First of Her Kind Release Date!

Today is a very special day for a near and dear writing friend of mine. Some of you may recognize the name KL Schwengel from the Fellowship of Fantasy Writers over at There and Draft Again (seriously, check us out!) or just from the writing community in general. Today is the release date of her debut novel, First of Her Kind, and I am so excited to share it with you guys!

KL is self-publishing and has made quite a few very informative posts over on her blog about the subject. I can't wait to interview her on the 15th so we can learn more about her and what this process has meant to her. You can find First of Her Kind on Amazon for Kindle and print, Barnes & Noble (print), and Smashwords (ebook). If you need me, I will be trying to master that clone recipe I got so I can find the time to read this book. Or trying to get the flu. Something that gets me a guilt-free vacation because I really don't think I can wait until Spring Break for this one!

Everyone, it seems, wants to dictate what Ciara does with her life: Serve the Goddess, destroy the Goddess, do as you promised your aunt. All Ciara wants is to keep the two magics she possesses from ripping her apart.

And that won't be easy.

Not only are they in complete opposition to each other, blood ties pull her in divergent directions as well. And then there's Bolin, the man sworn to protect her. There's no denying the growing attraction between them, but is it Ciara he wants? Or her power?

None of which will matter if Ciara can't overcome her fear and learn to use her gifts. No one knows the depths of the ancient power she possesses, or what will happen if it manages to escape her control.

Will she lose herself entirely? Or be forever trapped between darkness and light?

Tag! The Next Big Thing!

GUTGAA has been so amazing and it is only the second week! Why is it so amazing? Because I've met some awesome people and think I finally get Twitter. That being said, these wonderful new connections have led me to be tagged by the wonderful Jadzia (what an awesome name, right?) for The Next Big Thing! So...on with the questions!

What is the title of your book?
Heirs of War, Prophecy Ordained. Heirs of War is the series title.

Where did the idea come from?
Wowzers...it was almost ten years ago when this idea first came into fruition in my writerly head. I wanted to create a story about the spiritual relationship I shared with some of my family members as we all began to explore Paganism as a religion. It's more about the spiritual bond we all seemed to share at that exact moment in our lives--we were all so in sync that we seemed to represent each side of the pentacle (Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit). Then I came up with the prophecy and it all sort of blossomed from there. I put the story aside for a good five years because it just wasn't flowing right and the characters didn't feel right and then last year I picked it back up, made some massive changes, and it all came together. Like magic.

What genre does your book fall under?
I was marketing it as Young Adult, but honestly I feel like New Adult Epic Fantasy works better. Why? Because these girls are going through a serious transition in their lives from being essentially carefree teens to literally having the weight of the worlds dropped onto their shoulders. They aren't kids anymore. They are growing into adults. They have responsibilities. And they don't just rise to the occasion--that sort of maturity and growth doesn't come overnight. It is a challenge and that is the heart of the books is watching these girls as they grow into their leadership roles. Also, age comes into play. While the twins are seventeen (almost eighteen) when the story starts, the other girls are older. Rhaya is 19. Isauria is 20. Terrena is 24. And by the end of the series I think the twins will actually be around 20. Haven't mapped to book five yet, so don't quote me on that. :)

What actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
Picture time! This is actually part of my process. I "cast" the characters in my head and tweak the descriptions of the actors as needed to fit the characters better. I have a pretty big cast list (which you can view on my Pinterest account) but I am going to stick to just the people introduced in the chapters I posted on my blog.