Thank you
for featuring my book on the last day of the tour and thank you Roxanne and
Bewitching Books for the great job you did!
For the final post, I will be doing an author interview with the best
questions I received during this month of touring.
And writers,
I highly recommend you using Bewitching Books when scheduling a tour.
Again, the
best interview questions from the book tour:
Could you tell us a bit about your latest
release?
Jennifer
Ainsley: The Final Demon War is the first book in a planned trilogy. It is a tale of love and loss that uses
supernatural elements to illuminate truths about the “real” world. Here is some
background on each of the characters:
Jennifer Ainsley: She lost her beloved mother
and sister in a mysterious car crash when she was a child, the same night
billionaire Jonathon Tait had a vision she was the one to wield the Sword of
Jesus (Matthew 10:34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring
peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword) against the demons.
Adopted by Jonathon and raised wiith his twins to love them like she did her
sister, Jennifer knows nothing of her destiny until the night of her college
graduation party. Also manipulated by Jonathon to fall for the Head of Tait
Security Andrew Walker, the coming storm will engulf her and she may yet lose
even more than she already has.
Jonathon Tait: 170 year old
billionaire who in league with the demons, has become the richest, most
powerful man in the world. The murder of his second love, plus the love of his
children, begin to place Jonathon on the path of not redemption; but at least a
way to save the two people he loves the most.
Mpordock: The leader of the
Demons. A fallen Angel who also had
forsaken the Underworld to wage a final battle against humanity. Disdainful of
Lucifer and yet craving the acceptance of the God who cast Mordock out of
Heaven, Mordock thinks that if he destroys humanity (like God himself almost
did with The Flood) maybe God will recognize him and maybe Mordock can become
holy again.
Andrew Walker: Like Jennifer,
Andrew lost his family in a tragic accident and that shared past has given them
a fierce, passionate love. Their initial lovemaking scene illustrates how much
they are in love with each other and how much they would protect one another.
But Andrew, one of the few living men to have killed a demon, is not an
experienced demon fighter and may be over his head in the coming war.
Mike Davis: The government operative most
skilled in killing demons, he is known throughout the world has having the
greatest luck in remaining alive when so many other soldiers like him,
including a former lover, have perished. Spying on Jennifer while also
attempting to protect her, he falls in love with her but realizes this will
always be unrequited. Jennifer will always be in love with Andrew which causes
Mike to take terrible risks yet also give him an unwavering strength as he
wants to do right by Jennifer.
Andrew and Sophia Tait: Jonathon’s twins who
were an unexpected surprise birth. Jonathon loves them so much he betrays his
alliance with the demons. As the conflict grows though, Jonathon and others
begin to realize the twins may have an even greater destiny than Jennifer. And
if Mordock finds that out, all could be lost.
Do you plan everything or just let the story
flow?
At the
beginning of this story, and the four screenplays I previously wrote, I outline
the tale from beginning to end. However
I am not a slave to the outline. I let
inspiration guide me. So while I may know where the road begins and ends, I’m
not always sure how many detours I will take to get to my final
destination.
Who, or what, if anything has influenced your
writing?
I grew up very poor and ended up dropping out
of High School. To escape I read a lot of early Stephen King, Dean Koontz and
Tolkien. Eventually I got myself together, worked myself through college twice
and eventually ended up with a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning.
The humble upbringings, the strength to persevere and those early writers all
influence my writing to some degree. I hope I was able to combine the darkness
with the light, while adding in deep characters, that will enable readers to
become fully invested in my stories.
How long did it take you to write?
The first
draft of Jennifer Ainsley took me 8 months to write. It was absolutely terrible
and no one will ever read that. The
second draft took another two months and with that version I had graduated to
merely sucky. Draft #2 I allowed three
friends, who I call my Gorgeous and Intelligent Readers, to review and give me
honest critical feedback. Another draft
later, I gave it to a friend who is a professional writing for editing. Once the manuscript had reached the level of
mediocre, I used the professional editing services of Createspace Publishing who
gave me wonderful feedback and two more drafts later, I actually had a
professionally edited book that I think, and initial reviews reflect, an
outstanding and entertaining tale.
So from
beginning to end, 22 months. This is not a book that took 30 days to write and
it was been edited and vetted by numerous people before I decided to share it
with the world (Or at least the few hundred people who have bought it so far).
Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not
what did you want to be?
I have always
loved to write. As a child I was on the
school newspaper and even had my own column in 7th grade (which
ended when I included the quote “Love does not make the world go around, it
makes it go up and down. I guess the
school administrators did not share my sense of humor). In my 20’s I wrote 4 screenplays since in S.
California they issue Final Draft software to any writer at birth. I pursued
actual money making endeavors though and got away from writing although I still
wrote down story ideas. In 2012 one of
those story ideas just wouldn’t go away and given that quitting your job
suddenly adds more time to your life, I pursued that idea and fleshed it out to
a novel.
What can readers expect from you in the
future?
My next novel is the sequel to Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon
War. It will be titled: Jennifer
Ainsley: This Time We Really Mean It, The Final war (Just kidding). The next
book is Jennifer Ainsley: The End and the Beginning. Even more epic and encompassing, if I can
pull this off it will essentially be my The Stand. Only with more humor and
emotion. And maybe more severed heads…
Tell us about your book cover and how it
relates to your story.
The book
cover was created by the talented folks at Pencilbox Studios in Orange County. Originally
I had wanted a cover of a sword lying in the forest with a mushroom cloud off
in the distance. However, on a writer’s budget that was not feasible. The artist though used one of the icons of
the book – The Sword of Jesus (Matthew 10:34 “Do not suppose that I have come to
bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”) to
create an unsettling cover that illustrated the mood of my book perfectly. As the Rolling stones said: “Sometimes you
don’t get what you want, but you get what you need” J
Do you have other interests that you pursue?
You
mean besides writing? ;) I love to hike, that’s number one. I’m fortunate enough to live in both Northern
California and Southern California; so much natural beauty. I also dine out
quite frequently and write reviews on Yelp:
I enjoy my vino so
winery visits and hosting wine parties are another hobby of mine. My son knew how to open a wine bottle at age
5 J And yeah, I’m
lucky enough to be the father of a great kid so hanging out with him is a total
joy J He has me hooked
on this town building app called Clash of Clans so we do that together, play
basketball and he is great at chess.
How do you market
Your book? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?
So your readers should buy it before it becomes the next hot new thing ;)
Are there any other authors that have grasped your interest or inspired you to write?
I grew up very poor and ended up dropping out of High School. To escape I read a lot of early Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Tolkien. Eventually I got myself together, worked myself through college twice and eventually ended up with a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning. The humble upbringings, the strength to persevere and those early writers all influence my writing to some degree. I hope I was able to combine the darkness with the light, while adding in deep characters, that will enable readers to become fully invested in my stories.
Your favorite singer/group is?
Prince and
The Replacements Also big on alternative
singer – songwriter types like Josh Ritter, Aimee Mann, Old 97’s, Lenka, Brandi
Carlisle, Okkervil River and old school soul like Al Green, Otis Redding, The
Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Smoky Robinson
What is the oldest thing in your fridge and
how old is it?
Fridge,
there is a full thing of milk about a month past its expiration date that I
need to throw out. Such a waste.
In the
freezer, I think I have an 18 month old package of frozen corn. More waste, sigh
What is your favourite food?
This is a
tough one! I eat out all of the time and
I’m an avid reviewer on Yelp:
My favourite
go-to food would have to be pizza, thin crust. But I also love American BBQ...baby
back ribs and tri-tip. Yet, I’m becoming
a bigger fan of sushi and sake (they must be combined). Hmmmm, I’m not sure I
can answer this! J
Jennifer Ainsley
The Final Demon War
Sidney Stone
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Suspense/
Horror/New Adult
Date of Publication: December 2013
ISBN: 1491200960
ASIN: B00HFYK99Q
Number of pages: 308
Word Count: 102,400
Cover Artist: Pencilbox Studios
Book Description:
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” - Matthew 10:34
Demons are preparing to launch the Final War to destroy humanity.
Can one young woman wielding the Sword of Jesus ensure our survival and redemption?
Will she lose both her love and her soul in the process?
About the Author:
Sidney Stone is a hiker, deer whisperer and non-pretentious wine connoisseur. An addicted reviewer on Yelp, he is also creator of affordable housing (although technically he is homeless part-time), thinks The Replacements are the best band of the Eighties and loves to boost his LinkedIn count with people he doesn't know.
He lives in both Northern and Southern California while constantly traveling to Orange County to visit his son, who can now beat his father at ping pong and chess rather easily (and is charmingly arrogant while doing it). A graduate of UC Irvine and Pepperdine University, Sidney wishes he chose at least one university to attend that had a college football team to root for.
The first scene Sidney thought of for Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon War included a rather large massacre (take that for what it is worth). However, inspired by the works of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Clive Barker; the book's violence is offset by dark humor and deep human emotion just like in real life where Sidney's darkness is offset by creatively placed sarcasm and an overwrought romanticism. For example, while Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon War is a Fantasy-Horror novel, Sidney also still tears up at the end of both Field of Dreams and An Officer and a Gentleman.
Contact him at www.sidneystone.net or https://www.facebook.com/sidneystoneauthor
2 comments:
Thank you so much for the giveaway ^_^
The Final Demon War sounds very interesting and I'm looking forward to reading it.
Post a Comment