Summoned

Welcome to Susan Noble's blog tour. Susan has a new release titled Summoned, which is Book 1 of The Elemental Series.  Susan is giving away a $15 gift certificate from Amazon to one lucky commenter, so follow her tour and comment often. You can find her schedule at http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/04/virtual-book-tour-summoned-by-susan.html  Susan, welcome to my blog.

1.Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a stay-at-home mother of two young children.  I try to fit writing in when I am not child wrangling which of course means I don’t have a lot of free time to write. I began writing Summoned, my first novel, soon after college and only decided to publish it as an e-book last year. When not writing or taking care of the kids or our three cats, I try to find time to read, spend time with my husband (we’ve been married 17 years this month) and watch the San Antonio Spurs basketball team.

2.How much of yourself, your personality or your experiences,  is in your books?

I don’t think I have put very much of myself in my books. Summoned is a fantasy novel and many of the events that happen to Lina on her journey (kidnapped by gypsies, fighting mythical creatures and meeting a dragon) could never happen on Earth. I guess parts of my personality may show up in Lina or some of the other characters, but I didn’t write any of them based on myself or anyone else that I know.  

3.Most people think authors live glamorous lives.  Describe a typical writing day.

I am not sure I have a typical day since I have two children in separate schools and with my oldest taking both a music class and karate. My best days to write are when my daughter is at preschool. This past school year she only went three mornings a week but that will change to five mornings this coming September, which means more writing time for me. I usually began thinking about what scene I need to write while I am driving home from dropping her off. That way I can start working right away when I get home. I usually check email, Facebook and send out a couple of tweets on Twitter to start. Then I try to devote the next few hours to writing. The afternoons are for taking care of the kids and the house. I might squeeze a little more writing in during the evening, or if I really want some uninterrupted time, I get up early. I can get a lot of writing done in the early morning hours when only the cats are clamoring for attention. And they can easily be locked out of the room if they become too annoying. J      

4.When writing a new book, how do you decide on a theme, genre, or topic?

Summoned was my first novel. I chose fantasy because I love dragons and magic and the story I thought about incorporated those elements. Since then I have written the second book (Quietus) and am working on the conclusion of the series (Book 3 is still unnamed). I have an idea of another book when I am finished with Book 3, and it too will be a fantasy but probably will be a stand-alone story rather than a trilogy.  

5.If you could meet two authors, who would you pick and why?

Hmm…both authors that I thought of first are no longer living. The first would be Anne McCaffrey because I really enjoyed her Pern series. She too was a dragon lover and I would love to talk to her about dragons. The second person that came to mind was Mark Twain because I envision him being an interesting character.  

6.I bet you're right about that. Could you share a blurb and excerpt with us?

I'd be glad to.

BLURB:

Lina wants an ordinary life in the Grasslands of Zena. But she isn’t ordinary at all. At the age of four, she discovered she could start fires with a mere thought - an ability believed to have died out long ago. Cautioned by her telepathic cat, Tosh, she keeps this Elemental power a secret in fear of how the outside world would react. There is something else different about Lina - she feels a strange force compelling her to go north.

Before she can decide whether to give into this mysterious urge, she is kidnapped by gypsies and wakes in a foreign land. The desire to travel north is as strong as ever. When a strange raging fire prevents her return home, Lina realizes she must find out once and for all what or who is summoning her.

On her journey, she befriends an odd assortment of allies including the son of a High Council member, a thief, a former guardsman and a large sarcastic black dragon. Together they battle mystical creatures and unnatural forces, although such magic had ceased to exist over 800 years ago.  During each battle, Lina must use her innate Elemental power as she becomes more certain that someone is using magic against her. When she discovers the shocking truth, it will change her life in ways she could never imagine.

Excerpt:

The cold surrounded her, chilling her bones. She woke slowly, rubbing the sand from her eyes. Only a thin sliver of light from the narrow window barely illuminated the small room. Lina sat up, her boots scraping across the stone floor. Where was she? She glanced around; her fingers reaching out to brush the damp stonewall. She wrinkled her nose at the musty odor. A scratching sound came from the far corner of the small room. She thought of rats and quickly pulled her feet back onto the narrow cot.

As her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she saw the door on the other side of the cell. She pushed the thoughts of rats out of her mind and stood up. The room spun. She grasped the wall. Her body felt weird as if it was not fully hers. She vaguely remembered a man knocking her to the ground and the sweet smell of the cloth over her face. She had a faint memory of being thrown on the back of a horse and being forced to drink something with a strange aftertaste.

She leaned against the wall until the room stopped moving and then hesitantly, Lina shuffled toward the door, her arms outstretched until she felt the cold metal door. She pushed and pulled at the handle but the door did not budge.

 “Tosh?” she called. Her voice echoed in the stone cell. She pounded on the door. “Val? Anyone?” She pounded on the door again but no sounds came from the other side. “Tosh? Tosh where are you?”

There was no answer. She glanced around the tiny room. It was bare save the cot. She edged away from the dark corner where she had heard the scratching. The lone window was too high for her to reach, and even if she could, it was barely a slit. Her only exit was the door. But even as she turned to consider it, she knew that her Elemental powers couldn’t help her. Maybe if the door had been wood, then she could burn her way out, but not metal. She would incinerate herself before the door would begin to melt. The walls were made of thick stone. There was nothing she could do. Wearily, she climbed back onto the cot. Cold and hungry, she curled into a ball. She wondered where her friends were and if they had survived the battle.

Susan, thank you so much for coming. Your book sounds wonderful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Susan Leigh Noble has always loved dragons and magic so it is no wonder that she became an author of fantasy novels. As a cat lover, she also threw a telepathic cat into the mix for her The Elemental Series. The first two books, Summoned and Quietus, have already been released in e-book format. She is currently working on the third and final chapter of the trilogy.

When she isn’t writing, Susan is an active volunteer in her neighborhood and at her children’s schools. She lives with her husband, two children and three cats in Texas.

She loves to hear from readers: susannoble@satx.rr.com
Check out her Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Susan-Leigh-Noble/200225396700412
Follow her on Twitter: @SusanLeighNoble

Author website: http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/susan-leigh-noble.html