I’m finally getting around to releasing my novel Prime. It was the winner of the 2010 Textnovel.com novel contest, but it’s just been sitting on my hard drive since then. I’ve spruced it up a bit and designed what I think is an awesome cover for it. Here’s the blurb:

Thirteen-year-old Simon doesn’t remember his older sister, Alice, but she remembers him even if she doesn’t know he is alive. When the Prime virus hit, they had already been separated. Simon stayed at home on Haven Medical Base with their neglectful and verbally abusive father while Alice was away working a political internship out of town. Now they both face a world where the few survivors hide inside buildings and behind tall walls as the victims of the virus, known as hostiles, stalk the night hungry for the flesh of the living. Within their seemingly safe walls, the survivors must contend with the best and worst of human nature.

Sound good? Want to win a free copy? Check out the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As part of The Next Big Thing Blog Hop, I was tagged by James  C. Femmer in his post last week.

The purpose of this hop is to introduce readers to writers and works that might be unfamiliar. This includes new releases or Works in Progress (WIP).  This is week 27 of the hop.

According to the rules of the hop, I will be answering the same questions as every other blogger on the hop about either my newest release or my WIP and then at the bottom of the post I’ve tagged Sara Drum who will do the same thing in her blog next Wednesday,  January 2nd. That is unless she gets caught in a snow storm like me at it gets delayed!

What is the working title of your book?

Darkness of Morning, it’s the latest release in the Guardian of Morning series. The series follows two girls, Kara and Dylan, as they find out there is much more to their relationship than they ever realized. Equal parts dark fantasy and romance, it explores the intense relationship between the girls set against a fantasy landscape where every choice has far-reaching consequences.

What genre does your book fall under?

YA fantasy. It’s more urban fantasy than swords and sorcery though, even though it takes place in another world.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

In a perfect world? Alexz Johnson would be Kara and Mandy Musgrave would be Dylan. Honestly, they are both probably getting too old for the teenage roles at this point, but they are who I have in my mind when I’m working on the books.

Alexz Johnson

Mandy Musgrave

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Finding herself back in Inbetween, Kara must again fight to save the girl she loves.

What is the longer synopsis of your book?

Picking up shortly after the events in Morning Rising, Darkness of Morning finds Kara and Dylan drawn back into the world of Inbetween in hopes of stopping Alster and the new King. Though they believe Alster is planning an assault on the Daylands, bringing Dylan over to his side is his true goal. As the girls and their friends plot to bring down Alster, Dylan’s moods shift dangerously testing both her relationship with Kara and her commitment to saving the Daylands.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self-published. While I’d love to get these books out to a wider audience, self-publishing just worked out better for me. Though both small and large publishers are coming around to the idea of more LGBT fiction, it’s still a tough sell.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Actually the first draft of this one only took two weeks. The project started as a single book written over a week when I found out a close friend was in rehab. It had a very happy ending originally, but as that friend went in and out of rehab, the project grew into three books.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

A friend entering rehab. She was dealing with some pretty severe addiction problems and it was horrible to see. These books were my way of dealing with the emotions I was feeling. I could make everything be okay in this story.

What else might pique the reader’s interest?

Lesbian main characters in a fantasy world! Seriously, this was all I wanted as a teen.

 Continuing the Blog Hop next week, Sara Drum, author of Caged in Myth and more!

I love anything that makes me want to write, and these are some more of my favorite images. One of which was actually the inspiration for a short story I recently sold. So this is another love letter of beautiful, strange, and sometimes normal images that spark something creative in me.