Genre: Urban Fantasy Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Etopia Press
Date of Publication: 1/3/2014
ISBN: 978-1-940223-74-2
ASIN: B00HMUQWQ2
Number of pages: 269
Word Count: 96K
Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/YiCqYd9UBMk
Book Description:
Evaine, a struggling New York theater
student, enters an unsanctioned drug trial in an effort to pay bills. She awakens in a derelict hospital, chained
to a bed with no memory of who she is, or how she got there. A band of pale skinned men, led by the
gorgeous Luca, burst in, whisking her away to safety.
Once at Haven House, Evaine is introduced
to The Family. Like them, she has become A Deader, a reanimated Undead.
Luca is hell-bent on stopping the
experimentations, and killing those responsible. He has no time for a Newborn
who is struggling to control her rages, hunger, and powers. Nor does he have
the desire to deal with the feelings she's awakening within him.
Despite their best efforts, Evaine and
Luca find their connection intensifying when suddenly, she remembers not only
who she is, but also her fiancé, Tristan; who is still looking for her.
Torn between her first love and her new
heart’s desire, Evaine runs back to Tristan putting everyone in danger. When a
rogue faction of Deaders, called Feeders, attempts to kidnap her, Luca suspects
Evaine is the key to the experiments.
Can everyone band together to keep Evaine
off the cutting table of those she escaped from? Or will second death tear her
away from everyone, for good?
Interview:
- Where did you get the idea for the novel? Dead Awakenings started as a joke
actually. An author told me she'd never heard of a Zombie Romance and I
thought it was a disgusting idea. I mean, how do you make zombies sexy? So
I decided to take everything I knew about zombies and throw it out the
window. From there I started from scratch about a woman who didn't know
she was a zombie. Her husband was a doctor who had brought her back. That
led to the idea for Dead Awakenings.
- Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change
your title? I
came up with the title. Once I come up with a title I don't change it. I
tried, with one of my books called The
Society, but I decided to keep the title and give it a sub-title
instead because I just couldn't find one I liked that seemed to fit. I
rarely have a problem finding a title for my books. I just wrote a novella
though that remained "Unnamed" until I was finished editing it.
I had a hard time with that one! But that was the first time.
- Which came first, the title or the novel? I don't remember. I'm pretty sure
I started the novel and then the title came to me after the first chapter.
Well…The second chapter actually, because the second chapter was
originally the first chapter.
- Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing
to ever happen to you?
Uh… Well, Dead Awakenings is my debut novel, but I have had several
amazing things happen since it was released. Being given 5 Star - Top
Reviewer Pick by Night Owl Reviews was pretty awesome. Having my book
trailer on USA Today was pretty cool too. And being invited to Book'd in
Burbank to read from my book, is both terrifying and exciting.
- What book are you currently reading or what was the
last book you read? Oh
boy! I don't want to mention the last book I read because it was totally
awful! Ha-ha! I am getting ready to read Divergent.
- What was your first book that you ever wrote (very
first one you wrote, not published)? Uhm…It isn't finished, does that count? It was a mafia
romance. I used to love Sidney Sheldon so it was very Sidney Sheldon
style. I didn't ever finish it though. Dead Awakenings was the first book
I finished.
- What is your writing process? My process has changed over the
last couple of years. I used to pants everything. Just get an idea and go.
It was fun! But then I started writing series and it became more
difficult. My Farielle series, which the first three books are being
released this year, needed to be plotted because the characters intertwine
from book to book. So I need to make sure I set things up in advance. I
plotted that stuff out. Then I plotted out 20 plot points for each book
and pants after that. So I am a plotzer now. I plot out major points and
pants how everything happens. I left my characters drive the story and
decide what happens. If I don't they sit down, fold their arms and refuse
to work with me. Sometimes that's frustrating!
- Who are your favorite authors of all time? Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Ken
Follett, Shakepeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Louis Carrol, Frank Baum, Jules
Verne, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein,
- At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you
write a note? How do you come up with stuff to say? I've never done one yet, but
that's a good question. I've practiced my signature to try and make it
fun. Because writing hurts my hand, I don't think I'd write a note unless
asked. But, I might put my logline - Books with a Bite!
- What is something people would be surprised to know
about you? I
Homeschool my 4 young children J
- How do you react to a bad review? I haven't had a bad review yet,
but I did get one that gave me 4 stars and then proceeded to rip zombie
books apart. LOL! And told things they didn't like about the book. I was
okay with it. I try not to read reviews much. There's not much you can do
about the book once it's out there.
- How did you celebrate the sale of your first book? I was at Comic Con San Diego at
the time and that was AMAZING!! It is my favorite place on Earth, so I
celebrated by coming home with hand drawn 18x24 artwork of Loki, Ghost
Rider and Hulk, my favorites J
Rebekah R.
Ganiere - Books with a Bite
website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads
~ Book
Trailers
Excerpt:
Chapter One
Warm, thick air filled
Evaine’s lungs; it was going to rain. She gazed up at the clouds rolling in.
They blanketed the sky like waves of dirty cotton. Stormy weather, her
favorite, but she didn’t want to get caught in the rain today. The laundromat
was a luxury she could not afford right now.
Picking up her pace she
headed toward the office of Mac, her fine arts adviser. The wind picked up as
she crossed the quad, and the first droplet of water hit her cheek. She pulled
down the long sleeves of her worn-out shirt. The thin hoodie was about as good
at keeping out the chill as paper would be keeping out a charging bull.
Evaine’s mind began to
drift as she fought through students rushing to get out of the drizzle. Without
permission, her brain turned to her overdue bills. Trying to live on meager
grants and student loans was harder than she would have thought, considering
how she’d grown up. Her rent had been due a week ago, and she wondered why her
pitbull of a landlord hadn’t been banging down her door like the last million
times her rent had been twenty minutes late. Not that the very small
studio—hole—was worth what she paid. Maybe she would be better living on the
street. She needed to come up with some cash, fast.
The voice of her mother,
Phyllis, chimed in. Life would be easier if you’d let Tristan help out.
Sigh…Tristan. She
absently rubbed her finger where the huge diamond ring he had gotten her rarely
sat. She refused to wear it for the sheer size, not to mention that she didn’t
want to let anyone know she was engaged at the age of twenty. Some people would
think she was marrying Tristan Atwater for his money. Her mother had tried to
teach her for years how to use her body to catch a man of means. But Evaine
couldn’t stand for anyone to find out she shared even one shred of DNA with the
woman who had birthed her. Phyllis had used every man she’d ever known. No way
was Evaine going to take a penny of Tristan’s money to pay for anything until
they married; and she didn’t think she would ever get used to it, really. She’d
always prided herself for being able to stand on her own.
She refused to rush into
marriage. Not in her second year of college, not even to a guy as wonderful as
Tristan. The only man she’d ever loved; the only good thing to ever happen to
her. He was her security blanket. The only person she had ever relied on and
trusted. But she’d never let his money be her security. Between his trust fund
and the money he made at his job he could more than pay for five penthouse
apartments on Park Avenue. She may have been a foster system reject brought up
in a trailer park, but that didn’t mean she had to act like one.
Couldn’t hurt to ask for
a few dollars. Phyllis’s voice was again in her head.
“Hey, Evaine!”
The wind whipped her
hair into her face as she lifted her head. “Hey, Jeff.”
“Where you off to?” He
fell into step beside her.
“I need to see Mac.” She
continued toward Mac’s office building.
Jeff was a sweet guy,
not bad looking either, in a sort of geeky way. He had kind eyes and shaggy,
curly surfer blond hair. His tall, lean frame had a nice build. For the second
time since getting engaged she was reminded that she’d never even dated another
man beside Tristan.
Last year when they'd
done a rendition of Taming of the Shrew together, Jeff had been especially nice
to her. He’d asked her out a couple of times. Every time she’d made up excuses
about schoolwork or her job—anything. She hadn’t been sure what to say. No one
knew about Tristan, and she wanted to keep it that way. She wasn’t ashamed of
Tristan, by any means. She just didn’t like all the attention that came from
dating him.
Most girls would brag
about a rich VP of marketing boyfriend and a gigantic, five-carat diamond ring.
But she was still wondering what Tristan had been thinking when he’d bought
that lighthouse beacon for her to wear on her hand.
About the
Author:
Rebekah grew up on both the east and west
coasts and currently lives in the Los Angeles area. From the Giving Tree by
Shel Silverstein to The Stand by Stephen King, Rebekah immersed herself in
other people's made up worlds. She began writing in junior high and then found
she liked pretending to be other people's characters in high school. Lettering
in drama she went on to study theater in college as well. After college she
continued acting till becoming a mom. Ultimately, she ended up going back to
writing her characters down instead of acting them out, so she could stay at
home with her kids.
Rebekah is a member of Romance Writers of
America and is a board member of both the Fantasy, Futuristic, & Paranormal
and her local Los Angeles chapters. When
she isn't spending time telling the lives of the characters constantly
chattering inside her head, you can find her with her husband and four
children; reading comic books, gaming, at the movies or taking care of the
menagerie of pets. A dog, a rabbit, two bearded dragons, and three tortoises.
Wonder woman, the escaped snake, has yet to be located.
Twitter: @VampWereZombie
Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/VampWereZombie
Youtube: http://youtu.be/YiCqYd9UBMk
Giveaway:
Bookmarks, Zombie Necklace, Book, Possibly Character Cards and Halloween Bottle Labels.
Thanx a bunch for having me today!
ReplyDelete