Rock Star Writers: Gwen Gardner

Today I am so very happy to have Gwen Gardner visiting. She has a new release out: Ghostly Gallows--a perfect read as we head toward Halloween. But I'll let her tell you all about it! 

Welcome, Gwen!

Thanks so much for hosting me today, Susan!

Today is release day for Ghostly Gallows, the second novella in my Afterlife series. Do you feel a theme building already? I’ve always been slightly obsessed with the paranormal, starting with Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy, the Good Little Witch. I’m talking about the original animated versions, so I’m dating myself here!  

Indigo Eady is my main character. Of course she’s fictional, but her first name and some of her attributes are based loosely on a term I discovered during research: Indigo Children. There is a new school of thought that some of today’s children are special, that they are the next stage in human evolution. Indigo children are empathetic and highly intelligent. They are strong-willed and curious, which leads them to question everything, including authority. They have a strong sense of right and wrong. They can sense a lie a mile off and find it nearly impossible to tell a lie themselves. They speak their minds. And of course, they’re highly intuitive.

In the world I grew up in, everything was black and white, with a lot of gray in between. But today’s world is not the world I grew up in. To me, it feels like Black and White are taking sides and so there is less room for Gray. This is the world that I imagine Indigo Children being born into. A good vs evil playing field. Dystopian even. A perfect world for my characters.

Indigo Children is a controversial topic with some referring to it as a pseudoscience. I neither believe nor disbelieve in the concept. It was research. I took the details I wanted to use, added some snark, and my fictional, ghost-whispering teenage psychic was born! I liked Indigo Eady so well, that I dropped her into two different series’.

Of course, Indigo is deeply flawed, as well. She refuses to visit her father’s grave because she feels guilty. She refuses to unpack her trunk after moving because she’s in denial and doesn’t plan on staying. Her mother figure is a ghost madam from the Victorian era. And the boy she likes…well, it’s complicated.

What do you think?

Do you believe in Indigo Children?

Blurb:

Ghostly Gallows:

The case of missing paranormals is far from solved.

Hundreds of Sabrina Shores’ spirits are still missing.

In Second Death, Indigo and her friends escape an eternity underground in evil clutches. Back aboveground with a few missing ghosties happily in tow, one truth is painfully clear: the size of their problem is bigger than the village cemetery itself.

Now in Ghostly Gallows, new information leads Indigo and her fellow investigators to the ruins of Gallowsgate Prison, long abandoned by everyone and everything except malevolent spirits. It’s not called Gallowsgate for nothing when the noose swings a little too close to home.

Indigo Eady:

Much to her chagrin, Indigo Eady is a celebrity among spirits. She’s the girl who can see and speak with them. She has a proven track record in helping spirits find their murderers, so it’s no surprise when she’s drafted onto the Missing Paranormal Committee. Who better to help them than the experienced teenage ghost whisperer- investigator and her friends?

Connect With Gwen Here:

Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Amazon / B&N

Buy Ghostly Gallows Here:

Amazon / B&N / Google Play

About the Author:

Gwen Gardner is a native Californian living in sunny San Diego, where her love of reading and writing led to a BA in English literature. Life is now complete with her husband, two dogs and a daily call from her daughter.

Since ghosts feature prominently in her young adult Indigo Eady Paranormal “Cozy” Mystery series and Afterlife series, she has a secret desire to meet one face to face - but will run screaming for the hills if she ever does. Gwen adores travel and experiencing the cultures and foods of different countries. She is always up for an adventure and anything involving chocolate - not necessarily in that order.

Thanks for stopping by, Gwen. Both your novella and your research sound completely fascinating. 

Have you read Gwen's first book in the series, Second Death? What do you think of the idea of Indigo Children?

Rock Star Writers: Rebecca Green Gasper

Rebecca Green Gasper is our Rock Star Writer today. She is the author of the YA contemporary novel, Break from You, a book about teen dating violence.

 

1. Where did Break from You come from?

Break From You started with a dream about a fire and a cowboy, and another element I can’t tell you about because it will give away the book. I know, a dream, very clique. Eventually the idea developed into a story about dating abuse and became Brooke’s story. I did a lot of research about dating abuse, abusers, and victims.

 

A dream about a cowboy. Hmmm…I’d like to hear more about that J

 

2. In Break from You, Brooke has a hard time breaking from her abusive boyfriend, Drew. Is this common with victims of dating abuse?

Yes, this is very common. There is a cycle to abuse. Most victims know the abuse is wrong but try to convince themselves that everything is normal. They can’t seem to escape and easily forgive or make excuses. It could be due to fear- fear of rejection, isolation, loss, being hurt, or fear of the partner. Sometimes the victim stays because of love, embarrassment, low self-esteem, or thinking the abuse is normal. Some even stay because of peer pressure, culture, or religion. There are many other reasons victims stay, but it doesn’t matter what the reason is, breaking free from abuse is hard and takes a lot of strength.

 

3. Setting is like a character in your book. The attention to detail, the terminology used for ranching and working with horses are authentic. Did you research all of this or do you have first-hand experience with small town, Colorado ranching?

A lot of my inspiration for the fictional town of Creek came from one of my favorite mountain towns, Woodland Park, Colorado. I also pulled from my experiences when I lived in small mountain towns in Idaho after I graduated from college. Although I’ve never lived on a dude ranch, I grew up with horses and spent a lot of time riding around our land in the mountains, so the terminology related to horses is second nature to me.

 

And it shows through your word choice and the way you describe setting in the book.

 

4. If you had to choose a favorite character in the book, who would it be and why?

This is a hard one. I love Cooper, even with all his flaws. He is a strong and caring character. But I also like Dylan a lot. Dylan is a close friend of Brooke’s. He never gives up trying to help her.

 

I actually liked all of your characters for different reasons, including Drew. Though I truly did not like what he did to Brooke.

 

5. What is the overall message you want your readers to take away from the book?

I want readers to walk away understanding Brooke and her decisions and to know that love shouldn’t hurt.

 

6. What can we expect from you next?

You can expect another emotional story about tough issues.

 

Now for a quick and lighthearted Q&A

 

Stephen King or Amy Tan (you know they were in a band together)?

A band? Really? No idea. I’m going to pick Stephen King.

Dystopian or fantasy?

Dystopian. 

Winter or summer in Colorado?

Summer.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Jacob all the way.

Margarita or glass of wine?

Neither.

Morning or night person?

Night, unless you consider being up until 1 or 2 AM a morning person : )

 

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes and Noble

Blog

Goodreads

Moxie Writers

Love shouldn’t hurt this much…Brooke Myers wants to believe she has it all: the perfect guy, the perfect relationship, the perfect life. She wants to believe it so much that she's willing to overlook the fear, the isolation, and the pain her boyfriend has caused her. She knows it isn't right but tells herself that love isn't always easy. However, when a fire destroys the restaurant during homecoming dinner, she forms an instant bond with the boy who saves her, one her boyfriend wouldn’t like. With the pain of a concussion reminding her of how bad things can get, she is forced to re-evaluate the relationship she has with her boyfriend and face the ghosts that haunt her. Brooke once believed love was all it took…but is it enough? Is it truly love when you've lost yourself in it?

 

You can continue to follow the Speak Out Against...Book Tour at Moxie Writers here.

Thank you to Rebecca for the Q&A and for writing such an important and phenomenal book.

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Rock Star Writers: Jessie Harrell

Jessie Harrell

Today is super exciting! Why? you ask. Because I have the privilege of interviewing Jessie Harrell on my blog. In addition to being a fabulous writer, she is a kind and amazing person, as well. Jessie took precious time from her busy schedule to answer some questions for me about her recent book, Destined. If you haven’t read it…well, you must!

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.--from Goodreads

Why the retelling of the mythological story of Psyche and Eros? Why not Pyramus and Thisbe? Or Orpheus and Eurydice?

Cupid & Psyche is the myth I fell in love with while I was in undergrad (way back when).  For some reason, that particular myth always stuck with me. It could be because it's a precursor to Beauty & the Beast, or just an epic love story with a happy ending, but that's hands down my favorite myth.

What made you decide to become an Indie publisher?

The time was finally right to get Destined into the world. After all of the editing and critiques and learning (basically, over four years), I finally knew I was close. But I also knew that traditional publishing would take at least a year or two, and Greek mythology was hot last year. I didn't want to miss that trend by being a traditionalist, so I went for it.

Aside from the book being a great read, your cover is divine. Did you design it yourself?

I wish I could take credit for that, but computer design is a skill I lack. I found a cover designer, Josh Longiaru, and we worked together. I sort of had a general idea of what I wanted, but Josh really put the artistic touches on it once we found the photograph I loved for Psyche. It was so much fun though - picking fonts, tweaking the design. I hope I get to do it again someday soon!

Any advice for authors (like myself) who are considering the Indie route?

Invest in yourself. Hire a cover designer if you're technology challenged (like me). Hire a professional editor. Try to make your novel error-free and professional looking, and you'll already be one step ahead of the game. Not everyone is going to like your book, but you shouldn't give them a reason to reject it based on things you can so easily change (typos or low budget cover).  Like I say, you have to invest in yourself and your future -- and yes, that takes time.

If you could be any mythological character, who would it be and why?

I'd probably go for something a little different, like being Pegasus or a centaur. For Pegasus, you don't mess with a kick-butt flying horse -- and he's beautiful. So double bonus. I always think of Disney's Fantasia when I think of centaurs, all dancing around a meadow and prancing in waterfalls or picking flowers while classical music plays in the background. Ahhh.... what a life.

If you were the casting director, who would play Psyche, Eros, and Aphrodite in the movie version of Destined?

Aphrodite is the easiest of those -- I always pictured her as Heidi Klum when I was writing the novel.  Nicole Kidman would be a good second choice too.  Someone older but still drop dead beautiful.

When I was writing the book, I had the image of a young Leonardo DiCaprio in my head for Eros. But since I can’t reverse the clock for him, I’d want someone like Alex Pettyfer (yeah, who wouldn’t?), Lucas Till or Aaron Johnson (minus the facial hair). For Psyche, I think someone like Imogen Poots, Shenae Grimes, or Keira Knightley would be good fits.

Any plans to publish another book soon? Or...are you currently working on another novel? If so, is it also based on Greek mythology?

It seems that all of my ideas are based on mythology one way or another. I guess you'd say that's my "brand." In the novel that I've co-authored (and am still editing) called Beneath the Surface, the roots of the myth draw heavily on Greek mythology, although it is present day.  I'm also working on a short story for the #yalitchat anthology, which will be loosely based on Egyptian mythology. Eros also has his own short story, called Before, coming out in The Indelibles' anthology, In His Eyes, on Valentine's Day. And for die hard fans of Destined, I'm planning a companion novel, set in ancient Greece but drawing on different mythology.

If you haven't yet read Destined, all you have to do is click here. I highly recommend it. You can find Jessie at her blog, The Daily Harrell.