Dec 15, 2012

11

The Stone Guardian Book Tour: Interview & GIVEAWAY



Welcome to our stop of Theresa McClinton's The Stone Guardian book tour! This tour is hosted by



The Interview


1.   What was your favorite scene to write in The Stone Guardian? Your least favorite?

This is such a great question. One of my favorite scenes is when Jayden first arrives, because it’s the first time you get to see another side of Ashley. She’s been struggling to recover from a broken heart, and suddenly her ex turns up right after she finally opens up to new possibilities with Arwan. Not to mention from that point on there’s a fantastic dynamic between the three of them—Ashley, Arwan, and Jayden. 
 
My least favorite was a fight scene between Ashley and Arwan that I ended up deleting. It was something I struggled with, wrote and rewrote, and just never felt right about, no matter how much I tweaked. No wonder it never made the final edits!


2.   Looking back, if you could change anything about The Stone Guardian, what would it be?

I would give Tara and Peter more page time. But don’t worry, The Stone Guardian isn’t the last you’ll see of them—promise!


3.   Would you say that your writing life and your family/social life are very intertwined?

I’d say that my writing life this last year has nearly wiped out my social life, if that makes them intertwined. Lol. But seriously—when I started writing, I dedicated myself to it, and I knew I had a lot to learn. I had no background in writing novels, only columns, and needed to learn the ropes before I really dove in. I’ve had zero formal training, so being self-taught is both easier and more difficult, depending what circumstance you’re in. It took a good six months to learn the basics, and then the dirty process of writing my first book was pretty hardcore. I had a ton of rewrites, made a lot of mistakes, and connected with a lot of awesome people. But that’s just the process you have to go through sometimes. Make mistakes and learn from them. 
 
My kids have been eternally patient and have done so well at sharing me with my computer. There are days I’m locked in my office, finishing edits on a deadline. Other days I don’t touch my computer but to check my e-mail. My husband likes those days because that’s usually when I cook dinner and the house is clean.


4.   Is there anything new that you're working on that you can tell us about?

The Stone Guardian is the first of a series in the Stone Legacy novels. I currently have something under review that I can’t really talk about because it’s a surprise, but once I get the green light, you’ll hear all about it!


5.   Did you ever want to be anything other than an author? If so, what? What made you decide to be an author?

Actually, when I was younger, I wanted to be a news anchor. I began writing in journalism, but after taking an internship at a local newspaper, I realized it wasn’t a field I wanted to be locked into for the rest of my life. I yearned for freedom in my writing, and although Features is about the closest thing you’ll get to creative writing in journalism, I knew I needed more. That’s when I decided to write novels.


6.   What authors do you look up to?

Edgar Allan Poe is one of my longtime favorites. In eighth grade I memorized The Raven for my English final and had a blast reciting it. So it took up almost a quarter of the class’s time, but I rocked it! Toni Morrison is another fantastic author I recently discovered from a friend who suggesting I read The Bluest Eye.


7.   If you could be anyone for an entire day, who would it be?

The President of the United States. I’d spend the day signing contracts to bring our troops home, and then play practical jokes on the secret service. I’d be an awesome president for a day! Slightly annoying, but awesome!



This or That


Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla ice cream, Chocolate cake.   
Series or Stand-Alone? Series, almost always.   
Morning or Night? Morning, just because at night I’m usually exhausted—but I’m not a morning person either.   
Chicken or the Egg? Chicken, so it can lay eggs and then I’ll have both. ;) 
Prequel or Sequel? Sequel, unless the prequel comes out before the book or series. I have a hard time going back in the story and imagining the main characters in a different way than they were in the following novel(s). I know it doesn’t sound logical to release a prequel after the series, but I’ve seen it done.   
Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars! Not a fan of Star Trek. “Beam me up, Scotty” verses “When you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back.” There’s no comparison. Yoda rocks.




I love Toni Morrison! Actually I've only read Beloved, but she has such a beautiful writing style that always goes along with her stories that are already so interesting and meaningful.

And I really like your plan for the chickens. Smart thinking. But what if you had an egg? Wouldn't it hatch into a chicken that could lay you more eggs eventually? Ah, the eternal question....

Oooo, so you're a Star Wars fan, huh? I'm more of a Trekkie myself considering how this is the one question I always ask, but I do have to agree with you that Yoda is pretty awesome. But I still have to give it up for Spock and Data. They're the best.



The Stone Guardian by Theresa McClinton

When myth becomes reality, reality becomes a nightmare.

Like any other teenager in America, Ashley just wants a normal life. But growing up in an orphanage for the insane is anything but normal. After endless therapy and increasing medication, her nightmares have only gotten worse.

Probably because they’re not nightmares.

When Ashley’s mysteriously abducted, she finds a reality even less normal than the orphanage. And she discovers something else—she’s no ordinary orphan. Faced with enemies thought to only exist in fairy tales, Ashley discovers she possesses a powerful Maya bloodline. She’s the daughter of an ancient Maya Guardian, whose duty is to protect the Stone of Muuk’ich, an enchanted relic blessed by the gods. But first she must get it back from Sarian, a power-hungry demigod who slaughtered the last guardian—Ashley’s mother. Without the stone, all will be lost.

When she meets Arwan, a hot Belizean time bender, his delicious olive skin and dark eyes make her feel a little less alone. But his gentle whispers and reassuring touch might not be all they seem. How can she balance love and duty when it’s up to her to prevent the rising of the underworld? Especially when the guy she loves might be its crown prince… 



Goodreads               Amazon               B&N




A long time enthusiast of things that go bump in the night, Theresa started her writing career as a journalism intern—possibly the least creative writing field out there. After her first semester at a local newspaper, she washed her hands of press releases and features articles to delve into the whimsical world of young adult paranormal romance. 

Since then, Theresa has gotten married, had three terrific kids, moved to central Ohio, and was repeatedly guilt tripped into adopting a menagerie of animals that are now members of the family. But don’t be fooled by her domesticated appearance. Her greatest love is travel. Having stepped foot on the soil of over a dozen countries, traveled to sixteen U.S. states—including an extended seven-year stay in Kodiak, Alaska—she is anything but settled down. But wherever life brings her, she will continue to weave tales of adventure and love with the hope her stories will bring joy and inspiration to her readers.

Goodreads               Amazon               B&N





Click here to read part of The Stone Guardian!



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11 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for having me on your blog today. It was a lot of fun answering your questions.;)

    I think I'd still stick with the chicken though, because knowing my luck, the egg would never hatch and I'd be SOL. LOL.

    It's good to meet another Morrison fan! I have to admit that I had never heard of her before my friend introduced me, so I'm eternally grateful to her for widening my literary taste.

    And I think being a Trekkie is something that is developed from being a longtime enthusiast of the show. I'm sure if I started watching it early on, I would probably be a Trekkie too! But yeah, Yoda rocks. ;)

    I'll be dropping throughout the day to chat with your readers if anyone wants to ask a question or comment on the book. I'm an open book...no pun intended.

    -Theresa

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    1. It was awesome to have you! I try to make the questions reasonably interesting considering how many times I'm sure you've had to do this so far for the tour.

      I suppose you're right about the chicken. I really enjoyed your answer for that one. I'd never thought of it like that, but it's a very good plan.

      Taylor

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    2. LOL Your questions were definitely unique. I do answer a lot of the same questions throughout a tour, but I don't mind answering them at all, and I do try to give a unique answer for everyone.

      The answer to my chicken/egg question came solely from having terrible luck. lol! I figure, what can go wrong with an egg is probably a lot more than what can go wrong with a grown chicken. As long as I feed it, give it some hey, and some water, I'm pretty good to go! haha! ;)

      You have some fantastic readers here! I'm going to surf through and chat it up. ;)

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  2. The book looks great! Can't wait to read it. I'm curious what drew you to write about the Maya Culture? and what did you find in research you did for the book that most surprised you?

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    1. Those are great questions, Samantha! For one, the Maya are really unique, and I like those kinds of things. I guess it's just part of my personality, which is why a lot of people tend to call me "unique." Probably a euphemism for "A tiny bit strange," but that's OK. They were more advanced than the Aztecs, and in my personal opinion were more culturally interesting because every city was ruled by a different ruler, making each city totally self sustaining (in regards to laws and tradition.) Plus they were really advanced in medicine and astronomy as well.

      The Maya had/have certain rituals in their culture that struck me as very surprising, such as "blood letting" and "virgin sacrifice." I mean, I've read about these practices before, but mainly in contemporary pagan rituals. I never really delved into ancient culture, so to hear about a Mesoamerican civilization doing this told me where the practices were derived from, and for me, that was really cool! I love knowing where things began.

      For example. The phrase "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" came from when people would give horses as gifts for either coming of age, a marriage, a reward or some other special occasion. One sure way to tell if the horse was quality was to look at its gums and teeth, but of course doing that to a 'gift horse' was rude because it's a bit like trying to find a price tag on a gift someone gives you from the store. It's just cool to know where things originate. :)

      If you do read The Stone Guardian, I'd love to hear your feedback. :) Thanks for coming in and commenting!

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  3. Congratulations on your release! looks like a good read :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Jax! I appreciate that. I hope you enjoy it! :)

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  4. Sounds like an exciting time for you, Theresa. Fun interview - good luck!

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    1. Thanks a lot, Dorine. It is a really exciting time, and I'm glad you enjoyed the interview! ;)

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  5. Congrats on your release, Theresa. I'm always interested in authors' "other" careers. :) Journalism sounds fascinating, but I can see why you'd want more freedom to be creative in writing. Best of luck on your series, and happy holidays!

    Marie

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    1. Journalism was really cool in certain aspects, but yeah, I just needed to spread my wings creatively. I didn't like the aspect of having to hunt down leads and be the first to get the information. Journalism is a really fast moving career, and if you don't snatch up a good story right when it appears, you'll lose it and then you won't have anything to report back to your Editor In Chief with. I'm not cutthroat, so I wasn't able to ditch people or sneak around to get the juicy information. It's just not my style. But that's OK, because it was a really good experience, and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to spend some time as a Features Editor/reporter before I broke away from the field. ;)

      Happy Holidays to you too!

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Hey guys! We love to hear from you all. Thanks for reading!

Gabby & Taylor