RoguesAngels: Friends to the End by Cherie Colyer

Monday, February 21, 2022

Friends to the End by Cherie Colyer

Please welcome Cherie Colyer author of Friends to the End

Cherie Colyer will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Friends to the End

by Cherie Colyer

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GENRE: Middle Grade Action Adventure

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INTERVIEW:

1. What or who inspired you to start writing? My husband and I’m so happy he did! We like to go on long walks, often at the arboretum. I would tell him ideas I had for stories, and he’d jump in and add his thoughts. Then one day (maybe to shut me up, but he insists this wasn’t it) he said, “Why don’t you write a book.” At first, I thought it was a crazy idea, but I really did love the idea of seeing where my characters would take me. So I did, and I loved creating my own world with its unique rules and characters. Sadly, I never did find a home for that book. Maybe one day!

2. What elements are necessary components for this genre? I believe that family and friendship are a must for middle-grade stories. Both are such a big part of a child’s life. Then for fantasy, it is important to set the rules of your world and stick to them. Readers will know if you don’t.

3. What expertise did you bring to your writing? I’m not sure if I should call this an expertise, but all things supernatural fascinate me. So when I have an idea for a book, I roll up my sleeve and start researching known myths and lore. Then I put my own spin on what I learn.

5. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans? My second middle-grade novel Atticus Everheart, Fifth Grade Tutor…and monster hunter? is in the works! My editor and I are diligently working on edits. I anticipate the book to release in the fall. Visit my website or signup for my newsletter (https://cheriecolyer.com/mailing-list/) for updates.

6. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why? Morgan. She’s intelligent, kind, spunky, and pretty brave, considering they’re hunting ghosts.

7. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing? I do! We’ve been together for years now, so we know each others’ writing styles, strengths, and weaknesses. What I love best about being in a critique group is receiving early feedback on my WIP. This helps me to know what’s working and what isn’t.

8. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step? This would be my husband. He really has encouraged me to keep writing. He saw how much I enjoyed it and how excited I was about finishing that first book. So we researched how to publish a book together. That was how I found the SCBWI (Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators) and my first critique group.

9. Do you outline your books or just start writing? I’ve done both, but the stories that were the easiest to write are the ones where I just started writing. Friends to the End falls in this category.

10. How do you maintain your creativity? Lots of coffee, chocolate, and yard work. I do some of my best plotting when I’m planting flowers or weeding (even though I hate weeding).

11. Are your plotting bunnies, angels or demons? A mix of angels and demons. J

12. Anything else you might want to add? Thank you so much for having me on your blog! It’s been a lot of fun!

BLURB:

Twelve-year-old Zach is convinced he'll never be happy without his best friend Jeremy by his side. But both of their lives changed with a bang five months ago, and as far as Zach's concerned, it's his fault Jeremy will never see his twelfth birthday.

When Zach moves with his family to a Chicago suburb, he quickly becomes friends with a group of thrill-seeking kids trying to find a disappearing haunted house. But Zach's not worried. He doesn't believe in ghosts, so he follows them into a wild, dangerous encounter that becomes a battle to decide what's real and what's not.

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EXCERPT:

My bewildered gaze slithered from Dom to Josh, finally coming to a stop on Morgan as I tried to decide if they were crazy.

“If the house is invisible, how do you expect to find it?” I asked.

Morgan sat on the stoop next to me. “It’s not always invisible. My brothers saw it once. They said it’s a big house with a long porch. It vanished before they could set foot on the first step, and I’m glad, too.”

“Why? What would have happened if they were on the steps?” I asked. Not because I believed an old ghost story had any truth to it, but I was curious to know what she’d say.

Morgan had to pick her jaw up from the walkway before she could answer, and when she did her voice came out in a high-pitched squeak. “If they had been on the porch or worse—” she swallowed loudly “—inside, they would have disappeared with it.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

C.L. Colyer found her love for writing in first grade when her class was sent to the library and asked to find a book for their first book report. While she doesn’t still have this book report, she’s very proud to say she got an A on it. Her favorite thing about the book was that it had no words. That’s right, not one! That gave her the freedom to interpret the pictures in any way she wanted and write her own story.

This sparked her love for writing essays. It wasn’t until she was an adult that she sat down and penned her first novel. This story has a special place in her heart because it’s the story that helped her discover her passion for writing. She has since written several books, many of which may never see the light of day, but all of which helped her learn to combine her passion for writing with her fascination with all things mythical. You’ll find examples of this in her novels.

She lives in Illinois with her family.

Keep in Touch:

Website: https://cheriecolyer.com/children/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cherie-Colyer-author-250631921629169

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CherieColyer

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cherie_colyer/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21748654.C_L_Colyer

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/C-L-Colyer/e/B09C6JPT3X/

Bookbub author page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cherie-colyer

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Cherie Colyer will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.