For the love of Fantasy!

Happy Wednesday!

Today I have a fabulous guest on Unedited, the wonderful Nicole Zoltack! She's talking about how she created her fantasy world.

I love writing fantasy because you start with nothing. You can create an entire world, one that doesn't have to be limited by what is real, one where mythological creatures and magic can be the norm.


In a way, all writers are creators because we create our characters and their worlds. We create conflict and tension and make bad things happen to them, all so that when they achieve their goals, it means that much more to the reader.

When I first started to write the Kingdom of Arnhem series, I knew I wanted the world to be set in a medieval-type world technology-wise, but I also wanted there to be magic. But then I took it one step further and actually set the series in a specific year in our Middle Ages.

Only it wasn't our Middle Ages.

Not completely. Instead of North and South America, there was a different continent - Alethereia. And Alethereia was home to all the magic in the world. Europe and Asia had the exact same past as ours did, and were completely separate from Alethereia and ignorant of magic, as it was in history.

Essentially, my fantasy romance series is set in an alternative medieval world. There are knights and chivalry, romance and love, trolls, dwarves, Drow, war, evil, good. My favorite character is Aislinn, the young girl who wanted to become a knight. Her story is the first book, Woman of Honor. She always knows what she wants and does whatever it takes to get it. Her drive inspires me.

Although the Kingdom of Arnhem series is a trilogy, I plan on writing other books set in that world - some preceding the events in the trilogy, some after. I think it would be great fun to write a story set in 1492, when Christopher sailed the ocean blue and landed on Alethereia…

If you could create a fantasy world, what would it look like? Who would live there? Would there be magic or vampires or…. The possibilities are endless!

Want to walk away with some fun stuff? Leave a comment below to be entered to win some signed post cards and magnets. Each comment during the Champion of Valor Blog Tour gives you an entry for the grand prize: a copy of the entire Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy - Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory, and Champion of Valor.

CREEP

QUICK SHOUT-OUTS!!!!

Check out the upcoming blog fest! It's going to be fun! For details hit the sidebar picture (Guess that character) and sign up today!! For those who've signed up already (YOU ROCK) Feel free to snag the picture and place it on your blog! Too fun!

Kari over at Under the Fairy Dust has one awesome contest happening where tons of books are being given away! Feel free to check out that! Or don't... so I can win... Muah-ha-ha... just kidding, but seriously not.

I'm going to see the lovely Maggie Stiefvater tonight with my sister!!! So if you are in the houston area and would like to see her Blue Willow Bookshop will be hosting the event! Buy your book there, pick up your signing ticket and enjoy!

Now to the author of the day!

Jennifer Hillier is someone I just recently met and had to interview!!! Her first novel CREEP is to debut in 2011 agented by Victoria Skurnick of Levine Greenberg Literary Agency and published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. So let's get this interview started with a kick ass synopsis!

Synopsis pulled from her blog:
Everything bad that's happened to popular psychology professor Sheila Tao is her own damn fault.

Had she told her investment banker fiancé about her sex addiction from the beginning, maybe he wouldn't have walked out a week before their wedding.

Had she not had an affair with her student, Ethan Wolfe, maybe her career at the university wouldn't be dangling by a thread.

Had Ethan Wolfe not been the serial killer responsible for the deaths of several homeless women in the Seattle area, maybe Sheila wouldn't be shackled to a bed in his state-of-the art kill room, wondering how the hell she could have been so stupid.

CREEP is a character-driven psychological thriller that explores what happens when you cheat on your fiancé with Hannibal Lecter.

INTERVIEW!

1. After the complicated mess Sheila has gotten herself into it makes me wonder, have you ever been in a scary relationship before?

Not unless I'm considered the scary one. Kidding aside, no, I haven't (thank God). But I have made my share of bad choices, and CREEP explores the worst case scenario (the nightmare scenario, really) of making terrible decisions. I've always been interested in the dark side of human nature, and it's a theme that pops up constantly in my work.

2. Are you one to dabble in several different genres or are thrillers your calling?

I'm pretty sure thrillers are my calling, but watch me eat those words in a few years. My first novel (a.k.a. my trunk novel) was a horror. I'd love to attempt something like that again, but I find writing horror really hard. Thrillers are easier because they tend to be grounded in reality. With horror, it's harder for me to suspend my disbelief, which makes the writing a bigger challenge. And if I can't suspend my disbelief, I can't very well expect readers to suspend theirs. But someday I'd love to write a juicy, gory horror novel. I'm a huge Stephen King fan.

3. Dare to share any new pieces you are working on?

Right now I'm working on a novel that shares some of the same characters as CREEP. I don't know that I'd go so far as to call it a sequel – it's more like a spin-off, and if I can pull it off, it will be able to stand on its own. My other WIP is a novel I've been picking at for two years, in between revisions (and during Query Hell) for CREEP. I actually think this book (a supernatural thriller) is some of my best writing, but the story doesn't flow easily. Go figure.

4. When you snagged the agent of your dreams (after query hell of course) how did you react? Scream, Jump in the air, kill a character? Feel free to divulge the story of excitement here! Everyone is waiting in anticipation!

That was a great day. I hadn't expected to hear back from this agent (now my agent) so soon. I thought she would be in touch via email the following week, and I was anticipating a revise-and-resubmit. But the next day, she called offering me representation. I didn't hesitate to accept. When I got off the phone, I cried. And I am SO NOT a crier! But it was a happy, happy day. You can read all about The Call here

5. Do serial killers control your thoughts? Are they more of the main character for you than the real MC?

I love villains (and of course my preferred brand of villain is the serial killer). Sometimes I love them more than protagonists, and this goes for both reading and writing them. I firmly believe that protagonists should be interesting or likeable (ideally both), but with villains, anything goes. You can make a villain as horrible and evil and crazy as you want, and the more complex, the better. There's a freedom in writing characters like that, and a lot of glee in reading about them. CREEP has a lot of scenes in the killer's POV, so I guess in a way, serial killers do control my thoughts.

Fun & Random Questions
Pizza:New York Style all the way.
Beach or Mountains:Close call, but I have to go with the beach. Nothing feels better than the smell of the ocean and the sun on my face.
Chick flick or horror:Horror. But always with the lights on.
Barbie’s or Polly Pockets:Barbies. Mainly because I don't know what Polly Pockets are.
Zombies or Vampires :Vampires. Zombies make me nervous. You can't reason with them.
Book: IT by Stephen King.
Book Series:The Lincoln Rhyme novels by Jeffery Deaver. Lincoln is a quadriplegic forensics expert who catches serial killers. In my book, that also makes him a rock star.
TV Show:True Blood. It's such a crazy, bloody, unpredictable show. And it's funny, too.
Snow or rain:Ah… here is where I'm torn. I'm from Toronto, Canada, so I have a soft spot for snowy days. But I now live in Seattle, and I can't deny that rainy days are perfect for writing. I'd have to call it a draw.

Isn't she awesome!!! Doesn't her book rock??! So make sure to add it to your TBR list!!! Debuting in 2011! Check out her website!

LINGER BLOG TOUR

I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful blog tour for LINGER!! So without further ado here is the long awaited interview with Maggie Stiefvater!! BTW - Winner of the book is at the bottom!

1. What all do you do when preparing your novel? Create an outline, movie trailer, book cover, character collages, or a music playlist?

I drink a lot of caffeine.

No, really I do. And then I write the book. Well, sort of. I tend to think that a lot of prep work that I used to do when I was younger was actually procrastinating. Character sketches are fun but don’t actually help me when it comes to putting that personality into practice in a novel. Book covers are also fun, but again, don’t actually do anything. Outlines are a little better, but I’m not good at being that organized. What I really need before I get started is the end scene, a rough understanding of the main characters and how they’ll interact, and several core scenes along the way. I used to call this a synopsis but I understand now that it isn’t, really.

I will say I use music playlists like they’re going out of style. It’s really important to me to know what the mood of my novel’s going to be, so I make playlists of music that will keep me in that frame of mind.

And again, more tea. And cookie dough helps too.

2. Have you ever had an embarrassing moment as an author? Any while book signing?

Well, at one book signing at my daughter’s school, she threw up while standing in front of the signing table. Does that count? I’d never actually inspired anyone to be physically sick before.

3. Are you one that creates your characters based on what you strive to be, based on yourself or based on real people? A mixture is allowed too!!

Yes, my characters are all super-hero authors and musicians with nicer abs than mine, better vacuuming habits, and bigger cars. Men want them and women want to be them. Not only do I strive to be them, but everyone does. Sheer awesome.

Actually, no. I try as much as awesome to make my characters real people, or people who could be real. My idea of success is if a character reminds a reader of someone they actually know or if they close the book and miss the characters because they feel real.

4. When did you decide you wanted to professionally write? What there an Ah-ha moment or have you always known?

I can’t actually remember a time when I wasn’t writing or fantasizing about being published. I had lists of books that I was planning to write when I was eight. I used to make catalogs of them and try to get my relatives to pre-order.

Yes, I was a strange child.

5. Was there ever another genre you thought you’d write in or have you always chosen this route?

I’m a big believer in the idea that you should write what you love to read. I’ve always loved to read books with a bit of magic in them, but not high fantasies, so . . . that’s usually what I write. Except for that brief time in my teens when I wrote about four IRA thrillers that sounded like they should star Harrison Ford. And that one really awful historical blockade runner novel. And the one high fantasy one about enchanters duking it out against an angsty backdrop of civil unrest. What can I say, we’re all experimental in our childhoods. Some things are best left unseen by the public.

6. With Shiver had you known there would be a sequel before you started writing?

Nope. I tend to prefer standalones, myself, unless each series book has a very definitive end. And now look at me!

Isn't she awesome!!! So to find out more about her here are some sites you can visit!

Maggie Stiefvater’s website
SHIVER series site
Maggie Stiefvater’s blog
Twitter
Facebook
Maggie Stiefvater’s Linger Book Trailer
Scholastic.com official Shiver page

SO WHO IS THE WINNER YOU ASK OF THIS AWESOME LINGER GIVEAWAY???? CANDYLAND!!!!!! My awesome random organizer (aka) my husband chose the awesome winner!!! So congrats!