Indie Advent Calendar

It’s day 2 of the Indie Advent Calendar, organised by Kay Macleod for the 3rd year in a row (follow the link above to see the full event) and today sees two authors for you to discover.

Today we have 2 very different authors to introduce you to, the first is an amazingly productive lady who not only writes romance, but who works tirelessly to bring the world the Indie Authors Monthly magazine

R.L. Jackson – Crashing Into Me

One Wicked Storm. Forced Proximity. Endless Temptation.

“Absolutely loved the twists, turns, and suspense from beginning to end…well written with amazing characters…” ★★★★★

Getting dumped at the altar nearly broke Lana McKenzie beyond repair.

A year later, she was working to rebuild her life. Until a face from her past forces her to seek an escape.

Tucked away in a beautiful, secluded mountain estate, Lana finally finds her solace. That is until she comes face to face with her new roommate.

Kayden Capshaw is a sexy out of control party boy whose grief has pushed him to a much-needed getaway in the house on the mountain. But Lana was the last person he expected to find there.

❤ She’s feisty, stubborn, and undeniably gorgeous.

❤ He’s arrogant, flashy, and hotter than the sun.

❤ She’ll do anything to stay away. He’ll do anything to get close.

Forced to ride out a winter storm together, a second-chance romance blossoms, but unwelcomed guests threaten to interrupt the delicate fabric of their new relationship. Will their fiery passion continue to burn bright or will outside forces put out the flames for good?

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

What is your writing process?

A lot of times I get my story ideas from listening to music. I imagine some fantasy about myself and whomever my celebrity crush is at the moment and it sparks from there, lol. If I listen to a song on repeat, which happens often, I can see the story play out in my mind like a movie. From there I start by creating character bio’s that go very in depth and start to form their personalities. I use this tool when writing to ensure that they have a unique voice and approach when they’re interacting in my stories.

Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?

That would be the Bible. I was brought up in church so the first stories I heard and learned about was there. After that, it was “The Babysitters Club” to “Sweet Valley High” and onto historical romances.

How do you approach cover design?

I look at my covers as kind of the representation of the tone and emotion of the story as a whole. In Crashing Into Me, the first cover was just a man with his hand crossed over his chest in a black jacket. The jacket played a big role for the characters and the arms crossed represented both characters reluctance to change. I thought that was good enough at the time, but soon I realized readers wanted to see what was UNDER that jacket, lol. So I changed it to show a man in a jacket, looking away from the camera. That look is indicative to where my main character Kayden is emotionally at the beginning of the book. Distant and distracted by something just out of his reach. That something turns out to be Lana and anyone who read the book knows the rollercoaster ride they had together.

For the second book, Crashing No More it has a darker tone and I wanted that reflected. I wanted to show both characters this time, and kind of spotlight them emerging from the darkness of their situation. She looks at the camera as a sort of challenge to the issues that would come, and Kayden is looking at her, which is indicative of the way Kayden is focused on her and their relationship in the book. If you read it, it makes total sense. There is power in words, but a bad cover will turn readers off before they even get started.

What are your five favorite books, and why?

This is a hard one:

Bible- For many reasons.
The Time Travellers Wife- Just beautifully written. I can’t bring myself to read it again because ugh! Highly recommended.
Anita Blake Series-Because this was the first book where a black woman was a vampire hunter and the love interest. I still have to finish this series.
Interview With the Vampire- Need I say more? Anne Rice is a marvel.
Crashing Into Me- Because it is my first book and something I’m proud of. It’s not The Hunger Games which shares this spot by the way, but it’s myself on every page and I hope readers get a sense of that when reading and hopefully like it.

What do you read for pleasure?

These days to be honest, I haven’t had the time. But right now, I mostly read the news. There’s so much going on in the world, I have to keep up. My Kindles TBR list is LOOOOOONG. I plan to commit to sit down and read one every week though. I need to escape my own head at times and get into another awesome adventure created by some of my colleagues.

What is your e-reading device of choice?

I like iBooks better to be honest. It’s on my iPad and is so much bigger than my Kindle paperwhite. But I like the paperwhite because it’s so light and great on battery life. I’m torn.

What book marketing techniques have been most effective for you?

Honestly, the most effective has been a blog tour company in conjunction with Kindle’s AMS ads.

Describe your desk

My desk is in the corner of my living room. It’s the caddy corner type and is organized chaos. My chair hurts my back though so I’ve abandoned my little corner for my recliner and laptop on my lap, for now.

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?

I grew up in Florida and it greatly impacted my reading. We have hurricanes here and 90 percent of the time, we lost power for a week or more. When that happened I had a trusty box of novels to read that kept me on awesome adventures when my siblings were fighting each other out of boredom, lol.

When did you first start writing?

I started young. I was maybe 12, when I first put stories on paper. It wasn’t until highschool when my teacher Mrs. Lee, told me I was a great writer and had the potential to be an author. I was more into screenwriting and filmmaking, still am, but I found a hapy medium between the two and have been seriously pursing both for years now.

What’s the story behind your latest book?

I’m working on 5 books right now. 2 are for anthology projects and the other 3 are apart of my On The Set series. If you want to know more you should join my reader group on Facebook! I’m always dropping by and telling them what I’m doing there and they are aways the first to know of any projects. https://www.facebook.com/groups/rlsafterdarkreaders

What motivated you to become an indie author?

I didn’t care for the process of rejection if I’m being honest. The reason I became a filmmaker and screenwriter was for the same reason. Hollywood wouldn’t tell me I wasn’t good enough because I didnt fit their mold. So I made my own projects. I took the same approach because thats just who I am. I like the control of what I do and how. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t ever go a different route, but for now, I like where I am and what I’m doing.

Stalk Me Online

💋WEB: www.authorrljackson.com
💋FB: facebook.com/authorrljackson
💋FB: facebook.com/groups/rlsafterdarkreaders
💋TWITTER: twitter.com/bingereadrlnow
💋BOOKANDMAIN: https://bookandmainbites.com/AuthorRLJackson
💋PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/authorrljackson/
💋INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/authorrljackson/
💋VERO: Search RL JACKSON

Xenoman – Adam Martin

Blurb

Xeno yearns to have access to The Nth Dimension like The White Boys, famed telepaths who suffered brain damage when they made contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. Out of work as a bartender since the Shoki Pao dance club mysteriously burned down, Xeno’s lackluster lifestyle is getting harder to maintain.

Having survived an overdose of Black Magic, and successfully revived by Drinama, a brain implant slipped to him as a Mickey at a job fair, Xeno earns an entry level position as an agent for secret service organization Intellegella. Garry, his handler, introduces Xeno to the industrial version of the black box, allowing Xeno’s pineal gland access to synthetic sensory perception with the turn of a dial.

Xeno’s initial mission is to test the black box on the field, under Garry’s watchful eye, and to locate Trianne, an ex co-worker, ex model, ex pole dancer for the Shoki Pao, gone missing and showing signs of spontaneous human combustion, an emerging side effect of Black Magic, and a public safety hazard.

All he has to do is bring Trianne back to Intellegella for treatment. It’s that simple . . . according to Garry.

Links

Smashwords

Amazon

Website

Anupama

I’m Anupama, a 28 year old software engineer from India who loves to read all day long.I joined Goodreads in 2013 ,when i got my first job, it has helped me to keep track of the books i read , and i love to read other people’s reviews . I became a bookstagrammer in September 2017, that is when i started blogging about books. I prefer fast paced books, and my favourite genre is suspense thrillers. I love mythology and fantasy too.