Crossroads Blog Tour: Amanda Ashby

Meet us at the CROSSROADS...

From small to big-gun presses, debut novels to bestsellers, we’re offering unprecedented (and free!) access to amazing YA authors. This October, thirteen paranormal writers will embark on an exciting blog tour that will hook readers up with great reads and cool SWAG. Today we're featuring the witty author from down under, Amanda Ashby.

You're a superhero fighting for truth, justice and the creative way. What writing "villains" would you banish with your mighty pen? (and what will your costume look like?)

My costume would be very snazzy, though it would also be comfortable and allow me to stretch without fear of ripping anything, so I’m thinking some cute hot pink skinny jeans (which I might already own) along with some green Converse (again, which I might already own). I would team it up with a top that covered all the necessary lumps and bumps. As for what writing villains that I would banish, it would have to be the ‘But’ Monster. This beast is the one who is always making excuses:

I would write some more words today, but…

I would like to try my hand at doing a ninja alien book, but….

I would stop eating chocolate today, but…

Actually, with the last one I really must deal with that or I won’t be able to fit into those skinny jeans anymore!

You're quite the world traveller! How have these experiences influenced your writing?

Probably the biggest thing that I’ve learnt from my travels is that while the scenery, language and customs might change from place to place, people are predominantly the same in that they still worry about getting their washing dried and paying their bills. I think this really helps me as a writer because I try and look for universal truths that a character might be feeling, rather than something that only relates to their specific culture. And actually, the book I am working on now is set in London, which is the first time I’ve actually written a book in a setting that I’m familiar with!

We agree - Joss Whedon IS a genius! What writing tips can new - or seasoned - writers learn from his genius?

Yay for team Joss! For me the thing that he teaches better than anyone else is emotion! He always looks for the true emotion that a character is feeling and then he explores it as fully as he can. And while we know he can do great action scenes (hello Avengers) he always looks for the heart of a character. Plus, he is funny as anything!

You're deserted on an island with ONLY bananas. You certainly won't eat them (you hate them) - how will you use them for survival?

Okay, this is a very evil question and if you run into a superhero dressed in cute pink skinny jeans and green sneakers, then you really only have yourselves to blame!!!! Thankfully, I am a complicated woman and while I do in fact hate and detest anything to do with raw bananas I do like them in muffins and cakes so, being the genius that I am, I would somehow figure out a way to make banana and coconut muffins and then lie in the shade and read. I can have some books, right?

Isn't she wicked cool?! Want to learn more...and get the scoop on when she'll be revealing the cover to her 2013 Puffin paranormal title, DEMONOSITY? Then follow Amanda on Twitter and check in on her website.

Crossroads Blog Tour: Joy Preble & Leanna Renee Hieber

Meet us at the CROSSROADS...

From small to big-gun presses, debut novels to bestsellers, we’re offering unprecedented (and free!) access to amazing YA authors. This October, thirteen paranormal writers will embark on an exciting blog tour that will hook readers up with great reads and cool SWAG. Today we're featuring Joy Preble and Leanna Renee Hieber.

JOY PREBLE is a powerhouse of paranormal fiction, with four books under her literary belt all within a few short years. From Russian mythology to reluctant angels, a Preble tale is one you want to read.

    Describe Anastasia Forever in a 140-character tweet.

Secrets within secrets. Truth within lies.Will Anne and Ethan end up together? History never tells you everything. And magic has a price.

You've been granted your 15 minutes of fame. How will you spend it?

Truth: I’d probably end up wasting it agonizing over how I should spend it. I am such a dork.

Wild rumpus's, huh? What's your wildest rumpus to date?

Salsa dancing in a club above a restaurant when I was in LA for the SCBWI conference. My agent, Jen Rofe, is this amazing salsa dancer. So she took a few of us with her after the Saturday night party. That’s all I’m saying.

What's next for Anastasia - or if book 3 is the last, what can your readers look forward to next?

Book 3 is probably it for the ANASTASIA series. I think the story has come to its proper and sufficient conclusion, although as one reviewer did say, there is a door left open. But I don’t see me walking through it. Right now I’m focused on next year’s paranormal mystery, THE SWEET DEAD LIFE, which comes out in May 2013 from Soho Press. It’s set here in Texas and its funny and bittersweet and a little scary and I adored writing it.

Thanks for joining us again this year, Joy! Want more? Of course you do, follow Joy on Twitter and her blog.

Leanna Renne Hieber offers spellbinding paranormal / historical / just plain cool stories you WON'T want to miss!

Strangely beautiful fiction - love this! What does it mean to you and how does it apply to your writing? 

My greatest strength as a writer is merging the beautiful with the strange or terrifying. I write Gothic novels, so beauty and terror are always entwined. My first saga of books I published is the Strangely Beautiful saga, which will be re-issued in 2014, with crossover characters appearing in my other sagas.

It's the month of ghosts and ghouls. What monster would you like to dance with at The Bash?

Oh, Lestat, please. Nothing better than the old-school vampires, frightening and powerful as they are meant to be.

How does playwriting differ from fiction? Do you prefer one style over another?

Playwriting is so much more concise, and it isn’t my preferred medium. Because I started my professional career as an actress, my connections to publish plays were easier to navigate than publishing fiction, but I’ve been writing novels since I was around 11, so it’s second nature to me. I like the more expansive world that I can create verbally in a novel than the constraints of the theatre. Although I am currently adapting my first novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, into a musical, with Broadway talent on board on the production team, and so that’s a fascinating fusion of my fiction and playwrighting skills. More at http://strangelybeautifulthemusical.com

Who is the protagonist in The Eterna Files? Tell us 5 quirky, need-to-know things about him/her.

I have four main protagonists, the tale is a parallel narrative between them, two in England, two in America, set in 1882. Harold Spire is a gifted English policeman assigned to head a paranormal secret branch that he’s utterly skeptical about, his right hand woman Rose Everhart is a gifted clerk, researcher and intuitive analyst and the operation would fall apart without her. 

In New York Leigh Templeton created the idea of the “Eterna” compound, a substance that could prolong life to make sure political leaders would stay in office after the assassination of President Lincoln, she’s an incredibly gifted woman with a sense of her past lives and psychic gifts, her partner Franklin Fordham is a gentle giant of a man with the ability to touch objects and see their past. 

These two London and New York offices become embroiled in a paranormal arms race for immortality, and the quirky characters that surround them all might drive them all mad as they try to find the cure for death.

Wonderful to have you with us, Leanna! Want more? Of course you do. Follow Leanna on Twitter and her blog.

Crossroads Blog Tour: Kiki Hamilton

Meet us at the CROSSROADS...

From small to big-gun presses, debut novels to bestsellers, we’re offering unprecedented (and free!) access to amazing YA authors. This October, thirteen paranormal writers will embark on an exciting blog tour that will hook readers up with great reads and cool SWAG. Today we're featuring Kiki Hamilton.

     What's the best part about being an author? 

      Honestly, it’s the wonderful notes I get from readers who are excited about reading or loved my book.  People are so kind!!

      What's your favourite book and what is the book on your night table right now? 

     The Harry Potter series is by far, my favorite book(s).  I’m reading an ARC of THE BOOKSELLER right now, which is an adult novel by Mark Pryor, that I really like.

   

     You often write about locations you've never travelled to. How much research do you do, and is there a thing as TOO much research? How do you know when to cap it?  

      I enjoy the research and it’s astonishing sometimes how facts I discover researching tie in with parts of my stories I’ve already written. Weird, kind of. But sometimes, it is really hard work too. My editor on TFR insisted that all the historical aspects be accurate and sometimes it would take me 2 hours to write a paragraph!

     Without giving spoilers, what can readers expect from The Torn Wing? 

    It’s the next chapter of Tiki and Rieker’s lives as they get to know each other better and learn about their own pasts and that of the world of the fey.

    Want to know more? Check out the first book in the series, The Faery Ring's booktrailer, then head on over to Kiki's website or follow her on Twitter.

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY: COMMENT ON TODAY'S POST to be entered for a CROSSROADS tour SWAG pack to DIE for!

Crossroads Blog Tour: Stacey Kade

Meet us at the CROSSROADS...

From small to big-gun presses, debut novels to bestsellers, we’re offering unprecedented (and free!) access to amazing YA authors. This October, thirteen paranormal writers will embark on an exciting blog tour that will hook readers up with great reads and cool SWAG. Today we're featuring Stacey Kade.

In the first book of your Project Paper Doll series, your protagonist has 5 simple rules. As a teen, which would have been the first one YOU broke?

Hmm. That’s an interesting question. The funny thing is that they all sort of lead to each other. I think I would have had the most trouble with #4, keeping my head down. I wanted to be noticed, acknowledged, desperately at that age. I mean, don’t we all want that, even now? Someone to say, hey, I see you. J

Music obviously has a role in your creative process. How much time is spent creating your playlist, and how do you know when a song is right for it?

I tend to create my playlists on the fly. Usually, I start while I’m still working on notes for the book. If I’m listening to Pandora or watching a movie trailer and hear a song that speaks to me, I track it down and buy it. J And I know a song is right for it when it triggers an emotion that I know will be important for a particular scene or character.

From corporate copywriter to fiction writer - what sparked the transition, and how difficult/easy was the change?

I did both at the same time for a very LONG time. And I probably still would be doing both, but the corporate job I had changed and they wanted someone full time. Which I couldn’t do and keep up with my writing obligations. So, I didn’t exactly jump into full-time writing so much as I was nudged. But that was a good thing. Writing books was my dream. I was just a little too scared to go for it without that push.

And it’s been wonderful. Terrifying and amazing at the same time. J Doing something you love for a living is rare and truly a blessing, but when you care so much about something, it also ups the stakes considerably.

You're suddenly no longer able to write...now what?

Um, curl up in the fetal position in the corner and whimper? Seriously, I have no other marketable skills. J I don’t know, actually. I think I’d always be searching for a way to tell a story. It’s a part of me.

Thanks for joining us on the tour, Stacey! Check out the rest of Stacey's wicked titles on her website and follow her on Twitter.

Crossroads Blog Tour: Jackie Morse Kessler

Meet us at the CROSSROADS...

From small to big-gun presses, debut novels to bestsellers, we’re offering unprecedented (and free!) access to amazing YA authors. This October, thirteen paranormal writers will embark on an exciting blog tour that will hook readers up with great reads and cool SWAG. Today we're featuring Jackie Morse Kessler.

Her current series is a new spin on the four riders of the apocalypse. With the third book, Loss, featuring..."Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard, the most bullied kid in school, is tricked into becoming the new Pestilence."

Your books have gorgeous covers! Though you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, how much does it factor into your book buying habits?

Thank you! A good cover tends to make me pick up a book, at least enough to read the back cover copy, maybe even skim the opening pages. I don’t buy a book because of its cover, but it can be a first step. J

If we gave you an elephant, where would you hide it?

Why would I want to hide it? I would flaunt my elephant proudly!

Name one book and one movie that have influenced your writing.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson; Memento (directed by Christopher Nolan).

Mmmm...chocolate. We love it, too. What's the one chocolate bar you'd hate to see taken out of production?

One? ONE? CHOCOLATE SHOULD BE ITS OWN FOOD GROUP!!! In particular, I’m a food for Australian Tim Tams. (And I totally blame Keri Arthur for it!)

You'll want to get your claws on Jackie's titles. But don't take our word for it: 

An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

"Realistic and compassionate."
—School Library Journal, starred review

"HUNGER is not just a good book. It is a  great book. It is funny and sad, brilliant and tragic, and most of all, it  speaks truth. I adore  it."
—Rachel Caine, author of The Morganville Vampires

"Fast-paced,  witty, and heart-breaking! Jackie Morse Kessler is one of the most  talented authors I know."

—Richelle Mead, author of Vampire Academy

Check out Jackie's website and follow her on Twitter.