Cradled
Christina Bauer
(Beholder #4.5)
Publication date: July 31st 2018
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
An Epilogue NovellaAt last, Elea and Rowan are settling in to their new lives. Trouble is, Rowan is spending a lot of time cleaning up messes from his childhood. And considering the nightmare that was his mother, those are some ugly messes indeed. In fact, the experience is enough to make Rowan vow that he never wants children of his own.Oops.BEHOLDER
• Cursed
• Concealed
• Cherished
• Crowned
• Cradled
The Cover Contessa Interviews Author Christina Bauer!
Christina
Bauer is the author of more than a dozen books that combine fantasy, romance,
and kickass chicks. We caught up with her on her launch tour for CRADLED, the new epilogue novella for her Beholder Series.
1. Did you
always know you wanted to be a writer or did you want to be something
else?
I pretty much always wanted to be a
storyteller. Even in first grade, I’d just stand up in class and start telling
things I made up. The nuns loved that, by the way!
Over time, I got sick of hearing
people tell me it was impossible to make a living as writer, so I began lying
and saying I wanted to be a nurse. Everyone seemed almost creepily happy with
that change, so I secretly decided I wanted to write stories about chicks who
kick ass in battle.
2. How long
does it take you to write a book from start to finish?
It’s changed over time. When I first started writing, it took
me two years to finish a 40,000 book. Now, I can do a 90,000 book in three
months. The more I write, the more I can
write, if that makes sense.
3. How do you
come up with themes for your stories?
I go through short periods of time where I brainstorm a
bunch of ideas and create inspiration boards for them on Pinterest. Then I
wait. Some take a while to percolate. Others sort of raise their hand and say I’m ready now! When that happens, I take
the Pinterest boards out of stealth mode and get to work. I have about five or
six ideas in my secret Pinterest queue right now, in addition to my four active
series: Dimension Drift, Magicorum, Angelbound, and Beholder.
4. Do you have
a schedule of when you write?
I still have my day job, so I wake up at 5AM every day and
write. My husband and son give me writing time on weekends as well. I’m not
going to lie; it’s a lot of work. But it’s also incredibly satisfying to bring
these worlds to life.
5. How are you
able to balance other aspects of your life with your writing?
:::Laughs maniacally:::
Not sure I do a super-awesome job, actually. I can get
really caught up in my mental worlds so that even if I’m beside you physically,
my mind is off planning dragon lore or whatever. It’s something that I have to
keep an open dialogue about with my family and friends. Otherwise, I’ll just
disappear into my head, which isn’t really a great choice over the long haul.
6. What
elements do you think make a great story line?
Personally, I enjoy stories with lots of action and feels.
I also follow the Save the Cat model
by Blake Snyder. It’s actually a format for writing movie scripts, but I think
it works well for novels too. I don’t always follow this format, but I find
that for me, it’s good to have some rules. Then I can make smarter choices
about when to break them.
7. What was
the hardest thing about writing a book?
Early on in my career, I was writing nine chapters for
every one I kept, so at that point, the hardest part was being patient. Now
fifteen-plus books later, I write much more cleanly. Now, the hardest thing is
digging deep into my soul and putting that on the page. I believe readers know
when you’re really opening up and that’s just hard to do, period.
8. How many
books have you written so far? Do you have a favorite?
CRADLED marks my seventeenth published book and my fourth
major series. Picking a favorite book is like choosing a favorite child. Not
possible!
9. Do you
have a favorite character?
Well, since I don’t have a favorite books or characters, I
will say this: I just love writing in the voice of Myla from Angelbound. Being
inside her head is simply too much fun. When I don’t do it for a while, I
always find a way to go back.
10. Where do
you write?
I spend an awful lot of time in Starbucks or on my favorite spot
on the living room couch. Most recently, Monster House Books has gotten new office space so I’ve also been
there quite a lot.
11. When
deciding on how to publish, what directed you to the route you took?
In the end, I’m too much of a control freak to be
satisfied with a traditional publishing model. I’ve been really happy with
founding my own publishing company, Monster House Books. Our team of authors,
editors and support staff are second to none!
12. Have you
gotten feedback from family about your book(s)? What do they think?
I used to discuss my writing all the time, but now I leave
it alone and just try to be very present in the space where I’m at, whether
it’s with a friend, family member, or coworker. My world building is pretty
intense and can quickly overwhelm others, so I save that part of myself to
share with folks like you.
13. What kinds
of things do you like to do outside of writing?
I enjoy reading, going to the movies, and spending time
with my family.
14. What
kinds of advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing?
Here’s my advice: in the beginning,
you’re going to suck. Hard. Everyone does. Honestly. Even Shakespeare was a
literary pile of dung when he started out. Stick with it, work hard, and it
will pay off in the end. The stories in your mind can only be brought to life
by your pen. Respect that.
15. What is your
favorite book? favorite author? Do you have an author that inspired/inspires
you to write?
JRR Tolkien is my all time favorite
author. His Lord of the Rings series
helped me survive being a teenager, giving me a light break from some pretty
harsh realities. Today I hope my work can do that for others as well.
16. Do you
have any go to people when writing a book that help you with your story lines
as well as editing, beta reading and such?
The team at Monster House Books is very collaborative. We
have a set process of outlining, drafting and so on. It’s a very supportive and
creative environment…LOVE!
17. Are you
working on anything now?
Right now, I’m working on THE DARK LANDS, which is another
adventure for Myla and Lincoln from the Angelbound Origins series. After that,
I do some more work on my Dimension Drift books, which are an adventure that’s
set in a dystopian future. I’ve got another Angelbound Offspring book in the
works called ZINNIA (due 2019) which focuses on Myla and Lincoln’s
grandchildren. And finally, there’s Book Two of my Fairy Tales of the Magicorum
Series which releases this fall. It’s called SHIFTERS AND GLYPHS, and it’s got
ancient Egypt and pyramids in the mix. Fun!
18. Tell us
5 things that make you smile
1 - my son, 2 – my husband, 3 – chocolate mochas, 4 –
chocolate shakes (seeing a pattern here), 5 – finished manuscripts
19. Tell us
5 things that make you sad
1 – negative reviews, 2 – type-os, 3 – man colds, 4 – boy
colds, 5 – mom colds (lo! another trend!)
20. If you
could travel anywhere in the world to visit a place so you could use it as a
background for a book, where would it be?
I’d like to visit Bali because here’s how it would work in
my fantasy travel scenario: the flight would be like twenty minutes long and I
could stay in a 5-star hotel for free. I’d figure out the book part later.
Bali!
Thanks for asking me to participate in this interview—it
was a TON of fun and I hope to chat again during my next book launch!
Author Bio:
Christina Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too.
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.
Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates
Thanks for being on the tour!
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