Rogue's Angels Present: The Starlight Chronicles by Lisa Orchard

Please welcome Lisa Orchard author The Starlight Chronicles.

Lisa Orchard will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

The Starlight Chronicles

by Lisa Orchard

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GENRE: Young Adult Romance

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INTERVIEW:

1.    What or who inspired you to start writing?

I would have to say it was Laura Lee Hope, author of The Bobbsey Twins Series and Carolyn Keene, author of the Nancy Drew series. When I started reading these books, I knew I wanted to become a writer. I started writing my own mysteries back in fifth grade. I did some illustrations too, however, my writing skills are much stronger than my artistic ones!

2.    How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

The idea for this series started with my husband and I watching a documentary about one of our favorite bands, Rush. While watching this show, I was so impressed with the band, their musicianship, and the bass guitarist that I turned to my husband and said, “I want to be like Geddy Lee.”

This brought back that age old desire to be a rock star. Since I’m a little too old to be roaming down that road, I decided to write a series about it instead. That’s when “The Starlight Chronicles” was born and the first line in the first book is: “I want to be like Gideon Lee.”

3.    What expertise did you bring to your writing?

The expertise that I bring to my writing is my imagination. My teen years were some of my happiest years of my life so I have a deep well of ideas that I’m working with. I see improvement in my writing with each story and that’s such a great feeling. I hope they never stop coming.

4.    What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

Hmmm…this is a good one. I’d have to say the fact that I love to laugh. I enjoy a great practical joke and I love to pick on my hubby. He loves to pick on me too and it’s awesome when you’ve had a rotten day, and you come home and he’s able to make you see the funny side of things.

 5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

     I plan to keep writing until I run out of story ideas. I’m working on a couple of projects now that are going to be stand-alone novels. These stories are a couple of thrillers. The first one is titled “Missing Mia,” and I’m almost finished with the first draft. The second one I’ve sent in to a short story contest, but I absolutely love the characters so I’m going to expand that one into a novel as well.

 6. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?

     I would be Lark. I love strong female leads and Lark is definitely strong. I admire that and I always love a story where the protagonist fights adversity and wins. J

 7. Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?

      Sure! Here’s a short excerpt from “Gideon Lee.” (Book One)

Chapter One

         I want to be like Gideon Lee. My lips move as I read the title of my essay. They twitch as I stifle a snicker. Looking around the room, I make sure no one has seen my facial tick. My eyes light upon the Presidents’ pictures lined up on the wall. They face me, each with a unique expression, and I wonder what they were thinking while they posed. They are above the clock so my gaze naturally falls on it. It’s almost time for lunch.

 I settle back in my seat and my lips twitch again. A feeling of defiant exhilaration washes over me like a tidal wave. Montgomery’s going to freak when he reads this. Despite my best efforts, a giggle escapes and the boy in front of me turns around and gives me the evil eye. I return the glare. He is slumped over and sweat beads on his upper lip. I think this is odd, it’s rather chilly in the room, but dismiss it before I turn back to my essay. I bet old man Montgomery doesn’t even know who Gideon Lee is. This thought sends another giggle to the surface, but I quickly squash it by biting my lip.

         I picture him searching Gideon Lee’s name on the Internet. I see his expression changing from confusion to disgust. I imagine him taking off his black, thick-rimmed glasses and shaking his head. I hear him mutter, “Lark Singer, what are you doing?” He rubs his face. I can actually hear the rough sandpapery sound as his hand finds his day old stubble. He sighs and puts his glasses back on. “What am I going to do with you?”

         I remember when Mr. Montgomery first told us about the assignment. We were supposed to write an essay on someone we admire, someone who has contributed to society in some way. I know when he says this he wants us to write about an historical figure. After all this is history class, but I raised my hand anyway.

         “Lark,” he called out as he stood at his lectern.

         “Do they have to be dead?”

         He cocked his head as he studied me with his piercing blue eyes. Then he ran his hand over his military style crew cut and I watched as his salt and pepper hair flattened, then popped back into place as if each hair was standing at attention. I could tell he wasn’t sure where this was going. “Well…I guess not.” That’s when he froze, as if he realized he had just opened a door for me and he wasn’t going to like what was on the other side. He shifted his weight, and looked down at the floor before he backpedaled. “But they have to have made a positive contribution to society. It can’t be about a mobster or anything like that.” Pursing his lips, he stared at me, fiddling with those glasses. “This is one half of your semester grade, Lark. I wouldn’t pull any funny stuff.”

         “Oh, I won’t. Scout’s honor,” I answered sweetly, placing my hand over my heart and giving him the scout salute, while inside I planned my rebellion. I have him. I’m going to write about Gideon Lee and there’s nothing he can do about it. I sat back and tried to keep my face blank as thoughts churned through my mind so fast that I couldn’t keep up.

 8. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

       Yes, I do. They’ve been very helpful in pointing out my wordiness. J I’m a writer, I love words! What can I say? They’ve also encouraged me when I’ve gotten stuck. It was hard at first to share my writing. I don’t know about anyone else but when you expose yourself like that it can be hard to take criticism. I’m fortunate to belong to a group that offers constructive criticism in a very diplomatic way.

 9. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

        I just start writing. It’s funny how a simple statement or a past experience can      spark an idea for a story. Once I get the idea, I just take off and write furiously until I get the rough draft done. I love the second step, where I rewrite, tighten up the story, and make it stronger. 

 

10. How do you maintain your creativity?

       I hike through the woods a lot. When I get out into nature, it calms me and I’m able to think about my stories. I do this especially when I run into a roadblock. I just let my mind go and I’ve usually solved the problem by the time I get back.

BLURB:

Lark Singer’s relationship with her mother is prickly to say the least. As she enters a musical competition that could launch her career, Lark also searches for answers her mother would rather keep hidden. Throw into the mix the fact her best friend Bean has been acting strangely, and Lark finds herself launched into uncharted territory. Will her quest for answers sabotage her musical aspirations?

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EXCERPT:

Starlight

“AWESOME JAM session!” announces Bean as he twirls his sticks in the air.

“We are so ready!” I exclaim. The competition is just a week away, but I’ve never been so ready for anything in my life. We have the smoking hot tunes. Four of them, and they’re full of positive energy. And we have the smoking hot name. Starlight. I love the way it rolls off my tongue when I say it.

For a brief second, I think about who we’re up against for the competition and Duh-Wayne’s face floats into my consciousness. I shake my head to wash the image away. Nothing is going to ruin this chance for me, not even Duh-Wayne.

The competition. It’s my one chance to get out of this town, to have the musical career of my dreams. The winner gets a paid-in-full opportunity to audition for American Singer and the winner of that gets a recording contract. I can almost feel the contract in my hand.

Turning my attention back to the task at hand, I unplug my guitar. As I put my Gibson back into its case, Bean moves from his perch behind his drum set and squats next to me. “Hey, I’ve got to give Stevie a ride home, but after that would you like to go for a cruise?”

“Yeah.” I give him a smile. “I would.”

“Bean. Come on, I’ve got to get home,” Stevie says in a tone that’s not quite impatient.

I stand. “Just let me put this away,” I say, patting my guitar case. I hustle inside and run my guitar up to my room.

When I return to the garage, I hit the button and then sneak under the door as it makes its descent. Stevie’s standing just outside the passenger door, waiting for me to climb into the car next to Bean before he gets in. He’s thoughtful that way.

I climb in and give Bean a nudge and a grin. He grins back and his eyes have that special twinkle that’s just for me.

Stevie scrambles in and closes the door. “Let’s go.”

Bean backs out of the driveway and heads down the road. The Brown Turd rumbles and backfires as he steps on the gas. I’m surprised Mr. Szasbo hasn’t made an appearance, but then I remember his cat. Ever since I saved his kitten, I haven’t heard a complaint from him. Maybe he has warmed toward me.

It takes us fifteen minutes to reach Stevie’s house. A brick ranch with a long front porch and attached two-stall garage. The house doesn’t seem to match my friend. I expected him to live in some bungalow by the sea. Instead, he’s in small town suburbia and it dawns on me that I don’t even know what his parents do for a living.

“I’ll catch you guys tomorrow,” Stevie says with a wave, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yeah. Tomorrow,” I say with a quick smile. I can’t wait for him to leave so I can be alone with Bean.

“Later, Dude,” Bean yells before rolling up his window. I snuggle up to him as he steps on the gas and heads toward downtown. “So where do you want to go?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Let’s go someplace where we can talk.”

He winks at me and says, “I know just the place.”

“Where?”

“You’ll see.” He gives me a mischievous smile that sends my heart racing. I love it when he looks at me like that.

We make small talk while he drives to our destination. I’m shocked when we pull into a cemetery. “What are we doing here?”

“You said you wanted to go someplace to talk.” He snickers. “We definitely won’t get interrupted here.”

“No kidding,” I say as I stare out the window. The grave markers go by and I can’t help but think about the people lying beneath the ground. I wonder what kind of lives they had. As I think about these things, I realize there’s a lot of history in this cemetery.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Bean asks as he grabs my hand. The familiarity of the rough calluses on my skin warms my heart. He stops the car and turns the engine off.

“My mom admitted it.”

“Admitted what?” Bean shifts in his seat and slouches against the driver’s door.

I shift and turn toward him. Before I speak, I rub my fingers along the scar above my right eyebrow. It’s my bastard stamp. I got it the day Duh-Wayne called me a bastard and then laughed when I didn’t know what one was. As I recall the horrific fight we had, a shudder runs through me as I tell him. “She admitted that Jared Miller is my father.”

“What?” Bean sits up straight and bumps his head against the window. Rubbing it he says, “When did all this happen?”

“Last night.” I brush a curl away from my face.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Lisa Orchard grew up loving books. She was hooked on books by the fifth grade and even wrote a few of her own. She knew she wanted to be a writer even then. Her first published works are the “Super Spies Series.” These stories revolve around a group of friends who form their own detective squad and the cases they solve. “The Starlight Chronicles,” is the next series that Lisa created with musical misfit, Lark Singer as her main character.

  After graduating from Central Michigan University with a Marketing Degree, she spent many years in the insurance industry, pining to express her creative side. The decision to stay home with her children gave her the opportunity to follow her dream and become a writer. She resides in Michigan with her husband, Steve, and two wonderful boys. Currently, she’s working on the next book in the Starlight Chronicles Series along with a few new ideas that may turn into stand alone novels. When she’s not writing she enjoys spending time with her family, running, hiking, and reading.

http://www.lisaorchard.com/

https://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/

Twitter: @lisaorchard1

http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Orchard/e/B007KA8O3I

The books will be offered as a boxed set for $0.99 during the tour.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Lisa Orchard will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f1281