Badass Blogger

I've been blogging since 2011 and, in spite of my innate inconsistency, I've managed to post often enough in order to maintain a reasonable visiting flow. I blog about personal stuff (my boyfriend's battle with his chronic illness All I want for Christmas is you), my fear of commitment ( To Bride or not to Bride), my passion for cooking (Yummy recipes), my obsession with mythical creatures (Don't piss off the fairies!, Fairies are human too) and of course, about the greatest joy of my life...writing (OMG! I am an author!, Getting paid for writing short stories, Riding my unicorn to the city of elves etc).

I also post weekly interviews with authors of romance and fantasy that I personally admire. Anyway, last week I got some great news. I have been nominated by the awesome online magazine The Indie Chicks for a Badass Blogger Award for the category Biggest Girl Crush. I am not sure how badass I am, but I am doing my best. If you like my blog and wish to vote for Why I wake up every day, you can do it at Indie Chicks awards. Thank you and ...I love you so much :).

Interview with a Fallen Angel

C.J Sullivan is the author whose pen created  Laphelle, a fallen angel, the main character of a fascinating trilogy, named The Divided. She currently prepares the release of the third book in the trilogy (it will be on June 1) and, in connection to this event, so much expected by her readers, I thought of asking her a few questions about the books and the life of a writer in general.

- What determined you to write fantasy?
- I think with fantasy, writers have so much freedom to create. I can come up with an entire species and get lost in its history and world. In the case with my angel trilogy, I created my take on angels. It gave me an endless universe with which to work. There are a handful of sci-fi/fantasy movies and books which inspired me to write my own. The original Star Wars Trilogy, Cowboy Bebop, Anne Rice's vampire stories, Willow, Lord of the Rings - all these have lit a creative fire in me at some point in my life.

- What inspired you to choose your characters? Laphelle, your fallen angel is a fascinating one.
- I love the bad guy in stories so I made my villain the hero. Laphelle is a Fallen angel. You don't want to mess with him, he is kind of a jerk. he's cocky, driven, scary and he's deadly. But though you start out hating him, I think you'll end up cheering for him in the end.

- How much time you dedicate to writing?
- At least two hours a day. It's about all I can devote of myself  right now since I do still work a day job, and try to spend time with family and friends.
- How often do you feel uninspired? And what do you do to tempt your muse back?
- Just as often as anyone. Sometimes we force stories, writing too much without a break. There has to be a balance.
- What are you currently working on?
- I am working on wrapping up The Divided Trilogy. It's my epic angel story I wrote back in college and currently decided to revamp and indie publish for my readers. If you're looking for something new to read, something epic and unpredictable, you might give it a try. Though there are plenty of bad guys in it to hate and love, there are some good guys in there you'll really like, too.

You can get yourself a copy from Amazon - The Divided Trilogy
You can find C.J blogging at http://cjsullivanauthor.blogspot.com/
and also on Twitter - @CJSullivan53 

A woman with no identity

Now it's finally safe to confess that I've had no identity for the last two years. My old identity card expired in 2011..., and since then, I was in the impossibility to change it for a new one. The number of people waiting in line like cattle, in front of the administrative offices is overwhelming. They wake up at 3 a.m to get a place in line and secure their chance to receive an application. I've done that twice, woke up like a moron at 4 a.m and groped around in the dark along with other sleepy people, yawning our heart out and having breakfast on the hood of the car. Twice I failed to receive an application (they only offer 150 a day) and returned home just as unidentifiable as before. It's true, I have my driver's licence, but when I went to the bank to get a new credit card, they refused to accept it and required the friggin' identity card. I pretended I left in the car and never returned. Monday I woke up at 3 a.m again and this time, after 7 hours of waiting in line, I filled the bloody application but, not before the guy at the office, reprimanded me for the delay. I looked at him and, for a moment, I thought of sticking my pen in his eye socket, but I was so damn tired that I let it go. So, a few more days and I shall finally have a new identity card, I've never thought I'd ever say that, but I am damn happy. What about you, have you ever defied the system? Please say yes...

The Welsh Enchantress

Gabriella Lepore is a magical writer from Wales, whose most recent book, Evanescent, has stirred waves of enthusiasm among fantasy readers everywhere. This is Gabriella's third published book, her previous ones are Witches of the Glass Castle and How I found you. We both share the same amazing publisher, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly, so it was easy and convenient for me to approach Gabriella with a few questions:
- Is fantasy your favorite genre?
- Yes, I would say fantasy is my favourite genre. probably because there are so many different directions you can go with it. For me personally, I'm fascinated by witches and I love to write about them in different forms.

- Is your writing ever inspired from personal experiences?
- I'm inspired by places, old buildings, forests, the ocean. With Evanescent, I was particularly inspired by an old castle near my home in Wales. It's called Castell Coch and it's just magical.
- Who is your favourite hero/heroine in classic literature?
- I have a few from classic and modern classic literature. One who stands out for me is Emma Woodhouse from Jane Austen's Emma. She's a great character.

Gabrielle book signing

- What stories are you currently weaving?
- I am currently working on my next supernatural YA-book, Tarantula. In short it's about a girl who is kidnapped by a demon slayer for the purpose of fulfilling an ethereal duty that only she can do.
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- I hope to still be writing, with lots of books in print.
You can find Gabriella and her books on Amazon, Twitter and Facebook.

Time for confessions (to writers' attention)

You know me, I am not very much into conformity, not that there is something wrong with it, it's just not my thing; so I thought I would find other authors who share my enthusiasm toward the uncommon, the unexpected, the unusual way of writing a story and host them on my blog on a weekly basis. So, if you are a published author of fantasy, paranormal and romance and are an AVOIDER of cliches and stereotypes, I would love to have the honor of your presence on my blog. I am looking for interesting confessions and spicy details about the life of a writer and the struggle of creating immortal characters (and I don't mean vampires) :). I wish to promote amazing writers of fantasy/romance and this is my humble contribution...so, if you're a weaver of beautiful words please let me know. Post in a comment a link to your book/blog and an email.

Somebody's Wife

My mother constantly reminds me that I am supposed to...eventually get married. It is most insufferable. I have been promising her and the rest of my family and friends that I would conform ...eventually...but I never seem to bring myself to do it. I am missing the bride gene :). Last year I was bragging about how determined I was to say "I do" in late summer (To bride or not to bride). I am still a bachelorette as we speak...So you see, I cannot be relied upon, when it comes to this decision. It's true...I am involved in a seriously long relationship, but evidently that is not enough. I MUST put it in writing...apparently. My poor partner is bored and tired to renew again and again his proposals, but I am sure he has understood until now that becoming a married woman is not my favorite thing on the agenda. In the meantime I keep promising everyone that ...we are just about...to get hitched...Who knows, maybe next year...or next decade.