I could listen to this guy sing all day long!

James Arthur, The Power of Love. Fell in love when he sang this!

End of the 21 ebook giveaway. CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS!

And the 21 ebook giveaway has ended.

Thank you to all those who have entered. The winners have now been selected by RaffleCopter. Congratulations to Angel Vasquez and Jodi Shaw. I have your email addresses from RaffleCopter. Your books should start arriving tomorrow.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

HUGE Christmas Giveaway!! 21 ebooks up for grabs!! YES 21!

Hey everyone!

Well, since it's Christmas, a time for sharing... and gifts! I decided to host a HUGE giveaway. We have some wonderful authors who have donated two e-copies of each of their novels for TWO lucky winners. You can gain extra entries by following pages and blogs. You can also earn extra entries every day by simply tweeting and sharing the giveaway on FB. All books are listed under the Rafflecopter.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!
Giveaway ends in two weeks!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Books up for grabs!

Please welcome author B C Brown.

Today author B C Brown has stopped by to answer some questions for us and to tell us a little more about her work. I'd just like to say thank you for taking the time to answer them.

Let's begin.

Tell us a little about yourself. 
A weirdo by nature, I could only turn to becoming a writer. Well, that or a circus freak. But writer has slightly more prestige, don’t you think? ;)
I turned to books in my formative years. I suppose the story is like just about any other prolific reader or writer out there. The youngest of three girls, my mom raised us by herself. Despite having siblings, I grew up fairly isolated. My youngest older sister was ten years my senior and my mother worked upwards of three jobs at a time. Books became my companions. They brought me action and adventure, exploration and discovery, even destitution or wealth.

Have you always wanted to write?
I don’t know that I ever made a conscious decision to write. I only remember one day handing my mother a story and asking her to read it. I know I was very young. My mom tells people she has stories from me as young as five or six. I do know I penned my first (and I use the term loosely since it was only thirty pages long) novel at the age of 8. It was called Bite Me.

Tell us more about your books? 
Wow. That is a little difcult. I have two paranormal mystery novels entitled A Touch of Darkness and A Touch of Madness. They center around a woman who uses her extraordinary ability of tactile clairvoyance to assist the police department. She is also rebuilding her life since being released from a mental institution.
I also have two short story anthologies I’m included in. The first is called Fracas: A Collection of Short Friction. It hosts myself and several other terrific authors and focuses on general fiction stories that account for a slightly darker side of life.

The second anthology I’m included in and, consequently, was just released in August is Quixotic: Not Everyday Love Stories. It is also general fiction with a darker edge, dealing with love and relationships that are more realistic and set in the real world. While there are a couple happily-ever-after situations in the book, the overarching premise of  the novel is to focus on how love -that is the love we’ve all come to expect thanks to movies and books- may not be the most realistic or achievable.

Finally, I have an out-of-print fantasy novel that was published under a nom de plume several years ago. While it is not available at this time for purchase, I am working on getting it ready for a grand re-release in the near future. So keep your eye out!

Where do you get your inspiration?
I suppose, like a lot of writers, I take a good deal of it from the real world. I make mental lists of things I see, people I meet, and scribble them down at soon as I have a moment. But most importantly to me (and often the very beginning of many of my stories) is that I dream exceptionally vividly and can remember my dreams in a considerable amount of detail. As a matter of fact, my fantasy novel (the one under the nom de plume and, coincidentally, my first novel published) began from a single remembered line from a dream and a distinct image - “Beware the child with the pale blue eyes.” Believe me, that image and single uttered phrase was the butterfly wings to my hurricane career as a published author.

Do you have specific things you like to have around you when you’re writing?
It’s hardly a secret but I need only two things while writing: laptop and gummy bears. Although any type of gummy candy is fine, the bears are the most readily available whenever I need to pop in some place because I have a good story idea. I’ve joked over the years that gummy treats are my sacrifice to the Muses.

Who are some of your favourite authors? 
I have so many, depending on the genre you’re inquiring about, but I’d have to say that George R.R. Martin, Pearl S. Buck, Jacqueline Carey, Kelley Armstrong, Kurt Vonnegut, and Stephen King are amongst my tops picks. Although there are many many more that I actively take inspiration from. Or those who have taught me many things about what it means to be a writer and what it means to be a storyteller - not always two things that go hand in hand.

Have you had a good experience with the publishing process? If not, please tell us why?
Yes and no. Without being in poor taste and going into too many details, I can share that my first publishing experience (with the fantasy novel) was not a pleasant one. However it taught me a lot about the industry (and very quickly, might I add) that has made my path much easier and, thankfully, wiser.

Do you prefer ebooks or paperbacks? Why?
While I own many, many ebooks, I still prefer the feel of a paper book in my hands. I also thrill when I see other people out reading a paper book. I can glimpse at the cover art and see if it catches my eye, then strike up a conversation with the reader (if they’re inclined) about books. It’s a great way to meet people who you probably already have something in common with. Ebooks are trickier. I may see someone out with their e-
reader but without a cover picture to give me an idea of what they are reading, I may end up striking up a conversation with a person who is reading a technical manual on vacuum repair. Not exactly an area that interests me.

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?
Thank you. Nothing is as important as me saying, “Thank you, readers.”

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers looking to get published?
Research. Don’t let your excitement overcome you. Be diligent, make lists and use them. Support other authors; they will be whether or not you succeed or fail.

Chocolate or Ice cream.
Ice cream. More specifically - sherbert.

What do you like to do for fun?
I sing karaoke and perform in community theatre. All writers are, inherently, performers. By telling a story we’re playing all the parts in a brand new “play” being written. Theatre allows me to let some else write the play and for me to focus on only one character instead of dozens.
Karaoke? Well, I enjoy singing. Since I’m hearing impaired and wearing hearing aids, not many people actually like to hear me sing. Karaoke is one place that it doesn’t matter how well you sing, just how much you love it and how entertaining you are.

Which do you prefer, horror, romance or sci-fi?
Definitely horror. I know it sounds odd since I don’t write it. But, to me, horror has the best of everything. It always has a touch of a love story (or at least some sort of love interest), it touches humanity on a primal level that even romance doesn’t, and while it may not be sci-fi in nature, it always has something otherworldly about it. Even if that is only in our imaginations.

If you could be any creature in the world, what would it be and why?
If I were to choose something fantastical? Mermaid, definitely. I adore and fear the ocean. The idea of living in the depths of it gets my blood pumping and my pulse pounding.
If I were to choose something more mundane? A bird. I often dream of what it would be like to fly, arms/wings spread out, at the mercy of the winds, the Earth miles below me. The opposing tranquility and potential for danger appeals to me.

You can find out more about B C Brown here.
http://www.amazon.com/author/bcbrown
http://www.facebook.com/BCBrowns.Books
http://www.bcbrownbooks.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/BCBrownBooks or @BCBrownBooks