Thursday Takeover: Becca C. Smith

It's Thursday Takeover! Becca C. Smith is stopping by today to talk about meeting her writerly hero, Terry Brooks. In case you missed the promo post on December 16, here's a reminder of who Becca is and what her book Atlas is about:

Atlas 

The Atlas Series

Book 1

Becca C. Smith

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Red Frog Publishing

Date of Publication: 11/14/13

Cover Artist: Stephan Fleet

Amazon   Kindle

Book Description: 
Kala Hicks is part of a covert elite military team that answers directly to the President of the United States. But during an emergency mission aboard Air Force One, Kala is shocked to discover that the real threat is none other than the President himself. Defying her commanding officer, Jack Norbin, Kala takes the shot, and her life changes forever.

The moment the President is killed, a supernatural force speaks to Kala, telling her that she has to commit one act of atrocity every four days… or the world will end. Thrown into a reality she never could have imagined, Kala faces off with creatures of legend; from demons determined to make her fail and plunge the Earth into chaos, to angels who don’t trust her to do the job and are willing to kill her to claim it for themselves.

Pitted against the forces of good and evil, Kala must choose whether to save the world by doing the unthinkable, or sit back and let it burn. And four days later, she’ll have to do it again.

About the Author:

 
Becca C. Smith received her Film degree from Full Sail University and has worked in the Film and Television industry for most of her adult life. In 2010 Becca published her first novel, Riser followed by the sequel, Reaper, in 2011, and the finale, Ripper in 2013. In 2012 Becca wrote the children’s novel Alexis Tappendorf and the Search for Beale’s Treasure. She is also the co-author of the teen graphic novel Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted.

Becca currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband, Stephan and their two cats Jack and Duke.

Website: http://www.beccacsmith.com 
Blog: http://therisersaga.blogspot.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Riser-Saga/140711422626243 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/therisersaga 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4201733.Becca_C_Smith

Thanks for stopping by, Becca! Take it away!

Books and Brooks

I’ve been reading Terry Brooks since I was eleven. He was the first author I picked out on my own, everything I had read up until then was either a recommendation or stolen from my sister’s bookshelf ☺. Once I got my hands on his books I’ve been reading them ever since. And I’m spoiled, he writes a book every year.

I met him once when I was fifteen. My mom and dad drove me to the mall to get all my paperback books signed. When I stood in the long line waiting anxiously to meet my hero, I realized that everyone else (which happened to be all adults, I was the only kid) had hard cover books for him to sign. I immediately felt self-conscious (a symptom of teenager-hood) and I made my dad hold my large stack of paperbacks and I picked just one for him to sign. The beat up, falling apart, “Sword of Shannara.”

When my mom and I finally arrived in front of Mr. Brooks, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t do anything but just stare at him. I was in fifteen-year-old awe at the fact that my genuine hero was sitting in front of me. He was so nice!

At my lack of speaking ability he assumed my mom was there for the signing, but my mom quickly told him it was, in fact, the mute standing beside her.

He tried everything to get me to talk. He just kept smiling and being the extremely kind person he is. Finally he held up a book from each of his series and asked me to point to which one I liked best. I pointed to the Shannara book and he said, “What if I told you I’m going to come out with a new Shannara book next year.”

Inside I was bursting with excitement. I couldn’t believe it! He hadn’t written a Shannara book in years. (This was 1988 and Brooks hadn’t released a Shannara book since 1985 and in kid years 3 years is an eternity, remember waiting between Star Wars films, torture!!)

So I finally uttered my first words to the man that was about to write another book in my favorite series.

I said (and I’m not kidding), “No.”

Yep.

I meant, “Nooooooo, really???? Holy crap, that’s amazing!!” But all that came out was a very small, “No.”

My mom laughed and said I was just nervous which thank goodness Mr. Brooks already figured out. He was just as kind as can be and signed my brand new “Wizard at Large” book and my falling apart “Sword of Shannara.” Such a great guy.

There’s just nothing like reading a good book. It’s the love of stepping into another place and feeling like I’m there and I know these people intimately.

That’s why I love writing so much. It’s such an amazing feeling creating your own world and the characters in it. I just hope people have as much fun reading my book as I did writing it!

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Blog Tour: Excerpt from Reaper by LS Murphy

Time for another addition to your To-Be-Read lists! Reaper by L.S. Murphy is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. As a special treat, I've also got an excerpt below!

There's no way sixteen year old Quincy Amarante will become the fifth grim reaper. None. Not over her shiny blue Mustang. Her Jimmy Choos. Or her dead body.

She’s supposed to enjoy her sophomore year, not learn about some freaky future Destiny says she has no choice but to fulfill.

It doesn’t take long for Quincy to realize the only way out of the game is to play along especially since Death can find her anyway, anywhere, anytime. And does.

Like when she’s reassuring her friends she wants nothing to do with former best friend Ben Moorland, who’s returned from god-knows-where, and fails. Miserably.

Instead of maintaining her coveted popularity status, Quincy’s goes down like the Titanic.

Maybe ... just maybe ... that’s okay.

It seems, perhaps, becoming a grim reaper isn’t just about the dead but more about a much needed shift in Quincy’s priorities—from who she thinks she wants to be to who she really is.

L.S. Murphy lives in the Greater St. Louis area where she watches Cardinals baseball, reads every book she can find, and weaves tales for teens and adults. When not doing all of the above, she tends to The Bean (aka her daughter), her husband and a menagerie of pets. “A Reason to Stay”, a contemporary romance novella, is available as of November 2, 2012. Reaper is her debut young adult novel and will be released on January 7th, 2013.

She is a co-rep for the Southern Illinois region of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and a member of the St. Louis Writer’s Guild.

Links:

Blog: http://lsmurphy.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSMurphy

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LSMurphyAuthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5046440.L_S_Murphy

Publisher: http://www.jtaylorpublishing.com/

Author Interview: Robert Poulin, Author of Wail of the Banshees

Reading Robert Poulin's biography is just as interesting as reading the blurb for his new book, Wail of the Banshees. Which is why I am happy to say I had the chance to interview him for his blog tour.  Don't forget to check out his debut novel, Wail of the Banshees, available Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. You can follow Robert on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter, or you can check out his website here. It was an absolute honor to interview Robert. Read on as we talk about his first novel, what's coming up, what it is like to be a legally blind writer, and his work with North Country Center for Independence, a non-profit group dedicated to enhancing independent lifestyles for people with disabilities.

Mara Valderran: You've said that you are a big fan of science fiction and fantasy, having been won over by The Hobbit as a child. When did you first start writing for the genre?

Robert Poulin: I dabbled with writing throughout my teenage years but eventually life happened and the dream of authorship slipped into the background. My love of telling stories didn't disappear though and I found an outlet in tabletop RPG games. I have a large group of professional adult friends who still roll the dice on the weekends and I've been a GM for almost two decades now. The desire to start writing again resurfaced with my discovery of urban fantasy. Jim Butcher's Dresden Files in particular have been a big inspiration and I've really enjoyed the many Youtube videos in which Jim. Butcher also has some great articles and blog posts about the writing craft. Urban fantasy inspires me because it's a genre where the familiar world collides with the fantastic and all kinds of cool and crazy mayhem can ensue.

MV: Every writer has a different process. What can you tell us about yours? Do you have a set time to write? Do you plot first, or are you more of a pantser?

RP: I am both a planner and a discover writer. The first thing I do is to think of my story in terms of a movie, I visualize and then write down the various action scenes that I picture. Every good action scene needs a cool environment/location. This is where my research begins, finding cool locations and reading all about them. After I've picked out the location, studied, and built them up in my mind, I let the monsters go crazy on them. Once all these cool sets and action scenes are built, it's time to decide what characters go into them and why the event is taking place. Once the characters are assigned their scene and a reason for the scene is established, I try to outline it all into the three act play format. After all this, I start writing. I am in no way constrained by my advanced notes and outlines; I have no problem straying from them and often do. In the end, my story might be quite a bit different from the outline, but all of the action sequences will be there as envisioned. The characters themselves are the most likely to change during the course of a story and I in fact do very little pre planning for characters, I let them evolve as they will.

MV: What are some of your influences as a writer?

RP: As stated earlier, I read and listen to almost everyting posted by Jim Butcher. I also listen to the Writing Excuses podcast done by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. I've also been learning a lot about writing from Alexandria Stokoloff's blog and books about screenwriting tips for authors. I've learned the most however from just reading. I am a big epic fantasy fan; I love George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan. Aside from Jim Butcher, I love Illona Andrews's Kate Daniels series, The Hollows by Kim Harrison, and Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson series. Oh, and I shouldn't forget Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. There are so many good stories and authors out there, it's really a great time to be a reader, and I feel like I learn something new after each book that I finish reading.

MV: You've been working for the North Country Center for Independence for thirteen years now. What can you tell us about the work you do there to enhance the independent lifestyles of people with disabilities?

RP: Independent Living Centers exist all across the US. They are non profit agencies that are consumer run (meaning that over 50% of Board members must be disabled) and heavily staffed by people with disabilities. The idea is that no one is in a better position to help other disabled people achieve independence than someone who's already been through the fire themselves. The ultimate goal is to empower people, to let them make the decision that affect their lives. For most of my tenure at NCCI, I was a disability rights advocate and essentially the communications specialist. I mobilized the grassroots in my area of NYS to move legislation in a direction that was beneficial to people with disabilities. Now I'm the Executive Director, which means I manage the staff, write reports, and make decisions for the organization. I've really been blessed to be part of such a movement of inspiring advocates and civil rights leaders.

MV: How do you balance your career as Executive Director for NCCI, your family, and your career as a writer now?

RP: It's not easy, but being personally disciplined helps a lot. I set Sunday's aside as my writing day and that's pretty much it. That doesn't mean that I don't do book related work at other times, but Sunday is the time specifically set aside for actual chapter writing. I leave things like research and outlining for weekday evenings. Saturday is a day of relaxing, aside from house chores that is. My work for NCCI does come ahead of my writing career but so far there really hasn't been an issue.

MV: What are some of the challenges you've faced both in life and as a writer who is legally blind? What advice would you give to others who might be in your shoes?

RP: I really appreciate that you asked this question. My blindness makes me a slow reader, this is particularly challenging during the revision process. I don't worry about reading what I write during the first draft, the goal is to finish the story. That all changes during revision, now I have to read the entire manuscript multiple times and make many adjustments. This means my revision process is slow and methodical. I am extremely lucky to have an amazing editor working with me. Patience is a virtue that you must master as a blind person, not only am I slower at everything I do but I am constantly waiting for rides or for help with certain activities. Being flexible, creative, and persistent are important characteristics that all people should develop and master if they can; these traits are an absolute must for a person with a disability if they want to succeed in life. Also you have to have a thick skin, don't let people's meanness hurt or deter you. You have to be trusting of others and not be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Accepting your limitations does not equal inability to do anything, having lofty dreams and working to achieve them is healthy for all people, disabled people should do no less. In a weird way, Wail of the Banshees is almost a metaphor for this; Veronika dies at the beginning of the book and soon discovers that death isn't a career ending injury, it's the beginning of her story. Having a disability isn't the end of the story, it's the beginning of a life of challenges, hopes, dreams, disappointments, hard work, and adventure, it's pretty much like anyone else's life.

MV: Wail of the Banshees is your first novel. What has the process of getting published been like for you?

RP: It's been very interesting and a lot of work. I went through a grueling eight month process in which I developed a business plan for Ghost Watch Publishing. The end result of that work was that I was able to secure a self employment grant from the New York State Commission for the Blind. The grant enabled me to pay for an editor, an artist, and interior layout and eBook formatting conversion. I've had a website built at www.ghostwatchpublishing.com and I've done some blogging and a lot of social media networking. Marketing is the trickiest part of this whole process, I've found that what works for some doesn't necessarily work for others. I read guides like How To Make A Killing on Amazon, which has a pretty straight forward set of marketing directions, but do they work for everyone that reads the book and follows the recipe? I know there's always a disclaimer about how a book has to be good, but my guess is that even a lot of good books get missed in the avalanche of novels coming out each day. I've learned that perseverance and patience are also needed ingredients in any plan.

MV: What sort of teases can you give us for your second novel, Death Toll?

RP: First off, if you buy Wail of the Banshees in either paperback format or eBook format, there is a full, action packed chapter from Death Toll in the back of the novel. Secondly, if you keep an eye on my book tour with Bewitching Book Tours, you will likely get a chance to read the prologue to Death Toll. I can also tell you that if you are a fan of H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos, you should be highly interested in Death Toll. There will be two new mainline supporting characters joining protagonist Veronika Kane in the second novel. The wizard of Philadelphia, Nathaniel Carter, mentioned once in Wail of the Banshees, will be making Veronika's unlife very interesting. Also joining the team is former CIA agent, Brianna Martin, were-ferret extraordinaire. And everyone's favorite crusading, foul mouthed detective, Frank Cooper will be returning in Death Toll. Lastly, I'll hint that there might be a scene in which a troll uses the Liberty Bell as a melee weapon against the forces of chaos...really, it could happen.

I want to thank Mara for giving me this opportunity to tell you a little about myself and about Wail of the Banshees. I really appreciated the fact that Mara didn't shy away from asking me questions about my disability and how it affects my work. I want to thank you, the readers, for reading through my rambles and I hope you'll give Wail of the Banshees a read. I won't promise you a masterpiece of literature, it's not. What I can promise is a big budget, summer, soda and popcorn kind of read.

Book Blitz: Replacing Gentry by Julie N Ford (Free!)

Who doesn't like free books? PixelPr is out there spreading the word about this new freebie: Replacing Gentry by Julie N. Ford. The ebook will be free on Amazon, but only until tomorrow. So be sure to act now! You can also purchase the paperback through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Stay tuned after the blurb for more information on Julie N. Ford and where you can find her.

When Marlie agrees to attend a cadaver ball at Vanderbilt Medical School, she did not expect to actually see any cadavers. Or, that a strange apparition would issue her a chilling message.

Despite the cadaver's warning, Marlie is married a year later to Tennessee State Senator, Daniel Cannon, and living in a plantation-style mansion with two step-sons. Add to the mix her growing suspicion that something is amiss with the death of Daniel’s first wife, Gentry, and newlywed Marlie is definitely in over her pretty Yankee head.

What begins as an innocent inquiry into her new husband’s clouded past ends with Marlie in the midst of a dangerous conspiracy.

A modern twist on the classic Gothic romance novels of Rebecca and Jane Eyre, Replacing Gentry follows Marlie’s precarious journey as she learns the truth about the man she married.

Julie N. Ford graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in Political Science and a minor in English Literature. In addition, she has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama. Professionally, she has worked in teaching and as a Marriage & Family Counselor. In addition to Replacing Gentry, she is the author of two women’s fiction novels, The Woman He Married and No Holly for Christmas, published in 2011. She also wrote a romance/chick-lit novel, Count Down to Love, published in 2011. Count Down to Love was a 2011 Whitney Award finalist.

Currently, she lives in Nashville, TN with her husband, two daughters and one baby hedgehog. For more information or see what Julie is working on now, you can visit her at JulieNFord.com.

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