Thursday, September 6, 2012

Interview♥Giveaway: Red Dawn by J J Bonds




About Red Dawn (Crossroads Academy #2)

Katia's done running. She's fought fiercely to protect her identity, her secrets, and those she loves most. And while it hasn't been easy, she's finally making peace with the past. Katia's even looking forward to the start of a new school year at Crossroads Academy.
Too bad things at Crossroads are going to be a little different this fall. There are new rules, new students, and new relationships. Katia quickly discovers that navigating the halls of Crossroads is as complicated as ever.
When a friend's life is at stake, Katia will be forced to choose between the safety of Crossroads and an enemy more dangerous than any she's ever faced. Will Katia have the courage to risk it all -including her life- for a friend?
Crossroads (Crossroads Academy #1) - Available now!
When Katia enrolled at Crossroads Academy she knew things weren’t exactly going to be easy. The sole heir to the worlds’ most powerful vampire, her presence was bound to cause a stir. But nothing could have prepared her for this. Whispers follow everywhere she goes. So does trouble.

Bodies start turning up in nearby Rutland and Katia is sucked into a twisted web of danger and deceit. Haunted by nightmares she can’t explain and a thirst for blood that is never sated, Katia will do whatever it takes to keep her past buried.

Nothing at Crossroads is what it seems and Katia’s secrets may be the darkest of them all.


Connect with the Series:
Goodreads: Crossroads |Goodreads: Red Dawn | Amazon: Crossroads | Amazon: Red Dawn 
Interview with J J Bonds
Hi Ashley!
Thanks so much for having me at Fire Star Books today! I’m pretty excited about throwing caution to the wind and jumping into the inferno with you and your readers! I can honestly say that the best part of the Red Dawn blog tour is getting to ‘meet’ bloggers and avid readers like yourself! Getting to talk about my writing feels an awful lot like a bonus!

1. If you could work with any author who would it be? 
Is this stump the author day? Just kidding. There are so many amazing authors that it would be difficult to choose just one! How about my top three (in no particular order)? JK Rowling. Veronica Roth. RL Stine.

2. When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?
I do! I love the idea that the names of central characters have significant meaning and can give the reader additional insight into who they really are as people (or, you know, in this case, vampires). All of the key characters in the Crossroads Academy series have names which convey a little something extra. For example, Katia means ‘pure’ and Nikolai means ‘victory of the people’. If you want to know the rest, you’ll have to check the web!

3. What advice would you give to people who "run out of creativity" when writing?
Running out of creativity? No way. That could never happen to a writer. *shakes head in disbelief* Seriously though, this probably happens to all of us at one point or another in our careers. I personally like to take a step back from my work and try to pay more attention to the world around me. As a writer, it’s easy to get lost in your own head or the world that you’ve created, but there’s a lot of good, inspirational ‘stuff’ going on in the real world too! Sometimes it helps to take a break and just live a little!

4. How long did it take you to publish your first book, after you started trying?
I spent a few months pursuing the traditional route --querying agents and seeking representation-- and although I got a few bites, nothing came of it. When I saw the success of other indie writers like JL Bryan and Amanda Hocking, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I hired an editor and a designer and I got busy researching publication. It turned out to be much easier than I’d expected, although it’s a LOT of work! I’d say it was about 5 months from start to finish, although most of that time was spent on editing. I didn’t want to move forward until I was certain that Crossroads was the best it could possibly be. For Red Dawn, the process moved much faster as I already knew what needed to be done and had contacts in place.

5. How did you come up with the title? 
I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that Red Dawn is the driving force behind the entire story! Have I piqued your curiosity? Sweet! Mission accomplished!

6. What books have most influenced your life most? 
Can I give a two part answer? I read a lot of Christopher Pike and RL Stine growing up and they really lit the fires for YA literature and all things paranormal. Growing up, I devoured just about every book these authors wrote. I also have to give credit to Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight series as I had moved away from YA for quite some time and the series really brought me back to my roots.

7. What book are you reading now? 
I’ve committed my summer reading list to indie authors and at the moment I’m reading ‘What a Boy Wants’ by Nyrae Dawn. A few of my favorite bloggers gave it rave reviews, so I just had to check it out!

8. Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? 
I love Veronica Roth! I’m so impressed with her writing and the success she’s found as such a young author. I can’t wait to see what she creates after the Divergent series.

9. What are your current projects? 
I’m currently working on the third and final book in the Crossroads Academy series. It’s still in the very early stages of outlining, but I can promise fans that the series will go out with a bang!

10. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? 
No way! I wouldn’t move forward with publication until I was comfortable and confident that the story was just right. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to the readers. I want to know that the book is the best it can possibly be when I put it out there for the world to see.

11. What was the hardest part of writing your book? 
This is a tricky question for me. I wrote Red Dawn relatively quickly as I knew where the story was going, but I quickly discovered that there’s a lot more pressure when it comes to writing the second book in a series. There’s the whole ‘second book syndrome’ which weighs on your mind and which you desperately want to avoid. I’d lay awake at night worrying that Red Dawn wouldn’t live up to readers’ expectations.

Now that I’ve finished the manuscript, I‘m not so worried about it. I feel really good about the book and am confident readers of the series will be pleased with the newest installment. Red Dawn has a faster pace, even more action, and some, shall we say, steamy developments.

12. Do you have any advice for other writers? 
At the risk of sounding trite, here it is: Don’t. Ever. Give. Up. Ever. I can’t stress that enough. If you’re passionate about literature and writing, you will be successful. Writing isn’t easy. It’s a ton of work. (I’ve never worked so hard in my life.) It’s lonely at times. (Even for an introvert like me.) It takes thick skin. (Some people are going to hate your work-- and want to tell you about it.) But it’s also very rewarding. (You will make new friends, connect with other writers, and push yourself to new heights.) I don’t write for fame and fortune (although I’m sure that would be nice!), I write because I love it. And that’s what keeps me motivated!

13. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? 
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I couldn’t do it without you guys! Your support means more to me than you can possibly imagine. I can’t even begin to convey the feeling of euphoria I get when I receive a message asking about the next book or giving me feedback on the characters you loved, hated, or loved to hate!


Thanks again for the great interview Ashley! I hope I’ve given the readers of Fire Star Books some insight into Red Dawn and the Crossroads Academy series. I’m pretty sure they now know more about me than they ever wanted! ;-) 



J.J. Bonds is an independent author who writes Young Adult Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy. Her debut novel, Crossroads, was released in fall of 2011. It is the first in the Crossroads Academy series. J.J. lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where her love of all things paranormal keeps life interesting. She lives with her husband, daughter, and two rambunctious dogs.

Connect with JJ:

Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway There is a large giveaway for the J.J. Bonds Street Team -- details at this link: http://www.jjbonds.com/streetteam.
Book Blogging at it's finest!



5 comments:

  1. I love this cover, it's beautiful and it sounds awesome.. Great interview. Thank you for sharing it.

    Jenea @ Books Live Forever

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jenea! Thanks for checking out the tour! All of my covers are done by Rachel at Parajunkee design. She's a rock star! Good luck in the giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  3. i;m looking crossroad in the book depository but they don't sell it...
    i want to buy crossroad...so sad :(

    thx 4 the chance of win...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Nurmawati
    You can buy them from Amazon!
    You won't be disappointed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. thanks for the awesome giveaway can't wait to read the book

    ReplyDelete

Total Pageviews