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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Interview with Author K Dawn Byrd


I am proud to introduce author K Dawn Byrd. She shares some information about her book, A Case of Fatal Attraction, herself, and her main character, Zoe Mac. Leave a comment to be placed in a drawing to win a free download!


Hello Dawn and welcome to the Starsongs blog. Tell us about your book, A Case of Fatal Attraction.

Zoe is thrilled when she lands her first paying case until she learns she'll be going undercover at a local blood bank. The fact that she faints at the sight of blood makes working there more than difficult. Who would steal blood and what would they do with it? Is her creepy vampire-like coworker using it in a cult ritual? 

When Zoe learns that Nate will be working undercover with her, she's overjoyed. She soon finds that the gorgeous Rikki's attraction to Nate is too distracting and considers throwing him off the case. Zoe questions his loyalty even as Nate proclaims that she's the only girl for him. 

Nothing is as it seems and Zoe has no clue who can be trusted. Who's stealing the blood? Is it the director? The vampire-like guy with the fangs who wears all black? Or, her gorgeous co-worker who has a thing for Nate?

How did this story come to you?

Sometimes I get the strangest ideas! I love a good mystery and I love romance, but you don't find the two together very often. Also, there are very few books available with college-age characters. I pitched the idea of combining all of the above to Desert Breeze and the rest is history.

Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.

I had already published several books with Desert Breeze when they opened a young adult line. I'm excited that they liked the idea for this new series.

Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.

1)  I own two hairless Chinese Crested dogs.
2)  I love sour things....pickles, lemons, sour candy.
3)  I used to ride a Harley, but gave it up in order to have more time to write. (My husband always wanted to stay out way too long and take the scenic route home. He still has his bike, but I don't miss mine at all.)

What is your favorite writing tip?

Write something every day. All of my books are written in 30-day marathons. I decide how many words I want to write in 30 days and map them out on a calendar, so I can keep track of where I am and where I need to be.

What are you working on now and what's next for you?

I'm working on my December release, which is the third book in the "Identity Series." It's called Double Identity and is about two seventeen-year-old identical twins who never knew about each other. One, raised by her mom, is a Christian, the other, raised by her father is a wild child. When the two meet up and the wild one falls for the Christian one's boyfriend, sparks of the worst kind begin to fly.

Parting comments? 

Thank you for hosting me! For those of you who love Christian fiction, please check my blog for weekly book giveaways. I interview 3-5 authors a week who give away their books. 

Interview with Zoe Mack.

Tell us about your latest mystery.

My grandfather owns a detective agency and needed my help, but he was afraid to give me this case. It involved going undercover in a blood bank and finding out why blood is disappearing. My grandfather knows that I faint at the sight of blood. It wasn't easy and I had my moments when I became really sick, but I'm no quitter.

What was the greatest obstacle to solving this case.

My boyfriend, Nate, went undercover at the blood bank too. He worked as a janitor and once, when I puked after an accident with the blood, he got to clean it up. I thought I'd die of embarrassment. Back to your question, the greatest obstacle in some ways was just having Nate hanging around. You see, I had this gorgeous coworker named Rikki and she had a crush on Nate. We couldn’t tell her that we knew each other because that would blow our cover. Do you know how hard it is watching another girl go after your boyfriend, especially a gorgeous girl?

What did you learn from working on this case?

I learned that I can do things I never thought possible. I never overcame becoming queasy at the sight of blood, but I did learn to live with it. I also learned that I hate snakes and that sometimes creepy vampire-looking guys who wear black aren't all bad. I also learned to trust my instincts even when Nate says I'm wrong.

So, how is your relationship with Nate after solving two mysteries together?

We had some rocky times, mainly because of Rikki, but I've learned that sometimes, things aren't as they seem and you have to learn to trust people. Nate is a great guy and I love him more than ever. I've learned to accept the fact that my mother will never be crazy about him, but that's another story.

Will there be another case any time soon?

College is getting ready to start up and I’m taking a little time off to concentrate on school. Of course, if Gramps needs me, I'm always up for a good mystery!



K. Dawn Byrd is an author of inspirational romance and romantic suspense with seven books published so far. Recently, she tried her hand at young adult fiction and found that she really enjoyed writing it, which led to a contract for four young adult books for 2012.

She's also the moderator of the popular facebook Christian Fiction Gathering group

When not reading or writing, K. Dawn Byrd enjoys spending time with her husband of 16 years while walking their dogs beside a gorgeous lake near her home and plotting the next story waiting to be told.

Links: 
Blog
Twitter: kdawnbyrd
Book trailer on youtube

Don't forget to leave a comment by September 30th to be placed in a drawing for a free download of K Dawn's book, A Case of Fatal Attraction.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Starsongs Summer 2012 on sale now!

Our new Starsongs Magazine is up for sale, and it's got some great stories and articles. 






































Summer may be over and some of you are already back in school. Still, a summer short story is a good read anytime.  

Whether you're entering fourth grade, your senior year, or somewhere in between, it's never too early to start thinking about college. This issue has an excellent article about ways to begin preparing for your higher education now.

15-yr old Jordan Romero  is the youngest mountaineer to summit all seven of the world's highest peaks. We caught up with him in cyberspace with a few questions.

Poetry is a great form of self-expression. You'll find some of that in this issue of Starsongs as well.

The deadline for our STARBRIGHT novel writing contest is a little over six months away. You'll find the entry rules in the sidebar. Check out our adult guest writer's advice on how to craft a first chapter that is bound to hook your readers.

Click on the link above to preview Starsongs. Check us out today!


Thursday, August 2, 2012

Welcome NextGen Conferees!

HI! Welcome to the Starsongs web site. I hope the NextGen conference has provided you with new and exciting ways to improve your writing. Thank you for attending and for participating.

If you are visiting this web site, I hope it means you are considering sending a submission to Starsongs. Visit the Starsongs guidelines page found in the sidebar to learn the specifics about how to submit. If you are an aspiring novelist, check out our STARBRIGHT annual novel writing contest.

 Visit our sample writings page to read some pieces that have appeared in Starsongs.
Go to our Meet Our Authors page and read about some of the young people who have contributed to Starsongs. You will find many of them are just like you, young people with a desire to write and be heard.

I urge you to check out the post before this one, written by a Starsongs contributor. She talks about taking your time with your writing. Leave a comment after that post before August 31st to be entered in a contest to win a free download of our new Summer 2012 issue.Older posts address some helpful tips on writing and submitting your work.

Would you like to share some of the things you have learned about writing? Email me at starsongs.mag@gmail.com with your idea for a blog post. I'm looking for young bloggers to guest on this site.

Leave a comment. What do you like about the site? What do you not like? What else would you like to see? What subjects would you like to know more about related to writing and publication? I want to hear from you!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

 
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