INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Ethereal Fury
(Gemini Rising Book 1)
(Gemini Rising Book 1)
by Jessica O'Gorek
Ethereal Fury, the first book in the Gemini Rising series, is currently on tour with Bewitching Book Tours. The tour stops here today for my interview with the author and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Beware! The planet is wounded ... The Gemini are rising and our time on Earth is limited.
Angry at the human race and its methodical destruction of her resources, Mother Earth recruits souls who have just left their bodies to serve Her, and turns them against humanity. Gemini, a clan of paranormal beings, picked from these possessed humans, emerges. A powerful, rising force proceeds to carry out Mother Nature’s plan to systematically destroy towns, cities, states … and eventually, the world. Amidst the chaos, a forbidden relationship between a human girl, Violette, and Onyx, a lead Gemini, begins. They will both find themselves in the middle of a revolutionary war that will either save, or destroy our world.
Book Trailer
Excerpt
"Eleanor…" he whispered her name and she stopped. She turned towards the sound that she couldn’t locate.
"Over here." He guided her with his hand from behind the craggy trunk, allowing it to be just visible enough to make her curious as to who its owner might be. An adult might run, scream, or faint at the sight of a translucent hand gesturing mysteriously, but Eleanor was an insightful little girl and wanted to know more. The redhead on the seesaw looked dismayed and repeated her plea. This annoyed Onyx considerably; he was tempted to go shut her up, but her attention was now steady on the phantom arm that beckoned her. He controlled his visibility simply with his mind. If he thought it, it became a reality for him.
Eleanor's little blonde curls shook a little as she seemed to be attempting to clear her head. He could start to feel the gravitational pull from within her. It started to tug on his energy, almost gripping him and pulling him piece by piece, atom by atom, ever closer to her.
"Come a little closer, Sweetheart. How many fingers am I holding up?" If he distracted her with the game or a challenge, it would be that much easier. Anticipation started to build within him, like the sweet pressure of an inevitable release. Trance-like now, unable to resist the lure of his sugary voice, she walked right into his arm and it was over.
"Hey," he said. She jerked her head to the left and saw only his spiraling eyes. Before she could utter a scream he was in through her surprised mouth, busily working into her muscles, connecting with her spinal cord to coordinate her movements. Her sensory organs were pliable, and the tendrils that were extensions of his personality easily wrapped around every bone, every nerve ending. She was stunned into silence by the complete and sudden takeover. He felt strong and empowered. It had been weeks since he had felt a young, healthy host take him to dizzying heights of euphoria.
This was where Gemini were meant to be, where they felt most in control and in touch with their true ability. To connive and manipulate, ruin and plunder the society around them was only justice. They were so weak and puny, murderers and thieves, liars, and rapists. They all took what they wanted from each other, and the earth, then sucked any generosity right out of the atmosphere. He always thought he was helping them shorten the time frame of their journey. They would all eventually die anyway; he just hurried along the process. He felt the need to justify himself after entering someone. He knew there was some deep hidden morsel of doubt that what he was doing was right, that every human should be annihilated from existence. He would never divulge these doubts to himself or anyone else. It was a hidden monster within him and he would never lend it credit.
"Eleanor! Please come play!" He turned around in the direction of the voice. He needed to adjust his vision just a little and did so by fitting his hollow sockets a little more snugly around the orbs of her eyes. The optical nerve was delicate and it was sometimes tricky to get the sight perfect. He shook his head at the girl now and smiled. He was not ready to play right now.
It always took him a few minutes to get acclimated in a new body. Sometimes, he would look in the mirror and his first instinct was to ask. "Who are you?" He would become so wrapped up in his missions that he might forget who he was, sometimes even the name of the person he inhabited.
He rested against the craggy bark of the tree and observed his surroundings; three nuns and seventeen children. He had to formulate a plan for how he would take over the main influencers of the church. He would need to study the innards and plot this out, as he told Lilly he would. Nothing rash or stupid would be beneficial; only smooth, calculative moves would render success.
Praise for the Book
"Too often we find ourselves reading books we swore we've already read because people keep recycling plot ideas, character themes, and general settings. I'm glad to see this author decided to step out of that phase and write something so different and unique." ~ Amazon reviewer
"Jessica O' Gorek spins a thick web that captures readers and consumes them into the fantasy she creates in her new book Gemini Rising Ethereal Fury." ~ Stacie Theis
"Jessica is an accomplished writer, her character development, style and flow of the story she told is as good as any best-selling author. It was impeccable." ~ Julie Darley
"Whoa! I was so shocked by this book! Before reading it I knew that it wasn't going to be your typical paranormal book. But it was so different and I mean different in an awesome way. This book was unlike anything I've EVER read before!!!" ~ Sharon David
"To say that I enjoyed Gemini Rising would be an understatement. I found myself drawn into the tangled web of the story and held tight on the edge of my seat!" ~ Lee Ryder
Interview With the Author
Hi Jessica, thanks for joining me today to discuss your new book, Ethereal Fury (Gemini Rising Book I).
For what age group do you recommend your book?
12 plus.
What sparked the idea for this book?
I wanted to create a YA series that would go deeper than the typical love triangle and teenage angst themes, something that could actually encourage kids to recycle and care for the earth. If they can get so excited about vampires, werewolves and wizards then why not tie something more serious into their passion?
So, which comes first? The character's story or the idea for the novel?
This is a difficult one to answer! I had a baseline for the story before I had the characters but when they came to life they told the story.
What was the hardest part to write in this book?
It was very hard to portray Slate and Onyx sharing the same brain and body. I had to address them by name a lot and use a lot of italics so the reader didn’t get confused. Onyx possesses Slate and they converse inside Slate’s head but sometimes Violette is around too so Onyx is talking to two people but Violette doesn’t know that.
How do you hope this book affects its readers?
One of my reviewers said it best, "After reading this book and seeing how scary a mad Mother Earth is I am vowing to recycle!" So many of the readers can identify with why Mother Earth is so angry with us and they all understand the theme so well. They even agree that some of the unexplainable weather and climate change could be attributed to the planet fighting us back. So my goal is just to make people more aware of how we effect our environment. I also want them to fall in love and pick a team.
Fantastic. How long did it take you to write this book?
It took me six months to write the first book and a total of two years to get half way through book four.
What is your writing routine?
I have no routine. If I created a routine it would probably ruin my creative process. The only thing I need is my notebook and my pen. I could be at a blaring rock concert but once I get into that world I’m totally engrossed.
Lucky you! How did you get your book published?
I actually had a published author, Jack R. Hanny (Secrets of the Whitehouse Kitchen) take me under his wing. He met my husband buying a computer from him in Best Buy and my husband happened to brag about me and Jack took an interest. He hooked me up with the founder of Dutton Children’s books who has since retired and runs a small publishing business. I am so grateful I did not have to go through the painful process of manuscript submission and rejection.
What advice do you have for someone who would like to become a published writer?
Write and awesome query letter and DO NOT give up. Even if you get 200 rejections, if you believe in your product keep submitting!
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Run, lift weights, hike, play badminton and watch movies.
What does your family think of your writing?
My 14 year old daughter is my biggest and fan and supporter. She herself is writing many books and also wants to be a writer.
So does mine! Please tell us a bit about your childhood.
I was raised within the American Indian religion and was taught great respect for the earth and all its living beings. Powwows, sweat lodges, vision quests, you name it, I’ve done it. I was the weird kid who would confront kids on the playground in elementary school when they squished a bug. I would very sincerely tell them what they were doing was morally wrong and then I would pray for the bug to come back as a butterfly in its next life.
I grew up admiring my father, Barry Weinstock, as an author. He took me around the country to different places so he could research and write his Wilderness Survival books. One of his greatest works, The Path of Power, was written with a great medicine man, Sunbear. When I was twelve I started hand writing novels. My dad always encouraged me and would rave about my writing. He gave me the confidence I needed to keep writing and follow my dream.
Did you like reading when you were a child?
Amazingly, I did not like reading until I was 12!
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
When I was 12, I locked myself in my room for about 3 months and came out with a 2000 page hand written novel and those three months were the best months of my young life. That’s when it hit me.
Did your childhood experiences influence your writing?
Yes. I grew up listening to my dad clack away on the typewriter. I still remember playing with it as a kid.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
I hear from them often. They say I left them with a terrible cliffhanger and they are ravenous for Book II. They love Onyx and hate Onyx. They feel sorry for Slate. They all love the unique premise of the book and say that it’s something new for the YA genre that’s never been done before, "A refreshing change from the vamps, wolves, angels, demons and wizards."
What can we look forward to from you in the future?
Book II of the Gemini Rising series will be released in the late summer-early fall of this year. I am currently half way through book 4 in the series and plan to release one a year, or more if the series gains some momentum.
Thank you for taking the time to stop by today, Jessica. Best of luck with the rest of the series.
From the Author
I grew up admiring my father, Barry Weinstock, as an author. He took me around the country to different places so he could research and write his Wilderness Survival books. One of his greatest works, The Path of Power, was written with a great medicine man, Sunbear.
When I was twelve I started hand writing novels. My first one was two thousand pages. My dad always encouraged me and would rave about my writing. He gave me the confidence I needed to keep writing and follow my dream. My daughter, who is fourteen, is currently working on her first novel. I hope to continue the legacy.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card (open internationally) or one of five signed print copies with a book mark, post card and signed art graphic (US only).
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