Friendy Friday, NEWS, and a GIVEAWAY
Greetings, Rockers! Today's Friendy Friday is a special one as it's my dear friend Karysa Faire's very first book birthday! Karysa released Take Two this past week and I'm so excited for her to be doing what she loves! She spends so much time supporting other authors through her endeavor Love Romance Reads, which you should all check out, and so I wanted to have her on the Rock 'n' Romance blog today to talk a little about herself. I also have some very special deals to share with you and some news!
March 17th I'll be flying to Nashville, Tennessee and I can't WAIT! Book Lovers Con is so close and this year there a ton of fun events I'll be participating in like a rowdy bus tour, the Rustic Prom VIP room, the Book Bash Signing, Romance Bingo, and the Book Lovers Shin Dig! In addition, I'll be joining the folks at the Irwindale Public Library in Southern California for the Spring Book Festival on March 28th. I was invited by author Dominique Laura and I'm super excited to see some friends and sign some books!
Hope to see you at one of these events!
And now for my interview with Karysa!
1. Clue us into your "era" by sharing a few of your favorite songs.
Oh boy... Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran, I'll Stop the World and Melt With You by Modern English, Take on Me by Ah-Ha, and Red Red Wine by UB40. I'm ooold! And dang it, now I'm listening to my favorite playlist. I get sooooo nostalgic. Yep. I've officially turned into my parents.
2. What’s one thing every reader should know about you?
I love to travel and take long walks on the beach; I prefer hole-in-the-walls over fancy restaurants; on Friday nights I like to zone out in front of the T.V. I might have been spending too much time updating my OKCupid account...
3. Which of these describes your writing process: charts, calendars and colorful post-its hung on the wall of a brightly lit tidy office space? Or a desk piled high with notes written on napkins and receipts, notebooks half-filled with scribbles and partial outlines you never finished because you're a pantser? Explain and attach memes or pics if they apply.
I'm absolutely a planner. If I don't plan it takes me ten years to write a book. Ahem. Yet, don't get wrong, my desk and office are a mess. I wouldn't dare to show you a picture because someone would have to call a hazmat cleanup crew.
4. Describe your most awkward author moment ever. Then describe your most rewarding experience as an author.
I don't have enough experience as an author to really answer this. I do have a very awkward fan moment... I was at signing event and an author I loved (and of course, I'm totally blanking on her name right now) had just put out a book with another author. I stood in line forever, so excited to meet her. When I got to the front, I asked the woman if she was ________. Much to my disappointment, she was "the other" author. I gushed and asked, "How did you EVER score being in a book with ________?" She smiled and said how the two of them were really good friends so it was the most natural thing in the world. She was very kind, very friendly. It wasn't until later that I figured out the one who had signed my book was SYLVIA DAY. Yes, Sylvia was the big name of the two of them. This was also the year that Sylvia was about to start her year as President of RWA. I think I was bright red for a week!
5. What is the best reader response you’ve ever received?
Again, I've not had enough experience, yet.
6. What is the most fascinating/creepy/disgusting thing you’ve discovered because of writing?
Huh. I'm completely drawing a blank. I like creepy and fascinating things so there are too many to sift through!
7. Name a book that inspired you, one you disliked that everyone loves, and one that made you cry. Or, if you never shed tears, made you uncomfortable in some way.
I love any book by Madeline L'Engle and have emulated her writing style since I first began to create stories. I really, really disliked most of my high school reading list but that's because they were all about boys (insert an eye-roll emoji). And I'm sorry to cop out on this, but there are too many books I cried in to even remember. However, I'm a cry-at-commercial type so it doesn't take a lot to get the waterworks going.
8. Music or silence when you write? if music, what's on your current playlist?
Shhhhh. Silence for my contemporaries. That said, I have a massive playlist for my historicals I'm working on - all songs from that era that my characters would have listened to.
9. Did a teacher in school ever encourage or discourage your desire to write? Care to share?
Mrs. Smith in 9th grade. Mrs. Reibe in 6th grade. I love both of those women!
10. What's your favorite genre to write? And...what's a genre you haven't written but would LOVE to write?
My first published novel is contemporary. I think I'd LOVE to write a paranormal novel (I've written a few short stories with paranormal elements) because it's my favorite genre to read ever since I was a young'in.
11. Best and worst jobs you've ever had other than writing.
Teaching is both the best and the worst job I've ever had. The emotional and energy ups and downs are tremendous. Luckily, for the past ten years, I've had many, many more good days than bad. Honestly, I feel very lucky to be in a job that I (mostly) enjoy and where I am making a difference in my community.
Thank you, Karysa! I hope you'll all check out Take Two. I'll be giving away a random commenter on this post who can tell me a leading lady they wish they could be, or, if you could have watched any movie being made, which would it be? Comment below and I'll gift a copy of Take Two next week!
Follow her at all of the places!
Website: https://www.karysafaire.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarysaFaireAuthor/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarysaFaire LoveRomanceReads: https://www.loveromancereads.com/karysafaire.html
I have a few other deals I'd love to shout out for some special people:
Renee George has a FREEBIE until Monday! Her first book in the Peculiar Mysteries, which crosses over to the Magic and Mayhem Universe, is FREE! Check it out!
And the lovely Kari Lemor, who I was lucky enough to be in the Down and Dirty Anthology with has a new release coming out March 2nd! Pick up True Dreams on Preorder Now!
True “TJ” Bannister, haunted by his past, abandons the world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll to live a peaceful life as a bookstore owner on Cape Cod. The reformed bad boy thinks no “nice” girl will ever see beyond his tormented soul.
Innocent Sara Storm barges into his shop, and his life, with her sunshine personality. She looks beyond TJ’s past and helps heal his damaged heart. But her goal to be a singer is one TJ can’t support. Her dreams take place in the shattered world he left behind.
Can he choose between his newfound serenity and a life that nearly destroyed him, or is their romance doomed before the last note is sung?
And for a bit of Paranormal this week, we've got a tasty morsel from Linda G. Hill which you can pick up for FREE! Linda is a friend from the OSRBC Facebook Group and a sweet lady so check her out!
The Magician’s Sire is the prequel of Linda G. Hill’s Gothic paranormal romance series, The Great Dagmaru. It’s available exclusively as a gift to her newsletter subscribers. If you love dark, suspenseful paranormal love stories, sign up and download it today!
And last but not least...HEALER IS ALMOST HERE! On Friday, March 13 you can have it delivered to your hot little e-reader OR your mailbox! And I'll be posting the first chapter in my next newsletter-y thingie, so please...Stay Tuned for more Rock 'n' Romance...
