The Children of Nox series by Joann H. Buchanan

Please welcome Author Joann H. Buchanan onto the Road to Hell. Joann H. Buchanan is the author of The Kiss, book 2 in The Children of Nox series . Other books written by Joann H. Buchanan are  Soulless Light, I AM WOLF, book 1 of the Children of Nox series.

Now, it’s time to create a little hell and get to the good stuff by revealing all of Joann’s wicked secrets while on the Road to Hell. LOL  Yeah, you wish! ;-D 

Grab your favorite drink, sink your teeth into something decadent, sit back, relax and enjoy getting to know Joann H. Buchanan…

GRACEN:  Tell me three things about yourself that we cannot find on the internet or in your bio?

JOANN: I love flip flops.

I love the summer.

I enjoy playing in the rain.

GRACEN: What hobbies and interests do you participate in when you’re not writing?

JOANN: I mix music together for no apparent reason at all. I like to play around with different sounds and see what I can come up with.

I also love to swim. I have been swimming since I was a teenager. I still love it and I have been using it to get back into shape.

GRACEN: Do you have any writing quirks or certain things you MUST have or do before beginning the writing process?

JOANN:  I have to have a cool list of music and my coffee when I write. It’s sort of like enticing the muse inside me to come out and play.

GRACEN: If you were plotting to take over the world, how would you do it?

JOANN: I would take over all the banks. I mean the entire world is ran from the banking system. Then I would throw the key away and tell people to live without money and see what happens. Most people don’t think the world could revolve without money. The truth is that it did at one time. Of course that was centuries ago. I think if that was set aside, people would take a look at their value in a different light. WE all have gifts we never use or tap into. What would happen if we all used them for the betterment of man as opposed to the lining of the pocket?

GRACEN: If you could make one statement that the entire planet would hear and remember, what would it be?

JOANN: Be yourself and never forget to give back, because you never know who you will be helping and what that might inspire.

GRACEN:  What genre do you write and why that genre?

JOANN:  I sort of write a combination of genres. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, romance. I don’t like being stuck in one single genre. I think it’s important to stretch out and let the imagination flow.

GRACEN: For those who are not yet familiar with Joann H. Buchanan, can you please give us some details about the book and/or series?

JOANN: The series is called The Children of Nox. The first book in the series is called, I AM WOLF.

BLURB

Angel, hero, monster, devil--we all become what we really are. I Am Wolf --The journey of a boy about to become a man who inherits his ancestors gift and must learn the right way to use it. He falls in love with Alaynee and begins to feel like he is normal again. When their world is shattered by the kidnapping of Alaynee's little brother, Jonah breaks the cardinal rule of his gift and bites the kidnapper, creating a creature called the unnatural. This sends him and all his friends on an adventure across the states to a place in Tennessee. There they find not only must they stop the unnatural creature, but they must save Cara--the girl the creature is after. Jonah must ask himself the most important question of all, would you sacrifice yourself to save another

GRACEN:  Do you have any new stories in the works and can you tell us a bit about it/them?

JOANN: I’m working on a fantasy called Dragon’s Eye. It’s about a forbidden love and a curse. That’s about all I can’ say at this time about it.

GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with one word or brief phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they’ve finished reading your story.

JOANN: Poetry in motion.

GRACEN: What, in your opinion, makes your story unique and what makes it stand out from other stories in your genre? Think of this as a pitch to convince readers to pick up your books.

JOANN:

So many movies and books out there have a kiss break a spell or show the characters fall in love. Mine is the opposite. Can a kiss really trap a soul?

GRACEN: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

JOANN: At this point in time, I have only read for my research. I haven’t had a chance to really research anything.

GRACEN: Of all your books, which character did you have the most fun creating and why?

JOANN: I gotta go with the villains. They are so much fun to write because they have no real moral compass. 

GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

JOANN: I would like to meet Cleo so I could slap her and tell her to wake up. I’d also like to meet Monkey King, just because he is always a fun one to write. I would imagine he has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh.

GRACEN: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

JOANN: Ralph from I AM WOLF, because crazy is real. Ash from The Kiss,  because I would never want to mess with a demon.

GRACEN:  If you were interviewing yourself, what is the one question you would ask yourself and please give us the answer to that question?

JOANN: What were you thinking when you decided to write for the entire world to read?

Hell if I know but it sure has been one helluva ride. 

GRACEN:  Thanks so much for joining us, Joann H. Buchanan!  It’s been a treat getting to know you better! 

Website:  http://joannhbuchanan.blogspot.com/

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Joann-H.-Buchanan/e/B005PBUGWG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Fb https://www.facebook.com/JoannHBuchanan

Twitter @JoannHBuchanan

Youtube

http://youtu.be/hXc-QcYQmfw

BLURB:  THE KISS

When you've been touched by the darkness, it leaves a mark on your soul.

Jonah and Alaynee are happily putting the past behind them. They're planning a wedding and moving forward. Great news is waiting for them and the youngling pack. 

When Cathy, Alaynee's mom, finds a stranded girl in the city and brings her back. Alaynee soon discovers there's more to her then meets the eye. Cleo is a lioness whose powers over men will haunt Alaynee in more ways then one. Will Jonah and Alaynee be able to plan their happily ever after or will the evil that resides have it's way?

EXCERPT: (any heat level as this is an 18+ site)

Through dragon’s fire made of ice, I change. I close my eyes to hear the stars whisper in my ear, though nothing is revealed. Torn between a past I don’t understand and a present I can’t escape, oh how my heart cries out please ancestors do not choose me.

It is a single kiss that fills my dreams and haunts me in every waking hour. A kiss filled with hell’s fire burns within me—a kiss. Invisible breezes rush past me on the cliff of my own demise where I feel my heart aching for the manifestation of something, someone that doesn’t exist. A kiss.

The cave calls to me, beckons me to enter just beyond the white thorn bush. There just ahead, past the fog travels a sound from a flute. I can see him, the clown that is. He waves to me every night and points the way. A kiss.

I wait for you my shadow man—the entity of my dreams. You are the soul that touches me. The past is gone…the present soon to dawn, and now I see the fabrics woven in the tapestries. It is a kiss I wait to give you. A kiss of freedom—a kiss from yesterday—a kiss that shreds the past and carries us into the future. A kiss. Just as my dreams of seeing you are about to come alive—I wake.

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Everyone’s Gone Crazy!

I’ve ranted many times this week on Facebook about pirates stealing my books and offering them to the world as a free download. I’ve gotten into some heated debates with people over the practice. One compared authors who charge for their work to despots who rape and kill innocent women and children. *mouth opens and closes* Serioulsy? Seriously! I have no words for the ridiculousness of that statement! There’s no comparison. Charging for a book isn’t even in the same ballpark as defiling and murdering someone, so I chose to ignore the ridiculousness of that idiocy. And if this is a serious valid argument on the pirates' side…I say, “walk the plank!” for stupidity alone!

I do find it bizarre that no one would work for free, not even the pirates, however, that’s what they’re saying authors should do. Because we owe it to society to share our intellectual creativeness with them. Well, here’s my reply to that… SCREW YOU! I owe no one outside my family anything! No one would expect an artist to paint/draw for free, so why just authors? We pay $10 to walk into a movie theater for two hours of entertainment. But ask readers—not all, but the pirates specifically—to pay $5 for a book and you’d think we’re asking them to starve their children. I don’t get the logic. I seriously do not. Yes, some ebooks are overpriced, mine are not, so stop stealing them! A book can provide hours of entertainment, a movie only a few. A few pirates have mentioned that they didn’t know if they would like the book. Yeah…well, you don’t know if you’ll like the movie either and you still pay TWICE as much for A ticket to see one of those (and that doesn’t include the money you’re going to fork out for the insane concession prices).

Enough with arguing my points against theirs, it’s been a week of talking in circles and I’m tired of it. I joined an Anti-pirates group full of authors this week. (I won’t give the name to protect the guilty). And last night they’re talking about fighting back with activities that are illegal. I messaged the admin telling him/her that I was out. His/her reply was an abrupt, “see ya”. I’m a paralegal and supporting a group that thinks it’s okay to fight back with illegal tactics is no better than the pirates in my opinion. And it doesn’t help our cause, but makes us all look bad. Not only that, but when they get caught, every person in that group will be considered an accessory to the crime.

Insanity!!

Amidst the pirates, the whatever of Noble Romance—she billed herself as owner, but now claims she was only an employee, but even her FB and Twitter page signify herself as owner—jumped ship, pointing fingers at the “owners” and management. A letter came from an employee a day or so later, pointing fingers at the ship jumper (name not used to protect the guilty). I don’t care who was at fault. I know the ship jumper was the one who made promises and never returned my emails, and then had the audacity to bitch at me for continuing to email her until she replied. She had a million things going on and didn’t have time to reply to me. Let me state for the record that I have never had this problem with Decadent Publishing. Please accept this as my official, “THANK YOU soooooooo much for your professionalism!!!”

None of us Noble authors know what’s going on, if there will still be a publishing house in a month or a year, not even if the owner plans to keep things running. Will he close shop and make us legally fight for our rights back? Will he just hand our rights back to us? Or will he try to keep a sinking ship afloat? It’s all speculation at the moment.

If that wasn’t enough, the ship jumper is apparently angry over authors being angry that she jumped ship. Seriously? Seriously! What did she expect? When you abruptly leave everyone in the lurch, royalties haven’t been paid, and you point blank state you have no idea what’s going to happen to our books, or Noble, people are going to be angry. Rightfully so. When you have this many authors who depend upon their royalties from their books, they will be furious and for her not to expect them to be angry is stupidity. Grow up and deal with it! I won’t even go into the name-calling she’s committed against Noble authors publicly. Not me specifically. I didn’t want my Hellhounds to get up in arms and ready to kick more ass in defense of my shady name. ;-)

But, yeah, classy the way this is all turning out, huh?

Jesus…people are crazy. All this drama has sucked the joy out of writing this week, but I will prevail. I am writing today, dammit! I just had to get that off my chest first.

Happy Saturday, Hellhounds.

Huggles,

Gracen

Dark Minds Blook Tours: The Catalyst by Zoe Winters

(click on photo to be taken to Dark Mind's blog tour)

The Catalyst

It started with one lost pup; it may end in a war…Panthers don’t do responsibility. They don’t do long-term relationships. They definitely don’t raise kids. But when Z discovers a young wolf in the forest, he takes him in, unaware of the powerful beings hunting the pup. Fiona is a witch who can’t leave her house; the birds have told her something bad will happen. The mailbox is as far as she’ll go, but even that may provide more danger than she’s bargained for. When a wolf pup stumbles into her garden, her safe, wrapped-up world heads for a free fall.But along with danger, the pup brings a chance at love—a chance an agoraphobic witch and a bachelor panther shifter aren’t likely to find on their own.

EXCERPT:

Just have to make it to the mailbox. Everything will be okay. Fiona Patrone stared out the window at the lonely box at the end of the driveway. Her house was surrounded by trees in a heavily wooded area of Golatha Falls—so far out it was amazing the mailman delivered. And yet it felt so open and unknown out there. It was safer inside.

There probably isn’t any mail. Just check it tomorrow. Nothing important. Not worth going out. The thoughts tunneled through her mind like vicious moles. If she didn’t venture out, she’d be even more a prisoner of her own mind and fears. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone past the mailbox. If she got to the point where she couldn’t even get that far…

The birds outside screeched then, chattering warnings, screaming the same awful things they screamed at her every day. If you go out there, something bad will happen. She believed them. Birds had no reason to lie. They were excellent seers, so much so, that for centuries people had read bird entrails, not realizing that you needed a live bird to get any knowledge of value.

Something bad. They could at least give her a little detail, some clue as to what she should fear, but the threat remained the same—vague and foreboding as ever.

Fiona had been able to understand the language of animals before she could understand that of humans—a rare and special gift for a witch to inherit. Though she’d always seen it as a curse. If not for those damned birds, she’d be outside living her life. Maybe she would have found love, a job, something.

Well, she had a job—on the Internet. Her money was direct-deposited. She ordered her clothes online and had her groceries delivered. Thanks to the web, agoraphobia had never been so easy. At least from a logistics standpoint.

She took in a slow, measured breath, her hand poised over the doorknob. You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. Fiona mentally repeated it like a subliminal message she prayed would take hold. The doorknob clicked in her hand. She moved through what felt like invisible molasses as she forced herself out the door and into the throng of screeching, angry birds.

The wind had a new crispness. Almost Halloween. As a witch, shouldn’t she be in her element right about now? But the idea of ghosts and goblins and veils thinning served to make the whole ordeal seem more dangerous.

Fifty-five steps. She counted them every day because counting them was the only way she could make herself get there. It wasn’t far. She could run back into her house if the birds were right.

The mailbox held nothing of interest: an electric bill that could have waited until tomorrow. On her way back, step twenty-four, she became aware of the eerie silence. The birds had stopped their squawking, and a stillness blanketed the yard. She would have run straight for the front door except for the plaintive cry coming from somewhere nearby.

Ignore it. It’s not your concern, she told herself. Thirty-five. But the noise happened again. So sad, scared. Her heart softened at the sound. She’d want someone to help her if she were in distress. Fiona tucked the electric bill into the waistband of her jeans and struggled through the wild growth of the front yard. She hadn’t worked on the garden in five years, and it showed.

When she reached the side of the house, she found a wolf pup with wide, brown eyes, crying. He was old enough that he should have started learning the language of his kind, but he hadn’t. There were no words she could pick up and decipher. She could still get emotions and basic information, especially if those emotions were strong. In some circles, this made Fiona dangerous; in others, it would make her a pawn of those who might want to capitalize on such information.

The pup was lost, hungry, scared.

She didn’t sense a mother wolf nearby. Had he been abandoned? Her mind screamed at her to leave him there. But he was so hungry and pathetic. She couldn’t stop herself from scooping him up and taking him inside.

She sat him on the kitchen counter, and he stared curiously at her, turning his little wolf head to the side. He was reddish-brown and white, the cutest thing she’d seen in forever. At least he seemed old enough to be weaned.

She’d made a roast the previous night and wasn’t sure how that would fly with the little guy, but it was what she had. She cut some meat up and put it on the counter. The pup’s tail wagged as he gobbled up the food. She placed a bowl of water down, and he took care of that, too.

He stared at her from the top of the counter as if to say What next? Oh wow, yeah. She hadn’t thought through that part. If he was just lost, his mother would be coming soon. If he was all alone, she couldn’t have a wolf in her house. Even understanding what he needed, it was just insane. And probably illegal.

He positioned himself on the edge of the counter, shifting his weight from paw to paw, negotiating the drop to the ground. His full concentration was on the jump. When he made it to the linoleum floor, he looked up at her, all pleased with himself, and she melted. So cute.

“Well, maybe you can stay for a little while. Until I figure out what to do with you.” Those words had barely tumbled past her lips when the window over the breakfast nook shattered, and a large ball of black fur leaped into her kitchen.

It must be the mother. But no. As her confusion cleared, she could see it was a large, angry black panther.

Fiona edged back, afraid he’d pounce if she made any sudden moves. What she wouldn’t give right now to have a few handy incantations at the ready. For spells, she needed all the proper tools: sage stick, herbs, candles, salt, etc. She could incant a little if she was very focused, but now, with her heart pounding so fast, wasn’t one of those times. Her own name was a blank—forget coming up with a snappy protection chant.

She grabbed at stray pots and pans and emptied a whole drawer of utensils as she threw everything she had at him. But he batted the objects away, prowling closer, his growl low and menacing. Within seconds, he had her backed into a corner, claws out, swiping at her.

She screamed and grabbed her arm, which was starting to bleed. Her side burned as well. All at once, her brain snapped into sharp focus. She was going to die in a matter of seconds if she didn’t figure something out right now.

He’d stopped clawing at her for a minute and was growling, something about her taking the pup, wanting to hurt him, people after him. Oh, wait. Wait! She could feel the magic crackling around the panther. Therian! That meant there was a person in there. Somewhere.

She called on every reserve of courage she had to form words. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him. He was lost and hungry. I brought him in to feed him. That’s all. I’m not whoever you think I am.”

The panther stared at her hard and growled again.

“Yes, I understand you.”

How is that possible? He growled.

“Rare gift. I meant the pup no harm. I swear.” She held her hands out defensively, hoping he believed her. An insane panther therian in her house wasn’t how she wanted to go out. Blood dripped in a steady flow down her arm; her shirt was torn near her ribcage where more blood was pooling. Oh God. That swipe alone could have killed her.

Breathe, Fiona. He’s calm now. Everything will be fine. Thank God he was a therian and could understand her as well as she understood him.

She still couldn’t figure out what a panther’s concern with a wolf pup was. But really, all she wanted was to get the both of them out of her house and call a window repairman. She was trying to forget the bleeding part. She vowed she’d listen to the birds next time.

So you can understand him? The panther’s gaze shifted to the pup who gingerly stepped around the broken glass, sniffing things.

“Well, he doesn’t have language like you have yet, but I know what he needs. My gift runs a little deeper than just speech.” Not to toot her horn or anything.

He shifted—–right in the middle of her kitchen. Her eyes didn’t know where to go. Tanned, muscular legs. And… oh dear, skip that, skip that! But her brain had already processed parts of a man she’d never seen outside of television or the Internet, due to her phobia. There weren’t a lot of opportunities to hook up with men when you never left your house.

Farther up, there were very nice abs and pecs—–and those arms. Oh boy. She swiped the back of the hand that wasn’t bleeding across her face, afraid she might be drooling. She wanted to lick him, but under the circumstances that seemed a little weird. Her arm and side burned like fiery hell, but damn, he was pretty. So sleek and lithe, just like what he shifted into.

When her gaze made it up to his face, a boyish smirk graced his lips. There was a twinkle in his brown eyes. His dark hair was longish, but somehow still masculine. Oh yes, there wasn’t an unmanly bone in his body.

“So,” he drawled, moving closer by mere centimeters, “should we just get it on now?”

Her mouth dropped open. He couldn’t have just said that.

A strange look crossed his face. “Sorry. Wild animal here. A little amped up. That was inappropriate.” He extended a hand, attempting to move past the new awkwardness. “Let me look at you.”

The pain in her arm and side flared fully to life as she processed everything that had just happened in her kitchen. When she didn’t respond to his request, he pulled her toward him and lifted her shirt to inspect her side.

He frowned. “Not as bad as it could have been. Nothing major harmed.”

She was about to get angry and indignant about his flippant attitude toward what he’d just done, but then his eyes met hers, warm and honest.

“I’m very sorry about your injuries. I was afraid for the pup and sensed the magic on you. I thought you were one of the ones who tried to take him. I’m all he’s got.” The pup, as if sensing he was being talked about, clomped through the kitchen debris to sit between them, his little wolf gaze going back and forth.

Fiona looked back at the man standing in front of her, so sincere and intense… and attractive, and then the waterworks started.

“Oh, no, don’t cry,” he said, almost in a panic over the concept of female tears.

It wasn’t pain that had brought forth the tears; it was the fact that this was what it took to get near a hot guy for her: a near-death experience, and him breaking into her kitchen: the idea that he was going to take the pup and go on his merry way, and she’d have the memory of him emblazoned on her brain, but that would be all. Her close brush with maleness. Inches from her, but no dice.

It wasn’t that she wanted to take him up on his carnal offer. He was a stranger. And, as he said, a wild animal. And she wished he’d cover himself with something, because judging from outward signs, he was all raring and ready to go. Like most therians, he was unaffected by his own nudity or arousal. Something she wished humans shared in common with them, so she wouldn’t feel so freaked out by his nearness… or so much longing for something she wasn’t going to ever have since she couldn’t make it past her own mailbox.

His smooth, deep voice interrupted her mental hysteria. “Do you have bandages?”

“Bathroom, down the hall,” she said absently, feeling stupid for going all blubbery on him. Thank God he couldn’t read her mind and know why she’d been crying. That would have been too mortifying for words. Better for him to think she was just a big wimp who couldn’t take surface abrasions than to know the truth.

Copyright 2012, Zoe Winters.

Zoe Winters

Zoe Winters writes quirky and sometimes dark paranormal romance (and dark fantasy). Her favorite colors are rainbow and clear. For updates on new releases and opportunities for contests/giveaways sign up for the newsletter by sending a blank email to: freekept@gmail.com (As a thank you, you’ll receive a free copy of the debut novella in the Preternaturals series: Kept.)

Where you can find Zoe:

click here --> HERE <-- click here

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Name Contest

Want to see your name in a book? Here's  your chance! Follow the rules below and the rafflecopter and you're entered to win! It's that simple. The more times you tweet and Facebook, the more chances you'll have to be entered! 

Contest rules:

1. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

2. By entering this contest, you admit you are 18 years of age or older.

3. Photo must remain your profile picture throughout the contest. If you remove the photo at anytime prior to the end of the contest, you acknowledge you will be disqualified from the contest.

4. You must place one of the photos as your Facebook or Twitter profile picture and provide me with the link.

5. Contest is open to international residents.
6. If you're participating in the other contest I have running (THIS ONE), one of those buttons will suffice as your entry if you prefer to keep it. Just as long as your profile button is related to the Road to Hell series, I will count it as a valid submission.

Photos to pick from or use one from HERE and use as your profile picture:

  

 

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The Para-Posse: Gracen Miller's White Embrace

SIGNED SWAG CONTEST is open to international residents. In order to enter, click this link ---> The Para-Posse: Gracen Miller's White Embrace: White Embrace By Gracen Miller www.gracen-miller.com http://madisonroadtohell.blogspot.com/ White Embrace It reached out...

Fractured Light: Dark Mind Blog Tour

The Road to Hell series welcomes author Rachel McClellan

Please welcome Author Rachel McClellan onto the Road to Hell. Rachel McClellan is the author of Fractured Light. Other books written by Rachel McClellan are Fractured Soul and Confessions of a Cereal Mother, both of which will be released next year.

Now, it’s time to create a little hell and get to the good stuff by revealing all of Rachel’s wicked secrets while on the Road to Hell. LOL  Yeah, you wish! ;-D 

Grab your favorite drink, sink your teeth into something decadent, sit back, relax and enjoy getting to know Rachel.

~~~

GRACEN:  Tell me three things about yourself that we cannot find on the internet or in your bio?

Rachel: 1. The first boy I ever kissed is currently in jail for murdering his cell mate for snoring too loudly. 2. I was once pushed out of an airplane at 15,000 feet. Luckily I had on a parachute. 3. I once played McBeth (that’s right, the dude part) in my high school play, McBeth.

GRACEN: What hobbies and interests do you participate in when you’re not writing?

Rachel: I love to play volleyball and racquetball. And snowboard. I also love to make hand-dipped chocolates. It’s like making edible art, which, let’s face it, is really the best kind of art.

GRACEN: Do you have any writing quirks or certain things you MUST have or do before beginning the writing process?

Rachel: I have to have my music, which is usually dark, moody stuff. Other than that, I can write anywhere.

GRACEN: If you were plotting to take over the world, how would you do it?

Rachel: I would first start by buying up several islands, the ones I wouldn’t ever want to visit. Then I’d raise my Samurai army from the dead and command them to round up all the lame people. You know, the ones who don’t like shows like The Walking Dead, Supernatural, etc.

I kidding! I tease! Honestly, I would never want to rule the world. Too much work.

  

GRACEN: If you could make one statement that the entire planet would hear and remember, what would it be?

Rachel: It’s not much different from what I tell my children every day – “Life is not fair. Get over it.”

GRACEN:  What genre do you write and why that genre?

Rachel: I love the urban fantasy, paranormal, and horror genre because anything can happen, and I love the rush from being scared. Fear is a powerful emotion and for some reason, I love to exploit it. J

GRACEN: For those who are not yet familiar with Fractured Light, can you please give us some details about the book and/or series?

Rachel: Sure! It’s a YA paranormal book about a teenage girl, Llona Reese, who is an Aura, which means she has the ability to manipulate light. Her kind are taught to respect Light and its powers, but most importantly she’s taught that Light should never be used as a weapon. And then her life is threatened by the same “man” who killed her mother. She learns to use her Light in ways no one thought possible, but her actions come with consequences.

Book two, FRACTURED SOUL, is based at Lucent Academy, a school for Auras. Because of what happened in the end of book one, Llona will have some serious internal issues going on. She’ll also uncover some secrets at Lucent that will threaten Auras whole existence. And the final in the series, FRACTURED TRUTH, will wrap it all up with a shocking revelation.

GRACEN:  Do you have any new stories in the works and can you tell us a bit about it/them?

Rachel: Next year, in addition to the sequel to Fractured Light, my publisher will release my humorous memoir titled CONFESSIONS OF A CEREAL MOTHER. I’m also getting ready to query a paranormal/horror novel called UNLEASHED. It’s sort of a YA version of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. I really like this one.

GRACEN: If you could describe your writing with one word or brief phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they’ve finished reading your story.

Rachel: I would describe my writing as dark and moody, mingled with humor. I hope when readers finish Fractured Light they feel empowered, like they can conquer the world.

GRACEN: What, in your opinion, makes your story unique and what makes it stand out from other stories in your genre? Think of this as a pitch to convince readers to pick up your books.

Rachel: I feel my story is unique because of Llona and her ability to use light. Also, Llona is not your typical YA character who needs a guy to save her. She is quite capable on her own. It’s my motto that girls should want a guy around, not need one. Women are extremely powerful if they believe in themselves.

GRACEN: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

Rachel: To get in the mood for a couple of my projects, I’ve written inside a cemetery. I hope the atmosphere can be felt in my works.  

GRACEN: Of all your books, which character did you have the most fun creating and why?

Rachel: Gage in my book UNLEASHED. His comparable is Mr. Hyde. Maybe I’m twisted but it was a lot of fun creating a man without a conscience who does exactly what he wants to do.

GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

Rachel: I’ve always wanted to learn how to fight, so I’d want to meet Christian. With his shirt off.

GRACEN: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

Rachel: The character that’s not discussed a lot in Fractured Light, the Shadow. He plays a much bigger role than anyone realizes (in the first book at least), and I would never want to meet him. He has zero emotions, which makes for a very dangerous monster.

GRACEN:  If you were interviewing yourself, what is the one question you would ask yourself and please give us the answer to that question?  "If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional. with whom would it be?"

Rachel: Superman. He can pretty much do it all.

GRACEN:  Thanks so much for joining us, Rachel!  It’s been a treat getting to know you better! 

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BLURB: Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. But she never felt ready to face them---until now. Defying the Auran Council and everything she's been taught, Llona must learn to use her power over light as a weapon if she wants to survive.

EXCERPT: 

He took the ends of the necklace, and, after pushing my hair to the side of my neck, fastened it.

“Why did you choose that inscription?” I asked.

His hands moved to my shoulders. “I know I don’t act like it all the time, but you have no idea how much you mean to me.” He swallowed. “I need you to endure, to do all that you can to see that you live a good, long life. I couldn’t bear it if anything were to happen to you.”

I felt his body move close to mine. In one swift motion, I turned around and stared into his eyes. Any thoughts of him thinking I was like a sister were suddenly erased. He was looking at me with such passion that I wondered how he was able to hide it for so long. He leaned his forehead against mine and very slowly his hands moved up to my waist. My lips parted and air escaped.

The sound must’ve startled him because all of a sudden he froze and closed his eyes. His jaw muscles bulged. “I’m going to go set up a game or something,” he said and walked away.

“Can it be Twister?” I called after him.

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