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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Guest Post with Author Sheri Fredricks and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Sheri Fredricks to RFTC. Sheri is celebrating the release of her book Remedy Maker and has stopped by to chat. First let's get to know Sheri some.

Always on the hunt for the uncommon things in life, author Sheri Fredricks thrives on creating adventures in her mythological kingdom for her readers.

A former engineering secretary, Sheri lives on the beautiful central coast of California. "I wanted to move away from inflexible right angles and create an unboxed world with no boundaries." A voracious reader since her early years, Sheri found her brain crowded with stories and characters of her own. "Ultimately," she says, "my husband encouraged me to write them all down."

Sheri loves to spend time at home. A computer hutch keeps her focused on creating stories, but the panoramic view of life on a ranch will call her outside to play in the sun.

Places to find Sheri:

I’m holding a contest for the hosts of my book tour. The host with the most commenters will receive this gorgeous rhinestone studded, hand decorated book bag crafted by Tina Garcia of Blingitude.com. Come on everyone! Let’s get in the game!

And before you feel left out, there’s something for the commenters too. Details of the contest are below.

To begin, I would like to thank Danielle for having me here for the release of Remedy Maker. I’m SO excited! I wanted to introduce you to the heroes of the story.

When I started writing Remedy Maker, I had to come up with a scene for an online writing class. The scenario was to put our character into a pitch-black room and write from their point of view. And since the class was online, I was able to see what other class participants were turning in. People blindfolded and scared was the most prevalent. A sightless woman in a strange room was another submitted idea. Then the caves, room without lights, etc. In each case, the writers had used people (humans) as their character.
For those who don’t know me, let just me say: I don’t follow the crowds. Unique to me is manna from heaven. I wanted something different, and somehow a centaur was born. In my online scene, I had him hiding as he lay in wait.

From this simple POV exercise kaboomed an idea so fantastic, so fresh, I couldn’t stop writing.

Welcome to the characters of Remedy Maker.
photo credit: vegetarians-dominate-meat-eaters-01 via photo pin cc 
Rhycious – My inspiration for this character started from one simple picture. The determined look on his face, his muscular physique all shouted WOW to me. Rhycious is the first character you meet.

Rhycious selected dried herbs from various containers lining the apothecary cabinet. Peppermint leaves were dropped into a plastic zip bag and he pinched it closed. A fresh aroma wafted up and he couldn’t resist a deep inhale. Aromatherapy—the plant smelled particularly nice and gave the recipient feelings of happiness.

Something he desperately needed.

photo credit: Martha.butterflycaught via photo pin cc 
Patience – She’s quirky, loveable, and nobody knows what the hell she’s saying. When it came to developing her character, I had so much fun writing her dialogue.

Patience grinned up at Hippy from her diminutive height and fell into step beside her, mindful of the Kempor’s swinging hip sword. “That jank be bonk, but as far as kickin’ it, Rhy’s got mad skizills.”

photo credit: Anita Robicheau via photo pin cc
Kempor Aleksander – While this model doesn’t “look” like Alek, I went for the physique (drool…) and attitude. He’s hot, and he knows it.

The sun shone on the guard’s strong back; thick arms gestured in her direction. His reddish coat gleamed and the feathery tuffs above his hooves, those sexy wet-my-pants tuffs, bounced with each step. A long sword hung at his hip, sunlight reflected off a knife at his waist. She’d bet her precious store of algae he had a human’s gun on him, too. The crossbow on his back evidenced his preference for modern weaponry.

photo credit: Danila Panfilov via photo pin cc
Pennelope – She holds more secrets than Pandora’s Box. Where once she had a good heart, it’s all but disappeared.

The tip of his semi-erect penis leaped in his pants when her fingers made contact with the head. His breath blew in a hard huff and she jumped on the submissive reaction. Pennelope smiled, smelling the faint citrus scent of his cologne. This meeting was easier than she thought; she figured he’d put up more of a fight. But she was an ancient female Troll, and the males . . . they’re all the same.

And these are just some of the characters you’ll meet in Remedy Maker. I hope you enjoy my story.

Man by day, Centaur by night, Rhycious is a remedy maker who needs his own healing.

He's the royal physician, famous for his cures. War and posttraumatic stress disorder has broken his spirit, preventing him from finding true happiness. Then a direct order from the queen to investigate an uprising forces him out of his secluded cabin at the edge of the forest.

Patience is an optimistic, good-natured Wood Nymph who works as a mediator to ensure harmony within the Nymph sector.

Environmental pollution in the aquifer stream that feeds the taproot tree of her heart is slowly killing her. Resigned to the fact she will not live long, she sets out to discover the mysterious disappearance of her sister. Experience has taught her to deny herself the love of a male, but the gruff Centaur is different. He doesn't push his expectations on her, only his healing nature.

When Rhycious loses his grip on reality, he believes his inability to control his disorder will drive Patience away. Nevertheless, desire flares, and Patience draws him close. Kidnapping and betrayal turn their mythic joint venture into a deadly bout.

Will their love endure when survival hinges on trusting each other?
Places to Purchase:
| Amazon

Want to win some goodies from Sheri? Check out what's up for grabs.


Up for grabs:
  • 1 lucky commenter from the ENTIRE tour will win a $20 Amazon Gift Card.
  • 1 lucky commenter will win a Remedy Maker Swag Pack (International Shipping Available)

To Enter:
  • Please leave a meaningful comment or question for Sheri. 
  • Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.
  • Please leave your email address along with your comment to be entered. No email address, no entry in the tour giveaway. 

Good Luck =)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

25 comments :

  1. This sounds like quite an interesting book. I love the character mix. Centaurs are usually always portrayed as highly sexual, sometimes too much so for me. Is this book very spicy, or just the "normal" heat level for a romance these days?

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    1. Hi JenM - Rhycious is a variable mixture of many emotions. He's very protective of Patience, it's his essence. To answer your heat level question, one of my critique partners writes YA and she was able to read without ducking her head :) I hope this helps and you'll judge for yourself.

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  2. I just love how you came up with the idea for your book Sheri!

    Congrats on the release of REMEDY MAKER! You're awesome girl!!!

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  3. Very cool post, Sheri. I loved the story explaining how you came up with Rhy. Good luck with this release and all the others to come, chicklette! :)

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    1. Maybe initially finding Rhycious in the dark room is how I began to develop his character. Thank you for coming by!!

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  4. Wishing you many, many sales, Sheri!

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  5. This sounds great!! Id love to read it! Thanks for sharing and for the great giveaway!
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Hi Shadow - I hope you do have a chance to read Remedy Maker!! Good luck in the contest and thanks for coming by.

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  6. What a cool breakdown!! AWESOME read!!

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  7. How much do you like the cover of you book? Or the model ;)

    ladymilano

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    1. Going into this, I knew I wanted a simple cover: single male image. When I found out Jimmy Thomas was the model, I couldn't have been happier.
      Thank you for your questions!

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  8. I really like a new take on mythological creatures. Thanks Carin
    mawmom at gmail dot com

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    1. Thank you Carin! I've been told Remedy Maker is like nothing else they've ever read before.

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  9. Sounds like a great read!! Thanks for the chance to win!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

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  10. Great insight on your characters... Love your take on them.

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  11. Nice inspiration for the characters.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  12. I loved meeting the characters like this thank you. Just fabulous!!

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  13. I want to thank Danielle for having me here and making me feel so welcome!! Thanks!

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  14. the book sounds really great. i will have to add it to my wish list

    parisfan_ca@yahoo.com

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