Welcome to Sugarbeat’s Books!
Today we are going to learn more about Kim Bowan and her book Wayward Soul.
Isn’t this a cool cover? Before we learn more about Kim, please be aware that Kim has generously donated a copy of Wayward Soul as well as a deck of Tarot Cards to be given away in my latest giveaway! I’ll be sure to include the various links at the bottom of this post so that you can buy yourself a copy, but if you want to enter the giveaway, just scroll further down and fill out the form. To keep things a bit more interesting, if you leave a question for Kim in the comments I’ll give you 5 extra entries in the giveaway!
So, Wayward Soul was released in February of this year. It has received some great reviews. Although I haven’t read this book, my friend Aobibliophile has. Check out his review here. Wayward Soul is currently on tour through the BLB eBook Tour and this is one of the stops. For a more complete list click here.
I asked Kim if I could ask her a few questions about herself and her book. Here are her answers:
1) If you were to describe to a friend what Wayward Soul is about, what would you say?
It’s about doing whatever it takes for the person you love. That’s the simplest way to describe it. It’s about a Spirit Guide who has a job to do, but her heart has other ideas and the heart wants what it wants.
2) What was you favorite scene?
Well, rather than tell you, why don’t I just give the excerpt:)
“Owen!”
He jerked his head up. Did he hear someone calling to him, or was he dreaming?
“Did you hear me, Owen? You need to get up.” There was a loud slam.
He definitely heard that. He turned over onto his back, alert, hand gripping the revolver he kept under his pillow. He scanned the dark bedroom and saw a woman jerk open the dresser drawers, rummage around, and then slam them shut. He relaxed, realizing she was the woman with long, black hair from his dream.
He leaned up on one elbow, yawned, and ran his free hand through his auburn hair. Apparently, he hadn’t been dreaming. She certainly didn’t look like a dream. Her snug blue jeans emphasized slim hips and long legs. He would have to thank his partner for dragging him out. It looked like he’d gotten lucky.
She slammed another drawer, sending a sharp pain through his head. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you come back to bed and we can pick up where we left off.”
The woman stiffened. She turned around, giving him an accusing look. “Have you been drinking?” He sat up, hackles raised. “What are you, my mother?” He swung out of bed and pulled on the jeans and t-shirt he’ worn the night before. He picked up his revolver and stuck it in the waistband of his jeans. His whole body tensed into a rigid line when he noticed the closet door was open and several of his shirts and some of his jeans had been pulled down off the hangers. His gun box had been taken off the shelf and was sitting out in the middle of the floor, open. “What do you think you’e doing going through my stuff?” He grabbed his shoes and jerked them on.
Ignoring him, she walked over and peered out the window.
His houseguest had worn out her welcome and he was going to show her the door. He saw a flash of red and silver in her hand.
Was she holding his kitchen fire extinguisher? He shook his head.
He knew how to pick ‘em.
3) If you could ask your readers one question, what would it be?
This is an easy one. I’d ask them where it was lacking. The running consensus seems to be that it’s too short and readers would like for it to have been longer, which I’m taking into HUGE consideration with the sequel. To be honest, I write for my readers, so I’d love any feedback and will respond to emails, tweets, and comments on my facebook wall. I want to follow Jodi Picoult’s example and be one of those authors whose always accessible to her readers/friends because that’s how I view them.
4) What is your favorite genre to read?
If I had to pick just one, I’d say suspense/thriller, more specifically, Stephen King, David Baldacci, Dan Brown. I love the adrenaline rush I get when I read one of their novels.
5) Who are your cheerleaders? How do they cheer you along?
Oh boy, do you have all day? Besides my husband Tony, I’m fortunate enough to have stumbled upon some of the best crit partners and fellow authors in the business. My crit group, the Sunset Pixies, is the best. Bridget Lashbrook (who is about to also be a fellow Astraea Press author), Lucy Rivers, Morgana Katz, Tedi DeBuler, Ludvica Boota, Stephanie Taylor (the owner of Astraea Press and an amazing lady), Renee Silvana, Chelle Sandell, to name a few. And also, all the authors at Astraea Press have been a blessing. I love throwing ideas around with them, getting their feedback on an idea playing around with, and getting motivated to write! That’s the one thing that suffers when your dream of becoming a published author gets realized. You spend so much time marketing that you push writing to the back burner. These girls help keep me going so that I keep writing 🙂
6) I can list all your contact points, but is your preferred way for your readers to keep in touch with you and what you are working on?
I’m an email junkie. That’s the fastest way to get in touch with me and I WILL answer any and all emails. I love to hear from my readers. My email is kimbowman2008@yahoo.com, twitter is http://twitter.com/#!/kimbowmanauthor, facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wayward-Soul/188511811190833?ref=ts and my blog is
http://kimbowmanauthor.blogspot.com/
I’d like to thank Kim for graciously answering my questions, as well as offering up a copy of her book for the giveaway. Remember to leave a question for Kim to receive extra entries in the giveaway!
If you are interested in picking up a copy of Wayward Soul, you can find a copy at:
hi Barb! thank you for linking my review to your post. i love this book. c”,)
You are welcome! An excellent review deserves a link 🙂
I love a good suspense book every once in a while too but can’t get into horror. My oldest daughter absolutely loves horror flicks. I have to send her over to her friends house or to the other room to watch them. The sad thing is she is only 12! Aaahhh!!
Thank you! mmafsmith(at)gmail(dot).com
Love the excerpt and the sounds of this book. Thanks and good luck!
When I first saw the cover, I was afraid it was another werewolf book. Then I went to Amazon to read the synopsis. Sounds like WAY MORE than a werewolf book. It’s going on my TBR list!
Thank you all so much for the kind words:) I, too, didn’t want to just write another werewolf book. I wanted to create a different paranormal world. I hope I’ve done a good job:)
Your book sounds really good. My question would be what is the strangest thing that a fan has asked you or said to you?
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
Hi, June. Thank you for the kind words. I’m so glad you stopped by. I really haven’t had anyone say something strange to me yet. that’ll probably come with the more books I publish:)
I absolutely love the idea of a Spirit Guide. Did you always know what form it would take?
Hi Mary. Yes I always knew Zanna was going to be a spirit guide. I’m a huge Sylvia Browne fan and I love how she talks about her spirit guide so I thought why not use that as a premise for a paranormal as opposed to the usual vampire or werewolf. Zanna kinda did the rest:) Thank you so much for the question.
Your book really looks very interesting and the book cover is very eye-catching!! Do you have anything to say on picking your own covers?
Judy
magnolias_1[at]msn[dot]com
Thank you so much, Judy. The cover artist is Elaina Lee and she is awesome. Yes, I actually provided some ideas to her and the editor/owner of Astraea Press. I was amazed at how dead-on Elaina got what I was going for. It was nice having a say in my cover. I hate when you see a cover that has nothing to do with the book. Astraea Press has been wonderful to work with.
I noticed that you mentioned one of my fave writers, Jodi Picoult, in your interview. How has she been an inspiration to you? (I’m particularly curious since she’s not a paranormal writer.)
Great question, @atrsybookishgal! I LOVE Jodi Picoult and have read all her books multiple times. Wayward Soul is a paranormal romance, but I just submitted a true story for a Wedding Anthology (proceeds to support Japan). It’s the story of my parents’ wedding. I’m also working on a tear-jerker, Jodi Picoult-style novel, as well as a sequel to Wayward Soul. I hope to publish a variety of genres on top of paranormal.
Come to think of it, Jodi Picoult wrote a paranormal. Her story Second Glance is about a ghost!
Wayward Soul definitely deserves to be in TBR piles! I wasn’t lucky enough to critique the book but bought it and love her worldbuilding and characters. I’m the fortunate one to be crit partners with such a talented bunch of ladies!
HI Chelle!
Thank you so much for your visit! Thank you so much for sharing! Wayward Soul is certainly on my wish list…..now I need to win some gift cards 🙂
Awww, Chelle, you are so sweet! What kind words:) Thank you.
My question for Kim: If “Wayward Soul” was made into a movie, who would you want to play Zanna and Owen and why? I ? the idea of a spirit guide for a book.
BornajhawkATaolDOTcom
Oh, Laura, there are so many actors I’d love to see play Owen. I LOVED Tom Berenger in Last of the Dogmen – he has the same disbelieving, sacastic, attitude I see in Owen. He might be a little older than Owen, but he’d be awesome. I also wouldn’t be opposed to Mark Walberg or Christian Bale!
For Zanna I’d want someone young and innocent, yet fierce and strong. Mandy Moore pops to mind as does Kate Hudson.
I said this under the giveaway post, but wanted to repeat. You guys are so awesome! Thank you so much for letting me guest, Barb. And thank all of you for the follows on twitter. I’m going to try and make it worth your whiles:) Starting tomorrow (Monday) I’m going to run a series on how to find your voice in writing and develop it!
Wow Kim!
How generous! Thank you so much for visiting and your generosity in the giveaways! I’ll stay tuned to see what you have to say!
Hi, Kim, Glad to learn about a new-to-me author! Is Wayward Soul a stand-alone novel? Have you written a series, or would you consider one? It sounds like the idea of spirit guides would lead potentially to many different characters/stories…
Congrats again, and looking forward to learning more about your writing!
f dot chen at comcast dot net
Thank you so much for stopping by, Fedora. I’m actually working on a sequel to Wayward Soul right now and, following the advice of my readers, I’m making it longer. The biggest complaint with Wayward Soul was that it was too short and the readers wanted more detail about Zanna’s world and life as a spirit guide so I’m incorporating both into the sequel. My hope is to at least write 3 books in the series, but that may lead to more because sooo many people and things are jumping out at me!
Sounds like a good book.
My question to you is. Have you ever been ask a question that
you really could’nt answer?
amhengstATverizonDOTnet