Author Interview Alison Pensy

Happy Monday, astute readers of my blog! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be bringing you another unofficial UtopYA Con author interview. So far we’ve had a number of awesome authors give their time and expertise to make us smile. If you missed any of the past interviews, I invite you to check them out here. And, if you don’t have your tickets to the con yet, be sure you grab them soon! Time is running out and you don’t want to be the only girl left out of the party, do you? Get yours here. Let’s get this party started with gusto! Everyone go grab your favorite party hat, strap it on, and make some noise to welcome author Alison Pensy to the party.

Jo: Welcome to the blog, Alison! I hope you enjoyed that little bit of noise the crowd made for you. *grin*
Alison: Thanks for inviting me, Jo *does little curtsey* I'm honored to be here.

Jo: So, let’s get right into the interview questions. You’re an interesting lady and I can’t wait to dig into your head! If my research is right, you’re a tax accountant. Are you super excited about April 15 being right around the corner?
Alison: More than you know! I'm always a bit gung ho at the start of the season, but when it gets to this point, I start flagging a little. It's nice to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I have so many plans for after tax season, one of them being getting back to writing, that I'm now starting to get excited about it.

Jo: Awesome. I hope it all goes well from here on out! I also read you raise chickens. I’m completely enthralled by that. I read a book once called Steering Gone Awry that talked about chickens and how, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could have disastrous consequences (cracked me up). Mind sharing with us a few of your chicken raising mishaps?
Alison: Well, I cheat a bit. When I buy my chickens they are usually about 6 months old, so I don't have to do all the hard stuff. I love my chickens, they are relaxing to watch and there's nothing better than a freshly laid egg. The most fun I have is watching them chase after bugs, especially grass hoppers in the back yard. It always amazes me how fast they can run. One of the main mishaps we've had along the way was losing five chickens in one day to a fox (we think). I got home from work and there were patches of feathers scattered around the property. I'm a lot more careful with them now.

Jo: Oh my... My sister had a couple of chickens once. Her dog ate them! She came home to feathers everywhere, too. Such a sad thing! In your best writer-ly voice, describe headless chicken mode for us.
Alison: In the thick of tax season, on the surface I convey poise and professionalism, underneath, however, my mind is racing around in circles flapping its wings and squawking things like "What are you thinking?" and "You chose to do this for a living…are you mad?" *grins*

Jo: I'd pay to see that. Seriously. LOL You’ve said that your characters are always in your head, roaming around, chatting away. Which one of them talks the loudest and do you have a particular fondness for one in particular? Why?
Alison: Faedra talks the loudest. She's pretty strong willed and independent, occasionally she will let Faen have a word in edge ways. You'd think I would be fondest of my main character (Faedra) but I have a particular fondness for Etyran who is introduced in book 2, The Emerald Staff. He is a rough diamond with a heart of gold. I am planning to give him a book of his own so everyone can get to know him better.

Jo: Nice! I'll be able to talk more about them once I get to reading your books! How many fairy figurines do you have, which one is your favorite, and why?
Alison: I have 30 of them. My absolute favorite is similar to the one I describe at the beginning of the first book when Faedra's mother gives it to Faedra as a gift. Hubby bought it for me several birthdays ago. It is called 'Dawn Dancing' (for anyone who wants to Google it), and it's a figurine of a fairy on the back of a rearing black horse.

Jo: I love horses and I adore fairies. You bet I'll be looking that one up! Time for a couple of rapid fire questions! What’s your favorite candy?
Alison: Ghirardelli peppermint cream squares…Yum!

Jo: Yum squared! (See what I did there?) *grin* Favorite actress?
Alison: At the moment…Jennifer Lawrence. I love her attitude and the message she puts out there for young people, especially girls. She's being a great role model.

Jo: Heck yeah, she rocks. I love strong women. Place you want to visit but haven’t yet?
Alison: Alaska. Seeing the northern lights is on my bucket list.

Jo: Oh yeah! I hope I get to see that some day, too. But my bucket list is long already. *grin* So, you’re an actress, eh? Love! I was on stage for over a year myself. What was your favorite part about playing Glinda in The Wizard of Oz?
Alison: The dress!!! *laughs* I love magic and have been a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz since I was a little girl. I even got to keep my wand. It's part of my Glinda display in my office. After the play finished, people kept buying me Glinda memorabilia.

Jo: Gotta love playing dress up. You look like Glinda! That's so cool! Tell me what it means to be a feminist author and why you call yourself one.
Alison: Not sure I would call myself a feminist as I like having doors opened for me and having a man help with stuff I just can't do on my own. I am fiercely independent though, thanks to my mum, so there isn't much I won't have a go at first. She is a very strong woman and brought my sister and I up to be the same. I have a lot to thank her for.

Jo: My mom is the same. I only hope I can pass that trait to my daughter. I think, sometimes, I come off as being very hard on her. Maybe I am, but she has to learn to be strong when the going gets tough. Yay for awesome moms! What was the title of the first book you wrote in first person and published for fun? Tell us about that journey?
Alison: The title was "What's a Jilleroo to do?" It has since been re-written in third person and published as "A Summer Down Under" under my pen name of Adrianna Blakeley. I originally wrote it because I wanted to write a book about my adventures backpacking around Australia when I was twenty, but I didn't want it to be a memoir. Eventually, I had the bright idea that I could write it as a fiction, using my adventures as a back drop. When I first wrote it, I knew nothing about the craft of writing and if I were to read the original manuscript, it would make me cringe. I published it on Lulu.com just before the days of e-books and sold a few copies locally before taking it down and essentially stuffing it in the back of a draw. I decided to re-write it and re-publish it in 2012 after having quite a bit of success with the Custodian Novels series and being much wiser as an author.

Jo: Sweet. I know my first manuscripts (from wayyyy back) always fill my head with new ideas and cringe-worthy moments. *grin* I read somewhere that your soul mate is your hero. How long have you been together and did you meet him in England, where you’re from?
Alison: We have been together for just over fourteen years. We actually met on a pen pal site back when the internet was in its infancy, I guess you could say we were the original "You've Got Mail" story. We both thought it would be 'safe' to chat with someone who lived 6000 miles away. The Universe obviously had other ideas :)

Jo: Wow. That's amazing. What a super sweet story! Time for the alien question of the interview! Do you believe in fairies and is it a huge jump for you to believe there could be aliens out there, watching us?
Alison: I do believe in fairies, I believe in most things paranormal, I've had too many unusual experiences not to. I also have a set of fairy 'tarot' cards and they are so accurate it's freaky. I believe in aliens, too. I think it would be very arrogant to assume we were the only intelligent species living in the infinity of space.

Jo: Amen. Arrogance doesn't do anyone any good. Why did you choose Romance as your primary genre and where do your ideas come from?
Alison: Who doesn't love a bit of romance, right? Although, I think my young adult series has equal measures of adventure and magic. The idea for the series came from an urban legend that surrounds an old church in the village where I grew up. Legend has it that if you walk around the church three times at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, you disappear. I never tried it, but I got to thinking what if you disappeared into another realm? My imagination took off on its own from there.

Jo: I'm a huge fan of romantic undertones in magical books. *grin* I can't wait to check yours out. Now, is there anything you think I should’ve asked but didn’t?
Alison: I think you asked some great questions. I always have stories to tell but I think we covered quite a lot today.

Jo: I'm glad to know I've done you justice! Well, that’s all the time we have for today. Thanks for doing the interview, Alison! I can’t wait to meet you at UtopYA Con in June!
Alison: Thanks, Jo. I appreciate the invite. I can't wait to meet you, too. In fact I will probably be wearing my 'fan girl' hat all weekend, there are going to be some awesome authors there.

Now it’s time to tell you about Alison’s featured book!

Title: Custodian Novels Boxed Set Books 1-4
Author: Alison Pensy
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Length (print): Approx 900 pages
Buy links: Amazon Kindle  B&N  Smashwords

Synopsis:
The Amulet
To seventeen-year-old Faedra, faeries were nothing more than the figurines she collected and displayed in her curio cabinet. Or so she thought...

Faeries control nature, with a book, no less. But Faedra doesn't know that...yet.

She is next in line to protect an ancient fae amulet that controls the weather. And she's blissfully unaware of that fact, too.
She also doesn't know that the book has been stolen and now the thief is after the amulet and willing to kill for it.

Ignorance is bliss, and then you turn 18.

The Emerald Staff
Faedra was enjoying the fact that everything was back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get when you had the ability to manipulate energy, were protector of an ancient Fae amulet, and lived with a fairy guardian 24/7.

Her dad had even started dating.

Yes, all was right again in Faedra’s world, or so she thought…

The Cypher Wheel
Faen was worried about his charge. Faedra had locked herself away in the cottage on a self-imposed quarantine, for six months. She was having trouble controlling her newly acquired powers, and was terrified of hurting someone. But, enough was enough.

When Eytran obtained some tickets for a treasure hunt, her father and friends persuaded her that it was time to get out of the house and back into the real world.

It was only a treasure hunt, what could possibly go wrong…?

The Ice Diamond Cuff
Across the land, wedding bells ring out their joyous announcement. But, when a wedding gift is discovered to possess a dark and sinister secret, the damage has already been done.

As the dust settles, Faedra is thrust into a different role…one she is not ready for. The only hope she has of defeating a deadly force that threatens her new home, is to pull her allies together. She can only pray it will be enough to save the kingdom she has fallen in love with.

While your fingers are in the clicking mode, why not give Alison a follow on social media?

Facebook: Author Alison Pensy
Twitter: @AlisonPensy
Blog/Website: www.alisonpensy.com

I hope you all enjoyed this interview.

If you have questions for Alison, please put them in the comments!

Well, that’s all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Cover Reveal - Waterfall by Amber Garr

Happy World Water Day! And happy cover reveal day for The Water Crisis Chronicles Book 0.5. As a part of today's celebration for raising awareness about water and energy consumption, I thought I'd celebrate with a cover and website reveal!

First, here's the cover and blurb for WATERFALL...

 

Waterfall (Book 0.5)

The water is gone. The wars have begun.

Clean water is a luxury most can no longer afford. Climate change, industrial sabotage, and greed have  turned country against country as each one tries to provide for its citizens. Terrorist groups target desalinization plants and frustrated governments hunt those who work against them. Rationing, sequestering, and patrolling have become routine at a time when there are too many people and not enough resources.

While the world around them disintegrates into chaos, Zach and Vivienne hope that their life in a government-run complex will retain some semblance of normalcy. But when attacks on their water supplies bring war to their sheltered community, they must accept their new fate. Stay and fight or flee and endure—it’s a difficult decision with lasting consequences.

Will they choose what’s safe? Or will they choose to survive?

Coming April 22, 2014

And now you can learn more about Zach and Vee's world, the government, the timeline, and what you can do help bring clean drinking water to the millions who don't have it (more about that coming later).

www.thewatercrisischronicles.com

You can also read about how the series began with WATERPROOF sporting its new cover makeover as well!

Waterproof (Book 1)

Dying of thirst is the new reality.

Five years after the last drop of clean water disappeared, global societies collapsed and nuclear war shattered all hope of recovery. In a place now only a skeleton of its former self, survivors fight to avoid capture by the government. Forced to work in factories that produce the only drinking water available, those who go in, never come out.

Zach and Vivienne have lived as deserters since they were teenagers. Fighting amongst their own and scrounging for the necessities of life, they’ve learned to rely on each other in every way. Yet when tragedy strikes and the true objectives of the government facility are revealed, their world is ripped apart.

A fate once thought to hold their demise may be the sole answer to their survival. Who can they trust? Who can they believe?

In this life, it pays to be waterproof.

Watch the Trailer

Buy at Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Smashwords

Cover by Creative Book Designs and Amber Garr

Find Amber at:
Her Website
On Facebook
On Twitter

I hope you all enjoyed this lovely cover reveal! What do you think? Is it awesome or what?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday Funday Part Two

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! It's time for the weekend, and I couldn't be happier. Today, I'm giving you some more great games you can play that'll help your wit and grammar skills while spending time with the family or friends. Unlike last week, these are games you can go to the store and buy. So grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First up, we have Scattergories!

This game is a fun way to see how many words you know that begin with the same letter. You see, you have a die with 26 sides (one letter on each side) and ten categories. You roll the die, start the timer, and everyone tries to fill in the blanks with a word starting with your chosen letter in each category. Bonus points are given if you can come up with descriptive words that also begin with the letter rolled. For example: Food (letter C)-Crusty Cheddar Cheese or Curdled Colby Cheese. Each of those answers are worth three points. It's a seriously fun game that will have you giggling at some of the words people try to pass off. But if you have the exact same answer as someone else, you have to cross it out (no points are given to either of you). So, you have to be creative and think outside the box for this game. 2+ players.

Second, one of my all time favorites, Balderdash.

The actual definition of Balderdash is: Senseless talk or writing; nonsense. I freaking love this game because I'm a total word-nerd. Here's how it works: You draw a card with a word and definition on it (only the drawer gets to see the real definition) then read the word out loud to everyone else. They write down the word and have to come up with a definition that'll trick everyone else into believing it's the right one. Whoever drew the card writes down the real definition and collects all the papers. That person then reads the definitions out loud and people get to choose which they think is the right one. This game is a hoot when the reader can't stop laughing long enough to read the definitions, or you have someone in the circle who comes up with clever alternatives. Bonus points for every time you choose the right one out of the submitted ones, OR if folks choose your definition as the right one when it's not. Bigger bonus points if you write the correct definition on your piece of paper. Warning! There are some really obscure words in there! *grin* 3+ players

Third, and one you may not think of as a word game, Pictionary!

I think this is a super game for writers. You have to take a word and make people guess what it is by bringing them a visual. What better way to flex your descriptive muscles than having to draw something on paper? Besides, you may get an obscure word you've never heard and have to look it up. Great for vocabulary expansion! You get two teams of at least two people each. A card is drawn and you have to get your teammate to guess the word on the card by drawing pictures on a whiteboard. You can do as many of these as time (one minute) allows. Super fun for a weekend with the family or a party game. 4+ players

For my final suggestion, I give you Taboo.

This game will make your brain become a walking Thesaurus. You get two teams of at least two people each. One person tries to get their teammate to guess as many words as they can from the ones on the cards. But there's a catch! You can't use any of the words listed under the main word to get them to say the highlighted one. It becomes difficult to think up alternative ways to communicate your thoughts to your partner. Think: $100,000 Pyramid without the ability to use any word you want because you have a restriction list. One thing you'll love to hate about this game is the buzzer. Someone from the other team stands behind you and makes sure you don't use any of the words on the card. If you do, buzz! and you have to throw that one out. 4+ players


I do hope, if you've never tried any of these, you'll give them a shot. If you don't really want to put out the cash for a pre-boxed game, I have some great, free games on my last Friday Funday post you may want to check out.

What do you think? What's your favorite word/writer game?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Eva Pohler's 2000 Likes Extravaganza

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today, I'm bringing you all an awesome Facebook milestone for the fabulous Eva Pohler! She has a lot of really great prizes to give away so get on over to Facebook and join in the fun!

It's that time again! Time to celebrate another Facebook milestone: 2000 likes at Eva Pohler's Book Page. To help with the celebration, twenty-five authors and fifteen bloggers have joined together to offer readers an ebook extravaganza! Enter the rafflecopter below to win, and stop by the Facebook Event for additional Flash Swag Giveaways (t-shirts, buttons, pens, and other fun swag) going on from March 20th to March 24th. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, March 25th!

And don't forget that release day for The Gatekeeper's Secret: Gatekeeper's Saga, Book Five is April 1st! We will be celebrating that day, too, with my April Fool's Isn't Just for Fools Party with the Olympians! Details to come.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It starts today, so get on over there and check it out!

Enter the Rafflecopter and have some fun.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Mystic Re-releases

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! I know I missed my post yesterday but I had good reason. I've been working on getting the new covers for the Mystic series ready for re-release and doing a lot of back editing. So far, I have a new interior and cover for Bronya and a new cover for Lily. These newest versions will be the ones I take with me to UtopYA Con in June of this year.

Are you all anxious to see them? Well, you've seen the standalone covers for these, so I won't bore you with those. What I'm gonna show you today is the newest interior formatting and the full wrap covers.

Ready?

First up, I give you book one:

As of now, you can get the newest print version of Bronya for $8.99 on Createspace here.
But, you can pick up the digital version FREE on Smashwords here.

Oh, you wanted to see the new interior, huh? Well, here you go:

Pretty, huh?

I guess it's time to show you the new cover for book two!

So, you can probably imagine what the others will look like.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this little look into the new Mystic world. Each of these books are getting an overhaul in the editing department, too. So you have a lot to look forward to!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Luck o' the Release Indie-rific Giveaway

Happy St. Paddy's Day, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm sharing with you all a little bit of fun happening over on Facebook. There are a ton of great books and prizes to win so hop on over and check it out here:

Luck o' the Release Day Extravaganza!

Casey L. Bond and Cassy Roop will be partying it up until 11pm. It's happening right now, so get your booties on the move!

These two new releases by Cassy and Casey will be up for grabs along with the donated books from the many authors:

Reap by Casey L. Bond ($0.99 for a limited time on Amazon)

Synopsis:
The remnants of the United States of America have been divided. From five enormous, technologically-advanced cities, the Greaters rule over the Lessers.

In the Lesser village of Orchard, things are not as perfect as Abby Kelley thinks they are. When the apple harvest draws near and the Greater’s engineered fruits become too much for one village to handle alone, reinforcements from neighboring villages are called upon.

Having to choose between her best friend, whom she has no romantic feelings for, and mysterious newcomer Crew, Abby finds herself in the middle of a harvest that she had no intention of becoming a part of. She becomes involved in a situation that threatens the strict rule of the Greaters, and just might give the Lessers hope for a better tomorrow. But, can she help the Lessers without losing Crew? And if she chooses Crew, will she lose her best friend? 

The Price of Love by Cassy Roop ($2.99 on Amazon)

Synopsis:
Two short months before graduating high school, Kendall Jones’ world is ripped apart at the seams. A stranger rescues her from a near brutal attack, but is unable to save her parents from death. Eight years later, Kendall moves to New York, hoping to put her past behind her, and once again finds herself in need of rescue.

Tristan Price saves the life of a young woman, who then haunts his dreams for eight long years. When she literally falls at his feet, Tristan decides that he will protect her, no matter what the cost. When her past comes back to threaten her, his plan to keep her close could cost his heart.

Can Tristan save Kendall a second time, and at what cost? Can the price of love overshadow the darkness of her past?

Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as a Standalone and has a HEA.

I mentioned there are many Indie authors participating. Here's the most recent list:

And, in case you want to enter the fabulous Rafflecopter giveaway, here's the link to the form:

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Good luck and have a lot of fun, guys!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday Funday

Happy Friday, everyone! The weekend is almost upon us and I figured I'd give you a few things to do in your downtime that will help your writing skills. Just a little weekend fun to keep your writerly brain engaged and on target for the workweek ahead. I know you don't really want to think about Monday, but it behooves us all to be prepared. I'll begin by giving you the name of the exercise, and then move on to how you can accomplish it (and maybe have some fun, too). Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going.

Exercise #1: Dialogue Dissection
Grab a friend or family member and chat with them. Be sure you have a recorder of some kind running (voice notes on an iPhone work great for this). Give yourself ten to fifteen minutes then shut the recording device off. End the conversation and move to a room where you can be alone. Play back the recording and recall what each of you were doing as you spoke. Mentally add commas and periods where you think they belong. Listen to it again. Pay attention to the words used, pronunciation, and inflection. Think about how you might write the conversation out. If you feel so inclined, you may do so; but, this is more of an exercise to get your brain thinking about dialogue in general.

Exercise #2: Title Trivia
Sit down with a friend or family member and grab a couple of sheets of paper or 3.5"x5" index cards. Cut them into pieces and have everyone write one word on each piece. Fold them up and throw them into a bowl. Take turns picking out two pieces and sticking them together. Pretend it's the title of a book and come up with a synopsis to support it. This is all verbal, so no need to write anything down (unless you hit upon the next great novel idea!).

Exercise #3: What's That Word?
This, again, is a two or more person game. Grab a sheet of paper and write down a sentence with at least ten words in it. Exchange with others. Now, try and come up with as many words as possible in place of the ones written. Whoever has the most variations (accurate ones) wins! Don't cheat and use a thesaurus! I find chocolate is a great motivator as a prize for this game.

Exercise #4: Acting Gone Awry
Take a character from one of your favorite novels and pretend to be them for the day. Respond to other people the way you think the character would, do things you think they would do, and really try to walk in their shoes. Take little notes as you go if you want. At the end of the day, reflect on your actions and try to flesh out the character in your head. Were there circumstances that made you wonder about the character's personality or how they would react or did it all flow very naturally? What part of the book let you know that? Use this knowledge the next time you're building your own characters (or when writing scenes of discovery).

Exercise #5: Cover Collection Craziness
Go online and take a look at other books in your genre. Save images of the covers. Print out a quick copy on regular paper or pull them up in a photo editing program. Make notes about what you like and don't like about each one. If you wanna get crazy, cut them up and glue together a whole new cover with some of the elements. Kids love this one.

These are just a few games you can play with your friends or family members to help you become a better writer. An added bonus is: You get to spend time with your loved ones while sharpening your skills!

Which one of these sounds the most fun to you?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo