This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.
Click HERE to see the tour schedule.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature:
T. Lynne Tolles and Mirror of Shadows.
She has dropped by for an interview:
? When
did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I'm not sure
I EVER realized I wanted to be a writer. I'd say after I wrote Blood of a
Werewolf, I definitely had the writing bug. I had so many ideas in my head of
what I wanted the characters to do, I simply had to get them down on paper or
go insane.
? How
many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
Hmmm. I've
been a sales person, a bartender, a production line worker, a receptionist, an
engineering secretary, project coordinator and a bookkeeper.
? How
long does it take you to write a book?
It can take
me anywhere from three months to a year depending on how much life gets in my
way.
? What
would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
I don't sit
at a desk. I usually write on my lap top on my bed either sitting Indian style
or lying on my back - very peculiar,
indeed.
? Do
you have a routine that you use to get into the right frame of mind to write?
No. Not
really, aside from getting the family off to school/work and out of the house.
? Where
do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
I suppose I
use a lot of my life experiences in my writing. In the Blood Series, many of
the characters were based on TV/Movie stars for their looks, but the
personalities really evolved in my head and in the dialog.
? How
do you decide what you want to write about?
Often I come
up with a premise I think is cool, add some characters, mix it up in my head
and see what comes of it.
? What
books have most influenced your life?
Well I grew
up reading Anne Rice and Stephen King and watching Creature Features every
Friday night, but I suppose if I were to pick a few for influence, I'd say Anne
Rice's Witching Hour was an all time favorite and really opened my eyes to the
world of witchcraft. Later I became addicted to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files
series. I love how he blends humor into his writing making it more natural.
? What
is the first book you remember reading by yourself?
? What
are you reading right now?
Sheesh! I
haven't had any time to read a book in a while, but I have been listening to R.
R. Martin's Game of Thrones series when I have the time.
? What
do you like to do when you are not writing?
Sleep...Just
kidding. Let's see, I'm presently doing a cross stitch stocking, knitting a
baby blanket, and I'm addicted to Nancy Drew Games.
? What
is your favorite comfort food?
Baked Mac
and Cheese
? What
do you think makes a good story?
A bit of
humor, a fun premise and characters people can relate to.
? Who
would you consider your favorite author and why?
I'd have to
say Jim Butcher is my favorite, but I really like L.J. Smith's stuff.
? What
book, if any, do you read over and over again?
I think the
only book I read more than once is the "Witching Hour" by Anne Rice.
Fun random
questions:
- dogs or cats? Cats, however I
have both dogs and cats
- Coffee or tea? Both depending
on the mood, but I suppose coffee might win.
- Dark or milk chocolate? Milk
Chocolate
- Rocks or flowers? Flowers
- Night or day? Day
- Favorite color? Blue
- Crayons or markers? Depends
on the project, but crayons are always fun.
- Pens or pencils? Pens
More About the Author:
T.
Lynne Tolles is a lifelong avid reader of all things paranormal and now is a
writer of young adult paranormal romances for readers 15 to 115. She grew up in
the sunny California San Francisco bay area. She's the mother of two, wife to
one and pet mom to three cats and Newfie dog.
Blood of a Werewolf is
the first of five books in a series called, the Blood Series. Other titles
include Somber Island
Website: http://tlynnetolles.netfirms.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/tlynnetolles
LibraryThing: http://www.librarything.com/home/tlynnetolles
Kindlegraph: http://kindlegraph.com/authors/tlynnetolles
Trailers: http://www.youtube.com/user/tlynnetolles
Mirror of Shadows
T. Lynne Tolles
T. Lynne Tolles
Genre: Young Adult
Paranormal
Publisher: Troll
Publishing
ISBN: 978-1478398073
ASIN: 1478398078
Number of pages: 200
Word Count: 51,376
Book Description:
Ella
McKaye returns home for her grandmother's funeral to find she's inherited a ton
of money and a run down mansion she never knew existed, called Grey Manor. Her
greedy mother is appalled when the will stipulates specifically that Ella can't
give her any of the inheritance. She
quickly throws Ella out of her home forcing her to take up immediate residence
in the spooky old mansion.
Within
minutes of entering her new home she has a strange interaction with a creepy
old mirror in the main hallway and the ghostly inhabitants of the past get more
and more agitated the longer Ella's there. Nearly fatal back to back accidents
make Ella start to wonder if she's angered some ghost or if there is something
more sinister at work.
Will Ella unravel the
deadly mystery before she becomes a ghost herself? Or will fate take another
one of the Grey ancestors to the grave.
Hardback- Lulu Author site
Trading
Cards free -
customer just pays shipping
Short Excerpt:
It was a perfect day for a
funeral, if there is such a thing—gloomy, gray, and cold. With steady tears of
rain, the heavens seemed to be mourning along with the funeral guests. Though
Ella stood strong as the pastor droned on, she would never be consolable for
the loss of her beloved grandmother, Rose Grey McKaye. Ella had known for a
while this day was coming as her grandmother combatted bouts of cancer, a
stroke, and dementia, but all of that was not enough to prepare her for the
overwhelming loss she now felt.
Ella heard no voices of
condolences from those who one by one took her hand in sympathy. She only heard
the rain tapping on the shiny mahogany casket covered in a blanket of
chrysanthemums and peonies in front of her. Occasionally she would nod her head
to the speaking sympathizer but she never took her eyes off of the coffin.
Instead, she watched as a drop of water hung to the tip of a fern frond,
gathering more volume until it could no longer hold on and dropped down the
curved lid of the casket, and then meandered down the side stopping only for a
moment by one of the carrying handles. It continued down to mingle with other
drops at the base of the aluminum stand. It lingered and swelled until it could
no longer resist the relentless tug of gravity and it fell to the fake green
grass carpet laid out to disguise the recently excavated mound of dirt from the
grave into which her grandmother would soon be lowered.
The long line of
umbrella-toting guests passed before her then scattered among the graveyard to
their warm, dry cars to go on with their lives. How odd, Ella thought, that
time doesn’t stop for a moment to acknowledge the passing of one so loved. She
felt sure that she hadn’t taken a breath since she had received the call two
days before, notifying her that her grandmother had died. How would she ever
survive life without her grandmother?
Ella’s childhood had been
hard and she’d grown up fast and insecure in herself. The only happy memories
she’d had as a child were in those blessed, short-lived visits to Grandma
Rose’s house where Ella knew without a doubt she was welcome, safe, and loved.
Ella’s mother had not been
a bad person, but Ella had learned at an early age that she was an anchor to
her mother’s freedom. Patricia had been widowed when Ella was a toddler. She
had no family of her own to speak of, and found herself a single mother with no
job and no real skills. First the parade of men came, none of which ever seemed
to measure up to her late husband, and then came the drugs which made the
unhappy, lonely woman lost and unstable. Needless to say, this brought about a
rather turbulent life for Ella’s early years.
A warm hand touched Ella
from behind, guiding her away from the men now lowering the casket into its new
home. They cleared away the fake grass carpet, revealing the reality and
finality of what was happening. Goodbye Grandma Rose, Ella said without
speaking. I love you so...and the car door shut on Ella’s words and
pulled away from the curb as its wipers slapped the sides of the windshield
with a squeaky but constant beat.
