Review: "A Proper Companion" by Candice Hern

So, I must be fairly lucky in coming across books on the free Kindle books list, because every time I download one in an attempt to do a review of a free book, by the time I get to the review, the book is no longer free! The good news is that "A Proper Companion" is only 99 cents, so still worth it. :)

So Sorry!

Sorry there hasn't been a lot of new content lately. I'm in the middle of a move and trying to work off my iPad, which isn't the best way to write blog posts. I'll be up and going again soon, so please stay tuned!

Sweet Saturday Samples: Excerpt from "The Gates of Lodore"

The Gates of Lodore is named for a recreation spot of the same name in northwestern Colorado, near Brown's Park. When my family and I lived there last summer, I saw the name and said it was too good not be to the name of a book!

Rane Barton and her sisters only have their exceptional beauty to recommend them and save their ailing family estate. Rane even catches the eye of the prince. But when she discovers the reason for her beauty and her uncanny abilities, Rane has to choose: protect her family or protect her heart.

Author Interview: Jenni James, author of "Pride & Popularity"

This is my first official Author Interview and I can't let that just slide by without some hoopla!


So, drumroll ...


The first person to comment on this post with a question they want to ask in my next author interview (volunteers?) will win a $5 Amazon Gift code (which happens to be enough to buy Pride & Popularity for Kindle!)


But on to the interview:
First off, a big THANKS to Jenni James for being my author interview guinea pig. She deserves so much more. :)


Me: Yippy, I'm so excited. This is my first author interview ... I hope it doesn't show! :) Here goes: I know its so cliche, but we all want to know anyway ... when and why did you decide you wanted to write? 

Jenni: I never wanted to!  Honest!  lol!  I started writing Pride & Popularity when Taylor [Anderson, the hero of Pride & Popularity] wouldn't stop talking to me.  No joke. He kept me awake for three weeks, after that I decided I better stop fighting it and write the book.  It totally changed my life. 

Me: Where did you get the idea for "Pride & Popularity"?

Jenni: Actually, I was a few chapters into the book when I called my mom and was telling her I needed a title for it.  After a few minutes of laughing over the different silly ones we'd come up with.  I got real quiet and said "you know, this book is like Pride and Prejudice."  My mom didn't even miss a beat when she said, "Well, why don't you call it Pride & Popularity?"  I didn't even realize I was rewriting Jane Austen until that moment.  After that it was a no brainer to add the other books. 

Me: What was your favorite scene to write for "Pride & Popularity"?  

Jenni: Oh man... I loved so many of them.  But my most favorite had to have been the MORP scene.  It's just amazing.  :)

Me: You're obviously a Jane Austen lover (like me!), which is your favorite book? Favorite movie version? 

Jenni: Hands down my favorite book is Persuasion.  I soo love that book!  And I love the newer one with Rupert Penry-Jones. :)  But my favorite of all the Austen movies is the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice.  *sigh*

{Of course, who doesn't!}

Me: Equally important, are you a "pantser" (writing by the seat of your pants) or an "outliner"? Jenni: Oh, definitely a panster.  I never have any idea what's going on as I'm writing.  I swear it's my secret for writing so fast.  I have no idea what's gonna happen and I can't stop writing until I figure it out!

Me: Describe your publishing experience. (That was droll ... sorry!)

Jenni: Well... I wrote P&P in 2008 and after sending out 50 queries, I got my agent a few months later.  That November we sent P&P out to the big publishers and had some amazing interest from three of them.  On the day we were hoping to have an auction for the book, the publishing world stocks crashed.  They each asked us to come back in 6 months.  The day we were going to submit again, my agent went into premature labor and had her twins three months early.  That fall (2009) I found a new and upcoming LDS publisher, Valor Publishing.  I loved what they stood for.  After talking with my agent, I decided to sign with them.  Due to the economy, by the time they were ready to print my book, their finances had depleted and the company folded this past Spring when I walked.  I'd decided to self-publish and had put P&P up on kindle for 3 weeks, before I signed with Walnut Springs.  Even though I had several publishers approach me, I'd still planned to do the series on my own, for various reasons... but after talking it over with my awesome publisher, I decided they were the best fit.  And here I am.  P&P has been through about 21 rewrites since 2008 when I first finished it.  :)

Me: And finally, what book character would you like to meet in real life?

Jenni: Oh goodness.  I have to choose one?  I'll stick with the characters in P&P.  Since Taylor was based loosely off my friend from high school... I'm going to have to go with Blake.  I'd love to see just how charming he really is.  :)  Hehee.  I always find the bad ones intriguing. {Don't we all ... }

_______________

Again, a big thanks to Jenni for participating. Hurry and post your questions for the next interview!

WINNERS of the Awesome August Blog Hop

Thanks ALL of you for all the comments. I can't believe how many comments the background got! :) I love it. Oh ... you want to know about the winner! Okay, here she is ...

Drum roll ...

The winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Certificate is Brenda Jean!

And for the Line & Content Edit Combo package:

I had such a HARD time choosing just one, so I forced myself to choose the pitches I liked the best and drew randomly from those. The winner is Crystal!

I'll be sending you all emails to notify you. THANKS again for participating. I hope you all stick around. They'll definitely be more book reviews and author interviews coming.