Book Feature & Author Interview: Angel by Laura Lee

Original Title: Angel
Author: Laura Lee
Publisher: Itineris Press
Release Date: September 27th 2011
Genre: M/M Romance

Since the loss of his lively, charming wife to cancer six years ago, minister Paul Tobit has been operating on autopilot, performing his religious duties by rote. Everything changes the day he enters the church lobby and encounters a radiant, luminous being lit from behind, breathtakingly beautiful and glowing with life. An angel. For a moment Paul is so moved by his vision that he is tempted to fall on his knees and pray.

Even after he regains his focus and realizes he simply met a flesh-and-blood young man, Paul cannot shake his sense of awe and wonder. He feels an instant and overwhelming attraction for the young man, which puzzles him even as it fills his thoughts and fires his feelings. Paul has no doubt that God has spoken to him through this vision, and Paul must determine what God is calling him to do.

Thus begins a journey that will inspire Paul’s ministry but put him at odds with his church as he is forced to examine his deeply held beliefs and assumptions about himself, his community, and the nature of love.

INTERVIEW WITH LAURA LEE

If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world.. which would it be? The thing about great novels is that they are full of drama and conflict, so I’m not sure I would want to live in the worlds of any of my favorite novels.  I would prefer to live in a collection of poetry.

What is your dream cast for your book? I told an interviewer once that I would like Michael Emerson who played Ben on Lost to be the protagonist Paul.  I admire him as an actor, although he is a bit older than the character.  But he has that “everyman” quality with a certain emotional intensity.  I could see him doing a good job with it. Ian, the second main character, would be played by the British actor Lee Williams as he looked in the film The Wolves of Kromer.  He is older than the character now.  Whoever played Ian in a movie version would have to be physically beautiful.  I have a much clearer idea of his “look” than I have of Paul’s.

What was your favorite book when you were a child/teen? As a kid I loved “If I Ran the Circus” by Dr. Seuss.  I also loved Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose.

Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters? I listened to Calling All Angels by Train over and over when I was writing Angel.

What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? Don’t do it!  Run, quickly, the other way!  Get out now while you still can!  If you fail to heed my sensible advice, you will most likely find your own way through the crazy world that is publishing.  I started a long time ago, with agents and traditional publishers, and the landscape is so different now I am still trying to figure it all out myself.  If I had any idea of what works I would tell you.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I liked living in the Berkshires.  I miss it sometimes.  The most beautiful city in which I have lived was Edinburgh, Scotland.  I miss it sometimes too.  I like the culture and pace of life in the UK.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you “grew up”? When I was about three, I told my parents I wanted to be “an astronaut or a babysitter.”I wanted to be an actress when I was a kid.  I even majored in theater in college.

If a movie was made about your life, who would you want to play the lead role and why? Heidi Klum because then people would think I looked like a Barbie doll.  The movie of my life would involve a lot of sitting and staring at computer screens.  It would be interesting to have it done by some avante garde director who does crazy art films.

Who are your favorite authors of all time? William Shakespeare, Milan Kundera, G.K. Chesteron, Douglas Adams, Rumi, Alain de Botton

Can you see yourself in any of your characters? The protagonist of my novel, Paul, is an introvert who is in a job that requires a certain extroversion.  Being a writer has elements of that.  What you are most suited for is being alone in a room, reading and writing things down.  But there is also a promotional aspect to being a writer that kicks in.  As a minister, you may have great insight, but if you are not able to get up and connect in the pulpit, it doesn’t matter.  So the introverted aspects of Paul are more like me.  I tended to think of him as like me and Ian as different, because he is an extrovert but when I started to work on a sequel to Angel from Ian’s perspective I decided to do a Myers-Briggs type test answering as Ian.  It turns out that his personality letters with the exception of the I/E scale (introversion/extroversion) are exactly like mine.  Paul’s came out quite different.

What’s the craziest writing idea you’ve had? I wrote in my journal that I wanted to start a novel with the world “meanwhile.”

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you? My father told me “Never, but never, underestimate publishers’ ability to delay payment.”

Hidden talent? I can juggle three balls.  I used to be able to make balloon animals, but I’ve forgotten how.  It is a hold over skill from my short career as a professional mime at Dorney Park in Allentown.

What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year? When I got the advance for my forthcoming non-fiction book I ordered a copy of the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary on CD-ROM.  It’s not a read through in one sitting type of book, but I’m really excited to have that reference.  I’ve become a bit of an amateur Bible scholar since writing Angel.

How do you react to a bad review? I haven’t come across too many bad reviews of Angel that bothered me.  When I person gives two stars to it, it is just a measure of how she related to the book.  The negative reviews I’ve gotten have tended to fall into the category of people having different expectations.  They picked the book up because they were in the mood for a traditional romance novel and they found my book to be different than what they wanted.  Sometimes they get upset with me because they want the characters to do something different.  In those cases, I take it as a compliment because they are invested enough in the characters to get mad at me.

You have won one million dollars what is the first thing that you would buy? A new car.  Mine has 222,000 miles on it.

Which authors have influenced you most and how? The most direct literary influence I had was my father, Albert Lee.  I was not formally trained in writing.  I was apprenticed.

What do you do in your free time?  My vocation and my avocation are the same.  So I don’t differentiate between my free time and my work time.  I don’t have a lot of hobbies.  I get uncomfortable when I am not producing writing.

Review: Between Boyfriends

Original Title: Between Boyfriends
Series: Boyfriends #1
Author: Sarka-Jonae Miller
Release Date: September 20th 2011
Source: From "ATG PUBLICITY" blog tour
Genre: Chick-lit

Buy @ Amazon

Check out BETWEEN BOYFRIENDS in the upcoming November Issue of HOLLYWOOD & VINE magazine

Jan Weston is boy crazy, emphasis on crazy, but when "the one" breaks her heart she vows to change. Jan quits dating and takes a hard look at herself, discovering that she does not like the flawed, spoiled individual she sees in the mirror.

Her progress toward positive change is derailed when her mother discovers she dropped out of San Diego State University to attend massage therapy school. Furious at being lied to, Mrs. Weston cuts Jan off. Now Jan is without a guy, her American Express card, and a way to pay for school. She has to do something so despicable, so vile, so cruel, she almost cannot imagine it: Jan has to get a job.

But maybe that is exactly what she needs? Jan is forced to change how she treats people and to reconsider her values. Through a "comedy of errors" and with the support of her real friends (plus the hottie from massage school) Jan is able to survive, barely. But can she really change or is she just between boyfriends?

REVIEW

Jan is a rich and spoiled girl, who quits her college to join massage school (without her mother's knowledge).  She just got dumped by her boyfriend -- again.  Tired of the opposite gender, Jan decides not to date again - ever.  To a girl who has always had boyfriends, this is going to be a big feat.  Her mother who has been paying her bills so far, disowns her, as soon as she knows that Jan had dropped out of college.  Financially helpless, for the first time in her life, Jan has to worry about money, paying bills and rents.  Money and boyfriends define Jan.  What is Jan going to do without both of them?  Or is there much more to Jan than these two?

This chick-lit novel surprised me.  Although started slow at first, the novel picked up speed soon.  Jan's character is someone who you can relate to, partially.  Her friends, Lisa, Nichole and Becki's characters were all brought out very well, that I enjoyed their roles in Jan's life, much than Jan's life itself.

The snarky dialogues made me laugh and that's what I love in a chick-lit and it was delivered perfectly.  The characters are well formed.  Jan's changes in attitude and life through a comedy of errors is well thought out and also delivered in a humourous way.  Here is a heroine you won't like, but would appreciate to know the story of.  Interesting read!

There are typo issues in the novel - which at times affect the mood of the story.

A coming of age novel narrated with humor!  Recommended for lovers of chick-lit novels.

Favorite Quotes from "Between Boyfriends"

She was a die-hard health nut and a part-time vegetarian who exercised regularly, ate fruits and vegetable regularly, and unintentionally made everyone else feel like pigs - regularly.

She particularly did not like being told she was overreacting when she knew she was overreacting.

$25 Gift Card Giveaway: Healing Notes (Sweetwater Canyon #2)

Original Title: Healing Notes
Series: Sweetwater Canyon #2
Author: Maggie Jaimeson
Publisher: Windtree Press
Release Date: July 26th 2012
Genre: Romance

Forgiving yourself is the first step, but helping others forgive may be just too hard.

Rachel Cullen grew up in Scotland with a fiddle in her hand from the age of four. She couldn't imagine life as anything but a musician. When her husband brought her to America she was immediately embraced by the Celtic and Bluegrass communities. But after her divorce, Rachel's life is a mess.

A year of trying to prove to herself that she's woman enough for any man, and then a vicious rape while on tour with the band, leaves Rachel reeling. When she meets Noel Kershaw, an English teacher who is poetry in motion, she is definitely attracted. But he has a young child and he's suffering from his own divorce. The last thing Rachel needs in life is more baggage.

First, Rachel must reconcile who she is, what she wants, and how to get there. Maybe then she'll know how to be a part of the family she's always wanted.

EXCERPT

Claire crawled onto a stool on the other side of the island and smiled.  Neither of them talked for several minutes as they listened to the water in the pot heat.

“When I grow up, I’m going to play with Sweetwater Canyon all the time.”

“Are you sure you want to hang out with all us old folks?”

“You’re not all old. Well maybe a little old. But Kat isn’t old.”

Rachel smiled. “That’s true. She’s only seventeen.” And going on twenty-five it seemed sometimes.

“Oh, seventeen? That is old.” Claire put a finger to her lips and furrowed her brow. “How old do I have to be to play in the band all the time?”

“Probably at least eighteen.”

“But, you just said Kat—”

“Kat is different, because her mother plays in the band and can watch her all the time.”

“Well, you can watch me all the time. You can be my mother.”

$15 Gift Card Giveaway and Guest Post: Where the Greener Grass Grows

Original Title: Where the Greener Grass Grows
Author: Lin Brooks
Publisher: Isolibris Publishing
Release Date: September 7th 2011
Genre: Women's Fiction

BUY @ AMAZON

Sending the children off to college is never easy. For Lacey Marchand and Cara Myers, an empty nest is enough to drive them a little crazy -- but sometimes, a little crazy is just what the doctor ordered.
Now that their daughters have left for college, Lacey and Cara have too much time on their hands. With nothing else to do, Cara decides to help single-mom Lacey get a life. And what better way to get a life than a few blind dates?

Lacey, however, can't think of a worse way to spend her weekends. She has her own ideas for curing their empty nest problems -- Cara needs a new career. And a career just happens to be what Lacey understands best.

For Cara and Lacey, coping with the empty nest means reinventing their lives without losing their sanity. Where the Greener Grass Grows is the story of two mothers learning to live, to laugh and to let go.

THE FEEL OF A HARDCOVER BOOK

- Guest Post by Lin Brooks

Books fascinate me. I love the feel of them. In an electronic age where most books, including my own, are just bits and bytes in a computer program, there's something about the paper that still appeals to me. I love that musty smell of a really old book. I love having a favorite author's autograph scrawled across the title page. And I love relaxing in bed, turning page after page until I realize it's three in the morning and I have to get up early for work in the morning. I have a ton of audiobooks and eBooks, but for the really good ones, I still want the paper. There are at least five books that I have in all three formats. Because you never know.

So I decided to build a library.  My mom ran out of eggs once and decided to build a hen house and raise chickens. True story. This isn't quite the same thing, but you get the idea. The women in my family are like that. We get a wild idea, and off we go. There’s no stopping us. All our men can do is shake their heads and get out of our way.

The problem is my house is very normal. When I say “normal” I mean it doesn’t exactly have room for three stories of floor to ceiling, wall to wall bookshelves surrounding a reading couch (and a wine closet. I do have my standards.).  In fact, it really doesn’t have room for one story of floor to ceiling, wall to wall bookshelves. Space is a commodity here. I have one bathroom (yeah, I know. We have teenagers. This is a problem.)  But I can dream, right?

Since I can’t have a real library, I decided a “sort-of” library would be close enough. For starters, I mentally commandeered a section of my living room. I have measured the space, designed the layout in my head, and tested the paint colors (my living room is now eight different colors, but I think I have it narrowed down). There is a temporary bookshelf there now that is overflowing with books, more in my room, and even more in huge boxes in storage. I’m not exactly new at building shelves. I built a pantry in our kitchen, built-in linen shelves in our bathroom, and an entertainment center for my stepson. However, that doesn’t mean this is quick job for me. The shelves have to be level. That’s important. This means I have to reattach each shelf at least three times (and repair the damage I cause by taking them apart). So, alongside a law practice in two cities that are separated by three hours of driving, teaching part time at the law school, raising a husband and keeping up with two stepkids at home and a daughter in college, there is precious little time left for writing, much less swinging a hammer.

But all of those books!  They deserve a good home. They should be carefully placed, not haphazardly tossed, two deep and three high, on a shelf that is too small. They should be out where I can see them, pick them up and reread them, instead of stuck in a dark box in a storage shed. I suppose if I would just rely on the trusty iPad, I wouldn’t have this problem. But I’m a book junkie. I can’t help myself.

So the library is a worthy cause, even without the wine closet. And when I’m finished, I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m looking for more shelf space. I’m not giving up my reading. I guess I’ll just have to keep on building. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lin Brooks is a lifelong Southern girl who lives in Mobile, Alabama with her family. Lin is a lawyer, runner, mother, home improvement enthusiast and an avid reader with a bucket list that includes visiting Australia, running a marathon and trying every kind of margarita ever made.

AUTHOR ONLINE @ Blog | Amazon

GIVEAWAY

Lin will be awarding a $15.00 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $15 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn host.

So, all you have to do, to enter this giveaway, is COMMENT.

Giveaway is INTERNATIONAL and ends November 9th 2012!

Excerpt & Book Feature: The Succubus Gift (Telepathic Clans #1)

Original Title: The Succubus Gift
Series: Telepathic Clans #1
Author: B.R. Kingsolver
Publisher: Smashwords
Release Date: April 22nd, 2012
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Book 1 of the Telepathic Clans Saga.

The transition between teenager to university to graduation is difficult and confusing for everyone. As an orphan and a prodigy who entered college at sixteen, harboring secrets she dares not reveal, Brenna Morgan’s journey is more complicated than most. Then one evening she stumbles across a young man who promises to answer all her questions if she’ll trust him.

The history of the Clans, called the Sidhe by the Irish, stretches back to antiquity. The Goddess blesses Her people with 25 Telepathic Gifts. In addition to Telepathy, the Gifts include command over Air and Fire, Telekinesis and Teleportation. In over 2,500 years, She has never bestowed more than 15 Gifts on a single person.

Brenna’s life isn’t the same after she discovers her unusual and mysterious heritage. In addition to being a telepath, Brenna learns she has the Succubus Gift.

That’s just the beginning of her problems. Someone is stalking her. Then there’s the tall, dangerous woman who shadows her and hints a Goddess has linked them. And what is she going to do with a handsome, charismatic, womanizing man she knows she should avoid?

Some days a girl just wants to pull the covers over her head and stay in bed -- with a willing young man of course.

Urban Fantasy with a dash of romance. The Succubus Gift is a completely different take on the succubus myth. Beautiful women and hot men in a world with a hidden telepathic subculture.

HERE IS THE FIRST CHAPTER FROM "THE SUCCUBUS GIFT" FOR YOU, READERS!

The Succubus Gift

Chapter 1

We have been burned at the stake, locked up in asylums, drugged into a stupor. We are secretive for our own protection. - Seamus O’Donnell

She noticed the young man immediately when he walked past her, head down and in a hurry, but not only because he was so good looking. He had no thoughts, no mental activity, and that grabbed her attention in a way nothing else could have.

Following him, she stepped into a shop doorway when he stopped and looked around. She didn’t need to keep him in sight. She could feel his emotions, so strange coming from someone with no thoughts she could read, different than all the other people on the streets. Checking her mental shields to make sure they were as tight as she could make them, she followed him around a corner. He didn’t look back, seemingly not aware she was there.

Moving closer as he turned another corner into an alley, she stopped when he hesitated at the other end. He looked about before stepping out onto the street, but he never looked back. Realizing he couldn’t feel her, she closed the distance between them.

Scanning the area with her mind, she discovered two other men, farther away, who also were mentally shielded. Their emotions were completely different than his, and she shivered at the malice radiating from them. Every time the first man changed direction, the others soon followed. Although they couldn’t see each other, it was almost as though they could feel each other, just as she could feel them. Through the maze of streets in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area, they danced across the city in the summer twilight.

He walked into a bar just a block off the water. She knew it had entrances on two different streets, and rather than follow him, she walked to the corner, out into the street, and stood in front of one of the unusual old triangular houses in this part of town. From her vantage point she could see both entrances.

Coming out the other side, he walked in the opposite direction, away from the harbor. He was doubling back, hoping to lose his pursuers, but they weren’t tracking him by sight or sound. She watched a man hesitate in front of the door the young man had used to enter the bar, stop, and then turn around.

He was walking faster now and she was forced to break into a run to keep up with him. He stopped in a small park, in a dark area near a building, turning and waiting for her.

“Why are you following me?” he asked as she approached him. He was tall with brown hair and blue eyes in his early twenties.

“Those men are following you. Do they want to hurt you?” she asked, looking up at him. “They don’t feel the same as you do.” His blue eyes widened. “They’re coming. They can feel you.”

“I can’t feel you, and I doubt they can either,” he answered with a puzzled tone in his voice. “You’re an O’Neill.” He took a step toward her. “Who the hell are you?”

She felt the other men at the edge of the park. “Why are you afraid? Are they going to hurt you?”

 “I don’t know. They might try,” he answered, smiling nervously.

She covered him in her shield and saw his fists clench as the other men approached. The sense of menace radiating from them increased as they drew closer, moving stealthily. In the darkness, she couldn’t see them clearly. Large men, even bigger than the young man she was following, they had a rough look. One passed within only a few feet. He turned and looked directly at them, but continued on. She could see he held a pistol close to his body.

 “Holy Mary,” the young man breathed when they were well gone.

She stepped close to him, out of the shadow, and looked up at his face. It was the first time he could see her clearly. His eyes widened in shocked surprise.

“Who are you?” she asked. “What are you? Do you know what I am?”

He stared at her pale face wreathed in black hair. His mouth opened, then closed. He swallowed and shook his head.

“Please,” she said, her voice cracking, “can you help me? I’ve been alone for so long. Are there more people like us? Do you know where to find them?”

Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward and in a low voice said, “Come with me. I’ll take you to someone who can answer your questions.”

He started off, then turned back when she just stood watching him. “I know what you did to make those men miss us. Thank you. I promise no one will hurt you if you come with me.”

They set off across the city together. After several blocks he turned up a street, similar to many in the area, where all the row houses looked exactly the same. They walked to a house halfway down the street and rang the doorbell. When the door opened, he entered, pulling her after him.

“Jared, what the hell?” the man inside stepped back frowning, his eyes scanning over her, lingering on her chest. “Who’s this?”

“I’ve been playing hide-and-seek with two thugs half the afternoon,” Jared answered. “Their shields and strength were pretty much a match for mine, and I just couldn’t shake them. Then I ran across this lovely lady who graciously extended her shields to hide me from them. Where are Seamus and my mom?”

“Shielded you?” She felt him attempt to read her mind. Her blue eyes flashed and she pushed back, feeling his shields bend under the pressure she exerted. His eyes widened. “I see. Seamus is probably in his office.”

Jared took her by the arm and led her down a corridor. They took a turn, then turned again into another corridor. Bewildered, she let him guide her. She had been in dozens of Baltimore row houses and they were small, open structures. She felt like she’d fallen down the rabbit hole.

They stopped in front of a door and Jared knocked, then entered when a deep voice said, “Come in.”

Inside a spacious office, a very large man with shoulder-length gray hair and a bushy beard was seated behind a desk. A tall, thin woman with sandy colored hair in her late thirties or early forties stood just inside the other door to the room. She took a tentative step forward, the blood draining from her face, and the man sat up in his chair, eyes riveted on the face of the young woman with Jared.

The young woman wore a white tank top and hip-hugger blue jeans that outlined her wasp-waisted hourglass figure. Thick, wavy black hair cascaded to her waist, contrasting with her pale complexion and sapphire blue eyes.

“I’d like you to meet … I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name,” Jared said, turning to her with a slight smile.

“Brenna,” she said.

“Of course. This is Brenna. I had a couple of stalkers follow me tonight. She helped me get home. Brenna, this is my grandfather, Seamus, and my mother, Callie.”

“Thank you for seeing my grandson home, Miss, uh,” the man said slowly. He had a faint but distinct Irish accent.

“Morgan,” Brenna supplied.

“Miss Morgan. I didn’t know he was lost, but thank you for your help,” he said with a faint smile.

“She shielded me,” Jared said. “Covered me to invisibility without touching me.”

Seamus’ eyes narrowed at this assertion, studying her closely. “That’s very interesting.”

FROM AND ABOUT THE AUTHOR - B.R. Kingsolver

I write books combining Adult Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Science Fiction. I believe in fiction as an escape, with devastatingly beautiful women and incredibly sexy men.

In my books, you will find characters with psychic abilities, such as telekinesis and telepathy, and a completely different view of a succubus than you've ever encountered before.

I made silver and turquoise jewelry for almost a decade, ended up in nursing school, then took a master's in business. Along the way I worked in construction, as a newspaper editor, and somehow found a career working with computers.

I love the outdoors, especially the Rocky Mountains. I've skied since high school, with one broken leg and one torn ACL to show for it. I've hiked and camped all my life. I love to travel, though I haven't done enough of it. I've seen a lot of Russia and Mexico, not enough of England. Amsterdam is amazing, and the Romanian Alps are breathtaking. Lake Tahoe is a favorite, and someday I'd like to see Banff.

I have a very significant other, two cats and two Basset Hounds. I'm currently living in Baltimore, nine blocks from the harbor, but still own a home in New Mexico that I see too infrequently.

PURCHASE THIS BOOK @

• AMAZON US
• AMAZON UK
• BARNES&NOBLE
• SMASHWORDS
• GOODREADS
• KOBOBOOKS
• DIESEL-EBOOKS
• INDIGO

AUTHOR ONLINE @ 

Facebook | Twitter | Website & Blog

Ready for a great spooky adventure? Win $200 worth of prizes..

So reader, how excited are you to read a zombie novel?  So, here is a chance for you to win around $200 worth of prizes along with a great spooky adventure..

Original Title: The Spirit Clearing
Author: Mark Tufo
Series: Michael Talbot Adventures #1
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Release Date: September 1st 2012
Genre: Science Fiction

After a horrific accident Mike wakes to find himself blind in one eye. He now sees things that others can’t and nobody will listen to him.

That is until he meets Jandilyn Hollow. Will she be able to pull him out of the depths of his despair?

Can love transcend even death?

--------------------------------

Hello fellow ghosts and ghoul hunters! Welcome to Mark Tufo’s Haunted Blog Tour. The Haunted Blog Tour will be a ten day chill fest that will take you from one Haunted Blog to another! Today is the seventh day of our Haunted Blog Tour...are you scared yet? Our host for this adventure, THE SPIRIT CLEARING’s Michael Talbot is currently guiding a very scared group of people towards the morgue as we read yesterday at Romancing the Darkside. Read his adventure and don’t forget to enter the giveaways. Along the Haunted Blog Tour you will have a chance to win Michael’s twisted story along with some other very exciting prizes (don’t get too excited it is only - over $200 in awesome prizes)! But, let’s get back to Michael Talbot...things are about to get weird.

Author Interview & Giveaway: Botanicaust - A Dystopic Romance Novel

Original Title: Botanicaust
Author: Tam Linsey
Release Date: August 5th 2012
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopic Romance

The only crop left ... is human.

After genetically altered weeds devastate Earth's crop lands, much of humanity turns to cannibalism to survive. Dr. Tula Macoby believes photosynthetic skin can save the human race, and her people single-mindedly embark on a mission to convert the cannibals roaming what's left of Earth. But when Levi, a peaceful stranger, refuses alteration, Tula doesn't think the only options should be conversion or death.

Levi Kraybill, a devout member of the Old Order, left his Holdout farmland to seek a cure for his terminally ill son. Genetic manipulation is a sin, but Levi will do almost anything for the life of his child. When he's captured, he's sure he's damned, and his only escape will be death.

Tula's superiors schedule Levi's euthanization, and she risks everything to set the innocent man free. Now she and Levi are outlaws with her people, and she's an abomination with his. Can they find sanctuary in a cannibal wasteland?

INTERVIEW WITH TAM LINSEY

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future? Tough one. While the past might be a safer way to go because we know what to expect, I think I’d take the plunge and see the future. Imagine what people who lived a mere forty or fifty years ago would think if they were able to travel forward to right now. Back then, calculators that could add were cutting-edge (not to mention bulky!) What would they think of our smartphones with GPS tracking? Totally sci-fi. I can only imagine what inventions might come along in another forty or fifty years. I’d love to see a holographic television. Or a matter transporter!

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you? I am all about survival. Self-sufficiency. I’d love it if my island was a lush oasis with a fresh-water lagoon and plenty of coconut trees. But I’d more likely end up on a stretch of barren sand periodically swamped by the tide.

Feature & Follow Friday #27

RULES

• To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
• (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee and Alison Can Read}
• (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
• Put your Blog name and URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers.

If you’re new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Guest Post: If you could change...

Original Title: The Ghost in Me
Author: Shaunda Kennedy Wenger
Publisher: Essemkay Company Productions
Release Date: January 23rd 2011
Genre: Middle Grade

Myri Monaco has problems she doesn't know how to deal with: a crush on her best friend's boyfriend, a mother who's dating her science teacher, and a "punishment" for a science project that lands her in auditions for the school play (the last place she wants to be). But most girls don't have a ghost living at home who is willing to "trade places" whenever she's needed. Will ghostly possession be an easy solution when problems collide? Or, will Myri lose everything to a ghost wanting to fulfill her own desires?

IF YOU COULD CHANGE....

From the character’s perspective…

by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger in the voice of Myri Monaco

If you could change your current story in any one way, what would you do and why?

Myri says ….

Funny you should ask, because I’ve got a few ideas on this topic. I don’t know what Shaunda Kennedy Wenger was thinking when she put me in her story, but she definitely wasn’t asking, “Now what can I give Myri to help her out on this troubled path?” I know this for a fact because she didn’t give me anything helpful—not even anything simplistically helpful, like amazingly good looks, or a rock star for a mother, or extreme popularity. Anyone of these things would have made any one of my problems easier to deal with, if not go away completely. In fact, if she’d built my life like that, I might not have had any problems period. So you can see why I say Shaunda Kennedy Wenger wasn’t thinking.

Instead, she had to go and make me like any other average, just-below-normal kid who happens to be stuck in a life revolving around the most abnormal things on the planet. Like ghosts.

Yeah. Isn’t that fantastic? Don’t say yes unless you’ve actually had a good experience from living with one. Obviously, I’m speaking from experience. Thanks to Mrs. Wenger, I live with a ghost who died over 200 years ago, but who happens to be two years younger than me. How annoying is that? Life couldn’t have been more embarrassing when this ghost started to take over and “help” me out. I wanted to die of embarrassment, but obviously Mrs. Wenger wasn’t going to let that happen. She needed me to figure things out.

Then there’s my mom. Mrs. Wenger gave her a job as a mortician, who spends her time working with the dead. This means my mom hangs out in a lab with the corpse of the day, while other normal moms spend their time making things to eat in the kitchen. How demented is that?

And then there’s my grandma. Don’t most grandmas spend their time playing bingo, or shuffle board, or knitting on the couch? Not mine. Mine is a spiritual consultant for spirits. As in ghosts. Not only do her clients not pay for her services (kind of impossible to do so from the “other side),” they’re not good about knocking and using the door, either.

So obviously, there are a lot of things that could have been done differently with my story,like putting my thoughts and feelings first when it came time to writing it. As I said, doing so would have made it all work out much more easily than it did.

Guest Post & Giveaway: The Way of Nacor (Tales of Eden #1)

Original Title: The Way of Nacor
Series: Tales of Eden #1
Author: Jeff Horton
Publisher: World Castle Publishing
Release Date: September 1st, 2012
Genre: Science fiction, Suspense

How can four stranded children survive and get back home after finding themselves transported to an alien planet in a distant part of the galaxy?

Following a family tragedy, the Seekers children find themselves transported to a strange, alien world named Zantura, where a powerful, evil being named Sarin has either murdered or enslaved nearly everyone. The siblings must face and survive a series of seven deadly trials on the journey to find a long-lost ancient relic, which has the power to save Zantura from Sarin, and to send the children home.

WHAT WRITING MEANS TO ME

- Guest Post by Jeff Horton

My name is Jeff Horton, and I am a novelist. I say I am a novelist and not an author because an author can be someone that writes about anything including novels, historical biographies, travel guides, etc., while a novelist is an artist, a painter if you will. Imagination is the paint and the keyboard the paintbrush.

I enjoy writing because for me it is pure creativity. From my imagination proceeds people, places, sights, sounds, and events which have never really existed. For me, writing a novel is sort of like watching a movie. I start writing with an idea of what I'm after, but the story truly takes on a life of its own as I write, often taking me in a direction I never could have imagined it going in before. The end result is that I have no idea how the story is going to end myself until I have finished the first draft. Even then, the story can morph as I make my way through a series of inevitable revisions where the rough stone is cut and chipped away at, before being polished into what I consider to be a work of art.

When I write, I strive to create storylines that are meaningful on many levels. I like to explore and understand the emotions, the struggles  and the pain that we feel as human beings, as well as the joy. It is also important that there is a message in the story, a warning, a message of hope, etc. I want readers to always come away having learned something new, something valuable, something important. These are ambitious goals, of course, and unfortunately, I'm never as successful as I would like to be at meeting these goals.

Another thing that is important to me as a novelist is that the characters, the events, and the setting all feel very real to the reader. This then is a key, in my opinion, to drawing the reader more deeply into the story. People are complex creatures and rarely (if ever) do we really know anyone. It is unfair therefore to suggest to readers that a character is a cardboard figure. While I may not spend as much time on every character as I would like in the interest of brevity, I do try and ensure that at least the key players are well-developed, and that they also change and grow as the story progresses.

My first three books were mostly futuristic, apocalyptic thrillers, all written for the masses but from a Christian worldview. My faith in God makes up a big part of who I am and what I do, and I'm sure it comes through in my writing. My next book, which reflects that faith, is different than the first three because it's more of a YA/juvenile novel entitled The Way of Nacor. My goal (always lofty!) with The Way of Nacor was to create a well-blended recipe of a little Chronicles of Narnia and a little Pilgrims Progress, with a pinch of science-fiction thrown in as well. In The Way of Nacor, a family of children are stranded on another world, where they face many obstacles as they try to find their way home.  The novel following The Way of Nacor is a techno-thriller entitled Cybersp@ce. I like to think of it as Tom Clancy meets Michael Crichton (two of my favorite authors).

AUTHOR LINKS

Website:                   www.hortonlibrary.com

Facebook Page:         https://www.facebook.com/Author.Jeff.Horton

Twitter:                    http://twitter.com/#!/Jeff_Horton

Goodreads Page:        http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4478744.Jeff_W_Horton

Amazon Author Page: http://tinyurl.com/8tapc5x

Blog                         http:// http://anovelsperspective.blogspot.com/

Shelfari:                    http://www.shelfari.com/jeffhorton

Librarything:              http://www.librarything.com/author/hortonjeffw

AuthorsDen:              http://www.authorsden.com/jeffwhorton

GIVEAWAY

The  author is giving away a e-copy of this novel to a winner of the Rafflecopter.

The giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and ends November 10th 2012!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post & Mystery Novel Giveaway: Mark of the Loon by Molly Greene

Original Title: Mark of the Loon
Author: Molly Greene
Release Date: May 14th 2012
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery

Buy @ Amazon

What happens when a workaholic serial remodeler falls in love with an old stone cottage built by an ornithologist and his eccentric Irish wife? If you’re Madison Boone, you kick your budding romance with handsome Psych Professor Coleman Welles to the curb and lose yourself in a new project.

Madison is a skilled property “flipper” who renovates distressed homes in addition to her busy real estate sales career. She struggles with the inability to put down roots years after the sudden death of her beloved parents. Madison and her three wise, hilarious friends all wonder if she uses her busy, work-centric lifestyle as an excuse to avoid connection with anyone but them.

When Madison checks out a probate sale outside Healdsburg, California, she falls in love with the European-style house on a private tract of land overlooking Lake Sonoma. In fact, she likes the place so much she climbs in the window for a private tour. With help from lawyer and friend Genevieve Delacourt, Madison soon learns that the estate’s corrupt attorney has manipulated the sale and is attempting to steer the purchase to an anonymous client in a deceitful plan for personal gain.

Good fortune enables her to purchase the Blackburne’s property, but far more than a new home and lush gardens await discovery during this renovation. As Madison works on the remodel, she’s drawn into an old love story with dangerous consequences. In the process, she discovers herself as she unearths buried secrets. The series of events both endanger Madison and lead her to love – and a permanent home. Mark of the Loon is the skillful combination of history, mystery, and romance in a novel that explores deep friendship, choices, and how individuals cope with loss.

FIVE THINGS I KNOW ARE TRUE

- Guest Post by Molly Greene

Upfront disclosure: Perfection remains below my sightline, out of reach. I don’t pretend to know it all, and I am not trying to give advice about the best way to cope with life. However, as a self-published author in the midst of a wild indie rollercoaster ride, I have found that good life coping skills can also be used to smooth the path. These behaviors and beliefs work for me.

Humor helps Laughter smoothes the rough patches and highlights the wins. I appreciate people who make me chuckle, and I cultivate relationships with friends who value a sense of fun. Drama is something to be avoided. Since there are lots of opportunities for drama in the publishing world, I try not to take it all too seriously. I said “try.”

Almost all bad luck leads to something better There’s an old saying that goes something like, “Great good fortune is disguised as extreme bad luck.” Does that mean we’re supposed to get excited about a flat tire, flooded basement, computer malfunction? No. What I try to do is focus on solution and wonder how the Universe is going to turn the chaos into a benefit. It’s tough, I don’t always manage, but I do cultivate the ability to ask myself what good may come of the crappy things that happen. Bottom line: Release disappointments and focus on what’s good.

I am responsible I am responsible for my behavior and the choices I make, and my decisions – good and bad – helped form the person I am. I can’t blame anyone else for sad, bad, or angry outcomes. I choose the way I view opportunities, people and events, and these choices help determine the quality of my life. I can’t control things that happen or other people’s reactions, but I am in the driver’s seat when it comes to choosing my response. And I am proud of the moments when I catch a glimpse of the individual I aspire to be.

Whatever I’m avoiding is most often exactly what I need to do The conversations I don’t want to have, the patience I don’t want to summon, the approach I don’t want to take, the feelings I don’t want to acknowledge, the tasks I don’t want to begin: whatever I’m sidestepping is usually a red flag. If I just do it, it’s seldom as bad as I thought it would be. The benefits reach beyond the obvious. For instance, when I began to tackle my hardest work projects first thing each morning, I developed better self-discipline overall and my life worked better.

Perseverance is key Life – and self-publishing – is often frustrating and disappointing. That’s not going to change. When I was younger I was a quitter, but eventually I found that walking away for good is just as unsatisfying as dealing with problems. So now I simply choose to persevere. I give myself permission to close the computer, take a drive, and avoid a given situation – until I feel strong again, or regenerated or renewed or once again equal to the task. Then I take a deep breath and start over. It’s okay to take a short vacation, but never, ever give up on your dreams.

GIVEAWAY

The author is giving away e-copies of the novel to three winners of the Rafflecopter.  Winners are chosen by random.org.

Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and ends November 16th 2012!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post & Giveaway: The Beginning (The Four Series #1) by Margaret Millmore

Original Title: The Beginning
Series: The Four Series Book 1
Author: Margaret Millmore
Publisher: World Castle Publishing
Release Date: August 5th 2012
Genre: Fantasy

The Four
A Series

They do exist and they always have. They live, love, and work amongst us and they are part of us. But they are different too, they are stronger and they live longer. They are the topic of many books, movies and myths, but their existence remains a secret, not everyone would accept them. And like us, they have those that are simply evil. Keeping these evil ones under control is the price they must pay to continue the lives they love. They must protect their human brethren from the Dark Ones, those that would rather kill than preserve.
Century after century the good battled the Dark Ones, always prevailing and preserving the lives of their beloved humans. In the 17th century, two powerful Dark leaders emerged, they organized their forces and a bitter war ensued. It was a fight to the death and the good thought they’d won. Four warriors led the battle, four warriors whose strength was beyond anything they knew, four warriors whose legacy had to be protected…
The good formed a consortium and with the help of a powerful sorcerer, a spell was cast; a spell that would follow the warriors’ lineage in case their power was needed again. The warriors are long dead, but their heirs are not, and now they must fight. The Dark Ones have re-emerged, they are more powerful, more resourceful and they want to control mankind and the world.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


The Beginning
Book I

Clare had an ideal life. She lived in the perfect little town, had a great family and four of the best friends in the world. She also had nightmares, nightmares that plagued her for almost a decade. But these are not ordinary nightmares; they are premonitions, warnings of what is to come and what she will become.
She discovers that she isn’t alone in these vile dreams; her friends are having them too. They are dreaming of their ancestors and their own future... The discovery of their destiny and the future they must embrace is shocking and terrifying.

CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A WRITER IN YOUR GENRE

- Guest Post by Margaret Millmore

My current series is actually my first full length book attempt. After I’d finished it and felt it was ready for submission (it wasn’t really ready, I just hadn’t learned enough to know better) I soon realized that the vampire/werewolf genre was HUGE… I’m not sure how I didn’t already know this; Twilight had just hit the theatres (I’d never heard of the book before that) and it was all the rage; one of my favorite movie series is Underworld, and I knew a new movie was due out in 2009; and let’s not forget True Blood (a show I’ve never seen because I feel it’s a bit too erotic and I don’t care for that sort of thing). I’m sure there were a ton of other shows and books out there too, but I just didn’t know about them. Discovering I wasn’t alone (sometimes it’s nice to be the ‘one and only’) was a real let down. But that wasn’t all, my book was over 155,000 words… simply not done by a new writer… at least that was what I was told. So, I put it away and didn’t intend to go back to it.

However I wasn’t ready to give up. Doppelganger Experiment (originally entitled The Green Building on the Left) had been lingering in the back of my mind for some time, and it was ready to come out. The genre for DE is more suspense/thriller/ paranormal and that is what I enjoy reading and writing the most. My next full length novel will also follow along those lines… well that’s the plan today at least.

When I mentioned The Four (it was still one book at this time) to my publisher, I was surprised that she was interested. After all, she had a few authors who already wrote in this genre and of course the v/ww thing was and still is an almost over-populated genre. However she liked it, with the caveat that we break it up into a series. That was a true challenge, deciding where to stop and start the original story. My current challenge is finishing and polishing book 4 of this series. It had been so long time since I wrote the original, and although I’ve gone over it a dozen times lately, I’m still finding it difficult to move it to the next level, but I’ll get there.

I suppose the difficulty lies in trying to come up with an original slant to a very seasoned and popular tale. In The Four series, my vampires and werewolves don’t come about in the traditional manner, it’s genetic. They don’t eat people, well most of them don’t, they’re not all pretty, they don’t have ‘super powers’ and they just want to part of our world.

GIVEAWAY

The author will be giving away e-copies of this novel to three winners of the Rafflecopter.  Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and ends November 10th 2012!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Protectors Blog Tour: GRAND GIVEAWAY & Guest post on "Character Secrets"

The Protectors Blog Tour: Character Secrets

- GUEST POST BY EMILY ANN WARD

Hey, everyone! Emily here. This is one of my last stops for my blog tour for my YA Epic Fantasy series, The Protectors, is on tour! The books follow a family of shape changers as they struggle against a group of oppressive noblemen called the Protectors.

Have you ever visited Post Secret (http://postsecret.com)? People mail in their secrets on postcards. I thought it'd be fun to do some for my characters. There are a lot of secrets rolling around in the world of the Protectors, especially in the first book, <i>Promising Light</i>. I don't want to spoil the fun of finding those out with the characters, so I went with more personal ones rather than plot-related ones.

Context: before Promising Light.

Grace:

http://www.emilyannward.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/grace-secret.jpg

I'm secretly seeing a noble who is courting another woman. My father dislikes him and his family, and I don't know why. I should know better, but I think I'm falling for him. And I don't want it to be a secret anymore.

Dar:

http://www.emilyannward.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/dar-secret.jpg

I used to look for ways to punish myself for deaths. Then I fell in love with her and I stopped.

Sierra:

http://www.emilyannward.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sierra-secret.jpg

I'm with Matt, but I'm lying to myself and to him when I pretend it will work. I never loved anyone but Evan and I never will. I'll probably die alone.

Sashe:

http://www.emilyannward.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sashe-secret.jpg

I close my eyes and pretend he's Seth.

If you want to read more about these characters and their secrets, be sure to check out the series at Amazon or any other ebook retailer!

This is the last official day of the blog tour! I've had a lot of fun. But hey today, I'm also over at Girl Who Reads (http://www.girl-who-reads.com) with a Meet the Author Feature. Tomorrow is the last day to enter the giveaway!

Oh, and if you missed the last few posts:

Meet the Author (http://eveningfades.blogspot.com)

Genre-Bending: If Promising Light Wasn't Fantasy (http://fantasycollective.wordpress.com)

My Characters' Favorite Books (http://indieebookreview.blogspot.co.uk)

If Promising Light Were Set In Modern Day (http://fadeintofantasy.com)

Promising Hope’s Book Soundtrack (http://storiesofmylife.roncnieto.com)

Promising Light Excerpt (http://bloodskies.com/blog/)

Promising Hope Excerpt (http://bruceblake.wordpress.com/)

Tweets from Promising Light (http://delphinareadstoomuch.com/)

Interview with the Villains & Review (http://danicapage.blogspot.com/)

Character Interview (http://howlingturtle-pdx.blogspot.com)

GIVEAWAY

If you’d like a chance to win the books, enter the giveaway here! Here’s what’s up for grabs:

(1) $15 Amazon Gift Card

(5) Protectors Ebook Packages (Shifting Light, Fire and Light, The End of Light, Promising Light, and Promising Hope)

(1)  Protectors Paperback Package (Promising Light and Promising Hope)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, you can comment on these posts and other stops on the tour or follow blogs participating in the tour to gain more entries! Hope to see you around :)

AUTHOR BIO:

Emily Ann Ward is the author of Passages, Beyond Home, Finding Fiona, and The Protectors series. One of her first stories featured a young girl whose doll came to life. The rest is history. When it comes to fiction, she writes mainly young adult, contemporary, and fantasy. She also writes nonfiction, ranging from stories of her travels to thoughts on God and the Bible. Aside from writing, she’s also a content editor for Entranced Publishing. She loves reading, traveling, sociology, religion, and Reese’s sticks. Currently, she lives in Salem, Oregon with her husband Chris and their crazy cats. Visit her website at emilyannward.com.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THIS BOOK, READ MY REVIEW OF "PROMISING LIGHT" HERE!  

TRUST ME - THIS IS ONE OF THOSE AMAZING SERIES!

Love Comes Later - Interview with Author Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

Please enjoy this interview with Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar, author of the heart-breaking multicultural romance, Love Comes Later. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $550 in Amazon gift cards, 5 autographed copies of Love Comes Later, and 5 copies of its companion, From Dunes to Dior.

1. Love Comes Later tells the story of Abdulla’s arranged marriage to his cousin Hind. Neither is excited about the prospect—Abdulla because he is still recovering from the untimely death of his former wife and unborn child; Hind because she is a thoroughly modern girl who does not appreciate the prospect of being anyone’s second option. How did the inspiration for this story surface, particularly for the characters of Abdulla and Hind?

In conversations with people in Qatar, expat or Qatari, the subject of love inevitably came up. For women, the main issue involved the small pool of people they felt they had to choose from. My surprise and revelation came, however, when my male friends expressed similar sentiments. We often think men have all the power in male-dominated societies but from these discussions I began to realize how society limits both male and female aspirations with universal social expectations like marriage. The story began to form there: what would make a man unlikely to marry? And why? What would he do in order to keep his freedom?

2. You met your husband in Qatar although you are both American-raised and come from Asian heritage (you South Indian, and your husband of Laotian descent). How did the two of you meet? This sounds like such a magical love story!

We met at work, believe it or not, and at first the entire possibility of forging a lasting bond with someone I’d just met seemed as foreign to me as the desert landscape outside. I had my mind set on my career and wasn’t looking for a relationship; people were throwing dire warnings my way not to take anything starting overseas very seriously. But over time, I was impressed by the strength of my husband’s character and realized, despite the naysayers, I had never met anyone else like him. The desert is a great place to find out what someone is really about because you can’t rely on the busyness of life at home–work, family, friends–to hide behind. It’s just you, in a foreign setting, and that can be like a pressure cooker for most expats. What’s inside eventually comes out. Lucky for me, I listened to my gut, and six years of marriage later, I’m more and more grateful.

3. In Love Comes Later, how do the characters of Hind, Fatima, and Luluwa embody the modern Qatari (or Arab) woman?

They’re each their own personalities and have characteristics of different parts of Qatari society. Each of them occupies a space that demonstrates the changes in society as increasingly Qatar become open to the rest of the world. While Fatima was live, she was probably the most conservative of the three, which makes sense because she is also the oldest. She wanted to get married, and though she had a job outside the home, was much more excited about the birth of her first child. Hind has been allowed to study abroad without a family member, and during the story that causes her to become increasingly liberal-minded. Luluwa is very young at the time of this story, and she represents those in the next generation, who have even more choices facing them about tradition and society.

The Arabian Gulf is different from the Middle East, partly because of the oil revenues that drive the economy, but also because of the gender segregation that is very visible and preserved by the local community. While the female characters may have a lot in common with other Muslim women from the Arab world in terms of personal aspirations, their circumstances and context are unique to Qatar.

4. Based on your experiences, what is the one thing you believe Westerners would be the most surprised to learn about the city of Doha?

You can make relationships here that will last for a lifetime a lot more easily than you can at home. Part of the reason is that we are all in the same boat–expats and locals alike–everyone is searching for ways to make contribute to the rapid growth and development of the nation so that means you are engaged in meaningful work. Most people here are interested in cultural exchange and open about the world in general around them. This, plus the fact that the country is such a melting pot means that you and your children (if you have any) are more likely to have friends of different faiths and nationalities than many other places in the world.

5. What made you decide to relocate to Doha in particular, and what has motivated you to stay for so long (7 years)? Do you plan to move back to the U.S. one day, or might you set-up your permanent homestead in Qatar?

I don’t know of anywhere else that is investing as much in education as the Arabian Gulf at the present moment in time. I came to work at an American university, took some time to consult at the national university, and then worked for a newly established publishing company. They were all fairly big name organizations in their own right and the ability to contribute significantly on the programmatic level as I’ve done at a fairly young age would be difficult to replicate anywhere else.

Sorry, my academic side took over for a second! I am a scholar and this is a wonderful place to have the resources–perhaps most importantly time–to work on research and writing. And because I am a writer, I can’t remember another place I’ve lived that has so inspired me with subject matter–unless it was inside my own head as a teenage immigrant.

We agree in our house that we’ll stay as long as we’re having fun. And that doesn’t seem likely to change any time soon.

6. In your memoir From Dunes to Dior, you note that your American upbringing combined with your South Indian heritage, doctoral education, and femininity mean you’re a rather unique mixture of social identities in Qatar. How hard is it for you to reconcile all these sides of yourself while trying to fit in to this new society and take pride in all that makes you you?

Depends on the context; when I’m in traffic, it’s not unusual for me to return stares from men elbowing each other to have a look at me driving while they’re sitting in buses going back to their accommodation. In the classroom some students are taken aback for the first few sessions but eventually I grow on them. In instances where I have one on one interaction–or people hear my Western accent–I don’t have that much difficulty. It’s when I’m in places where judgments are made by skin color–the mall or first time meetings–that I have slightly more difficulty but in general these smooth out over time.

7. You’ve published six ebooks within the space of a year. How on earth do you manage to be so productive? Do you plan to keep this pace up, or are you just sprinting to get started?

I had the luxury of a backlist of manuscripts that had been politely declined by a number of agents over the years. Each time I stalled, I would go on and write another. I decided to give all of them a home on e-readers as a way of reaching readers. I have two more to go as part of the original list of 8. And of course there are ideas for new stories that keep coming up–even the possibilities of two more books with characters from Love Comes Later–but I think I’ll take a more relaxed approach after December!

8. You chose to pursue indie publishing even though your PhD in English Literature would make you a prime candidate for the traditional publishing model? Why indie, and if given the choice to do it all over again, would you still choose this path?

I came to indie publishing because I put a lot of time and effort into my academic books and no one–not even my mother–ever read them. That’s a long time for them to just waste away in the library. I kept hearing the indie drumbeat at conferences I attended and decided these manuscripts that weren’t being picked up didn’t need to be rejected 60 times in order to make it into the hands of readers. I don’t regret going indie. I wish I had done it sooner in the sense that it would have been fun to work on a single book, release it, and then start another book, instead of this wild and creative space I’m in right now where I’m revising one book, researching for another, and promoting others.

9. As a writer, what is the message you are trying to get out to the world? Who are you trying to reach, and what do you want to tell them? Are your books more entertainment/ informational driven, or is there a deeper resonance you are trying to achieve?

I want to take readers to places they’d like to go but can’t physically get to because of time or financial considerations. A book is the oldest form of technology we have, and though we’ve put them on tablets and found ways to make them enticing through video or graphics, we haven’t actually changed what a book does which is transport us to worlds other than our own. I want my stories to capture the essence and wonder of storytelling for the reader who will enter a world unfamiliar and yet see something of him/herself in the characters, dilemmas, and settings.

10. What can readers expect next from MohaDoha?

I am working on other titles… the very next one is a coming of age story, set in the U.S., told from the perspective of a young female protagonist, Sita, who we’ll root for to grow up into an empowered woman despite those who have other plans for her life.

I love interacting with readers. The more feedback I get, the better content I feel that I create. So the door is open–tell me what you loved or what was confusing–and I’ll keep you posted on the release date for An Unlikely Goddess!

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Love Comes Later eBook edition is just 99 cents this week–and so is the price of its companion, From Dunes to Dior. What’s more, by purchasing either of these fantastic books at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $550 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes isRIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Love Comes Later for just 99 cents
2. Purchase your copy of From Dunes to Dior for just 99 cents
3. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity
4. Visit today’s featured social media event

About Love Comes Later:  What if pursuing your happiness also meant your best friend’s disgrace? In Love Comes Later Sangita, Abdulla and Hind must chose between loyalty and love, traditional values and a future they each long to explore. Get it on Amazon.

About From Dunes to Dior:  I moved East, back towards my roots, only to discover how much of the West I brought with me. From Dunes to Dior is the story of my life as an expat South Asian woman in the heart of the Middle East. Get it on Amazon.

About the Author: Six eBooks ago, Mohana joined the e-book revolution and now she dreams in plot lines. Visit Mohana on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.