Monday, May 21, 2012

Zombies by Inspirational Author Allie Pleiter


Welcome back, Allie! To talk about what every Love Inspired author is abuzz with right now . . . Zombies! (Really? Well, okay. Take it away, Allie!)

Zombies.

The Awesome Allie Pleiter,
Being Continually Awesome!
What’s the deal with every under-twenty male (and many over twenty, I might add) obsessing about zombies?  Are they the natural successor to vampire obsessions?  I shudder to think that vampires are the gateway drug to zombies.  Can cannibals (yes, I intended that alliteration) be far behind?

I don’t see an inspirational zombie romance in my professional future.  The folks at Love Inspired really would pitch fits if I pitched one, even as a joke (I considered it once...).  While zombies can somehow inhabit the world of Jane Austen, it seems my world isn’t ready for them.

With one exception.  I’ve decided I’ll write my son a zombie story for his 17th birthday next year.  Just to blow his teenage mind and to prove to myself that my muse really is a virtuoso beast.  It’ll be loads of fun, right?  Flesh-eating, brain munching zombies from the mind that brought you HOMEFRONT HERO?

Yeah, I didn’t think you’d go for it, either.  I’m harboring no delusions that this particular zombie tale will ever see publication.  I’ll never hand it over to my editor or agent unless its for laughs (or voluntary proofreading?).  This one’s just for an audience of one: my boy. 

These are the things we do as mothers.  We bend ourselves in ways that step into our children’s world.  We learn all the words to Raffi’s “Bananaphone,” or endure gangsta rap dreck coming out of our car stereo, or sit through the travesty that was the last Thomas the Tank Engine movie.  So, while I absolutely can’t see the humor in The Regular Show, I try to learn what he likes, how he sees the world, because I love him.

You’d think a woman who’s written a compelling novel about the Spanish Flu epidemic in WWI wouldn’t have to go so far to please a teenage boy.

You’d be wrong.

Allie Pleiter

Be sure to check out Allie's Latest Novel, Homefront Hero
Love Inspired Historical
May 2012
#978-0-373-82916-3

Back cover copy:
Dashing and valiantly wounded, Captain John Gallows could have stepped straight out of an army recruitment poster. Leanne Sample can't help being impressed—although the lovely Red Cross nurse tries to hide it. She knows better than to get attached to the daring captain who is only home to heal and help rally support for the war's final push. As soon as he's well enough, he'll rush back to Europe, back to war—and far away from South Carolina and Leanne. But when an epidemic strikes close to home, John comes to realize what it truly means to be a hero—Leanne's hero.




Author Bio:
An avid knitter, coffee junkie, and devoted chocoholic, Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction.  The enthusiastic but slightly untidy mother of two, Allie spends her days writing books, buying yarn, and finding new ways to avoid housework.  Allie hails from Connecticut, moved to the midwest to attend Northwestern University, and currently lives outside Chicago, Illinois.  The “dare from a friend” to begin writing has produced two parenting books, fourteen novels, and various national speaking engagements on faith, women’s issues, and writing.  Visit her website at www.alliepleiter.com or her knitting blog at www.DestiKNITions.blogspot.com



Monday, May 14, 2012

Special Guest Hanna Martine!



Authorial Mom Hanna Martine!
Authorial Mom: Welcome to the Authorial Moms blog! Tell us a little about yourself. How many kids do you have? How old are they?

Hanna Martine: I have one. She's four going on fourteen.


AM: What do you write? How many books have you written/published? How old are they?

HM: I write paranormal romance novels and erotic short stories. My first novel, LIQUID LIES, releases from Berkley Sensation on July 3, 2012. Its follow-up, A TASTE OF ICE, doesn't have a release date yet. A novella taking place in the same world will appear in the paranormal romance anthology tentatively titled UNBOUND, also coming from Berkley Sensation. I will have a short story titled "In the Dog House" in Cleis Press's upcoming erotic romance anthology, ONLY YOU.

AM: Wow, that’s a pretty full schedule! Tell me about a typical day. How do you write with kids around? Or do you have to ship them off to school or grandparents’ houses to get anything done?

HM: I cart El Kiddo off to some sort of preschool every day of the week. I write best during the day, especially first thing in the morning.

AM: Did you write before you had kids, or after? What changed with your writing when you had kids?

You should really buy this book.
HM: Yes, I wrote before kids. Even though I literally had all the time in the world, I wasn't very productive or focused. Once I was home with my baby and her schedule became fixed, instead of napping when she napped, I wrote. Those quick sprints of work really forced me to hunker down and focus. I didn't procrastinate or get sidetracked because I couldn't afford to. I credit my child with giving me a work ethic and drive and desire that I didn't own before she came along. She makes me want to succeed. She makes me want to be able to say to her: Look what you can do when you have a dream and do everything in your power to achieve it. No excuses. Go for it.

AM: How old will one or more of your children have to be before they’re allowed to read your books?

HM: Considering I used to sneak my mom's romances when I was in high school (maybe even earlier, I don't recall)? I'm not sure. It will depend on her maturity and where we are in our relationship. I think the romances/books published today are far more sensible and better focused on female empowerment than the ones I read. I'd like to think that I will raise a confident, educated young woman who can read my books with mature eyes.

AM: Becoming an author means having a public persona. How do you combine motherhood with the demands of a public life? Do you feature your kid, keep her shielded under pseudonyms, or leave her out of the equation entirely? Has she asserted her opinion on this matter?

HM: I intend to keep my public and private lives as separate as possible. I use a pseudonym and only call my child El Kiddo online. It's just what makes me more comfortable.

AM: Most Moms I know have a limited amount of free time. Give me a few reasons why they should dedicate some of that time to your characters. What’s in it for us?

HM: Hot, ex-military guy with shaved head and mysterious torso-covering tattoo has got it bad for smart, driven water-magic sorceress he's been hired to kidnap. Want me to go on?

AM: Oh, my…that does sound delicious! Let’s have a little fun with fill-in-the-blanks. “The floor of my kitchen is so ___ you can ___ it.”

HM: “The floor of my kitchen is so full of dog hair you can make another Bernese Mountain Dog with it.”

AM: In what way have you turned into your mother? How are you coping with it?

HM: My mom always had a book with her. Always. I like to tell the story about how she ripped off the cover to THE CIDER HOUSE RULES and used it to wrap around her romance novels. I think she read THE CIDER HOUSE RULES for three years straight. I'm always reading, but I will never cover up what's in my hand. My mom loved books in general, and I'm so proud that she passed that love on to me.

AM: I sort of love your mother right now. Okay, what’s up next for you?

HM: I'm currently working on a novella for Berkley Sensation.

AM: Where can we find you and your books online?

HM: My books are sold through all major retailers.

Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/HannaMartineBooks
Twitter: @Hanna_Martine
Or visit me at www.hannamartine.com

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Moms out there, Authorial and otherwise, who love their own kids, who love their friends' kids, who cuddle pets, whose mother is here today or has gone on before them,  I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Crushed.

Today, May 2nd, was the day I was supposed to go to a meet n' greet with Val Kilmer, who was going to be in nearby Hannibal for something Mark Twain-y. I had an outfit, an autographed copy of my book, and a camera. Just one photo, that's all I needed.

Alas. 'Twas not to be.

I came home from work to a series of messages from both the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and my Gram, aged 97, who volunteers at the Mark Twain Museum once a week.

Val Kilmer had to cancel. With no rescheduling.

Now, I'm crushed. CRUSHED. But this is for 'personal reasons,' which could mean any number of things, so we're not going to go all medieval on Val. Instead, I'm going to hope that everything's okay, have the scheduled dinner with my Gram, where she will fill any silent, self-pitying void with constant chatter that will distract me from missing my big, Val-based moment in the sun, and then come home and have copious amounts of sweet, consoling wine.

But there will be no photo, no autographed book, no Mad-Men-esque-sexy-mom dress. Just dinner with my Gram.

Crushed.