Precy Larkins--YA Author: TS Welti

Showing posts with label TS Welti. Show all posts

G is for Giveaway!

Since Ms. Welti, author of The Founders' Code was kind enough to send me a signed copy of her book, I'm giving away my copy (the one I purchased from Amazon) to one lucky winner. Sorry it's not signed, but you can't have my signed copy, which is addressed to my daughter, by the way. She's turning into a voracious reader, and one day hopes to be an author/illustrator herself. Yeah, it's in the genes, man! You can imagine her shock and surprise when she got the signed copy of Ms. Welti's book in the mail--with her name on it! Thanks, T.S.! You have no idea how happy you made her. ;)

This is the copy I'm giving away.
Please ignore my alien-looking-sausage-thumb. Pregnancy swelling, ya know.

So! What to do, what to do... (rubs hands together)

I usually hate having to go through hoops and loops for book giveaways. Books are meant to be shared and read. I don't want to have to eat fire, or make you guys eat fire, just to enjoy a book. Which means, the rules are easy:

Leave a comment.
U.S. and Canada only.
Feel free to spread the word, but it's not a requirement. (My twitter handle is @writercherie, just in case you decide to tweet this.)
That's it.
Contest ends one week from now (that'll be on April 14th, Saturday)
Goodluck!

F is for the Founders' Code by T.S. Welti

The Founders' Code by T.S. Welti is the second book in her Parker Chance series. Ms. Welti's debut, The Fifth Specter: Book 1 of the Parker Chance Series was a fun, engaging read, and you can find my review here.

Book Blurb: (Image and blurb from Goodreads)

After a year of dodging possessed superhumans, being cooped up in the dorms 24 hours a day feels like pure torture to Parker… until the truth about the people closest to him changes everything.

In this second installment of the Parker Chance Series, Parker finds himself rescued from a monotonous summer on campus when he's whisked away to New York to visit his only family member. His time in New York proves even more boring until he allows his curiosity to get the better of him and he discovers a secret that will fester in his mind all year long. Parker's sophomore adventures at Knobhouse Academy are teeming with encoded rings, encounters with the Infallible Five, water monsters, and frustrating prejudice. The Founders' Code, the action-packed follow-up to The Fifth Specter, is rich in both mystery and heart.

About the Author:

T.S. Welti is a single mother living in Southern California. She writes books for kids and teens and bakes in her spare time. In 2005, she began writing the Parker Chance series while sitting in the shade of a weeping willow on a sweltering summer day. Five years later, she lost her job and book one was still not finished. After many sleepless nights spent slaving away at her keyboard, she was finally able to finish The Fifth Specter and has never looked back. You can find out more about T.S. Welti and the Parker Chance Series on her website at http://tswelti.com.

Stay tuned tomorrow for something special... :)

And The Winner Is...

I'm so glad to be home again. Vacations are fun, but there is no place like home (right, Dorothy of Kansas?) There's a lot of catching up to do and I'm sorry I haven't been able to read blogs. I'm excited to visit you guys and see what you've all been up to.

BUT before I wander around the blogosphere, the winner of the BOOK GIVEAWAY and soon-to-be proud owner of an autographed copy of THE FIFTH SPECTER by T.S. Welti is... (drumroll, please)

JEMI FRASER

Congrats, Jemi! Please email Ms. Welti so she'd know where to send you your prize at:

tswelti dot writer at gmail dot com. Thanks to all who participated and showed support to our lovely friend and writer, T.S.

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If you've been following the Skeleton Key blogvel (blog novel) my writer friends are doing, Chapter 11 is up at Ms. Cate Woods' blog Words from the Woods. To find the other chapters, see the Table of Contents for the list of chapter links.

And last but not the least... head over to A Still and Quiet Madness to read Anita Howard's EXCITING NEWS! I love this lady and I'm so happy for her. <3

See ya soon!

Author Spotlight: T.S. Welti (On "The Fifth Specter", Going the Indie Pub Way, and Cookies!)

Book Giveaway: The Fifth Specter! Contest details here.

As promised, I'm very excited to present you to the amazing and talented T.S. Welti who has graciously accepted my request to poke around her brain (non-invasive, I promise) and tell us more about herself and her journey alongside Parker Chance, her protagonist for The Fifth Specter.

Barbara Walters? Um, no. More
like Rita Skeeter. ;)

Time to don the specs, adjust the suit (with the shoulder pads), and test the microphone.

Testing, 1,2,3.

Ahem. Here we go, Barbara Walters-style (in purple, 'cause I lurves purple).

How did you come up with the concept for The Fifth Specter? What was your inspiration and was there a specific one in mind?

The idea for The Fifth Specter came to me gradually. Parker's story and that of his parents came to me on August, 2, 2005. (Yes, I'm a nerd. I remember the exact date.) Within two weeks of the initial idea, I had already decided this would be a five-book series that would center around the Law of Fives. It grew exponentially and in all directions from there. Unfortunately, being a single working mom, the plot for the series was too intricate to weave in my off time. When I was laid off in November of last year, I had an Oprah "Aha!" moment and realized this would probably be my only opportunity to finish The Fifth Specter. That's when the concept of the Law of Fives and Parker's story finally gained lift-off.

You remembered the exact date? Sheesh. I can't even remember what today is. :)

Why MG? Most MG books have a certain tone and voice to them. It's not always easy to portray the voice of a young MC. How did you prepare yourself to write Middle Grade?

I didn't consciously choose middle-grade. In the beginning (2005/2006), I just wrote without any real plan. I was a true newbie. In 2008, as the story developed and got a little darker, I questioned whether it should be classified as young adult. I even switched point of view three times as I toyed with Parker's voice. But, even though Parker is thirteen and he's gone through some tough experiences, the sheltered life he lived with the Rooney's gives him a very innocent and, at times, naive voice. I sometimes wish I had written a young adult series, just because they're so popular. But I didn't write the book (and continue writing it after five years) because of what was popular. I love the characters too much to give up on them. <--That's always a good thing! ;D

Are there certain books or movies that helped influence the world of Stonyford Hollow and Knobhouse Academy?

There are many books and movies that have influenced The Fifth Specter. When I began writing the book in August 2005, the original story was more like the TV show Heroes. Unfortunately, the TV show came out a few months after I began writing the book and it was so spectacular I knew I had to take The Fifth Specter down a slightly different route. After that, the story was influenced by many movies and books, particularly X-Men, Harry Potter, The Giver, Illusions, and Chronicles of Narnia. Of course, my writing is influenced by just about every book I've read and every experience I've had. For instance, I wanted Parker to play a sport, but the only sport I had ever played was soccer. When I began writing the book, my daughter had been playing goalkeeper for three years. From those experiences spent playing and watching soccer games, Cosmic Ball was born. You'll also notice the "flashes of color" inspired by The Giver. Though I'm not religious, I am fascinated by biblical tales. There are many nods to those stories in The Fifth Specter as well as a nod to Macbeth and another favorite of mine, Jane Eyre.

I have not read the Giver but I am going to now.

I know you went the route of indie publishing. How did you come to this decision? And why not traditional publishing?

When The Fifth Specter was finished, I sent out only two query letters; and that was after my mind was 95% made up about going indie. I read a lot about the indie publishing industry as I wrote The Fifth Specter (six years is a long time). When it came time to decide whether I would go indie or traditional, I didn't wanted to wait another 18-24 months to find an agent, go through revisions, submit to publishers, go through contract negotiations, and then probably end up with a book and artwork I was not entirely pleased with. Not to mention that, as a new author, I would not have had enough clout to negotiate my ebook rights. The process just didn't seem appealing to me. I wanted to get my book out quickly and retain all my publishing rights. Now, the problem with indie publishing is, of course, reach. There are still more people without ereaders than there are with. A traditional publisher is great for reaching that audience. If I were to ever go traditional, I would want to make sure I had enough power to retain ebook rights. The fact of the matter is, indie publishing has been around for more than a century, but the publishing industry has placed a stigma on it. I think we are starting to see that stigma being lifted. Indie entertainment (books, music, film), is the way of the future and I'd rather be running with the pack than trying to catch up.

Since Parker starts out at 13, does this mean it's going to eventually cross over as a YA book as he gets older in the series?

As the series plays out, it will definitely get more intense and it will feature more difficult scientific concepts, but I think it will still be suitable for tweens and up.

Are you worried about it being compared to, say, Harry Potter? There are a few similarities after all (i.e. Parker is an orphan who didn't know he had powers until he discovered the super world), which is understandable as you have mentioned being influenced by Harry Potter.

I don't really worry about the Harry Potter similarities since there are so many books with that "ordinary hero discovers he's extraordinary" storyline (namely Star Wars, X-Men, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, etc.). Of course, there will always be people who don't like a book because of it's similarities to another book and there are some who will love it for just the same reason. I try not to think about that and just write the series as I envisioned it. As far as Parker being an orphan, you may be in for a surprise. *evil laugh*

Oh boy. A twist! Me loves twisty-twists!

What has been your experience with your indie publishing journey? Care to enlighten us clueless ones a bit?

My experience (which is really only five weeks) has been great. It's definitely hard work (just ask my Circadian Rhythms), but I had no idea there was a world of authors and readers who are so willing to help authors succeed. I've had fourteen book bloggers agree to review The Fifth Specter. Fourteen! I've also gotten amazing feedback from readers and authors who've read the book; and who doesn't like a good ego stroking. If I hadn't gone the indie route, I wouldn't have all this feedback to buoy me as I write the second book. But I try to remain objective and I'm constantly trying to be a better writer. I still read books on writing and publishing and I follow a ton of great blogs (including yours). It's hard work, but there are so many resources available to indie authors. I'm definitely enjoying the process.

Have you been building your audience through social media before the book's publication? Has it helped at all with getting your name and your work out there?

I probably should have gotten serious about trying to build my platform a long time ago. Now that I am a bit more active in the social media universe, I find that it is somewhat helpful (in terms of book sales), though not as helpful as one would think. I suspect about 80% of my book sales have come from readers stumbling upon my book. That's probably not a very encouraging number because, as an indie author, how do you get readers to stumble upon your book? Well, I suspect word-of-mouth is still probably the best way to get your book recognized. And everyone knows word-of-mouth in the publishing industry comes from writing something that resonates with the reader. Above all, when it comes to social media, I try to remember Nathan Bransford's famous words, "Social media is social." I don't mind tooting my own horn if I accomplish something, but I'm not on Twitter or Facebook to sell books. I get a genuine rush from the social interactions.

I agree. I first met you through Twitter and we've been friends since! Hooray for Twitter!

Anything you regret doing, in terms of publishing? Or has it been a wild ride for you?

The Fifth Specter: Book One of the Parker Chance Series (Volume 1)

ME: This is the finished cover. Isn't it cool?
I think you did a helluva job despite the
time constraints, T.S.!

I regret not starting on the cover art for The Fifth Specter much earlier. My illustrator and I began working on it just a few weeks before it was published and we ended up having to scrap the first design and start over. The original cover had Parker, Lucas, and Norah with Rochester sitting on Parker's shoulder. It looked pretentious. Putting the cover together was such a nerve-wracking process because I had promised the book would be published by a certain date and I had people asking me, "Is it done yet?".... "Where can I buy it?" I wanted to deliver the book on time and, unfortunately, the book cover wasn't exactly what we had envisioned due to time constraints. Other than that, no, I have no regrets. I had nearly six years to wash away those regrets with many bottles of wine. ;)

Any writing quirks or routines you follow?

I recently posted a blog post about my writing process. I have been diagnosed with ADD once as a child and once as an adult, so I deal with that when I'm organizing my writing. You don't want to see my desk! I try to keep my writing process organized, but my writing routine varies depending on my schedule. I usually wake up and sit down at my computer for four to five hours. I check email, write, and engage in a little social media. Then I take a break and sit back down about 9PM and write for another three to four hours. It allows me to spend time with my daughter and get things done outside of my home during daylight hours.

What do you do when you're stumped?

I get up and do something or I write through it. The odd thing about keeping your mind and body moving is that your brain subconsciously continues to work on previous problems. Most of the time, though, I write through the block. I've realized that not every single word I write has to be inspired by something or perfectly figured out. If I'm writing a scene and I can't figure out how I'm going to get my character from point A to point B, the path usually reveals itself as I write. Some people call this being inspired by the muse, some call it the characters guiding the writer; I think it's just doing the work.

What's your writing muse like?

My writing muse is a dark and fickle mistress. She's been known to abandon me for long periods of time... or so I thought. I recently realized that when the writing got tough (mainly in 2007-2008 for me), it was I who had been fleeing from my muse. She was always there waiting to share a glass of a wine and good tale. I just had to sit my butt down and listen to what she had to say.

That is great advice! I've never really even thought of it that way--me fleeing the muse instead of the other way around. Will have to try this out--minus the wine--with chocolate and a good writing pad. Thanks, TS!

Do you have a favorite author or book that you go back to time and again? Just one, as in your ultimate love, and if the apocalypse was here and you could only take one book, this would be it? ;)

Oh, gosh, this is tough. I absolutely love The Giver and The Book Thief, but it would be so hard to choose between them. Can I bring the first half of The Giver and the second half of The Book Thief? I have a thing for dystopian (or utopian gone awry, as it is in The Giver), but I cried for nearly an hour at the end of The Book Thief. I'm such a sap.

I cried through The Book Thief too, so you're not the only sap around here. *grin*

I love your answers. You just confirmed how much of a superwoman you are. Speaking of which, if you were a super in Parker Chance's world, what superpower would you like to possess?

This is going to sound evil, but I would really want to be a Writer. As you know, Writers are superhumans with the ability to "write" counterfeit thoughts in another person's mind. The idea of placing thoughts of peace and kindness in everyone's mind is irresistible to me. See... I only have the purest of intentions.

We are the opposite! I wanted to be a Reader. :) So I can figure out what my kids want and avoid temperamental fits.

When can we expect book 2 of the series?

Book 2 is scheduled for release December 2011. I can't reveal the name of the book yet, but I can say that the name of book 2 is mentioned in book 1.

And lastly, what secret talent (other than writing) have you been keeping from us?

My not-so-secret talent is baking. As Lucas's father reminds us in The Fifth Specter, all good baking is good chemistry. I have always had a knack for the science of baking. I bake at least twice a week and I even keep my own sourdough starter. I post recipes on the blog once in a while, as well.

Yes, T.S. made this! And it look sooo YUM! Click on the pic for a link to the recipe.

Thank you, Ms. Welti, for visiting us today! We wish you success on your publishing journey.

For more on T.S. Welti, check out her blog where she hangs out to talk about writing, books, and her love for the perfect cookies.

Bleeding the Blind (A Short Story from the Parker Chance Series)

She also has a short story "Bleeding the Blind", featuring Sparky from the Parker Chance series. Visit her Amazon Author Page for more details.

Book Review: "The Fifth Specter" by T.S. Welti

Book Giveaway for The Fifth Specter is still open! Click here for details on how to win.

Blurb:

Thirteen-year-old Parker Chance has endured years of ridicule at the hands of his adoptive family on account of his frequent “hallucinations”—until he finally decides to run away. His escape through the forest doesn’t quite go as planned when Parker’s life is saved by a stranger who claims to have the power to control electricity. The man uses this power to zap Parker into a tiny village buried in the mountains of Northern California.

The village of Stonyford Hollow is home to a species of humans who have evolved superhuman traits. Pieces of Parker’s trouble past begin to click into place when he discovers he is one of them.

Parker begins attending Knobhouse Academy where he learns he is one of five Specters in the universe with the power to travel by portal. As usual, Parker flouts the rules with a little harmless portal-hopping, but it all goes awry when he discovers someone wants to use his power to break a notorious scientist out of prison—the same crackpot responsible for his birth mother’s disappearance. Though Parker has been warned to put the mysterious circumstances of his mother’s disappearance behind him, he and his new friends are too curious for their own good.

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T.S. Welti is a dear writer friend of mine. But before you cry “Biased!”, I’ve promised her that I would do an honest review of her debut novel “The Fifth Specter”, which is book one of the Parker Chance series. And honest is what you are going to get. =)

The book starts off with a glimpse at Parker’s life with his adoptive family, the Rooneys. Needless to say, the Rooneys—Clarence (dad), Victoria (mom), Jacob and Jacqueline (twins; biological kids of the Rooneys)—hate Parker Chance. The only one in the household who cares for Parker is Sophie, their old housekeeper who seems to know a lot about Parker’s past. These characters have interesting personalities so it was fun to see their interactions with Parker. There are also funny moments which kept with the light MG (Middle Grade) tone of the book. I didn't, however, figure out how the Rooneys adopted Parker in the first place. I'm hoping that more of this will unravel in the next books of the series.

While the writing is fairly solid and clean, there were a few repetitive ideas and even fewer typos that could have been done away with it. Still, this is better than most and the editing mishaps (very minimal) did not detract from the story.

When Parker arrives in Stonyford Hollow, the village where the supers live, it brought me back to a Harry Potter scene with Harry coming to Diagon Alley for the first time. The awe and wonder, the realization that there was another world he could possibly belong to, and the similarity goes even farther when the people in the super world recognize Parker Chance for the white streak on his hair and for the fact that his mother was a celebrated super, thereby making Parker Chance famous by association. Ms. Welti's super world is also as richly detailed, which made for an exciting read. We learn about electrotransporters, RoboChefs (I want one in my house!), and micrographs, among other things. Every super has their own powers, some of them having more than one. I thought it was fun exploring the different kinds of powers they could have. Ms. Welti's worldbuilding is admirable and well thought-out.

Knobhouse Academy also reminded me a little bit about Hogwarts. There are five different halls (dorms): Epicurus, Caesar, Newton, Galileo, and Da Vinci. Each hall is represented by an animal mascot. Epicurus Hall, for instance, has eagles, and this is where Parker is placed by Professor Adler, his mentor. The Academy also has a sport that is similar to the human's soccer game, which is called Cosmic Ball. The difference? They get to play using their super powers. Very cool!

So imagine a place teeming with high schoolers who have powers to play around with. Yeaahhh, there's bound to be some troublemaking, right? Just as Harry had Draco to deal with, Parker has Blakely, whose family was rumored to be connected to spinnows (spinnows = BAD). But thankfully, Parker finds friends to help him in his (mis)adventures: Lucas, his roommate, and Norah, a smart girl with a secret super power. Together they poke their noses around to find the truth about Parker's mother's mysterious disappearance, her connection to the evil mad scientist Asteroth, and also to play detective with the suspicious thefts going on around the school. This is your typical MG adventure book with mysteries, action, villains, cool powers, and characters that you can be friends with.

I mentioned how I saw similarities to Harry Potter (book one). Let me say that the similarities end halfway through the book. (And, by the way, I LOVE Harry Potter so I didn't have a problem with this.) A few other (minor) nitpicks I have: (1) I had a bit of a hard time trying to keep up with secondary and tertiary characters--it is a school setting after all, so there are going to be teachers and students. A lot of them. (2) Transitioning. There were certain places where the transition was brief and as a reader I wasn't ready to move on to a different concept.

Overall, The Fifth Specter is an enjoyable book, and if I were a tween myself, I would have been totally engrossed in Parker Chance's world and would secretly wish for superpowers of my own. I love the friendship between Parker and his friends, how they support each other. This book has a lot of good potential. It is an engaging read, and kudos to Ms. Welti for bringing Stonyford Hollow and Knobhouse Academy to life. I am looking forward to the next installment of the series so I can follow Parker Chance in his journey to explore his powers, his past, and to discover his own identity.

Links:

Goodreads

Amazon

Monday News, Book Giveaway, and Author Feature! Woot!

Hello Monday!

We are going to have a very exciting week! My friend and writer extraordinaire, T.S. Welti, is being featured here for the whole entire week. She is an amazingly talented woman and I'm very proud to present her awesomeness to you. Her debut novel, The Fifth Specter: Book One of the Parker Chance series is OUT and ready for your reading pleasure! I had the good fortune of snagging a signed copy from Ms. Welti herself, so I'll be sharing my review soon.

So! Let's get this started.

To start off, we have a BOOK GIVEAWAY, courtesy of Ms. Welti. All you need to do is answer this simple question:

If you could have a SUPERPOWER, what would it be?

Leave your answer in the comment section below. The contest runs for a week and will end on Monday, August 15th. After the contest ends, the winner will be randomly selected and announced on Tuesday, August 16th.

The prize? A COPY OF THE FIFTH SPECTER BY T.S. WELTI! So go wrack your brain for superpower ideas!

On Wednesday, I'll be posting my review of The Fifth Specter.

On Friday, Ms. Welti answers my prodding questions in an interview (ala Barbara Walters, or...possibly Rita Skeeter-style.)

So stay tuned and show some love!

Bio:

T.S. Welti is a single mother living in Southern California. She writes books for kids and teens and bakes in her spare time. In 2005, she began writing the Parker Chance series while sitting in the shade of a weeping willow on a sweltering summer day. Five years later, she lost her job and book one was still not finished. After many sleepless nights spent slaving away at her keyboard, she was finally able to finish The Fifth Specter and has never looked back. You can find out more about T.S. Welti and the Parker Chance series on her website at http://tswelti.com/.

Check out her blog The Smoking Quill. You can also follow her on Twitter: @TS_Welti.

Not a Twitterer? Check out her FB Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/tswelti.author

Also, her FB Book Page: http://www.facebook.com/TheFifthSpecter

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Chapter 10 of the Skeleton Key Round Robin Blogvel is now up by Laura of Laura's Universe.

Have a great day, everyone!