The Book of Phoenix Book Tour #AuthorInterview

I met Kristie a couple of years ago at Indie Book Fest in Orlando. Her table was next to ours and she was so incredibly nice!

I'm honored to have her today on Taking Time for Mommy and to be a part of her tour.

 Please welcome Kristie Cook!

Tell us about your latest book. The Space Within is the conclusion to The Book of Phoenix trilogy, which is about souls that have been split in half by a ruler of the Dark worlds, and the halves must find each other and reunite to protect all of Earth’s souls from the same Darkness. This book follows Leni, Brock, and Bex as they try to find their way back to Earth after being separated from the others, and also tells the story of how Brock and Asia met and reunited – and  what their backstory has to do with saving the Phoenix Guardians and all of Earth’s souls.

Where did the idea for the book come from? The story idea began from a dream my husband had. His dream was just a small part of what happens in The Space Between, Part One of the trilogy, but it led to all kinds of ideas for the whole trilogy…and then some.

Who and what inspire you to write? I can get inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. Something I see while traveling, an overheard conversation, someone walking down the street, music lyrics, a line or prop in a TV show or movie, etc. Anything might be something that the characters in my head latch onto, and then they start telling me their story.

Each author has his or her own inspiring journey. How did you begin writing? When I was 8, I transferred to a new school that happened to be one of the best in the country. I’d always been used to being at the top of my class in pretty much every subject, but at this school, I was at the bottom or middle of everything. We were assigned to write a short story, and I wrote about gnomes living in a cave that was opened to tourists. I was the only one to get an A in the class, which was a big deal to me after struggling to prove I wasn’t stupid compared to my classmates. I loved writing the story and based on my grade, I figured I was good at it. I decided then I wanted to be a writer. I wrote the beginnings of stories all the way through high school, but never finished one except for school. In college, I became “practical” and decided I didn’t have a novel in me, so I’d use my talent and passion for business writing. My career always included writing, but not until I was in my mid-thirties did I decide to try fiction again. I didn’t expect anything to come of it – it was something to do rather than be a couch potato and I hadn’t been able to find the story I really wanted to read. So I wrote it. And before I knew it, I had a beginning, a middle, and an end, plus the idea for a whole series. I’ve never looked back.

 What has been the most pleasant surprise about writing? How about an unexpected down side? The most pleasant surprise is that people actually want to read my stories! LOL When I first started writing fiction again, I never expected to make it my full-time career. It’s been an amazing journey, and I m so incredibly thankful to all of my readers. The unexpected down side is when my passion starts to feel like real work. Writing a novel is never easy, but I love it, challenges and all. But outside pressures can make it feel like work, like I’m sacrificing my life and my family to produce, produce, produce. The passion turns to dread, and I have to force very word out. I never thought I’d hate to write, but there are days that I do. That’s when I have to step back, regroup, and find my happy place where I love to write again.

 Do you have any writing rituals? I decide where I’m going to plant my butt, shut the door, turn on a box fan if I need white noise to drown out my surroundings, read what I wrote last time to get my head back in the story, and eat a piece of chocolate. That last one is crucial to coming up with my next words. 🙂 If I’m stuck, I’ll listen to music and play a mindless game like Minesweeper or Bejeweled, or sometimes take a walk, go for a swim, or take a shower.

Do you write your books in order? Yep. Although I do some plotting ahead of time, I also follow the story organically, making changes as the characters tell me their stories. So it’s pretty much, “this happened, and I did this, so then this other thing happened…” and so on. I’ll have scenes in mind, especially climax scenes, but I can’t really write them with the right details until I know for sure how the characters got there. So yeah, I write linearly.

What is on your writing playlist for this book? My computer crashed while writing and editing this book, and I lost my original playlist. There wasn’t much specific to this book, though. I didn’t really have time to listen and pick out songs while writing it.

Any favorite writing snacks? Chocolate. Maybe peanut butter. And chocolate.

What advice would you give writers who aspire to be published? Explore all of your options – there’s never been a better time to be a writer when it comes to all of the publishing choices. And don’t give up. Don’t let others bring you down. If this is truly your passion, stick with it.

 Are you working on anything new right now? Yes, I’m working on the last two books of the Soul Savers Series.

Who is your favorite character in your current book? In The Book of Phoenix trilogy, I have to say Bex and Jeric follows closely behind. But I also love Brock and Asia and their love story, as well as Leni and Jeric’s.

What is your favorite book of all time? Psh. Did you really expect me to answer that??? That’s like asking who’s my favorite kid.

Tell us in one sentence why we should read your book. Hot guys (several of them!), kickass heroines, and a plot unlike anything you’ve ever read, and even the most avid Soul Savers fans call it my best work.

Thank you Kristie for stopping by. 

Kristie Cook is a lifelong, award-winning writer in various genres, from marketing communications to fantasy fiction. She continues to write the Soul Savers Series, a New Adult paranormal romance /contemporary fantasy, with Promise, Purpose, Devotion, Power, and the latest release, Wrath, book five, available now. She’s also written a companion novella, Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella, which tells the compelling beginnings of her Soul Savers mythology. Over 300,000 Soul Savers books have been sold, with Promise peaking at #54 on the Amazon Top 100 Paid list and at #1 in the Amazon Fantasy category.

Kristie’s second series, The Book of Phoenix, is a completed New Adult paranormal trilogy including: The Space Between, The Space Beyond, and The Space Within. Besides writing, Kristie enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, and riding on the back of a motorcycle. She has lived in ten states, but currently calls Southwest Florida home with her husband, three sons, a beagle, and a puggle.

Email: kristie@kristiecook.com

Author's Website & Blog: http://www.KristieCook.com

UK Fan Site: http://www.kristiecookfansite.co.uk

Soul Saver Series Website: http://www.SoulSaversSeries.com

The Book of Phoenix Trilogy: http://www.TheBookofPhoenix.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorKristieCook

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AngdoraProductions

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kristiecookauth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/KristieCook

Instagram: http://instagram.com/kristiecookauth

Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/kristiecook

Google+: http://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristieCook

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kristiecook/

When Darkness threatens, what matters most lies in The Space Within 

Completing a mission that reunites Guardian Twin Flames turns devastating when the Book of Phoenix throws Leni and Brock into a Dark world, leaving Jeric and Asia behind. They count on their other halves to rescue them, but when that doesn’t happen, they must fight through the Darkness and find a Gate that will take them home. 
  
Except all of Earth’s Gates are sealed. 
  
Enyxa, ruler of Darkness, and her horde of Dark souls storm the Gates to push their way through to Earth. While Leni and Brock fight Enyxa on their side, Jeric and Asia must figure out how to save their Twin Flames without jeopardizing all of Earth’s souls. Through it all—and with a little help from Enyxa—Brock and Asia begin questioning their relationship and whether they’re truly meant to be together…or if they’re two Lost souls forced to become one. 
  
If the Broken dyads don’t find each other fast, they’ll be lost to the Dark forever. But to reunite means choosing themselves over all of Earth’s souls. Can Jeric make that decision? And will Brock and Asia find the love they both desperately crave? Or are they all doomed to perpetual Darkness? 
  
Discover how it all ends in The Space Within, the explosive conclusion to The Book of Phoenix trilogy.

The Space Within, the explosive conclusion of The Book of Phoenix series, is LIVE! Get yours at these ebook retailers: