Vallar Winners!

The winners of five free e-copies of Cindy Borgne's sci fi novel Vallar are...

1. Hema Penmetsa
2. Lydia Kang
3. Robyn Campbell
4. Anita Miller
5. Medeia Sharif

Thanks for entering everyone! Winners, watch your email - your coupon codes for your free copies will be arriving soon! And thanks to everyone who entered!

I hope all you all had a wonderful Mother's Day! I spent mine playing board games with my mom. We're both board game fanatics, but no one else in the family shares our addiction - they can't stop us on Mother's Day, though! My younger daughter made pancakes for breakfast and my older daughter made tacos for dinner. Whether you're a mother or not, did you do anything special for Mother's Day?

Shopping Spree!

Woo hoo! Look at all those beautiful books! I took my eleven-year-old daughter on a shopping spree to Barnes & Noble yesterday, and we both came away with full shopping bags. Some of these were suggestions you guys gave me a few posts ago, so thanks again for the wonderful recommendations! I'm excited to get started, but right now I'm beta reading a fantastic MG novel written by one of my uber awesome critique partners, so these beauties will have to wait a little while longer. :)

If you missed my interview with author Cindy Borgne, click here for your chance to win a copy of her sci fi novel, Vallar.

And click here to read Carolina Valdez Miller's review of Possession by Elana Johnson and enter her giveaway for a signed ARC.

So, have you taken any shopping sprees lately? What did you buy?

Meet Cindy Borgne, Author of Vallar, and a Giveaway!

Today I'd like to welcome Cindy Borgne to my blog. Cindy's currently conducting a blog tour, so I invited her to stop in and chat today. Here's some information on Cindy's new book, Vallar:

Sixteen-year-old Ian Connors works for Marscorp, using his psychic ability to give the organization an advantage over other groups angling for control of the embattled planet. The people of Earth have abandoned the colonies of Mars due to a dwindling of their own resources. The leaders of Marscorp believe that by pooling the planets assets, they will be able to gain enough power to force their way back to Earth.

Ian's job is to use his visions to locate smaller organizations in order to plunder their valuables and incorporate their masses. But a disturbing vision and a horrible loss cause Ian to doubt his loyalties to a corrupt, dictatorial admiral.

Unwilling to be a pawn in the Admiral's dangerous game, Ian must find a way to escape and protect a girl he sees himself with in the future. His only hope may lie with a new organization known as Vallar - an alliance of rebel organizations willing to fight for their survival. (380 Pages)


So, Cindy, tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m from Macomb, Michigan. I’ve been writing since I’ve been about fourteen. Then on and off for many years in between raising two children. It’s been within the last seven years that I’ve become determined to stick with it. I write mostly science fiction and fantasy. I’ve been a stay at home mom for several years, but I’ve had a few day jobs such as web-designer, freelance editor, computer instructor, and I was once a payroll clerk for a school district.


What inspired you to write Vallar?

It was a combination of two things. In the story, the main character Ian, has the ability to foresee the future. So I put him in him a situation where he uses his ability for the wrong reasons, but he doesn’t realize it at first because he’s being manipulated. When he doesn’t realize it, he has to get away from the people using him for their own greed. The second reason is in the beginning of the story Ian sees himself with a girl he’s never met. I enjoyed experimenting with his desire to be with her based on a vision. It’s also is a forbidden type of love, and I had fun writing it.


Can you tell us about your writing process?

I always flesh out the plot and characterization first, so my first drafts are light on description. Once I know the plot is solid, I go back in and add all the details. Then I edit it several times. I put it up for critique, and I continue to edit it. I even listen to it on my Kindle to catch errors. I pretty much pound the thing before I publish it.


Do you have any interesting writing methods or quirks?

I always start out with an outline because they help get me going, but I never have been able to stick to them. Some things on my outlines work, but other things don't or I come up with better ideas.


Are you working on any new projects?

I want to finish a sequel to Vallar. Plus I would like to write a fantasy/historical novel set in the mid 1700’s.


And where can we find Vallar?

It's at Amazon, Nook and Smashwords. It's easiest to go to my website to find all the links: http://www.cindyborgne.com/ (click here).



And it gets even better - Cindy's giving away five free e-copies of Vallar! Just leave a comment on this post by Sunday, May 8 to be entered in the drawing (please include your email address). Five lucky winners will receive a coupon for a free download of Vallar from Smashwords. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 9.

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting today, Cindy! And you can visit Cindy's blog by clicking here.