Hywela Lyn Interviewed Me

Check out my interview at Hywela Lyn's blog.

Yeah yeah, I'm a little late on broadcasting this one. My only excuse is that Tuesday was hectic and I'm behind on everything. I'm even behind on being behind. *sigh*

Lori Brighton Interviewed Me

Check out my interview on Lori Brighton's blog

Author Interview: Michelle M. Pillow

The Basics
- Michelle M. Pillow
- Brand: Author of All Things Romance
- Genre(s): futuristic, paranormal, dark paranormal, fantasy, historical, contemporary romances
- Publisher(s): Virgin Books/Random House, Pocket Books, Samhain, Ellora’s Cave, NCP

To Other Authors

- What are the three MOST important pieces of advice you would give to a brand new author?

• 1. Research. Research EVERYTHING – your book, your craft, the market and industry. There is no magic pill. You just have to get out there and do it.

• 2. Market. It’s a tough business. When I started, like most newbie authors I had the impression that I wrote the book and could now sit back and let the publisher do the rest. Not so. As an author, I have to be proactive in what I do (not that I mind, a lot of it is fun now that I know how to do it). I have a radio show, I do my own website, blogs, promotions and marketing, signings, workshops, designing promo items, panels, ect. But I had to learn most of it from scratch.

• 3. Take advice with a grain of salt. Listen to what others have to say, but don’t take all the advice you get as fact. There’s a lot of misinformation, and what works for some, won’t work for all.

- What's your favorite way to advertise?

• Internet. There are a lot of great ways to interact on the net for FREE! Everyone loves free. If you were going to invest in only one thing to advertise yourself, make it a website. Do the best one you can afford, or learn to do it yourself. Whenever you do other advertising, it can all point back to one place—your website. And keep it current with all the latest information.

- What hard-knock lesson did the publishing world teach you (can be your own experience or someone else's that you learned from)?

• I wouldn’t necessarily call it a hard-knock lesson, but I wasn’t prepared for the amount of marketing and advertising required to make it as an author.

For the Readers

- What are you reading, if anything, at the moment?

• Edits. I have a pretty tight schedule right now, so fiction wise, it has been edits. I’m also reading a non-fiction book on Art History from the Prehistoric period to the Middle Ages.

- Do you prefer ebooks or print for your reading pleasure?

• I like curling up with a print book, but I also love the speed of ebook purchases. Really, it doesn’t matter to me how the book comes, so long as it’s good.

- Name three of your all-time-favorite, read-them-over-and-over books.

• Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austin
• Mandy Roth’s Immortal Ops series
• Ah, man this is really hard…

Idle Curiosity Compels Me to Ask

- What inspired you to be a writer?

• I love being creative and telling stories, whether it's with words or pictures. I love research, learning new things and going new places, museums, photography, history, films, books and the paranormal. Being a writer lets me feed my desire to learn. I absolutely love my job. I get paid to make up stories and create my own worlds and rules. I adore large world and character building, creating myths and legends, all of it. And I’m very honored to have readers who enjoy what I do.

- What do you do immediately after finishing a manuscript?

• This is going to sound so boring, but I generally start a new one. My writing schedule right now doesn’t leave much room for breaks. (Renee Note: I know how that is. You get a two-second breather and then have to jump into the next one.)

- Do you talk to your characters or your muse or both?

• I talk to myself, curse at my muse, and have pacing conversations in my character’s POVs when working out a scene or idea. To writers this is sane, to everyone else… lol. (Renee Note: Don't I know it.)

Promo Section

~ Most Recent Release ~

Lilith Enraptured Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing ISBN: 9781419959493 BUY NOW Lilith Enraptured by Michelle M. Pillow Book one of the Divinity Warriors Series Sorin of Firewall lives in a land forever at war. In fact, the Starian men are so busy fighting, their marriage ceremony has been reduced to a "will of the gods" event where they simply pick a woman out of a lineup and claim her as a wife. With women becoming scarce, it's necessary to trade with the off world Divinity Corporation for brides. Duty-bound to attend the ceremony, Sorin has no intention of picking a bride, let alone one from another dimension. That is, until he sees Lilith, the bewitching woman sent by the gods to reward—or punish?—him. Lilith, a data analyst for Divinity, is betrayed by the Corporation and wakes up in a primitive, uncharted dimension filled with warriors who know only war and duty. Her fear of becoming a sex slave to a big, beefy knight becomes all too real when a warrior of god-like proportions claims she's his new woman. As Lilith discovers, there are worse fates than being the focus of Sorin's skillful and earthy seduction.

~ Coming Soon ~

Prisoner of Love Anthology with Jaid Black and Tawny Taylor Publisher: Pocket Books ISBN: 978-1439131534 BUY NOW JAID BLACK Warlord When a business trip to Scotland unexpectedly takes her back in time, Janet is enslaved by a fierce Scottish warrior whose uncontrollable urge to possess her ignites a steamy passion and unveils a sweet surprise. TAWNY TAYLOR Dragons and Dungeons Kaya tries to tempt the flirtatious hunk who outbids her at an auction into selling his prize, but instead he charms her back to his palatial estate and convinces her to accept him as her master so he can satisfy all her desires. MICHELLE M. PILLOW Taming Him A hard-bodied stud kidnaps Maggie to his alien spaceship, where he showers her with enticing pleasures and unrequited passion until she's ready to believe -- and do -- almost anything to be his.

Learn More
Website – www.michellepillow.com
Blog – www.michellepillow.com/blog
Twitter - http://twitter.com/michellepillow
Newsletter – http://www.michellepillow.com/newsletter/?p=subscribe
Free Story – www.ravenhappyhour.com
Myspace- http://www.myspace.com/michellepillow


Thanks, Michelle! Join me next week for Leanna Renee Heiber's interview!!

Movie/Anime Review: Ponyo

Ponyo

Basic Premise:
Ponyo is a curious little human-faced fish girl (you might even call her a mermaid) who wants to know about the world of humans. She meets Sosuke who is determined to take care of her even if taking her from her water world could mean the end of his.

Anime Review: Red Garden

Red Garden

# of Episodes:
22 + 1 OAV

Genre:
Shoujo, Supernatural, Horror, Mystery

Manga:
Yes, 4 trades.
Not currently licensed in US
Japanese and Chinese language only.
Adapted from TV series.

Basic Premise:
4 girls, strangers except for their connection with a mutual friend, have been sucked into a world of supernatural intrigue. There is only one catch -- they are all dead. They've resurrected to battle. They have no choice but to fight and kill or they will die again... this time for good. Their lives are thrown into turmoil as they try to balance being formerly dead and teenagers.

Review:
Engaging. It really makes you care for the characters and their lives. Each character is dynamic and you're able to relate to them. Interesting premise.

Now for the bad news. Red Garden commits my all time biggest pet peeve where anime is concerned -- they don't explain anything. There is an understanding that all anime viewers have come to with regards to the medium -- you know you have to wait for the huge explanation that will shed light on everything. It's just something you accept. I waited 22 episodes for a more in depth explanation of why the girls had to die, why there was a curse, and who exactly were the Animus and Dolore? None of it was explained.

Instead we get to see the main characters -- Claire, Rachel, Rose, and Kate -- go through the same un-life crisis over and over, episode after episode. While that helps to flesh out the characters and make the viewer care more for them, it does nothing for the plot. Some of the high school girl angst could have been cut so focus could go back to the real issue -- a war being fought under the city's nose.

And I'm still not sure why the characters felt the need to break out into song at odd intervals in the earlier episodes. The songs were nice and I wouldn't mind hearing them again. It was just a little strange.

The OAV picks up where the series leaves off. I can't say too much about it without giving away the ending of the series, but it was an interesting installment.

I'm glad I rented this little gem. If I had bought it based on the previews, I would have been very, very angry. As it is, I'm just sorry I wasted all that time.

Recommendation:
Rental -- something to pass the time if you want a little drama in your life and don't care about plot.

Author Interview: Bess McBride

The Basics
- Bess McBride
- Genre(s): Light paranormal/fantasy, contemporary, vintage, time travel, romantic suspense
- Publisher(s): The Wild Rose Press

To Other Authors

- What are the three MOST important pieces of advice you would give to a brand new author?

• Use elements of your life in your writing…it helps lend your story authenticity. In other words, write what you know…and then make up the rest!

• Don’t quit. Just like jogging or exercising, don’t quit…because you may never go back.

• Diversify. Like an investment portfolio, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Keep submitting to new publishers.

- What's your favorite way to advertise?

• Well, my favorite way would be to have a publicist, but I’m not in that league… I love the use of the Internet, and I’ve found most of my readers through online groups.

- What hard-knock lesson did the publishing world teach you (can be your own experience or someone else's that you learned from)?

• As I mentioned before, diversify. Just because one is completely happy with a publisher doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t always keep an eye out for other opportunities to publish their work.

For the Readers

- What are you reading, if anything, at the moment?

• Lots and lots of training manuals for my new job. I haven’t had a chance to read anything for pleasure in a while.

- Do you prefer ebooks or print for your reading pleasure?

• I’ll admit to enjoying print books, but if I want an immediate read, I’ll order an e-book.

- Name three of your all-time-favorite, read-them-over-and-over books.

• “A Knight in Shining Armor,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “The Ivy Tree”

Idle Curiosity Compels Me to Ask

- What inspired you to be a writer?

• I wanted to write ever since I was a troubled 14 yo, and a counselor suggested I write my life history…no doubt as a way to get me to talk. After reading it, she said I should write. Although I’m sure it was a way to focus a lost teenager, I hung on her words.

- What do you do immediately after finishing a manuscript?

• I write up the query and e-mail it off to the publisher.

- Do you talk to your characters or your muse or both?

• I really don’t have a muse per se. And I don’t talk to my characters. But I listen in as they talk to each other… :)

Promo Section

~ Most Recent Release ~

My most recent release is “Caribbean Dreams of Love,” available at all online bookstores. Publisher: The Wild Rose Press ISBN: 1-60154-374-3 Blurb: Daisy and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lily, are embarking on a Caribbean cruise. She isn't looking for anything special on the cruise other than a pleasant break from her humdrum existence as long-time divorced single mother to a busy teenage girl. She certainly isn't prepared for an enigmatic man named Peter whose idiosyncrasies in dress and speech mark him as an eccentric person to avoid. But Daisy can't avoid him. In fact, she begins to obsess about him from the first moment she catches him staring at her in the cruise ship terminal. Peter remains elusive and mysterious throughout the cruise. She catches sight of him occasionally, never often enough to please her, and they connect one wonderful night as he sweeps her into his arms for a waltz. A waltz? On a Caribbean cruise ship? While Daisy's dinner companions share nightly tales of the legends of cursed pirates, Daisy dreams of the mysterious man who has captured her heart. BUY NOW

~ Coming Soon ~

My upcoming release is “On a Warm Sea of Love,” from The Wild Rose Press ISBN 1-60154-584-3 Blurb: Hailey Saunders accompanies her beloved matchmaking sister, Megan, on a cruise to the beautiful and exotic Caribbean...something she’s avoided for a long time...ever since her young husband, Zach, was lost off a fishing trawler in the Bering Sea during a storm. At first, Hailey cried daily for months, then weekly for a year, but now she doesn’t cry at all. Why? Because Zach returned to her...or at least, his ghost did. His voice remains her constant companion, allowing her to avoid the pain of real life...of falling in love with someone else. A flirtatious but ineligible Scots ship's officer, Alan Campbell, has his eye on Hailey as does the handsome and mysterious European, Karl de Groot. Megan is ready to make a match for her sister, but Zach finds it hard to let his wife go...or is it Hailey who refuses to say goodbye? Three men want her...only one can have her! Buy Link, available September 25, 2009

Learn More
- Website: http://www.bessmcbride.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bessmcbride
- Blog/Newsletter: http://www.willtravelforromance.blogspot.com



Thanks Bess!

Join me next week for Michelle M. Pillow.

Book Talk Interview

I've been interviewed by Book Talk with J&J.

Stop on by and leave a comment and you are entered for a chance to win a free print. :D

Author Interview: Marie Rochelle

(Renee Note: This interview is posted a little late due to real life wackiness for me and the interviewee. Sorry about that.)

The Basics
- Marie Rochelle
- Genre(s): Interracial and Contemporary Romances
- Publisher(s): Red Rose Publishing, Phaze Books, Cobblestone Press

To Other Authors

- What are the three MOST important pieces of advice you would give to a brand new author?

• 1) Never give up when you get a reject because the first ‘yes’ is right around the corner.

• 2) Research is your friend.

• 3) After you sign your first contract promo, promo and promo some more.

- What's your favorite way to advertise?

• Bookmarks or postcards and of course the internet. :)

- What hard-knock lesson did the publishing world teach you (can be your own experience or someone else's that you learned from)?

• Everyone isn’t going to like your book(s) so don’t let a bad review get you down.

For the Readers

- What are you reading, if anything, at the moment?

• Right now, I’m not reading anything, but I’m hoping to start reading a new book soon. Just have to pick one off of my bookshelf. (Renee Note - Lord, I know that feeling. I so want to read but I barely have time to watch TV... which is sad.)

- Do you prefer ebooks or print for your reading pleasure?

• I love print books, but my ebook collection is growing each and every day.

- Name three of your all-time-favorite, read-them-over-and-over books.

• *Simply Wicked by Lisa G. Riley
• *Anything by Kimberly Kaye Terry
• * Marilyn Lee books

Idle Curiosity Compels Me to Ask

- What inspired you to be a writer?

• I have always wanted to be a writer and I finally decided to do it.

- What do you do immediately after finishing a manuscript?

• I set it to the side for a couple of days and then go back over it. (Renee Note: It's funny how many people do this. But I guess it's the plan that works best.)

- Do you talk to your characters or your muse or both?

• Sometimes, it is a little of both.

Promo Section

~ Most Recent Release ~

My latest release is Three Cheers. It was released on August 6th from Red Rose Publishing. Blurb: Brock Garret has been lusting after the sexy mocha-skinned beauty Jamina Madison ever since he called her to become his daughter’s cheerleading coach. He knew that he should keep his distance, but its hard when she looks so damn good in those tight, white ass-hugging shorts….there is only so much a man can take. Out of all of the coaching jobs in the world, why did she end up working for Brock Garrett? It wasn’t fair for one man to be that damn fine without even trying. Just one look from his dark blue eyes could make her forget everything going on around her, but Jamina Madison was trying her best to keep her distance. Because if he could get her hot just from a look, what would happen once she gave in and let his hands touch her body? ISBN: 978-1-60435-390-7 BUY NOW

~ Coming Soon ~

My upcoming release is Desire. It will be released from Phaze Books in September. Blurb: Desire is when you can close your eyes, think of what you want…then you can smell it, taste it, and feel it stroking your skin. It’s almost better than sex….Almost. Communication Specialist Nick Lavery never thought he would be the recipient of a Dear John letter. But that is what happened when his girlfriend ran off with another man….the worst part was that she left it taped to the refrigerator door. He wasn’t thinking about meeting anyone new when he decided to stop for a cup of coffee to drown his sorrows. Tasha Kelly was taking a much needed break from her job as a supply store chain manager at the local coffee shop when she noticed him at the counter ordering something to drink. It was then that she started craving more than caffeine…

Learn More
- Website: www.freewebs.com/irwriter/
- Blog/Newsletter: http://shopdiva28.blogspot.com/
- Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marie_rochelle/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarieRochelle2/


Thanks, Marie!!

Join me next week for Bess McBride's interview.

Movie Review: GI Joe - Rise of Cobra

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra


Premise
From toys to cartoons to comics to the big screen, G.I. Joe has made it at last. The threat is weapon that could destroy the world. The Joe have to keep the weapon out of enemy hands, take the enemy down, and do it all without the world even knowing they were there.

Author Interview: Karin Welss

The Basics
- Michaela August, Karin Welss
- Brand: House of the Rose
- Genre(s): historical fantasy, vampire, historical romance
- Publisher(s): Awe-Struck eBooks

To Other Authors

- What are the three MOST important pieces of advice you would give to a brand new author?

• (1) Never pay a publisher--money should always flow towards the author.

• (2) Always meet your deadlines.

• (3)Don't take bad reviews personally (this last piece of advice is the hardest to follow, in my opinion).

- What's your favorite way to advertise?

• Receiving a favorable book review is the best method, I think, but also the hardest to predict. But there's just something about getting good word-of-mouth.... The most effective advertising method so far has been a Web banner advertising free opening chapters to my books.

- What hard-knock lesson did the publishing world teach you (can be your own experience or someone else's that you learned from)?

• That an ineffective agent is worse than no agent at all. It's a terrible dilemma when you finally get a legitimate agent to represent your writing--most of the big publishing houses these days refuse to consider unagented material--but my co-author and I also ended up waiting for two years while our novel sat on an editor's desk because our newbie, timid agent was afraid to call him in case he might get mad at her. As soon as we found out why things were taking so long, we severed our relationship with this agent, but it was still two years of lost time.

For the Readers

- What are you reading, if anything, at the moment?

• At the moment, I'm reading Thorn Moon, a friend's unpublished novel manuscript. She's a wonderful writer, it's a terrific story, and I sincerely hope a publisher leaps at the chance to publish her YA fantasy.

- Do you prefer ebooks or print for your reading pleasure?

• Publishing format is unimportant to me--I choose my books by author and subject. Some authors are only published in paper, other only in ebook format.

• Actually, at the moment, I'm doing most of my "reading" by listening to audiobooks, since I can do that in the car or at work, and thus save my free time at home for wrestling with my current novel-in-progress.

- Name three of your all-time-favorite, read-them-over-and-over books.

• Only three? (Renee Note: Everyone always ask that. :P) That's a really difficult one! I have a whole trove of books, both on my shelves and on my computer, that I'll pull out as comfort reads. Here are the three favorite books I've re-read most recently:

• - A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold (unabridged audiobook, but I also own the hardback book)

• - Island of Ghosts, by Gillian Bradshaw (probably my favorite historical novel of all time)

• - Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon (the unabridged audiobook version, narrated by Davina Porter, though I also own the hardback book)

Idle Curiosity Compels Me to Ask

- What inspired you to be a writer?

• I've been writing ever since I could remember, because there have always been stories moving through my head like movies. Learning how to read and write gave me a way to put some of the stories away for safekeeping, and free up space in my brain for new stories. My mother recently gave me a box of my childhood papers that included my very first novel, Alek the Lone Wolf, a Jack London pastiche written in the second grade.

- What do you do immediately after finishing a manuscript?

• Re-read a favorite book, and obsess about how I'll never measure up to my writing idols. Then I bake a few cakes or try out a new ice cream recipe, go for a massage, and satisfy my inner twelve-year-old by watching anime until I'm ready to start writing another story.

- Do you talk to your characters or your muse or both?

• It's not so much a conversation as it is channel-surfing through the 360 channels of entertainment in my head. *g* As I move through my day, I'll get bits of dialogue here, a quick visual snippet there, and once in a while, something more, a whole scene or an entire conversation, that I can build a story around.

• Once I settle on a story and characters, then my mind is tuned to that channel most of the time, and I can "see" and "hear" the next bits while I'm walking, or driving, or waiting for the software at work to chug through some task. So, my characters do talk to me, in a sense, but it's not a conversation as much as me eavesdropping on them interacting.

• (Renee Note: I'm not alone!! *cues up Michael Jackson music*)

Promo Section

~ Most Recent Release ~

Most recent novel: The Shattered Crown by Michaela August (House of the Rose: Book Five) In the gripping conclusion to the House of the Rose series, the revelation of an ancient conspiracy explodes into war between the House's vampire protectors and an exiled goddess. Awe-Struck E-Books, Inc., Published: 2008 ISBN: 9781587496646 BUY NOW

First solo novel: Twist of Honor by Karin Welss Awe-Struck E-Books, Inc., Published: 2007 It's the spring of 1666, and Kit Fitzgeorge, a disabled mercenary soldier, finds himself in desperate straits, unable to earn an honorable living but unwilling to beg charity. To provide for his young daughter, he agrees to kidnap the young, wealthy, and widowed Countess of Cranbourne and deliver her into a forced marriage with an impoverished nobleman. While waiting for the perfect opportunity to abduct the Countess, he becomes dangerously attracted to her, and finds himself forced to choose between his daughter's welfare and an impossible love. ISBN-10: 1587496429 BUY NOW

Learn More

- Website: http://www.michaela-august.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Karin-Welss/628319234
- Blog/Newsletter: http://sharibet.livejournal.com (mostly my travel journals and anime/manga reviews)
(Renee Note: She does anime/manga reviews too. Kindred spirit!!)

Thanks, Karin!!

Join me next week for Marie Rochelle.