Showing posts with label writing contest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing contest. Show all posts

Monday, June 6, 2016

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!


Monday, June 1, 2015

Writing Contest and Cover Reveal: Bonus GIVEAWAY

Hey Bookworms,

Here is an exciting opportunity for those who are interested in writing and get published. Today, I'm helping out Ann Elizabeth Stengl with announcing the new writing contest and cover reveal of Rooglewood Press's third fairy tale anthology.

If you are not familiar with their previous two, Five Glass Slippers, released in 2014, and Five Enchanted Roses, releasing this month, read up now.




















Five retellings of classic fairy tales. And now I will share the information for the newest contest to be part of the next fairy tale retelling collection!

___________________________________________
 
 
Rooglewood Press is delighted to introduce their third fairy tale novella contest—
Five Magic Spindles
 
 
a collection of “Sleeping Beauty” stories
The challenge is to write a retelling of the beloved fairy tale in any genre or setting you like. Make certain your story is recognizably “Sleeping Beauty,” but have fun with it as well. Make it yours!
Rooglewood Press will be selecting five winners to be published in the Five Magic Spindles collection, which will be packaged up with the phenomenal cover you see here. Maybe your name will be one of the five listed?
All the contest rules and information (how to enter, story details, deadline etc.) may be found on the Rooglewood Press website. Just click HERE and you will go right to the page.
Rooglewood Press’s first collection, Five Glass Slippers is available for purchase, and our second collection, Five Enchanted Roses is scheduled to launch on July 27, and is currently available for pre-order. Be certain to get a copy of each and see what previous winners did with their wonderful retellings.
_______________________________________
 
Ann Elizabeth Stengl would also like to thank Julia Popova or “ForestGirl" for her work on the cover. I have to agree, it is beautiful. I hope she keeps making covers.
 
This is something I am planning on working on because I love fairy tale retellings and this seems like a cool project. Hope some of you also write and submit your work. Write a good story so others can chew on it, readers!
 
Of course, it is best to read previous work published by the group you are submitting too so I am offering a giveaway to get you studying. You can either win Five Glass Slippers or the soon to be released Five Enchanted Roses. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter.
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway