Interview with Emlyn Chand

Interview with author Emlyn Chand

If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world, which would it be?

Harry Potter, duh! If Hermoine and Luna had a baby, it would be me. Ponder this for a moment...

If you were a bird, which one would you be?

Oh, boy did you ever ask the right person this question. Widely known fact, I’m a crazy bird lady. Evidence: my sun conure, Ducky, is the mascot for my business, Novel Publicity. He also has his own blog and is on Twitter, Facebook, and GoodReads. Furthermore, I write a children’s book series called the Bird Brain Books—each volume features a different feathery protagonist. To answer your question, if I could be any bird, I’d be my pet Ducky. He is EXTREMELY spoiled and pretty famous in his own right.

If you were a super hero what would your kryptonite be?

Facebook. The villain could distract me with an interesting comment thread or funny photo and then sneak right on by to destroy the world.

Favorite music?

Here’s an answer you never saw coming from a YA author:  Frank Sinatra. I love Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, anything happy. They “make me smile in my heart.” I swear half of me is stuck at twelve years old and the other half is in its seventies—whatevs.

Favorite Food?

Ice cream! No... Taco Bell. No, tiramisu. No! Ice cream, definitely ice cream!

Favorite Candy?

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups—the miniature ones, because I swear they taste different than the big ones!

Hidden talent?

Hidden? Please! If I have a talent, you better believe I’m going to show it to the world. I always liked getting attention ;-)

What is your dream cast for your book?

Let me just say this:  I have a part for Taylor Lautner if any of my books are ever made into movies. Even if it doesn’t make sense for him to be in it, I will make it make sense. In the Farsighted series, I could totally see him playing Alex. 

Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?

Oh, you betcha. I’m really into creating playlists for each of my books. You can check out playlists for Farsighted, Open Heart, and Pitch (which will be release in 2013) at www.emlynchand.com/music. Farsighted’s list is more alta-rock and represents the character Alex; his theme song is “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. Open Heart’s list is primarily Bollywood and represents Simmi; her theme song is “Main Yahaa Hoon” from the movie Veer Zaara. 

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.

Hearing someone liked my book. Yes, it’s as simple as that. Farsighted has won something like ten awards now, and each of those makes me feel great, because it means someone got what I was trying to do and appreciated it. I also love it when fans email me or connect with me on Twitter and Facebook—those simple little things make my day so bright. Don’t forget to reach out to your favorite authors; we just love it! 

About the author:

Emlyn Chand emerged from the womb with a fountain pen clutched in her left hand (true story). Since then, she has always loved to hear and tell stories. When she's not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm Novel Publicity. Emlyn enjoys connecting with readers and is available throughout the social media Internet world. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don't forget to say "hi" to her sun conure Ducky!

Scent of the Roses by P.G. Forte - Guest Post & Kindle Fire Giveaway

Scent of the Roses

Oberon, book 1

by P.G. Forte

For years, Scout Patterson has tried to run from the mistakes in her past. Now Scout is going home to face the ghosts she has never laid to rest, and find the love she thought she d lost forever. 

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A Sense of Place

Guest Post by P.G. Forte 

It seems like I’ve been in love with California for most of my life. Something about the sun-drenched mystique of it appealed to me from a very young age.  It’s not perfect, of course. No place is. But that’s one of the nice things about writing fiction. It gives you the opportunity to improve on reality and create a world that’s better than real life.

I’d been living in California for about thirteen years when I first got the idea for the Oberon series. Northern California, Southern California, Central Coast—I’d lived in and loved them all; and so I had a very clear idea about what kind of atmosphere I wanted for Oberon. 

I wanted it to have the laid-back, beachy feel of the South combined with the new age inventiveness of the North tempered by the slightly-buzzed, wine country charm of the Central Coast. I wanted to give it cool foggy mornings, warm sunny days and bright starry nights. I wanted rolling hills and winding roads all leading to a quaint little village perched atop sheer, coastal cliffs.  And above all else I wanted it to have a hint of magic—or maybe more than a hint.

See, I knew the town itself would play a very important part in the series, and that was never just because of its physical location. There’s a paranormal component to the series that needed to be made manifest in the town of Oberon as well. 

I did have a bit of an advantage going in.  After all, the west has always had certain, rather specific, mystic properties in most mythic traditions—going all the way back to the ancient Egyptians who placed the “land of the dead” on the western banks of the Nile. In Celtic mythology, Tírna nÓg, the ‘land of the young’ was said to be located on a series of islands in the western sea. So by simply locating Oberon on the West Coast, I figured I was already ahead of the game, already tapping into the Collective Unconscious.

I didn’t just leave it at that, however. I also added in elements of Earth Magic and drew from a wide range of spiritual traditions, both old and new, to create a location that was steeped in mysticism. Not that everyone in Oberon believes in that kind of nonsense. Yes, I populated the town with witches and wizards, empaths and channels, psychics, and shamans, even a ghost or three; but there are also quite a few “normal” folks thrown into the mix, as well as a healthy group of skeptics. The town needs them. They provide grounding.

The Oberon I ended up creating is a very special place. It’s reminiscent of many of the towns I’ve lived in or visited, but it’s also taken on a life of its own.  Every now and then I’ll pass a place in real life that reminds me so strongly of some feature that exists in Oberon that I’ll be amazed by the resemblance.  Until I remember why it seems so familiar.  That’s usually because it’s a place I’d borrowed and improved on for my own vision of the perfect, quintessential California town. Somehow, my make-believe version has become so real to me that it often seems like life is imitating art, rather than the other way around.  I guess that’s the real magic of fiction. 

Find out more at PGForte.com, on Twitter, and Facebook.

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What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton - Waiting on Wednesday

This is one that I have waiting for review, but since I am anxious to read it, I wanted to share it with you.

What Happens Next
by Colleen Clayton
Expected publication: October 9, 2012
by Poppy (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)

How can you talk about something you can’t remember?

Before the ski trip, sixteen-year-old Cassidy “Sid” Murphy was a cheerleader (at the bottom of the pyramid, but still...), a straight-A student, and a member of a solid trio of best friends. When she ends up on a ski lift next to handsome local college boy, Dax Windsor, she’s thrilled; but Dax takes everything from Sid—including a lock of her perfect red curls—and she can’t remember any of it.

Back home and unable to relate to her old friends, Sid drops her college prep classes and takes up residence in the A/V room with only Corey “The Living Stoner” Livingston for company. But as she gets to know Corey (slacker, baker, total dreamboat), Sid finds someone who truly makes her happy. Now, if she can just shake the nightmares and those few extra pounds, everything will be perfect... or so she thinks. 

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Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.  

Never Doubt the Power of Social Media - Gregory G. Allen, author of Chicken Boy - Kindle Fire Giveaway

Chicken Boy: The Amazing Adventures of a Super Hero with Autism by Gregory G. Allen
March 7, 2012 by MeeGenius

"I have a superhero inside my head. I call him Chicken Boy" proclaims our hero.

What others may see as odd "quirks", a child living with autism explains as all a part of his being a superhero. Told in the first person perspective, Chicken Boy offers a small glimpse into the mind of one child who wants others to understand they shouldn't fear someone simply because that person is a little different.

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Never Doubt Power of Social Media

by Gregory G. Allen 

To say I owe much to social media for the publication of my children's book would be an understatement. But let me just give a little backstory first on how Chicken Boy was born.

The story was based on my ten year old godson who I spend every Wed. night with going to his favorite restaurant with his mother and sister. Because of him, I became much more aware of autism over the years. His sister and I started making up a story one night about our little 'superhero' and that grew into this book. It was important for me to tell it from the child's perspective and I'm so aware this is but one story (one small story) on the large line that is autism. Yet it still felt important for me to share it.

After writing it, a friend told me about the MeeGenius author challenge and I joined 400 other manuscripts that were entered last fall. I had no idea what I was in store for. All the stories were put up online and the next thing I knew, it became a contest for votes. I only know so many people in the world, but boy did they work hard to spread the word. Before I knew it, I was getting wonderful comments all through the voting process with the MeeGenius Author Challenge from people in the autism community that read the story. It was sometimes overwhelming and yet humbling to hear how the story was touching all of these people…these strangers.

People tweeted about the book to get votes. Strangers. Famous people. Autism organizations. It was an incredible feeling. And then the winners were announced and the book won because of social media. Winning the People's Choice Award came with publication of the digital book by MeeGenius, a $1500 prize and a library of the MeeGenius books being donated to my godson's school in New Jersey in the US. 

So many people were asking me if they could get the book in print, I knew it was important to do just that. So I went to an indie publisher (who has published my adult books), took my prize money and used it to get the illustrations and layout design fixed to create a 32 page picture book that I could hand over to this publisher (as they had yet to go down the road of publishing children's books). But now I can give readers the choice between digital and print. And I'm so grateful to MeeGenius for the social media platform they gave me during the voting to come in contact with so many autism organizations. I dubbed my friends #TeamChickenBoy as they took to social media and were able to make contact with so many wonderful people.

About the author:
Gregory G. Allen was raised in Texas, but now calls New Jersey home. His mother (an avid reader) passed on the love of written words to Gregory. He is an award-winning author & composer, a playwright, and manages an arts center on a college campus. He has had several short stories published, a musical theater writer with over ten original musicals produced, and contributes articles and blogs to online sources.

Find out more at Gregory-G-Allen.com, on Twitter, and Facebook.

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Serafina and the Silent Vampire by Marie Treanor - Release Day Blitz

Serafina and the Silent Vampire
by Marie Treanor

Silence has never been so sinful…

Welcome to Edinburgh's unique psychic investigation agency, Serafina's.

Serafina MacBride is psychic - but not strictly honest. While staging a hilarious vampire attack at a client's party, Sera is stunned to encounter a real vampire - annoying, gorgeous and inaudible to everyone but her. When her client's son is found dead with puncture wounds in his neck, she tracks the silent vampire to his lair.

But the amoral and seductive Blair is also on a mission - to find and kill a nest of young vampires who've invaded his territory. Soon Sera is drawn into the bizarre world of the undead, where danger lurks in the shadows along with forbidden sensual delights - and a murderous conspiracy to flood the world with financially astute vampires who talk.

Supported and hindered by Blair's eccentric, undead friends, and by her own motley crew from Serafina's, Sera and Blair uncover surprising truths about each other and about the mysterious Founder from whom all vampires are descended.

In the end, Sera draws on powers she never knew she had in a frantic fight to defeat the forces of evil and preserve the strange, complicated being she's trying so hard not to love.

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About the author:

Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy. 

Marie has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL.

Find out more at MarieTreanor.com and on Facebook.