PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT - THE ROCKIN' CHAIR BY STEVEN ANCHESTER

ISBN: 978-1611880670
ASIN: B00CNVPHIE
Publisher: Story Plant
Pages/File Size: 272pages/548KB
Formats Available: Paperback, E-Book

BLURB from the Author, Steven Manchester
Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days – or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone.

Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy – Grandpa John – calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future.

A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad, THE ROCKIN' CHAIR is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and emotionally engaging novel to date. If family matters to you, it is a story you must read.

Paperback & Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Rockin-Chair-Steven-Manchester/dp/161188067X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366203850&sr=1-1&keywords=the+rockin%27+chair+manchester 
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rockin-chair-steven-manchester/1115092542?ean=9781611880670 

GUEST POST - WHY I CHOSE DYSTOPIAN BY SAMANTHA DURANTE

Why I Chose Dystopian 

by Samantha Durante, 

author of Stitch

There are literally HUNDREDS of book genres to choose from, but when I started coming up with ideas for Stitch, there were only two that I knew right away Stitch might fall into: paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi.  (And in fact, I wasn’t able to choose just one, so it’s actually a little bit of both!)

Dystopian stories have been incredibly popular lately, particularly in the young adult market (see: Hunger Games, Divergent, Delirium, etc.).  And though I didn’t realize it until I discovered all these new dystopian series recently, I’ve always been drawn to dystopian settings – The Giver, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 were some of my favorite books as a kid.   So this begs the question of what exactly it is about dystopian books that’s got me and all these other readers so excited.

After giving it some thought, I think it comes down to a few factors: uncertainty, morality, and hope.

1. Uncertainty.  We’ve all seen the news reports the past couple years – between the economy, the environment, and the unending global violence, it’s pretty obvious: our world is on a downward spiral.  At least, it certainly feels like that sometimes.  And when you look into the future and it’s all of a sudden unclear where things are going, it gets you thinking: what if things actually got worse?  Like, much worse?  What would it be like?  Am I prepared?  Could I survive?

2. Morality.  So the media has got us down on ourselves and wondering if our civilization can even make it, and as soon as you open that can of worms, all kind of difficult questions present themselves.  What would I do to survive?  With limited resources, how do you decide who gets to survive?  Who makes that decision?  What happens if I don’t like the answers to these questions?  How could I do things differently?  But am I any more qualified to come up with answers than the next guy?  We all know what’s right and wrong in the normal day-to-day but what happens when the world gets turned on its head?  Do the rules change?

3. Hope.  And I think this is really the crux of the whole dystopian genre – when the world ends, and everything is terrible, and you’re forced to do things you don’t even want to think about just to keep on living, what do you have left?  Hope.  Only hope. 

I think this is a fundamental feature of human beings – that inner optimism, the ability to remind ourselves that there’s something out there worth living for even when our world crumbles beyond our wildest nightmares.  So we start thinking about how we can solve the problem – how would I structure our society to make something better?  What could I change that would create a better outcome?  After all, every dystopia is just a failed utopia – someone’s unsuccessful attempt at making the world a better place.  So dystopian books force us to ask ourselves what we would have done differently, and thereby tap into that inner well of hopefulness, that unbreakable conviction that somewhere there is a right answer, even if we haven’t figured it out yet.

For me, dystopian books are all about the “What If,” and that’s a game I love to play.  So with the Stitch Trilogy, we’ll get to play “What If” through the protagonist, Alessa’s, eyes – to see how she answers these questions, how far she’s willing to go, and what factors will push her to bend her own rules.  And as we watch Alessa struggle to find her place in a transitioning society, we get to ask ourselves: what would I do?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

WHERE CAN YOU FOLLOW THIS AUTHOR?

Lots of places!  There’s my website (www.samanthadurante.com) where I keep a blog and post other big updates about my book writing (you can sign up on the Contact page to get an email when I have a release date for Book 2).  I’m also on Goodreads and Facebook (both as an author and on the Stitch fan page).  And of course I’m on Amazon and Smashwords.  I LOVE to hear from readers, so please keep in touch!

GUEST POST - WHY I ENDED THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT BY LISSA BRYAN

Why I Ended the World As We Know It

By Lissa Bryan
author, The End Of All Things

I’m a romance writer, primarily, but I also like for my stories to have themes of hope, redemption, and discovering inner strength. I wanted to write a story in which my characters have survived the absolute worst that can happen, but are able to find strengths within themselves to cope. This is a story about the end of the world as we know it, but it’s also a story about the power of hope and love.

The trend lately has been for dystopian novels to have kick-butt heroines with advanced combat skills, who are prepared for anything. But I wanted to explore what it might be like for an ordinary young woman to experience a situation in which the life she’s known has been ripped away from her.  Very few twenty-two year olds would be prepared for that, or have the skills needed to survive in a world without modern technology.

When we meet Carly Daniels, she’s in deep shock and denial, having lost her parents and watched the world crumble to dust around her.  She ekes out a meager existence, scavenging, hoping for everything to go back to normal soon.  To adapt to this brutal new world, she’s going to have to find strengths within her she never knew she had.

Justin Thatcher is more prepared for this situation. As ex-Special Forces, he’s seen what happens when society breaks down during war or famine. He has survival skills and combat training, but under that tough, cynical exterior, he’s hiding a heart of gold. Justin finds Carly and gently coaxes her out of her hiding place, prodding at the wall of denial she’s built around herself until it crumbles. He convinces her to travel with him to a warmer climate where their chances for survival are better.

They travel across a nation laid to waste by disaster, but along with the struggle for survival, they encounter ethical questions that make Carly question every value she has. But she has a persistent hope that the world they’re rebuilding can be even better than the one that’s gone. It’s that stubborn optimism which gives her courage, and the cynical Justin begins to see how precious hope can be.

This was a fun novel to write, but it was also challenging. I had to determine the best mode of transportation, because the gasoline would be going bad and the roads are perilous. I had to research everything from wind-powered cell towers in France, to home canning methods, and vaccines. I can be a little pedantic about it, I admit. If I’m writing a scene where the characters are traveling, I want to know if they’re going uphill or downhill, and what they’d see along the road. Fortunately, the internet was a big help with this. I utilized a lot of vacation photos and Google Earth shots.

But, more importantly for me as a writer, I got to explore those fascinating themes of the strength of the human spirit, and write a love story of two very different people who come together during the worst of circumstances. The sequel is being written, and I hope you’ll enjoy seeing the new world Carly and Justin are trying to build with their fellow survivors.

About the Author:

Lissa Bryan is an astronaut, renowned Kabuki actress, Olympic pole vault gold medalist, Iron Chef champion, and scientist who recently discovered the cure for athlete's foot ... though only in her head. Real life isn't so interesting, which is why she spends most of her time writing.

Her first novel, Ghostwriter, is available through The Writer's Coffee Shop, Amazon, iTunes, and Kobo. Her second novel, The End of All Things, was released on January 24, 2013, and is available through TWCS, Amazon, and iTunes. She also has a short story in the Romantic Interludes anthology, available from TWCS, Amazon and iTunes. Her third novel, Under These Restless Skies, is scheduled for release in spring of 2014.

Contact Links:

http://lissabryan.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LissaBryan.Author
http://www.facebook.com/lissa.bryan
https://twitter.com/LissaBryan
http://www.youtube.com/user/LissaBryan
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5442345.Lissa_Bryan
http://lissabryan.tumblr.com/
http://pinterest.com/lissabryan/

GUEST POST - THE FUTURE AIN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE BY PETER BOLAND

I also asked the Author of the Spiral Arm, Peter Boland

 why he writes the genre he does. 

Here's what he had to say.

The future ain’t what it used to be.

by

Peter Boland

Phew, it’s hard work writing about the future. Much harder than writing about the past or the present. Writing’s difficult enough at the best of times but when you have to invent a believable futuristic world, that’s quite a big ask. I’m jealous of historical and contemporary novelists. Okay, I’m sure they have to do a ton of research, but I bet they don’t spend days thinking up futuristic gizmos. And it’s getting harder. You can’t just stick in flying cars and jetpacks. People want to see something new.

Today, some cybernetics are already starting to creep into society. So for the Spiral Arm it wasn’t a massive leap to think that in the future, the internet would be implanted in our hands in the form of a ‘com chip’. The chip would also project a holographic screen above our wrists so we could browse the net and message people - the ultimate in computer portability. I wish we had them now, it’d be a lot easier than fiddling around with a smart phone.

Language, like technology, evolves. So you need to come up with new futuristic phrases.  You can’t really use ones we use today, otherwise it destroys the illusion of being in the future. On the other hand, inventing new language can be difficult to pull off, as it can sound unfamiliar and just plain odd. For the Spiral Arm I compromised. Awesome is something everyone says these days, so what would they say in years to come? Beyond awesome of course! 

WHY I WRITE DYSTOPIAN BY KATIE FRENCH

WHY I WRITE DYSTOPIAN

by 

Katie French

A few days ago, as I was watching the critically acclaimed show,The Walking Dead, I had a thought. Just as Andrea was about to stab a screwdriver into a zombie's eye socket, I wondered what exactly was wrong with me. Just an hour before I was listening toJustin Cronin's The Twelve, an equally brutal look at possible human annihilation by vampires. Prior to that I was on the treadmill reading Fuse, Julianna Baggot's masterpiece about survivors of an atomic blast that left them fused to the objects, animals or people they were touching when it detonated. Looking back on my day, I realized there might be something really psychologically wrong with me. Why would I spend copious amounts of time amerced in human destruction? Why would I be draw to stories that start with the basis that everything we love and value has been destroyed? Conclusion: I need a good therapist. 

Yet, I am not alone. I know that if you have picked up The Breeders and liked it, you might be a little sick in the head like me. The third season finale of The Walking Dead pulled in a whopping 12.8 million viewers. Hunger Games books were on the New York Times Best Seller list for over 100 consecutive weeks. That's a lot of us crazies walking around out there. So, humanity is fascinated with its own demise. But why? Folks, I have a theory.

In general many of us read for entertainment and escape, but those of us who read dystopian also read for a third purpose, to prepare. Do we all think we'll die soon by a North Korean missile and build bomb shelters in our basements? No. But, many of us might wonder, late at night, how we would act if society suddenly came to a halt. Would we be those that took up arms, marched to the aid of others and rallied those left to a new America? Or would we be zombie food? We read to ponder the multitude of ways it could go down. We read to quantify those qualities it takes to overcome. And when and if that bomb drops, we'll be the first to roll out our super secret Zombie survival plan. (Mine includes a visit to my local Outdoor World.)

There's one more reason I believe people read dystopian. There's something so magical about basic human survival. When all this commercial garbage is stripped bare, the human soul and its capacity to overcome is astounding. We know that about our race, that we never go down without a fight. There's a scene in episode two of season two of The Walking Dead where Hershel, the veterinarian turned surgeon, is speaking to Rick. Rick is destraught, wondering what's the point? Why go on in such a broken world? Hershel turns to him and says (I'm paraphrasing here, so don't get mad at me Walking Dead fans). "This is just a bump in the road. It's just nature's way of resetting itself. That's the beauty of humanity, we always overcome." Well said Hershel. 

So, my lovely dystopian readers, if you need some recommendations here are some of my recent favorites. Happy reading. 

Fuse and Pure by Julianna Baggot
Wool by Hugh Howey
A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Scourge by A.G. Henley
Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The World of Shell and Bone by Adriana Ryan

AUTHOR INTERVIEW - JOANNA MAZURKIEWICZ

What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?

My name is Joanna, I was born in Przemysl, Poland. I moved to the UK when I was 19. I currently live in Cardiff, Wales.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

I have written for as long as I can remember, but it was two years ago that I made a decision that I wanted to be a full time writer.

Did it take a long time to get your first book published?

I self published my first book, so I did it as soon as it was ready.

Do you work another job as well as your writing work?

Unfortunately yes, I work as an employment advisor

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

It took me nearly 3 years to finish my first book. Right now, between 1-4 months.

What can we expect from you in the future?  ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

I have got a lot of ideas. I am going to write a lot more fantasy and probably a few more contemporary romances.

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?

Yes, I am currently working on contemporary romance novel and it’s a stand alone book.

Do you have a favourite out of the books you have written? If so why is it your favourite?

£6.19 per Witching Hour is my favourite because I enjoyed writing it so much.

Where do you get your book plot ideas from? What/Who is your inspiration?

Dreams, other books and films. Ideas are coming to me all the time.

Do you have anybody read your books and give you reviews before you officially release them?ie. Your partner, children, friends, reviewers you know?

My friends and beta readers. I try to get ARC to as many people as I can.

Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?

Yes

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

I try to, but I know that I shouldn’t.

How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books?

I always design my own covers. I buy a lot stock pictures which I really like and then I add what I need in the end.

Do you basic plot/plan for your book, before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?

Sometimes I plan the story, so I know what I have to write in the next few chapters and sometimes the writing just flows.

Which format of book do you prefer, ebook,hardback, or paperback?

Since I discovered kindle I do prefer ebooks.

What is your favourite book and Why?  Have you read it more than once?

Harry Potter series, I can read this over and over again. I love the world that JK Rowling created. It’s so unique.

Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?

No, I think there still will be people that would enjoy printed books.

Did you read a lot at school and write lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in your life?

I have always been an avid reader and I wrote a lot of stories when I was in school. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Do you have a favourite genre of book?

Paranormal Romance

Where can readers follow you?

http://joannamazurkiewiczco.ipage.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joanna-Mazurkiewicz/256859647665050

https://twitter.com/joannamaz

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543523.Joanna_Mazurkiewicz

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - JOANNA MAZURKIEWICZ

About the Author:

Joanna Mazurkiewicz was born in Poland. She moved to United Kingdom when she was only nineteen and just finished high school. She had aspired to be a writer upon completion of the Harry Potter series but also enjoyed reading books like ‘Gone with the Wind’, ’Animal Farm’ and ‘The Doll’. She graduated from Swansea University with a bachelor degree in American Studies. While studying in the UK she made a decision to start writing fiction in English.

The “Whispers of the Sprite” is her first debut novel and she is currently working on the other projects. Joanna lives in Cowbridge, a small town in South Wales near Cardiff with her boyfriend Bruce. She enjoys cycling around Welsh countryside some of which has become the settings in her first series.

@joannamaz

https://www.facebook.com/thewhispersofthesprite

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543523.Joanna_Mazurkiewicz

http://joannamazurkiewiczco.ipage.com