Blog Archives
MIA SHERIDAN: MY HUSBAND THINKS MY HEROES ARE BASED PARTLY ON HIM
Mia Sheridan’s last book Kyland became an instant bestseller. The readers love it. Since its publishing month ago the novel gathered almost 500 reviews. It’s very rare for an author to have three books that are averaging 4.9 Amazon stars from hundreds of reviews. To be honest Mia Sheridan is the first one that I notice around the market with such high permanent recognition.
Our next guest is New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband and their four kids. Land of Books says welcome to one of the top Romantic writers on the planet.
– Mia, your last book Kyland is averaging amazing 4.9 stars in almost 500 Amazon reviews. What is the special secret of the book?
– I wish I knew! 😀 I’d attempt to duplicate it each time. 😀 But if I’m just going by the things people are saying in reviews, I’d say that there’s a good response to the emotions in the book, and that the characters are real and relatable. They face problems and feel things we’ve all felt, even if under different circumstances. It’s easier to lose yourself in a story if you can relate to the characters and understand their decisions and responses.
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C.J. BRIGHTLEY: THE KING’S SWORD REVOLVES AROUND THE IDEAL OF HEROISM
C.J. Brightley debuted in the writing world with The King’s Sword, the first part of Erdemen Honor series. The American fantasy author followed with few more books from the same realms and started a new project A Long-Forgotten Song series. Let me introduce our next guest, C.J. Brightley.
– The King’s Sword is the first part of Erdemen Honor series. Would you introduce the book to the readers?
– A disillusioned soldier. A spoiled, untried prince. A coup that threatens the country they love.
When retired soldier Kemen finds the young prince Hakan fleeing an attempted assassination, he reluctantly takes the role of mentor and guardian. Keeping the prince alive is challenging enough. Making him a man is harder.
As usurper Vidar tightens his grip on power, Kemen wrestles with questions of duty and honor. What if the prince isn’t the best ruler after all?
Invasion looms, and Kemen’s decisions will shape the fate of a nation. What will he sacrifice for friendship and honor?
The King’s Sword and the rest of the Erdemen Honor series revolve around the ideal of heroism. Heroes aren’t perfect people, but they choose to do the right thing, even when it’s hard. One of my reviewers said that I write the opposite of grimdark. I think that’s true. Grimdark is very “in” right now, but I don’t love it. To me, it’s characterized by not only dark characters but a dark world, in which good cannot triumph and justice cannot prevail. There’s a place for darkness in literature, for understanding that the good guys don’t always win.
But sometimes they do! Sometimes courage and kindness really do change the world, or at least one corner of the world. C. S. Lewis said, about fairytales, “Since it is so likely that [children] will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave nights and heroic courage.” Those are the stories I write.
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DIANNE GALLAGHER: TALENT DOESN’T ALWAYS WIN
Dianne Gallagher’s first line of her introduction is “Life is Never a Straight Line”. The prove of the sentence is hiding into her debut novel Too Dark To Sleep. The readers loved the thriller. “Great nod to classic noir”, “Excellent read”, “Scary, edge of my seat” are just a few of reviewers’ opinions. With average 4.7 stars in Amazon the novel is one to read.
– How did you decide to write your book Too Dark To Sleep?
– I guess the catalyst was wine and a bunch a friends. After the proper amount of wine was consumed, someone asked the question, “What if you lost everything?” I was completely surprised by the answers. Several people thought it would be very freeing. They could start over with a blank slate. For me, well… I realized if I lost most elements of my life, I would survive and just rebuild my life with a few changes. Even if I lost my husband… who I love and would miss. The thing is… we had time together and, even though it would be tragic and sad and very difficult, I would still be able to continue my life. If I lost my kids. That would be another story. I’m not sure I could go on.
And that’s how Too Dark to Sleep started. That kernel. And a lot of research and rewrites.
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HELEN BRYAN: 90% OF THE STORIES IN WAR BRIDES ARE BASED ON REAL PEOPLE
Helen Bryan was born in Virginia, but is living in London. She wrote four books. With each new one her fans around the world are growing. War Brides was published in 2007, but once again is among the top downloaded novels in Amazon (av. 4.2 rating from 7000 plus reviews). Let’s say welcome to our next honorable guest Lady Helen Bryan. She was very kind to share with us many interesting things about her books.
– Helen, War Brides is still a huge hit 8 years after the publication? Did you expect the novel to have such a great success?
– I have to say that I’ve been happily surprised. I don’t think many authors “expect” success, however much we hope for it, so when a book sells well, and you’ve made a connection with so many readers, it’s wonderful.
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KENDRA ELLIOT: I NEVER EXPECTED TO MAKE A LIVING AS AN AUTHOR
In 2014 Kendra Elliot’s novel Buried won Daphne du Maurier award for best Romantic Suspense. The American author released her new book Bridged on February 10. It’s the second part of well received Callahan&McLane series. We’ve got an exclusive chance to learn more about it in our next interview.
– Kendra, After the great success of Vanished what Bridged will bring up to the readers?
– BRIDGED kicks off with a fascinating crime and investigation. My main characters are assigned to the same case and the reader gets to see the next stage of their growing relationship that began in VANISHED.
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LORENA ANGELL: A DIAMOND IN MY POCKET IS BASED ON A DREAM
A Diamond in My Pocket by Lorena Angell was a great start of The Unaltered series. The novel is valuated with average 4.6 Amazon stars from almost 400 reviews. Our next guest is living in Pacific Nortwest, USA. She loves to explore the coast and to hike with her family the Cascade Mountain Range.
– Your book A Diamond in My Pocket is very well received by the readers. Would you tell us more about the novel?
– Thank you for this opportunity to share my writing world with your blog readers. A Diamond in My Pocket is a modern-day, young adult fantasy which delves into the unknown world of supernatural people, and the girl, Calli Courtnae, who’s been chosen to defeat a power-hungry splinter group through the use of a mystical diamond. Calli is secretly given the diamond and placed on a delivery team to transport the stone. The team leader doesn’t know he holds a decoy diamond. When Calli begins to display multiple powers, due to her hidden diamond, she’s elevated in her peers’ minds and thought to be the most powerful person alive. Maintaining the secret of where her abilities come from is critical to the success of the mission and to the safety of their lives. Calli dreads the approaching end when she must hand over the diamond, exposing herself as a fraud. The question is: will she be able to follow through with her assignment and give up her new-found greatness, or will she be lured into keeping the precious stone?
KAREN MCQUESTION: ANNI FROM HELLO LOVE IS A REAL DOG
Karen McQuestion’s last novel Hello Love is one of the most successful books for 2014. The story for a cute dog, named Anni, was accepted very well by the readers. In our next interview the author of famous Edgewood series is discussing her future projects. Enjoy!
– Karen, Did you expect Hello Love to become such a big hit with almost 1400 Amazon reviews averaging 4.4 stars?
– I had hoped Hello Love would do well, but I never could have anticipated how people would take the story to heart. An adorable missing dog and two people looking for a second chance at love turned out to be a winning combination. And the cute cover helped big time. I’ve been thrilled with the reader response.
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C. ROBERT CALES: I BECAME ADDICTED TO THE HORROR AT THE AGE OF 10
C. Robert Cales released his second book The Bookseller in January. The reception of the novel was decent with average 4.9 stars from 7 Amazon reviews. His previous book Devil Glass was also loved by readers (av. 4.6 stars from 17 Amazon reviews).
Our next guest’s strongest weapon is his “triple dose of imagination”, as he likes to say. It’s time for another interview with very interesting author.
– Robert, what will readers find inside The Bookseller?
– Across from Boston Common, nestled into the corner of a cobblestone mall, sits The Bookseller, a bookstore owned by a lovable rare book dealer and his wife, who runs a coffee parlor inside the store. The parlor is the morning greeting place for business people from around the mall where the complementary coffee is hot and delicious, the croissants are a quarter and the lively banter is free. George and Elizabeth lead a happy life surrounded by many friends. Their happiness is about to be shattered by a violent South American drug cartel with a new, high tech process for smuggling cocaine.
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DC JOHNSTON: I BEGAN WRITING FOR THE SELF SATISFACTION
DC Johnston debuted in the literary world with Celtic Treasure. The novel was released in May last year. Our next guest graduated from Purdue University with degrees in PR and Radio and TV. He wants to make a cool series around his main character Mick Scott.
– Dave, what the readers will find in your last book Celtic Treasure?
– Readers will find a fast-paced action/adventure story that includes lots of suspense, a murder, a bit of romance, intrigue and greed. Mick and Joelle Scott, amateur treasure hunters, should come across as likable characters and hopefully will engage the reader. There are many twists and turns in the story that are written to lead the reader in multiple directions. Some of the outcomes will be surprising.
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EMILY BLEEKER: READ OUT LOUD TO YOUR CHILD FROM BIRTH
Emily Bleeker’s debut book Wreckage jumped to the top of Amazon ranks. The novel is standing on #1 spot for the last few days. The readers loved the plot and are giving very positive feedback (av. 4.6 stars from 128 reviews).
Emily has very nice story about her transition between education and professional writing. She was kind enough to share it during our interview.
– Emily, what the readers will find inside Wreckage?
– A story about survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. After living on an island for nearly two years, the castaways are thrust into the spotlight after their rescue. Every morning show and news program is hounding them for interviews. But they can’t tell the truth about what happened while they were on that island, so they lie. Eight months later, exhausted by the constant media attention, Lillian Linden decides to do one last interview with hard-hitting reporter, Genevieve Randall. She pressures fellow survivor, reluctant Dave Hall, to join her so they can hide behind the exclusivity clause in their contract. But what the survivors don’t know is–Genevieve thinks she knows they are hiding something and she’s willing to tear their lives apart to get the truth.
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