A Midsummer's Eve's Dreaming~ My Dark Fairy Queen's Writing Contest Entry

My master is an odd sort. Yes, he’s a troll, but Mortalus is odd even for a troll. On this balmy midsummer’s eve he sent me on an errand just before midnight, much to my dismay.

“Out of bed, Pip! I need a jewel toad,” he said, dragging my covers off me.

“A jewel toad? What on earth?”

“By the lake. You shall see. Hurry.”

Mortalus pushed me out the door and shut it without another word. I sighed. Such was my lot in life, indentured servant to a barely-sane troll.

“Good summer’s eve to you, Pip,” whispered Nairy, hovering by my ear “What are you doing out at this hour? The fae will spirit you away, they will.” She giggled at her little joke, for she was one of them.

“Mortalus says he wants a jewel toad, whatever that is,” I said yawning and rubbing my eyes. “Maybe I’m dreaming?”

“Yes! That must be it” said Nairy. “Dreaming is always the best time.”

I listened in the darkness to hear the toads singing merrily with the crickets in the distance. With only the moonlight to find my way, I plodded along the path to the lake so calm it looked like a pool of stars. It was silly of me, I know, but I knelt on the shore and called out, “Jewel toad, come hither!”

Without warning, a pair of bulbous eyes poked out of the water right in front of me.

“What?” he croaked.

“Come home with me to meet my Master.”

“He will eat me!”

I considered it. It was a definite possibility, but I tried to reassure him.

“He only wishes to speak with you. You are wise in ways he is not.”

“Answer my riddle first.”

I nodded, hoping it wasn’t too difficult for my cobweb -congested mind.

“What can soar on wings, but has no heart? What can only be given, but never saved?”

I shook my head.

“It makes no sense.”

“Of course it does, Pip.” Nairy still hovered by my side the way she always did, her glinting green wings shining in the moonlight. And then I saw it in her eyes, the way she looked at me. Had it always been there? I hadn’t noticed it before, but now under a never ending galaxy of stars I could finally see.

“It’s love.”

May Romance Blogfest

Hi and welcome to my bloggy home on the internet :)

I'm excited to be a part of the Romance Blogfest this month and I have several books to share with you!

Read on down the page to learn about my work

and enter the giveaways for Hush Puppy and for my newest novel, Vessel~

Hush Puppy by Lisa T. Cresswell
Featherweight Press, 2013

Hush Puppy is the story of Corrine Lamb, a seventeen year old black girl, and Jamie Armstrong, a poor white boy, living in a backwater North Carolina town. Intelligent Corrine, abandoned by her mother, and artsy Jamie, forced to play football by a redneck father, both dream of leaving their podunk town and never looking back.

Their shared love of literature and a dream of a better life brings them together and a romance blossoms between them in a secret place of their own in the steamy North Carolina woods. When Jamie is involved in the accidental death of a white girl, he's terrified of his abusive father. Corrine takes the blame to protect Jaime, with dire consequences for herself and her dreams of the future. Her life in danger, Corrine's left wondering if Jamie ever cared about her at all.

The events surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin underscore how prevalent fear and hate still is in our country. Sadly, many of the themes explored in Hush Puppy are extremely relevant to today's youth. It's my hope that Hush Puppy is a story not only about poverty and race, but about hope, friendship, and the power of love. Enjoy~

 
                            

~Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive~

Simple and stunning, Hush Puppy is an emotionally powerful story that will stay with readers long after they’ve closed the final page. Crisp, evocative prose and a refreshingly realistic black protagonist make this novel a standout among YA literature. This uncommon YA novel is highly recommended, especially for public and school libraries. The difficult topics the book so deftly addresses are relevant today, and even the day-to-day difficulties of the high school classroom are presented realistically and without dramatic overindulgence.

With a lot of emotion and skill, Cresswell weaves together a story that promotes the power of friendship and the importance of being true to oneself.

Hush Puppy is a sweet, sweet story of conquering prejudices, forgiveness and family, and a reminder that positive perspective, determination, and the support of one special person are enough to overcome whatever trauma life may deal.

To read an excerpt and more about the author, click on over to www.lisatcresswell.com~ You can add her books to your 'to be read' list on Good Reads too!

~Meet Corrine~

My name is Corrine Lamb and my tombstone better not read "Born, lived, and died in Carolville, North Carolina". If I don't get outta this redneck town, go to college, and see the world, I'll be a complete failure. I'll join the Peace Corps if I have to. I live with my grandma, who’s about as protective as it gets. I guess she’s trying to make up for my mama running off and leaving me after daddy died. I had my whole life figured out before Jamie showed up, romancing me with his poetry and books. I never met such a crazy white boy. He’s so wicked smart, but he plays like he’s dumb so his redneck daddy won’t know. I never thought I’d fall for a white boy in a million years. He thinks he can’t go to college, but I’m gonna enter him in a writing contest for a scholarship and he’s gonna win. I just know it. He might be kinda mad when he finds out I took some of his writing, but when he wins, he’ll forget about that, right? I can’t sit by and let him waste his life. It’d be a damn shame.


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Vessel, By Lisa T. Cresswell
Month9Books, May 26, 2015

The sun exploded on April 18, 2112 in a Class X solar storm the likes of which humankind had never seen.

They had exactly nineteen minutes.
Nineteen minutes until a geomagnetic wave washed over the Earth, frying every electrical device created by humans, blacking out entire continents, and every satellite in their sky.

Nineteen minutes to say goodbye to the world they knew, forever, and to prepare for a new Earth, a new Sun.

Generations after solar storms destroyed nearly all human technology on Earth, humans reverted to a middle ages-like existence, books are burned as heresy, and all knowledge of the remaining technology is kept hidden by a privileged few called the Reticents.

Alana, a disfigured slave girl, and Recks, a traveling minstrel and sometimes-thief, join forces to bring knowledge and books back to the human race. But when Alana is chosen against her will to be the Vessel, the living repository for all human knowledge, she must find the strength to be what the world needs even if it's the last thing she wants.

To celebrate the upcoming release of Vessel, I'm running a month-long giveaway for a prize pack that includes a Month9Books insulated tumbler, a Vessel notebook, a tea blend (like the one Recks makes for Alana in the book), a $25 Amazon gift card, and a $10 Starbucks gift card. Be sure to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Come join me on Goodreads, the best place for readers :)

Pre-order Vessel today!

Meet my Spring 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt Guest ~YA Author Lorie Ann Grover

Happy YA Scavenger Hunt!

Hey YA Scavengers! Thanks for stopping
by my Team Purple Page this week :)
I'm so happy to introduce to you the Spring 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt Authors! We have eight outstanding teams this season. I am going to be a part of #TeamPurple! The Scavenger Hunt runs from April 2nd through April 5th beginning and ending at noon Pacific time on those days. If you've never been a part of the hunt before you should give it a try. It runs like a giant blog hop, introducing you to new YA authors and books along the way. There are tons of prizes including a grand prize for each team. If you win one of the grand prizes you will get a book from each author on that team! For more information and to make sure you get hunt updates, sign up for news on the #YASH website. You don't want to miss out on this fabulous and fun event, but play fast because the hunt is only live for three days.





I'm hosting YA author Lorie Ann Grover for the Scavenger Hunt, author of Hit and Firstborn, Kirkus Starred Review. 

~About the Author~

Lorie Ann Grover is an author of young adult novels including HIT. Hypable calls the work, “a powerful book about tragedy and recovery which shows you both sides of the story, for better or worse.” Her novel FIRSTBORN received a starred review from Kirkus, while LOOSE THREADS was named a Booklist Top 10 Youth First Novel. As a literacy advocate, she is a co-founder of readergirlz, awarded the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading.

~Bonus Material~

I'll let Lorie tell you about her bonus material for the Scavenger Hunt~

When I'm conceptualizing a novel, I often make a vision board for the material. It is my touch point throughout the entire process, from first draft to publication. I try to capture setting, characters, objects, and conflicts. This was my collage for Firstborn.

Very cool idea!!

I also compile a collection on Pinterest to broaden the visual scope during my rewrites. Here are my pins for Firstborn.

Because the impetus for Firstborn was an article on gendercide, the purposeful annihilation of a gender, I created this series by using Polyvore to draw attention to the atrocity. After pinning the collection, Pinterest kindly featured the board in 2014! Here is one example from the group of 30.

 

 

OK Scavengers! I'm pretty good at keeping secrets. Probably 8 times better than average :)

 

 

Click HERE to go to the next TEAM PURPLE blog!

 

 

 

Dead Jed 2 Blog Tour

Welcome to the Dead Jed 2 Blog Tour! Be sure to enter the Giveaway and then read on down for my interview with the author Scott Craven!
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner will be drawn January 9, 2015

· Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed by Scott Craven (INT)

~ About the Book~

Title: Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed
Publication date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Scott Craven

The first part of seventh grade was rough on Jed, but things are looking up now that Christmas is almost here. As with past Christmases, Jed asks for the one thing he’s always wanted–a dog–and again, his parents tell him they’re not ready. But fate has a different plan when Jed sees a dog get run over by a car. Then, it happens. Jed suddenly has a pet, Tread, a zombie dog bearing his namesake–a tire tread down his back. Jed may have gained a dog, but he loses his best friend Luke, who fears the way Jed created his undead pet.

When Jed returns to school, he finds a mysterious group called the No Zombies Now Network spreading rumors of the dangers the undead pose to normal people. Forced to disprove Hollywood stereotypes, Jed has his work cut out for him as stories of a zombie dog begin to circulate. Jed could be expelled if he can’t expose the NZN Network as a fraud. Jed needs help from his kind of girlfriend Anna, especially after he discovers Luke has joined the shadowy group.

 

Once again navigating the treacherous waters of middle school, Jed does his best to stay in one piece. Only this time he’ll need even more duct tape and staples than usual.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Chapters Indigo! | TBD | IndieBound

Add it on Goodreads!

~About Author Scott Craven~

Proud graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, has a teenage son, now a features writer for The Arizona Republic.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter

 

 

~Author Interview~

Hi Scott! Can you tell us a little about your writing journey?

I vaguely remember it starting in a log cabin by candlelight, but then I realize that while I’m old, I’m not that old. One of my first school essays detailed how the Pilgrims discovered Thanksgiving. Little did I know faulty research would be acceptable, if not prized, when Wikipedia discovered the Internet.

What do you enjoy most about being a writer?

Making excuses. “Gee, I would love to accompany you to your 30th high school reunion, but I’ve got this deadline coming up. It’s a writing thing,”

What is the hardest aspect of being a writer?

“Really, you have a writing thing? I’d love it see it when you’re finished.” Dang, tripped up by actually having to put some words together.

How much research goes into your story? 

I’ve put in thousands of hours of research into “Dead Jed.” It goes back to my first viewing of “Night of the Living Dead,” because you can’t write about zombies without knowing their habits, from eating to shuffling around mindlessly. Were you aware most people have no idea “Night … Dead” was a documentary? True story.

Writers are sometimes influenced by things that happen in their own lives. Are you?

 Absolutely. When my first bully shoved me into a trophy display case at school, the first thing I thought of was, “I am so going to write about this someday and get my revenge through words.” Forty years later, bam! How you like me now, Robbie?

Tell us a little bit about your publications.

 “Dead Jed: Adventures of a Middle School Zombie” was my first attempt to make peace with the nightmare that was junior high. That trophy-case anecdote? It actually happened. The sequel, “Return of the Jed,” adds a zombie dog to the mix, because a zombie cat would have been pretty boring. How could you tell a zombie cat for a regular cat? I have no idea. I’m also a reporter for The Arizona Republic in Phoenix. Go ahead, Google my name. Just don’t confuse me with the Nebraska dentist or the Montana wildlife expert. Speaking of the latter, I’ll bet not even Scott Craven, wildlife expert, could tell the difference between a zombie cat and a regular cat.

What is the most surprising thing about writing/publishing you have learned?

Writing is not easy, but it’s not nearly as tough as marketing. Did you know that no matter how many times you mention you mention Stephen King on Twitter, and ask him to read your book and then tweet about it, he still won’t? What’s up with that?

What are you top tips for writers? 

Write as much as you can. When you’re not writing, read. What, you want to eat, sleep and go to work too? Some difficult decisions must be made. Did you know cooking by microwave can save you minutes, if not hours a day? Also, if you subsist on Hot Pockets as I do, it leaves one hand free for the keyboard or turning the page. Try it!

Other than writing what else do you love?

Did I mention Hot Pockets? I did. Cherry Coke Zero as well. And my 19-year-old son. Not necessarily in that order. But it’s pretty close.

Who is your favorite author and why?

Stephen King, even though he’s ignoring my Twitter-stalking. He is prolific, talented and lives like any other guy who grew up in a state he could probably buy at this point. I met him once and I will never forget what he said. “How do you want me to inscribe it?” Magical.

If you had a premonition you would be stranded on a desert island what 5 books would you take?

Classics by Tolstoy, Hugo and Homer (not Simpson). If I couldn’t get through them, they’d still provide plenty of fuel. Wait, do I have matches? Now if there were an all-inclusive resort nearby, my selections would be totally different. Perhaps travel guides and the cocktail menu.

 Five words that sum you up.

I can’t begin to describe how bad I am at math.

That's more than five words, Scott. ;)

How can we learn more?

Scott-craven.com, and on Twitter at @Scott_Craven2 (feel free to Twitter-stalk me. If Stephen King is OK with it, so am I).

 

Indie and Small Press Blog Hop Dec. 5-12

Welcome to my blog and the Indie & Small Press Blog Hop. Read on down below about my most recent book and be sure the enter the giveaway at the bottom!

 

Hush Puppy by Lisa T. Cresswell
Featherweight Press, 2013


Hush Puppy is the story of Corrine Lamb, a seventeen year old black girl, and Jamie Armstrong, a poor white boy, living in a backwater North Carolina town. Intelligent Corrine, abandoned by her mother, and artsy Jamie, forced to play football by a redneck father, both dream of leaving their podunk town and never looking back.

Their shared love of literature and a dream of a better life brings them together and a romance blossoms between them in a secret place of their own in the steamy North Carolina woods. When Jamie is involved in the accidental death of a white girl, he's terrified of his abusive father. Corrine takes the blame to protect Jaime, with dire consequences for herself and her dreams of the future. Her life in danger, Corrine's left wondering if Jamie ever cared about her at all.

The events surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin underscore how prevalent fear and hate still is in our country. Sadly, many of the themes explored in Hush Puppy are extremely relevant to today's youth. It's my hope that Hush Puppy is a story not only about poverty and race, but about hope, friendship, and the power of love. Enjoy~

 

                            



Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive:

With a lot of emotion and skill, Cresswell weaves together a story that promotes the power of friendship and the importance of being true to oneself.

Hush Puppy is a sweet, sweet story of conquering prejudices, forgiveness and family, and a reminder that positive perspective, determination, and the support of one special person are enough to overcome whatever trauma life may deal.



To read an excerpt and more about the author, click on over to www.lisatcresswell.com~ You can add her books to your 'to be read' list on Good Reads too!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

And click here to visit the Linky to all

the other blogs in the Indie & Small Press blog hop and enter all the giveaways!

Pig Park Blog Tour

Welcome to the Pig Park Blog Tour, another Diverse Book Tours presentation. Enjoy!

~About the Book~

Pig Park
by Claudia Guadalupe
ISBN: 978-1935955764
Publisher: Cinco Punto Press
Pages: 256
Genre: YA Contemporary

Plot Summary:
It's crazy. Fifteen year old Masi Burciaga hauls bricks to help build a giant pyramid in her neighborhood park. Her neighborhood is becoming more of ghost town each day since the lard company moved away. Even her school closed down. Her family's bakery and the other surviving businesses may soon follow. as a last resort, the neighborhood grown-ups enlist all the remaining able-bodied boys and girls in this scheme in hopes of luring visitors.

Maybe their neighbors will come back too. But something's not right about the entrepreneur behind it all. And then there's the new boy who came to help. The one with the softest of lips. Pig Park is a contemporary Faustian tale that forces us to look at the desperate lengths people will go to in the name of community--and maybe love.

 

 

Amazon

 

Barnes & Noble

 

Goodreads

 

Book Depository

 

 

~About the Author~

 

Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, author of the award-winning The Smell of Old Lady Perfume, has long been distressed about how the global economy is displacing workers and families. Claudia grew up in El Paso, Texas. She and her family now live in Chicago, Illinois.

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

 

~Book Excerpt~

Chapter One

I stuffed the letter from the bank back into the drawer and slipped into the kitchen to turn the vent out toward Pig Park. The smell of cinnamon and butter escaped into the street.

 

Living above Burciaga’s Bakery—and being a Burciaga—meant it was my job to keep the kitchen spotless and to do any other number of things from bringing in the mail to answering the phone.

 

I was sort of the Cinderella of crumbs—minus the ugly stepsisters and the singing mice.

 

The last thing we needed was mice.

 

“How are you doing over there, Masi?” my dad asked.

 

“All right,” I said.

 

I grabbed a crusty bowl, ran it under hot water and scrubbed hard, scratching at it like it had the kind of itch that requires a good dose of calamine lotion. I tried not to think about the letter.

It wasn’t so easy.

 

See, my dad started the bakery with nothing but an old box of recipes. He liked to say that the bakery, like most of Pig Park, sprouted in the boom and shadow

 

of the American Lard Company. The company had even donated land right in the middle of everything for the park our neighborhood was named after. That’s why our neighborhood got named Pig Park, because pig fat made lard and lard had more or less made our neighborhood.

 

As the company grew, so did we. Hundreds of company employees lived and worked here. They ate and shopped here. We baked twice a day just to keep up. That’s until the company closed down, and people left with the jobs.

 

“Economic downturn.” That’s how the big wigs at American Lard explained away how our good old Chicago neighborhood got left behind. My dad said that just meant they didn’t think they were making

 

enough money. So they packed up their jobs and took them some other place—like a whole other country.

 

Never mind the irony of American Lard made somewhere other than America.

 

I knew from that letter in that drawer that with no one to buy the bread, the bakery would close down

for good too. We would end up leaving Pig Park like everyone else.

 

This is what else I knew: I’d lived in Pig Park my whole entire life. I still had a few friends left. So—even after everything—I couldn’t wrap my head around the bakery closing and us leaving also. It kept me up at night, wondering about tomorrow and the day after. Maybe I would never see my friends again. My family lived upstairs now. Maybe we’d end up homeless.

 

My dad was always saying not to think like that, to leave the worrying to him and my mom, but—I just couldn’t help it. I couldn’t help it about as much as I couldn’t help breathing or just being me.

 

My dad tied an apron around his waist, rolled his sleeves up and grabbed hold of the masa resting on the counter. Sweat dampened his shirt across his thick broad back. He pounded down on dough the color of dirt clay. “How about some music?”

 

“Music?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Like what?” I grabbed a dish towel and dried my hands.

 

“Anything.”

 

I switched on the radio. My dad sang along to that old song, “Amorcitoooo Corazon.” I imagined

him making his way down a cobblestone road on a bike—balancing a big basket of freshly baked rolls on his head—belting out the song like in one of those old black and white movies they used to play in the park to bring the neighborhood together.

King of the Mutants Book Tour

Welcome to the King of the Mutants Blog Tour!

Enter the giveaway and read on down for my interview with the author~

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Winner will be drawn November 21, 2014

· Five (5) winners will receive a digital copy of King of the Mutants by Samantha Verant (INT)

 

~About the Book~

 

Title: King of the Mutants

Publication date: October 21, 2014

Publisher: Tantrum Books/Month9Books, LLC.

Author: Samantha Verant

Can one boy stop a nefarious plot to turn kids into super-mutants?

Maverick Mercury enjoys his life as the sideshow attraction known as “Gator Boy” at Grumbling’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow.

His freakish mutations are the result of some billionaire geneticist’s experiments gone awry. But life as a mutant is about to get worse, as Maverick uncovers a plot to kidnap kids, turns them into super-mutants, and sells their powers to the highest bidder.

Now, Maverick is on a mission to find the mad scientist who may have created him and destroy his sinister plans!

 

~Get it now!~

Link to Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22094891-king-of-the-mutants     

Purchase Links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Chapters Indigo! | TBD |IndieBound

 

~Author Interview~

 

Thanks for joining us Samantha! Tell us a little about your writing journey.

I didn’t follow the yellow brick road on my road to publication, but rather a path paved with barbed wire and a lot of frustrations. I fell down. A lot. But I also learned a lot about the business and made a lot of friends along the way. It took me seven years to see my dreams of publication come to fruition. Sometimes I call myself Seabiscuit. Thankfully, I found the right people who believed in me and pushed me forward. And I never gave up. Now, it’s off to the races. If I fall down, I’ll just dust off my knees and get back up. Giddy-up.

What do you enjoy most about being a writer?

Where do I start? I love the people I’ve met on this journey, most of whom have been with me since day one. The support in this community is amazing! I love opening up my mind and creating new worlds. I love seeing characters come to life. And there is nothing like the thrill of seeing your book in actual book form!

What is the hardest aspect of being a writer?

Lately, it’s been finding the time to write...while balancing real life. I do what I can when I can.

How much research goes into your story?

Tons. I research everything, and sometimes what I unearth is simply shocking. For King of the Mutants, I bought Todd Browning’s classic cult film, Freaks. I still have nightmares. I also bought Marc Hartzman’s book American Sideshow. Again, disturbing. I also delved into circus vernacular, thanks to Google. In the end, though, I think my book became a better book. All in the name of research!

Writers are sometimes influenced by things that happen in their own lives. Are you?

I’ve never been a twelve-year-old boy, or a sideshow attraction at a circus, but I have felt the stigma that comes when you feel like you’re different or a freak, especially during those middle grade years. Write what you know, right?

Tell us about your publications?

King of the Mutants is about a twelve-year-old boy, Maverick Mercury, a sideshow attraction known as “Gator Boy” at Grumbling’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow. Despite being routinely kicked around by the other performers, Maverick has always been comfortable in his skin. That is, until he overhears Burt Grumbling talking about him behind his reptilian-like back. Seems Maverick’s freakish mutations are the result of some billionaire geneticist’s experiments gone awry. Apparently, this guy kidnaps kids, turns them into supermutants, and sells their powers to the highest bidder. Now, Maverick is on a mission to find the mad scientist who may have created him. All he has to do is steal some wheels from Burt, escape the clutches of one-eyed Yorgi and his gang of killer clowns, and make his way from some Podunk town in Florida to the Big Apple. I compare to it to The Wizard of Oz...on steroids.

My memoir, entitled Seven Letters from Paris, was also just recently released. (October 7th/ Sourcebooks). A story about a mutant kid and a romantic memoir. That’s right. I’m a genre jumper. Don’t knock it until you try it!

What is the most surprising thing about writing/publishing you have learnt?

The most surprising thing I’ve learnt is that writing a book is the easy part; the hardest part is selling your work, and then marketing it. This business isn’t for the weary or faint-hearted.

Top tip/s for writers.

Oh, boy! I have a lot of advice. Work on your craft. Connect with other writers. Build up your platform, your social connections. No matter how supportive she is-- your mother is NOT a critique partner or a beta reader! And neither is your sister, spouse, or best friend. Put your work out there. Yes, with strangers. Remember that publishing is subjective. Don’t be afraid of rejection. Learn the business of publishing. Never pitch your work as the next big seller. Take critiques with an open mind and don’t get angry. Your writing partners want the best for you. When critiquing others, go for the sugar, salt, sugar method. (What’s good about the story, what needs to be worked on, and what totally rocks). Kill your darlings. (There will be things you think are awesome or funny, but others, simply put, will not). If you’re writing a memoir, hire an editor to work with you on the manuscript before you pitch it to agents and/or publishers. You will need an objective eye. Celebrate your victories...and your defeats. You’re one step closer. Forgive typos; they happen to everybody. Roll up your sleeves, prepare to get dirty, and work hard. Don’t send your work off to an agent or publisher until its polished. Revise. Edit. Repeat. Be patient. When you can’t stand to look at your manuscript anymore...it’s ready.

Other than writing what else do you love?

I’m going for a list here...

My husband. My kids. My cat. Scuba-diving. Skiing. Gardening. Cooking. Traveling. Exploring. Hiking. Wine. Chocolate. Make that dark chocolate- only!

Who is your favorite author and why?

There are too many to list and it depends on the genre. BUT if I had to choose one it would have to be Roald Dahl. I must have read James and the Giant Peach a dozen times.

If you had a premonition you would be stranded on a desert island what 5 books would you take?

No, no, no! I can’t choose! This isn’t Sophie’s Choice! Just pick for me! Make it a surprise! I’m easy. I love to read!

Five words that sum you up.

Dedicated.

Loyal.

Funny? (this is subjective)

Creative.

Passionate.

Thanks so much for visiting the blog. How can we learn more?

Twitter: @samantha_verant

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23214170-king-of-the-mutants

Blog: http://www.kingofthemutants.blogspot.com

Web: http://www.samanthaverant.com

 ~About the Author~

 

Samantha Vérant is a travel addict, a self-professed oenophile, and a determined, if occasionally unconventional, French chef. Over the years, she’s visited many different countries, lived in many places, and worked many jobs— always on the search for the one thing that truly excited her. Then, one day, she found everything she’s been looking for: a passion for the written word and true love. Writing not only enabled her to open her heart, it led her to southwestern France, where she’s now married to a sexy French rocket scientist she met over twenty years ago, a stepmom to two incredible kids, and the adoptive mother to one ridiculously expensive Bengal cat. When she’s not trekking from Provence to the Pyrénées, tasting wine in American-sized glasses, or embracing her inner Julia Child while deliberating what constitutes the perfect boeuf bourguignon, Samantha is making her best effort to relearn those dreaded conjugations.

 

~Connect with the Author~

 Website | Book Site | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads