Interview with Kaitlyn Davis

Welcome to the next stop on the SIMMER blog tour. We're talking with the author of SIMMER, Kaitlyn Davis.

Welcome, Kaitlyn! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I grew up right outside of New York City and have always dreamed of being an author! I blame my obsession with the paranormal almost completely on Buffy the Vampire Slayer – my all time favorite TV show – and have always wanted to write really creative, fantasy-driven young adult novels. I hope my Midnight Fire Series is just the beginning!

How long have you been writing?

Forever! When I was younger, my mom helped me duct tape construction paper together so I could write novels – my first ever was about a girl who spent the summer working at Disney World only to discovered a fantasy world where all of the characters came to life.  In high school, I moved onto romantic novellas. And in college I startedIgnite, the first book in the Midnight Fire Series. Everyday I learn something new about my writing style, and I hope each book I write just keeps getting better and better!

Tell us about SIMMER. What's the story about?

Simmer is the sequel to Ignite and it continues the story of Kira, Tristan and Luke. I always give so much away when I try to describe the plot – so here’s the back of the book description!

“Kira may have survived the eclipse, but her troubles are far from over. She's headed to Sonnyville with one goal in mind: to learn more about her parents. But with Luke and Tristan competing for her heart and Diana gunning for her head, time is running out on the search for her mother. And the closer Kira gets to answers, the more terrified she becomes. The conduits fear her, the vampires fear her, and Kira is starting to wonder if maybe they're right...”

Sounds great! Did you find writing a sequel challenging?

Not at all! I loved it! So far, the hardest part for me to write was the beginning of Ignite. I love that with a sequel you can sort of skip the introductions and jump right into the fast-paced action scenes. With Blaze, the third book in the series, it is getting even easier. The biggest challenge now is hoping I don’t disappoint readers – but I don’t think I will!

Are you a planner or a pantser?

Definitely a planner! I make so many outlines it is sort of ridiculous. But, once the story takes off, I often ditch aspects of the plan and go with my in-the-moment, gut instincts!

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

So far, the most difficult part for me was the beginning of Ignite. I knew there would be a few similarities to Twilight in the first 4-5 chapters, but once the story really took off and the action began, everything got easier. Once I knew the story was in its own unique realm, I stopped worrying about making sure it was different enough to engage readers and became more confident in my work.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Coffee! I’m a total junkie! I don’t know what I would do without my Keurig :)

Who are your top three book characters from other authors?

Oo, tough call! The first has got to be Hermione from Harry Potter – I love her! Sometimes being the hero doesn’t mean being the strongest or the biggest, sometimes intelligence is the greatest power of all. Second, I have to go with some man-candy and say Will from Clockwork Prince – I seriously wish he could leap from the pages and into my life! Third and final…gah, so tough…Alanna from The Song of the Lioness. In my opinion, she is the original kick-butt heroine and Tamora Pierce definitely taught me a thing or two about strong female characters. 

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Flying! This is sort of strange, but I have a huge fear of flying on airplanes because if they fall, there is really nothing you can do. If I could just fly myself around, I’d have no problem!

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Hm…probably the best techniques for beheading people! If you read Simmer you might understand! I was writing a certain scene, and clearly have no experience beheading people, and wanted to look up some medieval methods.

Wow, that probably got you pinned on the FBI watch list, lol. Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: survivor, sprinkler, and llama. 

Across the dangerous terrain two warriors stood in the ultimate test of strength – a sprinkler ready to spray and a llama ready to spit – but in the scorching afternoon heat there would only be one survivor.

(Haha, silly I know! If I ever published anything called The Zoo Chronicles, this will be the opening sentence.)

Hehehe, sounds intense. Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

Gosh, my family is definitely number one! My parents have always been so incredibly supportive and my sisters are seriously my number one fans. My best friend Maria, unofficial editor of my books since we were 12, and my roommate Leah, unofficial publicity director since she brags about my books when I won’t. Every single blogger who has let me take up precious space on their front page, and every person who has read my books and spread the word. And, of course, Tribute Books for putting this amazing tour together.

One thing that has amazed me since starting my journey in self-publishing is that there are so many people who are willing to help. So, for anyone else who I haven’t specifically mentioned, thank you – truly and sincerely, thank you.

And finally, where can people find you and your books online?

Here are a few links! I love interacting with readers and talking to people, so please connect with me!

Blog: http://kaitlyndavisbooks.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kaitlyn-Davis/354014464614748

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DavisKaitlyn

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5276341.Kaitlyn_Davis

Ignite links –

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ignite-Midnight-Fire-Series-ebook/dp/B005U8GQT6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ignite-kaitlyn-davis/1106913247?ean=2940032804314&itm=1&usri=ignite+kaitlyn+davis

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/95191

Simmer Links –

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Simmer-Midnight-Fire-Series-ebook/dp/B007R82KLK/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

Barnes & Noble: TK

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/148504

Thanks so much for chatting with us, Kaitlyn. I wish you the best of luck with the Midnight Fire series!

The Booker Award

YA writer and blogger A.K. Fotinos-Hoyer surprised me this past weekend with an award. It's for book bloggers, and although I'm not a blogger who reviews books, I do blog about book launches and interview writers of all kinds. So thank you, A.K., for the wonderful award!

Here's what the Booker Award is about:

This award is for book bloggers only. To receive this award the blog must be at least 50% about books (reading or writing is okay)
Along with receiving this award, you must also share your top five favorite books you have ever read. (More than five is okay) You must give this award to 5-10 other lucky book blogs you adore. 


Challenge accepted!


Here are my top five (though it really depends on my mood, lol):

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Shiver (actually the whole series) by Maggie Stiefvater
4. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
5. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Okay, so I'm actually still reading DIVERGENT, but I'm loving it so much I just had to put it on the list. This was actually a hard list to make. There are a ton of books that I could juggle around for fourth and fifth place, but these books really gave me that feeling where I was completely lost in those worlds and didn't ever want to get out.

And now to pass on the award. Here are my picks:

Gina at Insatiable Readers

Kristi at The Story Siren 

The whole crew at Forever Young Adult

Andye and crew at Reading Teen

Amanda at Hippies, Beauty, and Books

Natasha at Maw Books

Stacey and crew at Page Turners Blog

Melissa at YA Book Shelf

The whole crew at Fiction Vixen

The whole crew at YA Reader

The whole crew at Book Chick City

Danielle at There's A Book

Okay, I gave out twelve instead of ten, but I just couldn't bear to leave any of these great bloggers out. Be sure to follow and subscribe to them. And to the bloggers I've awarded, congrats and thank you for such wonderful book blogging!

Monday Messages

I wanted to extend my thanks once again to everyone participating in the Three Two One Pitch contest. Natalie will be reading the entries this week and hopefully crown a winner soon after. I promise to announce the winner as soon as she tells me her decision.

In other news, I was interviewed last week by a fellow Month9Books author, Michelle Reed. You can read the interview on her blog if you're interested in my upcoming book, My Sister's Reaper (debuts May 29, 2013), and other tidbits. Be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Have a great Monday!

The Three Two One Pitch Contest!

This contest is now closed. Good luck to everyone who entered. I will announce the winner as soon as Natalie makes her decision. Thanks to everyone who participated.


It's finally here! The official post for the Three Two One Pitch contest. Are your pitches ready? Great! Let's go over the rules one more time before you hit that "comment" button too quickly.

• THREE - Pitch your story in only three sentences. 
• TWO - Two days to enter: June 7th and 8th.
• ONE - One awesome agent—Natalie Lakosil of The Bradford Literary Agency— will judge and pick a winner.

How do you enter? Make sure you follow the directions correctly! In the comments section of this post, type in the following information:

• Name and email
• Title of your manuscript
• Genre of your manuscript
• Word count
• Three-sentence pitch. (No more than three sentences or you'll be disqualified.)

Leave a space between your word count and pitch to make it easier for Natalie. You have from now until midnight (EDT), June 8th, to enter. After that, I will turn off comments and no other entries will be accepted. The winner will be announced when the judging is done and will get a full manuscript request from Natalie!

This contest is open to unagented, completed and polished manuscripts in the genres of:

• MG
• YA
• Contemporary, Paranormal, or Historical Romance
• Upmarket Women's Fiction
• Sci-Fi and Fantasy
• Thrillers and Darker Contemporary Fiction

You may enter pitches for up to TWO different manuscripts, but they must be in separate comments.


To be eligible, you must:

• Follow this blog - go ahead and click "Join this Site" on the right if you haven't already
• Follow me on Twitter
• Spread the word! Tweet, Blog, or mention on Facebook about the contest linking back to this post

Not necessary, but in the spirit of paying it forward:

• Friend me on Goodreads
• Like my Facebook Author Page

Good luck, everyone. Can't wait to read all your pitches. On your mark, get set, pitch!

Announcing the Pitch Contest Lit Agent

Have you all been working on your pitches? I hope so, because you're going to want to have your best effort ready for the literary agent judging our Three Two One Pitch Contest.

Are you ready to find out who it is?

I bet you are.

She's a fantastic agent whose interests include talented, hard-working new authors with a fresh, unique voice and hook. Her specialty is commercial fiction, with an emphasis in children’s literature (from picture book-teen), romance (contemporary, paranormal and historical), upmarket women’s fiction and select nonfiction. Specific likes include historical, multi-cultural, paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy, gritty, thrilling and darker contemporary novels, middle grade with heart, and short, quirky picture books. She is always drawn to an open and positive attitude in an author, good grammar, and fantastical, engaging and sexy plots. She's also a member of SCBWI.


Have you guessed who it is yet (without having scrolled to the bottom of this post)?


I'm pleased to introduce our judging agent, Natalie M. Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency!

I'm really happy to have Natalie judge our contest. She is very insightful and is sure to pick a worthy winner.

As a reminder, the contest goes live June 7th. Entrants will leave their three-sentence pitches in the comments section of that day's post. Manuscripts must be finished and polished and as of yet unrepresented by an agent. The rest of the rules can be found here. So get ready, writers!

See you back here on Thursday!

Author Update: Pamela DuMond

I love it when writers I've interviewed have new developments to share. Today we welcome back the fabulous Pamela DuMond who has a new release.

Welcome back, Pamela! 

Hey thanks for having me here, Dorothy. I love your blog!

Thank you! Tell us all about your new book. What’s it called and what's the story about?

The Messenger's Handbook is a Young Adult romantic thriller, first novel in a series.  The story is about Madeline, a 16 year old girl, who discovers her soul mate lives three centuries before she was even born.

When Madeline's pushed off the train tracks, she wakes in 1675, the sole survivor of a Native massacre on a colonial settlement in a brutal war. Rescued and taken back to a garrison, she discovers she is a Messenger, a traveler who can slip through time's fabric at will, bringing messages that could change one life or many. Rumors of witchcraft and spying arise. But falling into a forbidden love with her soul mate Samuel, a mixed blood boy, could get them both killed.

The only way Madeline can save both their lives is to train with Samuel and the Medicine Woman, confront her deepest fears and fulfill her destiny as a Messenger. But jealous Hunters, dark-souled predators as well as skilled time travelers crave her powers and try to seduce her to join them. Can Madeline find the way back to her future? And will that future include her one true love, Samuel.

How did the idea of the story come to you?

I've been in love with Last of the Mohicans - the movie - ever since a buffed out hot Daniel Day Lewis told Madeline Stowe's character that he would 'find her.' (Sigh.) I thought it  would be fun to do a twist on this story for the Young Adult genre. An epic romance mashed with a thriller.

There are a lot of YA heroines now but two seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. Bella from Twilight and Katniss in The Hunger Games. 

I knew my heroine could not be as passive as Bella or as skilled as Katniss. It was incredibly important to me that Madeline arc over the course of this story. She could be scared and incredibly flawed but she would still have to build her courage and confront her fears in order to fall in love, let alone survive.

 Are you a planner or a pantser?

Definitely a pantser. I read a post the other day by an agent who insisted the story had to be thoroughly outlined, because otherwise how could a writer know where the story was going? I disagree, and paraphrase author Ian Rankin, 'If I knew what was going to happen, why would I write the book.'

If you could give aspiring writers one tip, what would it be?

Let me throw in two tips: 1. Perseverance. 2. "No" is not an answer. Turn all those "Nos" into your own personal "Yes." 

Great advice! What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Besides the obligatory cyber-stalking a few ex-boyfriends? Hmm. Fake facelifts involving paperclips and rubber bands. Research for my first novel. I swear!

Time for the writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: rave, misfortune, and report card.

When Stella suffered the misfortune of spotting her history teacher making out with a woman who wasn't his wife at the rave, she realized she wouldn't be scoring an easy A on her next report card.

And finally, where can people find your new book online?

The Messenger's Handbook is currently available as an e-book on sale on Kindle and available in their KDP Lending Library. The paperback version will be released late June 2012.  It will be available on Nook later this summer.

http://tinyurl.com/6rfl3rn  

Awesome! Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Pamela. And best of luck with your new book!

Thank you, Dorothy!

Interview with Lisa Nowak

Today we're talking with author Lisa Nowak about her novel DRIVEN.

Welcome, Lisa! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. I write coming-of-age books about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are.

How long have you been writing?

I wrote a little poetry when I was in grade school, and I started writing fiction at the age of thirteen.

Tell us about DRIVEN. What’s the story about?

Driven is the story of 16-year-old Jess DeLand, a tough, tenacious girl who loves cars. Her mom’s an alcoholic and her dad’s long gone, so she’s had to fend for herself since the age of eight. She tries to keep her home life a secret so she won’t wind up in foster care, but when she’s offered her dream job working on a race car, and the speedway community takes her in, that becomes increasingly difficult. Especially since teen racer Cody Everett is determined to win her heart.

Without giving too much away, what's your favorite aspect of the book?

That Jess is a fighter, and that she’s so non-traditional. In addition to loving cars, she’s a weather geek and excels in math and science. She’s not ashamed to be her own person and she doesn’t feel sorry for herself, even though life has dealt her a lousy hand.

Are you a planner or a pantser?

Definitely a planner, in all aspects of life. Ask me about anything I do, and I probably have an Excel spreadsheet to assist me with it. :)

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Finding the words. The older I get, the harder it is to access that dictionary in my head. Even when I have a scene planned out, I can stare at the page for hours wondering just how to express what I want to say.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Wee Cat, my feline muse. He’s the most gorgeous, good-natured, brown tabby in the world. He likes to lay on my lap or across my legs when I’m writing.  But he has cancer, so he won’t be with me long. :(

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Instant bliss. I’d point my finger at someone, and they’d be overcome with a sense of well-being. Not a high that would debilitate them, just a feeling that all was right with the world.

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

I’m supposed to remember that? Wow. Hard to say. Today I googled how to kill wood hyacinths. Didn’t come up with a single hit, either. If anyone knows, please get in touch. The damn things are taking over my garden.

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: garden gnome, astrology, and demeaning. 

Many garden gnomes rely on astrology to plan the course of their day, but Garamond found such nonsense demeaning.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

Wow. This could take some time. I’ve had, like, fifty-bajillion beta readers while writing my series. First I’d have to thank the members of my critique groups, Chrysalis and Wow, particularly Alice Lynn and Laura Marshall. Then I’d have give kudos to the other writing/promotional groups I belong to, the Indelibles and Pacific NW YA Authors. Then I’d have to tip my hat to the Myers and Jermann families, racers who’ve taken me in and made me feel like one of their own. And I can’t forget members of the Classic Car Club, Oregon Region, who have read my books and offered constant support. There are others as well, my neighbors, landscaping customers, etc. who’ve cheered me on the whole way, but it would take an entire page to list them all. Last but not least, I have to express my gratitude to my husband Bob, who never wavers in his belief in me and treats my characters like real people.

And finally, where can people find you and your books online?

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Smashwords
• Blog

Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Lisa. Good luck with DRIVEN and all your writing endeavors!