Blog Tour: Osteoblasts to the Rescue by Dr. Heather Manley: Review + Interview +Giveaway

Tour Schedule

Osteoblasts to the Rescue


Merrin and Pearl are at it again! This time these two young Human Body Detectives are exploring the skeletal system.
With the ability to jump in and examine the various systems in the body, Merrin and Pearl’s adventures are fun stories and helpful tools to educate children.
In Osteoblasts to the Rescue, Merrin and Pearl navigate their friend, Lily’s, broken arm and learn all about bones.
As the fourth in The Human Body Detectives series, Osteoblasts to the Rescue can also stand alone as a book that’s sure to inform, engage, and inspire readers of all ages.

My Thoughts:
This is a great book for kids and adults alike!  It is a fun journey through the human body but we also learn a lot during the journey as well.  I love how the author isn't afraid to use the big words and explain their meanings for kids.  In a lot of other learning books, the adults sometimes don't want to use too many in depth meanings because they think the kids can't handle it or maybe it won't be as interesting.  But in Osteoblasts to the Rescue, Dr. Manley gives kids a lot more credit and finds a way to ensure an awesome story while showing us just how comfortable we can be with our bodies.  Inside and out.
I would definitely pick any of Dr. Manley's books up for my kids to read and I would love to use these as part of my homeschooling curriculum too.  My sons love the human body and learning everything there is to know  and they immediately loved this book.  They are begging me to go and grab the others in the series.  I also love the fact that it is in a series but you don't have to read the ones before it (although we will ) to understand what is going on.  That is a major plus for me.
Osteoblasts to the Rescue is a great book for a majority of reasons.  It makes a wonderful teaching tool, it is great for adults to read and learn a little too, and it has a really cool story line that go with the facts too! Its a triple threat!
I definitely have to give this book five hearts!

Links to buy:

Amazon

Connect with the Author:

Author Heather Manley, N.D.

I have always been passionate about healthy foods and exercising. Growing up in Toronto, Canada I would exhaust my allowance at the health food store and write school papers on spices and herbs. It was no wonder I found myself studying biology at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. I loved animals as well so I initially focused on wildlife conservation and animal biology, however, with some exposure to naturopathic medicine, this health care philosophy rang true for me. I switched to pre-med and I graduated in 1993. I earned my doctorate at the from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon before moving with my family to Hawaii where I became licensed and continue to practice today.

Everything I learned in medschool came into fruition when my children were born. I realized the importance of teaching them, by example, about healthy food and lifestyle. Telling them what to eat was not enough, so I created and wrote educational adventure stories that explain the physiological systems in the body. Not only did my kids love the engaging and interactive stories but so did their friends.

I love seeing kids have fun learning to understand their bodies and how food helps them run faster and be smarter. My focus is on preventative health. I am passionate about encouraging families to seek the value of a simple lifestyle and offering tools to assist them at being proactive and confident in their daily living. I am constantly inspired seeing people make positive changes in their lives. With my website, I am excited to reach more families in a way that will manifest healthy living.

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter


Interview:

1 .    How did you come up with the idea for The Human Body Detectives?

  Basically, I was flipping pancakes one Sunday morning when it dawned on me that I could write a series of entertaining and educational adventure stories through the different systems in the body; however, it all began in the classroom. When my kids were younger, I spent time in their elementary classrooms, talking about the digestive system and nutrition. It was quite obvious that kids loved learning about how their bodies work and what foods best fueled them. I searched through the library, bookstores and Amazon but was unable to find any books about the human body that were engaging. When I was flipping those pancakes, I was pondering all this and knew that kids would gravitate towards these books and in return, would provide a profound, long-term healthy effect on them. Human Body Detectives, specifically, The Lucky Escape: An Imaginative Adventure Through the Digestive System, was then born.

2.    While writing, is there any special action you have to do before you can really get down to the nitty gritty of writing?

Not really; however, I will spend a few hours in the morning writing down ideas and key medical points for the story I’m working on. From there, I will just begin writing. Perhaps it’s a little backwards but I like to just get writing as you can always edit!

3.    What about your favorite drink while writing?

I like to drink green tea and water with lemon. If I am feeling like a lot is on my (writing) plate, I will go for a latte!

PS Other things I keep close while writing is a small vase of rosemary (brain circulation gets a boost) and a small bowl of nuts.

4. Besides The Human Body Detectives, are there any other books in the near future we can look forward to from you?

Once I start writing, I can’t help but think about other HBD adventures. Next up will have to be journeys through the nervous and muscular systems… not sure which one will be first though… have an opinion?

Although, each book has a turn-key engaging elementary curriculum that goes deeper into the subject matter. Teachers and homeschooling families are loving it.  

And I recently launched the Human Body Detectives Go To School Nutrition 101 for Middle and High School curriculum. It is an extensive nutrition unit for grades 6 through 12. It is full of entertaining labs, practical information and simple everyday guidelines to food and nutrition.

5.Do you have a fave Yoga pose or one that you think is great for kids to do?

I really like Tree Pose; it’s grounding and I find it very peaceful. I think kids like it as well, as there are a few different forms and they can get a little goofy when thinking of trees swaying in the wind!

6. Lastly could you share that recipe for the sautéed Kale with apples?  That sounds wonderful!

I have to admit, I am a lazy cook; I like to keep things simple yet nutritious. So this is one way I cook kale…

I will add some olive oil and salt and pepper to a sauté pan, and once it heats up, I throw in some pine nuts. After the nuts seem toasted, I add a few large handfuls of kale and followed by diced apples. I will toss and stir for a few minutes and then serve.

 That sounds wonderful!  I am definitely going to try that with the Kale and apples!  Thank you so much for being here on the blog!

Everyone, please enter the tour giveaway at the end of the post and make sure to get on the case with The Human Body Detectives!

Dr. Heather Manley, who in 2001 received her medical degree from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, is a practicing physician whose primary interest is preventative healthcare for families. She is the author of the award winning Human Body Detectives, her children’s educational series of story-telling books, human body/nutrition curriculum eBooks, and iPhone/iPad apps.  She also promotes wellness and naturopathic healthcare on her website drheathernd.com. She lives on the Big Island of Hawaii with her husband and two daughters, and is currently at work on the next Human Body Detectives adventure.

Tour Giveaway:

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Interview + Giveaway: Lisa, Chad, & Chase Olivera authors of Chase Danger Super Spy Series

I am super super stoked to have some really cool people here today doing an interview for me and all of you.  As all of you know I have four kids, who love to read as much as I do,  and we have been lucky enough to find one of the best children's book series that we have ever read.  These books are filled with so much action, comedy, suspense, and the cutest little spy you will ever meet!  

Let me give you a little background information on these wonderful books:

Book 1: Chase Danger Super Spy and Mystery of the Special Sauce

Chase Danger is a boy just like your son: He loves his family, friends and pizza. He is also easily enraged by bad guys, who he quickly hunts down and defeats.

In his first adventure, he fights a giant octopus, pilots a flying saucer through space, builds his own flying car, and visits Paris, where a "special sauce" is brewing to take over the world.

Along the way he befriends Ali Bali, a mysterious girl with secrets of her own.

Book 2:  Chase Danger Super Spy and Pirates of Pineapple Island

7-year-old super-spies Chase Danger and Princess Ali Bali must think fast when they discover pirates have stolen Zalezgon's magical pineapples. But that's not all! Ali's little brother Aiden has been kidnapped by the dreaded pirate Captain Looney, who is planning on taking over the world with his newly invented Weather Rockets!

But this isn't just a book!  It also comes with a read a long cd too!  And this is award winning sound quality too.  It is just so awesome!

I am so excited to have the authors of Chase Danger Super Spy here.  Let me give you a little information on this family that writes and publishes together.

Chase Olivera and his parents Lisa and Chad Olivera are an Author and publishing
team from California. Published works include the Chase Danger, Super Spy Series:
Book #1 Mystery of the special Sauce and book #2 Pirates of Pineapple Island. Chase
is a bright seven year old in the second grade, Lisa works with young
children as a Special Circumstance Aide and Chad is a musician, composer and children’s
theater director. They live and work in Santa Clarita California. As a family they
enjoy writing books, going to the beach, watching movies and going on Geocaching adventures.

RTMHC: How did you come up with the idea of a kid spy book?
LISA & CHAD: : Chase was really into spies (James Bond, Spy Kids) and wanted to make a spy movie.  A movie is out of our budget, but thought it would be fun to try to write a read-along theater spy book as a family.  Our background is in recording and theater, so the music, sound effects, and actors were no problem.  We were very lucky to find Jack Tracksler, the narrator, after an exhaustive search.  We were also very lucky to find Adam Goodman to illustrate the books, as art is the one area we could not work out ourselves.

RTMHC: Did you have to do a lot of research for ideas or did you draw a lot of it from your life?
LISA & CHAD:  We read spy stories and watched spy movies during the first few months we were writing  Book 1.  It was fun to research as a family, but ultimately, it was Chase that came up with all the scenes, and Lisa arranged them into an order.  From our own life came Chase's love for pineapple pizza, Ali is a real friend(her nickname being 'Ali Bali' at the time), and Zalezgon is a real friend who is a great chef (whose real name is Javier Gonzalez).
RTMHC: Do you have any favorite stories/authors right now?
LISA & CHAD: We like so many but a few would be Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Zorro, Treasure Island, and so many more.  Chase is reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid right now and loves it.
RTMHC: Who is easier to write: Ali Bali or Chase Danger? Why?
LISA & CHAD: They are equally fun to write.  When we get stuck on a line for Chase, we just ask the real Chase what he would say in the situation.  Most times that's what makes it in.
RTMHC:  If you could meet one person, who would it be?  The only catch is this person has to be literary-related; fiction or not.
LISA & CHAD: Chase would really like to meet Robin Hood.  Because he seems like he could be a real hero helping out the common people and has lots of adventures.  

Thank you guys so much for stopping by and chatting with us!  Make sure to check out their links at the bottom of the page.  This is a book series you will love for your kids (and yourself) to have.  And make sure to enter the Rafflecopter below to try to win your own copy of Book 1.  

Remember it is open to US residents only.  Must be 13 and up to enter or have parent's permission.  Winner must reply back within 36 hours or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | iBookstore


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Interview and Giveaway with Ray Chen Smith, author of The Jazz Cage

Hi everyone!  I hope you guys are having a great week so far!  I have some very good news for ya'll.  I am doing an author interview with a really cool guy that has published a very interesting book called The Jazz Cage.  This books puts us into an alternate universe asking the question "What if the South won the Civil War?"  You can see my review here.

Without further ado, everyone please welcome Mr. Ray Chen Smith to Read to my Heart's Content!!

Author:  Ray Chen Smith

Bio: Ray Chen Smith is a writer and teacher living in Los Angeles, California. 

In his late twenties, he wrote a literary novel set in China then decided it wasn’t fit for public consumption.  He did, however, chop up a couple of parts and sold the chunks to literary magazines.  (Both stories can be downloaded for free from his website.)

For his second novel, he decided to go unabashedly commercial, and The Jazz Cage is the result.

He is currently finishing up his third novel, a thriller titled Dawn at Midnight.

Further information—the aforementioned short stories, a more detailed biography—can be found on Ray’s website.

Website: www.raychensmith.com

Links:  http://raychensmith.blogspot.com/

             Amazon Author Page for Ray Chen Smith

1.)  Your novel, The Jazz Cage, takes place about 60 years after the Civil War, with one small difference: the South won the war.  How did you come up with this very interesting and original idea?

Well, I decided to set my thriller in a glamorous time; hence, the Jazz Age.  But since gangsters-during-the-'20s stories are cliched, I wanted to add something unique, and thinking of Robert Harris's Fatherland (where the Nazis win WWII), I decided to reinvent history by having the South win the Civil War.  This alternate reality would allow a lot of different things to clash against each other--gangsters and abolitionists, bootleggers and runaway slaves, etc.--and allow me to insert famous real people like Lucky Luciano into my story.  It would also allow for an easy tag line:  Uncle Tom's Cabin meets The Untouchables.  

  

2.) What is your most favorite part of writing and your least favorite part? 

The concept, the research, and the outlining are probably most enjoyable.  In conceptualizing your story, you can just let your mind run wild without restraints.  The research is fun because you get to travel and learn new things.  For The Jazz Cage, I traveled to Virginia, Maryland,  New York state, and Canada--essentially every single location in the novel I've been to and stayed at awhile to soak in the atmosphere.  I also had to check old maps to see where everything was during the 1920s and consulted historical societies to see how Richmond would look as the capital of the Confederacy.  The outlining is also fun.  I do a very, very extensive outline on Excel (with dozens of drafts) so I can see exactly where I'm going, if there's a weak spot at a certain point, etc.  So that's fun.  You feel like an architect designing a house.

The LEAST favorite part is the first draft, which I write very quickly.  I keep my chapters short (everything less than 4 pages) so I can write a chapter a day, but what comes out is hideous!  You're essentially downloading the story from the outline to your page.  The final revisions are much more fun since you're finally tweaking the prose and dialogue to make it sound better.

3.)  Do you plan out everything in your stories or are you more of a "fly by the seat of your pants" writer?

I do a very, very extensive Excel outline so I plan everything out ahead of time.  Stephen King once said his characters surprise them with what they're doing, but not my characters.  I'm like Big Brother when it comes to my characters--I know exactly where they're going, what they're doing, etc.  They hold no surprises for me.  But once the outline is done and I actually write my first draft, it's pretty much "fly by the seat of your pants" stuff.  I spend one day thinking of the chapter and the next day just blitzing it out in 1-4 30-min bursts of writing.  I don't care whether it's good or not, I just get it on the screen.  I want to finish the entire novel first before I decide what I need to tweak, and generally, with the first draft, I need to rewrite maybe 90% of it.  But the body is there already so you have a starting point.  It makes no sense to me to dwell too much on the first several chapters when the rest of the book is unwritten

4.) How old were you when you just knew you wanted to write?  Was there a special moment that helped push toward this future?

I'm not sure.  I always liked stories as a kid and truly never really thought of doing anything else.  It took awhile for me to start writing since I spent most of my twenties traveling around (I was in the Peace Corps) and enjoying life too much.  Only when I returned stateside several years ago did I start writing, and that was mostly because I thought, Okay, you've traveled and had enough fun, now it's time to fulfill your dream.  The process so far has been very interesting but slow and often painful--i.e., looking at my first stories and seeing how deplorable they are!

5.)  I see that you are a teacher and I have to applaud you for that.  I know it is not an easy job but very rewarding.  What subject do you teach?  Has being a teacher helped in your writing career?

I teach English at a Los Angeles high school, and it's generally not a tough job if you can keep your work out of your mind once you get home.  As for teaching helping me as a writer, I would say I always keep in the back of my mind, you got to entertain before anything else.  If you're in front of thirty kid and you're not entertaining, they'd eat you alive.  Same thing with my writing.  I want the readers to be always turning the pages, and that's one of the many reasons I keep the chapters short with plenty of action.

6.)  Any authors that have inspired you?  Are you reading anything now that you are just enthralled with?

Without a doubt, I'm enthralled by Stephen King.  His talent is just so beyond most commercial novelists.  His way with prose is pretty amazing (I still remember him description once of a sawed-off shotgun as "a derringer with the case of the mumps"), but it's his character development and dialogue skills that set him apart.  I remember reading the short story "1922" in Full Dark, No Stars where a girl guesses something right and the boy, instead of saying something prosaic like "You guessed right," says, "Give the girl a Kewpie doll."  Now, I can think of something like this, but it would take me a bit of time.  Stephen King writes like 4 books a year so he's coming up with these zingers on the fly.  At such times, I feel like Salieri observing Mozart.

As for what I'm reading currently.  I'm reading Harlan Coben's The Innocent and listening to Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley.  Both decent, good writers, but neither amazes me like Stephen King.  Thank God for that.  If every successful novelist writes like King, I would've given up a long time ago!

7.)  Let's pretend that you were going to make The Jazz Cage into a movie/tv show who would you pick to play Frank? Della?  The Hound?  CeCe?  Issac?  Try to give a reason why if you can. 

Ohhhh, this is fun!  Unfortunately, the people I have in mind are all too old.  But since this is fantasy I would place my favorite actors and control their ages.  How about that?  For Frank, that's the easiest:  Russell Crowe around when he's 40.  For Isaac, just as easy:  Adrien Brody when he's 25.  Della, very, very simple:  Jada Pinkett-Smith when she's 30.  The two other, Cece and the Hound, are harder.   Cece, I guess Zoe Saldana at 20.  The Hound is hardest of all, though.  He's ridiculous looking but also so evil so a guy like Paul Giamatti wouldn't work.  I guess Jack Nicholson when he's 35 with a false set of crooked, discolored choppers.

8.) If you could go back in time and speak to one famous person who would that be and what question would you ask?

Actually, I would speak to someone living.  It would be James Patterson.  Haha.  Here's a guy who truly doesn't have much writing talent at all, but he sells a boatload of books.  I would really probe his mind, his marketing strategies, etc. 

9.)  I love to play video games.  In fact it is my second favorite thing to do, with reading being my first.  What are your two favorite things to do for fun?

Movies and traveling.  Movies both because they're fun and also because they often have better dialogue than novels!  I still remember LA Confidential's dialogue, esp. James Cromwell's line to a gangster:  "This is the city of angels, and you ain't got any wings."  Great stuff!  And traveling is so you can see the world and actually develop your imagination a bit.  I've been to maybe 20 countries and each one was something special.  Video games are fun too, but I forcefully stopped myself from playing them a long time ago because I was becoming addicted!

 10.)  Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Best case scenario:  writing full time.  Worst case:  still dealing with screaming kids at 8 in the morning!

Now here is some even better news:  Mr. Ray Chen Smith was nice enough to offer up some prizes for a giveaway for The Jazz Cage.   Please remember these rules before you enter the giveaway:

• you must be 18 and over to enter this giveaway
• This is open internationally 
• If the winner is an international resident they will be gifted an ebook version of the book 
• If the winner is an US resident then they will receive a paperback copy of the book

Alright everybody good luck! 

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Author Spotlight: Quinn Loftis author of The Grey Wolves Series + Interview and Giveaway

I am super excited to do another Author Spotlight!  This is another of my fave indie authors and I cannot wait for you guys to meet her!  So without further ado (always wanted to say that) here you go!!!

Quinn Loftis


Quinn is a wife, mother, nurse, and writer...not always in that order.  She loves to read, write, crochet, and sleep when she can.  She has a beautiful little boy and awesome husband who puts up with her crazy hours.

Links:

 Website: http://quinnloftisbooks.com/

 Twitter: @AuthQuinnLoftis

 Facebook:  Quinn Loftis Books

So, Quinn, you have an amazing YA series out right now.  I am absolutely in love with all the werewolves, the snarky (love that word) southern girls, and all kinds of goodness.  Can you tell our readers a little more about the series?

The Grey Wolves Series starts out with Prince of Wolves, here we meet Jacque Pierce, her two best friends, Jen Adams and Sally Morgan.  3 ordinary girls living in Coldspring, TX.  Their summer is winding down and rumor has it that the neighbors across the street from Jacque are having a foreign exchange student from Romania live with them.  Of course since Coldspring is such a small town any news is big news.  Jacque and her friends want the scoop on the new student.  Turns out he's tall, dark and incredibly handsome...and furry.  His name is Fane, and he is the prince to the Romanian Grey Wolves.  He arrives in Coldspring and within minutes of stepping out of his limo he faces his destiny.

Blood Rites-Book 2 is a continuation of Fane and Jacque's story.  Just when we think they are going to get their happily ever after circumstances and people with their own agenda step in attempting to destroy all the Fane and Jacque have built.  One of these people happens to share a pesky little thing called DNA with Jacque.  We also begin to see another relationship building between sassy Jen and brooding Decebel, the Beta to the Romanian pack.

Just One Drop-this begins Jen and Decebel's story.  Blood Rites end's with the question, is Jen human?  Just One Drop answers this question and introduces readers to the path Jen must follow.  Jacque, Fane and Sally are still very prominent in this story, and many new friends are introduced.  In Just One Drop Jen and the other single pack members are required to attend The Gathering, something that hasn't happened  in over a century.  But trouble, deceit, hatred, and envy are all brewing.  We will travel through this journey with Jen only to come to a maddening cliff hanger.

Out Of The Dark-Book 4 is the continuation of Jen and Dec's story.  I don't want to give too much away because this book just came out but there are some new supernatural elements added in this book, and it is a bit darker and more emotional than the first 3.

Alright, now tell me: did you always want to be a writer?

Yes, I just got distracted with life for a little while.

Music is important to me and I feel romance and music go hand in hand.  I also love how you incorporate music into your writing.  Do you have any favorite artists right now?  Any favorite genre of music?

I love all types of music.  Music is very influential to me and my moods so I can't say that any one type is my favorite.  It just really depends on the mood I am in.  

Right now I am listening to a lot of Jason Gray and Need To Breathe.

My favorite is hip hop/rap music.  But I am really digging some Katy Perry right now.

Speaking of romance; you write some amazing romantic scenes.  Is that all imagination or do you draw from experience?

I am married to an amazing man.  The love I am able to project into my books comes from knowing that kind of love and the romance definitely comes from experience.  I'm blessed beyond measure when it comes to the man God gave me.

So are you reading any books that you are absolutely in love with at the moment?

I am not reading anything at this moment, I have got so much going on it just doesn't seem possible to sit down and read :(

Giveaway Details:

This is open to international readers as well.



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Author Interview + Giveaway: Robert J. Crane

Hi everyone!  How are all my book lovers doing in the summer time?  Well I am enjoying reading so many good books, but I am especially looking forward to the next book in one of my favorite series, Sanctuary by Robert J. Crane, which should be out pretty soon!


So in great anticipation of this upcoming book I decided to do a spotlight on the author, Robert J. Crane.  And Robert was kind enough to offer a giveaway to go along with this interview!    How cool is that?  Enjoy the interview, visit his links, and be sure to enter the giveaway.  
*Make sure to read the giveaway guidelines below before you enter so you know the prizes and the rules!  


Author Spotlight: Robert J. Crane

Author Bio:
Robert J. Crane was born and raised on Florida's Space Coast before moving to the upper midwest in search of cooler climates and more palatable beer.  He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in English Creative Writing.  He worked for a year as a substitute teacher and worked in the financial services field for seven years while writing in his spare time.  
He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and can  be contacted via email at cyrusdavidon@gmail.com .




Read To My Heart:    So Robert, you have two series out right now.  Can you tell us a little about each one?      


Robert:     Sure!  The first is called the Sanctuary Series and it takes place in a traditional high fantasy universe complete with elves, dwarves, trolls and goblins.  The action centers around our hero, Cyrus Davidon and his guild, Sanctuary, which functions a little like an independent army and follows their various adventures in the world of Arkaria.  It has action, romance, drama, and never takes itself too seriously (I hope).


The second series is called The Girl in the Box and follows the story of Sienna Nealon, who is a teenage girl who discovers she has mysterious powers after being imprisoned in her home by her mother for a decade.  One day, her mom disappears and Sienna is chased out into the big, bad world by a couple of mysterious men and is forced to adapt to some radical life changes while trying to figure out the secrets behind her powers.
Also, not to get myself into too much trouble if I can't deliver, but I'd expect that to go to three series by around the end of the year.


Read to My Heart:    What inspired you to write these stories?


Robert:    I've wanted to tell stories since I was a kid in school.  As a teenager, I would take my favorite TV shows and imagine how the story would go if I was writing them, and that expanded to writing out my own concepts for novels and entire series.  I managed to do a file rescue from the computer my parents had when I was in High School and there are literally hundreds of pages of ideas that I typed out in my free time.  My conclusion after seeing that is that all I  did in High School was write and play videogames.  My grades might bear assessment, come to think of it.
The short answer to inspiration is that ideas just seem to come to me, more than I have time to write, even now that I'm a full time writer and I can't keep myself from wanting to put them down on paper (or pixels, as the modern case may be).


Read to My Heart:   Do you have a favorite character and why?


Robert:    Heh. I would have to say Vara from the Sanctuary Series or Sienna from the Girl in the Box because they're both tough female characters.  Don't get me wrong, Cyrus from Sanctuary is an intriguing fellow too, but I could write him in my sleep.  Writing the two women keeps me on my toes, makes me think and stay engaged, always trying to figure out what they'd do next in any given situation.
As far as others, I like Vaste from Sanctuary because of his slyness as well as Fortin and I really enjoy Malpravus as a villian.


 Read to My Heart: I really like Vara too! I love elves!  Vaste is so funny!   Are there any rituals that you go through before you start the process of writing each day?


Robert:   I wouldn't say it's a ritual, but depending on how excited I am to be working on the passage I'm starting with any given morning, I have a tendency to goof off on the internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. until I crack the whip on myself( not literally, 50 Shades of Grey readers, calm down) before I get started.  It usually only lasts 10-20 minutes and I still manage to crank out 5,000 words a day in spite of that, but it's something I keep meaning to get better at because that's time I could be using to do something else more productive or enjoyable.




Read to My Heart:   I love videogames and I know from your blog, that you are an avid player too.  What are you playing right now?  Any favorites?


Robert:  Right now I have been diligently working through Max Payne 3, which is a very good shooter that I am apparently very bad at, judging by how often I've been dying.  I recently spent some time with Lord of the Rings: The War in the North and thus far it is worth the $20 I spent on it.  I also downloaded the expansion to Batman: Arkham City called Harley Quinn's Revenge but I haven't had a chance to play more than about twenty minutes so far because of my writing work.  Hopefully that will change tonight! Also on my list is Dead Space 2 and Xenoblade, and RPG for the Wii that was fantastically done that I put aside as I got busy with work but will be picking up soon.
As for favorites, that's a tough one.  The Final Fantasy series was pretty high on my list through number 10.  L.A. Noire was a pretty amazing gaming experience last year, one that made a huge impression on me as a gamer and storyteller.  Other than that, I've probably got some of the usual favorites-Bioshock, Skyrim, Halo, God of War and of course Batman: Arkham City.  I think that last one might be the absolute top of my list, at least for the last few years.  Arkham City was simply amazing.




Read to My Heart:  I have to say Batman: Arkham City was the best videogame I have played in a very long time and God of War and Castlevania coming in for a close second.    
Besides playing videogames, what are you reading right now?


Robert: I've been pretty lousy at reading lately because I've been finishing the final draft of my third Sanctuary book, Champion(due out in the next couple of weeks!) and so I was rereading the first and second books in the series to make sure there were no major inconsistencies.
Before those, I was working on The Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs and rereading The Robots of Dawn by Issac Asimov.  I also just started rereading Stephen King's superb book, On Writing.  I tend to read scifi and fantasy as well as some thrillers and other stuff.  If anyone ever wants to compare books with me, I'm on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/RobertJCrane




Read to My Heart: Yay!  I am super stoked and looking forward to the release of Champion!
 Do you write to a certain type of target audience?


Robert:  I don't.  I mean, as an author, it's not really a huge secret I'd like to sell a lot of books so I think there's a temptation among some of us to think, "Oh, Twilight is selling, I'll go write something like that and cash in!" For myself, I wouldn't shy away from doing something in the vein of vampires and werewolves if I came up with a really cool concept or something fresh and different that I was excited to write, but I tend to steer more toward writing stories I feel passionate about. 
I'm sure any marketing strategists in the audience are shaking their head at my naivete but I do that for a very simple reason- I tend to pour my whole heart into a story if I want to write it.  Maybe I could write a book I didn't feel strongly about and do a great job with it, but I'm not ready to test that assumption yet. I just write the kind of stories I would want to read, and hope there are others out there who find them engaging, funny, and moving in the same way I do.




Read to My Heart: Well said!  Is there anything you want us to take away when we read your novels?


Robert: There usually is, but I try to be subtle about it rather than clubbing them over the head; it's up to the reader to judge whether I've been successful at that.  Every novel I write has a theme threaded through it, some point I'm trying to make.  For Defender(Sanctuary 1) it was the concept of having a purpose for your life and knowing what you want out of it, what you're willing to do to get it.  Alone, on the other hand, had more of a simple thematic core-who are you when everything is taken away from you?  Who are you when you're left with nothing?
Ultimately, the good thing I want them to take away, even more than vague themes that may or may not be obvious, is a good time.  I want them to laugh, cry, (hopefully in the places where I intended them to; if they're laughing when they should be crying, I've done it wrong) to feel something that sticks with them.  Someone told me a long time ago that people will forget the words you say to them, the things you do for them, but they always remember how you made them feel.  I hope I make them feel satisfied when they finish one of my books.
And maybe just a little excited to read the next one. 




Read to My Heart: Thank you so much for taking some time out of your busy schedule to do this interview!  It was truly an honor to have you as my first Author Spotlight! 


Robert: Thank you for the chance to spend this time with your blog readers.  I really appreciate it!

Connect with Robert J. Crane on the following:
Website:www.robertJcrane.com
Blog: www.robertJcrane.blogspot.com
Amazon: Robert J. Crane
Email: cyrusdavidon@gmail(dot)com
Become a fan at Goodreads 


*This giveaway is open to everyone over 16 years of age.  If the winner resides out of the U.S. the prize will be delivered in the form of an Ebook.  If winner resides in the U.S, they will be allowed to choose either 1 paperback copy from the series of their choosing; or 2 ebooks from the series of their choosing.  

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