Space Kitties 2 Release and Author Interview

Hey Bookworms,

Last year a charming anthology released called Space Kitties, telling tails of cats in space, flying around in ships about the stars, daring adventures, and aliens.

Now, the second anthology, Space Kitties 2, has released!

 



Light-hearted tales of feline adventure from across the
cosmos, by a collection of authors from across the country.
Seven far thinking spec-fic authors band together for a
second collection of fun, unique and suspenseful stories
about kitties in space. What could be more purrific?

Enjoy this selection of literary entries as kitties take to
the stars amid the galaxies of your imagination...

(Copied from Amazon)

I've already read most of the stories in the anthology and they are sweet. A fun book to read. As part of the release's blog tour (I'm one of the stops), author interviews are spread across the blogsphere. Today, you get to meet Lesa McKee, author of Operation Space Cats. I'm excited to host Lesa because I read book 1, The Rescue Mission, in the first anthology and it was one of my favorites from the bunch. In book 2, The Missing Spaceship, we get to see her gang again as they go on a new adventure.

Now, without further ado, let me introduce Lesa McKee!

____________________________________



Lesa McKee grew up at her Grandmother's knee, listening to the French folk-tales her animated Grandma Ida shared. A love of stories was born and her imagination took off!

She’s now living her dream as a Christian Indie writer of feel-good fiction, including a short story series of far-out space cats, titled 'Operation Space Cats'. These purrific feline adventures are filled with faith, friendship & fun!

What is the synopsis of your Space Kitties tale?

Flying furballs! Cavias’s collar has went missing!

Tebbs is on the case. As he gets further into the search, secrets start to get unearthed, and Tebbs digs his paws in deeper. Just what line of work is Cavias into? And why is his own sister, Kibby being so mysterious?

The answers will lead Tebbs and his team on a return trip to Candar for another feline adventure that’s out of this world!

What inspired you to write it?

Book one, lol. This is book two of my Operation Space Cat series. When I finished book one, I knew these lovable space cat character’s weren’t finished yet. They were just warming up!:)

How long did it take you to write?

Let’s see. That seems like so long ago. I’m guessing around a month, not including the rewrites.

Was there any music you liked to listen to while you wrote?

Nope. No muse & no music. I work alone. Nice and quiet. Well ... except for those yowling, er, lovable space cats. :)

What was your reaction when you found out your story had been selected for the anthology?

I usually give my proper answer of ‘pleasantly surprised’, but actually It was more like a toss the confetti Woo-hoo! kind of moment.

Are you a plotter or a punster?

I’m a combination of both, really. Making me a plantser. I do lean toward pantsing quite often (I completely freestyled book one of OPSC) though with a series (the rest of the books, anyway) I have to include some planning, add foreshadowing, and make sure everything ties together. I love writing series (see below, I have another one planned), but it’s definitely more work.

What elements does your ideal story contain?

I write feel-good fiction-- faith with a helping of fun mixed in. Most everything I write tends to have that blend. That said, I could see myself branching out in the future.

Has there been an author or non-author person who has influenced your writing more than anyone else?

My grandma, Ida Portell. She wasn’t a writer, but she was an awesome storyteller. Every child in their life should have one. :) I grew up listening to her tell me French folk tales in her animated way, and my imagination took off!

Have you written any other books?

Yes. Book one of Operation Space Cats (Operation Space Cats, The Rescue Mission) which is published in Space Kitties 1. I’m also going to be releasing it on my own with beautiful full color illustrations soon. The plan is this August or September.

I’ve also written a couple of other short stories since OPSC, 1. Sky, a survival fantasy, and Blood-prints, a wolf fairytale. (Sounds gruesome, I know. And me not liking the sight of blood, lol).

What other stories are you planning in the future?

Book three in the series (Operation Space Cats, The Time Tunnels) is almost finished and ready for critique, revisions, and editing, and book four (Operation Space Cats, The Starlight Diamond) is my next project.

I also have a Christian historical romance novella series in the works, and an Island adventure, but that will take time as I’m busy with my space cats right now.

 



 ____________________________

 

 

Thanks so much, Lesa, for that interview. I look forward to more Space Cats adventures.

 

Space Kitties 2 is available from Amazon now! Plus, the publisher is also featuring a GIVEAWAY. If you comment on any of the blog tour posts, your name will be added to a drawing for an ebook copy of Space Kitties 2. So please comment and congratulate Lesa and the other authors!

 

Speaking of the other authors, check out the list of hosting blogs for this week. Tomorrow, you can check out MY interview. Yup, I'm one of the authors in Space Kitties! Talk about exciting and nerve racking. Now the reviewer gets to be reviews (and have author interviews). I hope it is the beginning of a long writing career.

 

Schedule:June 4 - Facebook party 1:00 - 6:00P.M. Central Time
~ Tour kickoff and cover reveal at E. Kaiser Writes A Blog
~ Interview with E Kaiser at The Splendor Falls
June 5 - Interview with Jamie Mortensen at Lesa McKee
June 6 - Interview with Lesa McKee at Bookworm Reading
~ FB giveaway winner announced
June 7 - Interview with Rachel Harris at Faith Blum
June 8 - Interview with Faith Blum at Rachel Rossano's Words
June 9 - Interview with H.L. Burke at Jessica Greyson
June 10 - Interview with Aletha Bakke at H.L. Burke, Author
June 11 - blog giveaway winner announced and tour wrap-up at E. Kaiser Writes A Blog

 

And be sure to check out the Submissions information for the next Space Kitties anthology, #3. Maybe it will one of your starts to a writing career and you will get interviewed next year. I'll be entering again.

 

Be sure to chew on a good book today...

maybe the Space Kitties 2!



Frame 232 and Author Interview

 

Bookworm's Ranking - 3 Worms

 

Storyline - When Sheila Baker buried her mother, she did not expect to be left with answers to an historic mystery. But she was. A tape, taken on November 22, 1963, reveals that not only was her mother at the Kennedy Assassination and is the Babushka Lady, but confirms what conspiracy theorists have been saying for years. There was a second shooter. Not knowing what to do with the tape and fearing the government, Sheila contacts a man, Jason Hammond, who has made himself famous for uncovering historic mysteries but is also struggling with ghosts of his own. As they set out to discover who the man was and what was behind it, they must also out run a killer set on their trail to solve one of the biggest mysteries of the century.

Author - Wil Mara

Publisher - Tyndale Publishers

Age Group - 16 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* The assassination was a bit grizzly in description. A pretty violent, and creepy, man is after them. A hooker is mentioned briefly. The two main character, Sheila and Hammond, won't let fear or the people after them stop them from finding the truth.

Personal Opinion - This novel is extremely factual on the assassination as well as in depth in the mystery and characters. Each character was developed to realism with believable backstories and feelings. Not knowing much of the Kennedy Assassination, I learned a lot more than I knew before. One particular part of the novel was an action scene were there was two or three paragraphs from one person's perspective before jumping to another (the bad guy's) perspective. This was a new technique for me and it made the action that much more exciting. But, this book had at least one pit fall that made it difficult for me which was how detailed the backstories got. Not that it was a bad thing but the story was kept from moving forward until some backstory of a character or the historical events, which would sometimes take several pages. This made it read slowly to me and the mystery was only being touched shortly before the halfway point of the novel. I am hope that, since this was the first book about Jason Hammond and his historic mysteries that the backstories won't be as detailed in the future or, at least, written in a more interesting way. I will probably give the next book a try.

Video -

 

 

Author Interview -

I would like to thank Tyndale for providing this interview with Wil Mara and giving some interesting background to this novel.

 



1. What inspired you to write a novel around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy? I have always been fascinated by the assassination, which, obviously, was one of the most pivotal and enigmatic events in American history. And when I heard about the ‘Babushka Lady’---one of the few people in Dealey Plaza that day who remains unidentified---and the possibility that she may have filmed the shooting, an idea came to mind that seemed too good to disregard.

2. How much research did you do for this project? An unbelievable amount. I spoke with assassination experts, read literally hundreds and books and articles, pored over countless photos...you name it. My goal was to write a fictional story around the established facts rather than alter the facts to serve the story. Thus, I had to know pretty much everything. I ended up loading my brain with more data than I really needed...but I didn’t mind.

3. How has your research informed your own theory of what happened during the JFK assassination? My personal theory, prosaic though it may be, is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. If you want to be convinced, get your hands on a fairly rare book called Lee, which was written by his brother, Robert. Once you understand the mind behind the eyes that looked through that rifle scope, you will be convinced.

4. What role does your Christian faith play in your writing? It is embedded throughout this story, in a fashion both subtle and direct. I was raised Christian and have been a firm believer all my life, so my belief system is threaded into just about everything I do. Anyone who carries even the most fundamental faith will recognize the important elements in this book. The most obvious example belongs to the main character, who recurs throughout the series---he is suffering a deep crisis of faith, and the core of that crisis should be familiar to even the most devout follower. We are human, plain and simple, and as such we experience doubts about the Lord in our lifetime. So it won’t be hard for anyone to connect with him.

5. What lessons do you hope readers will come away with after reading Frame 232?
I can’t interpret the story for anyone but myself, but there are a few themes at work that strike me as particularly valuable. One is that God’s path is always the right one in the end, even if it seems unimaginably rocky at times. Another is that tragedies occur in every life, that these misfortunes usually happen for a reason, and that the reason may not be apparent for some time. A third is that we need to treasure our loved ones for as long as we have them around, because they can disappear in a heartbeat. Also, it’s important to keep getting out of bed and moving forward every day because life is a gift, and God does not favor those who waste their time and talents. If you are blessed with ability and resources (and Jason has plenty of both), you should use them.

6. What do you have planned for your future Jason Hammond books?
Jason will be tackling other high-profile (and, later on, some lesser-known) mysteries as the series progresses. Readers will also get to follow his ongoing struggles as he rebuilds his faith and gradually assembles his ‘new normal.’ Plus, we’ll further explore the lives of those around him (including a budding love interest, who will appear in the second book). It’s also worth noting that not every book in the series will follow a strictly linear chronology. The one I’m writing now, for example(The Nevada Testament) begins about six weeks after Frame 232. The one I’ll write after that, however (Gardner Island), occurs before the events of Frame

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Publisher,

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the Tyndale Blogger Network.

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

Author Interview: Heather Burch

Hello Bookworms,

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Heather Burch, author of the Halfling series, whose newest book, Avenger, was released in March. Heather's books are very popular and follow the adventures of Nikki Youngblood and her Halfling, half angel, half human, guardians as they try to keep her alive and discover why the forces of Darkness want her so badly. As they adventures continue, they find hiden secrets and seek strength in God as the battle. Heather was nice enough to answer some questions so here they are for everyone to enjoy.

 

HB: First, let me say thanks for letting me drop by today!

BW: I'm glad you're glad that you stopped by today and thank you very much for agreeing to the interview.

What first made you interested in being a writer?

HB: I have always done a lot of writing … mostly just for myself. But when I met my husband and discovered his mom and sister wrote novels, I couldn’t believe it. “You mean real people write books?” I don’t know who I thought wrote books, but they were just people. Just like me. Only older. I decided right then to write a book.

BW: Sounds like a cool discovery. I'm glad you decided to write novels.

What have you enjoyed most about being a writer? Least?

HB: I love getting to go out and meet fans. It’s magical when someone says something like, “Your book got me through a hard time.” I can’t even describe how it feels. It’s the best. I love traveling so promoting the Halflings Series has made it possible to visit some great cities.

Since I’m traveling a lot, I’m gone from home and that’s the hardest thing. I really miss my guys when I’m out there. But they are great about it and usually cook me an awesome dinner when I’m headed home. And they clean the house. They have to, they trash it while I’m gone.

BW: That would be unbelievable and must make you feel very good. Traveling sounds like fun but does have that downside. Glad the men clea for you at least.

If you ever have, what do you do when you get Writer's Block?

I keep writing. Even if it’s not what I’m supposed to be working on. I guess I write right on through it. You can’t let the muse push you around or you’ll find yourself shoved in too many directions. Now, I’m talking about regular old normal writer’s block. There is another kind, I believe, that has to do with a writer’s emotions being drained. Family crisis, personal tragedies, things like that can cause the other writer’s block. That’s different. It means you don’t have anything to pour out of yourself. See, I think writers have a reservoir of creativity and an overflow. We should always be writing from our overflow. If we start dipping into the reservoir, we run the risk of running dry. When dealing with that type of writer’s block, I think you have to take a step away. Allow yourself time to heal from whatever has happened. Put the writing on the back burner until words begin to gurgle inside again.

BW: Never thought about that, that your emotions causeing block, but it makes sense. Great insight.

What is your favorite genre to read?

 HB: Love, love, love YA. Not all YA books are my cup-of-tea, but so many are fabulously written with really deep characters and intricate plotlines. I can lose myself in a fabulous YA novel.

BW: What has been the funnest scene you've written?

HB: I had so much fun writing the scene in Avenger where Nikki and the Halflings get to test new motorcycles. The area I wrote them into is an actual area in my home state of Missouri where I used to ride as a teen. So much fun! Felt like I was revisiting my own memory lane. And once I knew Nikki was going to be in a leather jacket on the cover of Avenger, I knew I’d be adding a motocross scene.

BW: Those motercycles were pretty cool. And I had been wondering if trails like the ones described existed.

Do you have plans/want to ever return to the world of the Halflings?

HB: Is it terrible that I want to live in the Halflings world? I think I could go on writing these for … I don’t know … forever. There are still so many stories and interesting characters to dissect and inspect. Like Viper. He is one of my favorite characters, but we only get a glimpse of him in Avenger.

BW: I don't think it is a terrible thing to want to live in the Halfling world. I would like to live in other worlds sometimes.

Are you currently working on a project? If you are, can you tell us a little about it?

HB: I have a few things in the works right now. One is a twist on a modern day fairytale. It’s been so much fun because I’ve been able to introduce things that I couldn’t in a more “realistic” feeling storyline. For instance, the two main characters are inside an enchanted cave being chased by monkeys who throw … you guessed it … enchanted poo at them. Okay, so maybe that’s gross and more information than you wanted, but I’ve had a blast writing it. Also, I'm looking forward to continuing the Halflings Series. Raven has an exciting adventure ahead of him and I want to share that journey with the world! 

BW: I am excited for Raven's story and that other one sounds... interesting. And yes, a little gross, but I will read it. Sounds like fun. Make sure to tell your characters to duck when the poo is being thrown. 

Thanks again Heather for the interview, I had fun and I hope you did too. Thanks everyone for reading and be sure to chew on a good book today.

So Shines the Night & Mini Author Interview with Giveaway

"On an Island Teetering

at the Brink of Anarchy,

Daria Finds Hope

Among People of The Way."

Bookworm's Ranking - 4 Worms

Storyline -Daria is without home or employment. Chased from Rhodes, she has little choice but to accept the offer of a strange, yet charming, man, Lucas, to go to Ephesus and be his Persian tutor. But his demeanor changes upon their arrival to the city and she sees there is something dark stirring inside him. Slowly, she begins to uncover the mysteries of his wife's death and his need for vengeance, but ghosts from her past has followed her to Ephesus. As the city struggles with fraction with sorcerers, being faithful to the goddess Artemis, and the new fraction of believers of One God who call themselves Christians lead by a man named Paul, both Daria and Lucas will have to choose their way. But darkness is on their heels, waiting to take not only their souls, but lives as well.

Author - Tracy Higley

Publisher - Thomas Nelson

Age Group - 16 or 17 and up

Content - *May Contain Spoilers* The characters regularly run across Sorcerers and one tries magic. Lucas is filled with guilt and the desire for revenge but slowly sees the error of his ways. Daria tries to use her mind to make decisions but grows in relying on God after she meets the Christians. Paul and the other Christians speak of God's love and desire for everyone to turn to Him.

Personal Opinion -While twists and turns travel through this novel in the plot and the characters, Tracy Higley draws beautiful messages of God's love for us into its core. Daria and Lucas were true to life characters with genuine struggles. The plot was detailed and complex, a danger to an unskilled author but Tracy pulls it all together with no loop holes. Beginning the book in Rhodes was fun because that was were the last book of Tracy's I read left off. It kinda brought the two together yet this book still can be read as a stand alone. I didn't see many of the plot twists coming and, despite its length, never bored with bits of new information given at perfect intervals to keep me interested and coming to understand better what was haunting Lucas and Daria. My favorite part was how much was got to know and spend time with Paul and the Christians. It made the changes in Lucas and Daria more believable because I got to see how their lives slowly change because of what they were learning. The book is a bit dark at times but that is because of the sorcerer subject matter, which is never detailed by is still creepy (at least for me). Tracy's books always do a great job in creating 3D characters and engage plots and So Shines the Night is no exception.

Video -

Mini Author Interview - As part of the Caravan blog tour, I was able to ask Tracy some questions. Enjoy!

What made you interested in writing ancient history fiction?
I’m not sure! It evolved in my mind, and I suppose it was the tie-in to biblical history, to the time period which informed my faith and held so many stories I already knew and loved. But I’ve never been content to look at Scripture through the single historical lens of the Judea. I’ve always wanted to see the Old and New Testament periods through the eyes of the world outside the Jewish people, from the pagan perspective.
 
How do you do your research?
It’s a multi-tiered approach, with very basic research at first (sometimes even juvenile non-fiction), to get a high-level view, then going deeper into the specific days/years I’ll be writing about, and then getting a broad view of the daily life and culture through dusty textbooks. All of this goes into my “notebook” and inspires specific plots and scenes. As I am actually writing the first draft, I often leave placeholders where more specific research is needed, like an XX where a number or detail should go. At the end, I go back and find all those placeholders and research the details, often online where it’s much easier to search for very specific information.  

Can you share anything about your future projects?
The best way to get a sense of what I’m working on now would be to visit this page: http://tracyhigley.com/books/work-in-progress/  Although, don’t hold me to all those thoughts about the book I haven’t started yet – who knows where that will go!

Make sure to enter the giveaway Tracy is hosting during the blog tour by going here. Be sure to enter my giveaway too at the bottom of this review.

Buy - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook, Publisher,

Links - Petra: City in Stone - Review
            Isle of Shadows - Review

Giveaway - Enter to win not on So Shines the Night but Isle of Shadows too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

CHECK OUT TRACY'S GIVEAWAY TOO! 

READ THROUGH THE MINI AUTHOR INTERVIEW TO FIND THE LINK! 

Disclaimer - In exchange for an honest review, I received this book for free from the publisher through Booksneeze.com.

To read or comment on this and other reviews, stop by Bookworm

Author Interview and Giveaway

Hi everyone,

Welcome to Bookworm. Today is the first ever author interview and we are featuring the fabulous Jill Williamson! A quick introduction of Jill, she is the author of five books, the newest of which is The New Recruit, reviewed today as well. She has won two Christy Awards for her Blood of Kings Trilogy. Her books are By Darkness Hid,  To Darkness Fled,  From DarknessWon, and Replication: The Jason Experiment. She is here today to talk a little bit about her new book, The Mission League: The New Recruit.

BW: Hi, Jill. Great to have you here and thanks so much for the interview.

What inspired you to write this book?

 

JW: This is the first book I wrote. I was trying to write a story about teens going out into the world like missionaries, but since teen fiction books about missionaries weren't getting the attention of agents and editors, I tweaked the story and turned them into undercover agents. I was also trying to copy the format of Harry Potter. My goal was to get some teens away from their parents where they could receive some kind of training. At the time, I thought this was sneaky and brilliant, but it created so many problems! I've never written a book that way since. It’s not a good idea to copy what’s already successful—because the world already has that book. And human were created unique for a reason. There’s already one J. K. Rowling. And I need to be Jill Williamson. All that to say, even though I've rewritten The New Recruit from that first, horrible, draft, this book is not my strongest, but it’s still a whole lot of fun.
 

It is fun. I enjoyed it. And I like you as Jill Williamson so I'm glad you decided to be her.

BW: What was your favorite portion to write about/research?

 

JW: I had a lot of fun re-researching Moscow. The first time I did it, back in 2005, it was by asking a missionary questions over email. This time, the internet was a huge help! I was able to use Google maps to get on Arbat street and I even found the website for Cafe MooMoo and was able to copy and past the Cyrillic descriptions into Google Translate. I had a blast. Technology is amazing!

 

Oo, technology. That does sounds like a great way to do research. And Russia did seem believable in the book so your research was well done.

BW: Who is your favorite character (in this book) and why? Are any of them based off real people?

 

JW: Spencer is! I love him, even though he's a punk. He's just a little clueless about what's important in life. But he'll figure things out. And Lukas is another favorite character, but you won't meet him until book two. Lukas is Isabel's little brother. You guys just wait. *grin*

No one in the story is really based on a real person. Some of the things that happened to Spencer are based off my experiences of being a non Christian on a mission trip, though.

Wow, thanks for telling us that. Little brother, oh boy, I wonder how that will go and I want to meet this character now. :)

 

BW: I remember reading somewhere that this was the first book you ever wrote but not the first one to be published. How does it feel to finally see it in print?

 

JW: It's really fun. It's not so much because it was my first book that's exciting, it's my characters. I have known them longer than any of my characters, and I really like them! So I'm thrilled that their stories get to be told in book form. So very thrilled.

BW: Out of all the books you have written, what is your favorite and why?

 

JW: I don't know... It's terribly difficult to choose a favorite. As a mother, I could never choose a favorite child. I love them both. I will say that I was really proud of a book I wrote that was called Seagulls are Plain. It's a middle grade story about an Inupiat girl who leaves her Alaskan bush home to go to school in town. And everyone tries to change her so she fits in. But she doesn't want to change. I love that little book. But it's not speculative, so I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to put it out there. Maybe someday. *shrugs*

 

Sounds like an interesting story. Are you sure you can't pick a favorite child? ;) Just teasing you.

BW: What is the best thing about being a writer? Worst?

 

JW: I get to sit around all day and invent stories! It's a wonderful job. My favorite thing is brainstorming new ideas. I get so excited. The worst? My health. Sitting all day isn't good for the body. And I forget to get up and stretch. I'm trying. But it's hard to remember. But it's also kind of pathetic when I can't open a jar because my hands are sore from typing all day. :-/

I bet you also have a head full of wonderful stories.

 

BW: What can readers look forward too in the future of your writing?

 

JW: There will be three more Mission League books, one for each year Spencer is in high school. And I'm also working on a dystopian trilogy coming out from Zonderkidz in February 2013. The first book is called Captives, and it’s based on Daniel 1 when Jerusalem in conquered by Babylon and the young people are taken into the city. After that, back to fantasy! I've missed writing it. :-)

 

BW: Awesome. I personally can't wait to read the dystopia and the rest of The Mission League. Thanks so much for doing the interview and looking forward to all your future books. :)

 

And now, a giveaway!

Enter below to receive a copy of Jill's new book,

The New Recruit!

Please read the terms and conditions before entering. Also, please read the info on the "leave a comment" entry because it has a question for you to answer. Good luck and enjoy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway