Friday, September 12, 2014

Feature: K.M. Randall author of Fractured Dream





Title- Fractured Dream
Series- (The Dreamer Saga, Book 1)
By- K.M. Randall
Genre- Fantasy, Fairytale
Expected Publication Date-June 21, 2014
Published By- Booktrope Publishing


BLURB

Have you ever wondered where fairytales go once they’re created?

It’s been eight years since Story Sparks last had a dream. Now they’re back, tormenting her as nightmares she can’t remember upon waking. The black waters of Lake Sandeen, where her Uncle Peter disappeared decades before, may hold the secret to Story’s hidden memories, or a truth she’d rather not know. On a bright summer afternoon, Story and her two best friends, Elliott and Adam, take a hike to the lake, where they dive into the cool water and never reemerge. What they find is beyond anything they’ve ever imagined could be possible, a world where dangers lurk in the form of Big Bad Wolves, living Nightmares and meddlesome witches and gods.

Now Story must remember who she really is and somehow stop two worlds from ultimate annihilation, all while trying not to be too distracted by the inexplicable pull she feels toward a certain dark-eyed traveler who seems to have secrets of his own. The fates of the worlds
are counting on her.


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INTERVIEW


What inspired you to write this book?

 

Although absolutely nothing like my book, I was reading The Time Traveler’s Wife in 2005 and this idea about a girl who lived between two worlds was ignited in my head as I pondered the concept of being thrown through time haphazardly, as the main character Henry is in the book. From there my own imagination went wild and Story Sparks and her tale began.

 

Can you give us an interesting fact about your book that isn't in the blurb?

 

There’s many layers to Story’s character and it’s not something you find out right away. But I can’t say much more because I would be giving away spoilers!

 

How did you choose your title?

 

I knew it had to be something with dreams since dreams are a big part of the book. There is something of a broken theme that runs throughout the books, so when I came up with the idea for Fractured Dream, I also came up with the idea for the next two titles since it’s a trilogy. The next book in the series will be called Shattered World, so it stays in line with that broken idea I wanted to incorporate as well as the central story arc in each book. The third book will be called Broken Girl.

 

Tell us about the cover and how it came to be?

 

I really wanted a magical cover, one that portrayed the existence of a doorway between these two worlds. And the water in the background is important because a lake plays center to several events in the beginning. I asked Greg Simanson, a designer with Booktrope, if he would put the cover together. He worked his magic and the cover was born, and I’ve been in love with it since.

 

Did you self­publish or publish traditionally and why?

 

I published with a publisher called Booktrope. It is team publishing, meaning we pick members to be on our publishing team who are the editor, proofer, marketing manager and designer within Booktrope. Everyone has a stake in the process. It just worked for me. I have relationships with my team members and support, and I’m not doing it all on my own like a self-published author is. But I also have more control over cover, editing, etc., than one of your big publishing houses.

 

What do you consider the most important part of a good story?

 

Good characters are vital. I’ve had readers absolutely love my characters and I’ve had readers hate them. But they had feelings about them and that’s always good. People need to connect or hate someone to have a stake in a story.

 

What is your writing process?

 

I don’t know if it’s so much as a process as I just sit down and start writing. When I first get an idea it stews around in my head for a while, and if I think it’s promising, I’ll jot down notes and basic theme. If I’m really excited about it, I’ll usually write the first chapter even if I’m working on something else, and I know it’s a ways down the road before I can write it. Writing for me is a very organic experience, and much of it comes as I write, from the characters, from the setting. I don’t need a special place or a special song, I just need my computer and quiet.

 

How long have you been writing?

 

I can’t remember when I didn’t write. Probably since I knew how to write. I distinctly remember first grade being the year I started spending a lot of time in our basement writing stories and poems on what would now be an archaic computer. I also had a typewriter around this time that I clicked away on as well. I still have a box of old stories, one of which was a poem about a fairy. So I had a tendency toward the fantastical even when I was really young.

 

How did you get started writing?

 

Basically, when I started to read I started to get into creating my own stories and that’s how I started writing.

 

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

 

I guess you could say I’m both. I tend to have something of an idea about what’s going to happen, although my outlines tend to be shoddy scrawls jotted down when an idea hits, which I usually end up losing. Mostly, I’m a pantser. The most fun I have writing is when the characters take over and I’m surprised by where it goes. It feels like magic in its own right.

 

What part of the writing process is the hardest for you?

 

Finding the time. I have a day job, a family to take care of and I also edit books at night, so I have to work around all of that to get in my writing time.

 

What tips can you give on how to get through writers block?

 

I usually just write through it. I can be working on a passage that’s dry and bland and I hate it because it’s so hard to get through, but if I keep going I usually hit inspiration and then it flows.

 

What kind of music do you like to listen to while you write?

 

I love music, but I can’t listen to any when I write. I get too busy singing along with it so that I stop concentrating on what I’m writing. So I write in the quiet. And that’s my music.

 

Who is your favorite author?

 

It’s hard to choose a specific author, but Alice Hoffman has always been one of my favorites. For fantasy I love Tanya Huff. I am also a huge fan of Sara Douglass’s and Louise Cooper’s fantasy novels. And in non-fiction Bill Bryson and Annie Dillard.

 

Who is your favorite character from a book?

 

Tarod from Louise Cooper’s Time Master Trilogy. I had a fairly huge crush on him when I was younger.

 

What is your favorite book?

 

I love too many. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, The Mermaid Summer by Mollie Hunter, to name a few. Annie Dillard’s A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek left a lasting impact on my life. As a teenager, I was in love with LJ Smith’s Vampire Diaries. I could just go on and on, so I’ll stop.

 

Read anything good lately?

 

I’m currently reading Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion: The TV Series, the Movies, the Comic Books and More: The Essential Guide to the Whedonverse, and as a huge fan, I’m finding it fascinating. A lot of what I read lately is what I’m editing and Shari Ryan’s upcoming novel, Tag, and AL Waddington’s upcoming novel, Perception, are both great reads.

 

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

 

Spend time with my family, read and when I get a few moments of time, come up with decorating ideas for Halloween!

 

What advice would you give an author just starting out?

 

Don’t hold yourself back by letting self-doubt stop you from doing what you love. I also advise to network, network, network. Doors can open.

 

Have you had anything else published?

I was formerly a reporter and I am currently an editor of a publication covering the media industry, so I have news articles published all the time. A short story I wrote called the Un-balancing Act was also included in an anthology called The Mommy Life/Essays for Hope.

 

What's your next project?

My upcoming book is called The Reaper’s Daughter. I’m done writing the first draft and now it’s in the polishing stages. It’s tentatively slated for release in January 2015.

 

 





ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a girl, K.M. always wished she’d suddenly come into magical powers or cross over into a Faerie circle. Although that has yet to happen, she instead lives vicariously through the characters she creates in writing fantasy and delving into the paranormal. When K.M. is not busy writing her next novel, she is the editor-in-chief of a blog covering the media industry, as well as an editor with Booktrope Publishing. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in English-Lit from Nazareth College of Rochester. K.M. lives in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region with her husband and her extremely energetic little boy. Fractured Dream is her first novel.







Tour Giveaway Info
1 Paperback of Fractured Dream (US ONLY) 
5 eBooks of Fractured Dream (Intl) 
1 eBook of Jacob, King of Portalia (Intl) 
1 eBook Spirit Warriors: The Scarring (Intl) 
1 eBook of Orenda (Intl) 
1 eBook of Eyes of the Enemy (Intl) 
1 eBook of Dead Girl Walking (Intl) 





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