Author to Author Blog Hop, Day 2

Today's featured author in the Author to Author Blog Hop is a fellow TWCS author of mine. I met her in Austin this fall at the book festival, but I had no idea she had such an interesting life story until I read her bio for this blog hop. Read all about Alexandra Allred below! 

Alexandra Powe Allred graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.A. in History, saying,"As everyone knows, once you get a degree in history, all you can really do is teach or write. I'm just doing what I can!" As the daughter of a (now retired) U.S. Diplomat, Allred traveled all over the United States and around the world. Her writing career began before graduation with several pieces on bi-lingual education with national education publications.

But the real stories began while living as a youth in Moscow, Russia. Under a communist regime, imagination and the ability to create stories was the very best way to beat boredom (and the freezing cold!). As her career was taking off, Allred embraced her second passion -- sports. She trained for and made the U.S. women's bobsled team in 1994, becoming the first U.S. National Champion. She was named Athlete of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee and garnered much worldwide attention as she was also 4 1/2 months pregnant at the time! Her training regimen was (and is) used by the United States and International Olympic Committees for pregnant athletes. Following her retirement from the sport in 1998, Allred returned to the literary world with The Quiet Storm.

While living in the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY, she was able to talk to Olympic and National athletes from all disciplines and share with sports enthusiasts. From there, her career was launched. She did adventure freelance writing for Sports Illustrated, Muscle & Fitness for Her, and Volvo magazines. She held a sports column, worked as an editor for NOW magazines outside Dallas, Texas and began working as a Clean Air advocate, often testifying before the EPA.

Today, she writes (mostly) fiction, teaches kinesiology classes for Navarro Community College while enjoying her family and animals in Texas.

Quote from Stephanie Maddin, Earthjustice, Washington, D.C.:

“Alex Allred is an unforgettable force for change on environmental protection and children’s health. When others throw up their hands or throw in the towel, Alex just digs in deeper. Her limitless energy, commitment, and demands for environmental justice for all people inspires the work of so many in the green movement."

Ten Questions

1. Who's your favorite author, and why?

It changes from book to book. Erik Larson is my new favorite. I love the research he does to weave an amazing story. But check with me next week and I'll bet it will be someone new!


2. If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in your most-recently released novel, which one would it be and why?

My characters crack me up. I have to remind myself from time to time that they are just characters because I'll tell my sister, "___ just said the funniest thing!" and she's say, "You do realize she's in your head, right?" Oh, yeah. My most recently released book, Damaged Goods, has some wonderful characters but because they are based on real people, I feel a pretty heavy connection to them. Joanna Lucas is the only true fictional character in the book. For this reason, it would be fun to sit and talk with her ... see where her life takes her without me steering things. Does she stay in Marcus? Does her life include Roberto?

3. Where do you get the ideas and inspiration for your characters personalities?

Life. I also write freelance for magazines and am often given a subject not of my own choosing. It can be difficult but it also forces you to write outside your comfort zone. For this reason, I've been able to see and learn things I would not normally experience. All of these opportunities ... like running like hell to get out of a pasture when a cross breed of a buffalo and cow is coming at you like a freight train (Who knew how fast they could run?!), stay with you, mold you and allow you to create story lines you might not otherwise know.


4. What is the best thing (in your opinion) about being a writer?

Besides being chased by angry beef-a-lo??? Everyday is new, every person is a potential character. You learn to appreciate everything. I do an annual letter in which I make fun of everything that went wrong during the year ... being a writer allows you to express yourself but it also allows you to vent and redirect! That's awesome.


5. How did you find your agent/publisher?

Amazing luck!! I was stuck in an airport after a public speaking gig, picked up Fifty Shades (why not?), read it and then my sister introduced me to the publisher. It's a crazy, crazy, small world!


6. What's the best piece of writing advice you've been given?

Write what you know!

7. Biggest mistake you've made as an author?

Oooooh. What a great question. I waited too long to get going. I was embarrassed to share my stuff or admit out loud that I wanted to be an author.


8. What would the lead character of your latest novel want for Christmas?

Ha. What a fun question! Joanna would want all the trimmings and lights to really showcase her new home that she worked so hard on.


2. Favorite Christmas music?

All the old classics ... no songs by current pop stars. No! No! No!

3. What was the best gift you ever received?

That's tough. I have some favorite kid memories ... today, however, my husband is a TERRIBLE gift giver so ... and, he's in charge of kids getting me things and he really shouldn't be.


Thank you, Alex!

You can find Alexandra Allred's Damaged Goods at TWCS or Amazon.

Alexandra Allred's Facebook page
Follow her on Twitter
Check out her website

The Author to Author Blog Hop is hosting a giveaway for a prize package of eBooks from our contributing authors. Enter below, and the winner will be notified by e-mail. You have a chance to enter every day on any of the participating author's blogs - so keep checking back. (Note: eBooks labeled 18+ will not be awarded to a winner under the age of 18.)

The Author to Author Blog Hop Giveaway Prize Package includes:

Legacy of a Dreamer by Allie Jean (16+)

Lessons Learned by Sydney Logan (16+)

Ghostwriter by Lissa Bryan (16+)

Behind Closed Doors by Sherri Hayes (16+)

Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever by L.V. Lewis (18+)

Riverbend by Andrea Goodson

Serial Summer by Angel Lawson (18+)

MORE by T.M. Franklin

Valerie, Daughter of the Dragon by Robert S. Fuller, Jr.

Ghosts of our Pasts by N.K. Smith

My Only by N.K. Smith

The Six by K. B. Hoyle

Damaged Goods by Alexandra Allred

CLICK HERE to enter PRIZE PACK GIVEAWAY

Author to Author Blog Hop Day 1

• Hi Everyone! I'm sorry I've been away for so long, but I've been busy writing. Is that a good excuse? I think so. At any rate, I'm participating in an author to author blog hop for the next couple weeks that will feature authors from all sorts of different genres on different days, and the first author is yours truly! So, please enjoy the following interview...
  
  
  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  1. Who's your favorite author, and why?

  This is a REALLY difficult question for me to answer! I love different authors for different reasons. If I can be perfectly honest, it would have to be a three-way tie between J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and J. K. Rowling. What these three have in common that keeps me going back to their books over and over again is depth of storytelling. They each cloak, under the guise of fantasy, incredibly complex and meaningful stories. The Lord of the Rings is like beautiful classical music. When you read it, you can feel the levels of craftsmanship that went into creating Middle Earth and the characters that populate it. The Chronicles of Narnia are so decpetively simple, and they introduced me to a love of fantasy literature as a very young child, but when I read them as an adult, I can now see the layers of meaning and symbolism that Lewis smuggled into the stories. And Harry Potter . . . oh, how I love Harry! I had an immediate, emotional connection with those stories that led me to dig deeper and study how they were written. Lo and behold I discovered classical and medieval literary methodology and symbolism that transcends anything one might expect to find in a modern children's commercial fantasy. I've sought to emulate the styles of all three authors in my own writing because there's a reason each of these three authors are some of the most widely-read in history. I want my books to connect with readers in the same ways.

  
  

  2. If you could have a conversation with one of the characters in your most-recently released novel, which one would it be and why?

  I would have a conversation with Tellius. Tellius has always been my favorite character from book 1, and it is in book 4 (the most recently released) that I finally let the readers in on a lot more of his personality. A lot happens to Tellius in book 4, and he kind of needs a hug, a cup of tea, and a good long talk. He's someone with a lot of depth to him, especially in book 4, and I would love to dig into his personal struggles with him a little more.

  
  

  3. Where do you get the ideas and inspiration for your characters personalities?

  Oh, I gather inspiration from all over. Because my current series is based loosely on experiences I had at camp as a child, many of the personalities from my camp friends found their way into The Gateway Chronicles. (I say "loosely" because obviously I never passed through a gateway to a new and magical world . . . or did I???) I also study my students for teenage mannerisms, and I mine the depths of my favorite books for inspiration on how the best authors have done it before me. There's a little of some of my favorite literary characters in some of the characters in my books.

  
  

  4. What is the best thing (in your opinion) about being a writer?

  I get to write stories I myself want to read! I've always had a ton of stories floating around in my head, begging to get out. I used to skip lunch at school to sit in study hall and write, but although I am really shy, I never wanted my stories to only be for me. As scary as it is, I've always known my stories were meant to be shared with others. It's just a bonus that I love them too, and that I get an outlet for my creative energy.

  
  

  5. How did you find your agent/publisher?

  That is a long story, so I'll cut it way down. It was kind of providential. I'm incredibly nervous about getting reviews (is any author NOT?), so I've always been shy about asking people to review my books. When I self-published my second novel, however, I just knew that I needed to do something more to get the word out about my books, so I psyched myself up and chose a random reviewer I had found on Twitter. She looked like someone who might like my books, and she accepted self-pub manuscripts, so I sent her an e-mail. She accepted the review and ended up loving my books (phew), and it just so happened that she worked for the marketting department of TWCS publishing house. She contacted me, inquiring whether or not I would ever consider traditional publishing, to which I replied, "Of course!" Basically it came together in bits and pieces after that, but it really was kind of crazy because she remains the only person, to this day, I have ever directly approached for a book review. (I'm still terrified of it and am SO thankful for the fabulous marketers at TWCS who help set all that up for me now!)

  
  

  6. What's the best piece of writing advice you've been given?

  There is no such thing as writer's block. If you are a professional author, writing is your job, so treat it as such.

  
  

  Because I am also a teacher, this made me think about how I don't necessarily feel like teaching every day, but because it is my JOB, I get up and go to work and do it regardless. In every job, you have good days and bad days. I wouldn't stay home when I don't feel like teaching simply because I have "teacher's block," so neither should I neglect writing when I have writer's block. I'd never thought of it that way before.

  
  

  7. Biggest mistake you've made as an author?

  I don't know if it's the biggest one, but it was one of the most embarassing mistakes I've made as an author. I have a friendly acquaintance who is a best selling author who volunteered to help me make a few connections when I was still self-published and seeking a traditional publishing house. He facilitated an introduction with his agent, who is one of the biggest agents in the industry, and all I had to do was take it from there and e-mail the agent, introducing myself. Well, I did, and I was so nervous about it that it took me something like four hours to write the e-mail. I wrote it, read it, re-read it, read it out loud to my husband, basically did everything I could to make it sound nice and professional. I'm usually an excellent speller, but I checked and double-checked all the spellings of any big words before I sent the e-mail, just to be safe. Well, my friend had asked me to keep him copied on the correspondence, so I did, and shortly after sending the e-mail, I got a response from him giving me a professional critique of my e-mail to the agent. I was very happy to receive this and thankful for the help, obviously, but I was also mortally embarassed, as my friend informed me (in a very friendly manner) that I had misspelled the word "referral" in the subject line of the e-mail. Maybe this doesn't seem like a big deal, but for how many hours I had put into it, and for the fact that the subject line was the first thing the agent would see, I just couldn't believe I had made such a ridiculous mistake. I still feel a little sick to my stomach today when I think about it! So, yeah... The agent was still kind enough to consider me, and we corresponded a bit more, but he did eventually pass on representing me. I'm sure it wasn't because of the spelling error, but it certainly couldn't have helped!

  
  

  Holiday-themed questions: 

  
  

  1. What would the lead character of your latest novel want for Christmas?

  Darcy Pennington, at the point I am at in the story (as I'm writing it... she's 17 right now, in the middle of book 5), would want nothing more than to be with the people she loves. That's a little hint (wink wink) to those of you eagerly awaiting book 5.

  
  

  2. Favorite Christmas music?

  My favorite Christmas music, hands down, is Handel's Messiah. I could listen to it all day every day this time of year. I think it's brilliant and beautiful, and it never ceases to bring tears to my eyes. Aside from that, I've always really loved the old sacred hymns. O Holy Night is probably my favorite of those.  

  
  

  3. What was the best gift you ever received?

  The best gift I've ever received? Hmmm... that's a tough one! It kind of depends on the situation. When I was 14 years old, my parents bought me and my siblings a dachshund puppy for Christmas. That was pretty awesome, and it's been on my mind this Christmas as they just had to put that dog down last week after 15 years. She's the last of my childhood pets to be put down, so it's been sad. On a happier note (and to tie it back to the first question), when I was sophomore in college, my roommates and I did a gift exchange. Kate, who had picked me to buy for, knew I was getting pretty "into" that Harry Potter series (this was a year after the release of book 4), so she bought me a box set of the first four. I still have it proudly displayed on my mantel, and like the velveteen rabbit, it shows many signs of much love!
  
  
  
  

  The Author to Author Blog Hop is hosting a giveaway for a prize package of eBooks from our contributing authors. Enter below, and the winner will be notified by e-mail. You have a chance to enter every day on any of the participating author's blogs - so keep checking back. (Note: eBooks labeled 18+ will not be awarded to a winner under the age of 18.)

  
  

  The Author to Author Blog Hop Giveaway Prize Package includes:

  
  

  Legacy of a Dreamer by Allie Jean (16+)

  Lessons Learned by Sydney Logan (16+)

  Ghostwriter by Lissa Bryan (16+)

  Behind Closed Doors by Sherri Hayes (16+)

  Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever by L.V. Lewis (18+)

  Riverbend by Andrea Goodson

  Serial Summer by Angel Lawson (18+)

  MORE by T.M. Franklin

  Valerie, Daughter of the Dragon by Robert S. Fuller, Jr.

  Ghosts of our Pasts by N.K. Smith

  My Only by N.K. Smith

  The Six by K. B. Hoyle

  Damaged Goods by Alexandra Allred

  
  
  CLICK HERE to enter PRIZE PACK GIVEAWAY

Scribbus Mac Doodle

Hello one and all! It's been a crazy, crazy autumn, and every time I feel as though I'm gathering myself together, something else falls apart (sometimes literally, as we had a washing machine die and a transmission go out on a car in just three weeks here). That being said, I'm inching my way through my fifth manuscript. Woo hoo! I'm sticking with my usual release schedule, so those of you who enjoy my books can look forward to the fifth book in The Gateway Chronicles, The Scroll in the fall of 2013. In other news, I attended the Austin Book Festival in Austin, Texas this past weekend and had a blast! I sold out of copies of book 1 by halfway through the first day and book 2 by halfway through the second day. It was great to get out and meet some new potential readers, as well as many of the people employed by my publishing house. My publisher is very positive about the future possibilities for my books, so we'll see how everything plays out! And finally, I have a new laptop now! It's a brand new Mac, and I have named him (yes, him) Scribbus Mac Doodle. Scribbus and I will go on many adventures together, first of which will be the completion of The Scroll. From there, the sky's the limit!

If you haven't purchased your copy of The Enchanted yet, you should do so now! Just click on the image at the left to be directed to my publisher's website, or contact me at kbhoyle@yahoo.com about getting a signed copy or signed bookplate to go in your copy.

Enchanted Prologue Excerpt

As a special treat, since we are now just two days from release day for The Enchanted, I wanted to share an excerpt from the prologue. I hope it gets you even more excited to read book 4!

Prologue
After They Found Him

The flashing lights of the ambulance, police cars, and fire department
vehicles danced before Darcy’s eyes in a kaleidoscope of colors, distracting
her from the questions she was supposed to be answering.
“What were you doing out in the woods alone?” It was the third—maybe
the fourth—time the officer had asked her.
“I wasn’t alone.” Although Darcy moved her lips, it felt as though some
other person answered for her. She was a disembodied spirit floating above
it all, watching. “I was with Sam.”
The medics had Colin strapped to a stretcher, an IV drip trailing out of his
arm, oxygen flowing in through his nostrils.
“What were you and your friend doing out in the woods alone?”
The ambulance doors closed. The siren wailed and gravel flew as the
boxy ambulance accelerated out of the parking lot. Darcy watched,
mesmerized, as a fire truck and two police cars followed the taillights.
“Miss!”
Darcy blinked. “Sorry.”
“What were you and your friend doing out in the woods alone?” he
repeated and tapped his pencil on his notepad as he shifted his weight from
one foot to the other.
“Hiking. It’s a camp. We like to hike here.” She glanced over at Sam,
who was being interrogated by a different, older officer. She was twisting
her fingers and looked close to tears.
“On the last morning of camp?” the officer asked. “On a trail that doesn’t
go anywhere?”
“Sir, Sam and I were just trying to get in one more hike before we had to
leave. We didn’t know the trail was a dead-end . . . or what we would find.”
Darcy looked down, hoping he wouldn’t detect her white lie. She couldn’t
tell him the truth. That she and Sam had been looking for evidence of a
magic gateway to a dark and horrific world. That she’d suspected the trail
as being where Colin disappeared. She would be strapped to a stretcher like
Colin, only she’d be headed for the loony bin to have her head examined.
The officer scribbled some notes on his pad of paper. “Tell me again
exactly what happened. You were hiking down the path, and then . . .” He
raised his eyebrows.
Darcy took a deep breath and spoke in a slow monotone. They’d already
told the whole thing to the paramedics and the fire department officials.
“Sam noticed a body lying on the trail, so we ran to it, and it was Colin—”
“And you recognized him because you’re friends with him?”
Darcy hesitated. “Not—not exactly . . . but we know him.”
The officer’s pencil scratched the paper. “Continue.”
“I checked to see if he was breathing, and I felt his pulse—”
“And he was breathing when you found him, correct?”
“Yes.” Darcy was annoyed. “I already told the paramedics. He didn’t stop
breathing until just before you arrived. The camp medic performed CPR.”
“Sergeant!” Another officer climbed out of a squad car and waved his
arms at a middle-aged policeman with a handlebar mustache. “We reached
the parents. We have them on the phone.”
“I’ll take it in the truck,” the sergeant said in a thick “Yooper” accent, as
it was called in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. “Let’s wrap this up,
boys!” He waved his hand in a rolling motion and climbed into a massive
police SUV as the other officer handed him the cell phone.

Awesome Student Review

In honor of The Enchanted coming out in less than a week, I thought I'd publish a review of the first three books that was sent to me by a new student of mine. For those of you who still haven't read my books, perhaps this will encourage you to check them out! ;o) Anyhow, this student was incredibly gracious and sweet in her review of my books, and she gave me permission to publish her e-mail (with spoilers edited out) on my blog. Enjoy!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME??????? AAHHHHHH!

I'm having an experience you may be tired of hearing about...but I just finished The White Thread and I don't think I can stand to wait for The Enchanted to come out!!!

When I first picked up The Six, I was not sure I would not enjoy it, due to all the parallels to The Chronicles of Narnia. But I soon fell in love with the Gateway Chronicles because our writing styles are so similar and I just loved the Six themselves. Darcy, of course, is so much like me. Her attitudes towards family time and extroverted Sam are almost parallel to mine under similar circumstances. Sam, on the other hand, annoyed me, but after she stuck up for Darcy like she did, I liked her a whole lot. Amelia...well, she was kind of snobbish. But she really is great, because she cares about Sam, and keeps Darcy level-headed. As for the boys, I just swoon every time I read about Perry. He's always doing something cute. But he just really needs something to deepen his character. And Lewis is just awesome. Especially in The White Thread. He's so sweet and a definite gentleman. Well, as for Dean...frankly, I'd like to get to know him better. Right now he's just kind of standoffish and unkind. I'd like to see him be better friends with Darcy.

And another character I just have grown to love is Tellius. *sigh* I love those characters with deep, emotional scars no one can see. In The Six, I didn't think much about Tellius, until the end, when I thought it was cute that he went to Darcy's bedside in the infirmary. In The Oracle I liked him more, and he did cute things again like awkwardly saying he was glad Darcy was safe. But in The White Thread, oh my goodness. Darcy can't deny it. He's so right for her. Tellius rocks. I love him. Team Tellius all the way!

So, I began The Six when we visited Alabama the first time and you presented me with it. I read it steadily in the days to follow, but, due to school and moving and stress in general, I unfortunately did not finish it until the second time we came to Alabama. Then I began The Oracle, but restarted it and finished it just this week. It was so good. Yahto Veli is another great character that I just love, because he cares so much about Darcy, but I think the fact that it was Yahto who came around in the end is what really got to me. And yeah, I started The White Thread yesterday and finished possibly half an hour ago. SO GOOD!!!! I cried again. 

And poor Colin! As creepy as he is, I genuinely feel bad for him, and I hope he's okay.

I feel as though I don't have a right to love the books so much, considering I just got here, I barely know you, and the books have been around a couple years. But I hope you consider me a fan, and I hope we'll be able to chat more in the future, as I love to write and have loved to since I can remember. I think you are amazing in the feat you have accomplished! Writing is hard work!!! Thank you for your amazing novels. ;)

Your new student and ENORMOUS fan.

Blog Tour Info!

It's that time again! Blog Tour! Book 4 of The Gateway Chronicles, The Enchanted is set to be released on Thursday, and in the week leading up to it, we have several blog stops set up for you. I hope you visit and enjoy!

10/13- sherrygomes.com

10/14-Kid Who Reads

10/15- msbookqueen.com

10/16- paperbookprincess.blogspot.com/

10/17- Girl-Who-Reads.com

10/18- oakenbookcase.com

10/19- jacitamati.blogspot.com/

Book 4 Back Cover!

Oh BOY how the time flies! Book 4 has been available for pre-order for some time now, and I hadn't even gotten around to posting about it. In my defense, my three-year-old was quite sick two weeks ago, then I was sick last week, and now my husband is sick (all of us with different illnesses, which is odd), so I've been a tad distracted. At long last, however, I am announcing that, YES, you can now pre-order The Enchanted. Just click on the cover image in the sidebar to go to my publisher's website and pre-order a paperback. Or, if you prefer, you can also pre-order on itunes by following the link at the end of this post. And as a little treat, here is the back cover excerpt:


Enchantments are powerful—the most powerful magic we have,” Rubidius said. “They can change the nature and composition of animate and inanimate things alike, and they can foil the plans of the most determined foes.”

“What do enchantments have to do with me?” Darcy whispered.

“Everything.”

Darcy Pennington’s course was plotted out for her long before she ever stepped foot in Alitheia, but Colin Mackaby seems determined to hamper and confuse the way as much as he can. Darcy begins to suspect that it is not Colin working against her, but a malevolent force working through him—a force seeking to hasten Darcy’s transformation into one of the very creatures she is supposed to fight. Darcy is finally willing to follow the prophesied path, even agreeing to her much-resisted marriage to Tellius, but soon after she returns to Alitheia, everything spirals out of her control. A painful rejection almost pushes her over the edge, and when she demands answers from Rubidius, he provides her only with more painful secrets she must keep from the others. In the meantime, Darcy and her friends finally set out to confront one of Tselloch’s gateways, fulfilling—so they think—the great prophecy of the Six. But when faced with practicing their magic against Tselloch’s evil power, nothing turns out as expected.

Enchantments protect them as sorcery attacks them, and Colin Mackaby dogs their every step along the way. In the minds of the Alitheians, if Darcy cannot repair the breach that has formed between herself and Tellius, nothing will turn out as it was foretold. Darcy wonders, in the end, if there is any hope at all for her, or for Alitheia.

 http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-enchanted/id561164270?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4