Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Carrie Butler's "Courage" - Character Interview



Click here for more stops in the blog tour.
I read and loved the first book in the Mark of Nexus series, Strength. The characters were intriguing and the magical world interesting. While New Adult (NA) has a bad reputation for being all about sex with some of it quite graphic, this book is not. But there is one almost sex scene and some sexual references, so be warned.

Before we begin the character interview, here's a teaser about Courage, book 2:

Making a deal with the bad guys wasn’t the highlight of Rena Collins’ semester, but, hey, it saved her boyfriend. Now, in order to appease the human-altering organization known as ERA, she’ll crawl under their microscope while they study the Mark of Nexus and plot their eye-glazed version of the future—until she realizes that’s not all they’re plotting.

Wallace Blake has always known his girlfriend is unlike most girls. But now that information has surfaced regarding the two bloodlines that balance his supernatural race, he finally understands why. Rena belongs to one of them. She’s been augmenting his power, all along...

Enter: Corynn Catley. Brought into the country under the guise of an internship, she’s intended to become ERA’s secret weapon. Kind of. Her abilities cancel out Wallace’s, rendering him powerless, but that’s exactly what he’s always wanted. Too bad it only works when his girlfriend’s not around.

All the while, Rena fails to notice the crush her geeky best friend, Aiden Ross, is nursing. He’d give anything for her to see him in a new light—even reinvent himself through questionable means--but there’s a reason people are told to be careful what they wish for. Finding the courage to tell her could put everyone’s lives in danger.


Interview with Cole (Wallace Blake's brother)

Me:  What's your birth order?

Cole: What does it matter? You’re not one of those people who believe birth order has anything to do with sibling personalities, are you?

*He groans* Oh God. You are, aren’t you? Fine. Technically, Wallace came out first, but let me clue you in on my theory of how it went down.

He had to precede me to make sure we weren’t in any kind of hostile territory. I’m serious. It’s obvious that I was the dominant infant—the dominfant, if you will—so he felt compelled to take that risky journey down the birth canal first. I waited until I got an “all clear” cry to make my entrance.

Stop looking at me like that. It’s true.

Me:  Have you ever been in love?

Cole:  No, and now that I’ve seen my brother in love, I’m pretty sure it’s the opposite of everything I want in life. A chick hanging on me all the time, making me factor in her safety when I make decisions... pass. I like to keep my relationships between two and five weeks.

Me:  Hmmm...two and five weeks. That's how long your "relationships" have lasted them. Cole, really? Anyway, when you think of your childhood kitchen, what smell comes to mind?

Cole:  Syrup in Grandma’s house. She made the best pancakes, and the scent always clung to the wallpaper. Before that, back in my old house... no, I can’t go there.

Me:  What is your biggest fear? Who have you told it to? Who would you never tell it to? Why?

Cole:  Let’s go reverse order on this one. I’d never tell my biggest fear to some random chick, and the reasoning would be three-fold. Ready?

One, it’s a liability. You could use it against me.

Two, I’m not all touchy-feely with the emotions. Go figure.

And three, you might tell someone I actually give a crap about and make me look bad. I mean, no offense, doll, but we just met. You understand, right?

*Silence*

Okay, fine. I admit that was a copout answer. How about I tell you, and in exchange for your silence, you get to keep that tongue of yours?

*I give him a hard stare, and he leans in* I’m not keen on the idea of losing the rest of my family.

*I blink and keep my mouth shut for a moment, swallowing.*

Me:  Okay. You're kind of a wild and crazy guy. What's the thing you've regretted doing the most?

Cole:  The thing I regret the most has nothing to do with my lifestyle. I just wish I would’ve spent more time with my folks before they were killed, okay?

Me:  Thank you, Cole. *I watch as he leaves*

And now you know why I wanted to interview Cole. Intriguing guy.


About the author
Carrie Butler daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.

Her passion for New Adult fiction led her to co-found NA Alley—a widely recognized informational hub for the category. She is the author of STRENGTH (Mark of Nexus #1) and COURAGE (Mark of Nexus #2).


Friday, October 11, 2013

Friday Musings While on Hiatus

by Donna K. Weaver



Yes, my life is crazy right now, but you know, it's also good. Here are some of my recent highlights:
  • Received my rights back for A Change of Plans.
  • Since this is a series with at least three companion novels, it now has a name: Safe Harbors.
  • Updated the cover (see it on the right).
  • Formatted the digital versions of the second edition, including a sneak peek of the second book, Torn Canvas. This books stars Jori from A Change of Plans.
  • Worked with my former publisher to get the paper copy formatted. The interior looks wonderful--very similar to the original even though I've had to use a different printer. Just waiting on a couple of tweaks to the cover and the paper copies should be available.
  • Signed up my editor for Torn Canvas--the awesome Katharina Brendel who was the lead editor on A Change of Plans.
  • Had initial discussions with my cover designer, Melissa Williams (aka author Michelle D. Argyle) for the cover of Torn Canvas. Michelle/Melissa also did the A Change of Plans cover.
  • Set a month for the release of Torn Canvas--January 2014.
  • Furiously working on a major rewrite of Torn Canvas after preliminary input.
  • I'm part of the Ripples Effect Romance series coming out in March. So excited to work with the authors in this linked series.
That 18-day Hawaiian cruise in later January
is looking awful good right now.


Dauntless
Another major thing I'm involved with is Dauntless. I think I've mentioned it, but here's a bit more about us. I think it's best described by fellow Dauntless Author, Amber Argyle:
I've joined forces with an eclectic mix of everything from bestselling to debut authors to create a collaborative called Dauntless. We are fearless authors dedicated to our craft and our success in the publishing world. Our goal is to be each other's marketing team and support system. 
For readers, Dauntless means going to one place to keep up-to-date on all our books. It means coupons and freebies. It means interacting with some of your favorite authors. It means weekly posts on book related topics.
 photo DL_Button2_zps3e234042.pngFor writers, Dauntless means weekly posts on the craft and marketing side of writing. It means networking and establishing relationships. 
And it's all in good fun. 
Grab our button, post it on your page: 
Like us on Facebook and Twitter Follow our blogJoin us on Pinterest 
Some of our members include: Elle Strauss, Konstanz Silverbow, Cindy M Hogan, Donna K. Weaver, Megg Jensen, Angela Corbett, Amber L Argyle, Nancy Thompson, Katie, G.P. Ching, Sawyer Bennett, David P. King, ali cross, Cameron Jace, Wendy Knight, Jolene Perry, RaShelle Workman, Donna Hosie, Stephanie Fowers, and Lani Woodland 

Pretty cool, huh?
Now I'm going back to my hole and work on those edits.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Guest Post - Nichole Zoltack on Black Hellebore

Just a reminder...


My special guest today is Nichole Zoltack. She's here to talk a bit about her new book and its main character. First, the book:

Once a year for the past decade, Nicholas Adams returns to Falledge and leaves a black hellebore on his girlfriend's grave. While departing Falledge, he chases after a man sneaking into the laboratory and dies for his trouble. A witch brings him back to life, but Nicholas soon realizes he's not the same man. Turns out, magic combined with a black hellebore in his pocket changed him into a kind of a super man.

His girlfriend's twin, Julianna Paige, is Falledge's deputy, struggling to solve several murders. Nicholas, and his alter ego the Black Hellebore, helps her, even as she helps him move on and even start to love again.

Unfortunately, Nicholas wasn't the only one changed in the laboratory explosion, and now there's a supervillain bent on destroying Falledge, and killing the Black Hellebore. But falling in love might prove more dangerous than any supervillain.

Welcome, Nichole!

Today, I’m going to talk about Black Hellebore, the superhero in my novel by the same name. Just what exactly are his superpowers?

Well, Black Hellebore has tremendous speed. He has to consciously put effort to walk or work at human speed. It’s almost harder to blend in!

He also has increased hearing. Can’t turn off his ears so he has a tendency to eavesdrop. His sense of smell is also increased. Which isn’t always a good thing when you’re walking past a garbage dumpster. Most heroes tend to have super strength. Black Hellebore definitely fits that bill.

But he also has some weaknesses and serious side effects if he overexerts himself, such as ringing in the ears, chest pain, nausea, vomiting…even death. Sometimes, having powers aren’t always a blessing.


Nicole Zoltack loves to write fantasy/paranormal, romances, horror, historical, for adults and young adults, novels, short stories, and flash pieces. She doesn't want to get boxed in by genre -- she might be claustrophobic! She's also an editor for MuseItUp Publishing and works as a freelance editor.
When she isn't writing about girls wanting to be knights, talking unicorns, and zombies, she spends time with her loving family. She loves to ride horses (pretending they're unicorns, of course!) and going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, dressed in period garb. Her favorite current TV show is The Walking Dead.

The Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy: Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory, and Champion of Valor
Available from DBP ~ Amazon ~ ARe ~ B&N










Wednesday, October 2, 2013

IWSG

Click here to find out more.
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

My feelings right now:

Source

And this:

Source

So many deadlines.
So many new things to learn.
So little time.
So. So. So.

See, I'm even late for this post!
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