Feature & Follow #7

Welcome to Feature & Follow

Feature & Follow is hosted by Alison of Alison and Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View. It's a fun way to make new friends and to interact with old ones. Click the links above to learn more and to join the fun.

Q: Do you read one book at a time or do you switch back and forth between two or more?

I'm almost always reading at least two books at a time. Currently, I'm reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and two books from my pub sisters. They're all great reads so I'm keeping them in different rooms. This way I can just pick up whichever book is closest and continue the adventure. 

How about you? 

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Author! Author! Blog Bounce!

Well it's been another busy week. In news, my pub sister's new young adult novel Streamline is out. Congratulations, Jennifer!! Stop by my Tuesday post to find out a little more about Jennifer Lane and her book.

I'm working on the final chapters of the sequel for Embrace. I've sort of hit a roadblock. I know what I want to happen, but I'm not happy with how the last scenes are unfolding so I've had to take a break. My husband doesn't know this yet, but I plan on doing some brainstorming with him. His thoughts always help me get past this type of delay.

I'd love to hear how your week is going!

And now onto the bounce:

Book Launch: Streamline by Jennifer Lane

I'm very excited to be a stop on the Streamline Launch Party. Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer Lane, author of this exciting new novel.

Be sure to page down and fill out the Rafflecopter! Jennifer has some wonderful prizes she's giving away as part of the launch. For more information, stop by her blog.

STREAMLINE
by Jennifer Lane


Seems like Leo Scott has it all: looks, brains, and athletic talent. He’s captain of his high school swim team with a bright future in college and beyond. But Leo has secrets. His mother’s crippling car accident has devastated his family and left Leo to deal with his father’s abuse, battered and alone. 

Leo’s girlfriend Audrey Rose is poised for her own share of success. As one of Florida’s top high school swimmers, Audrey dreams of college swimming stardom. But there’s an obstacle to her glorious rise to the top. Her number-one supporter--her father--is in prison for murder. 

Part murder mystery, part tale of young love in a military family, this gripping story takes readers on a journey from Pensacola to Annapolis. Leo and Audrey must band together to rise above the adversity they encounter and find their true selves in the process. When everything’s on the line . . . streamline.


Add Streamline to your TBR on GoodReads

Cherie: Tell us about your novel, STREAMLINE, in your own words.

Jennifer: Streamline is a young adult romance with elements of military, murder mystery, and competitive swimming. It’s a coming-of-age story in which Leo and Audrey transition from high school seniors to college freshmen—from young adults to “new” adults—amid drama, sacrifice, love, and hope.

Cherie:  What was your most difficult chapter to write?

Jennifer: There’s a therapy chapter later in the story titled “Secrets” where Leo processes the abuse he’s endured at the hands of his father. I cried buckets writing it, and friends have told me they felt hit by a truck reading it. One reader told me this was the most intense story she’s ever read. Lest I scare readers away, I also strive to lighten the darkness through the addition of fun characters like Alex and Benito.

Cherie: Tell us one thing about Leo that we don’t learn by reading the book?

Jennifer: That’s tough to answer because I tried to delve deep into Leo’s character in this story. Maybe that he harbors some resentment toward his mother because she couldn’t protect him from his father. He’d never admit that, though.

Cherie: What one piece of advice would Audrey Rose tell girls her age?

Jennifer: Great question! Audrey would tell them to appreciate your parents while you have them. What teenager actually appreciates her parents? Audrey’s obviously mature beyond her years, due to her father’s imprisonment and her mother’s travel nursing to pay the bills.

Now for some fun questions: 

Cherie: Any secret crushes? (It can be anyone real or fictional.)

Jennifer: My crush on Wentworth Miller is hardly secret—I have a Pinterest board devoted entirely to this sexy, intelligent actor! (http://pinterest.com/jenlanebooks/wentworth-miller/) With his crystal-blue eyes, mixed ethnic heritage, and background in competitive swimming, Wentworth definitely inspired the character of Leo Scott.

Cherie: Wentworth is definitely a hottie! Thanks for sharing the link. Who are you drawn to the good guy or the bad guy?

Jennifer: Definitely the good guy.  I can appreciate how some women flock to bad boys for the thrill of danger, but integrity and kindness are big turn-ons for me.

Cherie: Favorite movie or television show?

Jennifer: My favorite TV show is Prison Break (see above comments about the star of the show, Wentworth Miller!) If you haven’t seen season one, get the DVD now. It’s some of the best TV around. Unfortunately, the show jumped the shark in seasons three and four.

Cherie: I haven’t seen Prison Break, but I’ll have to check it out. Do you have a mentor?

Jennifer: I have many wonderful mentors, and I write about the importance of mentors in my adult romantic suspense novels The Conduct Series (With Good Behavior and Bad Behavior). But if I have to choose one mentor, I’m going with my college swim coach Jim Steen. Coach Steen is the winningest coach in the NCAA due to his passion, brilliance, humor, and insight.

Cherie: Favorite quote?

Jennifer:  Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cherie: That is a great quote. Thanks Jennifer for being with us today!

Find Jennifer Lane

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Feature & Follow March 23rd

Welcome to Feature & Follow

Feature & Follow is hosted by Alison of Alison and Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View. It's a fun way to make new friends and to interact with old ones. Click the links above to learn more and to join the fun.

Q: What is the longest book you've read? What are your favorite 600+ page reads?

I honestly can't remember the longest book I've read. It might have been Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I believe that is longer than Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales. My favorite would be all the Harry Potter books and Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. 

Planning a Virtual Book Launch Party

I’ve had several authors ask me for tips on hosting a virtual book launch party, so I decided to put together a post with what I did. There’s no wrong way to host your launch party. Below is what I found worked for me. A good thing to do before you plan your virtual party is hop around the blog-sphere to see what others do. Make a list of what you like and what might work for your launch. The main thing to remember is to have fun.

Give yourself plenty of time to plan your party. I like to have at least two months to plan and get organized. Things to think about: 

• When will your party be? I hosted mine on my book’s release date.
• What will the theme of your party be? My MC hated change, so embracing change became the theme of my party.
• Will you have prizes?
• Do you want to invite bloggers to your party? (I highly recommend having guests. What’s a party without guests and bloggers are always happy to support each other.)
• Do you want to include guest posts?
• Create a badge to include on your blog and that others can grab to add to their blogs.

A month before your party, invite others to join in the fun. 

• Create a blog post announcing your book launch party.
• Tell readers about your book. (This is a great place for your cover and synopsis).
• Include a link to GoodReads so readers can add your book to their TBR list.
• Share a story about you that relates to your theme.
• Invite people to celebrate with you. Provide different ways they can join in the fun. (i.e.: share a story from their lives that relates to the theme of your party, include a post simply mentioning your book and the launch, or invite them to hop around the virtual party and just hang out.
• Provide an easy way for people to RSVP. (I used Google docs to create a form.)
• Add your party badge and include the html code for others to grab and add to their blogs.

(Click here if you'd like to see an example of what I did.)

In the weeks leading up to your party, have some fun posts. Include favorite quotes and teasers from your book. 

A week before the party, remember to send an email to your party guests thanking them for being a part of the celebration and providing them with any information you’d like them to include in their post. (Book cover, synopsis, links, prizes or a link back to your blog to sign up to win, etc.)  

Launch day, things to include in your party post: 

• Book cover and synopsis
• Links to GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other sites readers can purchase your book.
• Prizes
• Ways to enter to win (Rafflecopter is great for this.)
• List of participating blogs
• Author info (links to your website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

(Click here if you'd like to view my launch post)

Remember to have fun! Hope this helps and congratulation on your new novel!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

You might be wondering what's up with the water lilies. They remind me of long walks and sunny days. With spring just about here I thought why not include some bright, cheery flowers in my post today.

This week I've been hard at work fixing a few plot point in my latest WIP. I've re-read over 30 pages, tightening the writing in some places, adding detail in others. I've added over 1500 words, chopped a scene, and keep thinking of new ways to get my characters in and out of trouble. All in all it's been a good week. I'm still working on the first draft of the sequel to Embrace. It's been a little slow going. Funny how once you're published the number of distraction goes up ten-fold. It's okay though. When I'm not working on the sequel, I've been thinking of ways to improve the story line. Madison has been overly chatty. We've had some great conversations about the book and what's happened so far. Only a writer can get away with talking to fictional characters and not be thought insane.

Or maybe some would say we are. Anyhoo, that's it for me today, but I'd love to hear what you've been up to!

I hope you'll take some time to bounce along Omnific Publishing's Author! Author! Blog Bounce! If you'd like to join the bounce, click here.

Meet Jessica Therrien author of Oppression

Today, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Therrien. I've been hearing great things about this book and I can't wait to read it myself. Mr. Postman, did you hear that? Hurry up with my book!!

Oppression (Children of the Gods #1)
by Jessica Therrien
Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning - and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.

Cherie: Tell us about your novel, Oppression, in your own words.

Jessica: Oppression is about a young woman, named Elyse, who has the ability to heal and ages five times slower than the average human. As far as she knows, there are no others like her, and only one person in the world knows about her secret.

Or so she thinks.

Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her. Many of them. And they have been waiting for her for a long time.

(Oh, and did I mention there’s a love story, page-turning action, heartbreaking conflict, and that last shred of hope…)

Cherie: I'm very excited to be posting your interview on Oppression's Book birthday. Where will readers be able to purchase it?

Jessica: Oppression is available on  Amazon.com  and  Barnes & Noble.com, as well as any other major book retailer. 

Cherie: What is your writing process like?

Jessica: My writing process has no rhyme or reason. My characters dictate most of what happens in my stories. I try to outline, but I’m always taken off course. My characters truly have minds of their own. I try to listen to them, because often times they take me to more interesting places than I originally plan. 

Cherie: I'm always fascinated to find out if a writer outlines or lets the characters drive the story. What was the most difficult chapter to write?

Jessica: When I got my first editorial comments on content I had to do some re-writes. Those were the hardest chapters to write (emotionally). How do you begin to re-craft something you’ve worked over two years to make perfect? Well, turns out the re-writes were worth it, because of course they’re my favorite chapters.

Cherie: What are you working on now?

Jessica: I am currently writing the sequel to Oppression, which will be out in 2013 through ZOVA Books.

Cherie: Ooh! I love finding new books and knowing I'll be able to come back and read more about the characters I've grown to love. Now for some fun questions…

Any secret crushes? (He can be anyone real or fictional.) 

Jessica: Damon from The Vampire Diaries (even though I really want to love Stephan more). 

AND James Franco.

Cherie: I love having an excuse to include Damon's picture (you know, for those who may not know how incredibly yummy he is). And James Franco is a cutie too. I really liked him in Spiderman. 

What’s the first thing you notice about a guy?

Jessica: His teeth. I know it’s weird. (Needless to say, my husband’s teeth are PERFECT).

Cherie: That is interesting. Are you a morning person or an evening person?

Jessica: Morning all the way. I love writing in the morning. It’s ME time, and sometimes I wish it would stay morning all day. Also, morning means breakfast, and if I could eat breakfast for every meal I would (and sometimes do).

Cherie: Favorite movie or television show?

Jessica: My very most superist favorite is The Vampire Diaries. I know. I know. Don’t judge. I’m not over Vampires yet, okay.

My favorite movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. No question. It’s brilliant.

Cherie: I'm a Vampire Diaries fan too, so I understand. Do you have any guilty pleasures that get you through the writing/revising process?

Jessica: Sigh…I’m ridiculous. Vampire Diaries.

Cherie: I'm seeing a pattern here. ;) What book are you the most excited to read?

Jessica: I’m really looking forward to Insurgent by Veronica Roth. I loved the first book, Divergent.

Cherie: Are there any types of books you don’t read?

Jessica: Depressing books. I rarely make it through a novel if it’s depressing. I know I’m probably missing out on a lot of great writing, but my heart likes to be happy.

Cherie: I can understand not wanting to read depressing books. I personally think they should come with a box of tissues. 

Thanks for stopping by today, Jessica! It's been a pleasure to learn more about you and your novel.


Hop over to Jessica's  blog  to see the tour schedule and learn about the giveaways she's offering!

Get Oppression today 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Learn more about Jessica and her novel Oppression

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

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Feature & Follow #5

Welcome to Feature & Follow

Feature & Follow is hosted by Alison of Alison and Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View. It's a fun way to make new friends and to interact with old ones. Hop over to their blogs to learn more and to join the fun by clicking on their names.

Q: Have you ever looked at book's cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

I'm sure this has happened, but not recently. I went and got myself a cup of coffee as I thought about this question. Still nothing. I think the opposite has happened to me more. I see a book that I like the cover, the blurb on the back intrigues me or I've heard wonderful things about the book, but I have a hard to getting drawn into the story. 

If after I finish my delicious cup of coffee I think of a book, I'll come back and update my answer. 

How about you? Do any books come to mind? 

Lucky 7 Meme and more

Earlier this week Megan tagged me for the Lucky 7 Meme. Here are the rules: 

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS

2. Go to line 7

3. Copy down the next 7 lines - sentences or paragraphs - and post them as they're written. No cheating

4. Tag 7 authors

5. Let them know

I realized I read this wrong at first and posted from the book I'm currently reading. I'm such a dork, I know. Here's mine from my current ms:

I bent forward and blew gently on the wick of the candle closest to me. First, it glowed bright blue – the color of the flames I produced – and then lit. The flame grew brighter. I winked at Kaylee and every candle in the room flickered to life.

“Creating fire where there is none is the most difficult part but once it exists, you can manipulate it.” Josh held his hand in front of him, palm up. His fingers curled into a fist and the flames around us extinguished without so much as a wisp of smoke. He opened his hand to show he’d captured the fire in his gasp.

And this is from the book I'm reading:

... or to see crimson trails zigzagging down his face, but nothing marred his strikingly handsome features. His eyes were still bright emerald green, meeting hers with an intensity she couldn't name.


     And she had not the slightest idea of what to say. The uninhibited feelings that had led her to shove Mencheres's head to her throat, demanding that he bite her again, had faded, leaving Kira torn. Was her impassioned reaction just what happened to everyone Mencheres bit? Was that why he'd said she didn't really mind it when she'd told him not to stop?


  Or had she not wanted him to stop because the vampire's bite was an excuse to act on the desire she felt toward him?

I'm not to this part yet, but I can't wait to get there. This is from Eternal Kiss of Darkness, by Jeaniene Frost.

Now for my tags:

 Kelly Polark

 Angel Brown

 Kelly Hashway

 Angela Orlowski-Peart

 Heather McCorkle 

 Katie Sparks

  and

 Francesca Zappia

And with today being Thursday, Omnific Publishing is doing their Author! Author! Blog Bounce! Stop by their blog for the cover reveal of Burning Embers by Hannah Fielding.


The bounce is open to all authors. Click here to learn more about joining. Want to just follow along? No problem! Click on any of the participating links.

Have a wonderful day!

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Book Spotlight: The Guardian's Wildchild by Feather Stone

Congratulation to my pub sister Feather Stone for her debut novel The Guardian's Wildchild. To celebrate, Feather is hosting a virtual party and I'm thrilled to be a party of it. Feather has a fun itinerary planned, so hop aboard and follow along. Don't forget to stop by her blog for more details and information on how to enter her giveaway.

The Guardian's Wildchild
by Feather Stone


Synopsis:
Sidney Davenport is known as Wildchild to her Guardian mentor, Greystone. She rebels against rules. Wildchild is gifted in the paranormal, but carefully conceals her powers from the world. Even in the crises that threaten her life, she refuses to use her powers of telepathy, telekinesis, space/time travel. If her enemies discovered the truth of who she is, her Guardian people would be destroyed. She calls upon her spirit guides, Seamus and Celeste, to guide her through a mine field of the insane - Madame and Captain Butchart. 

Sidney leaves her home on Hawk's Island to help the underground stop two people who are about to cause worldwide madness. Unskilled in esponage, she is arrested and sentanced to death. But, God help Sidney, she can't deny her attraction to the man who has orders to perform her execution - the tall, dark eyed Captain Waterhouse. He's meticulous, disciplined and lives by the strict rules expected of an officer of the American navy. 

Captain Waterhouse is about to scrap his higher morals to bust out of his hell. When a female prisoner is delivered to his ship, he has no idea she is capable of turning his disciplined life into a storm of unimaginable experiences. His prisoner's enemies, he discovers, are also the ones who hold his life in the palm of their hands. 

Through stunning imagery, an intricate and adventurous plot, and a strong cast of characters, Feather Stone gives readers a fast paced story woven with murder and magic.

Find Feather Stone

GoodReads | Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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Feature & Follow March 2nd

Welcome to Feature & Follow

Feature & Follow is hosted by Alison of Alison and Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View. Hop over to their blogs to learn more about this hop by clicking on their names.

Q: What book would you love to see made into a movie or television show and do you have actors/actresses in mind to play the main characters?

I just answered half of this question in a post I was tagged in. Movies just don't capture the characters' emotions and tend to miss important details that are in books. Not to mention it's very disappointing when I have a specific image of a character in my mind and the actor or actress cast for the part is nothing like it. For this reason I'd prefer to reread my favorite books and not have them made into movies.

Television is a little different. The writers can take their time developing the characters and plot. I wouldn't mind seeing them make Lament by Maggie Stiefvater into a show. There are only two books in this series, but I think there is a lot that could be done for a TV series. And I wouldn't mind seeing Cat and Bones from Jeaniene Frost's Grave series brought to life. 

How would you answer this question?