Guest Post with Author Louann Carroll

Today at Tink's Place, I have another special guest, author Louann Carroll.  She's recently published her novel, Gemini Rising, and when she's not on a dig, she's working on her next novel.

 

Louann Carroll is a Native Californian living in the Sierra Nevada foothills with her husband, Dennis. Mother to three children and grandmother to six, she is an avid rock, fossil, and gem hunter who enjoys sharing her finds with her grandchildren and friends. She is a student of alternative religion, archaeology, anthropology, and paleontology. She was five when she found her first set of fossilized shark teeth. Since then, she has added numerous finds to her on-going collection.

Louann has written numerous radio talk shows, articles on adoption, and is the author of Journeys, The Adventure of Leaf. She was the senior editor of American Carriage House Publishing and assisted in the writing, editing, and formatting of the award winning book, AdoptingOnline.com.

You can drop an email to Louann at carroll.Louann@yahoo.com or visit her on Face Book and become a friend! You can also visit Louann's website at: www.louanncarrollbooks.weebly.com

From the Cover:

Over 5,000 years ago, Sumerian cuneiform tablets warned future civilizations of the planet Nibiru. Every six thousand years the tenth planet crosses Earth's solar system spreading death and destruction. During its latest crossing Kate and Ryan Kelly learn to survive a post-apocalyptic Earth.

Sent to help sustain Earth, Noah, a member of the intergalactic counsel, joins with Kate, the chosen recorder of the end of days. One woman, and one offworlder collide with the ambiguous Light becoming humanities salvation. Out of tragedy is born a love that forever changes mankind.

Please welcome Ms. Louann Carroll to Tink's Place! Hi Louann!!

Hello Readers!

While on vacation a few weeks ago, a client of mine kept calling the house. How he got my home number is one story, the other is, he wanted to take me to lunch to tell me about the novel he’d decided I had to write.

Now this story, mind you, has been formulating in his mind for years, forty-five years to be exact. Finishing Gemini Rising, (which he loved) he decided that I was the one to write his book. While the concept was good, he, of course, wanted his name as the author, and he’d be glad to share royalties with me, on the order of 1 or 2%.

My client is a wonderful person with whom I have spent many entertaining hours. Consequently, I didn’t want to put him off, nor did I want to write his novel. I kindly suggested that he start putting words to paper and I’d be happy to help him edit as he went along.

I also included the following instructions to get him started:

1. Block off time each day to write. I know you’ve heard this before, but it’s true. You have to have discipline or you’ll never reach your goal. The choice is yours to make.

2. If you’re working on a book, write a chapter or two. If you’re journaling, journal until you feel you’ve written enough.

3. Do your best to limit distractions: Turn off your cell phone. Put the kids to bed.

4. Read, read, and read some more. Not just your genre, but others too.

5. If you encounter a block, write about whatever comes into your mind. If you’re blocking there’s usually a reason why. Write it out to get rid of it.

6. Let your mind drift, a stream of consciousness if you will. Relax your body, put fingers to keyboard, and write about whatever pops into your mind.

7. Keep an outline of what you’ve written.

There are plenty of people on the Internet that say you can write a novel in two weeks or a month or a year. You will have to find your own pace. When I write, I give my brain time to work through the problems that come with writing a book. My imagination, cooking away, comes up with alternative paths the story might take. Once done, I choose the best scenarios and off I go.

Writing is an addiction no question about it. Writers will share with you the anxiety, the creativity, and then the realization, of novel well done. Once you experience the tsunami of creative-being, you will have to learn to discipline yourself to not write. You will have to create time to be a wife, a mother, and a grandmother.

Writing is also terrific therapy. The person in control of the keyboard can use words as a refuge or to envision a landscape filled with passion, revenge, and eventually, harmony. You can create your own world, your own law of physics, (as long as it is consistent) and lastly, a place where your dreams come true.

The world is your oyster if you want it to be.

My genre is Paranormal Romance. Many years ago, I became captivated by archaeology and paleontology. I found a fossilized shark tooth when I was five. From that moment on, I collected every rock I could find.

I currently have in my collection:

1. Pigmy mammoth bone.

2. One fossilized dinosaur egg.

3. Fossilized wood.

4. A 2-pound artifact of 45 million year old brain coral.

5. Numerous rock samples and geodes.

If I’m not home, I’m out collecting. Just the other day I discovered a grinding stone in my son’s backyard. It has six holes and with a little digging, I found the pestle. Not too far away is the fire pit, filled with fossilized bone.

My love of science and archaeology is what pushed me into writing Paranormal Romance. Below is a snippet:


Gemini Rising, Book One, The Crossing, Available Now

Kate Kelly, wife of famous archaeologist Jason Kelly, follows her husband to Sedona, Arizona with her son Ryan to assist in the uncovering of an ancient Anasazi village. During her passage across the states a large comet appears, clouding the skies with red dust. Some say the comet is icy residue left over from the big bang. Others say it heralds the end of times.

Within days, nightmares begin, within weeks, the first sign of a coming maelstrom appear. A UFO appears overhead and Kate meets an ancient Anasazi woman named Woman Who Walks With Light.

Noah, an alien light being sent to assist Earth is drawn to Kate. What he also knows is that she is the chosen human to record the final collapse of Earth’s greatest civilization. Soon they become the conduit through which humanity is reborn and together they witness a new Earth coming to power in the galactic age.

Excerpt:

      “Kate,” he whispered. 
      “Oh, Noah.”
      “Do you know what we are doing?”
      She smiled. “I hope so.” She thought of Ryan. “What if…”
      “He will sleep for hours.” He nestled close to her on the bed, running his hands up and down her body. “Are you sure this is what you want?” His fingers did a dance across her clothed breasts, stopping at her nipples, and continuing downward.
      She drew him close, her body aglow. “I've never wanted anything more.” His need pressed against her suit. She hesitated, unsure of her reaction should he be built differently than Jason. Ready to embark upon an incredible adventure, she put her reservations aside.
      He stiffened, “I'm sorry,” he said, drawing away. “I sense your reluctance.”
      “It’s not you. It's me. I've never been with anyone except Jason.”
      He smiled and circled her breast with his finger. “So you think you'll disappoint me?”
      She shook her head. “No. I just…”
      He tickled her face, cupped her chin, and kissed her. Running a finger around her eyes, he brushed them across an eyebrow and down over one cheek. He paused for a moment, making small circles on her cheekbones before exploring her nose. He stopped when he came to her lips. There, he circled her mouth with his finger.
      She moaned. His touch inflamed her. Her nerves were on fire, rippling up and down her spine. Her lips, sensitized beyond bearing, searched his face. Her body, filled with longing, sought the rest of him. Winding her arms around his neck, she heard his soft groan.
      Head bending to meet hers, he kissed her. Shivers of delight spasmed within her as his touch exploded in her mind. A sudden drop in her solar plexus had her head spinning out of control. She couldn't think or move, and her body took on a will of its own. Her heart raced and her mind became a frenzy of lust and longing.
      He stroked her flesh with one hand while the other reached for the zipper of her jump suit. With infinite care, he opened her clothing and exposed her body. Trembling with desire, he touched her, then rose and removed his clothes.
      Curious, Kate studied him. Unclothed, his body was nearly human with one exception. He had no navel. Reaching for her hand, he swept it down and over his smooth stomach, as if asking her permission to continue. She felt firm muscles beneath pliant skin. There was no disgust. No question she wouldn't finish what she started. His muscles rippled as she passed her hand over him, searching for that spot, that place where all pleasure lay.
      He gasped at her touch, and pushed her away. “Wait. You don't know…”
      She gave in, no longer caring that Earth stood blanketed by gasses, or that the husband she once loved more than likely lay dead in the dust. She only wanted Noah and his touch. To have him draw away was inconceivable and she grasped him close, refusing to let go.
      He stroked her in places Jason had never explored. All thought slipped away at his caress. His long hard body moved against her bare skin. An ecstatic shock of pleasure jolted her, and she arched, willing him into her. He mounted her and she bucked, driving his movements into a frenzy of passion.
      A faint vibration began at her feet, rapidly encompassing her body. She thought she would faint from the pleasure. Her mind blanked. In the midst of an emotional hurricane, she spun through a tunnel before coming to rest in a field covered with wild flowers. The man, the alien, now Noah, stood before her, as a child then a boy. His life passed before her in an uninterrupted wave. Shocks of pleasure built, and she knew she had been with him not once, but many times, in as many places. Worlds contracted then expanded. Entire galaxies exploded then were cast away.
      How old was he?
      How old was she?
      The two of them were one and the same, one soul meeting another, blending completely. The act itself went unnoticed in a sea of ecstasy as a bright golden light surrounded them in an explosion of pure spiritual power.

___________________________________________________

I have to tell you, writing romance scenes are difficult for me. I am, by nature, a very private person. My editor at Crescent Moon Press pushed my envelope, yet conceded to me my need to express the romantic side of love in my own spiritual way.
In a Shadow of Time, due out in Spring 2011 through Crescent Moon Press, I get a little riskier. Who knows, maybe in time my shyness will slip entirely away!

Thank you for spending time with me. I hope you’ve enjoyed the blog. Questions and comments are always welcome at carroll.louann@yahoo.com. Please check out my website at www.louanncarrollbooks.weebly.com or my publisher for more paranormal books at www.crescentmoonpress.com.


Louann

Thanks Louann!  Please come back when your next book, Shadow of Time is released, it's been a pleasure having you!