Thursday, June 6, 2013

Author Interview & Giveaway with Alycia Linwood featuring Element Preserver's Series

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Guys! I'm incredibly excited and super exhilirated to have the amazingly fun and talented Alycia Linwood on the blog today, talking about her New Adult paranormal series, Elemental Preserver's. This is such a super fantastic series that I discovered a few months back and I couldn't help but gobble up the first book in this captivating series, Dangerous. Plus, the fact that it's free for those who have a Kindle on Amazon.

So, for those of you who might want to check it out and see what this totally awesome series has in store for you, you don't have to pay anything for the first book. Just check it out on Amazon and give it a shot. Guys! This is paranormal New Adult, not contemporary romance. I think it's definitely worth a shot! I'm just sayin'...but, don't mind my lunacy over such a compelling series. Hahaha.

For those of you who might have missed out on yesterday's awesome interview with the incredible S.C. Stephens, click the link and it'll take you right to the post.

Now, how about I entice you a little bit more and share with you, some insight into this wow-worthy paranormal world that Alycia Linwood has so creatively come up with?! Don't ya wanna know, come on...you know you do! Come to the dark side of NA...we have cookies! (Possibly Darth Vader shaped! lol.)

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Element Preserver's Series
Dangerous, Runaway, Divided, No One, & Restless
By Alycia Linwood

Publisher: Self Published
Age Demographic: New Adult Paranormal


In Dangerous, Ria is an 18-year-old girl who has just started going to the University of Magic, a special university for those who have one of the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. There she meets Michael, a boy whose element is different from hers, which makes their romantic involvement seem impossible because mixing of elements can have horrible consequences. She also feels threatened by Adrian, a very dangerous magic disease carrier. Magic disease, which surged as a result of bad mixing of elements, turns people into cold-hearted killers, who have a strong desire to take someone's element as they do not have their own. Ria's best friend, Paula, is fascinated by Adrian like most of the girls at the University and wants him to help her with her research about the disease. All Ria's beliefs are put to test when she starts having the symptoms of the disease and the only person she can turn to is Adrian.

Following Dangerous in Runaway, surprised by Adrian's sudden disappearance, Ria is determined to find him, even if that means she has to trust her brother and go to her father's party. However, soon she realizes that her father, as the president of the newly founded Element Preservers Organization, plays a big role in the future of not only magic disease carriers, but also everyone with an element. As the secrets surrounding the magic disease and elements are revealed, Ria doesn't know who she can trust. But when an ex-lover turns into an enemy and a tragic accident changes everything, you can't just run away.

Moving along with Divided, after spending some time on her own, Ria thinks she is ready to meet Oliver's group of magic disease carriers and find out what her brother really wants. But when her father reveals the secret that affects the whole world, she will have to make a series of decisions that could change her life forever.

And in No One a novella told from Adrian's pov, aware that Ria's condition is getting worse, Adrian is determined to do whatever it takes so he can touch her again without weakening her, and the only ones who might be able to help him are his greatest enemies. Haunted by the memories, he has to get the information he needs without putting his live in danger, but that is easier said than done... Especially if there is no one you can trust.

Restless the forth novel in the Elemental Preserver's series, will be released in June of 2013.


To Purchase the Element Preserver's Series visit: 

Amazon & Barnes&Noble


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A Fun-tastic Interview With
Alycia Linwood

What inspired you to want to write for the New Adult genre, versus writing for either YA or Adult in general? Were there any authors or books that might have you lured you into this genre?


Actually, when I started writing my first book, I didn't really care about the genre. I only wanted to tell a story that I couldn't get out of my mind. It turned out that the book was Mature YA or New Adult. At the time that I wrote the book, I didn't even know New Adult existed since it wasn't popular as it is now. I decided to write about characters who go to college/university mainly because all the books I read were set in high school and I wanted my characters to deal with different situations.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing New Adult?


The most challenging right now seems to be figuring out what exactly New Adult is and how to explore its possibilities.

What was the first New Adult novel that you read and what did you find so inspiring about it?


I've read some books that could be classified as New Adult but that are marketed as YA, so I'm not quite sure which one was the first.

If you could go back in time and tell the "young writer" in yourself anything, what would it be and why?



Probably to start writing sooner and actually finish a story or two. When I was younger, I used to start many stories, but I rarely finished them. I'd certainly have more books written and less ideas flying around in my head now. Or maybe not. I have way too many book ideas.


If you could pick any character from your book(s) to be your favorite, who would it be and why? Which character was the most fun or was there a character that sort of resembles who you are as an individual?


Can a mother choose her favorite child? I can't, and I feel like I'm the mother of my characters since I created them. I always have a lot of fun when I write from Ria's perspective (the protagonist of Element Preservers) because she's my opposite in many things and she sometimes drives me crazy, especially when she goes shopping and spends hours searching for a perfect outfit. I could never go shopping with her without losing my mind.

What was the most interesting thing you discovered while writing the Element Preservers series?


I discovered that I can actually write a series! When I finished the first draft of Dangerous, it was a standalone book, not a series. But then I realized the book couldn't end where it did because I had so much more to tell.


Dangerous is available for free on Amazon right now. If you had to one chance only to encourage people to read this book, what would you say to them to convince them this is a book they should be reading?



If you like books with a bit of magic, romance and action, Dangerous is the right book for you.

Did you have a favorite character while writing this series? If so, who was it and why?


As I already mentioned, I don't really have favorites since I've created all of my characters and there is always something I love about them.

Was it difficult to write for one character, than it was for another?


I always find it easier to write for characters that are different from me because I love to put myself in their position and see how they think. When a character has a lot in common with me I'm always afraid that they won't have their own personalities but be a projection of me and my own beliefs. That's why I have to be very careful when I write that type of characters.

Where do you draw your inspiration from, in terms of creating the world for the Element Preservers, the characters, and the plot?


It would be easier to find what doesn't inspire me. I mostly find inspiration in music, music videos, everyday life, TV shows and books. The world of the Element Preservers has a lot in common with our world, so the inspiration for creating it came mostly from everyday life. I love to use fantasy worlds and characters to comment on or twist certain aspects of our world.

Adrian or Michael? Who would you choose?


Neither. :D

Do you plan on writing any more for the Element Preserver's series, can we expect a novella or something in between some of the books featuring some of the other character's or are you finished with it?


I'm working on the next book in the series and I already have a novella, No One, which is written from Adrian's point of view and it follows the events after book 3 and before book 4.

It is so awesome to see that there is more to the New Adult category/genre, than contemporary romance with steamy smoldering scenes. How do you hope to see this category/genre, expand and grow?


I really hope it will expand and that there will be New Adult books of various genres. Even though contemporary romances with steamy scenes are the most popular, New Adult is much more than that and I hope other books will get their deserved attention.

Are there any cliche's or tropes that you feel are overused in YA or New Adult novels that you've come across?


There are certainly cliches and tropes that are overused in YA and New Adult, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I love certain tropes and I could devour any book with them, so if authors started to avoid them just because it has been used in almost every book, I'd be really unhappy. It's very easy to add a twist to a cliche and turn it into something amazing.

Is there anything new, in the way of novels, that you may have in the works?


I've started another New Adult Paranormal Romance series and a Post-Apocalyptic New Adult or something like that. Sometimes it's impossibly hard to categorize a novel since it could belong to more genres, but we'll see. If I had time to turn all of my ideas into books, I'd have thousands of books. The biggest problem is how to decide what to write and what to let go.

SOUL BLAST

Ebook or Hardcopy/Paper? Ebook.
Night or Day? Night.
Chaotic or Organized? Chaotically organized.
White or Dark Chocolate? Dark Chocolate.
Tea or Coffee? Neither. I'm probably the only person in the world who dislikes both coffee and tea.
Black, White, or Gray? Black.
Dog or Cat? Dog.
The Walking Dead or The Hunger Games? The Hunger Games.
Downton Abbey or Doctor Who? Don't know. Never watched any of it.

If you had a spirit animal (can symbolize certain aspects or quality of your personality, skills, traits, or emotion), what do you think it would be and why?


A horse. I don't know why. Probably because wild horses are free, they can run anywhere they want and jump over any obstacles.

Is there anything else that you would like to mention?


Never give up on your dreams, and happy reading!


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Alycia has been sweet enough to offer a digital giveaway bundle of the rest of the available books in the Elemental Preserver's series to one lucky winner. Since Dangerous is available for free on Amazon, if you are the lucky winner you will be receiving a digital copy of Runaway, Divided, and the novella No One that is from Adrian's point of view. Trust me, you guys are gonna LOVE that for sure! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Website | Twitter |Facebook
Alycia Linwood is the author of the Element Preservers series (Dangerous, Runaway, Divided, No One, Restless - coming out June 2013) and Human. She's a big fan of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, dystopian and young adult fiction. Writing is her biggest passion, closely followed by reading and listening to music.

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