Chelsea M. Cameron's Blog, page 16

In which I set Peter and Ava loose on my blog (an interview with the characters in Nocturnal)...

Hello blog visitors! (clears throat and shifts into "talk show host" voice) Today on Left and Write we have Peter Hart and Ava-Claire Sullivan with us. They're both characters in my book, Nocturnal. Let's have a round of applause for Peter and Ava! 
*blinking applause sign*
Ava: Thanks for having us. (looks at Peter.) Aren't you going to say something?
Peter: Yes. Thank you for having us.
Me: Oh, you're welcome. (shifts in seat, looks through question cards) So why don't we start with you, Ava. Tell us about the first night you met Peter.
Ava: I, um, I don't really like to talk about it. (looks at Peter again. He blinks) It was kind of a bad night. 
Me: Except for meeting Peter.
Ava: Well, he didn't really make a good first impression. I thought he was going to kill me.
Peter: I nearly did. I still might.
Ava: (rolls eyes) Yeah, you've said that before. A million times. I have yet to see it.
Me: You don't seem really concerned, Ava.
Ava: I know I should be. Because there was that one time... but I just don't think that he'd hurt me. (stares at Peter. Peter stares back. Staring lasts for several seconds)
Me: *clears throat* So Peter, what was it about Ava that attracted you?
Peter: It was her eyes. The way she looked at me. I could not look away. (reaches one finger out to touch her cheek. She blushes) I wanted to keep her safe. Because her soul is pure. I couldn't taint that.
Ava: (looks down at lap) Thanks, Peter.
Me: That's very sweet, Peter. (fans self with cards) So you'd say it was an instant attraction?
Peter: Yes. She reminded me of my mother.
Ava: Awesome. That's what every girl wants to hear. "Your soul is pure and you remind me of my mother." (crosses arms)
Peter: You are upset.
Ava: (sighs) No, I'm not upset. I'm just... I don't know. It's like sometimes you say sweet things like that about my soul, and then you say other things, and it's very confusing. Do you understand?
Peter: More or less.
Me: Moving on. Peter, was it hard to tell Ava about you not being human?
Peter: No.
Me: Not at all? No reservations?
Peter: She needed to know. So I told her.
Me: You didn't think that would freak her out at all?
Peter: I thought that it might. I still wanted her to have a way out, if she wanted. I could not keep it from her any longer. (he blinks)
Ava: It wasn't really that big a secret. I noticed that first night when you weren't breathing. 
Peter: You did?
Ava: Uh, yeah. There was also that freaky conversation with your brother that tipped me off.
Peter: Yes.
Me: Are you close with your brother, Peter?
Peter and Ava at the same time: No.
Me: (senses this is a touchy issue. Decides to move on) We're almost out of time today. How about one last question? Hmmm... (shuffles through cards) Oh! Same question for both of you, what is your favorite thing about the other person?
Peter: I am not a person.
Ava: Yes you are. We've been through this a million times. Just go with it, Peter.
Peter: But I am not.
Ava: (turns to Peter, ignoring me) Peter Henry MacKintire. You. Are. A. Person. You may not be human, but you are a person. So just answer the question.
Peter: Her. She is my favorite thing.
Ava: Aw, you're my favorite too, Peter. (turns to me) How could you not fall for that?
Me: (gazing at Peter) What? Oh, right. Well, that's all the time we have for today. Thank you Peter, Ava for chatting with me today.
Ava: It was cool. 
Peter: Thank you.
Me: So, uh, how many brothers do you have, Peter?
Ava: Oh boy.
*music plays as credits roll*

Some things that are coming up...

Firstly, I've picked two new winners for the Lunar Love Giveaway Hop. They are Judy C. and Nicole E! I'm sending you both emails to confirm.

Second, (Wow, I have been doing a lot of lists lately. Could my characters be rubbing off on me?) I was interviewed about my indie publishing journey by Wren Emerson, over at Wren's Writing Nest! I don't know exactly when my post will go up, but it also includes a snippet of Nocturnal, so that's pretty Awesome (drink #1). I'll post on Twitter when it goes up.

Third, I've got a post planned for next week that will be an interview with two of my characters, Peter and Ava, from Nocturnal. I was going to post it this week, but I've been in the editing cave and I can't see straight. Also it's March Madness. I don't know what that has to do with anything, but there you go.

Fourth, it's HUNGER GAMES next week. I'm going to a midnight showing and then I have to work the next day. Yeah, that's going to be a great time. But you gotta do what you gotta do, right? I've been a Hunger Games fan since I read the first book in 2008, and I've been nuts about it ever since. Singlehandedly, I've been able to get five people to read and fall in love with them. From everything I've seen and heard, this movie is going to do the books justice. Not like the atrocity that was the first Twilight movie (I still can't figure out why it was a good idea to make everyone blue). I honestly can't even think about it because I get so excited and then I might explode. It's going to be AWESOME (drink #2).

Phew, another list-post. I swear I'll get back to normal next week. I hope.

A Thank You, and Winners of the Lunar Love Giveaway Hop!

Wow. Seriously, wow. I had 89 entries for the blog hop. This totally blew away my expectations. It was my first blog hop, so I expected maybe 30 to 50 entries. I just want to thank everyone who entered, who tweeted and facebooked and followed me and commented.
*waves to new followers* I appreciate your participation more than you know. But enough about that. It's time to announce the winners!!!!

The first winner is.....

Kendra C!


The second is.......

Desiree R!


Congratulations!!!!! (I'm a little exclamation point happy today. I swear I'll be back to normal for my next post.)

Ladies, if you could please email me at chel.c.cam (at) gmail (dot) com, I will send the ebook file to you! If I don't hear from you by Sunday, I will pick a new winner. Everyone else who didn't win... Don't worry! I'm planning on doing at least one blog hop a month, so you still have chances to win.

Thank you once again, everyone!

In which I share some links...

Firstly, don't forget about The Lunar Love Giveaway Hop! for a chance to win one of TWO ebook copies of Nocturnal and my Interview (and giveaway) with the Awesome Fisher Amelie! with the chance to win an ebook copy of Callum & Harper. Yes, I used two exclamation points. I'm feeling rebellious today. I blame the Girl Scout Cookies.

I came across quite a few Awesome (drink #1) things this week, and I wanted to share them with you. Just because I'm an only child, doesn't mean I suck at sharing. Sharing is Caring. I should totally get that made into a t-shirt. And on to the links...

There has been a flurry of talk recently about a little book called Fifty Shades of Grey. I'd seen it on Amazon and at other places online, but since it was erotica (which I don't read), I didn't pay attention to it. Then I saw a spot on the Today Show about how this book was considered "Mommie Porn" for suburban housewives and reigniting their sex lives. So, being the curious person I am, I looked it up. What I found was highly interesting. There was a lot of negative press about it on the internet. More so than positive.

I also learned that the book was a former Twilight fanfic, called Master of the Universe. I'd definitely heard of that one before, via the Twilight fandom. The author had such a response that she changed the names and self-published it. So now it's sold a bazillion copies. I have not read it. There are elements of BDSM (bondage, dominance, sadomasochism), but from what I've heard is they are pretty tame. Still not really my cup of tea. Anyway, the point of all this is that I found a link to a review done by Dear Author. It is simply the best review of a book I've ever read. It's long, but totally worth it. I will probably read the book eventually, if someone has an ecopy they will lend me. I'm definitely not paying for repackaged fanfiction.

The second Awesome (drink #2) thing I'd like to share with you is that Defiance (Significance, Book 3) by Shelly Crane is out early for Kindle! You can buy it on Amazon here! Also, the other two books in the series are discounted to .99 for the release. How Awesome (drink #3) is that?

Third in Awesomeness (drink #3)  is that Nocturnal is going to be reviewed by Shana over at Sizzling Reads! If you scroll down on this post, you might see something familiar. It's Nocturnal! I know this is silly to be so excited about, but I am. Currently Nocturnal is without any reviews, so I'm hoping that will change soon.

So there you go. Some links to fritter away your time on the interwebs. I'm off to edit. (kill me now)

Lunar Love Giveaway Hop!

Thanks to our hosts: I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Bookworm Lisa!

In honor of this hop, and since it is my first, there will be TWO ebook copies of Nocturnal up for grabs! How Awesome is that? Pretty Awesome. All you have to do is follow the directions in the Rafflecopter! Oh, and tell me what your favorite creature of the night is! I gotta go with vampires. Of course. What about you? I'll post the winners here, and they will have 72 hours to respond, or I will pick the next one. Good luck!

Want to keep hopping? Check out the linky list!



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An inteview with the Awesome Fisher Amelie (plus a giveaway!)...

Today I have the Awesome (drink #1) Fisher Amelie visiting! I've raved about her book, Callum & Harper before and I've been stalking following her ever since. She was gracious enough to agree to an interview (instead of taking out a restraining order), and a giveaway! How Awesome (drink #2) is that?


Fisher Amelie resides in the South with her kick ace husband slash soul mate. She earned her first 'mama' patch in 2009. She also lives with her Weim, 'Jonah', and her Beta, 'Whale'. All these living creatures keep the belly of her life full, sometimes to the point of gluttony, but she doesn't mind all that much because life isn't worth living if it isn't entertaining, right?

Fisher grew up writing. She secretly hid notebooks and notebooks of dribble in a large Tupperware storage container in her closet as a kid. She didn't put two and two together until after college where it suddenly dawned on her, "Hey, I like writing".
She's a bit dense.
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are. Put down that Oreo, your butt can't take any more."
"You're rude."
"Yeah, yeah."
Anyway, she likes to write and has finally beaten her self-esteem into submission enough to allow herself to be scrutinized under the 'other readers' microscope. "No! No! Not a cover slip! Last time it gave me a ra...." (mumbling)

Rescue Fisher from her metaphorical specimen slide at www.fisheramelie.com
On to the Q and A:
Tell us a little about your writing journey and what brought you to indie publishing: When I was younger, I wrote because if I didn't, I would have gone insane. No kidding. I needed that outlet, to spread out my ideas on paper, to release my imagination but as I got older it became my livelihood and my imagination took a back burner. Right now, I'm a copywriter and blogger for several corporate clients within the U.S. but the difference between my writing because I have to and writing because I want to was enough to spur me into a closer relationship with an imagination just begging to be let free. Though I write for a living, I didn't find my true calling until I typed the first word of The Understorey. I have never felt as wonderful, as accomplished, as true to myself until that moment.I decided to go Indie, like so many others, because of a well known author and blogger named J.A. Konrath. Many authors think they can't be considered or personally won't feel legit until they've gotten a contract from a traditional publisher but Konrath helped me 'see the light'. I reexamined what legitimacy meant to me and when I truly thought about it, legitimacy comes with my first sale, my first review, my first 'Please! When does the next book come out!'. If you've ever read Konrath's blog, he explains the direction that publishing and reading in general is taking. The industry is changing and I decided to change with it.  


Do you think indies have to fight harder than traditional authors to gain recognition? I know traditionally published authors and they fight just as hard as Indies. They go to the same mattresses, fight with the same passion and live that same fight over and over with us. There is this strange misconception with traditionally published authors that the publishing houses 'do all the work' and that is just not true. The Big Six only do this for their bigger authors, the rest are left to fend for themselves. They are no different than an Indie when it comes to marketing themselves. The only thing and I mean the only thing that Indies have to work harder at is convincing others that we can write just as well as a traditionally published author.

I've already raved about your contemporary YA book, Callum & Harper. What inspired this book? Was it difficult to write? Thank you! I'm so incredibly humbled and grateful for the attention Callum & Harper is receiving! It's so incredibly wild!

Five years past, the hubs and I were planning our wedding. We chose the YWCA of Fort Worth in Texas. I know your imagining a high school gym right about now, maybe some crepe paper's involved but let me tell you, the name is deceiving because the building itself is a local landmark. It was constructed in the eighteen-hundreds, brick, plaster, and just incredibly beautiful. We saw and chose it almost immediately but what sealed the deal was the fact that the top two floors of this brick building were apartment housing for orphans kicked form their foster homes at eighteen. The lady told us that the YWCA takes in these young women, kids really, and sets them up with a place to live, a job, clothing and food. They help them gain independence. And one hundred percent of the proceeds earned from the reception hall go to help make this happen. We signed that day.

A few weeks later, I was at the facility for something silly. I think something to do with the caterer and while I was leaving, I saw ten girls just sort of loitering outside the building, talking and laughing. So I approached them. And when I did, I heard some of the most harrowing tales of sorrow and pain I've ever heard in my life. They talked of sexual and physical abuse, abandonment, and loneliness. They were candid and brutally honest and my heart bled for them. But the worst part? They were shocked as hell I was even interested in hearing their stories. Yes, some of these girls were admittedly thieves and a few of them were probably addicted to drugs but they were obviously a product of their environments and by the way they spoke, I could tell they were committed to improving their lives and situations. I was heart broken when I left but full of a conviction to tell their stories.

Tell us about your newest release: Callum & Harper is a story of love. Two young orphan teenagers, a product of the system with no money and no prospects are forced to rely on each other to survive their environment and a terrible ghost from Harper's past but they aren't deterred by the impossible. They overcome all through hard work and the drive to be better than what's expected of them even when the world seems out to get them. And when all seems lost, they ultimately find love and family in the most unlikely of places...each other. 

What else are you working on this year? I'm currently writing a spin off of Callum & Harper called Thomas & January. It's the story of Thomas Eriksson and January Mac Lochlainn. Thomas is bitter and cold-hearted after he loses, who he thinks, is the love of his life but January becomes the breath of fresh air who, much to his dismay, informs him he was wrong.

(And late this summer I'll be finishing The Leaving Series as a whole. I'm going to attempt three short books by August. Wish me luck.) 

You're member of an awesome indie author group, the YA Indie Carnival. Tell us a little about how you came to be a part of it, and what the group is all about: I was in the right place at the right time, it seemed. I was so lucky to be included into this group from the beginning. Essentially, Laura Elliott, the brilliant creator of the YA Indie Carnival, got together with M. Leighton, one of my fav authors of all time, and decided a blog group was in order. I was lucky enough to be invited in the first round.

Lightning round:Chocolate or vanilla? This is going to sound so weird because authors and chocolate are synonymous but I choose vanilla. Please don't kill me. :) 

Day or Night? Night, baby. I'm a night owl. The moon sings to me. 

Vampires, werewolves, fallen angels or aliens? Werewolves? Too hairy. Fallen Angels? Um, a demon? No, thanks. Aliens? Depends. Does he have two heads? Vampires? YES! I'm in, baby. I'm in! I like teeth. I also like the idea of perfect skin. Superficial, I know, but I won't play I'm something I'm not. :)

Quick! It's 12/21/12 and the world is ending. You have five minutes to grab five things to bring with you to a secret underground bunker. What would you take? I'm going to assume my fam is already down there. So, I'd scramble for my Kindle, a chocolate martini, my Mac, Kimono and a satellite phone. I'm set, honey. I'm set.

Linkies:
Fisher's Facebook Fan Page 
@fisheramelie on Twitter.
Goodreads
www.fisheramelie.com
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Thank you, Fisher for such Awesome (drink #3) answers! And be cause she's extra Awesome (drink #4) covered in Awesomesauce, up for grabs is one ebook copy of Callum & Harper! Come on, you know you want it. How do you get your hands on it?
1. Be a follower of this blog. This is mandatory.2. Comment! Write a comment on the interview, along with any links to tweets or Facebook posts. 3. Tweet! Tweet about the interview and giveaway. Post the link in the comments for an extra entry.4. Facebook! Post the link for another entry.

That's 3 extra points you can earn. The contest will close on Monday, March 19 at Midnight (est). I will post the winner, chosen by Random.org,  on Wednesday. Good luck!

Some really Awesome Things (at least I think so)...

So I have a few Awesome Things coming up. Yes, I must capitalize Awesome Things. Because they are just that Awesome. If you're playing the Awesome Drinking Game, you're 5 shots in and probably about ready to pass out. If you don't know what the Awesome Drinking Game is, basically every time I use the word Awesome, you take a drink or a shot. Maybe you should just do a sip, because I use the word Awesome a lot. Like right there. So just be careful.

On to the Awesome Things! Firstly, I will be posting an interview I did with the absolutely lovely Fisher Amelie who wrote Callum & Harper. You know, the book I practically wrote a love letter to? Yeah, that one. Anywho, there will be an interview. And it will be filled with Awesome. There might also be a giveaway... You'll have to check back and see... Mwahahaha....

Second, I've decided to do something a little crazy and let my characters do an interview. Well, they're not going to do the interview, I will interview them. But it's going to be a little crazy. We'll see how it goes. I'm just hoping they behave and actually answer my questions. That will also be coming up next week.

Third, I'm doing a blog hop, starting on March 8th, and there will be two copies of Nocturnal up for grabs! Stay tuned for that as well.

Fourth, the Awesome covered in Awesomesauce Tiffany Mahaffy, who runs #yabookchat has asked me to be a guest on March 28th! Which totally blows my mind. I seriously squeed inside when I got the message. So I'll have reminders and there will probably be a lot of tweeting when that gets closer. Huzzah!

Aren't those all Awesome Things? I thought so.

Cover reveal for Inbetween (Kissed by Death, #1) by Tara Fuller!

INBETWEEN (Kissed by Death, #1) by Tara Fuller (August 7, 2012)


Since the car crash that took her father's life three years ago, Emma'slife has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving"accidents" has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, soEmma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Fallingin love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper whomakes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.
It's not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fatehas put on his list not once, but twice. Finn's fellow reapers give himhell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn't let her die before,and he's not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he lovesfrom the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing theonly thing he has left…his soul.
Paperback Available for Pre-Order from Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Inbetween-Tara-Fuller/dp/1620610833/ref=lh_ni_t
Add to your Goodreads TBR:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055677-inbetween
Isn't it pretty! I love the green, and the font on the side is unique and awesome. The girl also looks like she's ready to kick ass and take names. This is definitely on my TBR list. Plus, it's from Entangled Publishing, the same people who brought is Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout. So yeah, I'll be reading this one for sure!

In which I buy a lot of books...

Last President's Day (otherwise known as the holiday that everyone loves, but no one celebrates) I made the trek all the way to Portland to use my Christmas gift cards at this place called Bull Moose. I know, it sounds totally awesome, right? It actually is. It's this super hip music store that has not only used CD's and records, but new and used books. They even have VHS tapes. For $.30 a pop. I bought Pretty Woman and The Wedding Planner and A Knight's Tale. Because I'm the kind of person who still has a VHS player.

I also bought books. Glorious books. Books like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. People raved about this one so much that I bought it without even reading the back. Because Will Grayson, Will Grayson was so freaking fabulous that I knew anything John Green wrote would be equally fabulous. I also bought Beautiful Chaos, which I have been itching for for months. And After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven Wendel. I've met Carrie before and her style of writing is just so cute and funny, I wanted to see what something darker might be like. There's Divergent by Veronica Roth, which I have heard nothing but good things about, Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare, which people on twitter begged me to read, A Million Suns by Beth Revis, which I have also been waiting on pins and needles for, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, which I've also heard awesome things about, Saints Astray by Jacqueline Carey, which I have also been waiting for forever, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins to get a little contemp in there, and The Book of the Bizarre, which just looked awesome.

I bought another book at Wal-Mart. The very last copy of Switched by Amanda Hocking. It was kind of a weird moment for me. I've been following her since August of 2010, before she blew up. Before she had a $2 million book deal. Back then she had made enough money to quit her job, but she was still struggling. And I distinctly remember that she said one of the downsides of being an indie was that people couldn't buy her book at Wal-Mart. Now she's come full circle, and it's just so astonishing and inspiring to see. Maybe that will be me one day.

And finally, I caved and bought a bunch of ebooks last week. Including: Fairy Metal Thunder by J.L Bryan, In His Eyes (an anthology featuring Fisher Amelie, Ali Cross and RaShelle Workman, among others), Gravity by M. Leighton, Winnemucca by Laura Elliot and Awake by Jessica Grey.

So really, my TBR pile just got deeper. I would love to shovel all of these books into my brain, but it is not possible. I'll get to them. Eventually.

Tammy Blackwell is flipping funny and sexy accents...

So I'm reading Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell. I'd heard awesome things about it months ago, but the cover kind of turned me off. You'd think by now I would get over this, given the Jenny Pox incident. (I didn't want to buy it because of the cover, but caved when Amanda Hocking told me to. It was awesome.)

It's been sitting and waiting its turn on my Kindle. I've been reading Tammy's blog, and she's so funny. I knew that the funny must translate over to her books, but it got lost in the chaos that is my Kindle. So I finished a book last night and decided I wanted to read something fun. My eyes landed on Destiny Binds and I opened it. I didn't actually start it until today on my break from work. O. M. G. It's awesome. It's an awesome sundae with awesome sprinkles with awesomesauce all over the entire thing.

This book is drenched in awesomesauce. The main character, Scout, reminds me a lot of my Ava from Nocturnal. I feel like they'd be friends. Scout is strong and saracastic and she doesn't give a crap about what people think of her. She tells it like it is. And even though she's intrigued by the new boy in school, she doesn't stop breathing every time he's within a two mile radius. In fact, she tells him to leave her alone. Because he causes tension with her brother. She puts family first. I feel like this is a little-explored trope in the paranormal romance genre. I'm only about 10% in, but I know this is going to be one of my fave reads of 2012. It's fate. Scout's inner observations are so funny, they make me giggle-snort and wish that she were real so we could hang out. So you should go and buy it. I'll make it easy for you. LINKS!

Buy it on Amazon!
Buy it on Barnes and Noble!
Buy it on Smashwords!

Annnnddd transition...

I watched the Oscar's last night. The only movie I saw that was nominated for Best Picture was The Help. I wanted to see The Artist so much, but it never happened. I'm hoping now that it's won best picture, they will bring it back to my local theater. *crosses fingers*

When Jean Dujardin won best actor, I just sat and stared at him. He is a beautiful man. And then he opens his mouth and unleashes the power of that accent and I'm a swoony mess. There's just something about a French accent. For us Americans, the British, Irish. Welsh and Scottish accents do it, too. So do the Australian, Spanish, Portuguese Italian and Greek.

There are some places that don't have sexy accents. Like Minnesota. Sorry kids, but you know it's true. Also, the Norwegian accent is not all that sexy. Or German. Russian though, yeah. Personally, I find Asian accents alluring, but that might just be me. These are not official by any means, but I think we can all agree that Canadian accents are not that sexy.