Books and Other Spells: Blog Tour: The Boogieman by Claire Amber Interview & Giveaway

Book Title: The Boogieman

Book Synopsis: We follow 6 young women into a collaborated dream sequence hosted by the urban-legendary Boogieman.

Who will stay and who will wake up in cold sweat after witnessing such abominations of imagery called "nightmares"? Our host thus accompanies the girls to 6 different worlds and the final 7th world in their dream where he will claim what he was promised to receive. They shall venture through the past events of the USA's 1950s, the future, a lone island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the lost tomb of pharaoh Aswadbomani, a haunted mansion, the Middle Ages and finally those who are left shall see the gardens of Eden. Meet our lovely ladies: Sarah, the self-proclaimed detective, Giselle, the smart one, Natalie, one gritty b***h, Elizabeth, the cunning explorer, Lucille, that one character who is prone to getting into dangerous situations and then the others have to rescue her, and Hellen, the cheerful Miss Goody Two-Shoes who went to sleep only asking for one simple sex dream. They are each given a chance of a lifetime. A chance to unlock secrets to their salvation, hidden within the symbolism of their dreams... and a few very steamy encounters.

How this creature that brought the girls together came to exist and what his motives and goals are will all be revealed. He has nothing to hide, but he finds amusement in letting people figure some things out for themselves.

Think what you like, but you have been warned. The host of dreams in not only mystical, cryptic, perverted and fun-loving, but has also been proven to be quite dangerous if not approached with caution. We do not share the same definition of "fun".

With all of that in mind, I ask you this... Would you shake hands with the monster that lives in your closet?

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Tag Line: Would you shake hands with the monster that lives in your closet?

Release Date: 21/04/2014

Buy Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo iBooks Scribd

Interview:

1) I've always wanted to write an adventurous tale with lots of action and excitement, but also wrapped in a bit of mystery and, of course, it had to feature a romance between a woman and a paranormal creature. It's sort of my thing. So, since there were gonna be adventures in many different places and the characters would be getting in all sorts of dangers I had to think of a way to make it all make sense. I mean, you can't just send your characters off from Egypt to I dunno... Nepal for no reason. And you can't have all sorts of monsters skulking around the world without answering how and why they came to exist in the first place. Then I got to the idea of making it all a dream. It was perfect! That way anything could exist and the characters would be able to travel from one place to another with quickness and ease. Now all that was left was the romance part. With the urban legend named the Boogeyman (or whichever different spelling version of the name you prefer) being famous for haunting children who stay up past their bedtime, I figured he'd make the perfect Romeo for my Juliet.

2) I want to teach the readers about the nature of dreams. Other than that, there are a few more things I'd like them to understand after having read my novel. The story focuses on the struggles of each individual character and how they try to overcome the obstacles that are stopping them from living a better life, so to speak. Their dreams are a reflection of reality and through symbolism are trying to teach them what to fix and what to do better. Some signs may be harder to understand without looking up the meaning of each symbol on the internet. This excludes the Boogieman (he likes his name spelled this way), however. He has many names, two of them being the host of dreams and the Black Ram. Now we come to another thing I'd like to teach the readers. The meaning of the term "black ram". The Black Ram is actually a symbol for something, as is the common and well-known "lost son". We all know who the lost son is. It's a sinner who repents. So what does that make the Black Ram? I refer you to a part in my book blurb: "When one son left, he was the son who stayed." I'm not gonna say any more than this. Boogie explains it quite well himself in the book and I sure as hell wouldn't want to be the one to spoil his fun of singing about it.

3) I always keep one element in my writing the same. Every single book I write features a romance between a woman and a paranormal creature. So, naturally, you're gonna be seeing a lot of paranormal romances from me. There might be a fantasy, science fiction or a drama here and there, but mostly paranormal. I like it because real life is a bit too boring. I want adventure, fantastic worlds and exotic creatures! Give me that stuff and I'll be entertained.

4) The most exciting thing that's happened to me since I've become a writer was that I've managed to publish my first novel despite the fact that everyone told me it was too much work and too expensive when I was younger. I've only just begun with my writing career. Nothing too exciting happened to me so far other than having my debut novel published, but I always keep my fingers crossed.

5) Close Encounters: Taken by Alien Cavemen by Vanessa Cox was the last book I've read. It's one of those books you shouldn't judge by their title or cover. The title might seem silly, but the story is just awesome. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm a huge fan of Vanessa and her stories. Monster Erotica books are the only ones I actually enjoy reading. I'm a very difficult reader to deal with, to be honest. I used to do book reviews for authors who'd request them on my blog, but I've given up because I am just too critical. I get agitated easily and thus it's very hard for me to find a book I'll enjoy. Monster Erotica, particularly the ones written by Vanessa Cox, are basically the only books I like to read. Of course I'm willing to try other authors in that genre, but I've enjoyed her work most thus far. I just wish she had a bigger online presence and a street team I could join. Whenever someone asked me who my favorite author was, I had no idea what to tell them until recently. Now I'm absolutely overjoyed that I've finally found an author who understands me and writes about things that I love.

6) I get most of my ideas from dreams, listening to music while imagining my characters doing stuff or a whole bunch of scenarios that would fit the song and just plain observation. I'm the kind of person that likes to ask weird questions. For example, I was eating cake at a cafe with my best friend the other day and I asked her: "What do you think they keep in those cupboards up there?" as I pointed at the row of cupboards behind us near the bar. Those kind of questions really are strange, but they're the kind of questions that spin the imagination wheel. Try it sometime. Look at a random object and ask yourself a question about it to see what you'll come up with. After developing a clear idea, I create a layout of plot points and write them all down so that I have something to come back to when I'm stuck and have no idea what to do next. I also write down some details about the characters so that I don't have to go searching for the color of someone's eyes in the text. Then I just write.The most important thing is to write. You can't have a book without having written it first. I have a friend who's been working on a book for at least 3 years. He's got the idea, concept, everything, but he's just too lazy to write. Discipline is the key here. Discipline and patience.

7) I like to write a note with my name. Of course, you can't always make up a cool and original note for every reader requesting to have their book signed. Still, a note brings more value to the reader, so I've created a good way to balance things out. I've memorized a couple of notes to write and then I just write down whichever one of those notes I feel like adding with my autograph. That way not everyone will have the exact same note, but I also won't be under the pressure of having to think up a good note every single time.

8) You'd probably be surprised to know that when I was a kid, I didn't play with Barbies and Ken dolls. I played with Barbies and dinosaur action figures. I don't know why, but they always looked so much more attractive than those ugly Kens. I'd lock Ken up in the trunk of Barbie's pink minivan while Barbie and a T-Rex made out. After that, when I was old enough to understand cartoons, came my first crushes. The Lizard and Venom from Spider-Man, the Minotaur from The Mummy cartoon series, Windfang from Conan the Adventurer and so forth. I guess you can thank Mattel for my sexy monster fetish. If you're interested in finding out more about my crazy attractions, feel free to check out my hot guy list here --> http://claireamber.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-amber-preserved-hot-guy-list.html

9) I respect everyone's opinion. Bad reviews are not uncommon. And even though they are unpleasant, they are also a great way of learning and improving. To answer the question, I always read bad reviews thoroughly and try to learn from them. They make me feel bad and blue, but that doesn't mean I have to stop doing what I love. We're all different and that's just the way it's gonna be. If you try to please everyone you'll end up pleasing no one. It's better just to please yourself and maybe you'll even end up pleasing a few other people as well.

10) I didn't really celebrate it. There is no time for celebration. Just happiness. I have to continue working on marketing the book and writing my next one along with a bunch of other stuff in my life. Maybe if my book becomes popular, I'll celebrate, but for now, I'll just keep learning and trying to improve my writing and book marketing skills.

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