Author Joann Buchanan Giveaway and Interview

a Rafflecopter giveaway 1. When did you start writing?

I started writing when I was 12. I remember because that was the year I was grounded to my room with nothing to do but read, do homework or write. I soon ran out of things to read and homework was done so I started to write. I found I loved the stories I created. I also found out I could do whatever I wanted to in them. I think it’s always been part of me
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2. Did you always wanted to be an author or did it just happen?

 I’ve always wanted to be an author. I just didn’t know what to do with anything I wrote. A few years back we had a house fire and lost everything. Sitting on my desk next to the charred computer was a paper copy of a story I was working on and a stack of disks. None of it was touched by the fire. It was like an angel put her hand on them and kept them safe. That was a wake-up call for me. John saved up some money and purchased my first laptop. I didn’t have a clue as to where to start so I started a blog and then began joining groups and worked from there. I practice writing every day to hone my skill. I think I already had my voice, I just didn’t know what to do with it.

3. What else do you do beside write?

I put together log tours through Totes and Notes for writers. I love to help other writers out. I also co-host a radio show on Sunday night at 10 pm EST on The Shark Radio Network called Just Roll With It. Erik Shaltis, AKA Big EZ is the best person to work with. I have a blast doing the show with him. I like to watch movies…lol. I also run my children around to where they need to go. I think as a mom I spend a lot of time doing things they want to do then what I want to do…lol. The other thing I do is swim. I love to swim laps in the pool. It takes me out of my own mind and I can focus on other things.

4. How did you come up with I Am Wolf?

It all started with a line I put on my FB wall one day as just messing around. Then I was reading a site with some amazing Native American folklore. I love the stories they have. I found one that was about a warrior with a wolf sprit and a human spirit trapped. In the story, the wolf spirit was evil. It made me think what if the wolf was a blessing, a gift. And the story just grew from there.

5. Why did you pick YA?

I don’t know that I actually picked YA. I think it just happens to be where I landed. I didn’t intentionally choose this genre. In fact I thought it was horror I was writing. When it comes down to it, I just write whatever the story tells me to. If it ends up in YA cool, if it’s fantasy or romance or any other genre out there, that’s ok too. It wasn’t and isn’t a conscious choice.

6. Who is your favorite character?

In I AM WOLF, it’s a toss-up between Utah and Ralph. Ralph was so much fun to write because I pushed him as far as I could take him. He was fun because he did things I wouldn’t and couldn’t do. He was an exploration of another side of life. I love Utah because he makes me laugh. He loves to laugh and loves to make others laugh. In The Kiss, I love Sharron. She is so strong and I love that about her. I also love Cara. Her world is full of magic and fantasy. She allows me to become a child again.

7. Are any of your characters based on people you know?


I would have to say that Cara is based on my daughter. She is a child with a vivid imagination. She has fairies in her closet and has adventures all the time as Princess Starfire. She is an amazing child with enough compassion for the entire world.

8. How many will there be in a series?

I think Dance of Fireflies is going to be the last book in the series. I won’t know until I finish it.

9. Are you working on another project?

I’m working on a fantasy romance called Dragon’s Eyes and two other projects I’m not ready to talk about. One of them is with a partner. We aren’t ready to tell anyone about it though.

10. If you could make any one of your character be a real person, who would it be?

Tiokisan. He has a lot of wisdom and makes you see things in a different light.

11. What authors have inspired you?

I have been inspired by David B. Coe, Mary Ting, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Frank Herbert and a slew of others. All of them have taught me something different in writing. All of them have taken me out of my own world and given me a place for my imagination to play. Just for fun What's your favoirte color? I love the colors pink and teal. What's your favorite movie? Wow there are so many, I could watch and have watched The Lord of The Ring trilogy over and over. I also have watched Dune and Children of Dune. I lost those two in the fire though and miss them. I can’t seem to find them anywhere. They were from the old scifi channel and haven’t been on since the fire. I can’t even find them in disk. 

Just For Fun.....


Dog or cat?
I have both…lol. They are part of my family and couldn’t choose between them.

What TV shows do you watch?
Falling Skies, Sons of Anarchy, Criminal Minds, The Walking Dead and last but omg I can’t wait for the next season, Game of Thrones.

What's your favorite candy bar?
M&M with peanuts.

Thank you so much for the amazing interview!

They live among us. We know they are there. No government can control them; no authority can stop them. Some are evil. Some are good. All are powerful. They inhabit our myths and fairy tales. But what if they were real, the witches, wizards, and fairy godmothers? What if they were called "adepts" and used talismans to increase their power? The most powerful talisman in the world is The Hammer of Thor and Hitler stole it from its rightful owners, the Valkyrie. When American adept Francis Kader is reluctantly drawn into the effort to retrieve the Hammer from the Nazis, he begins a journey that leads him to a confrontation with Thor himself. Can a mere human hope to defeat an immortal god? a Rafflecopter giveaway Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Hammer-of-Thor-ebook/dp/B005JLLTWS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1343278016&sr=1-1&keywords=hammer+of+thor+by+S.+Evan+Townsend

Alexandrea Weis stopped in for a guest post. Here's a little about this amazing woman. 

Alexandrea Weis is a registered nurse from New Orleans who has been published in several nursing journals and textbooks. She has been writing novels and screenplays for over twenty years. Her first novel, To My Senses, was a finalist for commercial fiction in Eric Hofer Book Awards, a finalist for romance in the Foreword Magazine book of the Year awards, and a finalist for romance in the USA Book Awards. Her second novel, Recovery, won the Gold Medal for best romantic suspense from The Reader's Favorite Book Awards and was named best Romantic Suspense by the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2011. Her third book, Sacrifice, closes out the Nicci Beauvoir Series. Her fourth book, highlighting her love of rehabbing wildlife, called Broken Wings, is now out in paperback and ebook.
Ms. Weis is also a permitted wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries and when she is not writing, Ms. Weis is rescuing orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives outside of New Orleans with her husband and a menagerie of pets.
Blog site: http://alexandreaweiscom.blogspot.com/
website: http://alexandreaweis.com

   

 GUEST POST

 The rhythm of the resurrecting city of New Orleans is reflected everyday in the unified heartbeat of its determined residents. And no matter the devastation, New Orleanians will continually fight to hold on to their beloved little bastion eight feet below sea level. Like the memory of a first kiss, the warmth of New Orleans pervades your soul and forever becomes a part of you. To travel among the wide oaks and antebellum homes of the Garden District makes for beautiful postcard pictures, but it does not give you a true indication of what it means to be a New Orleanian. You have to immerse yourself in the old world atmosphere and varied traditions of the people of this town in order to understand them, and, hopefully, become one of them.

     You need to dine in the myriad of exceptional restaurants and take part in a heated discussion about where to find the best bowl of gumbo. Spend a Monday morning drinking coffee and chicory in an old uptown kitchen while learning how to cook the perfect pot of red beans and rice. Experience the wrong way to eat a muffaletta sandwich, the right way to shuck an oyster, and the only way to eat a beignet. And you will always have to remember that if your food isn’t boiled, blackened or fried, it just ain’t cooked.   

          You will want to traverse the different sections of the old city divided not by points on a compass, but by proximity to the Mississippi River or Lake Pontchartrain. Because no one in the Crescent City could ever tell you where to find the south end of town, but they could recite by heart the neighborhoods along the bend in the river. From the Bywaters to the Irish Chanel, from Lakeview to the infamous Ninth Ward, so many smaller sections alive with their own unique histories make up this city. Each part of New Orleans has a rich heritage based on the struggles of its French, Spanish, Irish, African, or Italian founders.

     Then head over to Canal Street, where the local term “neutral ground” was created in the early 1800’s. In those days, the wide thoroughfare was first used as a common market area between the feuding French and Spanish occupants of the city. Take a streetcar ride down legendary St. Charles Avenue to see the world renowned Audubon Zoo. Along the way, soak up the different styles of Victorian, Greek Revival, and Colonial architecture represented by some of the city’s finest homes. Let the soothing rocking motion of the streetcar ease your cares, as the sweet scent of magnolias streams in from the open window beside you. At the end of your streetcar ride, walk the broken cobblestones of the French Quarter, and take in the alluring sights of the tightly packed Creole cottages. Listen for the seductive sounds of Jazz music resonating around you, the smell of great food hovering in the air about you, and let your imagination linger on the romantic wrought iron balconies above you. Make your way to Jackson Square and take in the tall spires of St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in the continental Untied States. Walk through the adjoining Cabildo Museum, where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803. Stroll on over to the Moonwalk, by the edge of the Mississippi River, and enjoy the calliope music coming from the Delta Queen Riverboat. After you have learned to bargain like a pro with the vendors at the French Market, then saunter down the shady sidewalks of Esplanade Avenue. The street made famous by Tennessee Williams and his tale of hidden desire. Finally, let yourself wander the narrow alleys of St. Louis Cemetery Number One, where you can visit the above ground tombs of famous former residents Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen, and Paul Morphy, the chess phenomenon.

     But there is another, more important, criteria for being an ingrained member of this eclectic southern city. You have to learn to appreciate life. Not the day-to-day hurried existence that shortens the lives of stockbrokers and businessmen, but the easy lust for the fulfillment of the senses. For everything about New Orleans is tailored to the forgotten art of self-gratification. In these days of such soulless existence, it is a heartwarming relief to find a place unashamed of its abundant way of life. No one in New Orleans regrets the way they live, they only regret when they have to leave it.

     So the next time you think about my hometown, don’t linger on the unforgettable disasters of our past. Instead, revel in what makes our city unique, shamelessly flamboyant, and stoically unapologetic for its transgressions. New Orleanians have moved on from Katrina. Despite the numerous media attempts to bury the residents under clouds of negative press and dim outlooks, the people remain resilient. Because they know that when Mardi Gras is over, crawfish season is right around the corner. We may have paid a heavy price for our time in paradise, but we know that somewhere up in the heavens, someone is answering our prayers. After all, the Saints did finally win the Super Bowl.       

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My Vampire in Shining Armor 

by Author Charlie Rose

Caroline is more than she seems. The road of her life has been plagued with abuse, until a certain immortal came her way. Damian is the man of her dream, but he must fight to save her from the clutches of her brother, and then her father. Plagued by indecision, Damian fears for Caroline's life. If he doesn't act soon, she'll leave him, and not in a good way. If that's not bad enough, her father's curse threatens to rip them apart.What will happen? Will they survive or will the curse destroy them?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Drum roll!!! 13 winners by rafflecopter. 1. Terri Matlock 2. Becky Lutes 3. Dana Cuadrado 4. Dawn Svacha 5. Fleur Hinkins 6. Aimee Busch 7. Jessica Martin 8. Rachael Evan 9. Claire Betzhold 10. Jitske Roefs 11. Debbie Szabo 12. Tammy Middleton 13. Holly Boldman Burton Please email me with your address and pick one from the giveaway. thetings888@msn.com First email gets first pick :) Thanks everyone for participating. More giveaways to come! Hugs!!!

Author Charlotte Blackwell Giveaways

A sweet vampire love story you'll want to sink your teeth into. You'll also get to read what Michael is up to in book 4, Everlasting Embrace.

Go to this link and enter.

 http://totesandnotes.blogspot.com/2012/07/charlotte-blackwells-blog-tour.html