurt is to pretend it doesn’t bother her, to tell herself (and you) that she doesn’t need you.

But the difference in this scene was that Will was starting to catch on to that. He knew her well enough to figure out what that snippiness really meant and respond by reassuring her. 

And that is one of my favorite scenes in that book now. 

Karen: Let's switch gears with a few Halloween themed questions! Since you're *familiar* with ghosts…If you could have dinner with four ghosts (fictional or real) who would you choose?

Stacey: Actually, this is so horrible, but um, ghosts really scare me.  Seriously, I can’t even watch those ridiculous ghost-hunting shows on TV, especially The Dead Files. (Have you seen that one? Freaks me out every time.) So, I don’t think I’d want to have dinner with ghosts. Except maybe my grandfather. Because I miss him still and I’d like to say hi.

Karen: If you could be any paranormal creature or have one supernatural talent, what would you be and why?

Stacey: Hmm. Okay. Right now, I’d want the ability to stop time. (Can you tell I’m a little panicky about getting stuff done? *grin*) BUT! I also know that abilities like this usually come with a pretty hefty price. Like maybe I’d be able to stop time but everything I accomplish in that borrowed time would be undone as soon as I started time up again. Or, worse, it would like somehow screw up the earth’s rotation around the sun, and I’d have to figure out how to fix it…yeah, no thanks.

Thank you Stacey!

Author: Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Books

Grand Prize and How the Crossroads Tour works:

Each day of The Crossroads Blog Tour, a new research 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 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all answers by the end of the tour.

Answers are to be emailed to judithgraves @ ymail dot com by October 28that MIDNIGHT. Winner of the grand prize will be announced on OCTOBER 31st – HALLOWEEN.

The GRAND PRIZE you’re vying for? A brand new KINDLE, preloaded with a title from each of the participating Crossroads Blog Tour Authors. That’s right folks, a free KINDLE preloaded with 13 free titles from the participating authors!

Crossroads Blog tour: Main page | Twitter
Twitter chat hosted by Mundie Moms on Monday 1/29 from 8-9 CST/ 9-10 EST

Participating bloggers:
Late Bloomer Online
A Simple Love of Reading
Scribing Shadows
For What It's Worth
Confessions of a Bookaholic
Mundie Moms Book Reviews
Most-Wanted Monsters
A Life Bound by Books