Nicky Peacock interview plus a fun cover reveal from C Lee McKenzie

Today Idea City has an interview with UK fantasy author Nicky Peacock. We also have a fun cover reveal for C. Lee's forthcoming middle grade novel so make sure to scroll through the whole post!

Hi, Nicky, what are some of your newest books?

Bad Timing is the second in the Battle of the Undead series and hot on its heels was the free read prequel, Traitors' Gate, which takes the reader back to where it all began. This spring saw the release of my new series with Evernight Teen, The Twisted and the Brave. The first book, Lost in Wonderland is a dark, supernatural thriller. 

Tell us about your main characters

Britannia is the heroine in the Battle of the Undead series, she's an old vampire with a dry sense of humor and the kind of violent tendencies that makes her the perfect weapon against a zombie apocalypse. She has an unspoken obsession with perfection, especially when it comes to how she looks and she's spent too much time on her own and needs to learn to rely on others. 

Tell us about a main theme. What fired you up to write on this theme?

The main theme is co-operation throughout the books. That only by working with others can you get through impending disaster. I've always believed this in life. I also though it fit really well with vampires as a species. Zombies naturally run in groups, but vampires can be quite solitary in nature. So pitting them against one another with these very different social habits makes for an interesting fight. 

Give us your favorite line from your protagonist: 

Britannia: "He gave me a sly smile, as if he was trying to get away with something. Like he’d farted and was waiting for me to smell it."

From an antagonist: 

Nicholas: "Britannia. I am acutely aware that you hate me. I am equally aware that our survival”—he motioned around us—“is dependent on you not being such a bitch.”

An emblematic, teaser paragraph from Bad Blood:

  Nicholas looked thoughtful then nodded. He, of course didn’t want to actually say aloud that I’d had a good idea. “So, how do we get past them?”

  I assumed it was a rhetorical question, so I started down to the car park entrance, where most of the zombies were mobbing. I opened the outer door as quietly as possible.

  “Ladies first,” Nicholas whispered in my ear.

  “I thought we’d agreed I wasn’t a lady.” With that, I shoved him as hard as I could into the throbbing throng of zombies.

What keeps you going when inspiration flags?

Inspiration is my one thing that never flags. I have far too many ideas for stories to write. It's more my time and energy to actually do the writing that I can struggle with. When that happens, I try to change my surroundings. I go somewhere different to write, somewhere I can focus on what I'm doing and not be a slave to the demons of procrastination.

What truly inspires you and fires up your vision?

The vision of my future as a professional full time writer. That's the dream. Like most modern authors I need to maintain a full time job to ensure I have those luxuries in life such as food and shelter. I'd love to not have that worry. To just wake up every day and know that I can do the one thing I love and get enough money from it to live a comfortable life.

Best words of advice you ever received?

You can't please everyone (great advice, especially for writers) 

Worst?

What's meant for you won't pass you by (can make you lazy and fool you into thinking that life owes you something)

Some writing advice to aspiring and new authors?

Join a writers' group. Writing can be a very lonely pursuit, having like-minded people around you can help to motivate you to keep going and inspire you. I run an adult and a YA group in my home town. 

Which do you enjoy writing most: action, romance, setting, dialog?

I love writing it all. I'd hate to think that I was weak on one aspect. I am guilty of including more action that most books in my genre, but I think that if the story warrants it, you shouldn't shy away from action scenes.

A hint of what you’re working on next?

I'm currently working on two books. The next book in the Battle of the Undead series, Bad Karma and also the 2nd book in my new series, The Twisted and the Brave, called The Assassin of Oz.

Buy Lost in Wonderland (The Twisted & the Brave Book 1) from Amazon, Amazon UK

Buy Bad Blood, Bad Timing & other great Nicky Peacock books at Amazon, Amazon UK

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Where to find Nicky on the web:

Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Tumblr, Authorgraph

Nicky's Bio:

I’ve always been a storyteller, not in a ‘liar liar pants on fire’ kind of way, although I do work in advertising! When I was little, kids would crowd around me in the playground and I’d tell them tales of blood soaked horror filled with vampires, werewolves, ghosts and more. Yes, most would consider me a disturbed child, but my playmates couldn’t help themselves, they’d huddle around me every break time like an ancient tribe feeding off the fear; and that’s how I learned that horror stories hold a certain power, no matter what some might say, everyone is addicted to a good scare, especially if it is somewhat rooted safely in unrealistic beings… or are they unrealistic?

Writing was really a natural progression for me. So far I’ve had 35 short stories included in anthologies produced by publishers all over the world; my latest was included in Little Brown Book Group’s Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Stories. I have two YA series with the publishers, Evernight Teen:Battle of the Undead and The Twisted and The Brave. I run a local adult writers’ group called Creative Minds Writing and have been asked by my local library (Corby, Northants, UK) to run a group for budding authors aged 13-25.

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And now... drumroll... here's C. Lee's spectacular cover for her upcoming middle grade fantasy Sign of the Green Dragon! It launches on August 3rd, but put it on your Goodreads TBR list right now!

The novel summary:

This hasn’t been the best year for Sam, and it just got worse. Right when he thought he’d found a permanent home, his finicky guardian tells him he’s shipping Sam off to private school. This means Sam won’t bat for his team, and if he doesn’t, Haggarty Elementary won’t win the baseball championship again this year. His two teammates, Joey and Roger, are determined to stash him in their secret cave—at least until he brings in the winning run.

While the boys explore the hideout, an earthquake crumbles a wall, revealing a hidden room—and it’s not empty. A dragon-carved chest opens to reveal a human skeleton, its hand-bones clutching a note with a crudely drawn map. At the top of the map is scribbled, 1859.

Sam, Joey and Roger learn about a treasure lying in wait, if only they can locate something called the Dragon Twin, reveal the truth about an old murder, and return a person named Mei Ling to her ancestors in China.

The boys are up for the challenge. But how? They only have the map showing the way to an old mining town, and some strange symbols they can’t understand. None of them can make sense of the note. Who’s Mei Ling? And what the heck is a Dragon Twin?

With time running out before he’s sent packing, Sam and his friends set out on an adventure that has much higher stakes than any baseball championship—one that gets them into trouble with a modern crime, pits them against ancient Chinese dragons, and reveals the true meaning of treasure for each of them.

In case you haven't read C. Lee's other rollicking Pete Riley books, check them out here!

Buy Alligators Overhead at Amazon & Nook/B&N

Buy The Great Timelock Disaster at Amazon & Nook/B&N

Check out everything C Lee McKenzie at her website, on Facebook, Twitter & on Instagram

Mysterious & Magical Spring-ish Book Blossoms

My new Art of Love box set paperback!

It's spring, would you even know it?! I took a walk in the park down the street and saw cute snowdrop bulbs peeking through. On a similar note, many great books have recently popped through the proverbial soil. I'm posting some of these "supernatural book blossoms" that fit right into a spring thaw. 

Some have mini-interviews. Oh, and here's a pix of me with my own new Art of Love box set. Even better than spring flowers.

Christine Rains' urban fantasy Of Blood and Sorrow is out. Can't wait to read it!
Erin Driscol works the perfect job consoling fellow demons by feeding off their grief at Putzkammer & Sons Funeral Home. 

When fledgling vampire Nicolas Reese comes to Erin for help, she learns the truth behind the legends and hides him from his sire and the vampire hunters who seek him. But when the Putzkammers begin to die one by one, Erin is caught between her act of kindness and the need to save her adopted family. Only by facing her own personal demons can she stop the slaughter and still rescue Nicolas from his dark fate.

Shop for Of Blood & Sorrow at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Smashie

Marcus Damanda has all three out in his horror trilogy, The Devil in Miss Drake’s Class. Here's what he says about book 2:

Audrey Bales returns as the main character. She’s much stronger than the girl who attempted suicide in DEVILS IN THE DARK, and fully invested in her continuing recovery as she “reboots” life at a new school. However, her nemesis from the first book, Maggie Lassiter, also returns, fresh out of juvenile detention and burning with the desire to sabotage Audrey’s new beginning. In this book, we also meet Jack Maddox, a classmate of Audrey’s. He likes her very much, and has plans of his own.

What is their biggest challenge or quest?
Audrey’s greatest hurdle, as the book begins, is to make new friendships in a strange place without the safeguards she was given at the psychiatric ward. As the book progresses, she has to weather a storm caused by others—two competing forces, both evil, one of which wants to destroy her, and the other that wants to “save” her in the worst way imaginable.

Give us your favorite line from your protagonist
“Life reboots today.”

From an antagonist:
From Maggie: “See, Mom? This is how my game is played.”
From Jack: “Mr. Downing, you’ve got happy pants. How inappropriate.”

Since bad advice is often funnier than good advice, what was the worst advice ever?

From my video store boss when I told him I was finishing my teaching degree: “Why? Another year or two here, and I can see you becoming a real retail guy.”

Shop for his trilogy at Amazon, B&N
Visit his website and Facebook page.

Krya Dune writes paranormal fantasy & has multiple novels. She says:
My recent release is Bonded, a YA Paranormal Romance, and the first Dual Realm Novel. These books will be part of a standalone series set in the same world, meaning they can be read in any order. But each novel will be told from a different character's point of view.  

Tell us a little about your main characters:
In the Dual Realm novels, another realm (or dimension) co-exists alongside our own. Trey, the main character in Bonded, is from this other realm. He is a young man trying to escape a troubled past. After running to our world, he meets Sarah, a sixteen year old whose brother ran afoul of a local gang. Her brother's disappearance has left Sarah as a target for the gang leader. 

Your favorite line from your protagonist:
“Because it was easier to not care. But I was only fooling myself. I did care. I loved her and losing her the way I did...it almost killed me.”

From an antagonist:
“You don’t speak unless it’s to tell me what I want to hear.” 

Best words of advice?
No matter how hard it gets, always chase your dreams. Never give up.  My father taught me that. 

Shop for all Kyra Dune books at Amazon, B&N. Visit her website and Facebook page.

Angela Brown's urban fantasy dystopian is Beacon. A summary:
Tsunamis reduced the USA into a shell of itself, called The Fold. Surviving humans and vampires joined forces to form The Colony, where registered citizens do as they're told. 

They donate blood quarterly and dream of being chosen as Attendees for the Jubilee celebrations, that is, everyone except Macie Breen. With high school graduation near, she’s anxious to ditch the rules in hopes of starting a new life with Thane, an unregistered and also her best friend. 

Her hopes fizzle when Macie is selected as an Attendee, forever registered. Any future with Thane…impossible. Being chosen comes with another unexpected price. 

Truths about The Colony blaze into ashes and lies when she discovers the vampires haven't kept their part of the bargain. Worst still, Macie’s life unravels as her stint in the city of Bliss forces her to face daunting truths about who, and what, she really is.

Shop for Beacon at Amazon, B&N

C Lee McKenzie's Timelock Disaster, the sequel to Alligators Overhead is out! If you're in the market for fun middle grade adventure (gift it to one of the kids!), take a look.
Becoming a wizard is hard work. For Pete Riley it’s almost impossible. He tries to follow the rules, but he’s impatient and being impatient only leads to trouble. Big trouble. He messes with a time spell when he shouldn’t and he and his bookish friend, Weasel, are swept into Victorian England, where they will be trapped forever if that wizard-in-training can’t find a way to reverse his bad spell by the next full moon.
Shop for C Lee's YA and MG books at Amazon & B&N

What magical book "blossoms" have you read lately? Do you have your own special book coming out soon?

TSU? Ello? Tumblr? Instagram? Facebook loyalist? Which are you? Plus some fab launches!

There's talk about changes over at Facebook that will take place in 2015 regarding promo and book launch posts. This includes rumors about Facebook charging a base rate for a biz subscription. And there's also buzz about a new social media alternative called Tsu, and how FB folks should set up new profiles over there. Here's a NY Times article about it. Your thoughts on TSU?

And now, for the array of great launches!
Fantasy Uprising, the Untethered Realms boxed set is out, and just in time for the upcoming holidays! Isn't it spectacular? It contains novels from fantasy to dark magic to sci-fi.
Only $0.99 and available at Amazon, Nook, Smashwords, Googleplay, iTunes

Stephanie Keyes, creator of the popular Star Child series has a new novella, The Last Protector.

Here's a summary:
Gabriel Stewart helped his best friend Kellen St. James save the world from The Scourge in the Battle of Dublin. But before that? Gabe was just an ordinary guy who kept having dreams about a little boy with black hair and green eyes—a boy he hadn’t even met yet.

And even weirder? Gabe’s mind kept replaying these images on loop of things he’d never seen. He heard voices in his head when no one was around. And he actually blew off hot Valerie Gibbons to chase after the black-haired kid in the park. What was up with that?
As Gabe searches for the truth, fate continually puts him in Kellen’s path, but will he be able to stop the Children of Danu from stealing Kellen before the battle begins? What will it take for Gabe to become The Last Protector?
*The Last Protector is a companion novella--intended to be read after the other books in the series.

See all of Stephanie's novels on Amazon & B&N

C Lee McKenzie has a new YA novel out, Sudden Secrets.

A summary:
One Secret 
Cleo has struggled to heal after her baby sister’s death, but the flashbacks to the accident won’t go away. With the move, she vows to keep her tragedy a secret and avoid pitying looks. 
One Mystery 
Something’s strange about the abandoned house across the street—flashes of light late at night and small flickers of movement that only someone looking for them would see. 
Everyone says the house is deserted, but Cleo is sure it isn’t, and she’s sure whoever is inside is watching her. 
Another Secret 
In one night, Belleza’s life changes forever. So famous, her only choice is to hide her secret from the world so she can silence small town bigotry. 
Then Cleo happens.

Sudden Secrets is available at Amazon & Evernight Teen

My own YA thriller Ruby's Fire is on sale $0.99 at Amazon!

And my new dark YA Dorianna is getting nice reviews, which I'm grateful for.

Here's the newest reader review:
WOW .... SERIOUSLY WOW!!! I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this book as Dorian Grey was ... well, Dorian Grey. Someone who wants to adapt this to more modern times could really go either way, really bad or really good. This was FANTASTIC!!! Although personally, I do prefer the bad and want a Wilson of my own it was so very well written! The fact that it tackles the current fad of "followers" and current internet insanity was just brilliantly written and well executed! I really really loved it and will definitely be recommending it to others. An excellent read for sure!!!

Medeia Sharif's brand new YA novel Vitamins and Death is out.
A summary: 

Deidra Battle wants nothing more than to be invisible. After her mother, a public school teacher, engages in an embarrassing teacher-student affair at Lincoln High, they relocate to a different neighborhood and school. Being her mother's briefcase, Deidra joins her mother at her new workplace, Hodge High. Since her mother has reverted to her maiden name and changed her appearance, she thinks no one will figure out they're the Battles from recent news and that they're safe. Neither of them is. Hodge brings a fresh set of bullies who discover details about the scandal that changed Deidra's life. Feeling trapped at home with an emotionally abusive, pill-addicted mother and at school with hostile classmates who attempt to assault and blackmail her, Deidra yearns for freedom, even if she has to act out of character and hurt others in the process. Freedom comes at a price.
Available at Amazon

Cherie Reich's newest, People of Foxwick is out too. What a gorgeous cover! See all of Cherie's Foxwick's books: Amazon & B&N  The blurb:

The kingdom hangs in the balance. War threatens Foxwick on all sides.

The dreaded Shadowlands gains more souls. From the shrouded trees in Greymist Forest to the arid Blackden Barrens, monsters roam in search of their next victim. Sirens lure ships beneath Merrilea Sea. In cold and snowy Wintermill, royals plot to claim Foxwick as their own, even if they must use dragons and sorcery. Marriage between Foxwick's king and Lochhollow's princess creates a perilous alliance. Although brave Valdale will come to Foxwick's aid, the cost may be more than a true friend can stomach. Set over a hundred years, these seventeen fantasy short stories explore the people, creatures, and lands in and around the Kingdom of Foxwick.

Short stories in the collection: Common Love, Blind Scribe, Lady Bard, Siren's Call, Tribal Abandonment, Dragon's Sacrifice, Dragon Spy, Dragon Seer, Sword Master, Lady Death, Mage Game, Courting Magic, Monster Hunger, Mourner's Lament, Magic Seeker, Prince's Price, and Love's Challenge

The best present one can give to an indie author is the gift of buying, reading and reviewing their books. Agree?

So what are your thoughts on Tsu, Ello, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook's new policies, any of the above? Which are your fave social media hangouts? For personal posts? For promo?

Alligators Overhead! The Launch of C Lee McKenzie's new middle grade adventure

Today, Idea City helps celebrate the launch of our own C. Lee McKenzie’s middle grade novel, Alligators Overhead! Great cover, huh? Here's a story synopsis:

Alligators, witches and a spooky mansion aren't your average neighbors. Unless you live at the edge of the Ornofree Swamp in the backwater town of Hadleyville. The town's bad boy, Pete Riley, may only be twelve, but he's up to his eyeballs in big trouble, and this time he isn't the cause. This time the trouble arrives when a legendary hundred-year-old mansion materializes next door and the Ornofree alligators declare war to save their swamp from bulldozers. Things only get worse when Pete's guardian aunt and several of her close friends vanish while trying to restore order using outdated witchcraft. Now Pete must find the witches and stop the war. He might stand a chance if his one friend, Weasel, sticks with him, but even then, they may not have what it takes.

Where to buy Alligators Overhead:
Amazon Kindle, B&N, Amazon Author Page

Where to find C. Lee online:
Twitter
Facebook Page
Website
To follow her other tour stops and read interviews click here.