Interview and Contest with Chrysalis: The Awakening Author M.L Lacy

CONTEST: Author M.L. Lacy will pick one lucky commenter to win a copy of her debut novel, "Chrysalis: The Awakening. To enter leave a comment with your email so M.L. may contact the winner. Good Luck!










Chryysalis: The Awakening
M.L. Lacy
Author House
Paranormal
Print



Book Description:

All families have secrets. But at 32 years old, Bree Campbell is discovering that her entire life has been a secret. Like most people, it never occurred to her to question her mortality; that is until she learns that she is a mortal born into a family of Magicals and begins to question everything and everyone in her life.


As the doors to Bree’s new world fly open and she finally hears the prophecy told at her birth she must face the revelation that she is a Chosen One; the last and greatest of a long line of Chosen Ones. And if this were not overwhelming enough, she has been charged with saving the earth by repairing the cosmic tear that binds the mortal world she has always known and the Magical world she is just now discovering. But the real question lies in whether Bree will survive the long transformation into the powerful Druid Sorceress that is her destiny or die in the process as many before her have gone.



Bree’s journey will not be an easy one. She must face the realities of her new life and her new family; a clan of vampires who have been charged with protecting her for all of her mortal life. They have chosen her as a leader in their clan, a position that has really complicated things for her. For no sooner than Bree is finally reunited with her long lost love, Steven, Bree must learn how to navigate the jealousies and emotions within her new family.



While Bree tries to free herself from her past, including her cruel and lethal husband, she must determine who she can truly trust. And while her clan loves her immensely, they will continually try to stand in her way; all in the name of protecting her from those set upon her death.



Bree’s arch nemesis is Esmeralda, a powerful sorceress in her own right who will stop at nothing until this Chosen One is dead. If Esmeralda can claim Bree’s blood, heart and soul and restore her Demon to his body, she will be so strong that none will be able to oppose her and she will be free to rid the world of all mortals and rule as she chooses.



But with the help of the Guardians and her dreams, Bree begins to awaken the powers hidden within her and begins to embrace the responsibility she has been born to. And even while these changes make her body weak, Bree begins to find an inner strength she never knew she had within herself. Will it be enough to save the world?

M L Lacy is the author of Chrysalis – The Awakening. Her intense love for the Rocky Mountains, and the American West, are often reflected in her story lines for the Chrysalis series. A vivid imagination of places and people allows her to create fictional worlds that push established storytelling boundaries. M.L. Lacy is married living in Forth Worth, Texas, is the mother of two sons, and the grandmother of three granddaughters. My official website where you can leave me your comments about the book and see previews http://web.me.com/tetonmt/ML_Lacy_Official_Web_Site/Welcome.html


EXCERPT
LATE1400’s
The man stood quietly in front of the slate board. He rubbed the pagan medallion that hung around his neck. A habit he had developed over the many years he had translated these old writings. His long wavy brown hair and his smooth skin gave no indication of his age. His eyes moved rapidly over the scroll; his concern was evident and the distraction of the writing implement annoyed him.

The fine-grained white limestone stick, that wrote the symbols on the board, as the man read from the scroll,grew impatient. It just hung there in the quiet of the room as the man mumbled to himself. These words were not directed at the writing tool, so it had nothing to do and it grew restless.

The writing stick started to quietly entertain itself by drawing little stick figures on the slate. All was going well until the writing tool slanted its angle a little too much, causing it to make a screeching sound as it moved across the slate. In its horror the stick froze, and it slowly turned to face the man.

The man just shifted in his stance and ignored the disturbance.
The stick began to look over its artwork as boredom was setting in. It had a job to do and it figured the man had had enough time to look over the scroll. Now it was time to get back to work.

The white chalky stick began to tap on the black slate; maybe that would draw the man’s attention back to their task. When that didn’t work, its taps became louder, minuscule pieces of limestone flew in the air as the writing tool assaulted the board. It had succeeded in drawing the man’s attention to it.

The annoyance of the sound crept into the man’s thoughts. The man lowered the scroll and gave a sigh. “Give me a minute,” he mumbled under his breath and then went back to his reading.

When the man had finished his reading, he looked back at the board. A smile lined his lips and he rolled his eyes as he noticed the calcite stone playing a game with x’s and o’s. He waved his hand and a soft gray brush wiped the doodles way. “I don’t have time for your games now. Behave yourself and maybe I’ll play you a game later,” the man muttered to the stick.

He started speaking again in the ancient dialect and the chalk continued with its duty, drawing the emblems on the slate that spoke of the prophecy of the last Chosen One.
.

In depth interview with author M.L Lacy.

CSM: Please help me welcome author of “ Chrysalis: The Awakening” by M.L. Lacy to Over the Edge. M.L, my readers and I are so psyched that one of my go-to authors has dropped by to spend time with us. Thanks so much! Tell us more about yourself. Reader’s love learning new and interesting things about an author, and this would give you a chance to make them feel close.

Currently, I live in Texas with my husband of 36 years. We have two grown sons - both are US Air Force officers and three gorgeous granddaughters. I love to travel and my most favorite places to visit, besides where my sons, are South Dakota, Wyoming and Yellowstone.

I could live in Yellowstone if it were permitted. The entire park as my front, back and side yard - how wonderful that would be and to not have to worry about mowing it…but it’s not permitted.

CSM: If you have 2 hours free time tonight, what would you rather do? Why?

Tonight? Hmmm, I think I would like to paint. Just sit with a glass of wine, music playing in the background or my husband playing his guitar and just paint on a canvas.

CSM: What kind of books do you love to read? Why?

I read a lot of YA (young adult) stories. I enjoy them plus I want to stay current with my granddaughters so I’ve read Artemis Fowl, Septimus Heap, The Lightening Thieves, and of course Harry Potter. I love the imagination in them. That’s important to me, imagination. I like to escape into my books.

I read adult mysteries. Steve Berry, Rick Riordan (his adult and young adult series). I read what catches my eye, not because of the name of the author.

CSM: What type of music do you relax to?

It all depends on my I need to relax. Soft music, George Winston, classical, sometimes I like to listen to gospel, blue grass, old country. Sometimes a good ole rock and roll, a 60’s happening dance fest in my living room helps me to relax just as well.

CSM: Besides being a total book junkie I’m also a music junkie. When I’m writing I have a sound track playing either in my mind or in my cd player. What’s your sound track? What type of music is on it?

I have a wide variety I try to listen to, but to be honest, if I am into the writing, it doesn’t matter what I have on because I really don’t hear any of it.

CSM: What is your favorite stress reliever?

A good bike ride. My husband and I got into bike riding (another one of those empty nest things) about two years ago, but last year I was in an auto accident and broke my ribs so I didn’t ride all last summer. I’m ready to get back into that.

CSM: What is your favorite food?

Hamburger, French Fries, and a chocolate milkshake – the no calories type, of course!

CSM: Describe yourself in one word?

Devoted

CSM: What’s your biggest regret in life?

I have no regrets. I couldn’t do anything about them so there is no use to dwell on them. I take life as it is doled out, learn (hopefully) from my mistakes and make the best of everything.

CSM: What is the adventurous thing you’ve ever done?

Snow skied down a slope I was not ready for and made it…eventually.

CSM: How would readers find out more about you?

Just ask, I’ve a blog on my site for any questions.

http://www.web.me.com/m.l.lacy/ML_Lacy_Official_Web_Site/Welcome.html


CSM: When did you write your first book?

I didn’t write my first book until this series. I started in October 2007.

CSM: How long did it take you to write it?

The first draft only took 30 days. Then I put it down and tried to not think about it. But it kept calling to me so, I rewrote and rewrote until I was satisfied. Then Book 2 kept nagging to be written. That one and the Book 3 just flew onto the paper.

CSM: Did you encounter any obstacles in writing?

Just time. I work full time, and there are others that want my time like my husband, so time is a commodity I find more valuable than gold.

CSM: What do you think about editing?

Hate it! I can’t edit my own work for grammar. I tend to get involved with the story again ensuring it flows. I usually read the story a gazillion times before I hand it off to my editor and I have a good editor though.

CSM: Where and when do you write?

Any chance I get and anywhere I can. My laptop goes with me on any trip we take.

CSM: What books would you recommend to aspiring writers to improve on style, character development, plot structuring, dialogue, etc?

I don’t have a reference book shelf. I write as I feel it. My characters develop on their own. I’m comfortable with my style, my voice – can it improve, of course it can, but not because I read a ‘how to book’. That has to come from your inner passion and with writing.

CSM: What is your must-have book for writing?

A dictionary and a thesaurus.

CSM: What is your advice for aspiring writers?

My advice is simple, find what works for you, and keep writing. No matter what the reviews say. It’s subjective. I’ve had readers emailing me - telling me how much the like the way I write, how I describe things and then I have had a few who questioned ‘What were you thinking’. You are never going to please everyone but it so very important you please yourself.

CSM: What genre(s) do you write?

Fantasy/Urban Fiction.

CSM: Among that you’ve written which is your favorite book and why?

Since this is the first book – of course it will be my favorite. It gave me the passion to move from telling to writing. It’s allowed me to grow my style, my voice in this medium.

CSM: Where do you get your ideas? Do you jot them down in a notebook in case you forget?

A LOT of people asked me that and the best answer I can give is from my imagination. I have a very vivid one. I have a large note pad on the wall in my office at home. When something strikes me as an interesting plot I’ll think on it and if it stays interesting to me I’ll jot down the important parts for later. This story just stuck and wouldn’t leave…

I didn’t want standard romance; there are plenty of those out there. I wanted some mystery but most of all I want to create something people could relate to. That’s why it’s in current time, that’s why it’s USA. But by the same token I needed it to be different.

I have always liked the paranormal realm; I could really do more with it with my imagination. I didn’t want YA, I wanted something for my age group. I wanted to blend mortal and paranormal. They could be your neighbor, your plumber, your doctor, or lawyer.

I took the concept of a young woman, made her young life unpleasant, brought in the paranormal protectors and just let the story develop. But like I said I wanted different so I had to make them different from us in other ways other than the magic. They live a very long time so the concept to me was…how difficult would it be to live with your spouse for all of eternity and never, never stray. So I fixed that in their realm and I took her morals and gave her something else to struggle with. Plus it was fun to watch my mythical characters bring her along until she began to accept they way her life would be.

I always knew how the beginning and the ending (and the ending will not change) but I let what happens in the middle – happen, just like life. The bad characters would always be bad, the good always good, but I had to have some teetering in between, but I’m the only one who really knows who is who.

CSM: Which of your books feature your family/friends, etc? What characters are modeled after them? Why?

None. I’ve blended traits into the personalities of my characters.

CSM: Which of your heroes/heroines is most similar to you?

Currently – none.

CSM: Who is your strongest/sexiest/most lovable/hottest hero/heroine? Why?

I love them all. My readers seem to have their favorites, but I love them all. That’s what makes it so easy to write for them. Bree, Gina, Stanley, Gary, Billy, Becky…I absolutely love Sandy’s character in the story – although she doesn’t have a major part, she is important. She is so sure about herself, her sensuality, she could care less what others thought. Rick’s so very fun to write for, so is Bradley. I love the way Steven is so very protective of Bree. Esmeralda is a fun evil person to write for. I just love them all and since we are still in the series I really don’t want to pick just one – my contract negotiations with them may not go well.

CSM: Have you ever wanted to write your book in one direction but your characters wanted to go in another direction. What did you do in such a situation?

As long as they come to the conclusion I want, I’m pretty flexible.

CSM: Tell us more about your current release by Author House, “Chrysalis: The Awakening”.

It’s about a young woman that was born mortal into a coven a witches. The mortal world was all she knew. Her family took great care in keeping all the magical elements of their world from her. She was to live mortal until the age of twenty five when she would then be told of her destiny – she was to become a powerful sorceress, the last Chosen One that had powers beyond belief, when she crossed into their realm at the age of thirty-two. That time span would have given her family the time they needed to teach her of the magical realm.

But, things happened preventing them from telling her when she reached the age of notification. There was an evil element in the magical realm that didn’t want her to reach her maturity. They wanted world domination. But by the laws of the prophecy that told of her birth, they were unable to end her life. However, they could use mortals to do their dirty work…ah, the plot thickens.

Book One takes place over seven days in Las Vegas, where she finds this out. Her memories are restored and she learns of her destiny. Her powers are growing even though she is still a mortal and this worries her clan and her family except for her grandmother who has been confident all along her granddaughter had what it took to defeat those that stood against her.

She has to come to terms with the morals of the magical realm against her morals from the human side of her. I brought out the humanness and the humor in the characters as they deal with all of this.

The first chapter in the book starts in the 1400’s where a team of linguistics were rewriting the prophesies for all to understand and this one prophecy was so very important they needed to get it right. Then we fast forward to her birth – setting the stage for the evil witch Esmeralda to set her plan in action to rid Aubrey Marie Campbell from her world. Lastly we come to current time, filling the readers in on everything that happened to her growing up. Aubrey (Bree to her friends) takes over telling the story from here - her trip to Las Vegas and finally meeting her Steven, her memories are restored and she begins to venture into this world with both feet planted firmly on the ground, well as firmly as they allow her…

CSM: Any new projects, works in progress?

I’m tempted to take the writing challenge in November, to write a novel in thirty days. Time, that valuable commodity, will tell.

CSM: I want to take this time to thank you M.L. for stopping by and sharing with my readers and myself a little bit about yourself. This sure has been loads of fun. I hope you enjoyed being here as much as we enjoyed having you.