Interview and Giveaway With Author Nova Sparks

Sam Tucker thought he was saving the lives of his fellow Coloradans when he rushed them and his family into an alien spaceship and away from a crumbling Earth. But given recent events...he was DEAD WRONG! With the brutal murder of his best friend and the equally mysterious series of events that preceded, he is absolutely sure that the race of aliens that have given the humans a home on their planet, are hostile. The Syrions want something from the humans and Sam is sure of it. 

Emma Tucker didn't expect to fall in love with a Syrion boy and she definitely didn't expect for her life to be ruined because of it. After a group of dangerous Syrions found out about her involvement with one of their own, they made sure that she got the message to stay away. Living in fear inside of the Dome, Emma finds herself in the company of a human, Jason, a young man who seems to be everything Emma should want. But the more she tries to distance herself from a life she craves, the more the affects start to take its toll on her. Emma's changing and she doesn't know why. Working together with her father to discover the intentions of the Syrions, Emma realizes that the only way she can get answers about the fate of the humans is to risk everything.

the DOMErevelation is a heart pounding adventure of love, trust and self-discovery. 

Continue the journey...Invade the truth.

Q: Who are you, and why should readers read the rest of this interview?

My name is Nova Sparks and I'm a sci-fi urban fantasy romance author. You guys should read the rest of this interview because I would be really sad if you didn't. And you wouldn't like me when I'm sad. I'll get big and blue and destroy your city. They call me The SULK maybe you heard of me.

Q: Tell us a little about the work you are here promoting.

Well, last time I was here, I was promoting my first book, the DOME, which is part one of the DOME trilogy. TODAY, I'm here promoting the second installment, the DOMErevelation. I'm super excited. The book basically picks up right where book 1 left off. If you read book 1, you'd know that it left off pretty hectic. There were a lot of questions in book 1 and the DOMErevelation answers a lot them. All the cool characters are back of course, Emma, Sam, Kris, Gregory, Ked (the alien lover), and introducing Jason! All of these people are working together to figure out what the aliens want from these humans. You've gotta read it! You've just gotta!

Q:  As a writer, do you have plans for world domination, or do you have a day job as well?

I really do want to dominate the world. It would only make sense. I have so much stuff that I do for work. I'm Mrs. Busy! But I always make time for my writing. I plan to be a bestselling author one day. Here's to hoping!

Q: Self-published, traditional, indie or part of an indie collective? If not yet published, what are you doing to make it happen?

I am PROUDLY self-published! This has been a rocky ride but it has been SOOOOO FUN! I've met some awesome people, man! And you're one of them, Natasha. Many of us are really supportive of each other. We pretty much know the deal with this industry and we help each other every way we can. I love it! Of course, I do hate it sometimes. But for the most part, I love it!

Q: How do you handle bad reviews? If you haven't had one...would you be willing to take part in a social experiment? Basically? Would you grant me permission to trash your writing, just to see if you cry? I wouldn't do that (don't worry)

I do enjoy a really good bad review. A review that points out specific issues in my book. But then again, I don't really consider those bad or negative reviews. I consider that constructive criticism. A BAD review would be someone who has no idea why they don't like my book, the just don't like it. They can't explain why. Those things are slightly irritating, but I remember that everyone has their own opinion.

Q: Are you nervous yet and do you prefer white or wheat bread.

You make me nervous all the time. But that has to do with my strong feelings for you, sweetie. ;-) And as far as bread goes, I've discovered this bread that's white but with all the healthiness of wheat bread. That is sooo good.

Q:  Do you blog? If so, don't you wish you were as cool a blogger as I?

Yes I blog! And I do wish I were as cool a blogger as you! I heart your blogging skills, hun!

Q: What is your favorite creature, monster, or fantasy based thing you write about?

My favorite is ALIENS, of course! They are so flexible. You can do SOOO much with them. I feel like with some things like vampires, werewolves, etc...you're kind of put into a box because sooooo many things have been done already. With aliens, you can do whatever you want and no one can say anything to you about how realistic it is because no one really knows about the existence of aliens or what they can really do. With those other things, they only exist in a realm of fantasy and because of that, certain rules have been formulated for you by various other artist, authors, etc... It becomes difficult to branch out of that without making them not seem like exactly what they are. If this makes any sense at all.

Q: Are you planning to give something away (if not, good luck getting anyone to read this thing) and if so, what are your demands for winning (I assume, your book because why else would you stop by?)

Sure! As soon as the DOMErevelation comes out on NOVember 30th, I'll give a free copy away to EVERYONE who leaves a comment at the bottom of this interview with their email included!

Q: Tick off a few indie authors you look up to.

HAHAHAHA! I'm going to leave this question alone!

Q: Are you, or are you not a douche bag? Heh, you don't have to answer that. That's just for my enjoyment.

I am a SUPER douche! But a douche BAG? You are going too far missy!

Q: Okay, where can people reach you on the web? 

Nova Sparks Books, Amazon, BN, and Smashwords

the DOME is now on sale for 99 cents!

Every comment gets a free copy of the DOMErevelation:

Ends November 30th!

The Dome: Excerpt and Ebook Giveaway

I woke up to the sound of loud banging. Everyone was standing around where the sound was coming from. I was about to get up when Sam came over and put his hand on my shoulder.

“What’s happening?” I asked him. He didn’t answer me. He was starting to piss me off. I pushed past him and ran towards the crowd, pushing past everyone who was blocking my view. When I was close enough to see, I saw two men kicking on the door group two came out of.

“Calm down. We don’t know that yet!” A voice from inside the crowd said. The men ignored her and kept going. Another man ran up to one of them and tried to grab them away from the door but he was quickly pushed back and knocked onto his ass.

“What is going on? Don’t know what yet?” I asked a man who was standing next to me.

“They think we’ve been abducted by aliens. Another UFO nut, although I can’t say that I blame them. This whole thing just screams science fiction.”

It never once crossed my mind that we were on an alien space craft. Apparently I had missed a lot while I was sleeping. Somehow we went from concluding that we were being housed by the military to being abducted by aliens. “Does anyone have the time?” I asked, erasing my own thoughts. “5:27 am.” A woman said who was in front of me. I didn’t look up to see who it was. “Anyone from America have the time? Preferably from the west coast.”

“5:27” Brett said. He was standing next to me, sweating profusely. It wasn’t even hot in here. It wasn’t anything in here as a matter of fact. It almost felt like there was no temperature. Until I saw Brett, I hadn’t even realized the lack of anything in this room. It was starting to freak me out and so was Brett’s weird look in his eyes. I hated the way he looked at me. If he wasn’t married I’d swear he was trying to hit on me every time he’d ask me if I needed a ride to school. I hadn’t seen his wife around, not since this all happened. If she didn’t make it I’d expect Brett to be a lot more upset than he was. I started to walk back to my cot.

“You’re 18 now, aren’t you?” Brett asked me. I felt him inching closer. He was walking with me.

“Umm no. Not until a few months anyway. November baby.” I chuckled lightly, trying to hide the nervousness he always made me feel.

“Hm…too bad.”

            I couldn’t believe it. The world was ending, we were probably on some army or alien space craft, his wife was most likely dead, and he was trying to mack it to me inches away from Sam and my mom. This asshole had balls.

“Wait.” I stopped in my tracks and turned to him. “Did you say its 5:27?” I’d remembered Sam being obsessed with the time since we got to Crystal Peak. He’d kept asking Mark what time it was. I remembered because it annoyed me how he didn’t bother looking at his phone or ever considered buying a watch. I also remembered running through the woods and up the mountain listening to Sam scream at Mark to tell him the time. It couldn’t possibly be 5:27 in the morning still. Hours should have passed. I decided I needed answers and I needed them now.

“Sam.” I whispered so no one else could hear. “Why won’t you tell me what the fuck is going on here?” He looked up at me. He was lying down on his cot staring at his dirty work boots before I came over.

“Why won’t you call me Dad?

“Bullshit! I know you know something. All this seems a little too unsurprising to you. And while the rest of us are freaking out…you haven’t so much as blinked.”

“Emma. I know as much as the next guy. What would I possibly know? Nobody knows what’s going on and neither do I. This whole thing is beyond anything I can even fathom.”

“Okay. Can you at least explain to me why time has stopped?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Time, it’s stopped. Everyone, at least from our camp has the same time, 5:27am why is that?” I could tell I was finally getting to him. He lifted himself off the cot and looked at me. Before he could say anything, the lights turned off.

Everyone screamed. It was pitch black in the room. People must have been moving and trying to find their way around because I heard people falling over and cots sliding from side to side. The sound of everyone’s erratic breathing filled the room. I got down on my knees for absolutely no reason. It just seemed like a good idea. I automatically expected the worse and I guess I wanted to be out of sight when it started. We all heard a low humming sound and then the room became completely quiet. I grabbed onto Sam’s leg and trembled at his feet. A single blue light suddenly appeared on the ceiling and I could see my mom crouched down underneath her cot. The light grew brighter and brighter until it descended down in a thin beam.

For a few minutes it just stayed there. I got up off the floor and stood next to Sam. He grabbed me by my arms and called out to my mom. We heard the humming sound again. The blue light dimmed a little and then we heard a voice. The voice of a woman.

Syrion, from the planet SyriSyri that most closely simulates life on Earth. This will be your new home. Syri is dry and mountainous, similar to that of the Himalayan region of your Earth with a few flatland areas. Our planet is greatly divided by purpose. In our region, there is an entire section specifically utilized for residential purposes only, a separate zone for work which is also separated into units based on occupation, and a separate section for entertainment which includes goods purchasing, film centers and social centers. Our military area and Science/technology production center is appropriately placed far from civilization on the opposite side of our biggest mountain. Syri has two parts of the day. Because of our planet’s weak suns, our morning is equivalent to dusk on Earth, and night is exponentially darker than Earth‘s night. Seasons on Syri are similar to Earth but are more extreme. In winter it snow’s for 3 months. In summer, temperature’s reach an astounding 201 degrees. Spring means rain for us, but like winter, it rains the entire 3 months. Plant life on Syri is almost non-existent except for the many nocturnal 20ft shrubs on and around the mountains. Within these shrubs live poisonous snake-like creatures and large insects comparable to your spiders with a paralyzing bite. On the far side of the mountain, there are large, white, cat like creatures that prey on life source. In the case of humans; the heart. We may be different. But you are one of us now. Arrival time is approximately 30 minutes.

Transmission End.

Paranormal Wire is Giving Away Two Free Copies of the Dome
*The Contest will end on August 2nd 

To win you must (1) Follow Nova at her Blog over at: Nova Sparks Books

(2) Leave a comment with your e-mail included and answer the following question...

If aliens invaded planet Earth....would humans stand a chance? 

That's it! Good luck

TUESDAY TIPS AND TIDBITS - Book Release and Blogfest

New Book Release - COLORS by David Berardelli

Colors

by David Berardelli
Paranormal Suspense

Twenty-three-year-old Lindsay Foreman's life was normal and boring until a few days ago. Now she's seeing things ... weird things ... things normal people don't see. Wisps of color above people's heads ... and flashes of images she couldn't possibly have seen herself, as if someone is sending these images to her mind. She has no idea what's happened to her, but realizes this all started after she tried to help an old homeless woman struck down by a hit-and-run driver. Before dying, the woman told Lindsay she needed to give her something. And now Lindsay's got this ... gift of vision beyond the normal. She doesn't know what it means, but she needs to find out.

The problem is, somebody out there doesn't want her digging around in the truth, and they'll do anything to keep her quiet. Anything. And then suddenly a man named C.C. Cross comes to her rescue. But she's not exactly sure he's there to help her. Lindsay needs to figure out what's going on before it's too late - and time's running out!

Nova Sparks' BLOGFEST and DOME PARTY

Nova Sparks, author of the sci-fi DOME trilogy, launched her blogfest Monday, July 25, which will continue through the end of the month. Here's the schedule...

25th-Guest Blog at My Neurotic Book Affair

26th-Giveaway and Excerpt at Paranormal Wire

27th-Book Feature at Penumbra Publishing Blog

28th-Dome Party at Natasha's Author Site

29th-Interview at Independent Paranormal

30th-Last Tour Stop-Bundle Giveaway-Penumbra

There'll be blog articles, book giveaways and a DOME PARTY. Go to Nova's blog site at http://www.novasparks.blogspot.com for more info!

Book Review: The Dome by Nova Sparks

I'll start out this next book review by confessing that this author is one of the best people I've encountered online. I adore and am inspired by her on an almost daily basis.  Now,  if you're convinced this review will be biased, please take a moment to get over it.  I'm a total professional here...

Moving right along, I really enjoyed reading this book. The plot is active, engaging and outside the realm of what is happening in the real work, which I always appreciate. My favorite part of The Dome is the opening, even though it is not actually, the best part of the novel. Why? Because the author engages the reader right from the beginning. I appreciated knowing that I'm not wasting my time right away. This is one of the books I received free from the author and brought a copy just because, I have a habit of buying books I like....

Well hell, Natasha...you only gave it four stars on Amazon... 

The Dome could have very well received five stars from me, and the only reason I didn't go there with this author is because more could have been done with the editing. The author needs to simply tighten up her writing as to not risk losing the reader, and five stars it will be.  At times, the writing was a tad confusing and I'd have to go back and re-read a passage to follow the story.

Brief synopsis time: The Dome is a science fiction/urban fantasy romance that tells the story of Sam Tucker, a character that starts getting visions of Earth's demise. He is then saved by aliens and naturally starts to question why.  Then there is Emma, who, when introduced to the reader was incredibly bored and in need of change at the time of her planet's demise.  Now she finds herself having to adjust her earth girl behavior. 

I highly recommend this book for any science fiction/urban fantasy junkie.


Nova Sparks will have a post featured every other Monday here at Paranormal Wire.

Author Blogs: Nova Sparks
Book Blogger Buzz

Shout Out to Author Nova Sparks: Book Trailer Skills

I wanted to give a quick shout out to author Nova Sparks and thank her for making a book trailer for Darwin's Children.





Nova Sparks is the author of the sci/fi urban fantasy series The Dome. Come back later to read my review of it! 

 

Welcome Guest Blogger Nova Sparks

Hello Everyone!

My name is Nova Sparks and this is my first guest post and I’m so excited! I have published my first novel, the DOME on April 30^th 2011 and I’m super excited about that, too and hope you guys get a chance to check it out. Here is a synopsis below:

What if you knew the exact date and time the world will end, what would you do? Sam Tucker was faced with that dilema when he began getting visions of the Earth's demise. Luckily for him, he was able to save his family and as many people as he could before the tragic event occured, and he did so with the help of unknown visitors. With Earth now destroyed, Sam, his family and thousands of other lucky survivors must live the rest of their lives on a faraway planet in a Dome that simulates life on Earth. But Sam's mind can't seem to rest as a few questions arise. Why did the aliens save them? How did they know about Earth's sure fate? And exactly what are they hiding?

Emma Tucker begged for an escape from her boring life but never in a million years did she think it would come at the destruction of Earth. Living on a new planet and finding it difficult to get rid of her rebellious habits, Emma finds herself making friends with a member of the alien race and it soon develops into an unexplainable love; a love that is more dangerous than she could ever imagine. While her father is searching for his own truths, she has no idea that she is stumbling on a truth of her own.

Told from the point of view of both Sam and Emma, author Nova Sparks takes readers on a journey to discover love, fate, faith, truth and the mystery of the DOME!

So  how/why did this all got started?

About sometime in 2009 or 2010, I was writing a series of TV show/movie treatments because I was so adamant on becoming a screenwriter. I wrote about 6 in total. I’ve always been writing before and everyone in my life always told me that I should write books. At one point I wanted to, but I never liked doing what other people expected of me so I just took a whole different route. After I wrote a few TV/movie treatments I started my hunt on getting them picked up. Obviously that never happened. I got a little discouraged and began thinking I wasn’t good enough. One of the treatments that I wrote was called the DOME and I wrote it specifically for HBO. At the time I wrote it, they didn’t have any paranormal or sci-fi urban fantasy shows on the air and I figured they would jump for joy at the thought of satisfying a starving market of people who are craving for it. I wanted the DOME to be on HBO because 1) I love that network and 2) they don’t censor and I like to watch real television shows with profanity, sex, violence and drugs because THAT’S LIFE!  

Then TRUE BLOOD came out on HBO and I thought it was a sign! They were starting to understand that there was a market of people that needed their paranormal fix! Then not too long after that, Vampire Diaries came on the CW 11. Then I started seeing everything vampire left and right. When that started happening, I got discouraged again. Why would anyone watch a television show about humans and aliens when the whole world was going Vampire crazy? Here goes the bug in my ear again: Why not write a book? I said no!

After a few weeks of mopping around, I thought to myself: What is it that makes this story different from other human/alien concept stories? If I can figure that out, maybe I can have a shot at HBO.

It took me sometime to figure it out but eventually I did. Many of the human/alien concepts that I’ve read or seen all have to do with a single alien abduction, aliens invading the earth, a single alien befriending a single human, UFO sightings and aliens saving humans.

I don’t think I’ve seen or read a concept where aliens take humans to their planet and they have to live there with no choice of ever returning. Of course there’s more to it, but if I told you there would be no reason to read book 1 or the other 2 books in the series.

Not to say that there has never been a concept where humans had to live on an alien planet (ie;  AVATAR, Ghosts of Mars, etc…) but I just feel that the concept of this book is slightly different, at least different enough for HBO to like it.

But still…no HBO…no response…no nothing!

That was the final straw! I sucked up my pride and made the DOME into a book (which didn’t take long because the whole concept, characters and story was written down already). And I have never been HAPPIER! I should’ve done this a long time ago! Writing the DOME as book allowed me to do what I would’ve never been able to do as a screenwriter. I got a chance to get in touch with the actual emotions of the characters and I was able to really develop a back story that I’m very proud of. I’m happy HBO didn’t pick this up. I don’t think I would’ve been able to let the DOME go out of my hands and into the hands of strangers without having full control over where the story goes.

As a book, my mind went a totally different direction.

I began to think: What makes us human? What is the only difference between humans and every other species on the planet? Is the one thing that makes us different the one thing that is destroying us? The meat and potatoes of this story is all about ripping humans from their comfort zone, forcing them to make it work without a “get out of jail free card”, reconstructing what it means to be human and finding out if it’s all worth fighting for.  

That was the easy part…actually self-publishing the book is a whole other story!

Signed, Sealed and Delivered by,

Nova Sparks