Shifters and Glyphs
Christina Bauer
(Fairy Tales of the Magicorum #2)
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: October 30th 2018
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
“A fun romp for Twilight Fans” – School Library Journal
After being raised by the meanest fairies in the history of ever, Bryar Rose is now free to live her own life. For the first time, she’s attending West Lake Prep, a regular high school. Well, mostly regular. Some students are actually hidden members of the Magicorum. In other words, they’re really wizards, fairies, or shifters. Bry doesn’t mind, though. She’s thrilled to enjoy all the new experiences of being around normal kids her age, from locker pranks to lunchtime mystery meat. Everything is going along great, except for one thing.
Bry’s dreams about the pyramids of Egypt have gotten darker and more sinister. Every night, she sees her new man Knox and her best friend Elle in danger.
“Exciting and well-conceived” – Kirkus
With no other choice, Bry plans to leave school to explore the pyramids on her own. But her new man Knox discovers the scheme and is having none of it. He wants to stay by her side, no matter what. It’s a good thing too, because Bry must solve the mystery of her attraction to the pyramids and soon. Otherwise, it could cost the lives of those she loves most.
And that means not only Knox, but also her best friend Elle.
“Must-read YA paranormal romance!” – USA Today
Perfect for readers who love young adult books, contemporary fantasy, fairy tales, satire/comedy, paranormal romance, fairies, magic users, shapeshifters, and coming of age stories.…
An Interview with Christina Bauer
As part of her launch tour for SHIFTERS
AND GLYPHS, RIU recently interviewed series author Christina Bauer…
RIU: Hi, Christina!
Welcome to Rising Indies United. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Thank you for having me here! To give a brief overview of
yours truly, I live outside Boston, MA with my husband, son, and semi-insane
golden retriever, Ruby. My interests span politics, history, film, and all
forms of geekery. And let’s not forget books. Lots of books!
RIU: When did you
first begin writing? Did you find it daunting or did you just jump in feet
first?
I started writing stories when I was six years old. One
of the things I had to discover about writing—or any passion that you decide to
follow—is that you’ll hit a point where you suck. Hard. It’s at that moment that you decide whether or not to trust
your passion and keep going. I wasn’t the best writer in college; not by a long
shot! But I am a persistent one.
RIU: So, SHIFTERS
AND GLYPHS is book 2 in your Magicorum series, can you tell us a little about
these books, and what inspired you to write them?
When I was a child, I had a copy of the original GRIMM
BROTHERS’ FAIRY TALES. Not the Disney version, mind you. I read the stuff where
Snow White was a dumbass who just kept buying stuff from the evil queen until
she ended up dead from magical shoes. (Yes, that really happened!) As a result,
I’ve always wanted to reinterpret fairy tales. Fairy Tales of the Magicorum is
set in a modern world where some folks live by a fairy tale life template that
they adore, while others feel hampered by it. The stories grow out from there.
RIU: Why Young
Adult as opposed to New Adult or Adult?
There’s an old curse that says: “may you live in
interesting times.” Well, I had interesting teenage years. I can remember that
period really well, and my writing keeps gravitating there. Maybe at some later
point I’ll try other genre, but for now? I have a long list of YA ideas.
RIU: You also have
two other series, Angelbound and the Dimension Drift books. Can you tell us a
little about those?
Angelbound is about a teenage girl who’s part demon and
fights evil souls in Purgatory’s arena. Dimension Drift follows a high school
science prodigy who falls for a guy who may or may not be an alien. Both voices
have plenty of sass, action, adventure, and romance. And kick-assery.
RIU: How have you
grown as a writer?
Since my first book, I’ve learned how to trust my inner
author and editor. Not sure if this is a girl-thing or a writer-thing, but one
of my biggest concerns was always that I wasn’t good enough. Eventually, I
thought: “What would I say if I were my best friend?” And I decided that I’d
tell me I was awesome and could do it.
So that’s what I did and here I am, if that makes sense J
RIU: Who have been
your biggest supporters?
I’m forever grateful to my husband and son for their
patience and support. I’ve also been very fortunate to work with a great
distributor in both INscribe Digital and IPG.
RIU: Is it hard to
balance family life and writing? Especially with a semi-insane Golden
Retriever. LOL!
The golden retriever part has been awesome, thanks for
asking!!! But balancing everything else has been a challenge. For the first
five years of my writing, I kept both a day job and a hectic publishing
schedule. Basically, I woke up at 4 or 5 am and wrote before work … then once I
got home, I’d edit until after midnight. It was tiring. After about book 15, I
reached what’s called ‘shelf strength’ which means I had enough run rate that I
could ditch the day job. Now, life is MUCH more reasonable for both myself and
my family. Ruby is happy as long as she gets treats.
RIU: What do you
feel is the hardest part of writing? What is the best part?
The hardest part of writing is always nailing the first
third of any manuscript. That’s tough for me because I always think I have that
shit DOWN, but then I read everything again the next day and I’m like: DAMN, I have to tear this apart. Once I
read for 4-5 days in a row without any major changes, then I know I’m golden.
That’s when the best part happens and I just write like I’m taking dictation.
RIU: Who has been
your biggest influence?
JRR Tolkien and The
Lord of The Rings. I read that series in high school, back when there
really wasn’t a fantasy genre. It opened my eyes to a different kind of
storytelling.
RIU: What is your
writing process?
I start with Pinterest boards for inspiration on
characters and places. Then I develop the people and worlds with character
sheets, which basically list out 100 things you need to set up about something
(appearance, history, and so on). After that, I map out how I’ll blow those
people apart in three to five books. Once all that work is done, I’ll start the
writing process proper. Book 1 in any series is always the hardest.
RIU: What advice
would you give a new writer?
It’s okay to suck. Seriously. Even Shakespeare sucked at
one time. Keep reading, writing, and believing. The stories in your heart can
only be released by you.
RIU: If you could
have dinner with any 5 writers (dead or alive) who would they be and why?
1.
Edith Hamilton
– wrote my favorite book on Greco-Roman Myth. I would love to talk gods and
goddesses with her
2.
Joseph Campbell
– wrote my fav series on the hero’s journey. Same thing.
3.
Karl Jung –
Created the ideas of archetypes that are threaded through literature and
seriously influenced Campbell
4.
JRR Tolkien
– would want to talk about how he created his own freaking languages for his
books. WTF?
5.
Oscar Wilde –
This is one seriously sarcastic dude. I’d just want to sit next to him while he
verbally skewered everyone else.
RIU: What can we
expect from you in the future?
I’m working on a new YA series called THE PIXIELAND
DIARIES. This is going to be all fluff, all fun, all the time.
RIU: Thank you for
taking the time to talk to us today, Christina. We wish you much continued
Success!
Thank you for inviting me. I had a great time!
Author Bio:
Christina Bauer knows how to tell stories about kick-ass women. In her best selling Angelbound series, the heroine is a part-demon girl who loves to fight in Purgatory’s Arena and falls in love with a part-angel prince. This young adult best seller has driven more than 500,000 ebook downloads and 9,000 reviews on Goodreads and retailers. The first three books in the series are now available as audiobooks on Audible and iTunes.
Bauer has also told the story of the Women’s March on Washington by leading PR efforts for the Massachusetts Chapter. Her pre-event press release—the only one sent out on a major wire service—resulted in more than 19,000 global impressions and redistribution by over 350 different media entities including the Associated Press.
Christina graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School with BA’s in English along with Television, Radio, and Film Production. She lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby.
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