Author Interview – Richard Stephenson

When and why did you begin writing? I’ve always been a sucker for end of the world or survival fiction.  I read anything in the genre I can my hands on.  The problem I had was most of the books I came across had zombies, a killer plague, nuclear war, or some sort of cataclysmic event.  Don’t get me wrong, I totally dig those types of stories.  I could never find a book that was grounded in reality, something that could feasibly happen outside of one horrible tragedy.  I figured I’d give it a try and see if I could write one myself.

How long have you been writing? Less than a year.

When did you first know you could be a writer? About the fifth chapter into my first book.  It was then that I realized I had something really good that people would read.

What genre are you most comfortable writing? Dystopian.

What inspired you to write your first book? I’ve worked in law enforcement for fifteen years.  Part of the job requirement means that I can evacuate during natural disasters.  In 2008, Hurricane Ike laid waste to my neck of the woods.  For the first twelve to fourteen hours after the storm passed, we were completely cut off from the rest of the world.  No cellphones, landlines, internet, cable or broadcast television, even radio stations on the dial.  It was terrifying to realize how easily comfort and security could be taken away.  I distinctly remember thinking aliens could have landed on the White House lawn and we’d have been none the wiser.  I thought of our situation happening on a national level and came up with the idea for Collapse.

What made you want to be a writer? I feel that effectively communicating an entertaining story is the best way to flex the muscle that is my brain.

What do you consider the most challenging about writing a novel, or about writing in general? Editing.  I hate it.  It’s like doing homework.

Did writing this book teach you anything and what was it? It taught me that having a successful book involves much, much more than simply writing it.

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Genre – Dystopian

Rating – R

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Connect with Richard Stephenson on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://rastephensonauthor.blogspot.com/

Orangeberry Spring Fling – Mom! There’s a Lion in the Toilet by Lisa Anderson

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Four kids. Five months. Six continents. And a world that went just plain crazy. Ever dreamed of just leaving winter behind? Want to pack up your flip-flops and hiking boots, and head off with a one-way ticket to all your favourite exotic destinations?

Whether they are stuck in an Italian elevator, held at gunpoint in the Egyptian desert, or storm chasing floods, fires and tsunamis, this tale of amazing family adventure will keep you wishing you were along in their suitcase.

Join Lisa, Rick and their four children as they park their truck in the shed, and head off on the trip of a lifetime. Along the way, they learn about the world, and more importantly, connect with each other. It’s a life-altering journey they, and you, will never forget.

“Thoroughly enjoyable and a must-read for travel lovers of all ages” Andrea Phare, Elk Island Public Schools Communications Specialist

“Delightful book, you might just start packing for your ’round the world adventure” Charmaine Hammond, Bestselling Author of GPS Your Best Life

“An extraordinary adventure… about geography, history, cultural diversity, and globalization, but most of all – love for family and friends.” Theresa Wells-Taylor, teacher and educational blogger, Primary Princesses

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Genre - Essays & Travelogues, Travel Writing (G)

Connect with Lisa Anderson on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.6andersons1world.com/

Dragon Wars Book Blast

A magical fairytale for all ages: Dragon Wars by Emily Fogle

 

The prize pack includes: one tote, 2 jumbo book marks, 2 signed bookmarks, 2 tattoos, 3 pencils, 1 mouse pad, 1 calendar (filled with illustrations by Robert Immings), 1 pen, 3 magnets, 2 keychains, 1 signed paperback copy of Dragon Wars, and a $20 Amazon Gift card. Enter the giveaway below.

Join children's author Emily Fogle for a Twitter chat

April 3 at 10:30 am

#DragonWars

(easiest way to join the chat is with tweetchat.com)

Dragon Wars by Emily Fogle is an amazing adventure from start to finish. If you love a good fairytale this is the book for you.

~ Kypris, Amazon

Amazing imagery explode from each page of this book.

~ Laurel, Goodreads

 

Life is filled with changes, but sometimes even the most tragic events bring joy in the end, which is something Danny Warren learns when he joins the Dragon Wars.

Danny sadly loses his father in a hit-and-run auto accident and is forced to move to a different town. But his fresh start is a horrible one and Danny desperately wants to find a world he can belong to. One afternoon, after a particularly hard day at school, Danny finds a mysterious box hidden inside his window seat. He soon discovers that the box is his portal to Dorcian, the dragon world. Sadly, the once amazing world is in utter turmoil, and its inhabitants are suffering.

Danny finds the one thing that can bring meaning and happiness back to his heart: saving those that desperately need his help. Together, one boy and six lone dragons, will defeat evil and wage the Dragon Wars. And, in the midst of it all, Danny will discover that even the smallest person can make a huge difference when it matters the most.

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A GWR Publicity promotional event paid for by Anchor Group Publishing. The giveaway is sponsored by the author.

Orangeberry Book Tours – She by Shireen Jeejeebhoy

Shortlisted for The Word Guild Awards, Novel-Futuristic category, this is the classic tale of betrayal and friendship — with an evil entity thrown in to confuse and enlighten the heroine.

An entity from nothing space and time, Akaesman lurks in his dominion, waiting, watching through his peephole into our world for the right prey. And when he spots a good one, he forces himself into our space and time, evading the Akaesman patrol, invading his chosen one. He spreads his evil to everyone, one by one, male and female, changing them forever into his image.

But the young songwriter and her fiancé, enjoying the end of their road trip, have never heard of Akaesman. On the eve of the summer solstice, they fly home to Toronto down a local highway past slumbering fields, toward a thick starlight-sucking forest, oblivious of their destination: Akaesman. He comes out of a green neon wind. He smacks their car; he cracks the window; he’s in her. Her songwriting career is dead. Her name is gone.

When she learns of his presence, she resists him; she wrestles with him; she seeks help in her battle. Yet she loses ground. She’s ready to quit. And that’s when she discovers that there is more than one kind of evil…

—–
5 of 5 stars: “Put simply this is the best urban fantasy story that I have ever read period …. you feel exactly how the main character feels. “She” is written with a pace that makes you feel every single word combined with hauntingly beautiful descriptions to forge a story that is anything but forgettable. That is the mark of a truly talented writer, someone who tells a story that you feel as opposed to reading words on a cold piece of paper. ” Shane Porteous on She, from his Goodreads review.

“Shireen’s pen has all the force of a great storyteller and the artistic skills of reviving a past scene in its most original form.” Ernest Dempsey on Shireen Jeejeebhoy’s award-winning biography Lifeliner: The Judy Taylor Story

“If you want a book you can’t put down, get Lifeliner into your hands…” Gloria Oren on Shireen Jeejeebhoy’s award-winning biography Lifeliner: The Judy Taylor Story

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Genre – Christian Fantasy

Rating – PG13

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Connect with  Shireen Jeejeebhoy on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://jeejeebhoy.ca/

Shireen Jeejeebhoy – How to Write by The Seat of Your Pants

How to Write by The Seat of Your Pants Outlining or Not

by Shireen Jeejeebhoy

I find writing by the seat of my pants a tad like running after an out-of-control train. You never know what disaster is about to happen or where the train will take you, yet it’s quite the adrenaline rush. The thing is: will the adrenaline rush produce a good book?

Not sure.

I prefer to outline.

A story often comes to me with an opening scene or an ending. These remain firm in my mind. They must happen. For several months, the story percolates, and I consider what research it will require. For example, my novel Time and Space needed me to bone up on theoretical physics.

Bits and pieces of the main character and scenes appeared out of the blue into my mind; every now and then, I actually had the brilliant idea of jotting these ideas down rather than relying on them to stay in my head. I began to do that on my iPad where I also sketched settings and stored photos of buildings or places where I wanted the action to happen.

Once I feel like I have done enough research to know where I’m going, once I’ve fleshed out the characters and sketched out the settings, I begin putting together an outline. There’s a screenplay method called the “Two-Minute Treatment.” Basically, on two pages, you write your story in three acts. In Act One you introduce the characters and conflict. Act Two is the mushy middle where you resolve the subplot (if you have one) while keeping the reader reading toward Act Three, when the conflict comes to a head and then is resolved (or not, if you want to drive the reader nuts).

I let the Two-Minute Treatment sit around for awhile. Then I write a brief sentence for each chapter. After that, I create index cards for each chapter in the Index Card app on my iPad with a short synopsis on one side, details on the back. Each Act gets its own card colour. This way I can look at my outline and visually see how the book will play out.

Once I begin to write my novel, I should (operative word, should) amend my outline for that chapter. Sometimes I stick to my outline. Other times, I go way off, to the point of having to rewrite the index card for that chapter or moving index cards around. Ensuring I update them as I go along makes for less work when it comes to revising. Otherwise I must do it just before I revise. A bit tedious but keeps me on track.

Despite my preference for outlining, I have written by the seat of my pants, usually as a way to let my creativity take me for a wild ride and to fuel it up for my more structured writing. I don’t think it’s any more fun or makes for better books, but it sure does make for hairier writing days.

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Genre – Christian Fantasy

Rating – PG13

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Connect with  Shireen Jeejeebhoy on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://jeejeebhoy.ca/

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Orangeberry Spring Fling – Death in Bagheria by Susan Russo Anderson

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A gripping tale of murder and deceit. A baroness poisoned . . . A family masking dark secrets . . . and one woman determined to uncover the truth.

Sicily, March 1870. When a headstrong aristocrat commissions Serafina to find her mother’s poisoner, the midwife turned sleuth travels to a windswept villa on Sicily’s gold coast where she begins her investigation of the baroness’s death. There, she meets with the irascible baron and his huge staff of servants. Adding to her peril are the ruthless attempts to foil her success by her arch enemy, Don Tigro, the local mafia capo.Yet Serafina is unflagging in her determination to unmask the killer, despite mortal danger, the pleas of her children for her speedy return, and a longing to resume her broiling new romance with Loffredo, the lusty count of Oltramari. With the help of her friend, Rosa, two daring servants, and an unexpected visitor, she uncovers ugly entanglements that portend dire misfortune for the baroness’s heirs. Will Serafina catch the killer before his henchman throws her to her death?

This is the third book in the Serafina Florio mystery series.

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Genre – Historical Mystery

Rating – PG13

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Website http://susanrussoanderson.com/

Orangeberry Spring Fling – The Torturer’s Daughter by Zoe Cannon

When her best friend Heather calls in the middle of the night, Becca assumes it’s the usual drama. Wrong. Heather’s parents have been arrested as dissidents – and Becca’s mother, the dystopian regime’s most infamous torturer, has already executed them for their crimes against the state.

To stop Heather from getting herself killed trying to prove her parents’ innocence, Becca hunts for proof of their guilt. She doesn’t expect to find evidence that leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about the dissidents… and about her mother.

When she risks her life to save a dissident, she learns her mother isn’t the only one with secrets – and the plot she uncovers will threaten the lives of the people she loves most. For Becca, it’s no longer just a choice between risking execution and ignoring the regime’s crimes; she has to decide whose life to save and whose to sacrifice.

It’s easy to be a hero when you can save the world, but what about when all you can do is choose how you live in it? THE TORTURER’S DAUGHTER is a story about ordinary teenage life amidst the realities of living under an oppressive regime… and the extraordinary courage it takes to do what’s right in a world gone wrong.

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Genre – YA Dystopian

Connect with Zoe Cannon on Facebook & Twitter

Website - http://www.zoecannon.com/