Rising Phoenix by Lisa C. Morgan Blog Tour Stop

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Rising Phoenix by Lisa C. Morgan Blog Tour Stop

Tempting Blog Tours PresentsPhoenix RisingbyLisa C. Morgan
Check out this rockin' interview with the Author!

1. Can you tell us a little bit about "Phoenix Rising"?
Phoenix Rising is the first book in my YA series Maggie Henning and The Realm. In this first book, we meet Maggie, a 16 year old girl living in a small Upstate NY town and under the shadow of her father. Her father was sentence to serve life in a psychiatric hospital after firebombing a church and killing the 8 people inside. Maggie receives a strange letter in the mail, offering her a warning to “guard the blood”. Seeing the return address as the psychiatric hospital, Maggie sets it aside and chalks it up to some sort of mad ravings. Maggie receives the same warning during a visit with her father and it’s after that verbal warning Maggie begins to see strange visions. People change- their once normal faces look to be rotted flesh or bones, mouths full of pointed teeth. These are creatures called Revenants, and they have been waging a war with The Realm, beings that live parallel to our own world, a world Maggie never knew existed. Maggie is the last of an ancient race of Phoenixes, beings with the ability to control fire, and the revenant leader Ossa needs Maggie’s blood to “cure” him and his followers and rise to control both The Realm & The Mortal worlds. Maggie must learn what she is and who to trust, what her destiny is, and to fight to save creatures of myth and legend.

2. What's your background with writing?
I have been writing for as long as I could hold a crayon in my hand! I grew up in a small town, the daughter of a nurse and a house painter, so as you can imagine, money was pretty much always nonexistent. I learned at an early age that books, and the fantastic stories within the pages, were a great way to escape everyday life- a little vacation of sorts. I used to write poetry, and still do from time to time. I have tons of notebooks, full of stories. I have always been drawn to fantasy and paranormal genres, seeking out the strange new worlds and beings only found in places like Tatooine or The Shire.

3. Who are your inspirations/influences?My mother and grandmother were always my biggest supporters. They were avid readers themselves, as well as my go to folks when I was seeking a creative word. My eighth grade teacher, Mr. Knodel, would be the driving force though. As our final exam that year, he assigned us to write a 1,000 word story about anything we chose and he gave us one weekend to do so. The following Monday, while my classmates were turning in their tales, I handed in a typed story about a plantation owner’s daughter who falls in love with a slave… and it came in at almost two dozen pages. After reading my story, Mr. Knodel asked me to stay after class. He asked me to always carry a notebook and writing utensil with me, where ever I went, and told me “you have stories to tell that people will want to read.” That advice always stuck with me, and I followed it. Even to this day. Phoenix Rising is dedicated to him.

4. What was it like working with Firefly & Wisp Publishing?
Firefly & Wisp has been fantastic! Today, the YA market is simply flooded with all sorts of books, and I knew early on the odds of getting my story published were slim because of that. The attention I’ve received from FF&W has been sensational! It’s a small company and all of the authors are more like family to me than merely fellow authors or coworkers. They have been supportive of my whole process from signing the contract, to cover art, to editing, to finally seeing Phoenix Rising out for sale. I’m not sure how the huge publishing houses do it, but I bet they could learn a thing or two from Firefly & Wisp. It’s been a sensational experience!

5. Who was responsible for the cover/book design?
I actually designed the cover for Phoenix Rising! I had a vision of what I’d love to see there and was fortunate enough to make that vision a reality.

6. Do you have any stories from book signings/radio interviews/etc...?
As I’m still new to this, I haven’t had any of these for my own books. However, this past April, I drove over 10 hours to Cincinnati, Ohio to attend a book signing that JR Ward (The Black Dagger Brotherhood book series) held. When I finally reached the table where she was signing, a friend with me asked how her arm was doing. Ms. Ward commented that her shoulder was getting a little sore (she was on signing #350 by that point.) I remarked that I’d driven the 10 plus hours for her signing. Ward laughed and replied, “So you’re probably saying ‘to hell with you b*tch! I can’t feel my ass!’” It was in jest, but I immediately went fan girl and responded ‘Oh no! Never! I don’t need to feel my ass to see you!” The line laughed at me, as I realized exactly how loud my voice really was!

7. What is the name of your blog and what can readers expect to find there?
I have a small blog on my website (http://maggiehenningandtherealm.weebly.com )and I’m attempting to get better about actually writing on it! Also on the website, I have a monthly newsletter with character interviews, contest information, and news about my books. I also post snippets from my books as well as the playlists that help inspire the writing. I also like to share books that I have read/are reading that visitors may enjoy.

8. What projects do you have planned for the future?
Book two in the Maggie Henning & The Realm series- PHOENIX BURNING, is set to release this September, so I have the final edits to go over in preparation for its launch. Book 3 is also finished and I hope to have that out early next year. I have many other little stories I’m toying with, almost all in the fantasy or paranormal genres, and I continue to work on the Phoenix books. I am also working on a short story for a charity anthology to benefit To Write Love on Her Arm, an organization that helps young girls with depression and depression related issues, something very close to my heart.

9. Is there anything else about you we should know?
I love tattoos! I find them to be pieces of living art work. I currently have nine, but I plan on growing my “collection”. I’m a mother of 3 kids and have been married to my husband for 12 years. I am also a volunteer advocate with Parent to Parent of NY State, helping families navigate their ways through the Special Education system, (I have a child on the Autism Spectrum.)

Author BioGRAPHYLisa C. Morgan lives in rural Upstate NY with her husband, three children, a degu, a precocious Siberian Husky, and a half Pom/Half Chi spoiled baby named Salacious B. Dustbunny.
            A lover of books and words, it has always been her desire to tell stories that the people near her could listen and read, escaping the world around them by way of the page.
            Always having a new story idea popping into her head, (sometimes at the least appropriate of times,) Lisa can always be found with a notebook and writing utensil somewhere within reach, just as her 8th grade teacher made her promise to do.Lisa has two short stories previously published in anthologies. A Romantic short titled Nothing’s Terminal (A Home for the Holidays; December, 2011) and a zombie themed short titled Antidote (The Thorn of Death; March 2012). Her debut novel- Phoenix Rising is the first in a new YA series Maggie Henning & The Realm and will be released July 2012. Upcoming will be the continuation in the series- Phoenix Burning, Phoenix Shadow, and Phoenix Ashes.
            When she isn't writing or taxing kids, Lisa enjoys reading, football, softball, cooking, singing & dancing, tattoos, and spending time with family and friends.

BOOK BLURB: Maggie has lived the last ten years with a woman who isn't her mother and carrying the label "Daughter of John Henning", a man sentenced to live out his days at Sunnyview Psychiatric Hospital after his conviction of fire bombing a church...

and killing the 8 people inside.

What Maggie learns will change her life.
She is the last of a race of creatures known as "The Phoenix", a race of supernatural beings with the ability to wield and control fire.

And she will need that power now...

Revenants- walking, living, skeletal creatures who have waged a war against an unseen, parallel world known simply as The Realm- need Maggie's blood to bring them to a full power...a power that will give them an unbeatable edge and offer the deciding weapon in this war.

Maggie is not alone as she learns not only what she really is, but what it is her destiny to become...