Friday Freestyle: Interview with Sherry Soule & GIVEAWAY

Happy Friday!  Today, we're thrilled to welcome Sherry Soule to the Oasis.  Her debut YA novel, Beautifully Broken, will be released on July 1st.  And lucky us: we get to be the first stop on her blog tour!

Before we get to the interview, let's hear about the book, shall we?

Thirteenth daughter. Heritage witch. Demon slayer.

They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse.

Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. When she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan, and immediately becomes spellbound by his charms.

Finally, Shiloh's met someone who is supercute and totally into her, but Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list. And Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him. Complicated much?

It sucks to have a destiny, especially since Shiloh would rather spend her summer being a normal girl who worries about clothes and boys, not the supernatural. But she’s never been normal, and the stranger things become the more her own magical senses awaken.

With cryptic messages from a pesky wraith, she will begin to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist and decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.

Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance.

1. Wow. I can't decide if Beautifully Broken sounds like a ghost story with a paranormal twist or a paranormal romance with some horror mixed in (awesome, either way). How are you and your publisher pitching the book?

Just as a Young Adult Paranormal, but you’re right, it does mix elements of horror, romance, magick, and ghosts.

2.    This is your debut YA novel and it will be the first in a series. For those of us who fall in love with Shiloh, how many more adventures can we expect out of her?

So far, I have three other drafts in the series written. If the response is positive and the readers like her, then I’ll continue writing books for the series.

3.  We learned on your website that Shiloh is a mutt - part Native American Sioux and part French Wiccan. How did you come up with such a potent heritage for her?

I am a mutt too. My own father is Native American and English and my mother is French. So, Shiloh inherited my own DNA. LOL

4.  Your website also reveals that you have some more novels hidden up your sleeves. Please tell us about those too.

I have a vamp romance, THIRSTY that I’m tweaking and an adult paranormal romance, FOREVER KNIGHT that I’m revising and hope to publish this year too. Everything I write has some supernatural quantities. Except for a New Adult untitled novel, which is more of a romantic suspense about a VERY twisted family. 

5.  The covers for all of your novels are beautiful! Did you have a hand in designing any of them? What was the process like?

I hired the fabulous and creative Parajunkee Designs. She is a dream to work with. She actually created the cover for BB within a day and I love it. She has designed my blog and website too. Oh!—and my wicked awesome book trailer! You can watch it on YouTube:   http://youtu.be/5uqVXKygvUs

6. It’s obvious from your website that you're passionate about your characters and stories. Have you ever had moments where you thought about giving up on them? If so, how did you work through it?

Sure. I pitched to agents and editors for about 2 years and had numerous rejections. But in my heart, I knew the story had an audience. I worked on the novel for over a year before I hired a freelance editor (Jennifer Hudock) to critique it for me. With her help, I was able to polish the manuscript into a marketable product. Then I started submitting to indie pubs, and Beautifully Broken found its home with Firelight Publishing because they gave me full creative control on the novel and a VERY generous percentage of the royalties.

7.  What question do you REALLY hope you're asked on this blog tour? (Now answer it, please.)

Great question. Huh. Okay, do I really think ghosts are real? YES. Although I’ve never seen one, I think the last apartment I lived in was haunted. 

8.  BONUS QUESTION: Shiloh's stuck on a desert oasis. What's the one thing (other than Trent) that she'd have to have with her to keep from going crazy?

Her Book of Shadows, so she can use a spell to create drinking water and find her way home…

Be sure to check out Sherry's website, where you can read an excerpt and learn all about the characters occupying the starring roles.

Last, we leave you with the trailer and a CONTEST.  Sherry will give away an e-book version (Kindle or Nook) to one lucky Oasis Seeker.  All you have to do is:

1) be a follower here;
2) haunt Sherry over on her blog; AND
3) leave a comment HERE with your e-mail address, so we can contact you if you win.

The contest will stay open through July 1 -- release day!!  We will pick one lucky winner at noon EST on 7/1/11.