Thursday, December 1, 2016

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Del Millers, Author and Life Consultant

Dr. Del Millers, Author
ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE
Dr. Del Millers is the founder of TheBestYouAcademy.com, EnergizedLifeAcademy.com, and author of eight books on nutrition, fitness, and personal growth. His most recent book is ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE: ACTIVATE THE 7 PILLARS OF POSITIVE ENERGY THAT MAKE YOU FEEL ALIVE. Reviewers applaud his book as “inspirational,” “motivational,” “smart,” and “scientific.”

Millers typically writes a book every other year and is mulling over his next one. However, a key goal is to take the plunge and write some fiction. When he’s not writing or consulting, he enjoys spending time with his family, and he is learning to play the piano and the guitar so he can teach his three daughters. He plays tennis regularly and is a Latin Ballroom dancer.

Q: Who can benefit the most from the advice in ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE: ACTIVATE THE 7 PILLARS OF POSITIVE ENERGY THAT MAKE YOU FEEL ALIVE? Are you targeting entrepreneurs, working parents, scientists, celebrities….? Does your advice apply to all equally?

Del Millers: I've consulted with hundreds of people over the past twenty years (doctors, lawyers, accountants, business owners and executives) who are at the verge of burnout.  I've met thousands more at my seminars that often tell me that they just can't continue with their current fast-pace lifestyle because it's literally killing them.

These were the conversations that inspired me to write ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE.  I wanted to help people find a solution to their personal energy crisis and show them a new way to live and work. 

To Energize Your Life simply means to fall in love with your life again.  To find ways to get rid of what I call the "energy suckers" that drain your energy everyday.  And to prevent burnout by doing meaningful things with your time.

ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE is primarily for people at a personal crossroads in their life.  This could be professionals, working parents, entrepreneurs, or even unskilled workers.  The important thing is that they realize that the way they've been living and working is no longer working for them.  Something is missing.  And they're tired and ready to make a change. 

Q: How and why did you categorize positive energy into 7 (seven) different pillars? Did you conduct research to see what would work? Or did it come mostly from your own experiences?

Del Millers: The seven pillars of positive energy are the various sources from which our energy needs can be met. Keep in mind that energy isn’t just a physical entity. We also draw energy from our emotions, clarity of thought, as well as the meaningful and fulfilling events in our lives.

For instance, to feel alive, not only do we have to practice daily health-building habits, we must also clarify and understand why we do the things we do — both at work and in our personal lives – cultivate positive emotions, and make time for play.

Are there other sources of positive energy that I don't know about? There certainly could be.  The seven I presented in ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE (passion and purpose, personal evolution, physical vitality, positive energy, positive psychology, prosocial behavior, and play) are based on the wealth of new research over the past two decades on positive psychology, employee engagement and play, as well as my years of experience consulting with executives, entrepreneurs, small business owners, career changers and self re-inventors.

Q: You started your career as an Electrical Engineer and Pharmaceutical Sales Rep. What turned you, or inspired you, to write self-help books and do consulting?

Del Millers:  Like most people, engineering was something I fell into because I was good at math and science in high school.  However, I quickly realized that sitting in a cubicle everyday wasn't what I wanted to do with my life.  So, I tried technical sales then pharmaceutical sales.

After four years in corporate America, however, I made the discovery that I am not the employee type. So, I hung up my suit and tie and bid farewell to corporate America to pursue the uncertain life of an entrepreneur.  And I've always been interested in living the kind of life that inspires me.  So writing about it and consulting with others is just a natural byproduct of sharing what I know so that others may grow.

Q: Reviewers of ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE applaud you for the book as “motivational” and say you “know your stuff.” What qualifies and enables you to advise readers on how to ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE?

Del Millers: Twenty years ago, I walked away from corporate America because it was sucking the life out of me. I needed room to breathe. To explore. To create an inspired life.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you have to quit your job, as I did.  However, you do have to be honest with yourself and either find ways to love what you do or make a plan to leave it behind.  In short, to live an energized life, you either have to learn to love your job or leave it.

I chose to leave my corporate job because I wanted to create a life I could fall in love with – an energized life; and I did.  So I’ve been a student and seeker of this way of living practically my entire life.  And as I wrote in the book, to live an energized life is to live a life that inspires you and those whose path is brightened by your light.

And I’m honored and humbled that throughout my life I have had the pleasure and privilege of inspiring others all over the world to live better lives. Inspired lives.

Q: What do you discover to be people’s biggest blockade to energizing (living an energized life)? Is it different between men and women?

Del Millers: The biggest challenge that most people (men and women) have is that most of us have been conditioned at a very young age to be "workers," instead of "players."

We're taught to do well in school so we can go to college, get a "good job" with benefits and then spend the best 30-40 years of our lives climbing the career ladder.  Not that there's anything wrong with that if that's all you want. 

The problem is most workers are restricted to a limited version of themselves in the workplace and that's not who we are as creative, intelligent beings.  Human beings are multi-dimensional, so pretty soon our one-dimensional work life conflicts with our need to grow, explore, and to live inspired with purpose, passion and play.

Players, on the other hand, put creativity, fulfillment and fun at the center of everything we do.  We're not afraid to explore our multiple selves.  We are entrepreneurs, artists, writers, bloggers, songwriters, musicians, filmmakers, and inventers, all at the same time.  In short, players are creators.  We create our lives around what feels most rewarding, exciting, enjoyable, challenging and fulfilling.

Q: How helpful is humor to convey your messages to readers?

Del Millers: Humor is a great vehicle for communicating important ideas.  However, it isn't the only one.  Sometimes, just showing people what's possible is all it takes to create a chain reaction to begin the process of change.

I still remember my big "aha moment" very clearly.  Twenty-five years ago I walked into my friends karate studio dressed in my work suit and tie.  He, on the other hand, was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and I remember thinking to myself, I want his life.  Well, a year later, I had it.

Q: Can you provide three to five tips that will lead us to energize (help to energize our lives)?

Del Millers: The following are some of the most important lessons from ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE:

1. Learn to love your work (or at least like it) or create a plan to move on. 
Is your job a way to support yourself while you pursue your true passion?  Is it a way to hone your skills?  Whatever purpose your work serves in your life, find some element of it that you love and try and do more of that.  If you simply just hate the work that you're doing, then it's time to start creating your exit strategy.  For most people, their work is the biggest "energy sucker" in their lives.

2. Steal a few "play moments" each day.
Play is an integral source of energy.  To neglect it is to neglect one of our most fundamental needs as a human being.  Play is all around us, but is generally only noticed by the playful at heart. You stand in a line at the supermarket, post office, bank, or airport. Why not use this as an opportunity to increase your play quota for the day.  You don't have to be a comedian.  All you have to do to steal a few play moments each day is to adapt a playful attitude.

3. Passion leads to Life Purpose
If you're sitting around expecting to find meaning in your life, you won't.  You have to get out into the world in pursuit of your passions and test reality.  And through trial and error you will come to know the things that feel most right to you.

While in the pursuit of your passions you will eventually arrive at what feels most meaningful and fulfilling to you.  Without passion and play you will end up as a mere fragment of yourself, living a life of boredom and regret.

4. Focus on what's going right in your life
The way we think about our health, stress, life’s daily setbacks, or a momentous defeat affects us more significantly than the events themselves.  And research has shown that although our brain controls our biochemistry, our thoughts control the brain.  The research also shows that negative thoughts affect our brain in such a way that produces negative emotions.  And unfortunately, negative emotions will prevent our brain from seeing all possible options.  They narrow our thinking and prevent us from seeing all possible options.

Positive thoughts, however, have the opposite affect on your brain.  They lead to positive emotions.  And positive emotions expand awareness, build trust, and lead to more creative connections and positive outcomes, such as better negotiations.

5. Be optimistic when you have every reason to be pessimistic
It’s easy to have positive energy when things are going right and everything is unfolding as they should. But the time when you need positive energy the most is when your world is filled with negativity, when everything that can go wrong is going wrong, and when you’re surrounded by negative people and negative results.

This is when you really need to dig down deep and find the source of your inspiration and reconnect with your larger vision. If you don’t, you’ll be buried alive in the pit of despair alongside all the other negative people who pulled you in.

Q: Have you written other self-help books? On what other subjects do you offer help?

Del Millers: ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE is my eighth book.  My very first book was FITNESS & SPIRITUALITY: HOW TO MAKE THE CONNECTIOM. I've also written several fitness books as well as cookbooks.

Q: What’s next? Will you write more self-help books?

Del Millers: I will definitely be writing more self-help books.  I tend to write a new book about every other year.  And, yes, I already have several ideas for my next book project.  My ultimate dream, however, is to do something that scares the living daylights out of me and that is to one day write a novel.

Q: Tell us something about Del Millers. What do you like to do when you’re not energizing or writing?

Del Millers: I always encourage others to find something that they love to do and do it often, because play leads to joy and joy is the fuel for love.  So, I try to take my own advice.  I exercise everyday, I love to play tennis 3-4 times a week, and I am a Latin Ballroom dancer. 

I am also currently learning to play the piano along with my three young daughters and I'm teaching myself the guitar so I can teach it to them.  My all time favorite activity, however, is just rolling around on the floor or on the grass in the park with my girls tickling each other.

About Del Millers

Del Millers (aka Dr. Del) started his career as an Electrical Engineer and
Pharmaceutical Sales Rep for some of the top Fortune 500 companies in corporate
America. After four years in corporate America, however, he made the discovery that he is not the employee type. So he hung up his suit and tie and bid farewell to corporate America to pursue the uncertain life of an entrepreneur.

Dr. Del has since authored eight books on nutrition, fitness, and personal growth.  His most recent is Energize Your Life.  Through his online training courses —The Best You Academy and Energized Life Academy —Dr. Del has consulted with clients on four continents and in six different countries on how to fuel their lives and work with positive energy, and find freedom, fulfillment, and fun.

Dr. Del has a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and a Masters degree in psychology. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and three daughters.


'activate the 7 pillars of positive energy that make you feel alive'

To Energize Your Life is to fuel your life and work with purpose, passion and play.

This book on how to get the most out of life strives to teach you the techniques required to fall in love with your life once again and help you to:

   Get rid of 'energy suckers'
                        Learn to use simple positive strategies to prevent burnout
                        Spend more time doing what you truly love 

ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE will provide new meaning or purpose to your life, through the things that you do every single day, by the way you relate to the world and through your interactions with others around you.

Take time to do meaningful things every day, create a community around yourself and find something you love to do.  And if and when that thing no longer makes your heart sing, move on to the next thing.

ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE shows you the simple positive strategies you can employ to successfully create fulfilling work, prevent burnout, cultivate positive emotions, enrich your relationships, become a conduit for positive energy, and, most importantly, make time for joy.

Excerpt

Passion leads to purpose
It’s pointless asking yourself what is the purpose of your life if you’re sitting in some dead-end job.  You have to get out into the world and test reality.  You have to experience life through the pursuit of your passions in order to arrive at what feels most meaningful and fulfilling to you.

Instead of asking “what is my purpose?”…a better way of phrasing the question is “how am I allowing life to find its fullest expression through me?” Another good question to ask is “what is my big vision for my life?”

These are queries that can only be actualized through a life of passion and meaning.  Anything less and you end up being a fragment of yourself, living a life of boredom and regret.

And as you already know, boredom won’t energize you, neither will regret.  You have to regularly engage in activities that make you feel alive.

You must also find meaning in your work or create a plan to move on.  Going to a job everyday that doesn’t inspire you does more than drain your vital life energy; it robs you of your humanity because, as surely as a bird instinctively knows how to fly, you were meant to aspire for greatness.  Greatness is in your DNA.

You must claim your magnificence, proclaim your freedom, and start living your passions.  This is how you give your life meaning.  It is the only path that leads to a truly energized life.

Your Life’s Purpose
We exist on this earth for a very short time and the purpose of our lives is “to live.”  I don’t mean to simply exist. 

Getting up in the morning and going to a job you hate, then coming home and watching television until you fall asleep, only to get up and repeat, isn’t living; that’s existing.

“To live” is a verb.  This means that you have to take some conscious action in order to have an experience of life.

But, how do we experience life?

Well, we experience life through our senses: smell, touch, taste, sight and sound.  Of course, we may also experience life on a deeper metaphysical level, but that’s a topic for another day.

Therefore, to experience life, we have to get up off our butts and go smell the flowers, taste some good food, do something we don’t know how to do, marvel at the beauty around us, and learn how to listen to the stillness of motion.

Our lives are nothing more than the accumulation of our experiences.  Some will be memorable and others won’t.

Those memorable experiences are what give our lives meaning. They bring us happiness and joy.  They touch the lives of others and in doing so, make a difference in the world.

Those experiences that are less memorable serve simply as a way to kill time.

So, a better question to ask than “What is my life’s purpose?” is “What can I do with my time today that is meaningful — in some way  — to me or others?”

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Monday, November 28, 2016

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Sofia Diana Gabel, Author

Sofia Diana Gabel, Author
A RAMTALAN TRILOGY
Sofia Diana Gabel, a multi-genre author, brings us her science fiction RAMTALAN TRILOGY series with relatable teenage protagonists and villains with their own agendas. She likes to place ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, and also embeds messages along the way. She believes that setting is important and can actually serve as a character.

Gabel enjoys time out of doors and hiking; she also appreciates time with her daughters and grandson. She is currently working on two novels--an adult SciFi and a contemporary thriller.

Check out the excerpt following her interview.







Q: You write in multiple genres. Let’s start with science fiction and your trilogy, A RAMTALAN TRILOGY: TWO BROTHERS. What drew you to science fiction? Do you enjoy reading it? Do you find it’s a satisfying genre in which to tell your stories?

Sofia Diana Gabel: I think I got started reading science fiction from my dad. He loved it and I guess I saw his enjoyment and wondered what it was all about. I started with Asimov and went on from there up to the contemporaries now. Sadly, I don’t get to read as much as I’d like and always seem to have a stack of ‘to be read’ books piled up! For my science fiction Ramtalan Trilogy series, this genre is the only way to tell the story. I love to blend in different elements as well, such as thriller, romance and adventure.

Q: In A RAMTALAN TRIOLOGY what draws us to your protagonists? Why will readers engage with them?

Sofia Diana Gabel: My protagonists are teenagers. I’ve been a single mother to three daughters for most of their lives, and had three teenagers at one time for many years. It just seemed natural to write about teenagers, with a science fiction/alien twist. Readers will feel the turmoil of the teenage years and how teens make mistakes because they don’t know any better, but in the case of the Dachel brothers, the stakes are very high, especially when they do make mistakes or misjudgments. We all remember what it’s like to be a teenager, right?

Q: What about villains? Is the concept of villains versus heroes relevant in A RAMTALAN TRILOGY? What makes an effective, compelling villain?

Sofia Diana Gabel: Yes, the villains are critical to the story arc. A villain has to have their own agenda for doing the things they do, which sometimes places others in danger. But a villain also has to have a ‘human’ element to them, a part that keeps them from being completely off the rails. My villains are definitely driven to achieve their goal, yet they also have something deep down that readers can relate to.

Q: In your science fiction and paranormal stories, how do you create credibility and/or believability? Does it matter to your readers?

Sofia Diana Gabel: I think a good story must be at least somewhat credible or believable, even if the reader has to ‘suspend disbelief’’ so they can get taken away by the story. In paranormal, supernatural things occur, which aren’t normally considered believable, but to enjoy the story, a reader has to accept that it’s normal. Hopefully I’ve created that in my stories. I like to put ordinary, relatable people in extraordinary situations in such a way that the reader believes it could happen.

Q: Do you write only to entertain your readers or do you embed a few messages in your stories along the way?

Sofia Diana Gabel: I usually have some sort of message in the stories. In the RAMTALAN TRILOGY, there are elements of bullying and later in the story it comes out why the bully is like he is.

Q: Do you prefer writing in one genre over another? Or do you like different features from each one?

Sofia Diana Gabel: I actually enjoy all of the genres I write in, but right now I’m thoroughly enjoying science fiction, having just finished another science fiction novel. Historical fiction has always been a love of mine, too.

Q: You have degrees in environmental science and archaeology. Does your education help you in your writing?

Sofia Diana Gabel: Yes! I wrote an environmental thriller where I used my knowledge of biology and wildlife to create a somewhat, tongue-in-cheek, scenario about global devastation. I am currently writing an archaeology-based thriller as well. I think education always manages to bleed through on the pages in one form or another!

Q: Were you able to exploit the settings to help tell your stories? Do you find setting to be an effective plot-creator or contributor? Why?

Sofia Diana Gabel: Setting can be very important and become a character itself. The settings in the RAMTALAN TRILOGY are important because each setting has something to say about the story or characters. A science fiction novella I wrote, The Clean Slate Accord, takes place completely in an isolated bunker, which plays off how the protagonist has isolated herself while governing the world.

Q: What’s next?

Sofia Diana Gabel: I am currently working on two novels: one an adult science fiction and the other a contemporary thriller. I’m also editing my latest YA science fiction novel.

Q:  Tell us about Sofia Diana Gabel. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Sofia Diana Gabel: I’m in love with the outdoors. When I can, I love to hike or be around nature in some way. And of course I love to read. Baking is a fun time for me, when I get the chance. Then again, I also like quiet days at home with my three hairless Sphynx cats or spending time with my daughters and grandson.

About Sofia Diana Gabel

Sofia Diana Gabel is a multi-genre fiction writer who was born in Sydney, Australia, but is now living in the United States with her family. With degrees in environmental science and archaeology, she enjoys being out in nature when she's not glued to her desk writing or researching a new story idea. Writing is a true passion of hers, born from a love of the written word that can transport the reader to different places or worlds and deliver them back to reality, safe and sound.


Book One follows 17-year-old Argus and Tai Dachel as they transition from sheltered homeschoolers to mainstream high school students, where they begin to discover they are not the ordinary teenagers they thought they were. As their extraordinary abilities begin to emerge and they learn the truth about themselves, their lives take twists and turns they never could have imagined. They struggle to find balance and normalcy while keeping the secret they must guard at all costs.
 
The boys want nothing more than to fit in with their friends, but that becomes more and more tricky. Eventually an AURA (Astronomical Urgent Recovery Administration) agent begins to suspect the truth and the situation escalates. Not only are their lives in danger, but their friends, especially Argus's girlfriend Lola, are beginning to realize the brothers are not what they seem.
 
In the second book in the Trilogy, Argus finds himself mixed up in the battle between a hostile faction of Invaders and the peaceful Ramtalans he’s come to know as his friends. After hearing disturbing news about his father, and with Tai being held captive, Argus has to come to grips with the truth about who he really is. Not only is AURA hot on his tail, but his relationship with Lola is in jeopardy. As his special abilities increase and become stronger, he risks exposure and capture. He must find some way to protect everyone around him, but winning seems impossible. 

The third and final book in the Ramtalan Trilogy brings Argus and Tai Dachel to a critical juncture in their lives, and the lives of every human on Earth.

Excerpt

This was going to be a good day with no trouble. Argus had said that over and over again all morning, but now that he was standing at the school attendance office counter, right under an irritating flickering fluorescent light, he had his doubts. He gripped the pen and filled in his information on the enrollment form:

Name: Argus Dachel
Age: 17
Previous school: Home schooled

His stomach fluttered and he wiped a trace of sweat off his forehead. What was he doing? There was no way this could be a good day. He didn’t belong here. High school was where normal kids went and he and Tai, his twin brother, weren’t exactly normal. They had special abilities that they weren’t allowed to use in public, and some sort of rare blood disease that kept them away from other kids. How much weirder could they get?

This was their senior year and their guardian, Aunt Celeste, said they should go to a public high school to be around other kids. She seemed a bit hesitant, like she wasn’t quite sure about it, but in the end said it was for the best. How? How was going to a school filled with regular kids for the best? Aunt Celeste said other kids didn’t have super strength or the ability to dissolve and reappear, so what was the point in being around normal teens? He’d spent most of his life secluded away in their house in the middle of nowhere. And that’s how he liked it. He had freedom at home to do what he wanted, without restrictions like he had now. Now it was all, no using your abilities at school, no getting hurt or cut, no telling anyone about anything. Secrets. And that sucked.

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Twitter: @sofiadianagabel


Wednesday, November 16, 2016

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Kate Wrath, Author

Kate Wrath, Author
FAIRYTALE EVOLUTION #1: FLIPPED
THE E SERIES: 6 books
Kate Wrath brings us her newest novel, a present-day fantasy evolved from a fairytale world she created. FLIPPED is the first in her new series FAIRYTALE EVOLUTION, and she describes it as “a bit out there.” Her reviewers tell us that it is “an ultimate joy ride” in a “fantastical world.”

Wrath’s second book in the FAIRYTALE EVOLUTION series, The Dark Road, is with her editor, and she has already started to write the third one in that series along with a spinoff to THE E SERIES. When she’s not writing she enjoys spending time with her family and paying attention to her art work.

Wrath, who is an artist as well as an author, is offering a very special giveaway—a one-of-a-kind sculptural dragon cover of a special edition of FLIPPED. She is also offering 25 e-book versions of FLIPPED. So don’t miss the opportunity to enter her giveaway at http://www.katewrath.com . And check out the excerpt from FLIPPED following the interview.

Q: Your newest book, FLIPPED, has been described by reviewers as “an ultimate joy ride” in a “fantastical world.” In what genre would you place it? Science fiction or fantasy? Who will most enjoy reading it?

Kate Wrath: FAIRYTALE EVOLUTION #1: FLIPPED  is a contemporary fantasy set in a modern world that could have evolved from a typical fairytale setting.  It's whimsical, humorous, and a bit out there, but it's grounded by a solid storyline and characters that are believable despite the crazy situations they encounter.  I think anyone who enjoys quirky sci-fi or fantasy would probably enjoy this book.  Be warned, though, FLIPPED has a dark undercurrent.

Q: Reviewers also say that FLIPPED has a “good blend of sweet, mischievous, and dangerous creatures” that are “unique and interesting.” What makes your characters engaging? Why will readers embrace them?

Kate Wrath: Character is my number one thing when it comes to telling stories and I get a ton of comments about my characters.  I think the main thing is that these characters are so real to me, and as such they change and grow and react.  They're out there dealing with whatever my wacky universe throws at them in the best way they know how, which isn't always perfect.  Is hardly ever perfect.  They're full of mistakes, past traumas, little quirks they don't even realize, desires and motivations that are at odds with their goals.  So you never know what's going to happen.

Q: How did you create the world for your setting, which is described by a reviewer as “interesting, exciting, and has limitless possibilities?” Do you have rules that you follow in your fantasy world to enhance credibility? Is credibility important to readers of fantasy?

Kate Wrath: Any story needs to have credibility.  You can't just have your character wave a magic wand and fix everything.  That's not a satisfying solution.  So, yeah, there are rules in my world regarding the use of magic and an underlying system of how it all works.  Even though I don't write all that into the story, I understand it as the author, so everything flows in a logical way.  But just like in real life, there are mysteries that no one really understands, and I think that element is important, too.

As far as creating the world itself, when I first conceptualized the story, I spent a lot of time writing about the infrastructure of the world.  Everything from transportation to sewage.  Because the world combines modern-day technology with evolved, commonplace magic, it took a lot of consideration to understand how it all fit together.  I didn't feel like I could write this world without knowing exactly how it worked.

Q: You have a special giveaway to promote FLIPPED. Tell us about it. Are you an artist as well as an author?

Kate Wrath: Yes!  I love art and I love to experiment with new kinds of art.  For a past book release,
Enter to win this extraordinary special edition of FLIPPED.
Go to:  http://www.Katewrath.com
I gave away a hand bound edition of one of my books—something that fans of the series really loved. 

I wanted to do something similar for this release, and I happened across these beautiful journals that artist Aniko Kolesnikova was making by attaching polymer clay panels to the covers of blank journals.  I wondered if I could make the book cover itself out of polymer clay and use it with the same kind of Coptic binding I had sewn for the previous book.  A little research later, the answer was… yeah!  So I jumped headlong into the project making a sculptural dragon cover for a one-of-a-kind edition of FLIPPED. 

Luckily, I have a lot of experience working with ceramics, and those skills were nicely transferable.  I've done some videos of the process.  The book is printed on archival quality, acid-free parchment paper, with a hand sewn Coptic binding, which leaves the spine bare so you can see all the decorative stitches; I think it's really beautiful.  Making the dragon cover itself took me more than a week of doing pretty much nothing else.  Just attaching the scales, one at a time, took hours to accomplish. 

But it's all worth it to have this amazing one-of-a-kind treasure to give to a reader.  I love that the giveaway is tied intrinsically to the story.  It's not something that you can get anywhere else.  I love this book so much, and since I can't keep it myself, I only hope that fate sends it to someone who will love it and connect with the story.  I feel really fortunate that the last book giveaway went to an awesome fan, Ashlee, who still keeps in touch and lets me know she's taking good care of it! 

You can watch the Kate producing this cover at: Video1 and Video2 .

Enter to win this unique artwork/book at http://www.katewrath.com .

Q: You have also written a series of books: the E series. Are these similar to FLIPPED? How are they different?

Kate Wrath: In many ways, the two series are the complete opposite end of the sci-fi/fantasy universe.  THE E SERIES is a sci-fi dystopian series that's dark, violent, and pensive.  It's Fairytale Evolution's goth sister.  On the surface, FLIPPED is light and flouncy.  Honaia, the main character in FLIPPED, is quite the girly girl.  She's all curls and lip gloss at first glance.  But as the story progresses and she grows, she finds out what she's made of.  So really, both series have strong female leads who do what they need to do.  Also, both series are dystopian, and I might even say that FLIPPED is unexpectedly more dystopian than THE E SERIES.  Another thing is that they're both character-driven stories.  Everything I write is character-driven.

Q: Do you write to entertain only? Or do you embed a few messages along the way?

Kate Wrath: At the risk of sounding like a nerd, I'm a nerd.  A total lit nerd.  I get off on Hemingway 'n' stuff.  So underneath everything, there's always a theme.  There's always meaning, layer upon layer.  It's not like soap box preaching or anything.  It's about the human condition, the deep questions of the universe… stuff like that.  But y'know, I like to be entertained.  So I hope that my writing achieves both.

Q:  How important or helpful is humor to tell your stories?

Kate Wrath: Humor is incredibly important, but not just as a device.  The thing is, even my darker series has quite a lot of humor.  Humor is life, and I write life, whether it be life in an apocalyptic society ruled by killer robots, or life in a big city where magic and faeries exist.  But the key—to me—is that it's not just humor.  Not just darkness.  These things fluctuate.  They come in and out of our lives in different proportions.  I always strive for a world that feels real on an emotional level.  And that includes humor.

Q: Do you use the concept of hero versus villain to tell your stories? What are the characteristics of a compelling villain?

Kate Wrath: There are a lot of people who would tell you that my villain from THE E SERIES, Matt, is their favorite character.  Seriously, there's a whole pro-Matt cult out there.  Aside from the fact that he's sexy as hell, the main thing I did with him was to keep it real.  I don't believe in the whole good vs. evil thing on a pure level.  There are a thousand tints and shades.  Villains, just like heroes, are a product of their experiences.  I love that a villain can sometimes be a villain and sometimes be a hero… and vice versa.

Q: What’s next?

Kate Wrath: Next is book two, Fairytale Evolution: The Dark Road.  My editor currently has it, so it shouldn't be too long.  I'm working on writing book three, Bootcamp, and also a spinoff to THE E SERIES that takes place a few years after the ending of the series.  I guess I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to that world.

Q: Tell us about Kate Wrath. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

A:  Sleep.  Haha.  For reals.  I spend so much time on writing and marketing.  Any free time goes to my awesome, amazing family.  Occasionally I get a chance to do some art or read, and that's about it.  I wish I could say I was a ninja or a human rights activist, but really, writing (+day job) takes up most of my life.

About Kate Wrath
Kate Wrath lives in the Southwestern US.  Much like other authors, she has both a [family] and a [pet]. [family] = three crazy-but-lovable, exceedingly adorable people with longer eyelashes and better sense of humor than Kate [pet] =lovable-but-crazy giant German Shepherd who seems to be able to read, but pretends not to understand when something is required of him

Kate is the author of two sci-fi /fantasy series.  THE E SERIES: E (Book #1), EVOLUTION (Book #2), EDEN (Book #3), ELEGY (Book #4), ENDGAME (Book#5), and JASON AND LILY. FAIRYTALE EVOLUTION: FLIPPED Fairytale (Book #1) The second book, The Dark Road, is currently being edited.

Kate believes in literature as an art form, world peace, and animal rights, but aspires to write total trash that is full of senseless violence, with characters who eat house pets.

About FLIPPED

The big city is no match for a blue-eyed farm girl with impressive Zung Pow skills and a flair for unconventional magic.  At least, that's what Honaia tells herself when she's unexpectedly assigned to a handsome city mage for apprenticeship. The problem is, she never really expected double agents to be involved.  Or dragons. Or crazy rips in the Space-Time continuum, for that matter. But when it comes down to it, none of those things expected her either.

FLIPPED is the first book in the FAIRYTALE EVOLUTION series.

Contains: Language, violence, faeries.

Excerpt

       Somewhere in the drunken ramblings of the night, Deez had promised to teach Honaia about guns.  So bright and early the next morning they headed to the shooting range.  The big troll actually seemed quite excited about the prospect.
       He gave her a basic rundown of gun safety, which pretty much amounted to don't aim it at him, then handed her the pistol.  They made their way into an enormous room full of mostly gnomes whose job it was to run about wildly and be shot at.  They paid gnomes more, Deez explained, because they were harder to hit.
       "What about faeries?" Honaia asked.  "Aren't they even better for the job?"
       "Faeries are too f'kin hard to hit," Deez explained.  "Most people would need a special weapon to do it.  Besides, faeries have too much dignity."
       "Don't you run out of gnomes?" Honaia asked as Deez shot the first one.  But the ammunition they were using didn't leave the gnomes unconscious for long, so they would spring back up and continue their running after a few seconds.
To her surprise, Honaia found that shooting gnomes was a great stress relief.  She quite enjoyed the little squeal they made when they went down.
       "Great, isn't it?" Deez agreed, chuckling, but after a few thousand rounds he thought it best to take the gun away from her.
       "I was just getting the hang of it," Honaia protested.
       "We'll come back later," he promised.
       On their way out they bumped into the woman with black hair.  Honaia managed to quickly squash the tinge of fear and the automatic desire to clobber her.  They had not crossed paths on this side of the portal.  Still, she bristled.
       A slow smile crawled across the woman's face, sultry and stunning, as she faced off with Deez.
       "Nexa," Deez said tightly, scowling down at her in a battle of wills over who would give way first.  "This is Honaia," he said in mock friendliness.  "Onus' new girl."
       The choice of words was not wasted on Honaia.  She flipped her hair and drew herself up to look as impressive as possible on short notice.


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