Virginia McKevitt's Blog, page 6

Interview with Tegrin Voluntas Dea

Today I am interviewing a very unusual individual. He is Tegrin Voluntas Dea.

 A mountain of a man walks in from behind the sound both. He is dressed in leather and reminds me of a gladiator or a soldier of Rome. His hair is braided and he is marked with tattoos. He looks in my direction and I shiver. His eyes are gold and intelligent He carries himself with grace, like a cat on the prowl. This should be interesting.  

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us Tegrin. Can you tell us about yourself.

(a long silence)

My name is Tegrin Voluntas Dea of the Lion Clan. I am in the Royal Guard of King Yorandt in the Kingdom Of Patwain. You would say I am his right hand man, even though he is left handed.
I am a warrior as are all of my people but my true title is a Slayer or Assassin for the King's Pleasure.

Well I was going to ask you what you do for a living but that pretty much sums it up.

Tegrin laughs. and sits on the stool I offer him.

I clear my throat.

To be blunt, how do you feel about killing someone?

I have no "feeling" about killing. It is a necessary part of my society. He leans forward and rest his elbow on one knee. In my world there is almost no violence or murder. To do so would be a death sentence, carried out swiftly, with no trial or judge. My king's laws are rarely broken.
It would not be wise for your name to fall from the lips of the king.

Your king sounds pretty ruthless.

Tegrin's jaw tightens.

You will not find a more just or honorable man.

Well, lets change the subject. Who is Kristina?

None of your business.

Um, okay.
 
Why are you in our world?

To kill the Couton whore Alexasia, who has defied the king.

How do you plan to do that? Do you have someone helping you here?

This interview is over.

Door slams.

Is he gone? He is? Whew. I think I'll stick to authors from now on. These characters are a bitchy lot. Until next time folks. have a good evening and if I was you I'd stay away from anybody named Alexasia.
 

My Blog Has Been Nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award

Thank You to Lynn Thompson for nominating my blog for the Versatile Blogger Award

 

There are a few rule before excepting the award. Here they are:
Nominate 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging.
Let the nominated bloggers know that they have been nominated for this award.
Share 7 random facts about yourself.
Thank the blogger who has nominated you.
Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post
7 Random Facts About Me:I love gardeningI love fantasy artI love animalsI love my countryI don't have a favorite colorI have a strange sense of humorMy best friend is my husband
 My Nominees are:
http://katieharperwrites.blogspot.com/
http://singularityspoint.blogspot.com/
http://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com/
http://rebaponderweiss.wordpress.com/
http://creewalker.wordpress.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5724839.Cora_Blu/blog
http://adduling.wordpress.com/
http://maxellendale.com/blog.html
http://yesterdaydaugher.blogspot.com/
http://ameliacurzonblogger.wordpress.com/
http://bethswildandcrazybookreviews.blogspot.com/
http://www.annbharrison.com/blog.html
http://rushboundblog.wordpress.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5331802.Shelly_Goodman_Wright/blog
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5445830.Amanda_R_Browning/blog




Mixing Fantasy and Romance and Making it Work

      There are many challenges in mixing genres, especially fantasy and romance. How can beings from different worlds become romantically involved and even be believable? I hope I can shed some light on that very subject because that is what my novel, FRACTURE The Secret Enemy Saga stands on; two people from different worlds, fighting in the same cause and falling in love. That's a mouthful!
      How can I make that believable you ask? Next time you go to the mall look around you. The couples holding hands and shopping are as diverse as you can get; different nationalities, different shapes and sizes, even different beliefs, yet they seem to make their relationships work. How?
      The Asian man with the American wife are from worlds so different they might as well be from Mars and Jupiter. What about the Italian woman or the French man? I could go on and on. The cultures and beliefs that separate us everyday are broken and shattered by one simple need, to be loved and accepted by another.
      How far off am I that someone from another world could actually fall in love with someone from this world and vice versa? Not far at all. Take those two people, throw them into a conflict that threatens both their worlds and fill it in with a little magic and mayhem, friends and family and who knows. You might have a winner.

Goodreads and Apple Pie by Virginia Mckevitt

Created in 2006 by Otis Chandler, Goodreads has become the social platform of 2012, for readers and authors alike. Chandler believed he could create a site where the reader could review and recommend books to fellow readers by creating a library of reading lists and discussion groups. A year later the site had over six hundred thousand readers and an estimated ten million books cataloged. It has become "the" social network for book lovers in the United States and around the world. Today Goodreads has between seven and ten million members with an average of twenty million visitors each month. Goodreads is a great place for authors and readers alike, to meet and share in a friendly "no spam" atmosphere. The site is built around reading and has something for anyone who likes to read. There are several discussion groups on multitudes of topics for everyone. Goodreads is free to join. Sign up and create a profile. From there you can add a shelf of your favorite books. You can even rate, review and recommend what you have read to your fellow readers. Writers, it's a way for you to get to know the tens of thousands of readers in this world who are just waiting for that next best book. Obey the rules, be friendly and mingle, just like you would at any other family gathering, because that is what Goodreads is, a family who devours books like your grandma's apple pie. Virginia McKevitt is the author of FRACTURE The Secret Enemy Saga.

Interview with Katie Harper, author of Never Say Just

Today I would like to welcome Katie Harper to my blog. She is the author of Never Say Just, a hot new romance full of action and suspense with a big splash of humor for extra spice and as a special bonus she is giving away a copy of Never Say Just to one lucky commenter of today’s post.
So join me in welcoming Katie Harper to my blog.
Hi Katie, thanks so much for stopping by today. First off, tell us about Katie Harper.
KH  Katie Harper is a sarcastic, snarky bitch. She has no mental filter and whatever happens to be walking through her brain will usually end up on Facebook. And she likes to refer to herself in the third person.
 How did you get interested in writing?
KH  I was locked up in a hospital for a month. You can watch only so many episodes of Maury testing sixty guys to discover the paternity of one baby before you're begging the nurse to commit a mercy defenestration. Since Nurse Nancy refused to play ball, I started writing.
What do you like about being an author?
KH  I like that I can say pretty much anything I want and blame it on my character. When a relative or close friend says, "I can't believe you wrote that!!" I can say, "I only wrote what she/he said/did. It's not my fault."
 What has been the hardest part of your writing experience?
KH  Courage. It took me a while to write what I wanted to write. I was worried about what people close to me would think. Then I realized that I wasn't writing for them. I was writing for me. If they like it, they like it. If they hate it, they hate it. I don't really care if they hate it. But most have really liked my writing style.
 What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
 KH  Write! And write what you want to write. I go to church every single Sunday. If I wrote only what was acceptable, I'd be covering the Bible. While the story of Samson and Delilah is hot, it isn't really my style. I write what makes me happy. People who don't like it are welcome to have a brain aneurysm at my expense.
Tell us about getting your first book published.
KH  I never actually intended to publish Never Say Just. I wrote it as more of a joke. I joined a romance novel writing group online and posted the first few pages. I got a really good response. I decided to submit it to a publisher. Someone suggested Decadent Publishing and I submitted my story. When I got the offer, I thought I was going to die. Literally. I could not believe someone wanted to publish my silly story. It was awesome.
 Okay. Let’s get to the book. How did you come up with the story and the title?
KH  A few years ago I wrote a truly terrible spy novel. Some of my readers were a bit upset that my hero and heroine didn't fall in love. I couldn't see them falling in love. Neither of them would allow themselves to be so vulnerable. I took the characters out of that story and put them in a situation where they could fall in love. I didn't take Never Say Just seriously so there really isn't a serious sentence in the book. Except for maybe all the sentences where Kat tortures the hell out of some dude. That's pretty serious. In the book, Hell Kat is a widow. You know when you walk into a room and someone is already in there and you kind of startle them. What do you say? You say, "It's just me." I am a widow too. My husband used to say, "Never say just," whenever someone would say, "It's just me." It was his way of telling someone they mattered. It's kind of my tribute to him, and Hell Kat has to realize that even though she feels all bad about killing dozens of people and torturing countless more, she still matters.
 Tell us a little bit about the storyline. Who is Hell Kat and the Rat Bastards?
KH  Hell Kat is a badass. She used to work as a mercenary/assassin/contract interrogator. She has the ability to completely shut off her humanity to get any job done. She leaves that life and marries an oil baron. Her husband dies leaving her the steward of the largest oil company in the country. The Rat Bastards are a Marine Force Recon unit who find out that someone is out to kill Kat. They try to protect her. She doesn't think she needs protecting. Shooter, the unit's Gunnery Sergeant and sniper, is really the only one with the balls to stand up to Kat. Naturally, she thinks that's totally hot.
 Who is your favorite character and why?
KH Hell Kat. I identify with Hell Kat. We have similar histories (to be clear, I was never an assassin and I didn't marry an oil billionaire). I can identify with why she does what she does. My second favorite would be Horndog. Every girl loves Horndog.
 What would you like to say to your fans?
 KH  Thank you!! Thank you for making me feel like I don't suck. Thank you for the emails. Thank you for embracing a romance novel with a kickass heroine and a hero who can handle her. Thank you for getting it! Just....thank you. I'd kiss every single one of you, but I don't know where all your lips have been.
How do you deal with criticism?
KH  I know a lot of authors and artists and people in general have a hard time with criticism. I don't. I have four brothers who aren't afraid to tell you exactly what they think. You'll always get an honest answer from them. I love them to bits and pieces. So if someone says they don't like something I've written, I understand that it's just their opinion and their opinion does not determine my self-worth. When someone rips apart my work, I listen to their suggestion, make the changes I want to change, and move on.
What would your characters think about you?
KH  I think my characters would love me. I created them! Who's going to create something that wouldn't like them?
 Okay. Some fun stuff.
 What is your pet peeve?
KH  OK, I know this is stupid. But if it wasn't stupid it wouldn't be a pet peeve. I absolutely HATE when people who should know better call the Medal of Honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is NOT the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is the Medal of Honor. It is awarded by the President through an act of Congress, so I get the confusion, but it is not called the Congressional Medal of Honor. It is called the Medal of Honor. You'd think Generals in the military would know this, but you'd be surprised how many ranking officials get it wrong. The History Channel should start guillotining people who get it wrong.
 Chocolate or Vanilla?
 KH  Chocolate! Dark chocolate. I like to eat really dark chocolate and just let it melt on my tongue. It's what God eats when he gets depressed.
Dogs or Cats?
KH  Neither. I know this is probably going to get me knifed, but I do not like animals. I don't understand the bond that people have with animals and I've made a vow that I would never clean up another living creature's shit unless I gave birth to it.
 Dean or Sam?
KH  Do you even have to ask? Dean baby!! Favorite Dean quotes:
I think I'll pass on the seventy two virgins, thanks. I'm not that into prude chicks anyway.
I think I learned a valuable lesson: Always take down your Christmas decorations after New Year's, or you might get filleted by a hooker from God.
Save room for dessert, Tiny. Hey, I wanted to ask you, because I couldn't help but notice you are two tons of fun. Just curious, is it like a thyroid problem? Or is that just some deep-seated self-esteem issue? Because you know, they're just doughnuts. They're not love.
Brother, I have been re-hymenated and the dude will not abide.
 If your book were to be made into a movie who would play the lead roles?
KH  For Hell Kat I'd choose Lena Heady. She played Sarah Connor in the Sarah Connor Chronicles and the Queen who guts that asshole traitor on the floor of the Senate in 300. Shooter is Joe Manganiello. He plays Alcide in True Blood and Big Dick Richie in Magic Mike. Solar flare hot.
 This has been a really enjoyable afternoon talking with you Katie. Your sense of humor and writing style is an attention grabber and I wish you the best of luck with Never Say Just.
Readers you can find Katie Harper's Just Say Never at Amazon.com in Kindle formathttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B008C9MD06/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb
A taste of Never Say Just:
Haunted by her past of murder for hire and skinning people alive to gather vital intelligence, Kat Boudreaux wants nothing more than to hide away in her sprawling mansion with the love of her life–her daughter. But then Private Gump and his band of Bubbas land on her doorstep. Her brother and his unit of misfit Marines insert themselves with the misguided need to protect her from someone hell-bent on vengeance.
 For Shooter, its love at first sight, though he wouldn’t be caught dead admitting it. When Kat is nearly fatally injured while saving his life, he knows he’s found the woman for him.  Together, they fight side by side to get to the bottom of the threats. Kat’s daughter is kidnapped and this ex-assassin mom reverts back to old habits to save her. Saving Kat and her daughter is easy; taming the shrew that is Hell Kat Boudreaux might mean losing his favorite appendage
Be sure to follow Katie at:
http://katieharperwrites.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/katie.harper.96
http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=569&osCsid=1pqago4f3c5i1cr28nof7a9h46

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A Great Cover Needs a Great Cover Artist

 All About Char; a candid interview with one of the youngest and brightest cover artist in the industry.
Today I would like to welcome Char Marie Adlesberger to my blog. Who, you say? I'm glad you asked. I'll let Char tell you in her own words. Welcome to my blog Char, tell us about yourself.
You do beautiful work Char. Your covers are amazing. Any favorites?
Oh, of course! I have to say my faves so far are LIGHT ME NOT and POSER. Any fantasy cover really :)
What inspires you and where do you get your ideas from?
I started out just doing these fake little covers for people on inkpop.com but I realized that I would need covers I can actually publish, so I started off with my own and got my first job doing real covers at the age of 15 years old. I always look at movie posters for new ideas to find new elements that blend together and would work better.
Most people pick up a book off the shelf because of the cover. What is it like trying to get the gist of a novel across in a single picture?
That cover is the soul of your book. Without its face your novel is only one among a million others that are out there.
When you start a cover project with an author what do you want or expect from that author?
I need to know the inside of the novel, what it is about, what you want from it. I need to know the information that is going to sell your book.
I now your work ethics. You strive to please. What happens when you and an author cannot come to a terms on a project?
Well we usually combine on another project instead or we just part ways if I can't do anything to please them. There are always good clients and bad and sometimes there are just people you can't work with even if you try.
What is your favorite genre?
Historical, hands down. I love period pieces, but fantasy is a close second.
You are multi-talented. I know you write also. Tell us about your writing.
My writing and cover job has kind of taken a back seat to my school days, but I always find time. Even if it means writing just one chapter a day.
You are a part of the team at Jimmy Thomas's RomanceNovelCovers.com. What is it like working for the very handsome Jimmy Thomas?


It's so unreal to be honest. He knows I am a student still and working is my side line, but he is so sweet in understanding that. He is really a cool, laid back, down to earth man, but you have that respect for him right off that not everyone gets. He's an all around great guy and I love being apart of his team. You would think at 18 years old I wouldn't have this kind of job, but its amazing!
You also have your own cover site. Tell us about it.
Wow, the cover site. I update every Friday with new pre-made covers and custom orders from the weeks before. I am glad to be able to run the site and have something to show for all my hard work. There is a home page to show you some of my work, a page introducing a few other artists who I work with, our info page, our deal and package pages, custom and pre-made covers as well. Its been a lot of work.
What programs do you use to create your covers and why do you use them?
I used PS CS3 AND PS CS 4 and now I use PhotoShop CS5. It works the best and can do just about anything!
Do you have any technical schooling?
I do, so far just one year of college behind me but more to come soon! Otherwise I learned by myself these last 5 years.
Where is Char going from here?
College and then a career in graphic design! Besides that one day you will see me on a best sellers list! ;)
Okay, fun stuff:
What's your favorite TV show?
Bones, I love it to death.
Favorite actor?
Johnny Depp
Favorite food?
Pineapple
Guppies?
I raise them as pets and sell them off when I get to many babies. I just love the colors!
There you have it authors. If you are looking for a talented cover artist that will go the long mile to create a fantastic cover you will be proud of, then look no further. Thank you Char for taking the time to tell us about yourself.
You can find Char  here: http://www.romancenovelcovers.com/
                                            www.wix.com/wicked_art/wicked-cover-designs
  Follow her on:                 Facebook and twitter
                                           

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