Sunday, April 30, 2017

Spotlight Sunday : Casey L. Bond



Spotlight Sunday:

Casey L. Bond




This week I would like to show off one of my favorite Paranormal/Horror/Romance authors, Casey L. Bond! She is so awesome. I actually got the chance to finally meet her after chatting with her for months, at the Authors in the Bluegrass signing! I was so excited and I thought I was going to be too nervous to really talk to her. You know how it is.. getting all tongue tied in front of amazing people. But she was so down to earth and easy going, it was hard NOT to talk to her forever.

She really knows how to take a story that's been written over and over again and make it fresh and new! And that takes a lot of thinking. So kudos for that, Casey. 

So after reading Casey's books and falling in love with them, then meeting Casey and falling in love with her...is that weird?... I decided she needed the spotlight. So here it is!




Q: What is your name?
            A: Bond. Casey Bond. *wink*

Q: What is the genre that you write?
            A: I write paranormal, fantasy and contemporary romance.

Q: Where do you live? (You don’t have to be specific)
            A: West Virginia

Q: Where do you get your ideas?
            A: Hmmmm. Everywhere. The news, dreams, music is a huge influence. Real life is great inspiration. Just when you think you’ve seen it all…..Nope.

Q: What is the first book that made you cry?
            A: November Blue by Amy Harmon

Q: What is your writing process like?
            A: I write fast and polish later in the re-writing process. If you don’t get your first draft finished, you’ll never end the book. J

Q: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
            A: Both, depending on the time. At the end of a book, when I click the publish button, I’m usually mentally tired. I’ll take a few days to do nothing but hang out with my kids. During the writing of the book, I’m pretty energetic. I get excited to finish a draft. And I always have ideas lingering for the next book (or five).

Q: What are common traps for aspiring writers?
            A: Worrying too much about the craft of writing. I’m not saying not to study it, read books on it, etc. But if you want to be a writer, you have to put your butt in a seat and write the book. If you lead with characters that you know inside and out, the readers won’t want to part with them.

Q: What advice do you have for writers?
            A: Not to get too hung up on what everyone else is doing. Everyone else is not you. You are unique. Your story is unique. Write with your heart and don’t worry about keeping up with other authors.

Q: Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
            A: I’m a real weirdo, so yes! LOL! I’m original, or I think I am. Some of my stories are VERY different and I love it. I don’t want to read the same story a dozen times (as a reader), nor do I want to write it a dozen times.

Q: How do you select the names of your characters?
            A: Ha! Sometimes my family or street team helps. Sometimes I use baby name websites like nameberry.com.

Q: What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
            A: On a great editor and cover artist. WORTH more than gold.

Q: What authors did you dislike at first but grew into?
            A: I don’t know that I’ve ever disliked an author. I wasn’t thrilled with a few book series, but have loved other books from the author. It just didn’t happen to be what I was looking for at the time. As a reader, I have book moods. Sometimes, I only want fantasy, sometimes only contemporary romance. And I hate reading in the genre I’m writing. I don’t know if I’m weird in that respect, but I don’t do it. LOL!

Q: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
            A: One that is half-finished. Five that are being plotted but not written.

Q: What does literary success look like to you?
            A: A writer who is happy with what he or she writes, can make enough to help support her family. Would I love to hit a bestseller list? Heck yes. Will it happen? Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m happy. I love what I do.

Q: What’s the best way to market your books?
            A: I wish I knew the answer to this question. I try to keep writing and to publish fairly quickly once the book is ready. That keeps fresh material in front of established fans. Bookbub has been my most successful marketing tool, but isn’t exactly a reliable one because you never know when or if your books will be selected for a deal with them. I find that going to author events and signings has helped me meet several readers in person. I love chatting about books.

Q: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
            A: I had no idea what I was doing at first but with the completion of the first, I knew I wanted to make a career out of writing. So, I focused on that goal, attended conferences about the business itself and the rest has come from trial and error.

Q: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
            A: Sometimes and I don’t mind bad reviews. Some authors freak out. They don’t make me feel warm and fuzzy, but the good bad reviews teach me something about my book that was lacking for someone. Maybe I can fix it in future works. I want to get better with each book I release. I can’t do that if I don’t take criticism well.

Q: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
            A: I sometimes will hide old book titles of mine in my new works. If you know my full catalog of books and are a fan, you’ll see them. J

Q: What was your hardest scene to write?
            A: Keeper of Crows’ final scene. It tore me to pieces.

Q: What is your favorite childhood book?
            A: I loved everything Dr. Seuss. I don’t think I can pick just one.


Now give me your links so we can get people to your book 
sites!!!
twitter: @authorcaseybond (also my handle on Instagram)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorcaseybond
Pinterest: CaseyB007 

Here is my latest release, Keeper of Crows:
AmazonUS: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XRFWGCQ
AmazonUK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XRFWGCQ
AmazonAU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XRFWGCQ
AmazonCA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XRFWGCQ

Add any other links or updates that you feel would be helpful in convincing readers that they absolutely must buy right this minute or they’ll die!!
Keeper will be on sale for $0.99 on May 5th ONLY. And only for one day. It’s part of a duology and the second and final book will release May 19th! So, if you haven’t read it, you may want to snag it while it’s on sale. I don’t put my books on sale that often. As an indie, they’re already cheaper at the regular full price of $2.99 than any traditionally published e-book that can be more than $9.99 (jaw drop).
If you’re into demons, angels, the paranormal or romance, this book might be for you! It’s for more mature audiences. J
Thank you for reading the interview! <3
Casey B


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I'm just going to throw out my favorite book by Casey.. I can't stop thinking about it and if you like horror and gore and vampires, I know you'll love this one too. 



It's the first of a series, so get ready for a bumpy ride!


Blurb:

After the world was ravaged by a viral apocalypse, Blackwater is one of the only colonies that remains. The survivors came together to create this safe haven. Nestled between a fierce river and a city’s flood wall, the well-being of its residents hangs on a long-established treaty with the night-walkers. Sounds simple enough, but lately, the people of Blackwater have been dying, and the humans believe the night-walkers are to blame. 

Porschia Grant starves for more than her parents’ affection. Forced to enter the rotation, she will be given extra food rations in exchange for becoming a vampire’s breakfast and dinner for a week. The rotation has an extra responsibility as well: leave the colony and enter the dangerous forest to hunt for food. A night-walker will protect the hunters from the infected that roam the woods. But with the treaty hanging in the balance and tension between the humans and vampires rising, anything could happen in the darkness.

What would you do if your only chance at survival might kill you?

Suggested reading order for The Frenzy Series: Frenzy, Frantic, Frequency, Friction and Fraud.










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