The Crossroads Tour: Day 5 Jordan Deen



Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Go HERE to get today's question and links.

Today's guest post is by Jordan Deen author of The Crescent.  I just received a personalized signed copy of Deen's book (thanks Darla for getting it signed for me) and it is sitting on my bedside table staring at me.  It will be my reward once I finish up a big work project.  
 
Description from GoodReads:
Becoming a werewolf is not an option for seventeen-year-old Lacey Quinn, but death can be a strong motivator.   Lacey is so focused on her future that everyday life has passed her by. Counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, Lacey is almost home free. But when she falls for the mysterious Alex Morris, she lands in the middle of an ancient war between two enemy wolf packs. Tempting dreams, tantalizing lies and a dangerous love triangle ensues leaving Lacey heartbroken and confused. Lacey's fate rests in the hands of Alex and Brandon, but both are pulling her strings for their own agendas. Even as she slips further into the dark world of werewolves, Lacey struggles to find the truth and save the only family she's ever know.

What was your most embarrassing/funny/scary Halloween experience or costume?

Hi Aly! Thanks for having me. 

This is a great question. When I was in my twenties, I worked as a make up artist at ‘Knott’s Scary Farm’. My job was to make bruises and blood look as realistic as possible for their Halloween Nights. On my last night working there, I finished up my last seating and headed out—trying not to show everyone how sad I was to be going. I picked up my case and started out before the park was opened.

I headed up a long, dark, remote pathway on the backside of the park. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was on my own. No one came out with me, no one was walking with me to the parking lot and the large baron trees were filled with white haze from the smoke machines and strobes were already illuminating the bottoms. To say it looked like a scene from a horror movie is a serious understatement. Anyone that knows me knows I’m terrified of zombies after my brother’s thought I should watch Night of the Living Dead when I was six. I regress—I stayed toward the middle of the path, folded my arms across my chest and hurried up the walkway trying to get back to civilization. After a few seconds, moaning started coming from what felt like everywhere. Out of the shadows of made by the strobes and the trees, large blackened figures stalked out. Limbs hanging, throats rattling, blood dripping, feet dragging—they were full on zombies. I stopped and started to turn around when I realized they were coming from behind me too. There was no escape. So, I did what every level headed twenty-something would do: I threw my case down, screamed at the top of my lungs, and ran as fast as I could towards the biggest opening between the flesh eaters. Of course, they weren’t real zombies, so the twenty-something boys caught me quickly. Their moans and blood and messed up faces had me shaking so hard I couldn’t think of anything other than I’m too young to die! Immature, I know. The group, knowing I was terrified, only kept up the act for a moment later and started laughing. I’ll never forget my last night at Knott’s Scary Farm. To John, Mark, Matt, Joseph, Louis, Jose, and Amber- you guys are *still* not right. And, for the record, I’m still terrified of zombies. Hope everyone got a good laugh out of this. J Luckily, I’ve never been this scared on Halloween again.

Thanks Jordan for stopping by and sharing your Halloween experience.

For more information about Jordan Deen and her novel, check out her website: 
www.jordandeen.com 

You can find her on twitter: @jordan_deen

The Crossroads Tour: Day 4 Shannon Delany

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Go HERE to get today's question and links.


Today's guest for the Crossroads Tour is author Shannon Delany. Her debut novel, Thirteen to Life, was released in June.   Her story has drawn me in and there are some hot wolves that I have developed a pretty big fangirl crush on. To read my review of 13 to Life, click here.  Secrets & Shadows (13 to Life Book #2) will be out in February 2011.  I have enjoyed getting to know Shannon. If you like werewolves you should check out her book, and even if you tend towards vampires, Shannon's wolves may change your minds.

What was your favorite paranormal/horror/fantasy story as a child/teen? And why did you like it so much?

I loved Mary Stewart’s A Walk through Wolf Woods (5th grade, I think) and then I was enthralled with Mercedes Lackey’s work, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Anne McCaffrey. They all created amazing worlds with intriguing characters. Asa teen I took a hard turn into science fiction.

Where did you get the idea for your story? Did you use a real life situation and put a twist on it?

Although my characters are very much based on aspects of different people I’ve known, the story grew out of some odd paranormal and Cold War-related research and my own issues with grief. I like to think I write real-world werewolves because their issues are much bigger than having extreme amounts of hair and a willingness to bite. ;-) Underneath the fur, they’re tragically human, too.

Especially in Y.A., there seems to be a big emphasis on paranormal romance? Do you consider the romance part when you are writing your story or do you consider writing your story and see where the romance fits in?

The characters decide where and when the romance comes in. My job’s to have a clue about where things are going overall and generally follow where the characters lead as they change and grow.

What helps you to create characters that people will feel passionate about either in liking them or disliking them?

I think authors need to be empathic and just generally aware. We know what ticks most people off and what pushes buttons and excites folks. The characters help bridge the gap and connect the things we know deep down with their personal stories. But not everyone will relate to every character (and certainly not in the same way). Where some see a fine example of self-sacrifice, others read it as martyrdom. No matter how you plan your characters, people bring their own interpretations and baggage into the reading.

What characteristics were critical to you in creating your characters?

Connectivity. I wanted characters that people would connect with on some level. Whether you get misty-eyed over Jess’s loss or shout at her about her choices or worry about Pietr or laugh at Max’s flirting...Hopefully there’s enough to each character for readers to connect at some level but not so much to distance readers.

What kind of research did you do for your story and did you run into anything weird while you were doing research?

I did a bunch of research—some werewolf and wolf-related (pulling at lesser known myths and traits like the saber tattoo and red highlights in the Rusakovas’ hair). I also did paranormal research and found the most beautiful question mark in the world—on a paper that listed Cold War paranormal locations and research done in Russia. Every site except one listed precisely the research they did. But one just had a question mark. Lovely. That’s where werewolves get made, boys and girls. ;-)

If you could be a shape-shifter, what animal would you want to shift
into?

Wolf works for me! They’re quick, bright, cozy in winter and family-oriented.

Thanks Shannon for stopping by and answering some questions.

For more information about Shannon Delany and her books, check out her website: www.shannondelany.com/joomla/

To find her on Twitter: @shannon_delany

The Crossroads Tour: Day 3 Judith Graves

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Go HERE to get today's question and links.

Today's guest for the Crossroads Tour is author Judith Graves.  She is actually the organizer behind this really cool author/blogger tourfest. I had a wonderful privilege of reading and reviewing Under My Skin (Skinned, #1) just before it came out.  To read my review, click here.  Her second book in the Skinned series, Second Skin, will be out in 2011.  Not sure I can wait until the next book is out....wonder if I can hack into her computer when she isn't look.  I need some more Alex!  *sigh*


Did you have a book that you read either in Middle School or High School that scared you the most? What was it and what about it scared you?

Stephen King books freaked me out in high school. They still do, that’s why I love his stuff. ;) Ray Bradbury’s stories were favs – not scary, but odd / disturbing tales.

Did you have a paranormal experience that prompted you in writing the story that you did?

I have a phobia – I’m scared of creepy old dolls. Yes, there’s a story behind my fear. Let’s just say dolls so lifelike they seem to be breathing…well, maybe they are! Eryn shares my distrust, which made a lot of Second Skin, Book 2 in the Skinned series, fun to write. She runs into a few devilish dolls I wouldn’t want to mess with. Better her than me.

Where did you get the idea for your story? Did you use a real life situation and put a twist on it?

Kind of the opposite. I took an unlikely situation (mythological beasties from different regions fighting over one bit of unclaimed territory) and plunked it down in a small town similar to mine.

Did you have a favorite paranormal/horror story writer as a child/teen that you wanted to emulate? If so, who and why?

Not consciously, but if I thought I’d managed to give my readers the heebie jeebies in a few key scenes, then I’d likely credit Stephan King. I’m forever looking over my shoulder when reading his work.

What kind of research did you do for your story and did you run into anything weird while you were doing research?

While researching the windigo (a mythological creature of First Nations origins that I mention in UMS, but we actually get to “see” in Second Skin), I discovered the term “Windigo Psychosis.” Even today people swear they have “turned windigo” and crave human flesh. There have been murder cases with this as a defense. Is this a purely a cultural response or something more?

What helps you to create characters that people will feel passionate about either in liking them or disliking them?

I like to read, and write, about characters with flaws. Perfect people are perfectly boring. I endeavor to make my characters multi-leveled, layered like onions…to have hidden depth or unexpected quirks. And you never know if you can trust someone until you’ve battled werewolves together. ;)

Thanks Judith for stopping by and answering a few questions.  And thanks for organizing this great tour.

For more information about Judith Graves and her books, check out her website: http://judithgraves.com

You can find her on twitter: @judithgraves

The Crossroads Tour: Day 2 Tonya Hurley

Each day of The Crossroads Tour, a new question will be revealed on The Crossroad Blog Tour main page and each day the answer to that question will be found within one of the 16 different blog posts by Crossroads Tour authors. Your job is to get the question, read the blog posts, and collect all 16 answers by the end of the tour, on Halloween. Go HERE to get today's question and links.

Today's guest for the Crossroads Tour is author Tonya Hurley. Her third book in the Ghostgirl Series, Lovesick, came out in July. If you haven't read Tonya's books, go out and get them. They are a fun read and perfect for the Halloween season.


Description from GoodReads:
Before she can rest in peace, Charlotte Usher must return to the tragic site of her death: high school. Once there, her assignment is to help a designated teen solve a personal problem in time for the allimportant prom. But no one explained what happens if you fall in love with your class project. Charlotte would die (again) for love but facing the all-too-familiar feeling of invisibility may be too much for her to swallow.

Thanks Tonya for stopping by and sharing with readers some of your Halloween experiences.

What was your most embarrassing/funny/scary Halloween experience or costume?

One year my twin sister and I went as Siamese twins. Strange, awkward, but true.

Do you have any Halloween Traditions that you continue to celebrate with or have created for you and your family?

Every year we go on a quest to find the largest pumpkin we can possibly find. We’ll drive anywhere to get it. (Wonder how far she will have to drive this year! =D)

Thanks Tonya for sharing your family Halloween tradition with us.

For more information about Tonya Hurley and her Ghostgirl Series, check out her webite: http://tonyahurley.com

To find her on Twitter: @ghostgirlbooks

For additional fun, check out the book trailer for Ghostgirl: Lovesick.  It is so good.