Book Lovin' Mamas: Blog Tour: "Coexist" by Julia Crane (Guest Post/Review/Giveaway)

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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Blog Tour: "Coexist" by Julia Crane (Guest Post/Review/Giveaway)

Welcome to our Blog Tour stop on "Coexist" by Julia Crane. Brought to you by Reading Addiction Book Tours. Here you can read a guest post from Julia Crane, the book's synopsis, my review on "Coexist", the author's bio, and a chance to win a copy of "Coexist".

Author Takeover (Julia Crane)

Character Development: Who ordered chicken nuggets?

I think character development is probably the hardest skill to learn. It’s not always easy to bring characters to life on the page or make them unique from each other. Conveying characters in a way that helps readers feel what they feel is challenging. Good character development stirs up emotions in readers; bad development leaves readers frustrated, because they can’t connect with the emotions or motivations of the people they’re reading about.

For writers, it’s imperative to sit down and think the characters through. There are many lists that you can find online that ask questions to help you dig deeper into the mind of your characters. These questions often include:

· What are their quirks?

· What drives them?

· What in their past made them the person they are today? Do they have regrets?

· What kind of clothes do they like to wear?

· How is their self esteem?

· What makes them angry/happy/sad?

Don’t be afraid to interrogate your characters! Basically, you want to get to know them as you would another person, so you can convey their personalities to your readers in such a way that readers relate to them.

For me, I would say consistency is the most challenging part of character development. It’s difficult to keep the characters personalities straight, especially when you have a lot of characters to track. It’s like going through the drive-thru at McDonald’s with a car full of kids. Who ordered a cheeseburger with ketchup and no pickles? Who ordered it WITH pickles and a milkshake? Who ordered the chicken nuggets?

It’s difficult to track all the details of each character, let alone make sure they act the way they are supposed to. Sometimes, when I reread a section I’ve written, I find myself thinking that Keegan [the main character in my Keegan’s Chronicles] would never say something that way! What was I thinking?

To help me stay more consistent, I find taking notes for each character helps a lot. My editor gave me the advice of writing a one line description of each character’s personality, and another sentence about the character’s goal. One of my writer friends also recommends writing a one liner about the character’s fatal flaw, the obstacle the character must overcome to grow in the book. These three sentences can help you stay focused on the character as she/he develops.

I keep these reminders by my computer, where I can always reference them. I ask myself a lot: does the dialogue/action taking place fit what I know about my character? If it does, great. If it doesn’t, I rework that section until it does.

Strong character development has the ability to pull in readers and make the story line flow better for you as the writer. The best advice I can give is to learn about your characters and routinely review what you’ve written for each one. With practice, you’ll find it easier to create unique, consistent characters.

Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Title: Coexist: Keegan's Chronicles

Author: Julia Crane

Date Published: June 2011

This is first in a series of 3. All of these books are out now!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Keegan is struggling to keep her huge secret from her friends—she's an elf, descended from a long line of elves that live in secrecy alongside humans.

In elfin society, mates are predetermined but not allowed to meet until they are eighteen. Against tradition, Keegan's brother Thaddeus told her Rourk's name because his visions warned him she'd need Rourk's protection, especially since Keegan will play a key role in the coming war between the dark and light elves.

Rourk finds himself drawn to Keegan's side every time she thinks his name. He wants to talk to her but remains in the shadows, silently guarding her every time she mentally beckons him. A twist of fate thrusts the two of them together when Rourk is forced to step up his protection and make his presence known.

An ancient prophecy deeply entwines Keegan's family and the future of their society. Somehow they must find a way to thwart fate and win the battle...without losing Keegan. With war brewing, and dark forces aligning, will Keegan and Rourk ever have the life together that they both desire?

My Review:
I've been meaning to read "Coexist" since I saw it a few months ago on another blogger's site. I wanted to give it a chance it sounded like a interesting YA read. I'm glad I got a chance to participate in Julia Crane's blog tour with Reading Addiction Book Tours.
Keegan is a elf who is keeping her secret from friends at school. In elven tradition, Keegan has a chosen and her brother tells her the name of her chosen, which is against elven tradition. Keegan doesn't know that her chosen has actually been spying on her to keep her safe as per Keegan's father who is in charge of the army of light elves.
Rourke is drawn to Keegan whenever she thinks about him. He finds her fascinating and he can't wait to be apart of her life.
Things are changing around them and their destiny comes together sooner than expected when Keegan comes close to a dark elf. Rourke must step it up to protect Keegan even further and Keegan's parents think it's okay for them to meet sooner.
A battle is brewing between the light elves and dark elves, and of course it happens on Keegan's birthday. Keegan's brother is a seer who sees the future and he's trying to change it because their family may deal with a serious lost in their family and he doesn't want that happening.
My thoughts on "Coexist" was it was a very interesting book and I definitely understand now why the book was called "Coexist". Julia Crane has a very interesting writing style and I love the story she created. I was glad to read about other creatures other than the elves too in "Coexist".
I really didn't connect with Keegan's character though, especially at the ending, it kind of made me mad on what happened to her. She also was kind of prissy when I was reading her character. She got everything she wanted.
Rourke was such a sweetie. I fell in love with him immediately. He is very protective of Keegan even before he actually meets her.
I also loved Keegan's Mom, Emerald who was one strong woman. She not only does her motherly duties, but can kick butt just like her husband. =)
Thaddeus...was a very interesting character too (who was Keegan's brother). He played a very major role in the story. I loved what he did to make the battle stop between the light and dark elves. Very clever of him!
I plan on reading the next book to see how what Julia does to Keegan next. I definitely wasn't expecting the ending to play out that way. It was a very short read. I would've finished the book in one day, but having college finals come out, it wasn't feasible. (don't professors know reading is more important) =)
I recommend this book to Young adult readers out there.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

Author Bio

Julia Crane is the author of the young adult paranormal fiction novels: Keegan's Chronicles, Mesmerized and Eternal Youth. Julia was greatly encouraged by her mother to read and use her imagination, and she’s believed in magical creatures since the day her grandmother first told her an Irish tale. Julia has traveled far and wide to all the places her grandmother told her about and more, gaining inspiration from her journeys to places like Nepal, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Italy, France and many more. And who knows? Maybe the magical creatures she writes about are people she met along the way.

Julia Crane has a bachelors degree in criminal justice. Although she's spent most of her life on the US east coast, she currently lives in Dubai with her husband and three children.

Contact her through: Website

Now here's your chance to win ebook copies of the Keegan's Chronicles Trilogy. Just fill out the Rafflecopter below. Good luck to everyone. =)

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