Author Saturday Spotlight: Charlie Cochet *Interview & Giveaway*

It's hard to read a Charlie Cochet book and not become an instant fan! Her unique creativity is captivating and I can easily say she is a one click buy for me. I was thrilled when she agreed to be my Spotlight author for this Saturday. We have a wonderful interview and of course an EPIC giveaway! Just you wait!

First I'd like to go over some of Charlie's books with all of you.

THIRDS
Three books have been written and published in this OUTSTANDING series. It won Best Shifter book/ Series for 2014 right here on my blog.

Action. Comedy. Romance. And that one weird guy. The THIRDS series centers around those connected to the THIRDS organization or through its agents. The original series mainly concentrates on Dex and Sloane’s relationship, but additional romances are introduced between other characters. Some of those pairings will get their own books within the original series while other will be part of the THIRDS universe. Although the timeline of events will continue chronologically throughout the series (including those books told through the point of view of different pairings) THIRDS universe books can be read as stand alone.

You can view all these books in the THIRDS series on Charlies website: Charlie Cochet-THIRDS

Book 4 Rise & Fall will be out February 2nd but is available for preorder NOW!

After an attack by the Coalition leaves THIRDS Team Leader Sloane Brodie critically injured, agent Dexter J. Daley swears to make Beck Hogan pay for what he’s done. But Dex’s plans for retribution are short-lived. With Ash still on leave with his own injuries, Sloane in the hospital, and Destructive Delta in the Coalition’s crosshairs, Lieutenant Sparks isn’t taking any chances. Dex’s team is pulled from the case, with the investigation handed to Team Leader Sebastian Hobbs. Dex refuses to stand by while another team goes after Hogan, and decides to put his old HPF detective skills to work to find Hogan before Theta Destructive, no matter the cost.

With a lengthy and painful recovery ahead of him, the last thing Sloane needs is his partner out scouring the city, especially when the lies—however well intentioned—begin to spiral out of control. Sloane is all too familiar with the desire to retaliate, but some things are more important, like the man who’s pledged to stand beside him. As Dex starts down a dark path, it’s up to Sloane to show him what’s at stake, and finally put a name to what’s in his heart.

The North Pole Series is another series that is spectacular. Yes, it's holiday but it all can truly be read any time of the year.

Follow the enchanting world that Charlie has created with these three books (More to come) Check them out here: Charlie Cochet/ North Pole Series

Charlie has something for everyone from shifter to historical. Check out this link and look at her full list of books you SHOULD own and read: Charlie's Books


INTERVIEW

 The North Pole City Tales Series is brilliant. I HAVE to know how that plot bunny hopped into your head. Can you tell us?

Thank you so much! In 2012 I decided to write my first M/M Romance holiday story and I went back and forth a bit on what genre I wanted it to be. Originally it was going to be a historical since it was what I was mainly writing at the time. As I was brainstorming and working it out, I was having some peppermint hot chocolate—one of my favorite holiday drinks—because it always made me feel warm and cozy. It was the holidays, so I was constantly surrounded by carols and seasonal music, Christmas movies on TV, decorations, and more.

I realized I wanted to write a story that made readers feel all warm and cozy like a cup of hot cocoa. Tim was the first character who popped into my head. This tiny elf with a big heart. I wanted to capture all the sights, sounds, and scents of Christmas. Make it a sweet story. The more I thought about Tim and the world he lived in, the more I drew on some of my favorite Christmas movies from my childhood filled with elves and reindeer, Santa and his sleigh. Tim lived at the North Pole, and he was a Christmas elf. I started building his world, a world filled with the magic of Christmas, but not the one from my childhood. I wanted to give everything a new twist, from Jack Frost—who in this world is the Prince of Frost and the Frost King’s son, to the Rein Dear—Mayor Kringle’s Christmas elf pilots. I’ve had such a great time with these stories.  

 How many more books do you plan for The North Pole City Tales Series and THIRDS?

For the North Pole City Tales series I hope to keep it going for a few more years. They’re only released every Christmas, so there’s room for more. I may run out of Rein Dears though. LOL. Of course the world is quite vast, so I doubt I’ll run out of characters.

With the THIRDS, right now there are 8 books in the main series planned, (5 which have already been written), and 3 side stories in the THIRDS world. As long as I’m having fun writing the series and readers are having fun reading it, who knows. It may not always be the original cast, but there’s no shortage of characters in the THIRDS world, and they’re all connected in some way, so there may be some guest appearances. 

 I said this in one of my reviews for book 2 of the THIRDS series but I will ask you. I can't help but see a parallel with the Therian Race with the LGBT Community, am I way off?

You’re not way off. The Therians in the THIRDS world represent every oppressed person throughout human history. They represent everyone and everything that is different that’s brought fear and prejudice to man. Human history is filled with dark, terrible oppression of people for their religion, skin color, gender, sexuality, and Therians are simply the next scary unknown. Humanity has a terrible habit of repeating the mistakes of the past or not learning from them. Therians were Humans, still are in many ways, yet they’re different, and we’ve all seen what ‘different’ brings about in society. Of course not everyone in the THIRDS world feels this way, which is why the world has the THIRDS—Therian Intelligence Recon defense Squadron—the first step in an attempt to unite Humans and Therians.  

 Dex has become one of my all-time favorite fictional characters. Does he mirror someone you know or would you say he's an amalgamation of a bunch of people and personalities you've encountered? 

Dex has been so much fun to write. In reality, Dex and I share a lot of the same quirks. We were both children of the 80s. We look fondly back on the movies and cartoons. We both love the music and have a similar sense of human. For his personality, I drew from myself. For his character, I drew on some of my favorite action heroes. One of Dex’s favorite heroes is John McClane from the Die Hard franchise, and I drew on that ‘every man’ type of hero.

Dex gets beat up (a few times in Hell & High Water), but he always gets up, usually with a one liner attached. That’s what I wanted for him as a character. This regular guy with a smart mouth who always gets up no matter how many times he’s knocked to the ground, and he’ll do so with his humor and personality intact.

 What does it entail to outline an entire series? All of yours are so detailed and my head turns into a ball of knotted yarn thinking about how one organizes that. Can you tell us roughly how you do it?

Lots and lots of notes, notebooks, folders, files, and spreadsheets. I’d love to say I started my THIRDS story bible before writing book one, but I didn’t. I was too busy writing, so everything is hashed out over several one subject spiral notebooks. I love those things, and buy them by the box-load. Each book in the series has its own notebook or two and I keep them all together so I can just refer back to them. I also have files with important info like a character cheat sheet with every character and their details from their age in book 1 to their eye color, hair color, markings, etc. I have a file with each book’s playlist.

I also use Evernote to store research like websites and maps. I use Skitch which takes screen shots of Google maps, and I store those street maps in Evernote after I add notes and arrows to them. I try to keep it all as organized as possible. Everything is jotted down because I’d never be able to remember all the small details, like the physical address where THIRDS HQ is located. I keep folders where I keep reference images for things like apartments and houses where the guys live, their equipment, and vehicles.

Do you have any authors, or anyone really, that you admire and have pushed you to become the amazing writer you are?

I have a lot of authors who I love and admire, too many to list. I’m lucky that I’ve had a good deal of support from my family on this crazy ride. It’s not been easy, and I still have a long way to go, but the folks in my life have done a lot to encourage me and help me along the way, so I’m very grateful, and it makes me push to succeed even more. 

 Can you tell us about your future projects?

Sure! I have quite a few releases I hope to get out this year. On Feb 2^nd is the release of Rise & Fall, the fourth THIRDS book. Sometime in April is the release of the second book in the Little Bite of Love series called Healing Hunter’s Heart (the first novella is a free read called An Intrepid Trip to Love).

Also for this year, I hope to release Against the Grain, the fifth book in the THIRDS series and Catch a Tiger by the Tail, the sixth book in the THIRDS series. I also hope to release the third book in the Auspicious Troubles of Love series with Bobby and Alexander called The Affectionate Inaccuracies of Bobby Haven, and for the holidays, Loving Blitzen, the fourth book in the North Pole City Tales series. So yes, quite a busy year planned.  I have another series for the future in the works which entails even more world building than the THIRDS so I’m looking forward to tackling that as well.

You went to GRL back in October. Can you tell us what your favorite memory of that trip was?

I had a fantastic time at GRL. So many fabulous moments. I did my first panel at GRL, first book signing. I think getting to chat with all the fantastic folks was my favorite part. I got to hang out with readers, fellow authors, reviewers, publishers, friends, and more. The whole experience was just amazing.

 If you could do anything else (Writing excluded) what would you spend your time doing?

Reading and design, which I do both of at the moment, though not as much as I’d like to. I tend to design most of my own graphics, and 90% of the graphics at THIRDSHQ.com I designed from scratch. The logos, the character art, and a few other bits and pieces. I have a background in media and design, so when I take little break in my writing, I scratch my Photoshop itch.

 The photo's I've seen of you always make me smile. You have a dazzling fashion sense. I immediately think, "Wow, she's a super fun person." Do you dress how you feel? 

Aw, thank you! I love all things retro and vintage. It’s my favorite style, so it crosses over into my everyday life, including my décor. I love fun, quirky clothes and accessories, and love putting outfits together. I have to coordinate everything from my shoes to my hair, and feel naked without my accessories. At GRL everyone recognizes the flowers I wear in my hair. LOL. I have them in all colors. For me, clothing is like a costume, and I love to dress up! It makes me feel good and definitely affects my mood, because it’s like an extension of me.

 
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You can follow Charlie and read up on all her books by clicking on this link : www.charliecochet.com/

Other ways to follow Charlie:
THIRDS HQ: http://www.thirdshq.com
Twitter: @CharlieCochet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/charliecochet
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/charliecochet/
tumblr:http://www.charliecochet.tumblr.com"

GIVEAWAY
 For one VERY lucky winner Charlie Cochet will give you Hell & High Water AND Blood & Thunder AUDIOBOOKS! Yes that's right you can enjoy book 1 and 2 of the THIRDS series from Audible!!! 

Contest will run until January 23rd! Winner will be emailed (Please check your spam). All Charlie will need is an email address so she can send you the download codes from Audible! Easy Peasy! 

Keep an eye out for ALL Charlie Cochet's books and PLEASE remember to review it's very important.
I want to thank Charlie for being my spotlight and for sharing her talent with all of us!

Enter Now!!!




 



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