Friday, March 22, 2013

Guest Post: Kelley Lynn + Fraction of Stone


Today I'm handing the blog over to author Kelley Lynn to give you a few insider details about her YA fantasy debut novel, Fraction of Stone, which just released yesterday. Happy Belated Book Birthday Kelley, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Hello there!

Thanks so much to Jenny here at Supernatural Snark for allowing me a day to crash at her place. It’s kinda like a sleepover! Though her place won’t be a mess when I leave…haha

My name is Kelley Lynn. My debut novel, FRACTION OF STONE, was released by Sapphire Star Publishing on March 21st, 2013. I’m all sorts of excited. I keep waiting for the nerves to creep up but, well, I figure if people like it, awesome! If they don’t, but they give constructive feedback as to why (or maybe it just wasn’t there thing), that’s awesome too. The words on the page are meant to be shared so let’s share em’!

Jenny said that you fabulous Supernatural Snark readers enjoy a ‘peek behind the curtain’. A little VIP treatment, if you would. You guys are smart! That’s how it should be for everything. So here’s a little insight into one of my main characters, which really isn’t a character at all.

My mother has always been fascinated (can I say, slightly obsessed) with weather. I will attempt to show you this with a story.

Growing up, our house had been struck by lightening three times. Yes, three. So lightening does strike the same place more than once, FYI. We had a video camera and before our house was struck for the third time my mother was standing on our porch video the coming storm. It did look beautiful. The rumbling of the thunder and the flashes of light against the dark clouds. So powerful. So alive.

The film cuts out and the next clip you see is my mother videotaping the siding from our house which is strewn all over our yard because, yes, the lightening struck the side of the house and put a hole in our garage.

Cut to my novel, FRACTION OF STONE. Before I started writing it I asked my mother what she would like to see in a book (if she read, which she doesn’t… so maybe she wasn’t the best person to ask but, mom’s know everything, right?) She said she’d love to read about weather. (Big surprise there.) But I ran with it.

In FRACTION OF STONE, there’s a guy and there’s a girl and perhaps their biggest obstacle in the story isn’t a person at all (though there are many who try to hurt them). Their biggest worry is the world, which is falling apart. Earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, the works. I think it’s something unique to FRACTION OF STONE which isn’t seen often in books. I hope I do these scenes justice. Show the vast power the world possesses, even in the process of dying. And how no matter what humanity does, they can’t possibly fight this foe.

In case you’re interested in checking out my novel, below is a bit about it. Thanks again to Supernatural Snark for having me! If anyone has any questions, or would like to share your weather woes, I’d love to hear them. Feel free to discuss in the comments. I’ll be around :-)

• • • • • • • • • •

FRACTION OF STONE

Wind tunnels, torrential rains and earthquakes tear apart Casden. The cause of the world’s imbalance is unknown, but the mounting occurrences suggest there’s little time before life ceases to exist.

Rydan Gale and Akara Nazreth are the only humans with the ability to wield magic. The tattoo on their necks and the discovery of an ancient book, dictate they are the key to the world’s survival.

But the greatest obstacle for saving mankind isn’t the bizarre creatures, extreme betrayals and magic-fearing men hunting them.

It’s that Akara doesn’t believe the world is worth saving

• • • • • • • • • •

KELLEY LYNN


Eventually the day came when the voices in Kelley Lynn’s head were more insistent then her engineering professor’s. So instead of turning to her Thermodynamics book, Kelley brought up a blank page on her computer screen and wrote. Somewhere along the way she became a Young Adult author.

Kelley was born and raised a Midwestern girl. She’s not afraid to sweat and fills her free time with softball, soccer and volleyball. (Though you probably don’t want her on your volleyball team.) She occasionally makes guest appearances as a female vocalist for area bands.

You can find Kelley hanging out at her blog, titled in her name, as well as the group blog she shares with her fellow critique partners, Falling for Fiction. Kelley is a member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators.



40 comments:

  1. I'm intrigued. Even though I am not a Dystopia fan, this one has magic and .. I love magic !!

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    1. Who doesn't! Right? haha. It's more epic fantasy than dystopian... I think :)

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    Replies
    1. Every so often, even though I have about eight 'finished' stories, I run into this problem, and I find its usually because i'm thinking too much. I'm thinking about where I want to go. Will it sound okay? What if I changed this? How about that?

      It comes down to just writing. Turn off every thought, every doubt, and just start writing. After you're about ten or fifteen minutes in, you'll probably catch your groove and then you can start thinking about where you want to go, etc. You might have to change a few things, but I bet its not nearly as much as your fear when you first start out.

      Hope that helps!

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  3. Three times? That's some seriously determined lightning. My middle school seemed to draw lightning, too -- struck multiple times. (Really not a great thing since we were right next to one of the largest natural gas pipelines along the Eastern seaboard but what can you do but what can you do?) Your mom's a woman after my own heart -- I love a gorgeous, crazy storm!

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    1. Oh my gosh! Natural Gas line! Yeah, we were just on top of a hill. Probably why we had so many issues... haha

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  4. I love how the biggest obstacle isn't a person, but the weather, and I agree I don't think I've come across a book like this before! Thanks for putting this on my radar Jenny and Kelley! :)

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    1. You're welcome Jasprit! (LOVE that name! Might have to use if for a future story...)

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  5. WHOAAA STRUCK BY LIGHTNING 3 TIMES?!?! Talk about terrible luck:/ Oohhh I find the topic of weather and natural disasters really fascinating....I mean I learnt about the scientific procedure/explanation for them, and frankly, that was heaps boring, but I'm still really interested :)) This book sounds heaps intriguing! Thanks for putting this on my radar<3

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    1. You know, most things taught in a classroom are boring. Even though they are quite interesting when you're not sitting behind a desk. Haha. Glad you found this intriguing ;)

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  6. Awesome idea Kelley! You intrigued me. Wow, three lightning strikes and interesting story on what your mom did during them. ;)

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    1. Yeah, since all the repairs have been done on the house a while ago, we can laugh at the video now. It certainly wasn't funny at the time :)

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  7. What a fun guest post! I think if I was struck by lightning not once but three times, I would definitely hide out during s storm!

    I love the cover on this, it is gorgeous!

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    1. Thanks Kindlemom! I actually got to design it. :)

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  8. Awesome guest post! I'm a fan of crazy weather. Maybe not so much when it happens to ME, but in movies and books? Absolutely. Please don't get me into how many times I've seen "The Day After Tomorrow" ... including last night.

    Hadn't heard of this book, but now my curiosity is offially piqued. Yay!

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    1. I LOVE that movie! The power of weather is astounding!

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  9. Thanks everyone for your comments! I'm reading this on my phone just before flight takeoff :) I promise I will answer all questions later tonight when I'm home :)

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  10. Lightning striking the house three times, either that is really lucky or not, I can't decide. I had flashbacks to that movie Benjamin Button with the guy that gets struck by lightning eight times. A very interesting idea to feature weather in your book. Best of luck with your release, Kelley!

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    1. Thanks Heidi! So far people seem to like it ;)

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  11. Very interesting theme, the weather having such a major role. Considering it is spring here in the Midwest and we are expecting snow!!!! I'd say it's a timely idea. Good luck on the release.

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    1. I'm from the Midwest! This weather is so not fun! :(

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  12. Hah, generally my mom rolls her eyes at anything paranormal, dystopian and out of the ordinary but I'd still askfor her opinion if I ever decided to write somehing. Of course moms know everything!
    Magic users and natural disasters. I'm all for it.
    Good luck, Kelley and thanks for sharing, Jenny!

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    1. My mom doesn't read... so... She asked me if she could just wait till the movie came out. Sure mom... :) haha

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  13. You should have bought a lottery ticket after that first and second one. You never know. LOL

    This book sounds intense. Oh I really need to check this book out! Loved the VIP treatment. :)

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    1. So glad you liked it Melissa! We should all be treated like VIP :)

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    1. Yeah. After the third time you've got the response down though... :)

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  15. Nice post! I think my reviewer read this book. I think...I'm gonna have to ask him.

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  16. Our house never got struck by lightning but it nearly got hit by a few tornadoes! Weather is a fantastical thing and lightning storms are fun to watch but a little scary (I still love them though).
    I hadn't heard of this book yet so I'm off to check it out!

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  17. Weather completely terrifies and fascinates me. I can't imagine having my house struck by lightning three times! I would probably freak out. I don't have any desire to experience extreme weather, but I do love reading about it. This sounds like a very cool story, thanks for sharing!

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  18. Three times? Really? Oh boy I'm afraid of lightnings either way.
    Back to the book. I haven't seen it before but now I'm really curious about the story. Sounds like something different.
    Thanks for sharing it Jenny :)

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  19. We get pretty mundane weather here (rain, rain and more rain), so I've never experienced anything even remotely extreme. I do find crazy weather quite exciting though (provided that it's not life-threatening, of course!). I like the sound of Fraction of Stone. :) Thanks for sharing!

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  20. Sounds pretty exciting for a debut novel, Kelly! I can't believe your house was struck by lightening three times! I love end of the world scenarios, as long as the world survives, of course, lol. :) Thanks for sharing ladies.

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  21. EEK, I definitely would have moved if my home had been struck by lightening three times!! Still, that's some pretty cool inspiration for the story - I'm intrigued!

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