This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature:
Courtney Rene and Shadow's End.
Courtney has joined us for an interview:
? When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I didn’t actually have an epiphany like a lot
of writers do. Simply, I have always
been a storyteller. Since I was very
small I have been making up stories and sharing them. Being a writer was just the natural
progression.
? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer? I haven’t held many different jobs throughout
my life, as I don’t actually like change all that much. I was a camp counselor for several
years. I worked at Subway from
16-18. I worked as a customer sales
representative from 18-19. The rest is as a Paralegal. Nothing all that glamorous but it pays the
bills.
? How long does it take you to write a book? The writing it, in draft form, only takes me
a few weeks. Revisions and edits can
take me months. The story is the fun
part, it doesn’t take me all that long at all to tell the story.
? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk? I talk to myself a lot. Well that is not entirely true. To others I am talking to myself. In my reality I am talking to my
characters. I know it sounds weird but
when you are spending every spare moment in the mind of your story characters,
then tend to become a tiny bit real. At
least that is true to me. Maybe I am
more weird than I realize.
? Do you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame
of mind to write? Not really, unless you
count plugging in an ipod and blaring music to cover up any outside noise, a
routine. I can write anytime and
anywhere generally as long as I can tune out the real world.
? What is the first book you remember reading by yourself? The
Gingerbread Man.
? What do you like to do when you are not writing? You are expecting me to say, read,
right? Well yes, that is true, but I
actually do like to do other things than just read and write. One of those things would be cooking. I love to cook. Trying out new things and ideas is fun. The worst part though is cleaning up. I wish I could just do the cooking and have
someone else clean up after me, when I was done making all the mess.
? What is your favorite comfort food? Bread. It’s an addiction. Garlic bread, cheese bread, honey bread,
butter bread, you name it, if it can be on bread, I will eat it.
? What do you think makes a good story? The conflict first. You gotta have a good conflict. Second would be the falling in love. I am good at the conflict. That I can do. The love parts are a little shaky and harder
for me. I don’t write too deep in the
way of love, but that is one of my favorite things to read. If I could get past the giggles, I think I
would be better at it.
? What book, if any, do you read over and over again? I say the same book all the time. Ride the Wind, by St. Clair. This book is awesome! It’s a thriller, it’s a historical, it’s a
romance, it is wonderful. I laugh, cry,
get angry, and yes even get a little nauseous once or twice. I love this book.
Fun
random questions:
- dogs or cats? I like either of them but dogs are my
favorite. Esp. the mastiff
breeds. I love those guys.
- Coffee or tea? Again either. I like a nice cuppa tea in the
afternoon, but there is nothing better to me than a hot Cup-o-Joe in the
morning to get me started off.
- Dark or milk
chocolate? Milk Chocolate
baby! Oh I know dark is better for
you, but I am not eating chocolate for my health. I am eating it cause I like it and it
makes me happy.
- Rocks or flowers?
Flowers. Especially white tulips or
daisies.
- Night or day? Hmmm, depends on my mood. I love the warmth of the sun on my skin,
but there are times that I love the night when it’s cool and clear.
- Favorite color? Blue.
- Crayons or markers?
Crayons. The good kind not the cheap waxy ones. You know the ones I mean too.
- Pens or pencils? Pencils.
The yellow #2 wooden kind.
Those are the best!
More About the
Author:
Courtney Rene lives in Ohio Institute
of Children
Links:
Shadow’s End
Book 3 in the Shadow Dancer Series
Courtney Rene
Book Description:
The
adventure and the struggle continue for Sunny, as the fight for control of Acadia is near. Battle
Due to
unexpected trips to the ice realm and the fire realm, new allies are found to
help build the Army of the Sun. There
are new worlds explored. New friends and
new enemies made.
Ready or not, Sunny must prepare for what is coming as
well as decide where she belongs within it all.
But…what about prom? What about
Leif? What about home? How can she, just a seventeen year old girl,
rule a whole world? She’s not even sure
if she can get through finals.
Short Excerpt:
Leif
leaned toward Lucas until he was just a few inches away from his face, glared
hard with half squinted eyes, and said, "They you also know she's mine. I
found her. You don't get to have her."
That
was it. I didn't care about the pain it was going to cause me. I purposefully
and intentionally, pushed out a zap of energy at Leif where he held my arm. Not
enough to really hurt him, but it was enough to have him jerk his hand off me
in surprise and a bit of pain. Rage clouded his eyes for a moment as he
directed his gaze on me.
I
rounded on him with the full force of my own rage and completely ignored his.
"You!" I said and poked a finger into his chest. "Don't get to
own me! No one gets to own me."
He
took a step back. I stepped forward and poked him again. "I get to decide
who I want to be with and who gets to be with me." Again he took a step
back, and me a step forward, and I poked him hard in the chest, hard enough to
make my finger twinge in pain at the abuse, but I ignored it. "I get to
decide. Do you hear me, Leif?"
"Sunny,"
Lucas said from behind me. "You have an audience."
Without
taking my eyes from Leif, I swung an arm behind me with my hand up at him,
hoping that I conveyed with that one action to shut up.
I
did lower my voice at least. "You had your chance with me, but you chose
to lie, to cheat, and to keep me in the dark at your mercy. You don't get to
decide anything about me anymore."
I
turned away from him and stepped back to my table where I again began to gather
up the debris from lunch. "Go home, Leif. There's nothing here for you
anymore."
"Yes,
there is," he said softly from directly behind me. I hadn't heard him come
up next to me. Then even softer he said, "This isn't over between us,
Sunny. I'm not giving up."
I
glanced over my shoulder at him. The man before me was the Leif I knew. The
Leif I had fallen in love with. The ice was missing from his face and his eyes
and my heart felt the pain of losing him all over again. Why did it still hurt
to see him, to be next to him? "Leif," I whispered, "go home.
Please."
Again
without any regard to the people around him or the trouble he could cause, he
phased into the shadows and was gone. Angry or not, my heart ached as he
disappeared.
"Sunny?"
"Yeah,
Lucas," I said as I stared at the place that Leif had vanished. I was
suddenly so tired.
"You
okay?"
"Yeah.
I'll live."
"Um…do
you know that you have a slight glow of white around you?"
No. I didn't know
that. I closed my eyes and sighed. "Great."
