Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Interview, Blog Tour & Giveaway: Shifters and Glyphs: Fairy Tales of the MAgicorum - Book 2 by Christina Bauer (Paranormal, YA, Fairy Tales)


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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