Happy, happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Wow. My fingers are trying to find the keyboard again, and it feels a little awkward. Amazing what a week off work will do, huh? Sorry if you commented last week and got no reply. I was taking a forced vacation (yes, I forced myself not to look at anything while I was away) and have just returned. While I missed everyone and my blog, I needed very badly to get away from it all for a moment or two.
Anyway, enough of all that! I'm back and it's time for another unofficial UtopYA author interview! What's UtopYA? Well, find out more
here and grab your ticket now while they're still at earlybird prices! Today, I bring you a second interview with the awesome Casey L. Bond. If you missed the first one, check it out here. Casey's been a crazy busy author over the last twelve months... Let me allow her to tell you! Grab a cup of coffee and let's get going.
Jo: Okay, please allow me a moment. “Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” *recomposes face* Welcome to the blog, Casey! I’m so excited to have you here I can barely contain myself. I have so many questions for you! Since last time [link] you were here, you’ve been a very busy writer. Ready?
Casey: I was born ready! :) Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Jo.
Jo: *nods* Squee! *grin* First of all, tell me about your section of the new release
Fractured Glass. What genre is it, and which characters did you introduce? Where did you come up with the idea(s)?
Casey: *Wags eyebrows* My section was fantasy and it’s literally in the center of the book. The best thing about writing, for me, is the world-building. It’s why I love paranormal, fantasy and dystopian novels. It’s really why I love reading in general. The author creates a world that I can escape to for a little while. I cannot wait for readers to explore the worlds (yes, that was plural) in Fractured Glass!
I introduced a few important characters and some minor ones, as well. My favorite is Calix. He’s tall, dark, hot and secretive—yum! I also love Yurit and Heema. They are amazing and I don’t want to ruin too much of the plot by telling you who or what they are, but….EEEEEP! Can you tell I’m excited? There are several creatures in this book and while some are frightening, some are just plain awesome!
Inspiration came from my crazy mind, songs I heard while writing, Pinterest boards and the previous sections written by Tia Silverthorne Bach and your awesome self. Upon revising the work, I also drew from the creativity of fellow anthology contributors, Kelly Risser and N.L. Greene. This project was amazing in concept, but seeing everyone work together to deepen the inventive story line and watching the novel anthology come to life was a blessing.
Jo: So much freaking fun writing that book. I also must admit, our Facebook party was amazing! Now, tell me three of your goals for 2015.
Casey: I want to finish writing
Reclaim, book three in The Harvest Saga. I’d like to finish writing
Paradox, book two in The New Covenant series….And, honestly, I need to learn how to plan and manage my time in a more efficient way. So many things are black holes, sucking my time away so fast that it’s gone before I even realized it was being pulled away. Those are the big three! Hopefully, I can work on all of them and conquer one at a TIME. (Pun totally intended.)
Jo: OMG you must finish
Reclaim! I'm soooo eager to read that one. How many books did you release in 2014, and what are the titles? Which one is your favorite?
Casey: WOW! It’s been such an amazing and busy year! In 2014, I released the following books:
Reap (Book 1 of The Harvest Saga)
Resist (Book 2 of The Harvest Saga)
Pariah (Book 1 of The New Covenant Series)
Shady Bay (NA Romance)
Sin (Serial series consisting of five parts)
And my daughter and I released
Chasing Wishes just a couple of weeks ago! It’s a children’s book that we plotted while driving home from a road trip to Cincinnati!
Jo: *passes out* Wow. You rock. I know your parents are huge supporters of your writing, and you’re pretty close with them. If you could write your younger self a letter to give advice on how to behave, what would it say?
Casey: Oh, my goodness! I’d tell me to listen to my mama (and Dad!). Teenagers and young adults have to make mistakes in order to learn from them, unfortunately. And believe me, I made my fair share. Thankfully, parents’ love is unconditional. My parents have always been amazingly supportive and loving and I just hope I can teach my children the same by loving them in the same way.
Jo: How sweet! I'm positive your kids are gonna grow up just fine. Maybe a little crazy, but... *grin* I know you’re on every social media platform known to man, but which two are your favorite and why?
Casey: Honestly, I don’t know enough about tsu.co to make a decision on that. The jury is still out for me. So many people jumped on the bandwagon, myself included, assuming that if Facebook limits promo posts in 2015, they would be able to promo there. And I guess that’s true to a point, but tsu limits posts as well. Ultimately, it’s all about money. Facebook wants to limit promos in the newsfeed, at least they want to limit the ones that businesses aren’t paying them for. Tsu uses some sort of point system to allow users to accrue money. They probably don’t want to pay out and so they limit posts, shares, the amounts of friend requests you can make per week, etc.
To answer your question, I would say my favorites are Facebook and Pinterest. I’m very new to Insta and Tumblr, so I’m still working on figuring them out. Facebook is fun. I know they can be a pain, but it’s the best social media site out there, in my opinion. And I’m a Pinterest addict. I love to pin. I have a zillion boards and I love to just relax, browse and soak in some inspiration.
Jo: That's totally true. You gotta check out Casey's boards. Amazingness! You recently wrote a book with your daughter. Tell us a little bit about how that worked and what the ups and downs of the project were. Title?
Casey: My oldest daughter and I came up with a basic plot on the way home from a road trip. When I got home, I saw a post from Regina Wamba that indicated that she worked with an amazing illustrator and wondered if anyone was interested in having a Children’s book illustrated. *Beams shone down from the heavens and the angels sang*
So, I messaged her. When we finished our story, I sent it to her and she had Hetty Mitchell bring the book to life through her drawings. Then, Regina worked her magic on the cover. It’s stunning. The book is called
Chasing Wishes. And, my daughter is thrilled to be a part of it. She can’t wait to go to some signings with me.
Jo: How freaking exciting is that? I bet she's over the moon to hang with her mom and put her name in some books! I would be. Now, it's the dreaded time travel question! Since the theme for utopYA 2015 is time travel and write your own future, if you had a magical typewriter that let you do just that, what would you give yourself? What impact do you think it would have (what would you do with whatever you chose)?
Casey: A long and joyful life. I love living and love watching my babies grow. I want to be there for all of their milestones. I’m not sure what impact that might have on the world, but it would sure make me happy.
Jo: Great answer, Casey! Rapid fire questions! Up or down?
Casey: Up!
Jo: Left or right?
Casey: Left.
Jo: Gah! Thought I had you on that last one! Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham and Cheese?
Casey: PB & J!
Jo: Every time. *grins* What are you working on right now? Any ideas in the shed you’d like to advance share with my readers? *bats eyelashes*
Casey: Right now, I’m working on two projects.
Crazy Love is a new adult romance with a dystopian vibe. And, I’m working on
Reclaim.
I also have some projects planned for later in 2015. If you know about the
Sin series, you know that the title was inspired by main character, Morgan Sinclare and the fact that the story is set in Sin City—Las Vegas, Nevada.
How about a hint? *grins* One of those projects will take place in a very famous city, one that I’ve recently visited: The Big Apple. Can you guess who the main character will be?
Jo: Oh my! Reclaim? Abby? Eeeeeeeep! So excited!!!!!!!! How’s the move going? Is it having an impact on your productivity? I ask this because I did the same recently and only now have gotten back into the swing of things. I gotta know if it’s just me, or if all authors have this issue during a move. LOL
Casey: Ugh. We have placed our house on the market and haven’t actually moved yet. Though, we’ve packed up and are cleaning like psychos everyday (just in case someone calls and schedules an appointment to look at the house). So, it’s a frustrating process at times. I’ve been reluctant to schedule Facebook parties, etc. because of the possibility that an appointment will be scheduled during the event and my kids and pets will have to vacate the premises! LOL! It’s a long process, but in the end will be worth it.
Jo: Yes it will be. Settling in is the hardest part. Well, that’s all the time we have. Is there anything I didn’t ask that you wish I had?
Casey: I’m a Taurus. My favorite color is teal. I love spaghetti. I think that’s all! Thank you so much!
Jo: I'm ROFL! You're so cool. It was awesome having you here, Casey! I can’t wait to see you at the conference. We’re gonna have such a good time (and maybe come up with another book idea – yes, readers, you heard that right)! Expect squees and tackle hugs!
Now, it’s time to reveal the featured book of the week!
Title: Pariah
Author: Casey L. Bond
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Length (print): 315 pages
Buy links: Amazon Kindle $3.99 ~ Barnes and Noble Nook $3.99 ~ iBooks $3.99
Synopsis:
What are the things that you need most in life—the things you crave? Solara longs for freedom. Having been raised under the Kingdom’s lock and key since the age of two, she wants to see the world. Upon turning seventeen and receiving no mark from the Lord, she believes freedom is finally within her grasp.
Unfortunately, she is wrong. The Kingdom has been fooled. She is marked by an angel of light and one of the fallen dark ones. Solara is God’s chosen, and with her birth, the new covenant made with mankind is made manifest.
Solara also longs for love, strong enough to last a lifetime, and beyond. Riven loves her. But is one of the fallen prophesied to betray the chosen. Can she trust him? Love him?
Prophesy states that she is the key. The fate of humanity rests with her decision. She alone will determine whether the doors of Heaven or the gates of Hell open upon the Earth. But how can a normal girl, who has been raised with no knowledge of either side, make such a decision? And how can she turn away from finally tasting those things she has craved for so long.
While your fingers are in the clicking mode, why not give this lovely lady a follow on every social media platform I could think of when writing up the template for these interviews (plus some)?
Twitter: @authorcaseybond
Facebook: Author Casey Bond
Pinterest: CaseyB007
Website: Author Casey Bond
Blog: Author Casey Bond Blog
Goodreads: Casey L. Bond
Google +: Casey L. Bond
Tsu: Author Casey L. Bond
Rafflecopter giveaway time!
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If you have any questions for Casey, pop them into the comments below. She’ll be around to interact with you.
Well, that’s all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
I'm sure you're all familiar with my categorized link list. Well, because of the volume of tips and tricks posts I do, it's becoming an unwieldy beast. No one wants to hunt through tons of endless links (even if they are defined) to find what tip they're looking for. So, I'm endeavoring to split that page into a couple more, sorting the posts so they're easier for you to find. Those informational hubs will be updated as I write posts instead of twice a year (like it's done now). You'll also find a new book reviews page so you can see those with the click of a mouse.
