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Sunday, September 2, 2012

Author Interview & Contest with Suzanne McLeod

There are many British authors out there but in my opinion there are just not enough Paranormal Urban Fantasy ones! Being British I have always looked for British authors writing stories in my favourite genre and a few years ago I came across Suzanne Mcleod.

Since then I have been hooked on Suzanne's Spellcrackers series and try and keep in touch with the author and invite her on the blog as often as possible.

Her fourth book in the Spellcrackers series, The Shifting Price of Prey, was just released and if you haven't already tried out this series you really need to catch up!

Want to know about the series and read sample chapters of Suzanne's books? Make sure you go here!

But right now you can get to know the author a little better. Read the guest blog Suzanne so nicely put together and make sure you enter the contest!


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Hello, I’m Suzanne McLeod, author of the Spellcrackers.com urban fantasy series! And many thanks to Amber for having me over to guest blog.

Since becoming an author I’ve had some fantastic experiences that I doubt I’d have had otherwise – experiences that when I was first published I’d never have imagined happening, unless I was lucky enough to hit a Bestsellers’ list*.

I’ve been interviewed by the local paper a few times, I’ve been on the radio twice, and I’ve even been on a TV show talking about vampires with Anne Rice - which is very cool, though as my five minute spot (which actually took nearly two hours to shoot!) was filmed in London, and the segment with Anne Rice was filmed at a literary festival in Wales, I never actually got to meet her :-(. Still, I do get to say I’ve been on a TV show with Anne Rice!! *g*

But one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had was when I was invited to be a guest at the HeadRead Literary Festival in Tallinn in Estonia. It was the first time I was asked to be a guest and, as I’d never been to the Baltic area in Northern Europe before and have always thought it looked a fabulous place to visit, I was doubly thrilled.

The five days were absolutely wonderful and the festival organisers, along with my Estonian publishers, gave us (I was invited along with three other British authors) the VIP treatment. I have a lot of fabulous memories*.

I met some awesome readers* who’d read my books in English and Estonian, which was slightly surreal. I asked if the British sayings and Genny’s snarky humour translated okay, and apparently it does! Yay! (It’s also super cool to know that Genny’s cracking spells, and she and the rest of the gang are having their adventures in another language – author-geeking-out moment *g*).

We also had a great time with the wonderful folk who were looking after us. They treated to some fantastic tours of Tallinn (the capital of Estonia, and a truly gorgeous place to visit*) and we learned all about the town’s fascinating history: Tallinn’s old town is a World Heritage Site and archaeologists have found traces of human settlement dating back to around 5000 years ago! Plus it’s been occupied by other nations for around seven hundred years right up until August 1991 when it regained its independence, which is pretty mind-boggling.

Along with the tours, I was interviewed for Estonian TV, I did a reading and a panel interview for the festival, and along with the other Brits, I got to spend lots of time with all the other writers there, some of whom were from Estonia, but also Russia, Sweden, France and Portugal (and all of whom, embarrassingly, spoke great English).

And possibly most unbelievable of all, I had the honour of dining at the British Embassy, at with the British Ambassador to Estonia! He was a lovely, friendly man and very easy to chat to, and turned out to be a huge Doctor Who fan! He happily let me take the picture below which is in the hallway of the Embassy, which also doubles as his home. :-)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed this peek in to what a life-changer becoming an author has been for me. :-)


*Which I haven’t . . . *dreams*
*I took lots of fabulous pictures, which can be seen here.
*I love meeting my readers; they Rock!
*History is brilliant for story inspiration – which is one of the reasons I love London and why the Spellcrackers books are set there.

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#1 - The Sweet Scent Of Blood #2 - The Cold Kiss of Death #3 - The Bitter Seed of Magic #4 - The Shifting Price of Prey

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Contest Time!

Suzanne is very kindly giving away a copy of The Shifting Price of Prey. The contest is international (where ever Bookdepository delivers!)

How To Enter

Spells would be a handy thing to have. What spells would you like to have to make life a little easier or more fun?

No Answer = No Entry

'Please enter me' posts will NOT be counted as an entry

Earn more entries for each link you place about this contest on the net. You can post on Facebook, Twitter & MySpace but make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries! However please do not make individual postings for each entry. Please post all your entries in one post.

Advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog on your site and get an extra entry for this and every other contest!

Amberkatze's Book Blog

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Have you 'Liked' Amberkatze's Book Blog on Facebook?

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

Make sure you post your links here so I can confirm your entries.

Keep the contests going by using the Bookdepository.com and Amazon.com links/Banners below and around the site.

Free Delivery on all Books at the Book Depository

The contest will stay open until 4pm on Sunday 9th of September (Central European Time) and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.

25 comments:

Birgit said...

A "cleaning" spell would be great! A nice two-liner and the whole apartment is dust and dirt free ... more time for reading, yay!

Shared: http://www.facebook.com/birgit.horvath.muck/posts/409544699094886

Advertised your blog on mine too.

Victoria said...

I too want the cleaning spell. Ever since I was a little kid watching Bewitched I wanted to wiggle my nose like Samantha and have the house spotless :).
vlsoboda(at)gmail(dot)com

Barbara E. said...

A spell to transport me instantly to another location - I hate traffic. :D A spell to get all my work done would be cool too, that way I'd have more time to read.

miki said...

i would like a spell to make me able too understand and speack with animals and plants and one additional to be able to heal them

thank you a lot for making this giveaway international

Mary Preston said...

It seems that no one likes cleaning, including me. You just finish & then there is more to do. A self-cleaning house would be most welcome.

More time for reading.

sienny said...

a spell to make things smaller and bigger would be nice :D it'll save me lots of space to save my books. then a time spell, to give me more time to do everything (including reading).

clenna said...

Boy, I love the cleaning spell - that's exactly what I need. But the first spell that I thought of was a Kindness Spell. I 'd give it to all those Debbie Downers out there. Stop your grumping and be kind.

SandyG265 said...

I'd like spells to clean the house and do the dishes. And one to shovel the snow.

Carl Scott said...

I like a spell where everyone I see who has more than $100 in their wallet gives me $10, and they're not allowed to be grumpy about it either. That would be great!

I also tweeted about the book giveaway: https://twitter.com/carlrscott/status/242637768407257088

JenM said...

Cleaning spells are nice, but what I'd really love is a cooking spell that would produce nutritious, tasty, and relatively low-cal meals to eat every day.

Unknown said...

I hate cleaning. So a cleaning spell. Thanks for the giveaway. Tore923@aol.com

Stephanie said...

A cleaning spell would be nice.

gfc follower

Skk25@aol.com

koddabear said...

I'd never thought of a cleaning spell. That would be awesome but I think I'd like a spell that could take me anywhere in an instant. I could visit friends and family all over the world. Pfff and I'd be there. Awesome.
Thanks for the giveaway

Bethany C. said...

Glamour spells would be handy- I'd never need to do my hair or make-up, just poof myself 'ready' anytime!

b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail(dot)com

Mardel said...

I've been a fan of Suzanne McLeod's for a very long time - lovin her books.

Spells - the most obvious one would be the ability to clean things quickly, a la Bewitched. But I'd probably really want one that made me thinner - not completely thin, just more along the voluptuous lines - which I've gone a little past. :)

donnas said...

A teleport and cooking spell

bacchus76 at myself dot com

Lisa Richards/alterlisa said...

A household spell that cleaned my house, cooked the food and kept the laundry done. OMG, at he reading I'd get done!
+1 http://pinterest.com/pin/274790014734984562/
+1 I 'Liked' Amberkatze's Book Blog on Facebook-Lisa Ann Richards
+1 https://www.facebook.com/LisasLovesBooksOfCourse/posts/4510323594549
+1 https://twitter.com/alterlisa/status/242861224163962880
+1 https://plus.google.com/101211296922528678816/posts/Pz5HdQGyG27
+1 Advertised Amberkatze's Book Blog on my site-right hand side of
http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/
(\___/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com

http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/

Diane said...

To be able to know when someone is telling the truth spell....

diane.sadler@gmail.com

Spav said...

A cleaning spell and a cooking spell (imagine having the possibility of eating anything you want whenever you want without doing any of the work. Heaven!).

+1 Tweet: https://twitter.com/Sparima/status/243281976222707712

spav05(AT)gmail(DOT)com

off2europe2005 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
off2europe2005 said...

Levitating spell...get me places quicker and smoothely

off2europe at yahoo dot com

NoraA said...

I would love a spell that placed me in a time bubble. Let's say a week for one day. Then maybe I could catch up on my reading and book review writing.

NoraAdrienne(at)gmail(dot)com

Evie said...

a 'never gain weight' spell. Then I'd be able to eat a lot of chocolate without feeling guilty :)
Thanks for the giveaway!

Cheryl said...

I want a spell that would transport me to somewhere else, like from home to work. Skipping the subway would be awesome and save me tons of time.

Unknown said...

I would love a "transport" spell: to get where I want to go in the blink of an eye, imagine all the time I would spare :-D

Tweeted: https://twitter.com/Stella_ExLibris/status/244382473344139264

Thanks for the giveaway!

stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com