Friday, September 6, 2013
Spotlight On Revealing Us: Inside Out Series Book Three by Lisa Renee Jones
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Monday, September 2, 2013
Interview and Giveaway with Christine Amsden
Please Welcome Christine Amsden to Creatively Green Today!
Christine, Tell us a little about your latest or upcoming
release.
Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of
powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all
she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private
investigator in the shadow of her family’s reputation isn’t easy. When she is
pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome
sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs.
At least, that's the book blurb. From the heart –
this is about a young woman who is clever, brave, and compassionate. She's not
the traditional fantasy heroine because she's not the “chosen one” or the most
powerful one. Just the opposite in fact. She's everyman, but through her we see
that there isn't just one way to be a hero. Cassie herself will also have to
learn this over the course of the series (4 books). Her journey of self-acceptance
only just begins in this first book, but it is one of the most important
aspects of the overall story to me.
Are you a mom ?
Yes! I have two beautiful children, 5 and 7.
If yes do you find it hard to juggle writing and
parenting?
Yes! In fact, this is the first year that both of my
kids will be in school all day and I'm torn between missing them and being so
excited at how much more time I'll be able to spend writing! This summer I
spent months chipping away at a rough draft in between interruptions. School
started and within two days I had it done. Lesson for future me: Just take the
summer off. :)
Have you ever based your book or characters on
actual events or people from your own life?
Not really, no. Of course everything I write is
influenced by things I've seen, heard, and read. But I have never intentionally
modeled an entire character after anyone, even if I might have borrowed a trait
here, a name there.
Is there a theme or message in your work that you
would like readers to connect to?
Readers are welcome to simply enjoy if they like,
but yes, I've got a few themes/messages sprinkled throughout the esries.
Self-acceptance is probably the biggest. Cassie struggles with her lack of
magic in a magical world, but she has other talents if she can just learn to
embrace who she is instead of who she thinks she should be.
What would your readers be surprised to learn about
you?
I'm legally blind. I'm drafting this interview
response in 36-point font. (Don't worry, I'll reduce it before I mail it in!)
When you’re not writing what do you do? Do you have
any hobbies or guilty pleasures?
I love to play games – board, card, role-playing,
whatever! I'm also a chocolate snob. I'm trying to teach my children the
difference between real chocolate and, say, Hershey's, but they still seem
about as excited to get a chocolate kiss as a Lindt truffle.
Which romance book or series (or other genre, if you
don’t write romance) do you wish you had written?
The Time Traveler's Wife.
Honestly, what a wonderful idea! But I really didn't care for the book. There
aren't many books I feel this way about, but in that one case I wish I could
write my own version. Maybe in twenty years or so, when the book isn't fresh in
people's minds anymore? We'll see.
Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who is
your favorite and why?
Cassie. She was vivid from the start and was one of
those characters who demanded her story be written. I couldn't say no to her
even if I had wanted to. She's strong, vulnerable, sassy, compassionate, and
just so very real.
If this book is part of a series…what is the next
book? Any details you can share?
Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2) will be available
November 15, 2013 – not too far away! It starts off right where the first book
ends, with Cassie in serious debt to Evan Blackwood and having problems with
her family. I'm excited for the upcoming release of book two. I think the
direction I took it may surprise some readers. Hopefully in a good way!
What is next for you? Do you have any scheduled
upcoming releases or works in progress?
Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot #2) will be out in
November. Check out my website for more information on that one. Mind Games
(Cassie Scot #3) and Dreamer (Cassie Scot #4) are under contract and scheduled
for release in 2014. After that... a couple of characters demanded spin-offs so
I'm working on those right now!
Thanks for having me here today.
Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective
Cassie Scot Book One
Christine Amsden
Genre: Urban Fantasy (paranormal, mystery, romance, new adult)
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Date of Publication: May 15, 2013
ISBN: 9781606197
ASIN:B00C7VR69I
Number of pages: 260
Word Count: 85,000
Cover Artist: Ural Akyutz
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/UPWGTW5OHG4
Book Description:
Short Version:
Award-winning author Christine Amsden has written stories since she was eight, always with a touch of the strange or unusual. She became a “serious” writer in 2003, after attending a boot camp with Orson Scott Card. She finished Touch of Fate shortly afterward, then penned The Immortality Virus, which won two awards.
Long Version:
Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams. (You can learn more here.)
In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors. She also does some freelance editing work.
Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children, Drake and Celeste.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristineAmsden
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Kindle Free Book Blitz: Stonewiser Series by Dora Machado
For the first time ever, Dora Machado's entire Stonewiser series is available in a free Kindle Giveaway, including the complete award-winning trilogy, Stonewiser: the Heart of the Stone, Stonewiser: The Call of the Stone and Stonewiser: The Lament of the Stone.
Read the series from cover to cover.
Download the three books for Free for five days only.
The blitz starts on August 22
The Kindle FREE giveaway begins on
Thursday Aug 29th and ends on Monday Sept 2.
Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone
Book 1
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy,
Romantic Fantasy,
Fantasy Romance, Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Mermaid Press
ISBN: 978-0979968204
ASIN: B001F7ATEO
Book Description:
Winner of the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Award for best Debut Novel
Finalist for 2009 Foreword Book of the Year Award for SFF
Between truth and deception, between justice and abuse, a stonewiser stands alone with the stones. Or so begins the stonewiser's oath. But what happens when a rebellious stonewiser discovers that lies have tainted the stone tales?
In a world devastated by the rot's widespread destruction, only the tales preserved in the stones can uphold the truth and defend the Goodlands. In this world, stone truth is valued above anyone's word, and stonewisers are the only ones capable of retrieving the tales from the stones, the only link between past and present, order and chaos.
Sariah is the most gifted stonewiser of her generation, but her talent does not atone for her shortcomings. A survivor of the Guild's brutal training, she is curious, willful and disobedient. Yet not even Sariah is prepared for what she finds when she steals into the Guild's Sacred Vaults: A mayhem of lies and intrigues that shatters her world.
Hunted, persecuted, and betrayed, Sariah must make an unlikely alliance with Kael, a cynical rebel leader pledged to a mysterious quest of his own. The fate of their dying world depends on their courage to overcome centuries of hatred and distrust. But not even the grueling journey has prepared them for what they are about to discover. Because nothing is really as it seems, and the truth is more intricate and devastating than they ever suspected....
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Stonewiser: The Call of the Stone
Book 2
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy,
Fantasy Romance, Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Mermaid Press
ISBN: 978-0979968228
ASIN: B0047DWZTU
Book Description:
Winner of the 2010 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Gold Medal for SF/F
Finalist for the 2010 ForeWord Book of the Year Award for SF/F
Sariah's reward for revealing the stone truth: a death sentence.
The executioners have arrived and Sariah, the most powerful and controversial stonewiser of her generation, has been judged and condemned to death. For the last few months, Sariah has been hiding in the Rotten Domain, trying to find the elusive tale capable of uniting a divided people teetering on the brink of a catastrophic war. As she is dragged to the nets, where an eel rave has been stirred to maximize her execution's gruesome spectacle, Sariah knows she cannot escape her sentence. She is guilty of the crimes for which she's been condemned and no one, not even Kael, the Domain's foremost rebel leader, can save her from the executioners' righteous justice.
But Kael is more than just a formidable warrior; he is also a cunning strategist and Sariah's steadfast lover. Risking all he has, he bargains with the greedy executioners, bribing them into delaying Sariah's execution, buying her precious time and a last chance to realize the mysterious legacy that the stones have imposed on her. The agreement is hardly a reprieve. It encourages a mob to hunt Sariah for ransom, banishing her from the Rotten Domain and imposing heavy fines on anyone who tries to help her. Worse, it requires her to wear an irremovable, mysterious bracelet. If she doesn't return to the executioners with the tale in hand when the allotted time expires, Kael and his kin will be ruined and the bracelet will kill her.
Hunted by the executioners, the Guild and the Shield, Sariah and Kael embark on a desperate search. Their journey will take them to the depths of the Rotten Domain, where Sariah must wise a guiding beam out of the wild tale stored in a stone-carved game. The beam will lead them through the warring Goodlands—where the rot is on the move—to the land beyond the Bastions, where a zealous people guard an ancient stone that could hold the key to their search. Along the way, Sariah and Kael must overcome deadly traps, torture, heartbreak, agonizing defeat and devastating losses in a desperate attempt to avoid war and answer the mysterious call of the stone.
Stonewiser: The Lament of the Stone
Book 3
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy,
Fantasy Romance, Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Mermaid Press
ISBN: 978-0979968235
ASIN: B0051H6SUI
Book Description:
"Do you know why the stones grieve?" the woman said to Kael. "Not for a soul, I'll tell you that much. The stones don't grieve for the passing of a lowly woman or the madness of a smitten man. They don't mourn death, or lost love, or broken dreams, or loneliness or despair. Yet you will make them wail. For you, the stones will weep."
In their most perilous adventure yet, Sariah, the rogue stonewiser who stunned the world by discovering lies in the stones and defying the all-powerful Guild, and Kael, the rebel leader who against all odds loves her, must find a stolen child, the only one capable of setting rule upon chaos, preserving the future of stonewising, and defeating the rot ravaging the land. The stakes couldn't be higher. The coveted child they seek is said to be an abomination. He is also their son.
It's a daunting challenge. Their child is in the hands of a deceitful enemy who has fled to a mysterious ruler, a rival deity with unfathomable powers pledged to destroy the goddess and eradicate stonewising from the world. Worse yet, the land is engulfed in strife, the rot is spreading faster than ever, and Kael is haunted by a malevolent curse compelling him to kill the woman he loves.
In a dangerous journey fraught with shocking twists, Sariah and Kael must do more than defeat their foes, unravel the mystifying forces vying to control their lives, and discover the mysteries of ages past. They must challenge the stones, defy the goddess and confront their cursed fates. Because only by embracing their destinies do they stand a chance to save their child and their world.
About the Author:
Dora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser series and her newest novel, The Curse Giver, from Twilight Times Books, available July 2013. She is one of the few Latinas exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. She holds a master's degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a love for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazing readers who share in her mind's adventures. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.
To learn more about Dora Machado and her novels, visit her website at www.doramachado.com
Subscribe to her blog at http://www.doramachado.com/blog/ , sign up for her newsletter at http://doramachado.com/newsletter.php and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
About Dora Machado's Novels:
Dora Machado is the award winning author of the Stonewiser trilogy and her newest novel, The Curse Giver. She is one of the few Latinas exploring her heritage and her world through the epic fantasy genre today. Her first novel, Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone, won the 2009 Benjamin Franklin award for best debut novel. Her second novel, Stonewiser: The Call of the Stone, won the 2010 Independent Publishers Book Award's (IPPY) Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy book of the year. Her third novel, Stonewiser: The Lament of the Stone, won the 2012 Independent Publishers Book Award's (IPPY) Silver Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy book of the year. All three novels were finalists in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Category. Her latest novel, The Curse Giver from Twilight Times Books is available July 2013.
Website: http://www.doramachado.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoraMachado101
Twitter: @DoraMachado or https://twitter.com/DoraMachado
Amazon Author Central: amazon.com/author/doramachado
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