Copyright Vicki Tyley (c)
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Quote of the day:
"The desire not to be anything is the desire not to be."
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Kate Evangelista
- Guest Author
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G'day guys,
Today I'm pleased to introduce my first guest from the Philippines - Kate Evangelista. When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn’t going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters worse, she took Master’s courses in creative writing. In the end, she realized to be a writer, none of what she had mattered. What really mattered? Writing. Plain and simple, honest to God, sitting in front of her computer, writing. Today, she has four completed Young Adult novels.
Welcome, Kate.
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WERE YOU A GOOD READER AS A KID?
I actually wasn’t. I remember passing the first grade without knowing how to spell and throughout grade school I had remedial classes for reading. I guess I’m a late bloomer because my keen interest in reading only came when I started high school.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
Getting to meet all the characters in my head (even the scary ones) and learning their story. Each time I start something new, it’s like an adventure within the life of whoever is telling the story at the time. I get to live vicariously through the characters in the apartment complexes in my head.
WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?
Realizing I could write a chapter a day for a whole month, and when the month is over, I have a brand new novel. I know it doesn’t sound like a huge achievement in the grand scheme of things, but considering the number of stories I have in my head, being able to writing something new every month is a godsend.
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WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I’m in the final stages of my companion novel to Taste. Many have asked me if Taste is a series, and I always say it’s a stand alone. The book I’m finishing up now is a companion novel called Savor which focuses on the character of Luka.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Everything and anything. I make sure to keep myself open to the possibilities. As an example, my second novel coming out October 30, 2012 called Reaping Me Softly was actually inspired by a scene in the Deathly Hollows Part 1 movie. It’s the animated part with Death and the three bothers. I liked the portrayal of Death there, and when I got home, I had a new novel ready to be written.
WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?
I’m not really genre specific when I write because I dabble in a little bit of everything, but one thing is consistent in my work: romance. Wether I am writing an Urban Fantasy or something paranormal, there’s always romance involved.
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?
I usually write in the afternoons. But I find that I’m most creative at night. I try to limit writing at night because I don’t end up sleeping, and I’m the type who needs sleep.
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WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?
I love Lisa Kleypas. She has a sense of humor in her writing that really makes me laugh out loud when I read her stuff. At the same time, she always has a twist at the end. No matter what you think the ending with be, she ends up surprising you.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?
That she bought her sister a copy of my book after reading it in one sitting.
HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU PUBLISHED?
I have one already out there called Taste with a companion novel called Savor to follow. My second one is the first of a trilogy called Reaping Me Softly, which will be released on October 30, 2012. I have two more trilogies which will be released in 2013. So all in all, eleven books and counting.
Book Blurbs
Song Credits: “Hunger” © Noelle Pico.
Full Download available at http://sheisnoelle.bandcamp.com
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'Taste'
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At Barinkoff Academy, there’s only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.
When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.
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'Reaping Me Softly'
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Ever since a near-death-experience on the operating table, seventeen-year-old Arianne Wilson can see dead people. Just as she’s learned to accept her new-found talents, she discovers that the boy she’s had a crush on since freshman year, Niko Clark, is a Reaper.
At last they have something in common, but that doesn’t mean life is getting any easier. All while facing merciless bullying from the most powerful girl in school, Arianne’s world is turned upside down after Niko accidentally reaps the soul of someone she loves. This sends them both into a spiral that threatens to end Arianne’s life. But will Niko break his own Reaper’s code to save her? And what would the consequences be if he did?
Find 'Reaping Me Softly' on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15988916-reaping-me-softly
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Kate's contact points:
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Author Website: www.kateevangelista.com
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Twitter: @KateEvangelista
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Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kate-Evangelista/165693410143202
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Find Taste on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13484226-taste
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Crescent Moon Press page for Taste: http://crescentmoonpress.com/books/Taste.html
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Purchase Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taste-ebook/dp/B007Z1AC78
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Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taste-kate-evangelista/1110599907?ean=9781937254551
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Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Taste/book-Q8M5pIKoJkKLo_FgBJ_BOQ/page1.html?s=vUVZkfrXZUeDOQXRE7MhuA&r=4
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The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Taste-Kate-Evangelista/9781937254551
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'Taste' Excerpt
"I sat up and followed Calixta’s gaze upward. I rubbed my eyes. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first. A statue? My brain refused to snap together coherent thoughts. I didn’t realize I’d fallen so close to one of the garden benches until I stared up at the boy that sat on one. He was strikingly beautiful. His tumble of blonde hair curled just above his sculpted cheekbones. He wore a silk shirt and a loosened cravat, like he’d become bored while dressing and decided to leave himself in disarray. His ivory skin and frozen position was what had me mistaking him for something carved from marble by Michelangelo. Then he sighed—a lonely, breathy proof of life. If I had to imagine what Lucifer looked like before he fell from heaven, the boy on the bench would certainly fulfill that image. My brain told me I had to look away, but I couldn’t.
“Luka,” Calixta said again, her voice unsure, almost nervous. It no longer contained the steel and bite she had threatened me with, which made me wonder who the boy was.
He leaned on his hands and crossed his legs, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the night sky. His movements spoke of elegance and control. I’d encountered many people with breeding before, but his took on the air of arrogance and self-assuredness of someone used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it.
I only realized I’d been holding my breath when my lungs protested. I exhaled. My heart sputtered and restarted with a vengeance. Luka tore his gaze away from the stars and settled it on me. I’d expected pitch-black irises, like the other Night Students, but blue ice stared back at me.
“Human,” he whispered.
He reached out, and with a finger, followed an invisible trail down my cheek. I stiffened. His touch, cooler than Demitri’s, caused warm sparks to blossom on my face. He lifted his finger to his lips and licked its tip. He might as well have licked me from the way my body shivered.
Luka’s curious gaze held mine. “Leave us,” he said, but not to me.
“But—” Calixta protested like a spoiled child.
He spoke in a language I hadn’t heard before, remaining calm yet firm. The words had a rolling cadence I couldn’t quite follow, like rumbling thunder in the distance. They contained a harsh sensuality. The consonants were hard and the vowels were long and lilting.
Footsteps retreated behind me.
Luka reached out again.
It took me a minute to realize he wanted to help me up. I hesitated. He smiled. I smiled back timidly and took his hand, completely dazzled. Even with my uniform soaked from melted snow, I didn’t feel cold—all my attention was on him and the way his callused hand felt on mine. Without moving much from his seated position, he helped me stand.
“What’s your name?” he asked. He had a voice like a familiar lullaby. It filled my heart to the brim with comfort.
I swallowed and tried to stop gawking. “Phoenix.”
“The bird that rose from the ashes.” Luka bent his head and kissed the back of my hand. “It’s a pleasure meeting you.”
My cheeks warmed. My head reeled, not knowing what to think. I couldn’t understand why I felt drawn to him. And the strange connection frightened me.
From behind, someone gripped my arms and yanked me away before I could sort out the feelings Luka inspired in me. I found myself behind a towering figure yet again. Recognizing the blue-black silk for hair tied at the nape, relief washed over me. Calixta hadn’t come back to finish me off.
Demitri’s large hand wrapped around my wrist. Unlike the night before, no calm existed in his demeanor. He trembled like a junky in need of a fix. The coiled power in his tense muscles vibrated into me.
“What are you doing here?” Demitri asked.
I didn’t know he’d spoken to me until I saw his expressionless profile. I sighed.
“Phoenix.”
I flinched. The ruthless way he said my name punched all the air out of me. “You owe me answers,” I said with as much bravado as I could muster.
“I owe you nothing.” He glared. “In fact, you owe me your life.”
“I don’t think so.”
Ignoring my indignation, he faced Luka, who’d remained seated on the bench during my exchange with Demitri. “Why is she with you, Luka?”
“I wasn’t going to taste her, if that’s what you’re implying,” Luka said. “Although, she is simply delicious. I wouldn’t mind if you left us alone.”
There it was again. Taste. The word that kept coming up between these Night Students and I was connected to it in an increasingly uncomfortable way. To taste meant to sample, but what? My flesh? They had to be joking because the alternative wasn’t funny.
“The sins of the father …” Demitri left his sentence unfinished.
Luka’s smile shifted into a snarl. “Obey my command.” His chin lifted. “Kneel.”
Demitri’s stance went rigid. His grip tightened around my wrist.
Okay, weird just got weirder. Why would Luka want Demitri to kneel before him? I thought back to Eli and the others bowing to Demitri when he questioned them, but they didn’t kneel. Seriously? Were they all living on a different planet or something?
“Kneel.” Luka’s detestable smirk made his features sinister rather than angelic. The real Lucifer: a fallen angel.
Without letting go of my wrist, Demitri knelt down on one knee and bowed his head, his free hand flat at the center of his chest. “Your command has been obeyed,” he said formally.
Luka nodded once.
Demitri stood up and pulled me toward the school without telling me where we were going. Not having the time to thank Luka for saving me from Calixta, I risked a glance back. Luka smiled at me. His smile spoke of whispers, secrets, and promises to be shared on a later date."
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Clancy's comment: Thanks, Kate. Wow, you seem to be fired up and ready to go. Good luck!-CT
I'm ...
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