Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Release celebration and author interview with Vicki Leigh #ya #paranormal #romance


I've been following Vicki and Catch Me When I Fall since I got the opportunity to host her cover reveal and read the ARC - review here. I was thrilled with the chance to interview her for her launch party. It's a great book and she's a super awesome, sweet person. You'll enjoy her in-depth answers. And go buy the book - you'll enjoy it. Links and author contact info below the interview.



      1.Where/how did you come up with the idea for your story? Did it suddenly pop into your head or were you brainstorming?

It suddenly popped into my head. One night, I looked up at my ceiling and saw what resembled the shadow of an angel, as if it were protecting me from the nightmares that kept me awake most nights. I’d thought, “Hey, that’s a good idea for a book—guardian angels!” But there were already so many great books about angels on the shelves. So, instead, I’d twisted it and asked myself: “What if the creatures who guarded us at night weren’t guardian angels but former humans who died sacrificial deaths? And what if nightmares weren’t just in our heads but actual creatures that feed off our fears?” And from those two questions, Catch Me When I Fall was born!

2.       Did you start with the main character, the world or the overarching concept?
The concept. I’m a plot-driven writer, so it’s ideas that come to me, rather than characters or worlds. After figuring out where my story was going to go, I then thought about POV and characters and decided to tell it through Daniel’s eyes and built the rest of the world around him.

3.       Panster or Plotter? Or in between?
I’m in between. Because I’m a plot-driven writer, I have to have some sort of idea where my story’s going. So, I use basic outliners, like the 7 Point Plot or Save the Cat, just to give me a backbone. Then I pants my way through each plot point. My books never end up the way I thought they would, but that’s the fun of it!

4.       Are you a fan of writing contests?
I am! I think it gives aspiring authors an achievement to work for, and it really helps you take your writing from being just a hobby to something a bit deeper, more professional. I actually placed 56th in the 80th Annual Writer’s Digest Competition, and that was sort of when I realized that writing was what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life. It became that push I needed to continue striving to write better so that I could see my dreams come true.

5.       How did you find your agent? How many query letters did you send?
I think I queried maybe 20 agents total, but I actually had my publishing contract in hand when I contacted the majority of them. I’d participated in last summer’s #PitchMAS and done really well. Alison Heller, an acquisitions editor for my publishing house, had requested my full manuscript during that contest, and after an R&R, she offered me a contract! So, though I technically acquired my agent via the slush pile, my story is a bit different. Already having the publishing contract forced a few of them to look at my submission a bit quicker, but I still had to send fulls and wait to hear back. It was nerve-wrecking and kind of a whirlwind experience with how fast everything happened. But the moment I spoke to Sarah (my agent) on the phone, I knew I wanted to sign with her, and a week later, I was on Team Negovetich!

6.       What's the best marketing tool you've found so far?
Form a street team! A street team is a group of readers and writers who support you and your books, doing everything from hanging up flyers in their hometowns to helping out with cover reveals to simply sharing your news via their social media outlets. But I have such an awesome team of people around me; I love having friends to share in the excitement with. And it’s really helped me reach a wider network of people. When it comes to social medias, though, Twitter’s where it’s at!


7.       What do you like best about your mc?
He’s a fierce friend who would do anything to protect the people he cares about most. And he has a cool accent. J

8.       What do you like best about your main antagonist?
He’s one of those wickedly evil people who, I admit, doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. But he carries himself with an air of arrogance, so his dialogue was super fun to write.

9. Anything else you’d like to share about your journey or your upcoming launch, including links to giveaways or ways people can help spread the word?

Sure! I actually wrote a post at The Writer Diaries that shares a few things I learned this past year. And then I plan to do a few big giveaways over the next couple months, so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook so you don’t miss out! J

Catch Me When I Fall, by Vicki Leigh
Genre: young-adult, urban-fantasy, paranormal-romance
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Date of Release­­: October 23, 2014

About Catch Me When I Fall:
Recruited at his death to be a Protector of the Night, seventeen-year-old Daniel Graham has spent two-hundred years fighting Nightmares and guarding humans from the clawed, red-eyed creatures that feed off people’s fears. Each night, he risks his eternal life, having given up his chance at an afterlife when he chose to become a Protector. That doesn’t stop a burnt-out Daniel from risking daring maneuvers during each battle. He’s become one of the best, but he wants nothing more than to stop.

Then he’s given an assignment to watch over sixteen-year-old Kayla Bartlett, a clinically depressed patient in a psychiatric ward. Nightmares love a human with a tortured past. Yet, when they take a deep interest in her, appearing in unprecedented numbers, the job becomes more dangerous than any Daniel’s ever experienced. He fights ruthlessly to keep the Nightmares from overwhelming his team and Kayla. Soon, Daniel finds himself watching over Kayla during the day, drawn to why she’s different, and what it is about her that attracts the Nightmares. And him.

A vicious attack on Kayla forces Daniel to break the first Law and reveal his identity. Driven by his growing feelings for her, he whisks her away to Rome where others like him can keep her safe. Under their roof, the Protectors discover what Kayla is and why someone who can manipulate Nightmares has her in his sights. But before they can make a move, the Protectors are betrayed and Kayla is kidnapped. Daniel will stop at nothing to save her. Even if it means giving up his immortality.

Find Catch Me When I Fall Online:

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About The Author:

Adopted at three-days-old by a construction worker and a stay-at-home mom, Vicki Leigh grew up in a small suburb of Akron, Ohio where she learned to read by the age of four and considered being sent to her room for punishment as an opportunity to dive into another book. By the sixth grade, Vicki penned her first, full-length screenplay. If she couldn’t be a writer, Vicki would be a Hunter (think Dean and Sam Winchester) or a Jedi. Her favorite place on earth is Hogwarts (she refuses to believe it doesn’t exist), and her favorite dreams include solving cases alongside Sherlock Holmes.

Vicki is an editor for Curiosity Quills Press and is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

Find Vicki Leigh Online:


Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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