Interview & Giveaway with Aleatha Romig

The Consequences Series is phenomenal. The psychological game that this author plays will completely scramble your emotions, your heart and your head. So when Aleatha Romig agreed to an interview, we were beyond honored and maybe a little intimidated. Holly and Thessa are huge fans of the series and proceeded to ask Ms. Romig questions that they know fans of the series want answers to, especially those pertaining to Tony and the series’ final book, Convicted. So without further adieu, we welcome Aleatha Romig!

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T: This is one of the most intense stories we’ve ever read. How did you come up with the concept?

A: I let my stories write themselves. I imagined the opening scene, saw this woman in the room, knew her injuries and couldn’t stop thinking about it.  I wanted to know how she got there, why she was there, and what would happen to her. 

So, I started writing – truthfully without the thought of publishing.  It was just for fun! But, as the story came together, I liked it and wanted to share.  I wasn’t expecting the response I’ve received – truly amazing!

T & H: A lot of readers are severely torn on how they feel about Tony, can you tell us a little about how Tony came to you?

A: Just like the story, he developed. Tony is a combination of many characters and a few people I know.  Since CONSEQUENCES doesn’t have many of Tony’s POV’s, while I wrote it, I didn’t know what he was thinking... but I knew his actions and how they affected Claire!

T: How hard was it to write his character?

A: OKay, I know this makes me sound like a terrible person, but writing Tony’s character isn’t hard at all, it’s FUN! Now that I’ve written some of his POV’s it’s almost addicting! Being in that man’s head is GREAT! The last POV of his I wrote for Goodreads was with him drunk... that was AMAZING! He’s so raw and intense – I LOVE it!

H: Did you intend for him to become a hero we actually loved?

A: No and Yes – the original readers of CONSEQUENCES (my mom and sister-in-law) HATED him! I understand, he does some terrible things and I didn’t try to sugarcoat them.  That said, I also tried to make him sexy, with just a small window of possibility.  When readers started to tell me that they “saw” that possibility and loved him, despite his faults, I was happy!

T: How you do YOU personally feel about him?

I love him! That doesn’t mean I don’t think he deserves CONSEQUENCES for the things he’s done.  I LOVE him and Claire because they’re my “firsts”. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget them, even as I move on to other projects.

T & H: Tony’s character continuously jumps between the lines of love and hate. How were you able to continuously walk this line? Were you concerned about criticism regarding the physical abuse?

A: I don’t know how I walk that line. I think I did it with honesty – I never tried to “pretend” he was a good guy. Hating him is acceptable! I also showed enough “good” and w/ TRUTH “vulnerability” that people who want to, can love him without shame.

H: You glossed over, for lack of a better word, the extreme of the violence as well as the sex – neither were graphic is what I mean – was this on purpose so that people focused more on the story as it unfolded?

A: Yes, as a “psychological thriller” CONSEQUENCES was meant to be more about Claire’s psychological experience – how she coped, how she survived. It was never meant to be erotic.  Instead of spelling everything out, I gave my readers license to use their experience and imagination to fill in the blanks.  I KNOW some people have assumed Claire experienced more severe consequences than I originally intended.

H: Seeing as how I just finished learning the TRUTH, which was Amazing BTW,  - Are you seriously going to make me, I mean us all, wait a year for Convicted?

A: Yes. I promise I’m not being mean. My books are very detailed and complicated. I didn’t plan on writing a trilogy.  The story is quite involved, and I’m still writing.  I have a reputation to maintain, and I want each book of my series to be better than the one before.  I could have “popped” out CONVICTED, but it wouldn’t have been right.  Now, after much deliberation... it’s right!

H & T: Do you know how their story ends, or is it still unfolding for you? What can we expect in the final book?

A: I do now! Just like Truth, which I started about ten times (I have over 60 thousand words in a file labeled “Truth – deleted”) Convicted has had many starts. None of them were right.  I didn’t feel good about it – then one day, without warning, it came to me! Since then, I can’t stop typing! That’s how I know I’ve got it!

T: After reading the end of Truth, can you give us a hint as to who was with Claire on that island? We have our theories, but perhaps you’ll give us a little clue…

A: Sure, why not, I mean suspense doesn’t play a role in my books.  So here goes... the person on the island with Claire is ... someone you’ve met in either Consequences or Truth!  There, I feel so much better getting that off my chest! The whole world knows... whew!

T: Any plans after you write and release Convicted?

A: Yes, I have many ideas.  I’m pretty excited about one in particular.  I’d love to write more series; however, I think I want them to be two book series instead of three.  We’ll see how it goes, but I’d love to be able to produce both books within twelve months.  I think knowing it’s a series and where it will end when I start, will be helpful!

Quick Fun Questions

What are you reading right now? 

I’m reading the ARC of A TASTE OF ME by: Sorcha Grace.... I’ll just say, when it comes out, remember I said, yummy!

Top 5 favorite books/series

Gone With the Wind, JR. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlene Harris, most things by Greg Isles – great psychological thrillers, and recent find – The Dark Duet - CJ. Roberts!

If you were to play your iPod right now, what song would be playing next? 

This is going to make me seem very old. I don’t have an iPod...

Thank you so much for taking the time and talking with us today.

Thank you so much for having me on your blog! Thank you for reading and telling others about my Consequences Series!!  I hope you’ll all be on board when Convicted comes out!

We cannot begin to express how your stories have torn us up, in a good way of course. We cannot wait for Convicted. Best wishes, always!  

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Anne Eliot's Interview and Giveaway!

INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY WITH THE FANTASTIC & SIMPLY AMAZING
YOUNG ADULT AUTHOR - ANNE ELIOT

 

I am a huge fan of Anne Eliot. Like, really HUGE. She is one of the sweetest & nicest persons I’ve ever met and her Young Adult novel, Almost, is one of my all-time favorite YA stories. Plus the Hero of Almost, Gray Porter, is my #1 Ultimate Book Boyfriend. Do you know how MASSIVE that declaration is? Out of the countless books I read, which have many swoon-worthy Heroes, Gray is #1. Number. One. Oh yea. He’s that awesome. Anne has mad skills when creating a swoon-worthy Hero. So it’s safe to say, I’m anxiously waiting to meet the next Hero her next novel, Unmaking Hunter Kennedy, which is set to release later this month. 


Hi Anne!! I know you’re tirelessly working on trying to get your next novel out, so I’m out of this world happy that you’re taking the time to be with us today. Thank you, Anne! Let’s get this show on the road. Shall we?
 
Thessa – As you well know, I’m a HUGE fan of your book, Almost. Can you tell us a little bit about the story?

Anne - First, thanks for being so amazing, right back at your awesomeness.

Almost is a love story about a girl who thinks she’s permanently broken because she has PTSD, memory loss, and ongoing nightmares from an event where she was ALMOST raped at a party three years ago. She’s strong, but pushes people away because she’s altered her whole life to accommodate the PTSD she lives with. 

 She believes she will never be ‘better’ how everyone wants her to be, but she still wants to move out and go to college--have a life. So, to prove to her family she’s back to ‘normal’, she hires a boyfriend (Gray Porter) a guy, she thinks really needs the money. Only...Gray has signed on for reasons of his own. He knows everything about Jess Jordan and the night she was hurt. He also knows she used to be nice...


Thessa– Almost isn’t your typical YA, at least in my opinion. It’s not fluffy, and deals with the serious subject matter of rape. If it isn’t too personal to ask, how did you come up with the story?

Anne - First, the story is about falling in love. First love. It’s my favorite thing to write. Although the backstory is about PTSD and a girl who was almost raped, it is a love story where Jess has to learn how to trust again. I adore stories about personal redemption. About people who are broken, damaged and have been through extreme circumstances, yet find a way to carry on.

We are ALL the same with this idea. Everyone has something huge that has hurt them. All of us hide it, cover it up, deny it and sadly, face times where we think we are alone in our pain.

I always admire those who can move through it or who live, love and laugh even a better because of the things that tried to break them. Not to be all John Lennon here (or more recently The Avett Brothers, whose lyrics blow my mind on this topic) but nothing makes my heart beat faster than the idea that love can and does, cure all. It instantly erases hate, including self-hate, which is terribly destructive and very prevalent in a youth-wealth-beauty-driven culture like ours.

Sorry. I digress. Back to the question and the personal part: I wrote this story, because...when I was a high school senior my best friend was raped by the brother of a friend. A guy we knew well. She was five foot one and 96 pounds. He was six-two and didn’t listen to her saying, ‘no’.

 She told me, only me. And then we cried and told no one else. I found out later this terrified silence is common. My friend and I also never talked about it again after that summer. For 20+ years I think I’ve thought about it every day—how we didn’t tell—how I didn’t at least try to scratch his eyes out, or anything that I wanted to do at that time. And it didn’t even happen to me. My friend was--and is--the sweetest, kindest, gentlest person in the whole world. She did not deserve what happened to her. She maybe deserved a braver friend. :(

I tried to write her story, the story of a complete rape, but I could not do it as it was too painful to go there. I settled on the idea of an ALMOST rape. Sadly, when I started my research, I found the numbers of ‘almost rapes’ to be as high, and even more unreported than rapes. The incidence of extreme, life changing, rape-related PTSD occurred in more than 40% of victims and it did not matter if the rape was completed or not. 96% of all women will have at least one unwanted sexual encounter (completed rape or not) that will change them forever, and most probably it will not be talked about. Ever. This blew me away. PTSD alone is such a sad condition. The masks people with PTSD wear are huge because the pain they hide is so great and unpredictable. I actually re-wrote the whole book out of third person into first because I could not make Jess likeable in third, and still, some readers can’t see past her mask and comment they can’t like her. Luckily, most understand and get why she is so guarded.

This story made it to many agents and editors desks as a ‘full’ manuscript but was rejected because of the volatile times in publishing. Two editors told me they liked it but they did not want to take a risk on a story with this underlying topic even though this is NOT a rape story, it is a love story.

Here’s the ‘creepy woo-woo part’. If you’ve made it this far hang on to your goose-bumps and tissues. 

I’d given up. After pitching it and countless rejections, I put the story away and started another. Exactly that same month, my cousin (in her 20’s) came to visit. When we’d mentioned going up to the top of Pikes Peak, her father told me she had all of her ribs broken, and so, we could not walk very far as it was difficult for her to breathe.

When she and I were alone, I asked her what had happened. She told me she’d been travelling with her brother and she’d been jumped by two guys who kicked in her ribs to keep her down while they tried to rape her. She got away.

And I said, “Everyone tells you’re lucky because nothing happened, but you don’t feel lucky?”

She asked me how I knew that. I told her about Almost and my research. She told me I was the first person she felt like she could talk to about her PTSD. She couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder, though the attack happened far over the ocean, and countries away. She shared that she was mad at herself because she couldn’t seem to ‘get over’ what had happened. She also begged me to go ahead and try to publish my book in case it might help someone else.

So...I wrote Almost for my friend and our sad hearts, but I published it for my cousin and her broken heart that will now take so long to fix. It is also for all who love a good romance and the girls/women I’d read about in my research on Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. So many have emailed me their personal stories of how they, too, were hurt. This has been so humbling. I published Almost via Kindle and Kindle Direct Publishing, then later at CreateSpace for the print version at the request of some school counselors who wanted it for their offices and school libraries. This also has made me so happy.

 Amazon.com, Kindle and the KDP Select program has changed my life. Because of Amazon.com’s dedication to writers being able to write, and readers finding the books they NEED, Almost being on Kindle, has helped so many readers to easily find this book. One teen boy emailed me and said the book had helped him finally understand why his sister couldn’t seem to be ‘better’ after being attacked. This and the other stories like it move me to tears. I’m so grateful for the instant world-reach Amazon.com and Kindle has allowed my story to find. I’ll shout it from the rooftops (and I do, often) how much I love Amazon.com for allowing me to have my dreams come out from under my bed where I’d hidden my manuscript and to be a real book. That first week, when I had few sales, but my book was live with a product page all it’s own, was the happiest week of my life because Amazon.com allowed me to finally be what I always wanted to be: a storyteller.

Thessa- You referenced a lot of my favorite pop culture, like Jane Austen, Twilight & Hunger Games, to name a few. (This by the way is another reason why I loved this story.) So can you tell us, who and what are your biggest influences when writing, personal and professional?


Anne - Music, pop culture and what the world population is doing, loving, living always inspires me.

But above all, I follow my bliss: Romance writers. Romance novels. Books. Books. Books. Jane Austen of course is in there! Amanda Quick, Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught, Beatrice Small, Joanna Lindsey—SO MANY MORE! I read 10 books a week back then when my parents paid for the food and rent. When I was younger, there was not a big ‘YA’ category beyond Judy Blume. New Adult did not exist until 2010, and so what was an older teen to read? Historical romances of course! I stumbled across a box of these romance novels in my grandmother’s basement and that was it for me. I was in love forever with love.

That summer, I gained 10 pounds (oops) while I discovered medieval romances, regency romances, love down in the Bayou, Western Romances, Ireland, The Celts, Vikings, Welsh, Scots, Saxons...and in each and every book, a first love. The heroes matched with the heroes of my dreams. I’m not going to lie, I probably should not have been reading some of these books at my age. But I fell hard for the wounded warriors, gentlemen rogues, sexy, angry cowboys, harsh but loving Vikings, the wicked frequenters of the country house parties and the brothels of Victorian London, and of course my favorite, men in kilts, warring clans, and those guys wearing the chainmail. SIGH.

The writers I read wrote characters who were involved in consensual, loving relationships. The heroes were all alpha to be sure, but inside, gentlemen with ethics and standards of what makes a good man to the core. They treated their heroines with respect and cherished them for who they were--without trying to change them. The heroines were always strong, sassy, independent and did not need a man to survive. Most didn’t want one at the outset of the stories either--that was of course, until they fell truly, madly, deeply in love with Mr. Sexy Wowguy (insert country, sword-type, king and warhorse here).

I hold those romance novels and those writers responsible for showing me what I wanted in a man. And for instilling in me a craving for that man to the point that I would not ‘settle’ for anything less than a real, honorable man. Although I knew what to expect in a sexual relationship (as most teens do know the mechanics these days) romance novels helped me find what I wanted, what I liked and did not like—showed me what real respect and love felt like--all through reading. And so my goals were set while falling in love between the pages. My heart was never once broken by a player or a smooth-talking bastard either, because I could spot them a mile away—again, thanks to romance writers.

It’s because of these love stories that I waited. And I mean, I waited to the point of possibly waiting too long. But it was worth it, and my husband is as hot, and as heroic (and sexy enough to wear a kilt if needed). He is the romance dream. I have those romance writers to thank for helping me find him too.


Thessa – You have a fantastic cast of characters in this story: Jess, Michelle, Corey & Gray. Are any of them based on anyone you know? Is there a real life Gray?

Anne - I do use the names of people I know and slap them onto characters, but only the names. The descriptions and stories of course are fictional.

The character Gray is based on two, very awesome, very ‘boy-scout’, nice guys who I know from watching them grow up in my neighborhood. One plays hockey, the other recently rescued a guy he didn’t know from drowning. Both weighed about 110 pounds and had not hit their growth spurt when they entered high school as freshmen. Both are also raised by incredible parents, and would try to stop a rape, just as Gray did in the book. Both would also have been terrified to face down a huge senior, but they would have taken a stand and done what is right. So...if any teen girls are out there, I know for a fact that real, good boys do exist in the world. Wait for them. They will find you.


Thessa- Okay, it’s no secret that I’m in love with Gray Porter. I’m his biggest fan. Can you tell me…err…I mean us, something about Gray that no one else knows? For example, what is his favorite movie? Favorite book? What’s his idea of a perfect date? 



Anne - This is such a cute question....hmm...Gray. He’s of course a fan of The Hobbit...he’s on Ski Patrol in winter so not much time for movies because he’s saving people from dying on the ski hill. He’s kind of a classic Colorado guy. Perfect winter date around here is sledding. Snow fights, tearing around until your cheeks ache from cold. Then there’s the slow warm-up by the fire with hot chocolate...blankets...all that...Yeah...I can imagine Gray on that date.

Thessa – Your new book, Unmaking Hunter Kennedy, is almost ready for release. I’m so excited! Tell us a little about the story.


Anne - Unmaking Hunter Kennedy is another love story, of course. It’s about a jaded teen pop star recovering from depression and a suicide attempt he’s not ready to admit to at first. He’s forced to rest by his Mom, and finds himself hiding out in disguise in small-town Colorado, but ends up falling in love with the girl next door. A girl who’s never been kissed, who thinks Hunter is simply a ‘best friend’ and who has a huge crush on someone else... There’s a better blurb on Goodreads.com. I hope you add this book to your list. It will out on amazon.com before the end of October, if not by the time you read this blog. (I hope).

Thessa – Are there any similarities between Gray and Hunter?

Anne - Yes and no. They are both honorable, and how they fall in love is similar, meaning they fall hard. They are protective of the girls they love too, but Hunter Kennedy is a bit of a bad-boy compared to Gray. Gray had to be extra sweet to balance Jess’s extreme darkness.

These two characters are more balanced. Vere, the girl in Unmaking Hunter Kennedy has her own problems, and Hunter is the character suffering from personal, past demons he has to overcome. Depression is a tough topic to admit to, and a state that is difficult from which to emerge. Vere helps Hunter do this by simply being herself.

Hunter Kennedy has lived a pretty odd, isolated life. He’s quite jaded and reads ‘older’ compared to the more innocent, good-guy, Gray Porter. All of the pre-readers swear the kiss...the first kiss in Hunter Kennedy is way more ‘knock your socks off’ than the first kiss in Almost. This makes me happy to hear...because I too, think it’s quite an amazing kiss. Because my books don’t have sex in them, all I have is that kiss to work with and so...I work really hard on those pages. I do hope you like the book, or at the very least that part. :) 


Thessa- After Unmaking Hunter Kennedy is released, do you have any other stories you’re working on?

Anne - Yes. More love stories of course! First, I need to catch up on reading. I’ve got so many new and old idols that have books out, and the yet undiscovered new authors still to come...can’t wait to crack on my Kindle Fire and lose myself.

FUN QUICKIES
Q – Gale or Peeta? Anne - GALE. GALE. Even though the entire third book ruins him and the possibilities he had to transform into love. I still love him and the idea that destiny and The Capitol stole away the girl that was supposed to be his. :( So, though I like Peeta, I can’t get over the robbed-destiny thing...oh, poor Gale...

Q - Edward or Jacob?Anne - EDWARD. I love Twilight, and I love Edward and Bella together. I love the Midnight Sun pages where you get to know and see Edward falling for Bella from his point of view. EDWARD’s LOVE FOR BELLA KNOCKS ME FLAT. I’m not even a vampire fan really but the love story, the way their destiny to be together was written so strongly, the character of Edward needing to learn how to trust was built so perfectly. As was Edward Cullen built so beautiful (inside and out). I will be in love with the way he loved Bella forever. The books and the movies took so much flack, but for me, I will have to also love Robert Pattinson and the movies forever too. Don’t get me wrong, Jacob is also hot, I felt his pain, but the girl and the love story was never his, it was always Edward and Bella. Always. #sparkleON #respect


Q – Favorite book, series & stand alone.
Anne - Impossible question. But the first stand alone books that jumped in to my head—and for years now--I’ve been in love with ‘I Capture the Castle’ by Dodie Smith (If you know Austen, you must know this one) and Kristin Cashore’s ‘Graceling’ book. Hats off. I bow to the beauty and the first loves and the voices, and world building that these two authors created. Graceling’s villain also slays me. Leck. He’s perfect.

Best Series is going to have to hold at Twilight simply because what Twilight did for all YA writers, how it made teen romance a real, talked-about genre and changed publishing forever. Twilight also wins for the romance that captured the secret hearts of girls around the globe and for how the last book saved me from a deep depression and from quitting writing all together. (Another way too, long story.) :) I’ll say it agian. I love Stephenie Meyer’s work and Twilight so much.


Q – Did the letter Captain Wentworth wrote Anne Elliot in Jane Austen’s Persuasion have any influence on that letter Gray wrote Jess? (I had to ask simply because both letters made me swoon =)Anne - No, actually it did not, but I love that you are an Austen lover. I wish I could say I were smart enough and well read enough to have done that on purpose. I’ve never read Persuasion all the way through and have only seen the BBC version (I think it was BBC) of Persuasion once. But Pride and Prejudice...Mr. Darcy, any and all movies about him, books, re-makes, mini-series, print versions I do own, and know by heart. I’m addicted to those characters. I’m amazed the whole movie and story has only one kiss but the tension never dies between the characters for all those pages! (Side note:) Did anyone but me notice the end of the Kiera Knightly version of the Pride and Prejudice movie looks (setting, color, pallet, reflections while they do that last kiss) is almost exactly like the last kiss scene in 16 Candles? Swear. Check it OUT. #JakeRyanISMrDarcy?)


Q – What are you reading right now? 
Anne - Nothing. Not allowed because of editing, but FINE, I’m stealing minutes on my iPhone, Kindle Reader App when I pick the kids up at the bus with, On Dublin Street by Samantha Young (note: adult contemporary, not YA). It’s amazing good romance. I’m not even finished, and I can’t wait for Adam (hero’s best friend) to get his own story next. Samantha young rocks the romance.
 
Q – Favorite movie & TV show
 Anne - Movies: You mean after I watch Pride and Prejudice again? Bend it Like Beckham. Best, one kiss, teen romance movie EVER made. It also has Jonathan Rhys Myers and Keira Knightly before they became all famous and stylized.

TV. I’m into New Girl. She’s adorkable and I love that she gets to be a human disaster on that show and she never truly gets busted for it, where in real life, it’s just embarrassing to be like that. (Speaking from a personal stand point as I, am one of those public-disaster-types.) I also watch Teen Wolf for excellent casting-beauty-boys and twisty-plot. But I love all of MTV’s programming. I’m rarely off that channel.

Q – If you could switch lives with a celebrity, who would it be and why? 
Anne - Katy Perry. Hands down. But not for very long because I don’t think I could keep her pace. I’m a proud Katycat, inspired by her story, her journey, her lyrics. The message she sends her fans on self-love and following dreams is how we all should encourage each other. I also admire her bravery. I’m dyslexic and I struggle with huge amounts of personal anxieties because of it (and typos, darn it). I always gravitate to those who are bold and don’t care what others think.

If you haven’t seen the movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me you are missing out on some amazing good energy. Even if you think you don’t like pop music, or cup-cake outfits, you should watch this documentary. You will end with a bigger heart. I swear. Katy Perry is a deep, deep well of cool love. TRUST ME. #LOVEKaty

 

Q – Three words that best describe you: 

Anne - Working. Loving. Worrying.

Q – Any parting words for your fans, new and old?

 Anne - First, I can hardly believe I’m lucky enough to have fans and I am beyond grateful to think they are out there at all. :) Advice: remember fear/pain/darkness is only energy NOT A WALL. If you know that to be true, these things can never control you or keep you for long. You can use the energy like air...to breathe in, breathe it right back out, and easily move through to where you want to be. Set goals. And no matter who, or what obstacle in life tries to bring you down, stay focused, bare your whole heart, stay in love and never give up. Always. Love. 

Thank you so much for being with us today, Anne. It’s been such a pleasure getting to know you. I’ll proudly pimp out your books to anyone willing to listen to me because you are just an amazing writer and Almost just blew me away. I hope its success will continue to grow and that Unmaking Hunter Kennedy will be a monstrous success as well. We hope you’ll stop by again soon, my friend. Until then, Cheers! 

 GIVEAWAY!!!!

**Anne will also be giving away 2 Kindle eBook copies of Almost and Unmaking Hunter Kennedy (upon its release) to two lucky winners**

Two lucky commenters will be chosen to receive KINDLE copies of Almost and Unmasking Hunter Kennedy. 

*Please note that this is a Kindle only giveaway.  Please leave your email address with your comment. *

****GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED****

 

Interview with T.M. Franklin

 Grace: Hello, T.M. I'm very excited that you're here with us today! 

Congratulations on your newly-published novel, MORE! Let's begin with you telling us a little about yourself.

Thank you so much! Let’s see, I’m a wife and mother of two boys. My background is in journalism and I worked in TV news for nine years before leaving to stay home with my kids when my youngest was born. I did some freelance writing after that and got my real estate license, but continued to write whenever I could find the time.

Grace: I enjoyed reading MORE. It's paranormal with a little science fiction. What inspired you to write it?

I’ve always been fascinated by the mention of the Nephilim in the Bible, in the book of Genesis. Nobody’s actually sure who they were, but the Bible talks about “sons of God” who went to “daughters of men” and had children with them. This was evidently a very bad thing, because it was one of the reasons God decided to destroy the wickedness in the world with the Great Flood.

The Nephilim were also referred to as powerful – giants by some – so the idea of these apparent super-humans and the forbidden relationship with humans led to the concept of the Race and the Half-Breeds. That was the original inspiration of MORE.

Grace: It must be exhilarating to finally have your book release. Can you share with us some of the challenges you faced in getting your first book published?

Well, the first challenge was actually getting the book ready for publication – working with my editing team to clean it up and make sure it was as good as it could get. It’s a stressful thing to sign off that final approval on the manuscript. There’s no turning back after that!

On top of that, I find the biggest challenge is getting people interested in reading the book. There are SO many authors out there pushing SO many books that it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. It’s not easy to find a way to stand out.

Grace: Some of the characters in MORE have enhanced abilities. If I were to choose an enhanced/supernatural power, it would be the ability to teleport! I love the idea of going from one place to another in a blink of an eye. What power would you choose and why?

I’ve always thought it would be cool to be able to fly. I dream of flying a lot. I’m not sure what that means, but it’s always a lot of fun. It would give you such an amazing perspective on the world. There may actually be a character with some kind of flying ability at some point in the MORE trilogy, actually.

Grace: I really loved the world you created in your story. Was there a particular chapter or scene that was your favorite to write?

I really enjoyed writing the scene in Council chamber when Ava comes into her own and gets a little payback against Tiernan. (Trying not to spoil anything here!) That was a lot of fun.

Grace: I am now eager to read anything you bring to your fans! Can you tell us anything about what you're working on next?

I actually just finished up a short story that I hope will be published in an upcoming anthology. It’s more of a romance than MORE, but also with a touch of paranormal. Then, after the launch of MORE, I’ll get back to writing its sequel. It comes out in November of next year, so it’s time to get cracking!

Now for the fun questions:

I know you love to bake! What is your favorite thing to bake?

Crème Brûlée! I have an easy recipe that’s SO good. I could eat the whole thing by myself!

Have you read anything good lately?

I recently read Divergent and Insurgent, by Veronica Roth and loved them. I can’t wait for the third installment in that series! I also finally read Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. I loved Anna and the French Kiss, and Lola was fantastic as well!

What TV shows do you like to watch?

I’m addicted to Sons of Anarchy. It’s one of the few shows my husband and I both enjoy, actually. It’s bloody and violent and sometimes it makes me scream at the TV, but I love it! I also watch a lot of Food Network. Now THAT drives my husband crazy! I also like Lost Girl, Merlin, The Voice, ALL of the Real Housewives – I have very eclectic taste when it comes to my television!

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By T.M. Franklin 

Is Available now from TWCS Publishing House