A Chat & 4 Giveaways with Misty Provencher for The Keystone Tour

Hi Melissa!  Thanks so much for letting the Keystone Tour crash over here on your blog today!  I appreciate you having me!!

1. Please start by telling us a little bit about yourself.  

Now you’re making me bashful.  (rubs toe in the dirt)  I’m just a writer.  I like mustard on my eggs, pens in my hair and making up all kinds of things that I write down to entertain other folks.

2. When did you know that you wanted to write professionally and how did you take the leap to get into the business?  

I wanted to be a poet after I wrote my first poem in second or third grade.  However, my mom told me most people don’t make it writing poetry and I’d better train for something else, so I could feed myself someday.  I never forgot it, but I never took her advice.  I went on to get myself an English degree and I’ve been living the dream since that first reckless poem.  Now, I stick my tongue out at my mom on a regular basis and she replies with, “I always knew you’d do it.”

3. Can you tell me a little bit about  your book and what inspired it?   

SPOILER The Cornerstone series is about Nalena Maxwell, a girl who receives an invitational sign into an ancient community that manages the intellectual evolution of the human race.  I don’t like telling people that, though.  I think the people who enjoy the story most are those who go in blind, the same way Nalena goes in.

The book was inspired by a dream I had eons ago.  But the actual dream will be part of the last book in the series.  I’ve had to think backward from that dream, constructing how the people came to the point that I saw them in the dream. 

4. What do you hope that readers take way with them after reading your book?   

Goofy as it sounds, I want you to come away with joy.  That’s my goal.  Whether it is joy derived from being entertained, escapism, offering hope, exciting the reader or giving a new thought to chew on…I hope that my work will provide something good.  That would be lovely.

5. I find it interesting to know what environment authors find most productive… Do you use a pen and paper or laptop? Quiet room at home or bustling café? Basically, what gets your creative juices flowing? 

I’m a office supply junkie.  I use everything you can think of in an office supply store in order to record, sketch, capture, make notes. 

I usually enjoy writing in a room where things are going on around me, but no one is interacting with me, so I do well at coffee shops and at my kitchen table.  However, lately, my routine has been a little different.  I’m like a dude trying to seduce my story.  I set the mood by doing manual tasks or going for a run while listening to my playlist.  Then, I might warm up by looking at my notes, the last chapter I worked on or scouring for new pics or songs for the story.  Then, I get down to doing the dirty and write like a heathen until I’m spent.

6. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

Hands down, the best and most exhilarating compliment was when the agent I wanted most wrote me to say he/she was considering my work.  And the toughest criticism was being turned down by the same agent.  Weird, huh? 

7. What book is currently on your nightstand? And who are some of your favorite authors?   I’m reading some Indies right now: Shelly Crane’s Significance Series and Clare Davidson’s Trinity. 

The heavy hitting authors for me are Steinbeck, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jeanette Walls, Christopher Moore, Shelly Crane, Robert Morgan, Upton Sinclair, Bill Cameron.

8. What do you like to do when you're not writing?  

Things…with glue.  I never stop writing really,  but when I’m not actively putting down words, I like making collages of my characters, bookmarks, gluing my fingers to the table.  That kind of thing.

9. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?   

Wish I could, but I’m figuring it out just like everybody else.  What works for me is writing the story in a way that makes me want to re-read it. 

 

10. What can we expect from you next?   

You can expect a spectrum.  There will be another couple books in the Cornerstone series and there will be more YA and eventually, some Adult titles.  There will be fantasy and contemporary and whatever-is-fun-to-write. 

11.  Do any animals share your life? Please tell us about them.  

I have two rescue mutts.  First is our Llama-Collie mix named Larry.  He’s got a Gene Simmons-length tongue, Tina Turner legs, and a trigger-happy bladder.  Our other is Pooza, our stubborn, food-driven little Beaglgoat.  She tries to do whatever she wants on a daily basis, including stuff like yoga-stretches whenever we’re in a hurry to get her somewhere and barfing out the car window when we try to take her for a ride.

And now for a little bit of fun:)  This or That? 

Coffee or Tea?   Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla, yes please thank you.

Sweet or Salty?   Peanut Butter

Beach or Lake?   I grew up on the lake.  Can I have a forest with a beach-lake view?

Winter or Summer?   No fair. You’ve got Christmas and then you’ve got sitting outside in your shorts, sipping coffee on the steps in the morning heat.  This is like choosing between children. 

Cats or Dogs?   I have two dogs currently, but I had two cats previously?  Oh man, I really stink at these questions…

Zombies or Vampires? I liked Twilight and I liked Hollowland and Brains.  Since both would consider me the equivalent of a juice box,  I guess I’d rather spend time with the sexy Cullens than with idiotic zombies who can’t converse.

Country or City?   Would love to live in the country, but I crave people, for people watching and talking and having parties.  I love last-minute dinner parties.

Shower or Bath?    Shower, or as I like to say, Think Tank

Morning or Evening?   Morning.  Unless I’m writing and then sometimes very much evening.

M&Ms or Skittles?   Do we have something against Reese’s Pieces?

Trains or Planes?   Keep my feet on the ground please, Chica!

Comedy or Drama?   Dramatic comedy?  Not trying to be difficult, but I’m a fence-walker to the bone.  

Thanks again for having me over to blah blah with you and your readers, Melissa!

Title:  Cornerstone

Series:  The Cornerstone Series #1

Author:  Misty Provencher

Release Date: November 7th 2011

Size: 219 pages

Find the book: Goodreads   | Amazon    | Barnes & Noble 

Nalena Maxwell has been branded ‘The Waste’ at her new school, due to her mom's obsessive paper hoarding. Nalena desperately wants something to change in her life, but when she receives a sign (and it's the wrong dang one) inviting her into a mysterious, ancient community, too much changes. What she knew of her family, what she thought of her life and what she believed about her future, is no longer applicable. Seventeen years worth of family skeletons come crashing into Nalena's life and it is the boy...the one that smiles at her like he wants to hear everything she'll ever say...that already knows her powerful secrets. But it is only Nalena that can choose between protecting the life that is already crumbling beneath her feet and the one that might sacrifice everything she could ever have.

Title:  Keystone

Series:  The Cornerstone Series #2

Author:  Misty Provencher

Release Date: July 31st 2012

Size:  259 pages

Find the book: Goodreads  | Amazon   | Barnes & Noble 

There’s a man-made storm coming, like a rip in the world, and it’s called the Cusp.                    
                                                                                 Struggling to fit into the destiny she’s accepted, Nalena Maxwell has been left with one objective: she must find her murdered grandfather’s Memory. Stolen and hidden away by her own father over seventeen years ago, the Memory could be the key to ending the Cusp and destroying the Ianua’s rival community, The Fury.
                                                                                                                              Driven by each individual’s selfish desires, The Fury has always lacked the loyalty and organization it needs to be an actual force of power. 
                                                                                                                                 Until now. 
                                                                                                                          Someone masterminded the Fury’s massive attack on the Ianua, slaughtering twelve of their thirteen community leaders, the Addos. Now there are rumors that the 13th Cura, to which Nali belongs, has gone to the Fury, manipulating the last Addo in order to control the other 12 Curas.
                                                                                                                                     As the Cusp brings the Fury and their own communities against them, Nalena’s Cura must preserve the Ianua, but finding the key to the Cusp isn’t as simple as it seems.

Two ebook package giveaways - International

A gift card for $25 - International

And there's a big box of YA books and a ton of swag for another giveaway -US ONLY

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Blog Tour Schedule: http://www.candacesbookblog.com/2012/09/tour-kick-off-for-keystone-by-misty.html