BLOGTOUR + GIVEAWAY: KALEIDOSCOPE

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Hello loves and welcome to our stop in the Kaleidoscope tour!

KALEIDOSCOPE (FAYLINN #1)BY 

MINDY HAYES

Published March 8th 2013

*eBook provided by the tour host and author in exchange of an honest review*

“Was I still a human? Gosh, I still wanted to be human. Even just to keep a sliver of whom I thought I was. But as I thought about being human, standing in the shade of the forest, I felt less human than ever. The trees fought for my allegiance."

It starts in her chest. The change Calliope doesn't see coming. It pulses like a second heartbeat, urging her to give in to the need to be in the depths of the forest. She's compelled to fight the pull, but the more she denies it the stronger it becomes until she finally surrenders and is pulled into a secret world of enchantment.

Kai and Declan need her to accept what she is, but with everything left unsaid, acceptance may be the least of their worries. Knowing their fate lies in her hands, they’ll stop at nothing to protect and prepare her for what lies ahead.

Will Calliope be able to accept what Kai and Declan reveal or will her desire to be normal keep her from acknowledging her true destiny?

Hello Mindy! Welcome To We All Make Mistakes In Books! I’m Cynthia and this is Diana and we’re very excited to have you with us today.

Want some cupcakes or cookies?

You had me at cupcakes. Preferably red velvet.

Well, you're in luck! That's my fav too and I happen to have some. Here you go!

First of all, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Well, I grew up in San Diego, California. I met my husband in college and he very easily convinced me to move to Charleston, South Carolina. I'm obsessed with frozen yogurt, Dr. Pepper and Seafood. I'm pretty sure they are the most important food groups. Oh, and I like books too, I guess ;)

What made you want to be a writer? Any book or author in particular that made you go “this is what I want to do!”?

Don't throw tomatoes at my cliché answer. It was Twilight that had me going, “I want to be a writer.” I'd never been a huge reader and Twilight opened up the world of books to me. I loved the feeling of falling into a completely different world and forgetting about whatever stresses in life we have.

It's okay haha Diana and I bonded on books over Twilight too! We were music friends before that

Readers want to know what is Kaleidoscope about?

Kaleidoscope is about Calliope. She knows something is different about her. She has a constant pull to the forest, but she fights it. And of course, she doesn't want to tell anyone about it. They will throw her into a psych ward. But one day it becomes too powerful to fight and once she gives in, there's no turning back.

Did you come up with the cover idea? We really like it, the font and colors are just perfect!

I did! One of my good friends is actually the cover model and another one of my good friends photographed it, so I got to have a lot of say. And thankfully, I have an AMAZING cover designer, Sarah from Okay Creations, who made it all come together.

Gotta love friends! Thank them for us for the awesome job ;)

Can you describe Calliope, Kai and Declan to us? *If you have pictures, please share them ;)* (blogger’s note: I really like the name Declan hehe he started with an advantage)

Calliope is pretty petite. I'd say she's around 5'5. She has long blonde curly hair and bright green eyes. I wouldn’t say she looks like Taylor Swift, but she’s definitely her hair twin! She’s a bit of a realist. She doesn’t take things at face value. She wants to discover things for herself.

Kai has olive skin. He's tall and lean and pretty much walks around without a shirt all the time. He has chocolate brown hair with indigo eyes that change between purple and blue depending upon the lighting. He’s definitely full of snark and comic relief. It’s hard to find anyone that really looks like Kai to me, but Raviv Ullman comes pretty close.

Declan is more of a hulk. He's tall and burly. He has dark brown hair with aqua eyes. It’s hard to try and find a picture of a man that not only reminds me of Declan, but also has aqua eyes, so you’ll have to use your imagination. He’s the strong and sweet type.

We’re big fans of music. If you had to choose one song to represent the book, which one would be? 

My Grandfather Said by The Ethnographers, hands down. I listened to this song on repeat while I wrote Kaleidoscope.

What was the hardest and easiest part of writing Kaleidoscope? Did you have to do a lot of mythology research?

I’d say the easiest part about writing Kaleidoscope was the chemistry between Calliope/Kai/Declan. Every scene where the three of them are together is the most fun to write.

The hardest parts were the action sequences. I feel most comfortable writing dialogue, description, chemistry, but I had to write and rewrite every fight or suspenseful scene. :/

I did a little bit of research, but I really just wanted to write faeries the way I imagine them. I didn’t want to add the “evil” aspect that so many fantasy’s focus on. I picture faeries as playful woodland creatures. They might be a little mischievous at times, but only the “bad guys” are the real evil ones.

Can you share something about what you are writing right now? Maybe a bit about the next book?

Well I’ve actually got two books. Ember(Faylinn #2) is out this week! So once you check out Kaleidoscope you’ll have to continue the journey with Calliope and company. If I say too much I’ll spoil Kaleidoscope. ;)

I’m also working on a NA contemporary romance called Me After You. It’s completely different from the Faylinn novels. Sawyer looses her husband and has no choice but to return to her hometown where painful memories dwell. It’s a story about love, loss and self-discovery.

And to go along with our blog theme, Can you tell us about a time you or your characters made a Mistake that taught you a life lesson?

Haha...Just one? Oh gosh. I make mistakes every day! Alright. Calliope has feelings for someone and keeps it inside. How often do we do that in life, right? So always take a chance on something you want in life or you’ll end up regretting it. Better to have regrets on something you did do, rather than something you didn’t.

Randomness

Day or night?

Night

Chocolate or Vanilla?

Vanilla

Coffee or Tea?

Neither. Dr. Pepper or water.

Favorite movie?

You’ve Got Mail

What are you reading right now or what was the last one?

I’m reading Just A Touch by Brittany Delys. She’s a new indie and I love it!

Kai or Declan?

Oh…haha…Team Switzerland because I’m not telling ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today Mindy! We hope to see you again soon ;)

GIVEAWAY

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About the Author

Mindy grew up in San Diego, California exploring her interest for singing and playing the piano. Mindy first discovered her passion for reading when she had to make her first flight alone to South Carolina to visit her, then, fiancé. Mindy's love for writing followed shortly after. She and her husband have now been married for five years and live in Summerville, South Carolina.

Kaleidoscope is her debut novel, its sequel, Ember, will be released in September 2013.

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