Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Blog Tour: Spectral by Shannon Duffy

This blog tour is presented by Tribute Books.
You can see the entire tour schedule HERE.
My review will post on May 24, 2012 - - - this is a great read!
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature Shannon Duffy and Spectral.
Shannon Duffy has kindly stopped by to offer us a look inside the author with this interview.
It was great to get to know her and I am thrilled to share.


? How many jobs did you have before you became a writer?
Too many to count. From working as a babysitter, in clothing and makeup stores as a teen, to a nurse.

? How long does it take you to write a book?
It varies, but I need a good six months for sure or a little longer. I wouldn’t win any speed writing contests, that’s for sure.

? What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
I don’t know if it’s interesting, but I’m a crazy editing fool. I’ve never been an actual editor, so I don’t know why I’m so anal about it. Sometimes though, it’s hard for me to get even a paragraph down without going back over what I’ve written several times. I try to turn it off and have done it like…once. LOL To top it off, whatever I’ve written for the day, I send it to my iPhone to read and ponder over some more that night—thus why I probably wouldn’t win any speed records for writing a novel. But! At least when I’m done, I’ve got a pretty clean manuscript. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

? Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?
They mostly come to me at night when I can’t sleep, which is often. I have trouble shutting my mind off sometimes, but if the ideas keep rolling in that way, bring it on!

? How do you decide what you want to write about?
I like to write about something that I know I’d like to read. I wrote a middle grade story that I know I would have absolutely loved to read when I was a kid. I was all about reading Fantasy stories and pretending I was that character who could fly, time travel, talk to a spider…or whatever. As an adult, I love reading Paranormal Romance and Dystopian so that’s what I’m writing. If that changes, I’ll write something else.

? What are you reading right now?
Right now I’m reading the end of Cinder by Marissa Meyer and loving it. I also can’t wait for Insurgent by Veronica Roth to come out very soon. I usually have two or three books on the go at any given time.
? What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Other than hanging out with my family, I like to horseback ride, shop, go boating, and I love traveling.

? What is your favorite comfort food?
Anything carb related. Carbs are my nemesis, I swear. Popcorn or French fries would be good. Or popcorn and French fries.

? What do you think makes a good story?
Something that can hold my interest and make me connect with the main character. And for me, it has to have a happy ending or I’ll be very disappointed.

Fun random questions: 
·        dogs or cats? Dogs, definitely dogs. I have two of them. A Yorkshire Terrier named Bambi and a German Sheppard named Skyla. Besides, my son and I are both allergic to cats so it’s an unfair contest. J
·        Coffee or tea? Easy. Coffee!! Chocolate raspberry flavor is my favorite.

·        Dark or milk chocolate? Milk chocolate for sure. I know the dark kind is better for you, but I prefer milk chocolate.
·        Rocks or flowers? Haha. Why flowers it is. Give me yellow roses and I’m a happy girl.
·        Night or day? Hmm. Well, day I think. I think of swimming, beaches, boating, sunny afternoons…but night can be fun, too.
·        Favorite color? Purple!
·        Crayons or markers?  Crayons. I don’t like the squeaking sound markers make. I’m sound sensitive to noises like that. LOL
·        Pens or pencils? Pens, blue ink.

Shannon Duffy's Bio:
Shannon Duffy writes young adult and middle grade fiction. She grew up on the beautiful east coast of Canada and now lives in Ontario, Canada. She is the mom of one boy, Gabriel, her angel. She loves writing, reading, working out, soccer, and the sport of champions-shopping. She is the author of the young adult paranormal romance, SPECTRAL. Her upcoming middle grade fantasy novel, GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA is scheduled for a January 2013 release.

Spectral Summary
Convinced she’s a part of the witness protection program, sixteen-year-old Jewel Rose is shuffled around the globe with her family like a pack of traveling gypsies. After arriving at lucky home twenty-seven, she stumbles upon a mysterious boy with magical powers claiming to be her guardian . . . and warning of imminent danger. Despite the obvious sparks between them, Jewel discovers a relationship is forbidden, and the more she learns about dark, brooding Roman, she begins to question who she can even believe — the family who raised her, or the supposed sworn protector who claims they’ve been lying to her all along.

As she struggles to uncover who her family has really been running from, she is forced to hide her birthmark that reveals who she is. With new realities surfacing, unexplained powers appearing, and two tempting boys vying for her heart, Jewel battles to learn who she can trust in an ever growing sea of lies, hoping she’ll make it through her seventeenth birthday alive.

Kindle buy link - $2.99