CROSSROADS BLOG TOUR DAY #8

 
Hi Everyone!  Today is the last day of the Crossroads blog tour!  I hope you've enjoyed this tour and will come and stop by again next year.  Today we feature authors Dawn Dalton and Joy Preble.  Dawn Dalton is one of the authors featured in the Spirited anthology and she also co-wrote a book with Judith Graves called The Most-Wanted Monsters Deck; 13 volumes. 676 Life Saving Facts.

Joy Preble wrote the Dreaming Anastasia series.  The book titles are, Dreaming Anastasia, Haunted, - both available now- and the third in the series will be Again and Again coming out in 2012.

Spirited, the book Dawn Dalton wrote a ghostly story in is available now!  All proceeds go to charity!  Take a look at our interviews with Dawn and Joy!  Enjoy! 

What is the best book you’ve ever read?  Do you have a favorite(s)?

I’ve kind of been dreading this question because I have read so many wonderful books from almost every genre. It’s impossible to pick one, or even a handful.

I remember key books throughout my life that have impacted me, though – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for introducing me to the awesomeness that is Roald Dahl (and creating my chocolate addiction); John Saul’s Creature for giving me goosebumps and solidifying that I wanted to write a book that someday gave someone else chills; The Princess Bride for introducing me to romance; Alice in Wonderland for showing me a great adventure; and Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse books for introducing me to Eric * cough cough * and for showing me how a great book series can be turned into an amazing TV series.

What do you think is your greatest strength as a writer?

 One of my closest writer friends calls me the Jedi Master of Concise Prose. I think I can pack a lot of punch into a sentence without “overwriting.” I’ve been mentored by the amazing and talented NY Yimes Bestselling author Steve Berry whose “write tight” mantra echoes in my head every time I sit down at the computer.

Of course, this “strength” is also a weakness as I can sometimes write TOO tightly.

What is a hobby of yours?

 

I love to run. I call it a hobby because it seems to only happen when I have “time” for it, instead of being an everyday event. I’m working on that.

What is something your readers would be surprised to know about you?

 

I have eight fish tanks in my house – and I cry whenever I lose a fish. Before I married my husband, I’d never even owned a Goldfish, but two years later, our house has become a giant aquarium.

 

  

1.  How did you celebrate when you found out Dreaming Anastasia was going to be published?

Actually, my agent called just as I was going to get my a crown put on a tooth because I had broken it biting on a biscotti at an Italian restaurant in Vegas! (at least that’s my story!) But inside I was jumping up and down. And the next day, my husband took me out to dinner.

2.  How many books will be in the series?

3 books. Dreaming Anastasia was the first, Haunted, the second and Again and Again, which is now set to release in Fall 2012, is the final of the trilogy.

3.  As a child, which books were your favorites?  Did you have a series you loved?

I was a voracious reader.  I loved mysteries like the Nancy Drew series. I also read through all the Oz books and loved fantasy like Wrinkle in Time and Half Magic and a book by Eleanor Estes called The Witch Family, which I read over and over and over.

4.  I read you love sushi… what is your favorite sushi roll???

Thanks for checking out the website bio (which I really need to update, by the way!) But yes, I still love sushi. Yellowtail rolls. Spicy tuna. And just veggie rolls… Really, it’s all good. And you know, I haven’t had any in a long time! Now I’m craving it. Thanks!

Today is the LAST day to enter the question of the day on Judith Graves' website to win a prize!