Monday, July 9, 2012

Spencer Hill Press Summer Blog Run--Angela Townsend


The next author of the Spencer Hill Press Summer Blog Run is writer extraordinaire, Angela Townsend. 

*A grand finale of fireworks*

Angela’s debut YA, AMAROK, is set for release, Nov. 2012. The cover is beautiful. I'll provide the goodreads link, so you can add it to you 'to-read' list. The book sounds absolute wonderful and different, and I can't wait to change my list from 'to-read' to 'read.' 



As always, I'm going to provide you a bunch of links so that you can go stalk Ms. Townsend. Just don't be all conspicuous about it. Goodreads, twitter, facebook, and blog

By the way, on Angela's blog, there's a little tidbit about what it's like to having a professional editor go through you manuscript. Hanging off a ledge and letting go describes the feeling exactly.


Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, Angela.  I can't wait to get to know a little more about you.

Tell us the very first book you remember reading. 
An antique Aladdin popup book and I remember reading it over and over again as a child. It was like a piece of art-handcrafted stitching on the spine and ornate illustrations.

Give us the books you enjoyed reading during different points in your life, and why they were important to you:
Age 6 to 8: Beatrix Potter Tales 
Middle Grade: The Chronicles of Prydain- a fantastic series of five children's novels by Lloyd Alexander.
Teen-age years: Trixie Belden mysteries and anything spooky--I loved John Saul and Stephen King.
Adult: James Herriot- All Creatures Great And Small. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
.
What type of work do you do when you take off your author hat?
I love art. Watercolor is my favorite medium. I like to paint outdoors and I love to incorporate Celtic knotwork, spirals, key patterns, lettering, curvilinear patterns, plant and human forms mixed with nature.

Very talented!!

What is your favorite food you like to cook for dinner? 
My favorite food for dinner and well…anytime is cheese popcorn. It’s full of fiber, filling, quick and easy.  

Would you like to share the recipe with us?
Sure!
3 quarts popped popcorn
5 cloves garlic minced
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter  
4 tablespoons of pure olive oil
1 cup of finely grated Pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese
salt

Sounds delicious!!!

First thing to pop into your head….
McDonald's or Burger King? McDonalds
Pepsi or coke? Coke
Thunderstorms or sunny days? Sunny days with a hint of rain in the air ;)
Jammie pants or skirt? Skirt
Cupcakes or cookies? Cupcakes as long as it’s with fresh brewed coffee!
Beer or wine-Neither no alcohol for this girl


Writing is not an easy endeavor, not to mention extremely competitive, what made you decide to go down this road?
 Because it feeds my soul. I simply couldn’t live without writing.

Who was the most supportive person in your life during your writing journey?
I have to cheat because I was lucky enough to have two fantastic people—my parents.
Why young adult? I think it suits my personality best.

Your book is about to get published--soon, so very soon *Squee*-- tell us some of the people you would like to thank and why?   
My parents, children, close friends and of course my awesome agent Jill Corcoran. I also want to thank all the girls from Operation Awesome--Lindsay, Katrina, Kelly, Kristal, Amparo. They gave me endless amounts of encouragement when I wanted to give up.

Who do you think has the best abs?  *evil grin*  
Spock

Would you mind pasting the query for AMORAK?
I didn’t query Spencer Hill. My agent Jill Corcoran did and sent something very similar to the blurb below.

AMORAK's blurb? 

Emma's life has been hell since she moved from sunny California to a remote Alaskan town. Abandoned by her father and living with the guilt of causing her mother's death, she makes a desperate dash for freedom from her abusive stepfather. But when her car skids off the icy road, her planned escape leads to further captivity in a world beyond her imagining.

Dragged across the tundra by an evil mountain man and his enormous black wolf, she learns that love can be found in the most unexpected places. Amarok, as she's nicknamed the wolf, is a young man from the gold-rush era enslaved by an ancient shaman. Emma's gentle touch and kind heart win his love and devotion. When a vicious madman--trapped in bear form by the same Shaman--attacks the travelers and injures Amarok, Emma must find the strength to face her fears and free the wolf she's come to love. But that means she must face down the evil shaman, a Siberian mammoth hunter from the ice age, and he has no intention of giving up his power to her.


Time for the Tantalizing Teaser Temptation:

Snow mixed with rain fell in an endless river of white. She leaned over the steering wheel, straining to see beyond the hood ornament. Her wipers, on high speed, scraped violently over chunks of slush freezing on the windshield. Icy pellets hammered the roof of the car. The headlights reflected a swirling wall of mist.

Tension stiffened her neck. Emma swallowed hard, rotating her head for relief. The road curved into a glaring sheet of ice, the car fishtailed. Headlights swayed. She gripped the wheel in terror, turned into the skid, and regained control. Breathing a sigh of relief, Emma continued her descent, fingers tight on the wheel.

Her mouth suddenly went dry. Her purse, where was her purse? She shot a look into the passenger seat, then back at the road, and screamed.

For all the lucky people who stopped by, Angela is kind enough to give away…

Secret Amarok surprise bag filled with goodies plus a DVD BLUE-RAY IMAX Documentary entitled- Wolves- starring Matthew Fox and footage of Yellowstone wolves narrated by Robbie Robertson. 

WOW! Those are awesome prizes. Thanks for such considerate gifts.

Just two things to enter:
1)      You have to follow my blog.  Need directions---scroll back up closer to the top, right hand side and click follow 
2)      You have to tell us if you would ever move to Alaska and why.

Contest ends Saturday, July 14th.
Winners will be announced Sunday, July 15th.

Oh, and don’t forget, everyone who comments is automatically entered to win the grand prize of a Barnes and Noble gift card at the end of whole summer run. 

Thank you all for stopping by and saying hi.  Please leave Angela a comment thanking her for her time and for the ultra-cool prizes.  

16 comments:

  1. I don't want to enter the draw because I beta'd this book (so excited to see the final product)and I want someone else to win, but I am over-the-moon happy for Angela. She's incredibly talented and one of the hardest working people I know. She is all about perseverance, so it's great to see her take this step at last!! Woot!

    Angela

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  2. Sounds like a very cool adaptation of a lesser known folk tale. I'll be looking forward to it!
    and no, I would NEVER move to Alaska. I'm a sun and sand kind of girl (being a native Floridian and all). I equate cold with torture.

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  3. Great interview, Angela!! It's so nice getting to know more about you. :D

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  4. Yay for Angela! I can't wait to read this, and those are awesome prizes. :)

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  5. Great interview Angela! Very nice to 'meet' you! And I have to tell you that I LOVE the title for your book! I actually had Amarok in the title of one of my books (since took it out, but Amarok is still the nickname of the mc) I can not wait to get my grubby little paws on a copy of your debut!

    I would TOTALLY move to Alaska! I've been lucky enough to visit several times (love the Matanuska valley area) and while I haven't spent a full winter in the interior (which every tells me you should, just to test yourself on how you'll deal with the lack of daylight) I have little doubt that I would love it, especially because fall/winter are my favorite seasons, but down here the humidity and wet of winter bothers my joints something fierce. I seriously could just disappear up there (uh, but not in McCandless fashion) and be happy as an old mountain hermitess for the rest of my life.

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  6. Two new blog awards for you for all of your great interviews this summer. Check out the details here:http://www.sarahnego.blogspot.com/2012/07/yeah-for-blog-awards.html

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  7. Sounds like a fun read.
    I don't think I'd move to Alaska, at least not the coastal towns. It would have to be more inland with the tundra.

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  8. I would love to move to Alaska, even if it were only for a year or two. The animal life would be amazing to observe, the landscape is gorgeous, and if I have to pick between the cold and hellish heat, my vote's always with the chillier weather.

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  9. Congratulations, Angie! I can't wait to see this fantastic book in print!
    :-)

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  10. My friend and I in our younger, single days contemplated moving to Alaska because of the favorable male to female ratio but after considering the cold, dark winters we both concluded that if we did that we'd probably perish. I would love to visit, though - it's on my bucket list. And perhaps after visiting I might decide the beauty and the wildlife are worth the trade-off for the the long winters. Angela, congratulations on your novel. It sounds like a very interesting premise and I will forward this info to my friend whose daughter is an avid fan of everything wolf. By the way, when I toured a dogsledding outfit in Canada last summer their resident wolf was named Shaman. I'd never heard of that word used again until now and didn't know its significance. Best of luck to you in your all your writing endeavors!

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  11. If I moved to Alaska, it would be because that was where my job took me. Other than that, I'd like to visit Alaska, but I don't really have a desire to move there :P

    Angela, I'm so excited for you!! Can't wait to read this book!!

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  12. I would love the opportunity to live in Alaska part time or for a couple years. I live in Colorado now and have lived at 9000' and 5000'. Sure love the summers at 9000' and the winters at 5000'. My husband spent 2 years in Alaska as a kid and I would love to share an Alaskan experience with him.

    Thanks Angela and congrats, sounds like an awesome book.

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  13. Congrats, Angela!!!! I'd love to visit Alaska but I don't think I could handle the winters.

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  14. Woo 400th follower!

    I loved Alaska when I visited as a kid, but I think I'd only move there if I were running out of men in the contiguous states :D

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    1. Wow! I just saw you were my 400th follower. Thanks.

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  15. I remember when you were writing this book and now here it is! So happy for you Angie! I would totally move to Alaska, but not permanently. The cold and I aren't great friends. But I'd love to experience a month of sunlight and of dark at some point. I can't imagine it...

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