Of Breakable Things Blog Tour: Interview with A. Lynden Rolland @month9books @chapterxchapter @AmyRolland

Today we're taking part in the OF BREAKABLE THINGS blog tour by speaking with author A. Lynden Rolland. Join us as we get to know her and learn about her book!

Welcome to We Do Write! Thank you for joining us. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Thank you so much for having me! I love your site!

A bit about me. I’m a teacher, a tutor, a mother, a runner, a gymnast, a worrier, a perfectionist, and a now an author.

How long have you been writing?

I started keeping journals when I was little. Writing became therapeutic. It’s how I organize my mind. (Maybe that’s why my characters in Of Breakable Things have the ability to shuffle through their thoughts like notes in a card catalog.)

I began writing Of Breakable Things a few years ago. When my first son was born, I took a leave of absence from teaching high school English. My son was such a horrible sleeper that often I only had my imagination to keep me company during the endless nights of rocking and sitting the dark. When he was eight months old, I began to write down the story my mind had created.

Tell us about OF BREAKABLE THINGS. What's the story about?

Of Breakable Things is about the fragility of life and love but also about the fragility of perspective.

My main character, Alex Ash, suffers from vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Her tissues can’t properly support her organs, and her bones break easily. Regardless, she tries to keep up with her best friends, the boys next door. When tragedy strikes, Alex’s illness becomes a blessing in disguise, but death isn’t nearly as peaceful as she imagined.

Without a body, Alex’s world is dictated by her mind, but her mind is more than a little cracked. Reality is manipulated by perception, and that’s even more powerful when the mind is boundless.
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How did the idea of the story come to you?

I can’t pinpoint one thing, but I had an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. I thought about how much people love things. How much people hate things. How much knowledge they gain in a lifetime. I couldn’t imagine that when the body died, that all of the mental energy just … disappeared. So I started thinking that maybe those emotions and that intelligence could come alive into a projection of a person.

Then I needed characters. I needed a girl who would die prematurely, to be physically breakable. And once I began researching Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Alex came alive in my mind. And Chase Lasalle just appeared there beside her one day, holding her hand.

Do you have critique partners, beta-readers, or do you self edit?

I edited Of Breakable Things myself but only because I didn’t tell anyone I was writing it. I didn’t begin the manuscript with the intent to be published. I think everyone benefits from critique partners, so I should probably start looking for one, huh? I do have beta-readers, though. I trust them to let me know what makes sense and what doesn’t. What dialogue seems forced or fake.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby while writing?

Pen, notebook, mug of something (coffee, tea, hot water w/ lemon).

If you could have any superpower what would it be?

The power to eat doughnuts and never get fat, haha. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

The government is probably tracking me. Let’s leave it at that 

Totally understandable. Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: breakable, flower, wild

They ran wild through the flower fields, disregarding the judgmental eyes, and their fingers intertwined to fight the breakable force of adolescence.

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing I'm probably ...

…not awake.

LOL. Who would you like to thank for supporting you throughout the publishing process? Let's hear your shout outs!

I’m going to stick my writer support system. The goat posse: Bethany Crandell, A.G. Howard, A.M. Supinger, Mary Frame, Eric Devine, Precy Larkins, Darke Conteur, Suzanne Payne, Jennifer Lopez, Lisa Ann O’Kane, Angela Leidy Cook, Riley Redgate, Jennifer Prescott, Kerri Maniscalco, Kalen O’Donnell,  Justin Holley, and Michelle Simkins.

The YA Valentines: Sara Raasch, Sara B. Larson, Bethany Hagen, Bethany Crandell, Phil Siegel, Paula Stokes, Lynne Matson, Anne Blankman, Kristi Helvig, Kristen Lippert-Martin, Jaye Robin Brown, Lindsay Cummings, and Jen McConnell.

And of course thank you to my agent, Rachael Dugas, for dealing with my neurotic OCD and to Georgia McBride and M9B, for understanding the vision for Of Breakable Things.

Thank you so much for having me!

ABOUT A. LYNDEN ROLLAND:

A. Lynden Rolland was born and raised in Annapolis, Maryland, a picturesque town obsessed with boats and blue crabs. She has always been intrigued by the dramatic and the broken, compiling her eccentric tales of tragic characters in a weathered notebook she began to carry in grade school. She is a sports fanatic, a coffee addict, and a lover of Sauvignon Blanc, thunderstorms and autumn leaves. When she isn’t hunched behind a laptop at her local bookstore, she can be found chasing her two vivacious children. She now resides just outside Annapolis with her husband and young sons.

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Review: Son of a Mermaid by Katie O'Sullivan

Son of a Mermaid
by Katie O'Sullivan
Crescent Moon Press

Shea MacNamara's life just got complicated. After a freak tornado devastates his Oklahoma farm, the fifteen-year-old orphan is whisked away to Cape Cod. Struggling to make sense of his new surroundings, he's trying hard to deal with feelings of abandonment... and the emotions stirred by a girl he meets along the shore.

Kae belongs to an undersea world hidden from drylanders. The daughter of royal servants, she knows the planned marriage of her Princess to the foreign King should put an end to the war between the clans. But two things stand in the way of lasting peace: the ambitions of the foreign King's regent, and rumors of the Princess's bastard child. Sparks fly when she meets Shea, but could the cute drylander really be the Son of a Mermaid?

I don't think I've ever read a mermaid book before. I remember watching the original Little Mermaid movie (long before the Disney movie came out), but as far as books go, mermaids were new territory for me. That said, I really loved this book.

Shea's character is someone the reader can immediately sympathize with. A tornado claims his father, and because his mother "abandoned" him when he was young, Shea needs to move to Cape Cod to live with his grandmother. That's when he meets Kae. Soon things move forward until Shea discovers not only is Kae a mermaid, but he's the son of one. But the plot goes deeper when Shea discovers there's a secret war taking place below the ocean's surface.

O'Sullivan's description of an underwater world was intriguing, and I felt as though I was right there swimming along with Shea and Kae. I love the image the writer's words created in my mind when the two main characters' legs transformed to mermaid tails. There's plenty of drama and tension too, as the main characters attempt to disrupt the betrayal and scheming taking place in the royal underwater kingdoms.

This was a great read, and I can't wait to read the sequel. I recommend it to anyone who's into mermaid tales (pun intended) and those looking for a different spin on a paranormal read.

Cover Reveal: Crown of Ice by Vicki L Weavil @month9books @VickiLWeavil @chapterxchapter

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Crown of Ice by Vicki L. Weavil

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Thyra Winther's seventeen, the Snow Queen, and immortal, but if she can't reassemble a shattered enchanted mirror by her eighteenth birthday she's doomed to spend eternity as a wraith.

Armed with magic granted by a ruthless wizard, Thyra schemes to survive with her mind and body intact. Unencumbered by kindness, she kidnaps local boy Kai Thorsen, whose mathematical skills rival her own. Two logical minds, Thyra calculates, are better than one. With time rapidly melting away she needs all the help she can steal.

A cruel lie ensnares Kai in her plan, but three missing mirror shards and Kai's childhood friend, Gerda, present more formidable obstacles. Thyra's willing to do anything – venture into uncharted lands, outwit sorcerers, or battle enchanted beasts -- to reconstruct the mirror, yet her most dangerous adversary lies within her breast. Touched by the warmth of a wolf pup's devotion and the fire of a young man's desire, the thawing of Thyra's frozen heart could be her ultimate undoing.

CROWN OF ICE is a YA Fantasy that reinvents Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" from the perspective of a young woman who discovers that the greatest threat to her survival may be her own humanity.

Crown of Ice by Vicki L. Weavil
Publication Date: December 16, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books

Vicki Lemp Weavil was raised in a farming community in Virginia, where her life was shaped by a wonderful family, the culture of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and an obsession with reading. Since obtaining her undergraduate degree in Theatre from the University of Virginia, she's gone on to acquire two masters degrees, living in places as diverse as New York City and rural North Carolina. She's currently the library director for a performing an visual arts university. Vicki loves good writing in any genre, and has been known to read seven books in as many days. She enjoys travel, gardening, and the arts. Vicki lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and some very spoiled cats.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Tumbler

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Secret of the Corpse Eater Blog Tour: Interview with Ty Drago @tydrago @month9books @chapterxchapter

Today we're taking part in the UNDERTAKERS: SECRET OF THE CORPSE EATER Blog Tour. We're chatting with author Ty Drago and getting the low down on this third installment of the UNDERTAKERS series. Give a warm welcome to Ty, and don't forget to enter the rafflecopter below!

Welcome to We Do Write, Ty. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, I'm 53 years old, I've been married to my best friend for almost 23 years, I have two grown kids, a dog and two cats, and I make my home in southern New Jersey, about a mile from where I grew up. Oh, and I'm a full-time writer! :)

That's awesome. (I grew up in New Jersey too!) How long have you been writing?

I've been writing all my life. In fact, I started storytelling at the age of four, before I knew how to read. I've even seen the photos to prove it! Apparently, I was a fat little kid with no shirt on who liked to scribble things with a crayon on pieces of paper and then hold them up and shout out “Cow!” or some such thing. But, you see, in my MIND, I was telling a story!

Honestly, I'm a natural storyteller. A thousand years ago, I'd probably have been the weird old man who showed up at the village at sunset and, for the price of a hot meal and a warm bed, would sit at the hearth and regale the local children with stories of Robin Hood and King Arthur. Then, the next morning, I would take my walking stick and head off to the next village to do it all over again.

Sadly, you can't do that in modern America because it's “creepy.” LOL!

Bottom Line? I was born a writer.

Tell us about SECRET OF THE CORPSE EATER. What’s the story about?

The world is at war; it just doesn't know it. Beings from “somewhere” have invaded the Earth. But, since they arrive here with no bodies of their own, they animate and occupy the bodies of the recently dead. These they “wear” until they literally rot out around them, then they transfer to another, all the while telepathically projecting a false persona of normalcy that fools everyone. Well, almost everyone. Their plan: the gradual corruption and ultimate destruction of the human race.

The only glitch in their plot are the Undertakers. This group of teens and preteens is somehow able to penetrate the Corpses' carefully crafted illusions. Having had to abandon their families and hide from the invaders who relentlessly hunt them, the Undertakers have formed a resistance movement to fight the war that only they know is waging.

In Secret of the Corpse Eater, Book Three in the Undertakers Series, the invasion is spreading. What originally began and was largely limited to Philadelphia is now reaching down to Washington D.C., where a U.S. senator has somehow been replaced with a Corpse look-alike! Now Undertakers Will Ritter and Sharyn Jefferson have gone undercover as Senate pages to ferret out this impostor's plan. But their already dangerous mission is made doubly so by reports of a mysterious ten-legged monster who haunts the hallowed halls of the Capitol Building, a creature with a taste for Corpse Flesh!

But can such an alien “enemy of my enemy” truly be the Undertakers' friend?

  

Amazing! I read an excerpt and it was so cool. How did the idea of the story come to you?

The Undertakers came out of my childhood. As a kid, I authored a lot of badly drawn comic books that I shared with my friends. These centered around a group of child superheros that I called the “Kid Kidets.” I was eight year old, you see, and didn't know how to spell “cadets.” Anyway, the Kid Kidets had all the typical superhero powers. Some could fly. Others were super strong. Others could control the weather, move things with their mind, etc. They were captained by a brother and sister team named Tom and Sharyn Jefferson, and their secret HQ was a huge installation located deep below the ice in Antarctica (don't ask me why!). Whenever trouble brewed anywhere in the world, this entire installation would rise up out of the ice and the Kid Kidets would head off into the world to write some wrong.

This went on for years, until one day the Kid Kidets faced an enemy they couldn't defeat: I grew up. I grew up and I forgot about them for about thirty years. Then one day, back when my son Andy was twelve years old, we were strolling through the mall when he asked me, “Dad, why don't you write a book for me?”

So I started trying to come up with an idea, and I suddenly remembered the Kid Kidets. Not the superhero/Antarctic installation nonsense, but the idea of a child army. A army of just kids, fighting a war that only they can fight because only they know about it.

The Undertakers are pretty much the Kid Kidets grown up, so to speak. They can't fly worth a darn, and their hidden HQ is a crumbling sub-basement beneath Philadelphia gargantuan City Hall. But the same theme carries through: children make the best heroes. And they're STILL captained by Tom and Sharyn Jefferson!


That is so awesome. Give Andy a big thanks from us! Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Not sure if I like the term “pantser!” LOL! But I know what you mean, and that's definitely me. I don't work from outlines. When I write a book, I pretty much sit down with an idea and start typing and just let the story take me where it will. I'm often surprised and almost always pleased with the results. I hope my readers are, too.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

The waiting. There's a lot of waiting in this business. Once you've poured your heart and soul into a story, edited it, polished it, and sent it off for someone to read, the rest is just twiddling your thumbs and hoping for a positive response. I fill the time, which can often be months, the only way I know how: by writing something else!

Excellent tip! What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Really, nothing. I do all my writing on my iPad, and I can do it pretty much anywhere. I've written on buses, trains, airplanes, even in the car during lengthy traffic jams. I have a home office and I certainly do a lot of work there, but I also move around the house, trying different spots. This can be helpful when you're stuck on a plot point and need a fresh perspective. That may sound weird to a non-writer, but it truly does work.

I agree. What are you reading right now?

“True Blue” by David Baldacci and “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman.

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

I'd lean toward to subtler superpower. I'd like the “push” that Stephen King created for “Firestarter.” It would be a way to get inside someone's head and plant a powerful suggestion that they simply have to obey. In the book, the heroic father, Andy McGee, can turn to one of the killers hunting them and say “You're Blind” or “That gun is much too hot to hold.” And his words have power. That would be an amazing ability to possess.

Of course, I'd only use it for niceness and never evil! :)


Wow, I'd love that power! I'd choose that too. What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Wow. That's a hole with no bottom. You're talking to a man who did a tremendous amount of research on how human bodies decompose! But the weirdest thing? I'd have to say the blueprints on how to make a steampunk pistol. That was for a YA novel I've been writing!

Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ...

Dead.

LOL, I probably shouldn't laugh, but that's a perfect answer. And finally, where can people find you and your books online?

The books are EVERYWHERE! Amazon.com. Barnesandnoble.com. Powells.com. Pretty much any website that sells books will have Ty Drago titles. By the way, the titles to date are: “The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses” (Book 1); “The Undertakers: Queen of the Dead” (Book 2); and the newly released “The Undertakers: Secret of the Corpse Eater” (Book 3). The next one, just for grins and giggles, is called “Last Siege of Haven!”

Go get 'em! :)

As for me, you can reach me on by blog site at www.tydrago.com. I love fan mail!

Or, if you want to keep up to date with all things Undertaker, you can check out www.jointheundertakers.com. The book trailers are there, as is my calendar of speaking engagements, character bios, special news, etc.


Ty, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us today. I hear your book sold out on Amazon on launch day, so here's to your continued success!

ABOUT Ty Drago:

In addition to the first two books in UNDERTAKERS series, RISE OF THE CORSPES and QUEEN OF THE DEAD, Ty Drago is the author of PHOBOS, a Science Fiction whodunit and THE FRANKLIN AFFAIR, an historical/mystery about Benjamin Franklin. His short fiction has appeared in numerous venues, including the 2009 anthology YESTERDAY, I WILL ..., and he has written articles for WRITERS DIGEST. His first UNDERTAKERS novelette, NIGHT OF MONSTERS, is currently available for FREE on Smashwords.com and barnesandnoble.com.

  

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Book Blitz: Sunset Rising by SM McEachern

Today we're taking part in the SUNSET RISING Book Blitz. Take a look at this young adult dystopian novel by S.M. McEachern.

Sunset Rising by S.M. McEachern
(Sunset Rising #1)
Publication date: November 12th 2013
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult

February 2024: Desperate to find refuge from the nuclear storm, a group of civilians discover a secret government bio-dome. Greeted by a hail of bullets and told to turn back, the frantic refugees stand their ground and are grudgingly permitted entry. But the price of admission is high.

283 years later… Life as a slave in the Pit had never been easy, but for seventeen-year-old Sunny O’Donnell it was quickly careening out of control. Her mother was killed in the annual spring Cull, leaving her alone with a father who decided to give up on life. It’s not that she blamed him for grieving, but if they didn’t earn enough credits to keep their place inside the Pit, they would be kicked out into a world still teeming with radiation. That left her to earn the credits for both of them. It didn’t help that her boyfriend, Reyes Crowe, was pressuring her to get married and abandon her father.

Sunny didn’t think life could get any worse, until she was forced upstairs to the Dome to serve and entertain the elite at a bachelor party. That's where she met Leisel Holt, the president's daughter, and her fiancé, Jack Kenner. Now Sunny is wanted for treason. If they catch her, she'll be executed.

She thought Leisel's betrayal was the end for her…but it turns out it was just the beginning.

Sunset Rising is Book One of a series.

----

AUTHOR BIO
S.M. McEachern (also known as Susan) comes from the rocky shores of Canada’s East Coast. As a resident of Halifax during her early adult years, she attended Dalhousie University and earned an Honors Degree in International Development Studies with a focus on ocean development. Throughout her academic studies and early career, Susan had the privilege to work with many developing countries on resource management projects.

Becoming an author has been a lifelong dream for Susan. “Sunset Rising” is her debut novel and the first of many she plans to write.

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My Writing Process Blog Tour

Good Monday Morning, folks! Today I'm participating in the My Writing Process blog tour. I was tagged by our own Dorothy Dreyer who resides here at We Do Write, and also here. Thank you, Dorothy!

For those who don't remember from Dorothy's post last week, the My Writing Process blog tour works like this: I have four questions I must answer about my writing process, then I nominate three blogger/authors to join the tour. They will answer the same four questions one to two weeks later. Sounds like fun, right?

I thought so. Anyway, here are my answers to the questions:

What am I working on?

I just finished the line edits for my first published novel, CALL ME GRIM, (a YA paranormal due to release November 2014, and whose cover will be revealed April 11th ... Eeeeek!). I am currently working my butt off to complete the sequel to that novel, titled DEATH BECOMES ME, and I'm pretty sure it wants to kill me. I also have another novel I'm writing, a YA thriller, that's waiting patiently for me to have the time to get back to it.

How does my work differ from others in its genre?

Tough question. My novels are paranormal, so I guess there's nothing special there. But I like to delve pretty deep into the characters. There are lots of little, hidden places to explore inside every character and I really enjoy finding those places and shining a light on them.

Why do I write what I do?

I've always been a sucker for an exciting story with paranormal elements. Perhaps it was my early (I mean, like, ten years old early) love of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. And then I started reading YA and I was hooked. I can't imagine writing in any other genre.

How does my writing process work?

Well, it often starts with a nugget of an idea, usually something small. For CALL ME GRIM, the idea was "What if Death wanted to quit his job?". I though that was a pretty interesting question to ask, so I built on that idea. I usually get a few scenes in my head, almost always including the ending, and then I sit down and start writing. I write in chronological order and during the first stages of the process I'd definitely call myself a pantser.

After I get a few chapters done and I start to get to know my characters, then I plot. Half of the fun of writing for me is figuring out how I'm going to get from A to B and how my characters are going to handle all the crap I throw at them. Yes, I'm a bit sadistic.

Now, I get to tag three more fabulous authors to take the torch and carry on. I hereby nominate ...

Kate Brauning
www.katebrauning.com

Kate is the author of HOW WE FALL, a YA contemporary coming in November from Merit Press at F&W Books. She writes YA contemporary and speculative suspense, and she is represented by Carlie Webber at CK Webber Associates. She is an editor with Month9Books, and a compulsive traveler, cake-baker, and music lover. You can visit her online at www.katebrauning.com or on Twitter at @KateBrauning.

Jen McConnel
http://www.jenmcconnel.com
http://jennifermcconnel.wordpress.com/

Jen McConnel is the author of DAUGHTER  OF CHAOS, a YA paranormal available now! She first began writing poetry as a child. A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. A graduate of Western Michigan University, she also holds a MS in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.  When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.

Christine Fonseca
http://christinefonseca.com
http://christinefonseca.blogspot.com

Critically acclaimed nonfiction and YA author Christine Fonseca is dedicated to helping children of all ages find their voice in the world. Drawing on her expertise as an educational psychologist, her nonfiction titles address issues of emotional intensity, resiliency and giftedness. In fiction, she explores the darker aspects of humanity and delivers gothic thrillers that take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Her YA thriller, COLLIDE, will be released April 29th.