When I’m not writing… with Vicki Keire

 

I’m really happy to have debut indie author Vicki Keire by my side today! Her novel, Gifts of the Blood is now available in kindle format on amazon and she very nicely accepted to share some of her passions with us! Read along to learn more, and for your chance to win a copy of her book =)

 

 

…. I’m surrounded by equal amounts of books and vinyl records, and I’m always plotting devious ways to escape domestic duties of any kind. I enjoy cooking when other people do it! Thank goodness my husband is something of an armchair gourmet. I also read like a mad fiend. I’ve been a Kindle convert for about a year now, and it’s truly changed what and how I read. I have access to a lot more writers than I did before, and I can buy books at all hours of the night without ever leaving my house. Or not: this past summer I was vacationing at my other great love, the beach, and I bought half a dozen quickie beach reads while sitting in a boat in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. It was great! This pic was snapped after we got back to dry land, and yes, I’m thinking about jumping:

 

I try and make sure that the things I love are visible in the world around me in some way. I’ve always loved ghost stories, fairy tales, and things that go bump in the night, which is why I’m so drawn to the paranormal as both a writer and a reader. But I like to find fun, quirky ways to reflect this, rather than get dragged down into a bunch of gothic bleakness. So I set out to decorate my house in a style I call “spooky chic,” with jewel-toned colors, stained glass, and quirky antiques. Here’s an example of a redecorated bedroom in spooky chic style. The tree mural was painted freely by hand.

 

I also absolutely love music. My husband owns an Indie rock record label, so there’s always a ton of new music around the house or a band to go see somewhere. In fact, a lot of times we have a musician or five crashing at our house. Bands I’m into lately include: Glossary, The Civil Wars, Horse to Water, anything Duquette Johnston gets involved with, The Only Sons… there’s too many to list, really. I love the smaller summer music festivals. I like the low-key atmosphere of a warm summer night, bare feet on soft grass, an open starry sky, and music long into the night with friends. I’ve had a lot of fun at some historic clubs and bigger festivals, but the smaller festivals have more of a “fair” feel to them. You never know who or what you’ll find. Here’s me getting my fortune told at one while the band plays on:

 

Finally, sometimes we all have to get away from absolutely everybody. I’m lucky to have private studio space set away from the house with a door I can actually lock. But even this isn’t always enough. Sometimes I have to head for the woods. There’s a state park not far from my house with a medium-sized waterfall. It’s not exactly easy to climb, but it’s very possible if you keep your wits about you and go prepared to sweat. I love the pounding roar of water all around me. The exertion and concentration it takes to climb those slippery rocks erases stress. There are also a lot of quiet shaded trails if I just need some solitude.

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Thank you so much Vicki for letting us in your world! I LOVE the tree mural <3

About Gifts of the Blood:

An excerpt:

Caspia Chastain, art student and barista, is gifted (or plagued, if you ask her) with the ability to draw the future, usually at the worst possible times. Her parents are four years dead; everyday she watches her brother Logan fight his cancer diagnosis. School, double shifts at work, art, and even her usually vibrant small town can't keep reality at bay.
Things get worse the day she draws an angry stranger surrounded by brilliant light and violent, bloody images. That exact same stranger walks up to her knowing all about her, including her name, her brother's illness, and her strange ability. When Caspia discovers that her hometown is a refuge for supernatural beings both Light and Dark, she and her brother find themselves caught up in a war between the two that predates their very birth. For protection, she turns to the man who walked out of her sketchbook calling himself Ethan.
But Ethan has his own agenda, Logan's getting sicker fast, and Caspia finds that drawing the future isn't the only strange thing she can do. Meanwhile, someone really wants all of them dead. In a town where Dark doesn't equal Evil and Light isn't always Good, Caspia and Ethan find themselves making strange alliances and even stranger sacrifices in order to protect those they love.

An excerpt:

I backed slowly away from the man with the light, glowing eyes. He stood watching me with a mixture of concern and despair. “Caspia. Wait. Please.”

My name from his lips was like white lightening straight to my brain. “How the hell do you know my name?” I demanded, feeling the cold rush in and wrap itself around my body as I inched backwards out of the store like frightened prey. “How can you know my name when I only drew you a few hours ago?”

Vicki very generously offered 3 e-copies of her books!

She will Gift copies of her book directly from Amazon if you have a kindle, but will also offer other formats if it accommodates the winners better!

If you can’t wait, you can also purchase it for only 0.99$ right now =)

This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL

To enter, just leave a meaningful comment with a way to contact you!

Ends Feb 3rd, 2011.

Posted by Tynga at 00:41

 When I'm not writing  26 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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