Interview with Author Alexandra Butcher

The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles- 

Book 1

Alexandra Butcher

 

 

Janet: I want to welcome Alexandra Butcher here today and thank you all for coming.  Alexandra has written the novel The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles - Book 1 and the second book will be released in the near future.  So, Alexandra, tell us a little bit about your book.

Alexandra:  Book 1 is an adult dark fantasy/fantasy romance with erotica elements. It follows the adventures of a young elven mage in a world where magic is illegal and elves live as slaves.   It is, in part, a story about the dangers of prejudice and ignorance, the fight for freedom and to be allowed to be oneself. It is a story of light trying to find its place in a world which is grey, a world which is dark but mostly it is a fantasy tale of magic, revenge, love and sex.

Janet:  How did you come up with the idea for the story?  Was it a long time in the making, or did it just smack you atop the head and say, “Hey! I want to write.”?

Alexandra: The book originated from stories written for an RPG game some time ago and stories shared with a couple of good friends.  I think Book 1 took about a year or so, book 2 has been longer but has gone through a couple of changes in that time.  Book 3 will be shorter but there are also some short stories planned.

Janet: Out of all the characters you created, which one is your favorite?  Why?

Alexandra:  That is a difficult one, I love all my characters for a variety of reasons. If I had to pick on probably Dii , the female main character, as she goes through so much but still maintains her kindness and courage. She will continue to grow as the series does.

Janet: Dark Fantasy is a popular genre these days, especially after the Twilight craze.  What made you choose it and choose to also make it erotica?

Alexandra:  I didn’t choose it as such, it chose me. I can’t write happy, fun stories.  Pretty much everything I have ever written which was any good is dark.  Why include erotica?  A part of the characters is their sensuality, they are passionate and it seemed to fit the story.  The sexual scenes build the relationships between them.  It is fun to write, and fun to read. I hope it brings some light and some love in the otherwise dark story.

Janet: What can readers expect in the next book in the series?

Alexandra:  Book 2 – The Shining Citadel –  follows on from the events and revelations from Book 1 and is an adventure to find what has been lost, to reveal secrets and to find answers to questions which they didn’t even know had been asked.  

Janet: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hobbies? Family? Favorite books to read? What do you do when you’re not working on your novel?

Alexandra: My main job is in an office, it is not exciting but it pays the bills. In this day and age jobs are hard to come by and I appreciate being in employment. Other than writing I enjoy reading.  I have loved reading since I was tiny and my tastes include fantasy, historical romance, erotica, sci-fi, historical fiction, mystery and true crime.  I also enjoy history and nature, my pets and watching movies. I also like the theatre, especially musicals. 

Janet: Will dark fantasy be your only area of writing, or do you plan to branch out into other genres at some point? 

Alexandra: I am really not sure. At the moment I am working on the dark fantasy series but I do have a couple of other projects on the back burner, such as a collection of dark fairy tales. I have also written a couple of short fantasy stories for anthologies. One of which will be in a charity anthology later this year. I do also write poetry, whether I will decide to do anything with it remains to be seen. I may also try and develop the world of the novels into an RPG, or develop the RPG world which is sitting on a CD somewhere. I also have  a vampire story I may one day develop.

Janet: What inspired you to write your first book? 

Alexandra: I think I already answered that. After the RPG I decided to turn the short adventures into a novel, in a world I had created. My best friend and my partner encouraged me to do something with all the note pads, files and whatnot which were around and turn the stories into something more than notes. 

Janet: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Alexandra:  As I said before, in part the dangers of ignorance, prejudice and indifference. 

Janet: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Alexandra:  Only one? That is hard, I cannot choose one only. I guess it would be for fantasy Terry Pratchett and JRR Tolkein. Non fantasy, Alexandre Dumas and Gaston Leroux.

Janet: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

Alexandra: All my family like reading and making up stories. I used to like writing at school and would often get asked to provide a poem or short story for school events.

Janet: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

 

Alexandra:  Finding the courage to actually publish it. I was terrified people would not like it.

Can I just say in reverse to that one of the best moments was seeing the pride on my mother’s face when she held my paperback. She died last year but I am so glad she managed to live to see the book in print. Despite being virtually bed-bound at that point, with cancer she was so happy and so proud and even managed to find the energy to tell everyone she knew about it. That made all the hard work worthwhile. 

Janet: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Alexandra:  I hope you enjoy the book, if you do please tell your friends and please leave a review. 

Janet: Well, that is all the time we have for today.  I want to thank you, Alexandra, for joining me on my blog and readers.  I wish you the best of luck.

Purchase links:

 

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Light-Beyond-Storm-Chronicles--ebook/dp/B0088DQO9C

 

Smash Words: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/290716

Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-light-beyond-the-storm-chronicles-alexandra-butcher/1114796078

Interview with Melissa Groeling

All about Melissa Groeling and her new book Traffic Jam.

When you’re caught in traffic, you’ve got nowhere to go…

Val Delton’s life is spiraling and there’s nothing she can do to stop it. Her dad lost his job, her mom works fourteen hour days to pay the bills and yet somehow there are high-end shopping bags and an iPod in her older sister’s room. Naturally, Val becomes suspicious but her sister’s lips are sealed. Then by accident, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret hidden behind her sister’s bright smiles and cool indifference. Val has no idea how far and how deep the repercussions of her sister’s secret will reach but she’ll do whatever it takes to keep her family safe. Will she succeed before her sister’s secret destroys everyone she loves?  

                                             

Janet: I want to welcome Melissa Groeling here today and thank you all for coming.  Melissa is the author of a young adult novel called, Traffic Jam. So, Melissa, tell us a little bit about your book.

Melissa: Hi there, Janet! Thanks for having me on your blog today! So Traffic Jam is a roller-coaster of a story, featuring sixteen-year-old Val Delton as the voice that carries us through from start to finish. She’s your typical high-school student, straddled with homework, softball games, and the high-strung drama that comes with being somewhat of a nerd in a public school. Her older sister, Sam, is the exact opposite and the two of them do not and I mean, do not get along. But then Val inadvertently stumbles upon a dark secret Sam’s been hiding and this secret is very real and horrible. It’s something that not only exists within the pages of this book but out there in society as well. Of course, I’m not going to tell you what that is! You’ll have to read the book! *wink*  

Janet:  How did you come up with the idea for the story?  Was it a long time in the making, or did it just smack you atop the head and say, “Hey! I want to write this!”

Melissa: This story literally smacked me on top of my head as well as delivered a solid kick to my rear end! I was watching the news, which I never do because it does nothing but deliver sad, sorry news all the time. But this one time I actually watched it and I hate to sound cliché, but it literally set a light bulb off in my head. I guess the news is good for something!

Janet: Out of all the characters you created, which one is your favorite?  Why?

Melissa: Wow, that’s an awesome question. I used to think that John was my favorite but now I would have to say Jude. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding this guy and a lot of back story that we only get in bits and pieces. I had someone tell me that she would love it if I wrote a prequel from his point of view. It’s definitely something to think about. 

Janet: What made you choose the genre you wrote in?

Melissa: I think young adult is a very multi-faceted genre. There’s so much you can do with it and you don’t even need to look very far for inspiration especially since we live in a society that’s nearly obsessed with youth. But I have to say that I don’t write in just young adult. My very first book (Beauty Marks) was a romance and the next book coming out will be a suspense novel, gearing towards…well, just about anyone! 

Janet: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Hobbies? Family? Favorite books to read? What do you do when you’re not working on your novel?

Melissa: Well, I’m from the Philadelphia region and I’m a New York Giants fan—I have to be careful who I say that to (ha ha). I’m a natural redhead. I enjoy hanging out with my family and friends and of course, I love to read—especially if I get hit with writer’s block. I have an intense love affair with dark chocolate—that’s one thing I’m always munching on whenever I’m writing. I love the beach and my “real” job is a copywriter. As far as books go, I’m a big suspense-thriller fan, especially Dean Koontz, Karin Slaughter, Dan Simmons and Nick Stone, to name a few.

Janet: What inspired you to write your first book? 

Melissa: Oh wow, my first book was a romance novel called Beauty Marks. I believe it’s still available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It’s pretty funny that I even wrote a romance because anyone who knows me knows that I don’t have a romantic bone in my body. So where this book came from, I will never know. But it was fun to write. The idea literally came to me out of nowhere at 3am and I remember staying up, banging out the first four chapters. I was afraid to go to sleep lest I forget anything! I can’t even pinpoint where the idea came from. It just popped into my head.

Janet: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Melissa: The message in Traffic Jam would be never to lose hope. The things these two girls go through are life-altering, very scary and at times, can seem extremely hopeless. At the beginning of the story, there’s a very strong sense of disconnect that seems to run rampant in a lot of families nowadays. No one seems to know what the other person is doing and in this day and age, that disconnect is what breaks a lot of families up. So the message would be not only to never lose hope, but to always know what’s going on with everyone close to you.  

Janet: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Melissa:  I grew up reading Dean Koontz so I think his writing and his amazing story-telling abilities helped point in me in this direction. 

Janet: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

Melissa: You know, I’ve tried to remember if there was a specific moment when I realized that I wanted to write but I can never pinpoint it. Writing, to me, feels like something that I’ve been doing my entire life and something that I’ve always enjoyed. I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t writing anything. 

Janet: What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Melissa: The beginning! Always the beginning! I always think of a story either in the middle somewhere or at the end. Trying to start it off is always the hardest part for me.   

Janet: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Melissa: Yes! Thank you to all my readers out there for their support, for reading, for everything! Keep on reading! 

Janet: Well, that is all the time we have for today.  I want to thank you, Melissa, for joining me on my blog and readers.  I wish you the best of luck.

 

Contact Melissa at:

http://www.facebook.com/melissa.groeling

https://twitter.com/#!/stringbean10

http://melissagroeling.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AMelissa+Groeling&keywords=Melissa+Groeling&ie=UTF8&qid=1337714550&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B0080S7E6W

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15765289-traffic-jam

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/traffic-jam-melissa-groeling/1110290578

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/165385

http://www.doylestownbookshop.com/book/9781937329471