Blog Tour: Carry on the Flame: Destiny Calls by Jodine Turner (Giveaway)

The blog tour is presented by The Bookish Snob Tours.

You can get to the entire tour schedule by clicking HERE.

You can get to my review by clicking HERE.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour!

I am pleased to present: Jodine Turner!

Jodine Turner is an author of YA/adult fantasy, paranormal romance, and magical realism. She is also a therapist, and a consecrated priestess. While living in Glastonbury, England, the ancient Isle of Avalon, Jodine began writing the Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series about priestesses who had lived in Avalon throughout the ages and today.

Jodine’s series is a dark and edgy saga of a young priestess who's reborn during three different critical junctions in history in order to help humankind move through fearful and bleak times - the demise of Atlantis, the Dark Age's suppression of the feminine, and today's turbulent world. 

Each novel in the series is a standalone read. First in the series is the highly acclaimed The Awakening: Rebirth of Atlantis. The second novel is the award winning The Keys to Remember. The third novel, Carry on the Flame: Book One Destiny’s Call, is already award winning. The story of Carry on the Flame concludes in Book Two, Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic, which comes out October 31, 2011.

And now - - - on to the interview!

? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been writing since I was in elementary school and my teachers encouraged me to write. Writing has always been my passion. When I became ill in the mid-1990’s I took the opportunity to begin writing my novels. I moved to Glastonbury, England for a year, one of my favorite spots on the planet, in order to do research and immerse myself in the energy, as many of my novels take place there. My first novel was published by Glastonbury Press.

? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?

I’m trained in a number of areas in the health care field. Ph.D. nurse, therapist, and health educator. I worked in those areas before I began to write. My experience working in a psychiatric hospital gave me insight and material for Sharay’s commitment to a psychiatric ward. Working with people as a therapist has lent a different depth to my character’s pain and struggles.

? How long does it take you to write a book?

The Awakening: Rebirth of Atlantis took and the Keys to Remember both took about two years. Carry on the Flame, Book One and Two, was a totally different experience. It took over five years, and I felt like I was initiated to personally experience many parts of the novel before I could write them.

? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?

I often light a candle and set my intentions for my writing session – like connecting to my Muse, my writing inspiration. I usually tune in to get into my body and my heart, and out of my logical thinking. This helps my inspiration and creative flow. I’ve been known to have a special rock, or sea shell, or some such thing close by. A sort of good luck charm!

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?

A lot of inspiration came in meditations or through visiting Glastonbury’s sacred sites. And I can’t count the times that inspiration flowed just as I was falling asleep. I’ve learned to keep a pen and paper at my bedside. I create collages that help me learn about my characters in a right-brain sort of way. I draw a map with all the major plot points and character transformational arcs written down. But, often, I simply surrender to creativity, keep writing and writing, and I am often surprised where things end up. I love that freedom and the gems that pop up when I write like that. Sometimes characters who I thought were minor, like Sharay’s wimpy Uncle Larry or the addled old women Sharay encounters in Scotland, ended up showing me they have a lot more to do with the story than I anticipated.

? How do you decide what you want to write about?

I can honestly say that in my experience with my Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series, the story chose me. I do receive inspirations through watching people, watching TV/movies, watching life, while other ideas pop up as I do mundane house-hold tasks, or especially right before I fell asleep. Most story ideas came while I visited the sites in the novel. I have visited the locations readers will find in Carry on the Flame  - the coast of Wales and some of its quaint villages like Betws-y-coed, the Orkney Isles of Scotland, and of course Glastonbury. Each locale I visited informed my scene descriptions with firsthand knowledge. And each location imbued my story with its own brand of magic.

? What books have most influenced your life?

Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon. She captured my imagination and changed my life. Her character, the priestess Morgaine, sparked a passion in me to learn about and eventually become a priestess. And Marion’s novel changed my life in a literal way in that I moved to Glastonbury for a period of time, began writing, and met my husband there

? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself?

Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat. I drew a picture of me, a stick figure of course, on the front page to mark the book as ‘mine’.

? What are you reading right now?

 Sepulcher by Kate Mosse

? What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Read. Dance. Play with my cats. Talk with my husband. Be with friends. Walk in a park.

? What is your favorite comfort food?

Dark chocolate and potato chips. Together. Then a salad so I feel better about my food choices.

? What do you think makes a good story?

Two major factors. One is how an author engages a reader through characters that they can relate to and care about. Characters that are real, characters that have strengths, weaknesses, and depth. A character has to undergo some sort of learning, transformation, and growth. Change mirrors the reality of life. And we all relate to that.

The second thing that makes a good story is the X factor that is hard to describe. It is the factor that reflects the collective imagination at the time. The story may not be well written but the idea is relevant and captivating. Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code is an example of an idea that caught people’s imagination and spread like wildfire. It was as if Dan tapped into the collective archetype of our times and wrote about it with heart.

? What book, if any, do you read over and over again?

I’ve reread Moonheart by Charles deLint. I love his sense of urban magic, and how in one short paragraph he can develop a character I immediately care about.

Fun random questions: 

• dogs or cats? Cats. We took in an abandoned cat and the five kittens she birthed in our backyard.
• Coffee or tea? Tea
• Dark or milk chocolate? Dark, darker, darkest.
• Rocks or flowers? Flowers.
• Night or day? Night. With a full moon and stars.
• Favorite color? Turquoise, the color of the ocean.
• Crayons or markers? Markers
• Pens or pencils? Pens

Website  http://www.jodineturner.com

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

Twitter   http://www.twitter.com/JodineTurner

Facebook Author page    http://www.facebook.com/JodineTurner.Author

Amazon.com Author page            http://amzn.to/kzfNA7          

Goodreads    http://bit.ly/k1PPbJ

You can enter to win a copy of Carry on the Flame:Destiny Calls by filling out the form below.

The next stop on the blog tour: Sept 3 – Donna’s Blog Home

You can buy your own copy HERE.

Want one more chance to win? Check this out!

Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call Book One is a YA/adult magical urban fantasy, paranormal romance novel.  Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic Book Two releases October 31, 2011.

Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole!

Happy Reading!