Interview & Giveaway: B.Kristin McMichael

 In honor of Valentines Day... 
 I'm giving away one of my favorite Romance stories ever.
-B Vixen

INTERVIEW AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

  

To Stand Beside Her 

by B. Kristin McMichael

Leila is a courier. To the people she takes from, she is seen as a common thief; to the people she helps, she is a savior.

Nalick is your typical king. He’s rich, powerful, and always assumed to be right. When Leila crosses paths with King Nalick, she finds herself trapped. In a rush to save her best friend Kay from a prison sentence for a crime Leila committed, Leila trades her hand in marriage in exchange for Kay’s freedom.

Tomboy Leila does not want to grow up, but in three months’ time, she will be married to King Nalick, if Nalick can keep his end of the bargain. First, Nalick must make Leila fall in love with him, a hard task since Leila is not ready to love again after losing her first love to a greedy king. Second, Nalick must keep her safe. He is not the only king trying to hold onto her. Leila has made many enemies over the years, and even more admirers that want her as a prize. Lastly, Nalick must convince Leila that ten years of love is better than a lifetime without. Unless Leila can trust her destiny,she might not reach her wedding day at all.

 My review of To Stand Beside Her

To purchase Stand Beside Her:
Amazon
Nook
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Also available on Itunes!

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B. Kristin McMichael

BIO: Years ago while I was all alone on Saturday mornings, I decided to start writing again. I began by seeing if I could write a complete novel. So I sat down for a couple hours each Saturday of the month of April. I had written some short stories/novellas when I was in junior high and high school, but never a full length novel. After 150,000+ words in one month, I had a complete novel. It made me realize that maybe I could do the writing thing after all.

Five years, two kids, three cats, and a PhD later, I am still writing and have three completed manuscripts and twice as many started (a couple near finished). I try my best to find time each week to write, but now I find more and more that I need to spend time editing. To improve my writing I am back to reading lots and getting ideas and better understanding how to craft a story people will enjoy.

When I am not writing, I am normally working at my job as a scientist or playing with my two wonderful children. If I get any amount of free time I like to bake, garden, and sew (yes, I know- such a mom life, but I have liked to do those before I had children) I continue to enjoy writing and love the motivation my husband gives me to try to make it in the writing world. I may need a harder shell, but with his support, I just might be able to do this.

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INTERVIEW:

Being the awesomesauce person that she is, B. Kristin let me ask her a few questions, to go along with the giveaway! I'd like to Thank B. Kristin for being so amazing, kind, and brilliant! I thoroughly enjoyed her debut novel. I'm excited to give y'all a excerpt from her new book coming out! *squee* Enjoy the interview, and Enter the giveaway!!! - B Vixen

B Kristin, How did you come up with the idea for 'To Stand Beside Her'?

This actually was from two different dreams that had the same characters. The first part I dreamt was Leila trying to free her best friend from the king (he had no name at that point). I dream in an odd, third-person type of way, like the way I write- I see the characters, but I somehow know what they are thinking and feeling. The second dream, weeks later, was taking that same king and his friend home to meet the family. Somehow between one dream to the next- the mean king became a likeable guy. In reality, I watch too many movies and read too many books and when I go to bed at night, my mind tries to sort it all out. I end up with very long dreams that I can remember all the details from.

What was your favorite moment in writing this novel?

I liked writing the beginning with Leila and Nalick meeting: two forces of nature butting heads to see who would win. That was fun. Writing scenes with bold characters is always fun as I can write what I would love to say but would never in real life have the guts to! Also, I liked writing the epilogue, even if it was a bit sad. I hate to get to the end of a book and wonder how everything turned out. I figured there would be no guessing here, and it would be a bit bitter sweet. But it was an ending I could be happy with.

 **I just want to share my favorite moment in this novel - THE ENTIRE THING!! lol seriously, I loved it that much!**

Nalick is a very special character... When you first started writing this novel, did you intend for him to end up the way he did?

I try to know all my characters very well so that I always know their motivation. By the time I wrote the novel (I always plan out the details from beginning to end twice before I sit down to write), I knew how the book would turn out, so I had a plan for him all along. I also had a plan for Anatolio, but I guess that was a well-kept secret…..

Leila is an indescribable force... Behind all her masks she had red hair [Yay Red head power!]. Do you see yourself in Leila at all?

Oh, I wish I could be that bold! What I’d give to have an alternative personality like that, but in reality, I’ve always been shy and very introverted. I also am much more of a planner and could never live my life on a whim. As to the hair color, I figured with all her spunk, she needed to be a red head.

If you had to choose, which one writer / person would you consider to be your mentor / inspiration for writing?

I don’t think I could name one person. This past year I read over one hundred books and put many on my list to read a second time. First time I read a book, I get caught up in the story, but the second time, I can look more at the writing and look for what pulls me in. As much as the big authors like JK Rowling are great, I think the indie authors are really admirable as they produce a great product without having professional editors and the whole crew of people making the books look great. At first I was hesitant to read indie authors, but once I downloaded a few free ones, I was greatly surprised.

How do you react to a bad review of one of your books?

Ahh, it is disappointing, but you can’t please everyone. I would love if the bad reviews actually said why they didn’t like it. I believe in learning from all this, so if I do something that someone doesn’t like and that I can change the next time around, I’d love to hear it.

Being a Mom... Have you ever gone out in public with your shirt on backwards, or your slippers on, and when realizing it, just said screw it?

The first year with my daughter I had a few of those days. I remember being lectured by the dentist, this old time guy that was really hard core. He was telling me that I don’t floss enough. I told him, I’m sorry but I have a three month old baby at home that has yet to sleep more than three hours at a time. I honestly don’t even know if I combed my hair today, so flossing just isn’t that high on my list. He didn’t like that reply…..

Do you work with an outline, or just write?

I’m more of a just write type person. I mentally work through the plot twice before I start writing. So I do have points A, B, C, and an end point, but everything else just falls into place. If you know your characters inside and out, just writing works because you can start something and they take it away and go with it.

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?

Read, write, edit, repeat……. Read what is out there to know what keeps your interest and how to better your own writing. Write as often as you can find time and don’t forget to edit. Editing can never be done too much.

To Stand Beside Her was your debut novel as an Author, are there any more stories in the works for you? [Could we maybe get a tiny teaser, if so!?]

I actually sent off my next novel to the editor yesterday. This was another book I never thought anyone would end up reading. It is an urban fantasy dealing with night humans. I wrote it two months before Twilight came out and figured vampires would be everywhere. Unconfident me thought that I would have no luck with getting anyone wanting to read it, so I gave up.

Blurb:

Arianna Grace liked her boring Midwestern teenage life where she ignored the many unanswered questions of her childhood. Why were her parents dead? Why doesn’t she have a family? Why do her memories only start at five? When someone offers to explain it, Arianna thinks she is just getting answers. Instead, she is thrown into a world of night humans that drink blood.

On Arianna’s sixteenth birthday, her world is thrown upside down when she changes into a vampire. Night humans, or demons as some call them, live in normal society. Learning all the new rules of a world she didn’t know existed would be hard enough, but it’s further complicated by two former-friends that now want to help her take her role as the successor to her grandfather.
There is a war going on between the night humans. Sides have been taken and lines are not crossed. Four main clans of night humans are struggling for control of the night. Divided into two sides, clans Baku and Tengu have been at war for centuries with the clans Dearg-dul and Lycan. That is, until Arianna Grace finds out the truth; she is the bridge of peace between the two sides. But not everyone wants peace. With the night humans divided onto two sides, Arianna is now a pawn in the war between them. Arianna must choose a side- her mother’s family or her father’s- and for once in her life decide her own fate.

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:  

The Legend of the Blue Eyes

hopefully being released in March

The tumbling of her stomach didn’t stop, and she slowly stepped into the light rain, towards the unknown man waiting for her. The young man opened the picket fence as she neared. Arianna stopped suddenly as she recognized the young man’s face.

“You’re from my math class,” she said in shock, as blond-haired boy from her math class took her arm and pulled her under the umbrella with him. He did not respond but directed her down the street. “You also ride the same Friday bus as me.” Arianna waited for a reply, but he still didn’t speak. His clear, blue eyes darted around, searching the shadows as they walked. She was feeling worse now as her stomach turned. “I think I’m sick,” she said, as she slowed her walk. Arianna quickly stepped away from the unnamed boy and puked into the grass. “Just my luck,” she said, trying to break the heavy silence. “I turn sixteen and get sick at the same time.” The boy escorting her stopped.

“Your birthday is tomorrow,” he responded, still carefully watching around them. Arianna should have been surprised he knew, but she was too sick to care.

…….

Suddenly, the pain began again, worse than before. Arianna gripped the young man’s shoulder as it continued. Arianna was numb to the world around her, while the pain continued to grow worse. The man stopped running, and quickly darted into an alley between two stores. He carefully set Arianna down against a building with an overhang to protect her from the rain. Arianna glanced up as he moved a few feet away and turned his back to her. The pain grew worse, and she shut her eyes as he spoke on his phone.

“We won’t make it there in time,” he said quietly. “She’s already turning.” Arianna waited, listening to the rain and his conversation to try to distract herself from the pain. “My tracker is on, get here as soon as you can.” The young man knelt beside Arianna.

“Can you make the pain stop?” she begged. He nodded.

“I was trying to make it to a safe house, but we are still at least a mile away from the nearest one.” Arianna nodded, though she didn’t understand what he was talking about. “You need to feed, or the pain will get worse.”

“Feed?” she asked, confused. Arianna felt a jolt of pain rip through her body and she closed her eyes. With one fluid movement, the young man pulled a knife from his pocket and cut his own wrist. “What…?” Arianna began to ask, as she opened her eyes to find his bleeding wrist near her face. Arianna felt an urge come over her. Her eyes glazed over as she stared at the blood. Without thinking, she reached for his bleeding wrist and licked the blood away. The world around her dimmed, and she passed out.

Now for the giveaway[s]! 

[**US ONLY**]ONE SIGNED paperback of To Stand Beside Her

[**INTERNATIONAL**]TWO E-books of To Stand Beside Her!

-> US ONLY<- 

 [Sorry y'all, postage is expensive!]

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

-> INTL <- 

a Rafflecopter giveaway