Tour Stop: Author Interview: Cara Lynn Shultz + Giveaways!

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Cara Lynn Shultz’s love of supernatural writing began when she was 7 and wrote a play about ghosts, which she and her friends acted out on her grandparents’ porch. Since then, her work has appeared in Teen People, Alternative Press, Stuff, InStyle, Us Weekly, The Guardian UK and countless posts on Facebook and Twitter. She is a proud graduate of Fordham University and is currently a senior editor at PEOPLE.com. Cara lives in her native New York City with her husband, tuxedo cat and 8 million other people. Spellbound is her first novel..

Can you tell me about your book in 20 words or less?


Emma and Brendan are reincarnated soul mates under a centuries-old curse: If they fall in love, she’s doomed.

The main external conflict (other than the curse) is in the form of bullies? How do you handle bullies?

I learned to laugh at myself—actually, I learned to make myself the butt of my own jokes, to be honest. If something didn’t appear to bother me, then the bully had no ammo. It actually helped me develop a quick sense of humor—and a snappy reply to something a bully says is a pretty useful way to make them shut up and leave you alone.

The relationship between Emma and Ashley is one that most elder siblings can relate to. Did you have anyone you protected or were you the protectee?

Absolutely. I grew up very close to my two older cousins, Evelyn and George. They’re really more like my sister and brother. When we were kids, I was definitely the protectee (Evelyn and George are four and two years older, respectively.) I have a lot of cousins whom I’m very close to, and as we’ve gotten older, the protector/protectee relationship has kind of evolved based on what’s going on in everyone’s life.

I love the concept of reincarnation. If you had to come back as a nonhuman in a future life what would you be?

Ooh, I love this question! If I had a choice, I’d want to be some kind of bird, because I’d love to know what it was like to fly. Plus, I can fly over schoolyards and poop on any bullies. So win/win, really. But I’d want to be a cool bird, like an eagle or a hawk. No pigeons.

What is your current WIP (Work in Progress)? Can you tell me a little about it?

I’m actually working on the sequel to Spellbound. It’s still very much a work-in-progress, but in this book you’ll see Emma’s a little tougher, and she’s learning how to flex her witchy muscles.

Do you have a favorite place to sit and write? Where is your favorite place to read?

On nice days, I like to sit on our terrace and write. But usually, I’m on the couch with my cat, Kc, next to me. I call him my “mews” (muse). It’s the same for reading—terrace or curled up on the couch.

If your house was on fire (everyone was safe), what one book would you rescue?

Probably my copy of Trinity. It’s old, and the pages are falling out, but it’s the one my mom had and read, then lent to me.

As a reader, do you read in the same genre as you write? What is your current paranormal obsession?

I really enjoy a good suck-you-in paranormal story (even when it comes to TV or movies, I tend to lean toward supernatural-themed entertainment), but I’ll honestly read anything that I’ve heard is good. I need to care about the characters, though. A ton of action is all fine and good but if you don’t really care who’s running amok in the pages, what’s the point? My all-time paranormal obsession: zombies. I am terrified of them and obsessed with them. I cannot wait for the film version of World War Z.

Spellbound Tour Stops:

Yesterday: Paranormal Opinion

Tomorrow: Reading Angel

Giveaways:


Grand Prize:


To Enter:

• In order to enter to win a iPod nano  including the Spellbound Playlist and covered in a GelaSkin of Spellbound's cover art, you must collect the pink highlighted words the text messages between Brendan and Emma that are provided each day at the individual tour stops.  The daily words can be joined together in sequential order to create the winning secret message.  Once you've constructed the winning secret message, you will need to enter that message on Spellbound's tour home page .
  
• No purchase, affiliation, status as follower to a certain blog or any other association is required to enter.
  
• Full rules for the contest can be found at the Spellbound tour home page
  
• Winner of the iPod give-away will be announced on Cara's homepage  on Tuesday, July 5th.

Today’s text:



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Categories: Author Interviews, giveaway, Shultz