Interview with Missy Fleming Author of Happily Never After

Hi guys! I got a chance to interview a Missy Fleming, and even though I am not interested in her novel, I'm sure some of you are.





Happily Never After


There's no such thing as happy endings.

Savannah, Georgia is rumored to be the most haunted place in America. Quinn Roberts knows it is. She's felt the presence of spirits her entire life, investigating and photographing them with her best friend. Only none of those encounters ever turned violent, until now. The menacing darkness feeding off her stepmother has promised she won't live to see her eighteenth birthday.

After a chance meeting Quinn reluctantly allows actor Jason Preston into her life, which has complications of its own. She's not used to letting people get close. Falling for him while fighting for her life, and her family's legacy, only complicates things more. Jason shows her exactly what she stands to lose, especially when she's being attacked by the mysterious entity. Each attack is more violent and terrifying than the last.

With Jason's help, she dives into the Roberts' family history, searching for a link between a woman who went missing a hundred and fifty years ago and what's happening now. What they find is a brutal murder and that the ghost doesn't just want to hurt Quinn, it wants revenge.

It wants her life.

from goodreads


Did you always want to become an author?

Yes. I started with poetry pretty young, then it morphed into ideas for stories. I have to say it probably took me like five years to finish that first book. Happily Never After is the second novel I ever finished. I began writing thinking I’d do adult romance because it’s what I enjoyed reading. Once I ventured into YA and paranormal, then fantasy, things took off from there. For some reason, it’s easier making worlds up then setting something in reality. Don’t know why that is!

How did Happily Never After start as an idea?

I’m a huge fan of shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures. I had in my head I wanted to do a ghost story, set in a great historic city like Savannah, and it grew from there. Quinn is an amateur ghost hunter who’s always sensed the presence of spirits, so when building her backstory it somehow picked up more and more aspects of Cinderella. So, I figured, why not? I imagined a southern, gothic Cinderella and I really think I’ve accomplished it. Happily Never After is a special story to me. I have the characters cast, a soundtrack fitting the mood and setting, and launching into the sequel I’m exploring a new frontier.

Advice for inspiring young authors?

That’s easy. Do not give up. And find a critique partner, a fellow writer who is similar to you and who understands your style. So much has changed in the publishing world, making it more important than ever to understand who you are as an author. Are you happy self-publishing? Is it the best you can offer? Don’t write for the market, for what you see selling. Write for yourself. I always said if no one sees my writing, I won’t feel like I’ve failed. I’ll have these stories which mean so much to me and finishing them is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I’d be completely happy with that.

What was the hardest part in writing Happily Never After? Easiest?

I’d say the hardest was capturing the essence of Savannah, Georgia because…wait for it…I’ve never been there. I studied maps and history, immersing myself in it. I’ve been to Georgia, was born there, but never to this fascinating city. It’s hard to bring a place to life when you’ve never walked its streets. I also struggled with mixing in the Cinderella elements. Was there too much similarity? Was there not enough?

The easiest part was Quinn, the main character. Her struggles and her abilities were the center of the story, the part I had in my head from the beginning. I knew where I wanted her to go, the girl I hoped she evolved into. And she’s still evolving. There are big tests coming up for her.



Favorites:

Color?   Black, purple. I also love earthy tones like browns and greens.

Sport?  Football, hands down. LOVE the NFL. Also having roots in the south, NASCAR has always been popular in my house.

TV Show?  I am a huge, huge fan of Lost. Still watch the seasons over. Once Upon a Time has really got me hooked as well, obviously. Others include Big Bang Theory, Scandal, Game of Thrones. And of course Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures.

Movie?  It’s always impossible to pick one. I’m a proud geek so I love stuff like Avengers, Dark Knight, Star Trek, The Hobbit. To be honest, my favorite movie of the last couple years, the one I can watch over and over is the reboot of Star Trek. Gone With the Wind is up there as well. Basically anything J

Book?  Another impossible pick. I reread a lot of books, but the one I read the most is The Host by Stephanie Meyer. Which is strange because I’m not the biggest fan of Twilight. It just pulls an emotional response from me every time. Of course, Pride and Prejudice is another. I LOVED all the Game of Thrones books. The new Bloodlines series by Richelle Read. City of Ashes. There are just too many to list.

Author?  For YA: Richelle Read, Cassandra Clare, Suzanne Collins   For Adult: Nora Roberts, Kristin Higgins, Sherryl Woods, JRR Martin. There is never enough room for me to mention favorite books or authors. I read A LOT.

Where can we find you online?

Right now, only at fireandiceya.com.  I’m still working on getting a website and facebook page. I spent so much time getting the book ready and lost in my others that I’m way behind on the times. I’ll get there, but I can be reached through my publisher’s website for now.

Don't Quote Me (#24)

Dissolution Kickstarter

Hi guys, I was emailed about Dissolution by Indi Martin, and thought that I really wanted to help out a new author. Indi Martin is launching a kickstarter, which if you did not know already, it is a way for inspiring creators to get producers without having to ask multi-millionaires to fund their projects. You can donate to the project from anywhere to a dollar to +50,000. Of course, not everyone can donate that many, so every dollar counts. Indi wants to actually make her own comic book, so go please help her out.

I have some links that I hope you check out for more information:

http://thinksbooks.blogspot.com/2013/02/dissolution-kickstarter-blast-sign-ups.html

You can read the first few chapters here:
http://dissolutionnovel.blogspot.com/

Seven Deadly Sins of Reading Tag

1. Greed: What are your most expensive and inexpensive books?


My most expensive book is probably a school textbook, but I have never bought a book over 20 dollars. Most inexpensive book is A Midsummer Night's Dream, I got it for a dollar and some cents at Barnes and Noble because I had a giftcard.

2. Wrath: What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?


John Green is my love/hate relationship, because I love his writing, but his stories are easy to see the solution of. That's probably is just me, but I love The Fault in Our Stars, but Looking for Alaska, and Paper Towns were a bad experience for me.

3. Gluttony: What book have you deliciously devoured over and over with no shame whatsoever?

I wouldn't say there was no shame whatsoever, but I was one of those Twilight fans. I was hooked for a couple months or so, but now I look back and think,"What could I have possibly like about that series?" Don't judge me.

4. Sloth: What book have you neglected to read due to laziness?

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Cinder by Marrisa Meyer

5. Pride: What book do you most talk about in order to sound like a very intellectual reader?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, just because it's a classic and is also one of my all time favorite novels.

6. Lust: What attributes do you find most attractive in male or female characters?

Confident guys are never a bad thing in a male character. Someone like Gus from The Fault in Our Stars.

7. Envy: What books would you most like to receive as a gift?

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson and a new copy with a pretty cover of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Web Series You Should Be Watching on Youtube

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
I'm obsessed with this series. If you didn't know it's a modern day adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and it's just wonderful. You should check it out,and like and subscribe, because they are really amazing actors, and crew. :D

Hipsterhood
I found out about this series over the summer and was so sad to see the season to finish. The second series is full of the Lizzie Bennet cast and it really should get more attention on YouTube, but it has a low viewer count that I just wish will get high and higher. BTW the guy that plays William Darcy, will also be in season two, but they need to get more money on their kickstarter account. Help out if you can, but you don't have to. I forgot to say it's a love story about two hipsters in California. Wonderful in every way, go watch it.

Squaresville
This series just came back from a few months long inbetween season break. The show also has the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Lydia in it, Mary Kate Wiles. She is an amazing actor, and this series is the epitome of teenage life and is ridiculously hilarious.

I name these series to spread the word of what I love. Please check them out and help them if you like them as much I as I do. :D

Love and Hugs,
Clara

Cinders and Sapphires by Leila Rasheed (At Somerton #1) Review

Rose Cliffe has never met a young lady like her new mistress. Clever, rich, and beautiful, Ada Averley treats Rose as an equal. And Rose could use a friend. Especially now that she, at barely sixteen, has risen to the position of ladies’ maid. Rose knows she should be grateful to have a place at a house like Somerton. Still, she can’t help but wonder what her life might have been had she been born a lady, like Ada.

For the first time in a decade, the Averleys have returned to Somerton, their majestic ancestral estate. But terrible scandal has followed Ada’s beloved father all the way from India. Now Ada finds herself torn between her own happiness and her family’s honor. Only she has the power to restore the Averley name—but it would mean giving up her one true love . . . someone she could never persuade her father to accept.

Sumptuous and enticing, the first novel in the At Somerton series introduces two worlds, utterly different yet entangled, where ruthless ambition, forbidden attraction, and unspoken dreams are hidden behind dutiful smiles and glittering jewels. All those secrets are waiting . . . at Somerton.

from goodreads


I received an email a few weeks back from netgalley. They were promoting this new young adult novel from Disney-Hyperion. The main thing that made me want to read it was that it was in that costume drama category, that I was and still kind of am still interested in. The selling point was that it is for the younger readers of Upstairs, Downstairs or Downton Abbey.

I really loved this book, and I wish I can compare it to another costume drama novel, but all I have is watching a lot of costume drama television series from the BBC. I find that this novel is wonderful for learning about that Regency era and the people that are involved in an old English lord's manor. Leila Rasheed's writing is passable. I don't think it's anything beyond the normal, but I did love the flow that came with reading a novel that suppose to have that old English voice in it. That factor was spot on.

Cinders and Sapphires have gotten me into looking for costume drama novels(please tell me the correct genre of novels like these, I don't know what else to call them besides costume dramas). I think that point of view change was sufficient and used 'correctly' in the novel, though I'm not that big of a fan of point of view change. The characters were well written, and because of a huge family and servants that live in the manor, it took sometime to remember who was who, but you can manage just fine.

I loved this book, and I think it's a wonderful series to read inbetween those times when costume drama shows are off air, and you need something to wet your appetite. So Leila Rasheed's first installment of At Somerton gets a head nods, thumbs up. (4 out of 5)

Don't Quote Me (#23)