Interview & Giveaway: M. Beth Bloom

Happy Halloween! 

I hope you are all reading something appropriately chilling.  

    Bloom's first short story “Love And Other Catastrophes: A Mix Tape” was featured in Story Quarterly and selected by Dave Eggers for inclusion in The Best American Nonrequired Reading: 2003 (Houghton-Mifflin), which he curates annually. Bloom is the founder of underground dance label 100% Silk (profiled here in LA Weekly) AND the producer/lead singer of the band LA Vampires (written up in The Guardian as well as Pitchfork and Fader). Her next book will be published through HarperTeen.

    M. Beth lives on the east side of L.A. where she indulges in raw fooding, magazine subscribing, thrift shopping, Sunday matinee'ing, and ladies book clubbing.

Favorite reads?
   The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Girl by Blake Nelson, Anagrams by Lorrie Moore, Sense Of An Ending by Julian Barnes, Karoo by Steve Tesich, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.

Inspirations for the book?
   Great ‘80s and ‘90s campy vampire flicks like Lost Boys, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Near Dark, and Interview With The Vampire, as well as ‘90s feminist icons like Daria, Clarissa Darling, Kennedy from MTV, Six from Blossom, and Ms. Musso from Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.

Did you know you wanted to be an author when you were little?
   Yes!

Chocolate or Peanut Butter?
   Cacao and Almond Butter

The weirdest thing you've ever done?
   Open up for Sonic Youth on their Don’t Look Back tour. Trés Weird.

Is there a soundtrack to the book/Favorite music?
   ’94 awesomeness – Ice Cube, Nas, Tribe Called Quest, Hole, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Notorious B.I.G., Sonic Youth, En Vogue, Digable Planets, Bjork, Crystal Waters, Smashing Pumpkins.

Do you need anything to write?
   Kale chips, Kombucha, silk kimono, space heater, and silence.

How long do you write on any average day?
   On a good day as long as five hours. On a bad day I’m lucky if I write my name on a store receipt.

Give us the number one reason to read your book.
   It’s not at all what you’re expecting…

Author Info:
Twitter: @QuinlanLacey
Facebook: Facebook.com/MBethBloom AND Facebook.com/DrainYouByMBethBloom

Summer. The 90s. The rich, sun-bleached neighborhoods of the Los Angeles canyons. Enter Quinlan Lacey, a cool, bored, sarcastic, sexy 17-year old with a dull part-time video store job and a mild case of teen ennui. That is, until she meets the alluring, River Phoenix-esque James, and realizes the hills are alive with the undead. Inspired more by the early, dry L.A. short stories of Bret Easton Ellis than the current crop of serialized vampire fiction, the supernatural grunge romance, Drain You, narrates the headaches and heartbreaks Quinn undergoes in her quest to stay sane and cool and in love and alive.

   Check out Publisher's Weekly review -"Bloom debuts with a languid, stylish novel that reads like a love letter to cult vampire flicks like The Lost Boys, the work of Francesca Lia Block, and Southern California in the 1990s." 

Or you can check out Amazon and Barnes & Noble for more info!

*Giveaway*

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Interview & Giveaway: Julie Grasso

   With a background in paediatric nursing, Julie Anne Grasso spent many years literally wrapping children in cotton wool. Every day she witnessed great courage and resilience from the tiny people she cared for, which inspired her to write stories about a little girl elf just like them. She lives in Melbourne Australia with her husband Danny and their little elf Giselle

Favorite reads?
   Anne McCaffrey, Douglas Adams, Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwall and JK Rowling of course.

Inspirations for the book?
   Take a nerdy science fiction addiction + love of all things Caramel = a book about telepathic elves who are obsessed with chocolate cake with caramel sauce, that swing through rainforests on vines, have special healing powers, as well as doing battle with evil clones that aim to take over the universe.

Did you know you wanted to be an author when you were little?
   Not when I was little. I got my inspiration after I became a pediatric nurse.

Any Pet Peeves?
   I hate pairing socks, I flatly refuse to do it. 

Chocolate or Peanut Butter?
   Peanut butter, chocolate gives me a migraine. 

The weirdest thing you've ever done?
   I once burnt down my grandmothers kitchen, quite accidental.

Is there a soundtrack to the book/Favorite music?
   At the moment its Twilight soundtrack, my toddler grooves along as well. 

Do you need anything to write?
   Chai Latte stat.

How long do you write on any average day?
   1-2 hours, depending on the toddler tantrums.

Give us the number one reason to read your book.
   Who wouldn't want to read about telepathic elves and evil clones that have a penchant for rhymes. 

Author Info:
Twitter: @jujuberry37 
Website: www.julieannegrassobooks.com. 
Amazon 
Goodreads

Caramel Cinnamon thought the worst day of her life was the day her grandparents, the King and Queen of the Elves of Cardamom went missing. She was wrong! The day she spills sticky toffee syrup onto her father's computer, that's when her worst nightmare begins. She finds herself marooned on a forbidden planet, sent there by an evil clone with a very sticky secret. Caramel is desperate to escape. If she doesn't she will lose her dreams of returning to Cardamom to become a healer like her Mum. Luckily, she has a secret of her own and the lives of her family and friends depend on it!

*Giveaway*

(Ends 11/14)

3 Paperback OR ebook copies up for grabs

Paperback only option for US/Can

Mandatory:

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Extra:

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Cover Reveal: Dark Nebula

Nothing is as it seems anymore.

Leery from the horrifying incident at the end of her first year at Guilder Boarding School, Rae Kerrigan is determined to learn more about her new tattoo. looks Her expectations are high, an easy senior year and a happy reunion with Devon— the boy she’s not supposed to date. All hopes of happiness fade into shattered dreams the moment she steps back on campus.

Lies and secrets are everywhere, and a betrayal cuts Rae deeply. Among her conflicts and enemies, it appears as if her father is reaching out from beyond the grave to ruin her life. With no one to trust, Rae doesn’t know where or who to turn to for help.

Has her destiny been written? Or will she becomes the one thing she hates the most-- her father’s prodigy.

         Dark Nebula is the much-awaited sequel to Rae of Hope by W. J. May. 

GUYS! This book will be FREE on Oct. 15 on Amazon!

* Skips happily around the room hugging herself*

Free Book

Interview & Giveaway: Ilana Waters

   Ilana Waters is a freelance writer who lives in New Jersey. When not creating content for websites, she can be found working on novels and short stories—as well as nibbling string cheese. She once pet-sat an electric eel, and enjoys walking in circles around the park for no particular reason.
   Her first book—The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt: Book I of Hartlandia—is a middle-grade fantasy. It is available at Amazon, Barnesandnoble, Apple, Kobo, and Smashwords. Ilana is currently writing Book II of the Hartlandia trilogy, due out in 2013.

Favorite reads?
   YA and MG fantasy, mostly. Right now I’m working my way through the cannons of Philip Pullman and Roald Dahl.

Inspirations for the book?
   The usual: I dreamed it. Seriously, isn’t there another way we authors can come up with book ideas nowadays? :-D

Did you know you wanted to be an author when you were little?
   Definitely—since I was at least six. Then I tried to be someone else for twenty-five years. Thank
goodness that failed—now I can get back to being a writer!

Any Pet Peeves?
   People who complain constantly about their pet peeves. ;-)

Chocolate or Peanut Butter?
   Forcing me to make such a decision would be just plain cruel.

The weirdest thing you've ever done?
   Um, can I plead the Fifth on that one?

Is there a soundtrack to the book/Favorite music?
   I listen to what I call “weird New Age music” when I write. It’s enough to fill the silence, but not enough to distract me. Since my novel (The Adventures of Stanley Delacourt: Book I of Hartlandia) contains fairies, there was some fairy music going on as well. Pagan, folk, and medieval tunes, etc. Fairies just love that stuff.

Do you need anything to write?
   A work ethic. But since I sort of lack that, peace and quiet will do.

How long do you write on any average day?
   Oh dear—not nearly as long as I procrastinate!

Give us the number one reason to read your book.
   Well, the water bill is coming due, and I really need to pay that sucker . . . kidding! Because I think it’s a fun and exciting mix-up of periods, themes, characters, and adventures that readers have never seen before!

Author Info:
I can be cyber-stalked at these fine locations:
IlanaWaters.com
Goodreads
Amazon
Amazon.com/uk
Barnesandnoble
Apple
Kobo
Smashwords
Twitter

         Ten-year-old Stanley Delacourt loves his quiet life in the peaceful village of Meadowwood. At least, he does until his best friend is killed. Then the town library—where Stanley lives and works—is burned to the ground. The individuals responsible for both tragedies are a nasty group of soldiers. They work for the kingdom’s new leader: Christopher Siren.
          No one understands the rules Siren’s creating. They don’t know why breaking them means death, or why the leader is so keen to destroy books. And no one can figure out where the former queen and king disappeared to—or if they’ll ever return.
          With the grown-ups too fearful to take action, Stanley vows to confront Siren. He plans to get answers and demand justice. Little does he know that his journey will involve sword-wielding knights, kidnapper fairies, and dark magic.
         Stanley has only two allies back home. One is an intimidated witch named Meredith. The other is a young apothecary called Sophie—who may have enchantment problems of her own. Can they help him discover the reason behind Siren’s crimes and end this terrible reign? Or is Stanley set to become
the next victim in the tyrant’s evil plot?
         If you enjoy the fantasy works of Rick Riordan, Lemony Snicket, or Philip Pullman, then explore the world of Stanley Delacourt today!

*Giveaway*

(Ends 10/30)

5 Ebook Copies

Mandatory-

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Extra-

   Fan Ilana Waters on Goodreads (+1)

   Follow Ilana Waters on Twitter (+1)
   Share the giveaway (+1 for every method)