A Gathering of Angels by Cate Dean Blog Tour Excerpt/Guest Post/Interview

SYNOPSIS:
Claire Wiche sacrificed everything to keep her friends safe, revealing her true self. She expected the final battle to be the end for her. But she is back, breathing - and threatened by an enemy she doesn't have the means to fight.

An enemy bent on vengeance and possession, whatever the cost.

Trapped, alone, Claire has to find the strength to stand against what she knows she can't defeat. And the courage to face the people she thought she left behind.





EXCERPT: 
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Annie Sullivan tapped three sleeping pills out of the bottle and into her palm. After a short debate, she added another one. She set the bottle on the side table, dropped the pills in her mouth and chased them down with a long swig of beer.

It didn’t help any more than water, but it did make her head fuzzy a little faster. At least, that was the excuse she would give to Marcus if he ever found out.

He watched her like an overprotective brother. She wanted to slap him down for it, but she knew he was worried. Going into the fourth month after losing Claire, Annie looked like she was the one who fell into Hell.

She scrubbed at her face, then climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for the pills to take effect. For the dreams to yank her in.

It didn’t take long before she was pulled under, slipping into smoke and shadow. Into a dream where she wasn’t alone.

GUEST POST:

Listen to the Music 

When I sit down to write, I have to have some kind of background noise. Absolute silence means instant writer’s block. So I let the music play, and the words just start to flow.

For A Gathering of Angels, and the entire Claire Wiche Chronicles so far, that music is my favorite, and what I grew up with – classic rock.

Kansas, Styx, Boston, Alias – all of them pound out fast and slow rhythms while I pound the keys. One of the songs even ended up as Annie’s ringtone.

Music has always been a soundtrack to my writing, a subtle but constant background as the story in my head transfers itself to the page. And the story always seems to choose the music: Sail Away played in my head every time I sat down to write this book, and the power and emotion of that song infused itself in the story.

I can’t imagine writing without that backbeat, the soundtrack that shapes not only the story on the page, but becomes part of the soundtrack of my life. I will always connect certain songs to this book, this time, and carry the feelings they pulled out of me.

Even now, as I type this, the lyrics echo in my mind, and inspire me to – go write.

What are your personal soundtracks? What inspires you to stretch yourself, reach beyond the ordinary? I would love to hear your stories, and why you listen to the music.

Thanks for hanging out with me. Until next time – read on.

Cheers,

~Cate


INTERVIEW:
About the Book:
Give me the blurb for the book in 140 characters or less:

Claire has to find the strength to stand against an enemy she can’t defeat, and the courage to face the people she thought she left behind.

Do you have a favorite character? Why is she your favorite?

I have to say Annie. She is smart, funny, and says out loud what I only have the guts to mutter in my head.

What do you hope readers will get from your book?

A great story, characters they can care about – an experience they want to enjoy again, with the next adventure.


About the Author:
What/Who inspires you?

I am inspired by so many different things – history, places I’ve seen in my travels, research into the spooky, the supernatural, and the weird. I’ve loved them all my life, and to be able to write about them and have other people respond is just amazing.

Hardest aspect of writing? Best/Easiest?

Hardest: sitting down to write the outline, which I do before I put down a single word.

Easiest and best: writing the story. For me, creating stories is nothing short of magic.

Who is your writing hero?

I have several but the one who really got me started was Barbara Hambly. I learned so much about characterization and sense of place from her books. And how important it is to make all of it immediate and real for the reader.


About the Future:
What’s next for you?

I am working on book 3 of the series, which will be out at the end of October – early November if life intervenes. :) I also have part two of my YA novella coming out for the holidays, and a short story in an anthology coming out mid-October.

One outrageous goal for the future?

To spend two months traveling around New Zealand – it’s been on my list for years! For writing – to be doing it full time for 2013.

Do you have any advice you'd like to share with other aspiring writers?

Find beta readers, use them, cherish them – I love my betas, and they have made my stories better, richer, more powerful. Every time. Don’t try to do it all yourself – I am horrible at covers, but I have found people who are brilliant at it, and who understand what I want for them. I do edit – quite thoroughly, but I always have someone else follow behind me to clean up, and make sure I didn’t miss anything. My book doesn’t go out until it is the best possible product it can be. I am proud of everything I put out there, and until I reach that point, it doesn’t get published.


Randomness:
Sweet or salty?

Salty!

Beach, plains or mountains?

Beach – I grew up near Laguna Beach, in Southern California. It was my second home.

Online, letters or in person?

I do all three – in person is my preference, but online allows me to keep in touch with people I don’t see as much as I’d like.

Ebook or print?

Both! Love my Kindle, but I also love the feel, the smell of books.


Thank you so much for having me here today, Brittany – this was a fun interview!

AUTHOR BIO:

Cate Dean has been writing since she could hold a pen in her hand and put more than two words together on paper. She grew up losing herself in the wilds of fantasy worlds, and has had some of her own adventures while tromping through the UK, and a few other parts of the world. A lover of all things supernatural, she infuses that love into her stories, giving them a unique edge. When she's not writing, she loves cooking, scaring herself silly in the local cemeteries, and reading pretty much anything she can get her hands on.

STALKER LINKS:
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When Walls Can Talk is available at Amazon
Last Chance Jack is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo
Rest For The Wicked is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo
A Gathering of Angels is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo