Today I have one of my favourite indie authors the blog. She is a wonderful person and amazing writer, so I hope you get to know her little more and will think about grabbing a copy of her fantastic books!
Thanks for
stopping by Worlds of Wonderment, Airicka!
Hello Jo-Anne! Thank you so much
for having me visit you and your readers! It’s wonderful being here.
Can you tell
potential readers about your books?
Absolutely! I write paranormal
Young Adult. My two books out right now are part of the Touch Series, but
Touching Eternity is a standalone while Touching Smoke is book one. The Touch
Series is about the dark side of love, the shadowy parts that most don’t know
exist. It’s about Fallon and the fact that unlike most people, she wasn’t born,
but created to destroy, created to be destroyed. Her love will kill.
Since Touching
Smoke is part of a series, what can we expect from the Touch series as a whole?
You expect a lot of twists, a
lot of action, suspense and romance. The Touch Series will have something for
everyone. I think what most will notice as the series progresses that the Touch
Series will hit home. Nothing about this series is supernatural. It’s everything
that could happen. Its super powers, abilities that people for generations have
claimed to possess. What’s to say that it doesn’t exist or that it couldn’t
happen? All it would take is someone taking those abilities and twisting them
to suit his purposes, to destroy.
Your paranormal
world differs quite a lot from most, how would you describe it?
I think it has a lot of edge
with some seriously dark undertones that keep you guessing and wondering if you
should sleep with the lights on. Its modern meets dystopian meets monsters.
How do Isaiah and
Amalie (Touching Eternity) differ from Isaiah and Fallon (Touching Smoke)?
Isaiah (Touching Eternity) is
very confused. He’s very torn. His loyalties are tested, his boundaries, his
self-worth and his courage. While Isaiah from Touching Smoke knows what needs
to be done. He has no reservations. He has but one mission, one thought, one
desire -- keeping Fallon safe.
Amalie is the polar opposite of
Fallon. She’s soft and weak and scared. She’s broken. Fallon is strong and
determined. She’s witty and refuses to be taken down without a fight.
Touching Eternity
has some very confronting themes, were they hard to write?
I can’t speak for other authors,
but for me, my characters are like my children. Seeing them hurt, seeing them
suffering is pure anguish. There wasn’t a moment in Touching Eternity where I
didn’t want to pull Amalie into my arms and protect her. Writing Touching
Eternity was emotionally and mentally challenging. It took a great deal out of
me.
Do you a have a
preferred writing space or time?
I can write anywhere, but my
best ideas usually come to me between 12am-4am. That’s when I do most of my
writing.
Was there a
specific reason you chose the self-publishing route?
I tried the traditional path. I
sent Touching Smoke to several publishers and always got very polite responses
back that it wasn’t a fit or that they didn’t have the space for such a book at
the time, etc. So I shelved my desire to publish, thinking I would try again at
a later time. Then a friend suggested I go at it myself, which was just
terrifying at first. But I did my homework, asked about a million questions and
finally decided why not.
What was the last
book you read that blew you away?
I am a huge Rick Riordan fan. I
just finished his entire Percy Jackson Series, Heroes of Olympus Series and am
now on the Kane Chronicles. I think he’s an utter genius and he always keeps me
reeling even after I set the book down.
What are some of
your favourite hobbies or interests?
Reading. I am such a book
hoarder. It’s a frightening obsession really. I love gardening, baking and
craft making. I also do graphic designs for myself and others. But if I had to
pick a single thing that I would pick to do for the rest of my life and that
would be the adventures I have with my children. They keep me young and keep my
muse hopping.
Is there anything
you are working on that you would like to share?
I’m actually working on my first
ever Contemporary. I’m quite proud of myself, because I don’t normally read or
write it and it’s something that just came to me one day. It’s very fun and
light which is such a huge jump from Touching Eternity. The book temporarily
has no title, but it will be released Feb 14th, just in time for
Valentine’s Day. It’s an action, suspense romance that takes us into the lives
of Sophie and Spencer as they embark on a journey filled with broken hearts,
new beginnings and a dark evil lurking in the shadows waiting to finish what it
had started.
Thank you again so much for
inviting me to visit with you. It has been incredible and such a fun journey!
All the best to you and your readers!! <3
Airicka Phoenix is the author of
TOUCHING SMOKE (Touch Book #1), TOUCHING ETERNITY (Touch 1.5), TORRID, a short
story as part of the Whispered Beginnings: A Clever Fiction Anthology and
WANTING & INTENTIONS, two stories as part of the Midnight Surrender Anthology.
When she's not hammering away at the keyboard, she can be found banishing
pirates or crawling through the attic looking for lost treasure with her kids.
She loves baking, gardening and reading. She also likes to travel and take
pictures of everything she comes across. When asked, Airicka describes herself
as a sarcastic basket case that has an unhealthy addiction to chocolate, old
movies and really bad jokes. She loves to laugh, make friends and write. If she
could have one wish granted, it would be to spend one day as a fly-on-the-wall
inside Stephen King's mind. If she could have two wishes granted, she would ask
for a castle dedicated entirely to her overwhelming collection of books.
WIN AN EBOOK OF TOUCHING ETERNITY AND TOUCHING SMOKE! LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR EMAIL AND FAVOURITE TYPE OF CHOCOLATE. (You must be 18+ to win both copies, but if you're under 18 you will only receive an ebook of Touching Smoke.)
GIVEAWAY ENDS JANUARY 5TH 2013.
