Purgatory Reigns Facebook Party Countdown: Author Emma Michaels

This week I'm joining with other young adult authors to promote our joint online Facebook Party that's coming up this Saturday. We also have two Twitter chats scheduled. We join Kate Tilton's twitter chat #K8chat this Thursday night from 8-9pm CST and on Friday we will have our official Twitter chat. During my hour of hosting duties for the Facebook Party, I plan on doing some book trivia and some character interviews with characters from Skid and my new upcoming paranormal romance novel My Girlfriend Bites. Details for the Twitter chat and the host schedule for the Facebook Party are at the bottom of this post. 

Today I welcome indie author Emma Michaels to the blog!

My Favorite Character 

by Emma Michaels

The last time I was asked who my meanest character was I answered with Caleb from my Society of Feathers series and while he is still the cruelest (though has his reasons for being such) I am working on a new project that I would say might give Caleb a run for his money when it comes to being mean. Only in my new project the character who is meanest just happens to be very different from the way he might seem whereas Caleb simply is what he is, even if he was made that way. BUT since Owlet which features Caleb is already out, with the sequel coming out soon and my current project is still a work in progress, I will just have to go with Caleb who still wins the prize for meanest character at this point.

Caleb is in a way the villain in Owlet though in many ways he isn’t a villain at all, he is the primary reminder of everything that is wrong with the society and in book two, we get to have a more in depth look at both Caleb and the Society of Feathers as a whole as Iris fights for her life and the safety of those she loves. While in Owlet her friend were the ones protecting her in book two the tables quickly turn and she realizes it is her turn to be the protector. She isn’t willing to keep hiding. 

Eyrie is set to come out this October! If you would like to get your hands on Owlet before then here is a blurb and the cover!

Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.

Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.

Kindle | Nook | PDF | Smashwords | iBookstore | Google Books

Thank you so much Doug for featuring me on your blog!

Party Host Schedule – Saturday, May 18^th, 2013

3pm-4pm (EST) Kymberlee Burks-Miller

4pm-5:30pm (EST) Emma Michaels
5:30pm-6pm (EST) LM Preston
6pm-7pm (EST) Linda Foster
7pm-8pm (EST) Doug Solter
8pm-9pm (EST) KaSonndra Leigh
9pm-10pm (EST) LM Preston Party Close Out

TWITTER PARTY: Friday, 5/17 at 7pm-9pm EST, use the hashtag #PurgatoryReign and @LM_Preston prizes include $5 Amazon Gift cards for 2 winners & books, swag prizes

FACEBOOK PARTY:  

Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/371743026256005/

Starring 5 other authors and blog hosts, tons of prizes and fun.

About Purgatory Reign by LM Preston

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance, Action Adventure

Book Trailer Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atvKA9E4bPI&feature=youtu.be

Read sample: http://www.freado.com/book/13273/purgatory-reign

Brief description of Purgatory Reign

Seventeen-year-old Peter Saints’ life stinks. But things are about to get much worst. First, his parents are murdered in front of him. Then another victim dies in his arms.

Visions plague Peter with warnings that something wants him for a sinister cause. It desires the one thing that Peter refuses to give – his blood. Peter carries within him the one gift or curse that could unlock a secret to destroy the human race.

On the run with Angel, a girl disguised as a scruffy kid, Peter starts to unravel the mystery. It’s the one treasure the heavens sought to hide from the world. Unfortunately, when Peter finds the answer he hopes that will save them, he opens the door to a great evil that happens to be salivating to meet him.

By LM Preston,

(www.lmpreston.com)

Order Below:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Indie Bound

Books A Million

Kobo

Smashwords 

RaffleCopter Prize Pack: Paperback or Ebook copy of Purgatory Reign, $20 Amazon Gift Card, T-shirt, a prize from all participating authors

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Courtney Summers Author Interview!

My first introduction to Courtney Summers occurred inside my local Barnes and Noble bookstore. I saw the cover of her debut novel, CRACKED UP TO BE, which featured a headless teen girl stretched out on a bench with a soccer field behind her. I was curious. Why is that girl missing her head? Does she play soccer? Is she thinking about playing soccer? Does she dream about a world without soccer?

Curious, I picked up a copy and read the first chapter. I was then introduced to Parker Fadley, a girl who was smart, sarcastically hilarious, and didn't take crap from anybody. But what really got me was the writing. As a reader, I clicked with the no-marshmallow, to-the-point, no-apologies way Ms. Summers writes. It was refreshing and made me a fan right then and there. Although, I did find out that CRACKED UP TO BE has nothing to do with soccer. Since then, Courtney has written three young adult novels, SOME GIRLS ARE, FALL FOR ANYTHING, and her new book coming out on Tuesday, June 19th...
 

Here's a description from Ms. Summers' website: 

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, everyone’s motivations to survive begin to change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life–and death–inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to? 

I've already had the pleasure of reading this book and you can read that review here. (without spoilers) But basically...I LOVED IT! I asked Courtney if she would stop by my website and answer a few questions about her writing, her books, and about THIS IS NOT A TEST. I was floored when she said yes. And I was humbled when she offered to send a free copy of THIS IS NOT A TEST to one lucky person for a giveaway! 

Let's get started...

Instead of going for the standard, survivalist-type horror heroine, you went the opposite way with Sloane. In the book, she starts off as a character who really wants to die. How did you come up with that choice? Was it the way you always envisioned Sloane or did her character change as you were writing the book?
I thought about how I'd (honestly) react during a zombie apocalypse. I like to think I'd be totally awesome at it but if I lost everyone that mattered to me, I'm not so sure I'd want to keep going. I always envisioned Sloane as girl who didn't want to survive. How much she wanted to die became more pronounced from the first to second draft, but the core of her character, her motivations, remained the same.
One central element of this book is how the characters relate to each other and how that shifts throughout the story. My favorite relationship is between the twins Trace and Grace. Why did you pick a set of twins?

Thank you! I think of Trace and Grace as the characters the other characters want to be. Everyone in THIS IS NOT A TEST is aching for their family and those two represent what the others have lost. I thought having siblings would emphasize this void and I chose twins because I felt that would also intensify it.

What is your favorite horror film? And why?

I love Kairo (Pulse). It's J-horror and it's brilliant. I didn't like it the first time I saw it but I made myself watch it again and it blew me away. The pacing is very slow, but it's incredibly atmospheric and so lonely. It's about ghosts and they're taking over the living world through technology, forcing those who come in contact with them to commit suicide. It's chilling.

Why do you like to write young adult fiction? What is it about the genre that appeals to you?

I love writing YA fiction because the stories demand an immediacy and intensity that is so fun to explore. I also love writing YA because I love reading it. So many YA books out today are fresh and exciting. I also adore the community--it's so supportive and enthusiastic.

When faced with a new book, what's your writing process?

My process is all over the place, to be honest! It really depends on the book. I could outline, I could just dive right in. I never know. THIS IS NOT A TEST was outlined extensively twice, for example. The book I'm working on now has been outlined more than that. Right now it looks like I settle into a new book with outlining, but Book 6 could change that up!

Who is your favorite fictional heroine and why?

That's so hard to pick! I adore Luna Lovegood. She operates on this whole other level and nothing seems to touch her. I love every female protagonist Melina Marchetta has written because they're always so honest and realistic. Andrea from Blake Nelson's Girl has an incredible voice and is so likeable and wonderfully flawed. I'd read any book she narrated.

You write very compelling female heroines. Sloane in THIS IS NOT A TEST. Eddie in FALL FOR ANYTHING. Regina in SOME GIRLS ARE. Parker in CRACKED UP TO BE. Of these four fictional characters, which one is the closest to the real Courtney Summers?

Thank you! I don't think any of them are by the time I'm finished a book, to be honest! I relate to some of my female leads more than others, but all of them are pretty far away from the type of person I am... I think. ;)

You can tell this next question is a bit...leading. But, if you were given a choice between an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas or one to Volcano National Park in Hawaii...which one would you choose and why?

Hah! WELL. Volcano National Park all the way! Best ever.

What projects are you working on now? I'm wrapping up the first draft of my fifth book, ALL THE RAGE, which is due out in 2013. It's about a girl who blackmails a rich classmate and then wakes up on a dirt road with no memory of the night before.

To wrap things up, I would like to borrow five quick questions from the great James Lipton, host of Inside The Actor's Studio. 

Here we go. Now, Courtney...

What is your favorite word?

Fisticuffs!

What is your least favorite word?

Lolling.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?

Fearlessness.

What sound or noise do you love?

Thunderstorms.

What sound or noise do you hate?

Snoring!

And we will leave on that noisy note. Courtney, thank you so much for stopping by!

Thanks for having me on your blog, Doug!