Author Saturday Spotlight: Alexa Land~ Cover Reveal #Interview #Giveaway

It's that special time of week. Author Saturday Spotlight. I am thrilled to have Alexa Land as the spotlight author. She's written so many amazing stories. Feral, The Tinder Chronicles, and First & Forever Series. Her new First & Forever book, Coming Home is available now. This spotlight is quite special. On top of an awesome interview and giveaway Alexa land is doing a cover reveal for her upcoming First & Forever book, All I Believe. So we have a lot of fun ahead.

Let's take a look at her newest book Coming Home:

For twenty-six-year-old rent boy Chance Matthews, surviving day-to-day in San Francisco is difficult enough. Then an ill-fated road trip to Wyoming to search for his biological father throws his life into a tailspin. When a string of catastrophes leaves him stranded and desperate, help comes from the last person he’d expect. His knight in shining armor is everything he could want and then some, but Chance is sure a man like that would never want someone like him. That’s the stuff of fairy tales, and he stopped believing in those a long time ago.

Coming Home is the ninth book in Alexa Land’s best-selling Firsts and Forever series, but each book can stand alone, so jump in anywhere. This male-male contemporary love story includes graphic sex and explicit language and is intended for adults only. Approximately 103,000 words.

Buy Now on Amazon 


You can check out all of Alexa Land's books on her website here: Alexa's Website 

 

COVER REVEAL

ALL I BELIEVE

Book 10 in

First & Forever Series

INTERVIEW

Thank you so much, Alexa, for being here with us today.  I’m excited to have you here and I’d love to ask you a few questions. You know, get inside that talented brain of yours.

Thank you for interviewing me, Meredith! I’m happy to be here!

Let’s start with talking about GRL. You will be a Featured Author for this event. Is this a first time for you, and what can people expect from you while you’re there?

Oh, this is definitely a first! I’ve only attended one other conference, the much smaller Rainbow Con this past July. To me, GRL is all about meeting people who I’ve gotten to know online and making new friends. I’ll be doing a reading, participating in Dinner with an Author and a few other events, but really, I’m just there to hang out and talk to people!

You’ve written Paranormal and contemporary love stories. Is one harder than the other to write and what are the differences while writing them?

Fortunately, they both come easily. The great thing about paranormal is that you can let your imagination run wild, and that’s a lot of fun. I doubt I’ll write much more, though, because contemporary romance is where my passion lies. It’s all about the characters, their struggles and personal growth, and the relationships that develop along the way. My stories are as much about family and friendship as they are about the love story at the heart of each book. That’s what I want to focus on, rather than the paranormal elements.

How do you outline a series? What are key components to remember and have while organizing one?

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I don’t outline at all! I write strictly by the seat of my pants, and let the stories evolve organically. I begin a book with a few rough ideas, and always write chronologically, so one event leads to another. There’s so much joy in writing like this! Often, the characters go off in unexpected directions. That means I’m frequently as surprised as my readers by the twists and turns in a story, or Nana’s antics, or the decisions made by the characters. It makes writing a darn good time!

Have you ever thought about collaborating with another author, and if so who would you love to work with?

While there are many authors who I respect and admire, such as Kindle Alexander and Ann Lister, I can’t imagine collaborating with anyone. Basically, I think I’d be a total pain in the ass! I’m very spoiled right now as an independent author, because I can do whatever I want and I don’t answer to anyone. I even do my own editing and make my own covers. I like the fact that I never have to compromise, and the choices are all mine. I think if I tried to work with someone else, we’d end up butting heads because I get so emotionally invested in my characters!

They say once you’re a writer you read books differently. What is a pet peeve of yours while reading a book, as an author, that you always seem to notice?

Oh that is SO true! It’s very hard to lose myself in a story now. My biggest pet peeve is sloppy proofreading. Typos and grammatical errors will pull me out of a story faster than anything. Sure, a couple typos often manage to slip through despite everyone’s best efforts, and that’s not what I mean. It’s pretty obvious when an author skimps on proofreading. Even if we can’t afford to hire professionals, I believe we owe it to our readers to seek out proofreaders among our friends, or in the various reader groups on Facebook. Our readers spend their hard-earned money on our work, and they deserve the best product we can possibly give them, not books riddled with errors.

Do you have one place, one destination you’d love to go for research?

Part of All I Believe, the next book in the Firsts and Forever Series, takes place in Italy, and it would have been amazing to visit ahead of time and get inspired! Coincidentally, I’m actually taking my son to Italy next summer, but by then the book will have already been published. I guess I’ll be researching in hindsight and seeing what I got wrong! 

When you were just starting out as an author what was the toughest hurdle to get over, and what obstacles face you now as a more seasoned writer?

I’m not the most confident person in the world. I never have been. My biggest obstacle has always been believing in myself. I had to pretty much force myself to publish my first book, and I was shocked when it succeeded. In a way though, maybe this lack of confidence is a good thing. I never take anything for granted. Always feeling I have something to prove pushes me to make my books the best they can be.

What was your favorite childhood book growing up?

I had many, because as a kid, I was always reading. I particularly loved A Wrinkle in Time, and also went through a huge Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew phase. During summer vacations, my mother would take me to the library once a week, and she’d let me get five books at a time (she was worried we’d lose them around the house if we got more and would end up paying late fees). It was almost impossible to make those five books last a week!

In your opinion, what is one book you think every human being should read before they die?

Tough question! There are so many truly life-changing books out there, but I will go with The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon. He’s an incredibly gifted writer, and this was his first novel. He went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for another terrific novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and while all his books are brilliant, his very first is my favorite. His later works are grand, showy, and confident, and all well worth reading. But The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is quietly brilliant, and owns a piece of my heart.

Can you tell us about your future work and how your fans can follow you through social media, website to follow these happenings?

I’m currently writing All I Believe, the tenth book in my Firsts and Forever series, which will be out before the end of the year. My latest book, Coming Home, was released in July.

Coming Home can be found on Amazon:

Amazon

And on Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/561007

You can find me:

On facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008216261875

On twitter: @AlexaLandWrites

And on my blog: http://alexalandwrites.blogspot.com/ Blogger

Thank you so much, Alexa, for humoring me. I’m sure I speak for everyone else when I say we are excited for what’s in store.

Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me! <3 

 Giveaway

Alexa Land is giving one winner a chance to win a $20.00 Gift Card to Amazon AND an ebook copy of her new release Coming Home!!!

Simply fill out the rafflecopter below.  Contest will run until Friday, September 11th

Winner will be contacted via email so be sure to check your spam. 

I really want to thank Alexa for being here today, for her generosity, and for her talent!

Good luck to you all! 

 

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