"I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared to meet me is another matter."
-Winston Churchill

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Pandora's Box Book Blitz & Giveaway with Katie Salidas! Yay release day is finally here!


Welcome to the Kick-off of Pandora's Book Blitz. We are so happy to have Katie back with us and even more excited about her new release, Pandora's Box. Katie will be making an appearance at over 20 blogs today, with various giveaways along the way. You will have several chances to win an e-copy of Pandora's Box, and by leaving a comment at each blog for Katie, you will be entered into the Grand Prize Drawing for a Signed Print Copy of Pandora's Box. After you visit and comment at each stop, just drop me an email to bkwalkerbooks@comcast.net with "Pandora's Box Blitz" in the subject line, and let me know your username you used to comment with and that you commented at each pit stop. That's it and you're in! Remember, you only have today, July 12, to get your comments in to enter all giveaways, by tomorrow this blitz party will be over. You will find her schedule below with a link for each pit stop. Each blog will either have the schedule posted, or a link for you to come back here to move on to the next stop. I hope you enjoy your journey as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.


A special thank you to all of the hosts participating in this blitz, taking time to review, interview, and put together guest posts for our enjoyment. Let the party begin!



Let's meet Katie:




I am Super Mom!
  
Endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of mortal women,  I can get the munchkin off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons.  I can put hot food on the table for dinner while assisting with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, I still find time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). I can do all of this and still have time to write my novels.

Sorry… I can’t even write that with a straight face.

Lies all lies.

Here’s the reality. I’m a sleep-deprived, overworked, mom who just doesn’t know the meaning of the word balance. I try so hard to do it all, (be super mom, wife, & author) and at the end of the day I fall face forward into the couch.

Yes, you read that right, I tend to sleep on the couch. It’s a point of frustration for my hubby and a thing of comedy for my daughter. Imagine waking up to your little child yelling, “Mom slept on the couch again!!!”
Because being supermom (or trying to) means a lot of time devoted to family, writing is often done when said family is peacefully snoozing away. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen asleep with my laptop, on the couch. It just happens. Then, bright and early at 7am either my hubby (on his way to work) or my daughter (getting ready for school) wakes me up.

Writing is my passion. It’s a part of me. More than just a hobby, it’s a compulsion. I have to do it. If I don’t do at least one writing related thing each day I get cranky.

Hopefully, my passion can be your entertainment!

Over the last two years I have written and published (via my publishing company, Rising Sign Books):





BK: How does it feel to have published your 3rd book in the Immortalis Series?
KS: Thrilling. When I started writing this series, I did not expect it to keep going. But as I finished one book, another idea would pop into my head. Then another, and another. These characters have become so real to me. They have their own lives and telling their stories is so much fun.

BK: What is it like in a day of writing for Katie Salidas?
KS: Every day is different. And forget about scheduling anything. Anytime I try to plan something, it falls apart. LoL. For the most part my life is like my writing, I’m a pantser. I do everything by the seat of my pants. LoL. When my daughter is in school, I try to squeeze in any writing time that I can. When she is in bed, the same applies. But when she is home, or when my hubby is home, it’s all about the family. Needless to say, especially this summer, while they are both home, I have not gotten much writing work done. LoL.

BK: Do you have any quirks while you write? A song playlist or a must have?
KS: Not a specific playlist. I have a collection of songs that I know by heart. I can’t listen to new music when I write. It’s just too distracting. I’m a bit ADD and will try to learn the lyrics of any new song. Weird, I know. Anyway, for writing, I have to have older music. Songs I know and don’t have to pay such close attention to. That way I can “feel” the mood of the music and allow that to help me get into the writing mood. I hope that makes sense. Basically, I like hard rock for action scenes, and softer more melodic pieces for romantic scenes. As for general music taste… I’m very eclectic!

BK: Who would you say is your favorite character out of all 3 books published so far?
KS: I truly love the Nicholas character. He Is just so much fun to write because his is aggressive, argumentative, annoying, and often mean, but… he’s a good guy. He’s the guy you want on your side in a fight. Characters like that, the ones you love to hate, are my favorite!

BK: We often see movie stars in our minds as our characters develop. Who do you see playing your characters and why?
KS: Oh I’ve done this a few times and it is so much fun to play this game. The last time I played “the Hollywood game,” on facebook, with the fans, we came up with this list:

Marguerite Moreau - Alyssa
Alex O'Loughlin – Lysander
Eric Bana – Nicholas
Keira Knightley – Fallon
Vinnie Jones – Santino

BK: Out of all 3 books, which was your favorite to write and why?
KS: It’s so hard to pick a favorite. Seriously, it’s like choosing a favorite kid. The way I always say it is this, My favorite is always the one I am working on. So for now, book 4 is my favorite.

BK: How did this series come into play? What made you decide to make it a series at all?
KS: Really, the story decided it would be a series. I wrote the original, Immortalis thinking it would be a standalone book. But while writing it, I had ideas for Hunters and Prey. Then, as I wrote Hunters & Prey I had ideas for Pandora. It really made a series out of itself.

BK: Character development is often a major process for any writer. What is your process for developing your characters?
KS: I like to really make sure I know each characters history. Beyond just building a complete character with it, I love to weave that history into the story and make it a part of the plot. In Immortalis Carpe Noctem, you learn Lysander’s history, along with Alyssa’s. As the series progresses, more of the side characters histories come out. You see how everything comes together and how and why certain supernatural creatures are the way they are. Some of those history lessons you get are the clues to what comes next.

BK: What does the future hold for the Immortalis Series and for Katie Salidas?
KS: The sky is the limit. As long as Alyssa continues to stumble through immortality, I’ll keep writing her story. I would love it to have the longevity of other popular vampire series out there.

BK: Where can readers find out more about your work?
KS: If you want to check out my work, you can find me at


Becoming a vampire is easy. Living with the condition... that's the hard part.

Bleeding to death after brutal mugging, twenty-five year old Alyssa is rescued by the most unlikely hero: the handsome and aloof vampire, Lysander.

His gift of immortal blood initiates Alyssa into a frightening, eternally dark world filled with: bloodlust, religious fanaticism, and thousand-year old vendettas.

With Lysander as her guide, Alyssa will have to learn what it takes to survive in the immortal world. She'll have to find the strength to accept her new reality and carpe noctem; or give in, and submit to final death.

Hunters & Prey (Book 2)

Becoming a vampire saved Alyssa from death, but the price was high: the loss of everything and everyone attached to her mortal life. She’s still learning to cope when a surprise confrontation with Santino Vitale, the Acta Sanctorum’s most fearsome hunter, sends her fleeing back to the world she once knew, and Fallon, the friend she’s missed more than anything.

Alyssa breaks vampire law by revealing her new, true self to her old friend, a fact which causes strong division in the group that should support her most: her clan.


Pandora’s Box (Book 3)

After a few months as a vampire, Alyssa thought she’d learned all she needed to know about the supernatural world. But her confidence is shattered by the delivery of a mysterious package – a Pandora’s Box.

Seemingly innocuous, the box is in reality an ancient prison, generated by a magic more powerful than anyone in her clan has ever known. But what manner of evil could need such force to contain it?
When the box is opened, the sinister creature within is released, and only supernatural blood will satiate its thirst. The clan soon learns how it feels when the hunter becomes the hunted.

Powerless against the ancient evil, the clan flees Las Vegas for Boston, with only a slim hope for salvation. Could Lysander’s old journals hold the key? And what if they don’t?

And how welcome will they be in a city run by a whole different kind of supernatural being?
Werewolves…

To purchase the Immortalis books (In print and ebook):

Amazon USA

Amazon UK

Amazon DE (Germany)

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

Thank you so much Katie for taking time to chat with us today. I am so excited for the release of Pandora's Box! I wish you the best of luck in the future.

Thanks for having me here BK. It was a blast, as always! I just love visiting with you!!!


After a few months as a vampire, Alyssa thought she’d learned all she needed to know about the supernatural world. But her confidence is shattered by the delivery of a mysterious package – a Pandora’s Box.

Seemingly innocuous, the box is in reality an ancient prison, generated by a magic more powerful than anyone in her clan has ever known. But what manner of evil could need such force to contain it?
When the box is opened, the sinister creature within is released, and only supernatural blood will satiate its thirst. The clan soon learns how it feels when the hunter becomes the hunted.

Powerless against the ancient evil, the clan flees Las Vegas for Boston, with only a slim hope for salvation. Could Lysander’s old journals hold the key? And what if they don’t?

And how welcome will they be in a city run by a whole different kind of supernatural being?
Werewolves…



Learn about all of Katie's books HERE.

Schedule:

Meet & Greet at - www.vbtcafe.com
Guest Blogging at - http://.lahongrais.blogspot.com
Guest Blogging and Giveaway at - www.alanryker.com
Guest Blogging and Giveaway at - www.jc-martin.com/fighterwriter
Review and Giveaway at - http://giveawayblogdom.blogspot.com
Guest Blogging and Giveaway at - http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com
Guest Blogging and Giveaway at - http://speedyreader-allthingsbooks.blogspot.com
Guest Blogging and Giveaway at - http://bestbooks1.blogspot.com
Review and Giveaway at - http://norachipleybarteau.blogspot.com
Guest Blogging at - http://JETaylor75.blogspot.com
Guest Blogging and Giveaway at - http://hotgossiphotreviews.blogspot.com
Guest Blogging and Giveaway at - http://writingcrazyme.blogspot.com
Review, Guest Blogging and Giveaway at - www.lisasworldofbooks.com
Review and Giveaway at - http://authorsbyauthors.blogspot.com
Guest Blogging at - www.chaosandinsanity.com

6 comments:

Katie Salidas said...

Thanks for hosting me today BK. And I loved your questions, especially the Hollywood one!!!

Katie Salidas

donnas said...

Thanks for sharing! Cant wait to read it.

bacchus76 at myself dot com

tammy ramey said...

the book sounds wonderful and i can't wait to read it. congrats on the new release.

trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com

Denise Verrico said...

The best of luck to you today, Katie! You deserve every good thing.

Denise Z said...

What fun this blitz tour has been. I am finding all these new blogs to follow and reading wonderful posts about this lovely author and her books. Thank you for participating. I follow your site and look forward to reading more of what you have to share.

dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

Business Loans said...

Interesting post. I'll have to keep it in mind, because I'd love to run my own business soon. It'll obviously be challenging, so I can use all the financial help I can get..

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