INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAYS with CAROLINE HANSON AUTHOR OF VALERIE DEARBORN TRILOGY - SELF PUBLISHED - AWESOME URBAN FANTASY TRILOGY

I would like to welcome Caroline Hanson author of the Valerie Dearborn Trilogy to Novels On The Run. Caroline has also kindly donated 3 x TRILOGY's to GIVEAWAY . Yes, that would be the set of her Valerie Dearborn ( 3 digital books x 3 winners each receiving the whole trilogy)

Woooot!!! Thankyou Caroline.

Her Trilogy is also currently $2.99 on Amazon .Now you could be a duffah and buy them individually, but that would cost a lot more than the current set for $2.99!!! Does not include the novella # 2.5.

The lovely Jenn Green put me onto this series and WOW!! I just love it! I have my reviews for Love is Darkness #1, Love is Fear # 2, Love is the Beginning # 2.5 ( wee novella ) HERE 

The books get better and better. The plot WOW!! I have my review for Love Is Mortal # 3 coming shortly.

Caroline is an author that should be published , she really brings it to the table. 

Grab your popcorn and sit back and have a read of the Q & A and then enter the giveaway . It is INTERNATIONAL!!!

INTERVIEW

Hi Caroline, thankyou for taking the time to answer my Q & A’s , much appreciated J 

Michelle:   I am a huge Urban Fantasy fan and PNR fan and I love Patricia Briggs, J.R Ward, Karen Marie Moning and I now put you into my fave author lists. What author would you like to meet and shoot the breeze with and what topic would you choose?

Caroline:  Thank you!! That’s the big girl list! I would love to swear up a storm with J.R. Ward but the ultimate author meet for me would be Laurell K. Hamilton. Her Anita Blake series changed my reading life. I have read them over and over again. I am a huge Jean-Claude fan. (Richard blows-- unless he decides to go for a threesome with JC, then he’s alright)

IMO, she laid the groundwork for where the UF genre is now. Very deep POV’s, tortured men, kinky sex and insanely long conversations where everyone’s baggage is chucked out on the table and talked about. She’s amazing.

Michelle:  Which of your characters did you find the hardest to write and why? 

Caroline:  Now there is a question! The easiest characters to write are Rachel, Jack and Valerie. I also adore writing Marion because that bitch cracks me up! The hardest to write would be Lucas and Cerdwellyn.

I think the sex scene in Love is Fear took me four months to write. 

I spent all of this time building up Lucas to be this hot-shot in bed, to have centuries of experience, and then he was going to sleep with Valerie in a calculated way. Which meant he was going to blow her mind, and I kind of felt like I wrote myself into a corner, because how the hell would he have sex? Like, what does this guy do in bed that is so amazing?

That was also a big emotional turning point for both Lucas and Valerie, so not only was Lucas supposed to be in control, uber-hot and Casanova-like, we also had to see cracks in his façade as he became more and more emotional as the sex went on. And on. I think the sex scene went on to be about 30 pages Lol.

I must interrupt here and go oh whahhhh!! Yes that was a most hot, lengthy scene,  I can most certainly see why it took a while to get it right. It felt like a lot of work had gone into it. It was rather amazing.

Michelle:  Juicy Lucas, don’t tell him I called him that, really grew on me the more I read your series. I was at times torn between Jack and Lucas. I think of Lucas as a Jericho Barrons type character from Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. 

They both are after something, they appear to use the girl to get to what they need, but does the impossible happen and they form feelings, they are both uber smexi in the bedroom department and they both know how to play the mental game with the girl.

Caroline:  Oh yeah and who doesn’t love a man like that! At least in a book. I loved the fever series, but I did not believe that Barron’s settled down at the end. Him working a barbecue? I didn’t buy it. I think the reason people loved Edward so much was because they could imagine waking up next to him two years down the road, when the sex had lost some of its shiny newness. This is a spoiler for the third book-- but I wanted my fans to believe that Lucas was the guy who would go the distance. To a certain extent, that bastard really hijacked my book.

Valerie was supposed to wind up with Jack. But for some reason, as soon as I started the second book the love triangle fell apart.

Michelle:  Do you have any other works, new series in the pipeline that you can tell us about?

Caroline:  Oh yes! I’m hoping to finish up the first book in a time travel series soon. It’s called A Lady Out of Time. Our heroine is a tough girl, born to be a soldier and she gets sent back to Victorian England and has to blackmail a handsome yet stuffy Duke who has no idea what to make of her and her modern sensibilities.

Like the Dearborn series, I think it’s a rebellion against the same tropes I had read over and over again. I love Regency romance, but am so sick of the sheltered virgin who has an orgasm the first time out. I want my heroine to be relatable and I think that is something that genre is missing.

Michelle:  Where were you and what were you doing when Valerie Dearborn idea came to you?

Caroline:  I’m a huge urban fantasy and paranormal fan, and I felt like I had read just about everything and seen the same darn things over and over again and they were really pissing me off.

I did not want to write another ‘tough girl’ book, where the heroine wakes up and shadow boxes. I was a huge Sookie fan because I wanted to lay out with her in her backyard and get a tan, maybe even go on a trip to Walmart with her.

So I tried to recreate that but from what I know—California and England. Valerie is an ‘every’ girl. She’s not the hottest or smartest chick around. She’s not making the best decisions or running 10 miles on the weekend, she’s just trying to escape her family and have a normal life.

Michelle:  I loved that Australia got a mention in this series. You are an American who lived in London, met the hubby to be and landed back on American soil. Valerie herself lands in London looking for some freedom from what her family wants her to do. Did you draw on any of your own experiences of living in London in your books?

Caroline:  Ummm, maybe. Lol. Yes, I went to college in London and Valerie’s dorm in Hampstead was my dorm. Café Rouge and the cemetery that Val passes were all places that I walked by every day. I went back to England in May and spent the day walking around Hampstead and it was very surreal to have my memories replaced with these characters.

Michelle:  What songs describes best, Lucas , Jack and Val each.

Caroline:  Oh, there are so many to choose from. I am a huge Florence and the Machine fan. I went through a phase where I could not listen to her unless I was sitting at my computer because I would instantly be back in Val’s world. In terms of Love is Darkness, Val and Lucas’ song was Rabbit Heart.

For Love is Mortal, the moment I heard Seven Devils I thought it summed up Valerie’s current situation. She had seven devils all around her and she’d be dead before the day was done.

I love this song!!

Powerful.

Whenever I hear the song Four to the Floor by Starsailor I think of Jack. There is a sort of desperate determination to it that Jack’s character embodies.

Michelle:  If Valerie Dearborn was made into a movie, could you cast your ideal, Val, Lucas , Jack and the manic Marion for us?

Caroline:  Oh I can! But I don’t know if it’s a good idea since my actors may not match everyone else’s.

The hardest person to cast, for me, is Valerie. Yeah, that’s all I got.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

The easiest one for me to cast is Lucas. In my mind, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who play’s Jamie Lannister on Game of Thrones has been Lucas since book 2. I play a lot of tennis, and at first when I was writing Love is Darkness I had a crush on Robin Soderling. And he encapsulated some of the nordicness that I like.

Cerdwellyn is Roger Federer. Which most people seem confused by. For me, Roger is graceful. And he is totally self-contained. He can be winning or losing and you will never know how he is feeling. He just doesn’t let it show on his face. And I love that. You count him out, think he’s gonna lose, and then he comes back.

As for Marion, I would kind of like Florence Welch to play her.

Jack is hard. Every now and again I see a picture of Ryan Kwanten and I think—that’s him! But he’s tough.


Michelle: 10 words that describe Caroline Hanson the author. 

Caroline:  Happy, miserable, indecisive, decisive, stressed out, relaxed. That’s all I got, but I think you get the picture. Every writing day is a series of highs and lows. It’s a peculiar profession because it’s so isolated and yet the people in my head won’t shut up.

Michelle:  Have you ever people watched, sitting somewhere and that person became one of your characters?

Caroline:  No, I can’t say that I have. I guess Roger Federer as Cer is as close as it gets. But having him as the inspiration for the character actually bit me in the ass. Cerdwellyn is still an enigma to me (much like Roger Federer) and I wish he wasn’t. Usually, I see an actor later and think ‘oh that’s totally them!’ but I don’t people watch.

Michelle:  Is there a quote that describes your philosophy on life? 

Caroline: 

 Fate is a future one didn’t try hard enough to change. 

I love that. That we don’t have to be hostage to our past, we just have to keep fighting the good fight. Like right now, I’m fighting to put down a candy bar.

Michelle:  Would Caroline rather be a vampire or an empath, and why? 

Caroline:  Tricky. Probably a vampire since they seem to have more fun. The appeal of the empath, at least for my mythology, is that they can make a vampire emotional. The idea of someone very in control and losing it is sexy. That’s what 50 shades is all about, and what makes being an empath interesting. It’s fair to say that Lucas is afraid of empaths and the feelings she would evoke if he drank her blood and I think that’s a nice contradiction, that she is physically weak but could take him down.

Michelle:  Have you a media tip for the up and coming author?

Caroline:  I’m a terrible person to ask! I do very little marketing, because it makes me crazy. I suppose the best thing I could say is spend a lot of money on your cover. It’s worth it. The reader will only take you as seriously as you take yourself.

Your covers are designed by Phatpuppy and they are gorgeous.


Thankyou Caroline for answering my Q’s , I look forward to more of your works in the future J

Michelle


GIVEAWAY TIME

INTERNATIONAL

If you are an UF fan
I highly recommend this trilogy

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR # 59 - INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY with DELIVER ME FROM TEMPTATION AUTHOR - TES HILAIRE - SOURCE BOOKS CASABLANCA

Today on Novels On The Run I have a Q & A with Deliver Me From Temptation author , Tes Hilaire AND a GIVEAWAY for US/CANADA only. 

Michelle:  Hi Tes, I am Michelle from Australian book blog Novels On The Run, nice to meet you in cyber space. 

Tes: Thank you for having me, Michelle! It’s so great to visit you down under. (No, really, can I visit? I always wanted to go to Australia!)

Sure, come on over..err...under...:)

Michelle: What 10 words describe Tes Hilaire the author?

Tes: A humble recluse? Not going to let me get away with that? Hmmm… A dreamer with determination. A storyteller with a license to write. And last but not least a horrible speller with spell check.

Michelle:  I really loved Deliver Me from Temptation, thank you to Sourcebooks for the review copy! I have a thing for Valin. There is something about him. He is like this ‘teaser’ character. I want to know more about him. We get glimpses of something other than snark showing through and I am not talking his nuddy ways. I can assume we will get a book for Valin as he is showing us that he cares for ‘Red.’ Will he get a book and what book number do you think that will be?

Tes: YES! Valin is the protagonist in the next book. I positively loved writing his story, even if I did lose a bunch of hair (pulling on it, you know. These Paladin can be real stubborn at times.)

*Claps hands*

Michelle: I want to ask Valin: What 10 words he would use to describe Logan?

Tes: Oh, he doesn’t need ten words, just three: conceited, stuffy daddy’s-boy.

Michelle:  I would love to ask Logan: What 10 words he would use to describe Valin?

Tes: And this takes even less: A$. No, not really. Logan is much more tactful than that. Probably he’d say something along the lines of: “Though unconventional, Valin’s an invaluable member of the Paladin Order.”

Hehe.

Michelle:  Alexander, love him too! Will Alex get a book? 

Tes: You probably aren’t going to be satisfied with this, but I haven’t decided yet if Alex will get his own book or if his story will be worked into other novels with maybe a shorter novella of his own. Either way, I have a few other characters that are in more immediate need of torture (rubs hands together).

I'm all ears....

Michelle: What song do you think best describes Valin as the reader currently sees his character?

Tes: Another hard question… I tend to listen to playlists over a particular song, but one song that kept on playing when I was writing his story was Wrong by Depeche Mode. It just kind of sums up his feelings of never quite fitting in with his brethren.

Michelle:  Do you have a working title for book 3 and are you able to give us a sneak peek or information about it?

Tes: Book three is titled Prince of Shadows and will be available November 2013 :-) Keeping in mind that this has not gone through the editing process yet… Here is a little tiny, itsy-bitsy sneak peak. It’s the first scene where Valin and Gabby have been reunited and he’s realizing that she’s gone through some interesting (and not all good) changes since he first met her:

“What they hell has happened to you?” Valin demanded, noticing how limp and flat her normally lustrous red hair looked in the light.

“And hello to you too. I’d say you look well but it might further inflate your ego and spin you off into the atmosphere.”

And tired. Pale and tired. And were those dark circles under her eyes? God, what had she been doing? Or maybe the better question was what hadn’t she been doing?

“Are you feeding enough?” he demanded.

She flashed her fangs, letting her eyes drift to his throat. “Every chance I get.”

“Really?” He grabbed his shirt, stretching the neckline and exposing his throat. “Then go ahead, cookie.”

Michelle:  I really liked how you chose Jessica’s character for Logan. They fit like a glove. I felt very connected and invested in the two of them, wanting that HEA. I haven’t read any Paladin Warrior type characters in Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance before your series. What were you doing and where were you when the idea for Paladin Warriors came to you?

Tes: In truth, when I wrote the first chapter or two of book one, Deliver Me from Darkness, I had no idea it was going to be a novel about Paladin warriors. I knew Logan was a warrior and that his best friend Roland had been one until he was turned into a vampire, but I didn’t know what type. And that’s when I went looking for inspiration :-) To make a long story short, I started concentrating on the crusades and ended up stumbling upon a piece of French literature called The Song of Roland. It was one of the first works that mention the Paladin. From there the creative gears began churning, more research ensued, and viola! I had my Paladin.

Michelle:  Have you ever found a character or character description by people watching?

Tes: I like watching people to gage their reactions to things more than anything else. I’m always looking for new ways to display a person’s emotions without coming right out and saying: He’s sad. One time, though, I watched a group of really hot men walk off a plane in an airport. They were all dressed like sexed up cowboys and all heads turned as they swaggered down the hall. I came up will all kinds of character/story ideas for that…but I don’t write to that heat level! LOL!

OOoooo truly! That could have looked awesome in slow mo.

Michelle:  I can’t help thinking you have a lot of fun with Alexander and Valin in your writing, I may be wrong. Which character in Paladin Warriors series do you find the easiest and which character so far have you found the hardest to write and why?

Tes: Oh I do love Alexander. Talk about strength and heart. That said, the easiest and hardest character is one and the same: Valin. He has so much personality it’s hard not to be true to him. Unfortunately, he’s also darn stubborn and refuses to do anything other than his own way.

Michelle: I am looking forward to this being a badass long series. The book covers are beautiful artwork. I have looked for book trailers. How important is a book trailer to you? When it comes to Urban fantasy and PNR for some reason, I love watching book trailers as your characters are all gorgeous and different.

Tes: First, let me give credit where credit is due. The lovely Pickyme is the amazing graphical artist for both covers and Deliver Me from Temptation‘s cover photographer was the wonderful Jenn LeBlanc. As far as book trailers… I admit that I like them, but I don’t personally go searching them out, so for me they aren’t as important as those awesome covers Sourcebooks puts out. There is also the problem with the fact that I’m a bit of a perfectionist and am drawn to the book trailers produced by top notch (and expensive) companies, which means that I either need to learn to do them myself or rethink my promotional budget!

Michelle: You are currently waving your hands over your crystal ball, (I just magically gave you one through cyber space) how many books do you see in the future for this series? I love these guys, and Mike, I think will be a fave lad for me too. Wooot!!!

Tes: As many books as my readers will let me write! Mike is definitely in my sights for torture..er..a book, hopefully sooner rather than later too ;-) I also have tentative plots for another half dozen characters and have just introduced a bunch more in book three that I think you guys will be rooting for. I guess all I can say is that I hope you all will come on this journey with me!

I am here, waiting for you to torture...errr....write more characters = books.

Michelle:  Which 4 people/characters alive or dead, would you invite to dinner and why? Go for it, they can be real people, from movies, books, politicians, whoever you want.

Tes: Marco Pierre White from Hell’s Kitchen–to cook for us; Galileo–for some interesting philosophical conversation; Amelia Earhart–because I admired her drive and determination and want to know what actually happened that fateful day; And Hugh Jackman—just to look at. :-D

Ahhhh...yes. Hugh is lovely to look at:) 

Michelle: Thank you again Tes for your time and best wishes for your writing career . 

Tes: Thank you, Michelle! I really appreciate you having me here! And if you’re ever in North Carolina, be sure to look me up;-)

Michelle: No worries. I shall bring the beef for the BBQ and a refreshment:)

MY REVIEWS

DELIVER ME FROM TEMPTATION BY TES HILIARE –

IN STORES DECEMBER 2012 

Logan Screwed Up...Big Time

When things go bump in the night, Logan bumps back. Vampires, demons, succubi—you name it, he's fought it. His job as Paladin angel warrior is to protect humans. Not fall for one.

She Never Believed in Divine Intervention...Until Now 

Detective Jessica Waters protects humans too-with her Glock and a good set of handcuffs. She doesn't believe in fate. But if anyone looks like a gift from the gods, it's Logan. And he clearly knows more about her case than he's letting on...

“Dark, sexy, and intense! Hilaire blazes a new path in paranormal romance.”
—Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author on Deliver Me From Darkness

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Daphne Award-winning author Tes Hilaire started creating whole new worlds to escape upstate New York’s harsh winters before finally fleeing to sultry North Carolina. Her stories are edgy, exciting, and bring a hint of dark fantasy to paranormal romance. And no one ever has to shovel snow. For more, visit www.teshilaire.com, like her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TesHilaireAuthor, and follow her on Twitter, @TesHilaire. Look for the other books in the Paladin Warriors Series: Deliver Me from Darkness (in stores now) and Prince of Shadows (November 2013).

BLOG TOUR STOPS

GIVEAWAY TIME

US & CANADA ENTRIES ONLY

Tes kindly donating a prize to 1 lucky Aussie
To enter - Aussie leave a comment below and state you are an AUSSIE :) 

1 x copy Deliver Me From Temptation

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INTERVIEW with EDITOR - KATE CUTHBERT - ESCAPE PUBLISHING - HARLEQUIN AUSTRALIA

Today on Novels On The Run I have an interview with the editor at Harlequin, Kate Cuthbert ,as part of the Escape Blog Tour. I have not interviewed an editor before and Kate was a lot of fun. Escape Publishing is a new digital imprint. 


Michelle:  Hi Kate, you are a Canadian living in Australia, multi tasking on a daily basis. I have heard that Canadians and Aussies are similar. What is your view on the average Aussie to the average Canadian?

Kate:  This is a really hard question, because it assumes that all Aussies and all Canadians are the same which, of course, they aren't. But speaking in very gross generalisations, I'll say that I find that Melbourne has a lot of similarities to Canada – more so than Brisbane. Brisbane has a very outdoor culture, and that was something I wasn't at all used to. What with four months out of every Canadian year enjoying temperatures in the minus 20s and lower, Canadians have developed more of an indoor culture: cafes, indoor sports, museums, movies, television, even board games.

Also, you may not have noticed, but you guys all talk funny.

Michelle:  You are the Editor at Harlequin Publishing, loving all works of romance. What 10 words describe Kate the editor?

Kate:  Oooh – possibly you should ask one of the authors I edit ;)

Okay, check this out:

Enthusiastic

Dedicated

Invested

Tells it to you straight

Oxford-comma activist

Risk-taking

Kommitted (I totally cheated there)

Axe-wielding (one of the launch authors is still complaining about how much I cut out of her manuscript)

Thoughtful

Even-tempered

Michelle:  The title Editor, what is one of the misconstrued myths about editors?

Kate:  That we're in it to change your manuscript and vision for your story.

Michelle:  What is an average working day for an editor?

Kate:  Heh. You need to link to this site: http://lifenpublishing.tumblr.com. It's all so very, very true! :)

Generally I start my day checking emails. I get a fair few come through from our signed authors, potential authors, marketing, IT, bloggers – any number of people. If I don't stay on top of my email, I tend to get buried in it.

At the moment I'm on the biggest blog tour ever, so I will spend probably an hour or two a day putting together upcoming blogs. I'm also editing – there are two authors on our list that I work with personally, so I have responsibilities there.

When it's getting closer to lunch, and my brain is fried a bit, I'll answer submission enquiries and read through a few submissions. We offer a very fast turnaround time of only two weeks, so I spend a great deal of time reading. This afternoon, for example, is blocked out entirely for reading submissions.

The afternoon/evening is normally when I send out acceptances or rejections (there's no reason for that – it just sort of works out that way).

And throughout the day I'm on Twitter and Facebook, and also our author forums, sharing news or ideas or even what I'm reading so readers have an idea of what they can expect from Escape.

Then, at night, I'll take a full submission to bed with me!

Michelle:   Escape Publishing is a digital imprint of Harlequin, could you please give my followers a rundown of what this means and for those who don’t understand what an imprint is?

Kate:  I think most everyone knows what an imprint is, even if they don't know what they're called. In Harlequin terms, for example, Mills&Boon is an imprint. Or Mira. It's a way of categorising the books into what readers can expect. Mills&Boon are category-length romance with a narrower focus. Mira are single-title length novels with a broader scope.

Escape is digital-first, which means our books are released only as e-books, and we have a very broad scope, with a strong focus on Australian voices and stories.

Michelle:  What song do you think describes Kate Cuthbert? I ask authors this question for their lead characters or a relationship between two characters. I have done enough nosing about with previous interviews you have done to pick up on you having a very energetic personality.

Kate:  Hee. I love Dixie Chicks' Long Way Around. It embodies the zig-zag path that my life (and career!) have taken, and it's a fantastic sing-along-in-the-car-at-the-top-of-your-lungs song, which is crucial.

Love this!! I've been sitting here bopping to it.

Michelle:  Your personal ‘humma, humma’ guy who is fictional, what do you look for?

Kate:  You know, I love beta heroes. The bookish ones with a great sense of humour and a taste for the absurd. The observers. The best friends. Think Mr Knightley from Emma. That guy. Or Richard Castle. If he has a six-pack, well that's just the added bonus, right?

Michelle:  Have you got a book boyfriend, if so *whispers*, you can tell me I won’t tell anyone. I have a few...lol!

CLICK

Kate:  Well if it's just between you and I, my favourite hero ever is Gideon from Anne Gracie's The Perfect Rake, but if he throws me over, I'm happy to take on Colin from Julia Quinn's Romancing Mr Bridgerton or Rupert from Loretta Chase's Mr Impossible.

Michelle: What is one very memorable book signing you have been to? It can be any author not just Harlequin. What made it memorable?

Kate: I can't believe I'm about to tell you this. This ranks up with my most embarrassing moments ever. But it's also the most memorable signing ever.

I'm all ears...

Kate:  Okay, first things first: I like aerobics, hate step classes. Hate them. But one day it was the only class I could make it to, so I just put on my big girl panties and went. In the middle of the class, I slid off the step and bruised my ankle. It was a pretty impressive injury (it's actually written up in a journal somewhere), but anyways it landed me on crutches for 3 months and cemented my hatred of step classes.

About six months later, (this was in 2007) a good friend and I went across to Houston, Texas to the Romantic Times Convention. I was so excited because Charlaine Harris was going to be there. Not to sound all hipster, but I loved her before True Blood came out. I think by this time she was about five books in to her Sookie Stackhouse series, and I was desperate to meet her.

Anyways, at the conference I met Jackie Kessler (who, side note, writes fab series that starts off with Hell's Bells) and she was lovely. It had been two conference days, and I hadn't yet met Charlaine, so I was chomping at the bit. Jackie and I were walking into the lunch area – I don't know if any of you have ever been to RT, but it is huge. Like 2000 people sitting down to lunch huge. The lunch area was a ballroom, and it was packed. Anyways, I was complaining to Jackie that I hadn't yet met Charlaine. Lovely woman that she is, Jackie said, 'Oh I know her! Shall I introduce you?'

Umm, yes!!!

So off we went to meet Charlaine. Jackie told her that I'd come all the way from Australia to meet her, and Charlaine gave me a hug and signed my copy of Dead Until Dark 'to my favourite Aussie'.

I was ecstatic.

I was so ecstatic, in fact, that on the way back across that ballroom, in front of 2000 people, I did this happy little skip.

And landed on my bad ankle.

Which promptly gave way.

Spilling me directly on to Jackie Kessler, who is a very very tiny woman.

The upshot of this story is that I ended up in bed with ice on my ankle for the rest of the afternoon, and was unable to wear heels for the next three months.

But, I still have a book signed, 'to my favourite Aussie', so I call it a win.

* Air High Five*

Michelle: As a reviewer, what makes a five star read for you?

Kate: It's indefinable, really. I mean, clearly you need strong characters, an engrossing plot, emotional intensity, depth and development. But a book can have all of that and still not sparkle off the page, become real, stay with you past the last page.

And the worst part is, that sparkle isn't the same for everyone. I mean, look at Twilight or 50 Shades. Neither of those series did a thing for me, but their fans are absolutely devoted to the novels.

Michelle: Is there a quote from a book that just did it for you, it has stuck with you , meant something to you. What is that quote?

Kate: Can I give you a quote from an interview, instead? Neil Gaiman did this fantastic interview with Stephen King earlier this year. (you can see the whole thing here: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2012/04/popular-writers-stephen-king-interview.html)

These are two of my very favourite writers, so naturally I was fangirling all over the place. But something Gaiman said about King really struck me, and it's been resonating ever since:

“After that I bought everything King wrote as it came out. Some books were great, and some weren't. It was okay. I trusted him.”

This, for me, just encompasses the whole writer/reader relationship and one that I have with a few authors – sometimes they're not at the top of their game. But it's okay. I trust them. And it's a relationship unlike any other in the human experience – between a creator and an audience. I just love it.

CLICK

If you want to know what sappy, emotional quote I still get teary over, just read me Christian's speech to Maddie from Laura Kinsale's Flowers from the Storm.

MY REVIEW

Michelle: What was the last Harlequin published book you read, that really blew your mind? For me, it was Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry. It really hit a spot for me as I am a mum and what would happen to my kids if hubby and I weren’t about? I keep waiting for my 15 year old to get to 18, then I can relax, not too keen about the side effect of me aging along with him . 

MY REVIEW

Kate: I read that too! I thought it was pitch perfect. Honestly, I get very little personal reading time at all anymore. Most of the time I'm reading submissions, and there are a fair few that have blown me away: Chaos Born, by Rebekah Turner, for example, made me like urban fantasy again, and Grease Monkey Jive just killed it with her big ensemble cast. I just finished a YA submission that I haven't even accepted yet, but is a huge, emotional, so so risky page-turner that I think it's going to blow readers away.

Michelle:  Fun question, if your life was like a box of chocolates, what flavour would it be and why?

Kate: Can I say mint because that's my favourite? No – I take it back. The mousse kind. You know, pretty straightforward, but with a smooshy, soft inner core.

Michelle: I will finish the Q & A up with this. If you could invite 4 people to dinner, whether they were alive or dead, fictional character or real human, who would they be and why?

CLICK

Kate:  Oh tough. Hannibal Lector. Seriously. I think he's my favourite fictional character ever. Under strict rules, of course, that he will not eat any of his fellow guests. And that we'll be having a vegetarian meal. Kurt Vonnegut Jr, because Slaughterhouse-Five is my favourite book ever. Jon Stewart, because every dinner party should have him ever. And Idris Elba. For the eye candy.

Thank you Kate for your time . 

Thanks Michelle, for your unique and fun questions!

A Novel Approach with a Digital Audience

As experts in the digital space, does instant gratification appease your online nature? Do you or your followers have a burning idea that keeps you up at night? A story that must be told? Now there’s a new home for great stories!

At Harlequin Australia, the leading publisher of romance, we live for reading — for that sigh-worthy first kiss, for that pulse-raising chase scene, for that sob-swallowing goodbye. And we’d love to hear your stories!

Today we are officially launching our digital-first imprint, Escape Publishing — escapepublishing.com.au — which is open to receiving manuscript submissions!

Escape Publishing was created thanks to the ever growing appetite for romance and we were reading thousands of brilliant manuscripts. Yet despite our passion for these works, due to the limitations of the print book business many were not being published.

Escape Publishing takes a novel approach. Firstly, we are dedicated to our authors. If you’re an author with us... it’s all about you! Our promise to you is a personalised service with a fast turn-around of 3 months, supported by an integrated marketing campaign.

“We’re nimble – we are big enough to take the time to help you craft your manuscript and provide the marketing support to help create a bestseller, but small enough to adapt to, and move with, the market. We have built an unparalleled connection to the reader and with over 78% market share, we know romance!” Managing Director of Harlequin Enterprises Asia-Pacific, Michelle Laforest, explains.

Everyone has a story to tell, and Escape Publishing wants to make sure the very best of these stories are shared with the world.

Now is the time to submit! Join us at Escape Publishing as we jump head first into the liberating world of digital publishing!

Visit http://escapepublishing.com.au/ for more information and submission guidelines.

INTERVIEW with AUTHOR - IFE OSHUN - BLOOD TO BLOOD

Today on Novels On The Run I have a Q & A with Blood To Blood's author , Ife Oshun. My review of Blood to Blood

Enjoy!

Michelle:  What 10 words describe Ife the author?

Ife:  Imaginative, eclectic, tenacious, perfectionist, creative, funny, dark, visual, unconventional, good lord I can’t think of another word, and honestly this feels so Match.com describing myself like this so maybe I’ll just throw in “unassuming.”

Michelle:  Have you ever people watched and found yourself a character for your books or an idea for a character?

Ife:  A lot of the ideas for characters come from real people in my life (sorry beloved friends and family, but yes that was about you). I know a lot of over the-top personalities, but it’s the subtler, every-day personalities that inform the nuances of a character. Usually several people I know or have encountered will give me ideas for one character. When it comes to character building I enjoy embedding the bizarre, or unexpected, within the ordinary because in my world this reflects life. For example, I know folks who practice what some may call witchcraft, and I know folks who talk on an ongoing basis with folks who have left this plane of existence, but to me that’s not what makes them fascinating. What makes them interesting is that despite these abilities which many find unusual, they have gender identification issues, waste hard-earned money on lottery tickets, or they are suspicious of libraries. I cannot make this stuff up.

Michelle:  What was the last YA book you read that really changed you and why?

Ife:  “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing.” Without giving too much away, it’s a creepy, distressing, brilliant fictitious take on history, American history in particular; fiction which utilizes historical facts and therefore is even more disturbing because of it. It crawls into your mind and establishes permanent residence there, echoing years later within the recess of the subconscious. It challenges the young reader to embrace the language of another era and incorporates a number of genres.

Michelle:  Which 4 people/characters alive or dead would you like to have dinner with and why? They can be from any book/movie or any walk of life.

Ife: 1. The prophet Ezekiel. The book of the Bible that bears his name is still one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever read and I would love to hear first-hand his description of the wheels with eyes, and other things he saw come down from the sky.

2. Jesus Christ – I know everybody says that, but I’d really like to chat with him about the women in his life, his ideas surrounding love and romance, who he may have had a crush on, and finally his thoughts on why humans would deny that part of his human existence in order to push religious dogma.

3. Barack Obama’s mother – What did it take to be a woman of that calibre at that time? What did it take to raise a man who is already historic figure?

4. Harriet Tubman – She has been my hero and my torment for years. Torment in the sense that I have tried to tell her story, in mediums ranging from paintings to rap lyrics to a picture book, for decades and it always comes up short. I am not worthy to translate her experiences. She had to be an angel because the things she accomplished were beyond the scope of human endurance.

Michelle:  What song describes Angel’s character the best?

Because life is an amalgamation of experience, there is never a single one of anything that can best describe a character, and, in my mind at least, this is especially true when it comes to how music informs writing. But there are three songs that accurately sum up Angelika Brown’s personality and her circumstance. These three songs are part of the playlist I rocked endlessly while writing Blood To Blood. There may be two or twelve more songs that I’m forgetting but these three pop into my head immediately. They are “Help I’m Alive” by Metric; “Fly” by Nicki Minaj; and the uber-dramatic “Butterflies and Hurricanes” by Muse. Please google the lyrics.

I like to ask the music question as I always put up the lyric vids if they are made:)

You may have to click on the vid and it will take you to youtube to watch it

You may have to click on the vid to watch it in youtube

Michelle:  I think if you are a writer it would be safe to assume you have been to book signings. Which author was the last book signing you went to and what was one memorable thing that happened there?

Ife:  Ha! I chuckle just thinking of it. A few weeks ago at the Boston Book Festival, Daniel Handler not only signed his books for my son, he also signed my paperback proof copy of Blood To Blood. He opened it to the title page where he crossed out my name, filled in his and wrote “My finest work.” You can see it right there. He is a wonderful guy, so funny and humble in a unique way. It was an honor to meet him.

Michelle:  I had a look to see if you had a book trailer. I love your book cover. How important do you think book trailers are for the Indie author? 

Ife:  The book cover was designed by Char Adlesperger, who has an amazing visual eye. Honestly, I’m truly conflicted when it comes to book trailers. I have a background in television and have worked at several studios (Paramount, MGM, FOX and Tyler Perry), so when I look at a trailer, any trailer, I want attention-grabbing stuff, a story at the very least, that makes you want to experience the product as soon as possible. So I’m a hard sell and probably not that best person to ask about this. A lot of the book trailers out now are simply slideshows created in iMovie or some other pedestrian editing software. Yawn City. They have amazing potential as a marketing tool, but collectively the literary world hasn’t figured out how to make them stand out. In this information-packed culture, where a hundred things vie for your online attention at any given time, we haven’t figured out how to make book trailers worth the few seconds it takes to view them. That being said, authors, especially independent authors and publishers should utilize the technology to the max, and as with anything, work with professionals who understand the art of creating trailers. It takes a lot of work, and people, to create a successful movie trailer, and I think that if the notion of trailer can be turned on its head, scaled down and adapted for the medium, it will work for book promotion.

For me personally, I would like to have one made eventually, but it would have to be interesting, and contribute something to the overall process before I would put it out into the world. It may be too late for Blood To Blood, but perhaps a trailer may be created for the sequel. I know there will be a trailer for the first book of a series based on one of the book’s characters, Justin McCarthy, because I can see it clearly in my mind.

Michelle:  I have previously in another interview you have done, read what inspired this book, Blood To Blood. In part being the death of Aaliyah, the singer. In a non blurb format, if you had a bunch of readers in front of you, who had the choice of your book to buy off the shelf or another vampire book, could you give me a new paragraph spiel that you would tell this group of readers to sell your book to them?

Ife:  I suck at selling books. I can write them well enough I suppose, but I am no salesperson and will be better off hiring people who can do the job effectively. So there is nothing I can say that will sell my book to you. However, I’d like to thank all the folks who have downloaded Blood To Blood so far, and sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed being the conduit for it. I hope that you will take the time to tell me and the world what you thought of the book. The book chronicles the coming-of-age of a girl, a simple girl who wants to share the music in her heart with the world and who is born to a legacy of blood and glory. It was inspired by real events.

Thank you Ife for your time J

Thanks Michelle for taking the time to speak with me! And thanks to the readers for… reading! Kisses. J

Michelle

Author Website:

www.ifeoshun.com

Official Pre-release Press Release (PRWeb)
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/8/prweb9820673.htm

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/ifeoshun

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/ifeoshun


Goodreads Author page:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6450134.Ife_Oshun


Reviews:
Book Addict
Goodreads

AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH THE AWESOME!!! LIBBA BRAY - WOOT! - ALLEN & UNWIN

Today on NOVELS ON THE RUN I have an interview with the AWESOME, funny , LIBBA BRAY....Wooot!!!


Hi Libba, thankyou very much for answering my Q & A’s for me. I am Michelle from Novels On The Run, an Australian book blog. I have been doing my usual ‘nerd alert’ research into authors and the interviews they have already given. You have left no stone unturned. I love your vibrant personality that shines through almost 3D and your enthusiasm is very catchy.

I caught it. 

I have just plopped down the library and picked up Beauty Queens, I do LOVE the cover it is so appealing. Hubby was gawking at the kini ( we call bikinis’, kini’s when they are teeny, I was looking at the lip sticks all Ramboed up , very cool cover.

Your latest release, The Diviners, is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I have watched a lot of vids of interviews you have given and also you giving your spiel on Beauty Queens, complete with island background. I have read loads of interviews you have given. You have lived in many ways. I have learnt a lot from your words. 

Ooo, yes!

 You better believe it, the villain is eeeeEEeeeeeeeeep!

I bet this trailer got you all Curious George!

Ok, on to the Q & A’s, *whispers* just quietly I am rather nervous about interviewing you so I grabbed a quick gin with Evie beforehand. The girl knows how to accessorize with a hip flask.


Michelle:  What 10 words describe Libba Bray the author?

LB: Dear God, what is that weird woman on about now?

Michelle:  Beauty Queens the book was inspired from a lunch date with David Levithan. He called you up, had the idea , said the magic words ‘let’s do lunch’, gave you one sentence, and you ran with it, tucked it under your arm and Beauty Queens was born.

During my ‘nerd alert’ research I have come across many admirers of this piece of work you did. For those who haven’t read the book I can say it contains beauty queens, plane crash, survival, pirates and some guns. What song do you think best captures the book?

LB: The Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves by The Eurythmics. 

Yes!

LOL!!

I do believe this is a perfect choice.

Michelle:  The Gemma Doyle trilogy you stated was a Victorian Buffy the Vampire Slayer, type of read. Well, just that sentence made me excited and intrigued. What paranormal character, be it vampire, witch, you name it , could you see yourself reincarnated into if that was possible, and why? Thinking about your own personality, what would be a great match for you.


LB: I suppose whatever supernatural character likes to eat snacks and make up nonsense songs to irritate family and friends.


Michelle:  The Diviners, I am absolutely entranced with this book. I have met some key players and your villain. OMG! This character is an uber villain. When writing villains, how do you bring out your inner villain?


LB: Why, Michelle…what makes you think it’s only an inner villain? * raises eyebrow * I think the most important thing to remember when writing villains is that villains never think of themselves as villains. They always have some justification for what they’re doing, some way of convincing themselves that what they’re doing is right and good and necessary. That’s what makes them so fascinating, because don’t we all have that capacity within us?

I feel like I need to throw in a , 'mwah ha ha ha haaaaaa' at this point, and rub my hands together.

1920's Cloche hat

Michelle:  1920’s the flapper era, speakeasies, parties, prohibition. I don’t know a lot about the 1920’s, nor have I read a paranormal book set in this era. Wow! I have been googling bits and pieces to see what they look like e.g cloche. I am rapidly filling my notebook ready for my review. The detail is beautiful and the writing and characters are entrancing. I take my cloche off to you. Evie is such a rebel for the era and the lads you have written, Michael, Jericho, Sam all different and captivating to read. How long did it take you to write this book? Your words are not wasted. I am loving it will be a 4 book series.


LB: Well, thank you very much. I started thinking about the book about four years ago. (Thinking and doodling and sketching things out is all a part of the writing process for me.) I was working on other books at the time, but the “back burner” part of my brain was adding thoughts/ideas to the DIVINERS pile. I did a little preliminary research on the 1920s and I read some of 1920s literature—F. Scott Fitzgerald, Langston Hughes, Dorothy Parker. About two years ago, I sketched out a basic storyline and a series Bible, so to speak—characters, basic storyline threads, character arcs, back story. That’s always a joke as I cannot outline, and everything I put down usually goes out the window once I start writing in earnest. But I guess I need a false sense of control to get started.

Then I dove into heavier research, toggling between research and writing as the story began to take shape and all of the surprising turns came up, as they always do. (This is why I tend to think of any form of outlining as a very fluid road map; I am, and probably always will be, someone who likes to write and see what form the story takes.) It took me about a year to write the book, and it changed quite a bit in the writing. Now I’m curious to see what surprises I’ll find in books two, three, and four.


Michelle:  Where were you and what were you doing when the idea for this book came to mind?


LB: There was no thunderclap moment. It sort of took hazy shape over a period of about a year—enough for me to want to stick with it. I will say that I had been very disturbed by a lot of what my country was doing post-9/11: illegal wire-tapping, the Patriot Act, Guantanamo, the Iraq War, and I wanted to find a way to write about those things that I found disturbing and at odds with what America purports to be about. When I began to do the research on the 1920s, I found parallels between the politics of that time period and my own. That was probably the moment that crystallized my desire to write the series that would become THE DIVINERS. That’s as close as I come to a “thunderclap” moment, I suppose.


Michelle:  The research for the 1920’s in itself would have been quite a trip. Did you buy yourself anything from the era as a momento for writing The Diviners?


LB: Oh, you are a clever girl—you see right through to my crafty little heart. In the interest of “research,” I now own a flapper dress, some shoes, patterned stockings, and a cloche. Let’s just call it “Method writing.” 

Hehe..it is something I would do:)

Michelle:  Are you able to give us a non spoiler quote from book 2. No names necessary?


LB: Okay. I’ll play. Here’s a little something for you:

“Why, Lillian! Your manners,” Miss Addie tsked. She turned to the young man with a polite smile and patted his arm. “We’re keeping out the dead, my dear. For as long as we can.”

Of course, that could all change tomorrow. 

Woot!! Libba played:)

Michelle:  Going Bovine won 2010 Michael L. Printz Award. For those that do not understand this award, could you please tell us what it means and do you remember what you were doing when you found out? Congratulations !

LB: Thank you very much. Being awarded the Printz Award was a life-changing moment for sure. I’m still gobsmacked by it. The Michael L. Printz for Excellence in Young Adult Literature is a literary award given by librarians to the book deemed to be the best of that year. So I was very grateful and deeply honored that GOING BOVINE was selected for it.


I remember very clearly where I was and what I was doing that day. It was a very cold day in January. My best friend from Boston was visiting, and we had dragged our children to the Brooklyn Museum of Art to see a photographic exhibit on rock ‘n’ roll. It was the last day of the exhibit, and it was incredibly crowded. The kids were cranky. I was trying to squeeze through and see these amazing photographs of some of my rock ‘n’ roll idols.


Now, I am notorious for never answering my cell phone. My husband says it’s pointless for me to own one. But I was expecting a call from a pal about meeting up for dinner and happened to have it in my hand when it rang with a strange number. I answered it to find Cheryl Karp Ward, the Chair of the Printz committee, on the other end telling me I had won. I believe my incredibly intelligent reply was, “Shut up! It did not!” And then I had to sit down because I thought I was going to faint. My son is looking at me going, “What’s wrong? Are you okay? And can I go buy something in the gift shop?” And I’m waving at him going, “Nothing. I’m fine. Yes, buy Bono. It’s all good!” I happened to be looking at a photograph of The Ramones. When I first moved to New York City, I used to see Joey Ramone walking around my neighborhood sometimes, and whenever I did, I’d always feel like that was a lucky day. So it felt very sweet and right to be staring at Joey at that moment.


Michelle:   If you had a magic phone that you could use to invite 4 people/characters fictional or non fictional to lunch you are curious to meet , eat burritos and shoot the breeze, who would they be and why?


LB: What a fun question! I’m going with:


1. Stephen Sondheim—Sondheim’s explorations of the human condition are always fascinating and deep. And he manages to do it in song.


2. Alan Moore—I love Moore’s insane creativity. And WATCHMEN is just brilliant.


3. Maya Angelou—I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS was a huge book for me when I was young. And she’s an inspiration.


4. Joss Whedon—Because he’s Joss Whedon.

Number 4 really does not need a reason :)



Michelle: I love Evie so much in The Diviners, such a spirited girl ( no pun intended with that hip flask) . What song says Evie to you?


LB: Funny, I was just asked this. But I’m going to give YOU a different song just to mix things up. Maybe Bessie Smith’s “Me and My Gin.”

Michelle:  I have to now ask a song that befits Jericho. I know it can be a little hard, but sometimes authors have something that springs to mind.


LB: Argh. Unfortunately, I don’t have something springing to mind. (Although I do make a playlist for every book that I write.) What song would you choose?

I have thought about it and I have trouble, maybe the readers could think of one. I was trying to think 1920's song, but then a modern one could do it???


Michelle: Your free time, you like to people watch, by yourself and walk around New York City ( I just want to visit NYC...dreeeeaammmm). Have you ever found one of your characters in your people watching?


LB: Yes! Once I was in a restaurant and I had the most fascinating-looking waiter. He seemed like a sort of Dickensian rock star to my mind: tall, rail-thin, heavily kohled eyes, and he had these amazing tattoos running up the length of the inside of his arms—macabre poppies on long stalks. I really wanted to know the story behind those tattoos. He became the physical inspiration for the Poppy Warriors in REBEL ANGELS. See? I’m not daydreaming and people watching; I’m RESEARCHING!

Michelle: You graduated from the University of Texas in 1988 with a degree in theatre. As a playwright you headed to New York with $600.00 in a shoe and a punchbowl. Have you written any plays? Would you in the future write one of your books into a play?

Beauty Queens could be a hoot, just sayin’ :) 

LB: Yeah…that punchbowl ended up being an end table for a few years. I just threw a towel over the box and put a lamp on it. I have written five-and-a-half plays. Three were produced and two were in the endless cycle of staged readings. Now they all take up space inside a drawer…which is probably where they should stay for the good of humanity. BEAUTY QUEENS would make a fun musical, wouldn’t it? I can just envision a number called, “My Boobs Are Fake but These Bullets Are Real, Sucka!” I’ll get right on that.

I think you should! I can see it in my head now. In the words of Tim Gunn on Project Runway, 'Make it work.'

Michelle:  Thank you Libba for your time and writing such wonderful YA stories. If you are ever in Australia on a book tour, head towards Queensland as after watching your vids with some of your signings, it would be a real treat to attend one of yours.

LB: Thanks, Michelle! It was a pleasure:)