The Road to Hell series welcomes author Kelsie Blanton

Please welcome Author KELSIE BLANTON onto the Road to Hell. KELSIE is the author of SAVING ME. This is KELSIE’S debut book.

Now, it’s time to create a little hell and get to the good stuff by revealing all of KELSIE’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 KELSIE BLANTON…

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

KELSIE: I want to travel all over the world. I’m actually writing a book, which I will delve into a little more in a bit, and I have the main character travelling to all of these places I want to travel to. I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of jealous. I am OBSESSED with Caramel Apple suckers. I literally went to the gas station the other day, walked to the section where they sell single pieces of candy, and grabbed the entire box. I spent twelve dollars on about 47 suckers. My favorite color is red. I always incorporate the color red into my books. The bedroom that Peyton has was the same bedroom I had as a teenager. In the book I’m writing on now, the main character has dark red hair just like I do.

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

KELSIE: Well, of course there is always reading and I obviously can’t say that I’m not obsessed with being on Facebook. That would be a bold-faced lie. I don’t clean on a day to day basis, but when I finally muster up the motivation to do it, I actually enjoy it when I have the music cranked up. *Blushes* I actually dance around the house while cleaning and I have a blast.

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

KELSIE: Well, this is where the suckers come back into play. I have to have a small pile of caramel apple suckers sitting next to me, a bottle of Mountain Dew/Dr. Pepper, and a notebook right beside me just in case I get any ideas for later chapters.

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

KELSIE: Hmm, there are so many different options for this. Many thoughts ran through my mind. Zombie apocalypse, an army of cats (lol), but I think I’m going to go with subliminal messaging.

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

KELSIE: I want to direct this statement to the growing bullying problem in this world. So many young children/teens are picked on daily.  If I could make one statement that the entire planet would hear and remember, it would be directed to the bullied and it would be, “It gets better”.

GRACEN: Very true, it does. Bullying is one of my biggest pet peeves and I don't understand why children are so mean to one another! What genre do you write and why that genre?

KELSIE: Honestly, it’s hard for me to label my books as far as a genre goes. It is definitely MATURE YA and up, but anything after that is difficult for me to sum up. My books have real life issues in them—tragic things that people deal with on a day to day basis, but then I may add a bit of romance, or something to give that specific character some sort of hope. So even though it has a tragic beginning, it could be labeled as Contemporary Romance, or even Inspirational at times.

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

KELSIE: Oh boy, let’s see if I can do this without giving too much away. *Laughs* In Saving Me, the main character is sixteen year old, Peyton Jones. She has what some call, “the perfect plan” in life. She’s a junior in high school and keeps amazing grades. She wants to go to NYU to become a writer. Peyton never has time for boyfriends but when the new kid starts giving her attention, she decides to make an exception. Shortly after, things begin to go downhill. Everything she has ever known is ripped from her grasp and she ends up with what she, at first believes, is nothing. She doesn’t know whether or not she can trust anyone ever again. Slowly, she becomes friends with Steve and things may or may not pick up for her. I’m going to stop right there! I’m the spoiler queen (ask my boyfriend). This book does have a very graphic scene in it and when I say it is for mature audiences, it really is.

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

KELSIE: Yes! I actually have two stories that are in the works. One of them is definitely out of my element. As I said before, my stories are more realistic and this one is called The Witch in Apartment 2B. It’s about a girl named Kat, who moves from Salem, MA to New York thinking that she is getting away from magic. Little does she know that she’s walking into a bigger, badder world full of more mystical beings than just witches. It’s actually been a lot of fun to write! I’m co-writing it with, Anna Leigh, who has not yet been published. This may be her debut novel, although she is working on another one of her own as well. The other one I’m working on is all mine! It’s called Broken Pieces and I cried writing the very first chapter. I have a pretty good feeling about it. I don’t want to go into detail on Broken Pieces though because it will pretty much give away a lot of important details. I want you all to be surprised when you read 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.

KELSIE: Life.

GRACEN: Hahaha! That was briefest answer I've ever seen to that question. But you got your point across. 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.

KELSIE: The most terrible and wonderful things can come from the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times. *Slowly pets cat in swivel chair* Curious now?

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

KELSIE: Well, you know how you see pictures saying “If I die, please erase the history on my computer”? If I die, I would definitely need the history on my computer erased. I’ve researched into some crazy stuff and then decided against using it. But, the most recent thing I did was buy three travel companions for Broken Pieces. The crazy part is that I want to travel to all three of these places and it makes it even harder for me to read through them without packing my suitcase and running out the door!

GRACEN: LOL I'm the same way, my husband might be surprised by some of the stuff on my computer. Of all your books, which character did you have the most fun creating and why?

KELSIE: That’s a tough question. I would have to say Peyton. She’s tough, brave, and no matter what she goes through, she at least tries to pick herself back up. I admire that.

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

KELSIE: Steve. I don’t even have to think about that one. Anybody willing to do what he does in Saving Me is awesome in my book.

GRACEN: Hmm...anyone who doesn't want to know more about that? I'm sure curious about what he did. Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?

KELSIE: That would have to be Aaron, and you’re going to have to read it to figure out why.

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

KELSIE: If you could steal a smooch from any guy in Hollywood, who would it be? My answer? No more questions! I’m just kidding. I would probably ask myself how I came up with Saving Me. The answer to that would be that I was almost in the same situation Peyton finds herself in. It didn’t happen, but I always wondered what if. So one night at work, I got the idea and when I got home, I sat down and started writing.

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

Website: www.kelsieblanton.wordpress.com

Buy Link: www.amazon.com

                 www.smashwords.com

If you are interested in a signed copy, feel free to email me at: kelsie_blanton@yahoo.com

BLURB:

Sixteen-year old Peyton Jones had it all: straight A's in school, the perfect boyfriend, and nothing to worry about but keeping her GPA up. Then one night her perfect world is suddenly ripped away from her. Everything she has ever known changes and she goes from having a perfect plan to watching her world crumble around her.

Steve Gibbons was the quarterback of his high school football team...until the new guy showed up and stole his spot, causing him to lose his chance at a scholarship. Football was his life and now he feels like he has nothing.

Drawn together after losing hope for their futures, Peyton and Steve become best friends, but as they grow closer, a colossal secret is revealed changing everything. Will Peyton be left to face her inevitable future alone, or can she trust enough to let someone else in?

EXCERPT:

I shivered as I walked into an open room that seemed to be below freezing. I had thought there would be a corner I could hole into while listening to everyone’s stories. So, I showed up just a little bit late thinking I could hide and be invisible to them. But as I walked into the isolated room and the door slammed itself shut, everyone’s eyes were on me.

Way to go, Peyton. Can we have a mental applause here?

I tried to force a smile on my face, but it was almost as though they could see right through it so I quickly gave up on that endeavor. I hadn’t taken one step since I had walked into the room so I looked around for a vacant chair to sit in that wasn’t located near the group. Unfortunately though, it appeared that at these types of events, all of the chairs in the room ended up in a circle.

Yay me.