Martha Emms Cognitive Dreamer: Entertaining Angels Blog Tour! Welcome Author Emerald Barnes

Entertaining Angels

By: Emerald Barnes

Genre: Young Adult

Released: June 24th, 2014

Madison Andrews can't face her reflection in the mirror. All she sees is a big, fat nobody. Yet, deep inside she longs for something more, something that's not skin deep.

Along comes Zach, the new guy in school. He's smoking hot and totally out of her league. She somehow catches his eye, and he makes her feel beautiful for once. But just as she gets close to Zach, her nerdy best friend, Chase, won't let Madison doubt her true beauty, no matter how many meals she skips.

Even as Madison begins to realize that she is more than she thinks, darker forces are at work, darker than the lies and mocking from her peers, stopping her from amounting to her full potential. Can Madison find true happiness in her own skin?

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Author bio: Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women. She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it. She’s a self-proclaimed grammar nazi who sometimes proofreads novels. She always writes young adult novels across genres. She’s also an auntie to three beautiful nieces and two handsome nephews who take up half of her time, but she couldn’t imagine spending her time in any other way! She’s a Whovian, a bit of a nerd, a reader, writer, and family-oriented person. God is number one in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor.

Brief synopsis of your book: Madison Andrews can’t face her reflection in the mirror. All she sees is a big, fat nobody. Yet, deep inside she longs for something more, something that’s not skin deep.

Along comes Zach, the new guy in school. He’s smoking hot and totally out of her league. She somehow catches his eye, and he makes her feel beautiful for once. But just as she gets close to Zach, her nerdy best friend, Chase, won’t let Madison doubt her true beauty, no matter how many meals she skips.

Even as Madison begins to realize that she is more than what she thinks, darker forces are at work, darker than the lies and mocking from her peers, stopping her from amounting to her full potential. Can Madison find true happiness in her own skin?

Book title: Entertaining Angels

Current book or project you’re working on:

Entertaining Angels is my current release.

What moment or event sparked the inspiration for your novel? I was sitting in bed, thinking about where I wanted the novel I was working on to go, when all of the sudden, I had a thought about a young woman who couldn’t stand the reflection in the mirror, but there was her best guy friend who was totally in love with her. She’d never think that anyone could find her attractive, but here he was. And then, my thought process just ran rampant from there. It ended up being more than I could ever expect from just those small little thoughts!

Please share three interesting facts about the characters in your book.

1) Madison has a tendency to wear Converse tennis shoes with EVERYTHING she wears.

2) Chase is a gamer. He loves playing video games at all times.

3) Zach loves apple pie and cold coffee.

Which if any characters in your current novel are based on someone you know?

Yes, Chase is based on someone I know. He’s one of my best friends, and he means the world to me; although I didn’t realize I was inspired by him until the novel was published and we were talking about the similarities.

Are there any characters in your book that remind you of yourself?

Yes. Mads is completely and utterly me, but I didn’t have my Chase in high school. I know what it feels like to be in her position, so as I wrote the book, I drew inspiration from my emotions and what I went through in high school.

If you could pick any famous author to review your book who would you pick and why?

Frank Peretti: I deal with spiritual warfare in my novel, although it does mainly focus on Mads and her dealing with learning to love herself. He writes very similar fiction to mine, and I’ve even been compared to him with two of my novels. I’d love if he could read it and tell me his opinion. Not to mention, he’s one of my all-time favorite authors as well!

Genre/Author/Reader:

What genre and age group does your book fall into? My novel is a young adult Christian romance novel, and the age group is intended from 11-18 years of age, but I really want all ages to read it.

Have you read any books that have inspired you to improve or change yourself in any way?

I think that with every book I read, I’m somehow inspired to improve my writing. My style is my own, but I do find myself wanting to improve when I read an awesome YA book that grabs my attention. I always hope that I’ll be able to do that with my own books for other readers. But, there isn’t one book that really sticks out to me.

Which three authors have inspired you the most, and why?

1) Dean Koontz: He was my favorite author in high school, and he was the one I drew inspiration from when it came to writing suspense. He is a master of suspense, and I wanted to be like him.

2) Melissa Foster: She is a good friend of mine, but when I first met her, she had such a bubbly personality that I loved. She also has a knack for writing and marketing that always keep the readers coming back for more, and I’ve learned a lot from her!

3) Frank Peretti: As I mentioned earlier, he is one of my favorite authors, but the way that he handles spiritual warfare in novels is absolutely brilliant! When I read his work, I want to be able to write a story just like him, so when people have compared my work to his, I get all misty-eyed and eternally grateful!

The process:

How many books have you written?

I’ve written I’ve written six, but I only have three published at the moment.

Which book is your favourite and why?

Currently, my favorite book is Entertaining Angels because the story is so emotional and raw, and I’m absolutely in love with my characters. I can’t get them out of my head!

Is there anything that helps get you in the mood to write?

No, there’s nothing in particular. Sometimes music helps, but most days, I just sit at the computer and start writing.

Name three things that you believe are important to character development?

1) Emotions. We need to feel something for and from our characters.

2) Relatable. Characters need to have some characteristic that makes us relate to them, even if it’s something small.

3) Personality. We need to be able to see individual personalities for each character, and because of those personalities, we see the characters grow and do things that they would do, not what we want them to do.

What lessons have you learned as an aspiring writer?

I’ve learned that giving up isn’t an option. No matter how times I want to quit, I can’t. Perseverance is always the way to go. It’s a difficult road at times, but it’s so completely worth it.

Do you ever experience writer’s block? If so what helps you to ‘overcome’?

Oh yes. Quite often really. The only way to overcome is to keep writing, for me at least. Sometimes it takes just sitting down and handwriting out ideas and all, like stream of conscience writing. That usually helps me.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned, either in the self-publishing or traditional publisher, route?

Editing – no matter which route you take – is the most important thing you can do for your novel. Never put out a piece of work that hasn’t been through the editing process at least three or four times.

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?

Writing the first draft. I love the finished product, but there’s nothing quite like seeing your ideas written down in the beginning.

Does anything inspire you when you are trying to write?

Sometimes music does. I’ll make soundtracks to my books that help me get the feel for the book so I can get the emotions just right.

How long does it usually take for you to complete a book?

Depending on time, I’m lucky to get a book completely finished between nine and twelve months.

Do you have any ideas for your book and Hollywood? Actors, directors, music.

I think we all, as authors, try to picture our book as a movie. I think Entertaining Angels would make a great movie. I’ve already picked out my dream cast, which will be on a few blogs during this week’s blog tour. I’d love to have Kirk Cameron or someone like that direct my movie because he does such wonderful Christian family novels. Heck, I’d even love for him to be in the movie itself as dad to my Mads!

Which book to movie conversion is your favourite?

The Hobbit trilogy. I love the way the book comes to life, and I even love everything they’d added to it! Although the book is one of my favorites, I’m pretty sure that the movie is better to me.

What is your favourite non-fiction book?

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I’ve Learned by Alan Alda – That biography kept me laughing from front to back! He is an amazing actor, and I just loved reading about his life!

If you could change anything about book marketing, what would it be?

That it would be easier and possibly a little cheaper! ;) Marketing is great, but it can be a bit expensive. Still, I’m learning a lot.

Do you know the ending of your books before you finish writing them?

Sometimes. I’m never always 100% sure how it will end, but there are always things that I want my characters to achieve by the end of the book – whether it’s the way I originally planned or not.

How do you think reading has benefited your writing?

It most cases, it helps me see how to write a book that sells. And in some cases, it teaches me what not to do. With each book there will be things that stand out and will help you write a novel to the best of your abilities. It teaches you how to edit and how to keep readers’ attentions.

Do you study science, the planets, history, or anything special to help you with your writing?

No. I just write. When writing my Christian fiction, I read the Bible to help me draw inspiration for certain characters and such, but mostly that is all the research and study I do.

What, who, and when, first inspired you to write?

Dean Koontz was the one who really inspired me to keep writing. I know I don’t know him personally, but when I first started reading his books in high school, I knew that I wanted to write and write like him.

Personal info:

Favourite:

Drink – Sweet tea! (I’m from Mississippi. We love our sweet iced tea!)

Food – Cheesecake

Vacation – Navarre Beach, Fl

TV show – A lot of people expect me to say Doctor Who, but that’s probably more likely not exactly true. It’s my second favorite next to Teen Wolf.

Movie – Pretty In Pink

Animal – Dog, more exact, Basset Hound

Sport – (American) Football!

Song – Superman - Daughtry

Comedy – John Pinette

Struggle – Whether I should read or watch TV

Where can readers find your book?

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/EntertainingAngelsBN

Amazon: http://bit.ly/EntertainingAngelsAm

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/entertaining-angels-11

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Barnes/e/B004PL38QS/

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Emerald Barnes graduated with a B.A. in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women. She resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it. She mainly writes suspense/thrillers in the YA genre, but she dabbles in other genres and her books are enjoyed by all ages!

She's constantly working on new novels and has more ideas than she knows what to do with. She is a crazy grammar nazi who also proofreads novels!

She's an auntie to three beautiful nieces and two handsome nephews. She's a Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and a family-oriented person. God is number one in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor.