Q+A with Kriston Johnson (Awakened)

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Kriston Johnson.  Kriston is the author of Awakened.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Kriston:  I first started writing in 2007. I wrote adult, contemporary romance, short stories. Needless to say, that did not last long, as fantasy and paranormal are my true passion.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Kriston:  I cannot remember a time in my life when I was not into the paranormal. I have been fascinated by it from an early age. It probably freaked out my parents a little bit; I’ve always been drawn to all things creepy.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Kriston:  I would want to be able to freeze everything around me in place, just like Piper Halliwell. In fact, I wish I were Piper Halliwell!

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Kriston:  Awakened is a fantasy tale about a girl with an uncertain future, and a boy with an unsettled past. We get to watch them grow as their tale unfolds before our eyes and each of them come to terms with their fate.

Basically, an immortal mad man, who wants to use her to open a portal to the underworld, hunts Jade across her realm and into his. In doing so, she would release every demon her ancestors ever slay back on to earth.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Kriston:  Liam Hemsworth as Gabriel, Chris Hemsworth as Dezmond, and Alexandra Daddario as Jade.

Gabriel and Dezmond are brothers, and I think the brotherly bond between Liam and Chris would come across the screen very naturally. Plus they are both super hot!

I would like Alexandra as Jade because I think Alexandra can play a tough girl, and still keep a feminine side. After watching her in Percy Jackson it is very easy for me to picture her fighting with a sword in her hand.

Awakened (The Legends of Elyndia #1) by Kriston Johnson.

Can fighting for the right side be the wrong thing to do?

Draven, the tyrant ruler of Elyndia for the last one thousand years, searches for the one who can fulfill his prophecy.

The Paladins, an elite band of warriors sworn to protect their way of life at all cost, search for the one with the ability to bring their world crumbling down.

An innocent girl, tormented by demons only she can see, lives on the brink of insanity and longs for a life of peace.

When seventeen-year-old Jade Rosenberg reads from an antique book, she has no idea she just read an incantation awaking her inherited power. But when opposing—and equally terrifying—groups invade her home, she learns she is descended from an enchanted realm and a member of a powerful race thought to have been hunted to extinction.

Ripped from her world, Jade is forced to seek refuge from those who want her dead. She is given one of two options and the time has come for her to make a choice: assassinate their sworn enemy…

Or sacrifice her soul.

Thank you Kriston for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Kriston Johnson and her books, please visit her website Words Escape Me.

Cover Reveal: Awakened by Kriston Johnson

Time for a cover reveal!  Feast your eyes on the cover for Awakened by Kriston Johnson.

Awakened (The Legends of Elyndia #1) by Kriston Johnson.

Can fighting for the right side be the wrong thing to do?

Draven, the tyrant ruler of Elyndia for the last one thousand years, searches for the one who can fulfill his prophecy.

The Paladins, an elite band of warriors sworn to protect their way of life at all cost, search for the one with the ability to bring their world crumbling down.

An innocent girl, tormented by demons only she can see, lives on the brink of insanity and longs for a life of peace.

When seventeen-year-old Jade Rosenberg reads from an antique book, she has no idea she just read an incantation awaking her inherited power. But when opposing—and equally terrifying—groups invade her home, she learns she is descended from an enchanted realm and a member of a powerful race thought to have been hunted to extinction.

Ripped from her world, Jade is forced to seek refuge from those who want her dead. She is given one of two options and the time has come for her to make a choice: assassinate their sworn enemy…

Or sacrifice her soul.

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: April 25, 2013

Add Awakened on Goodreads.

Guest Author Interview: Ednah Walters + Giveaway

Please welcome today's guest author Ednah Walters!  Ednah is the author of Awakened.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Ednah:   I started writing in 1998. Yeah, I know, eons ago. I had just finished my PhD in chemistry and was expecting my third child. I had also decided to be a stay-at-home mother, major undertaking, but switching from academia to baby talk was so-oo hard. I felt like I was losing myself. Anyone who tells you that being a stay-at-home is easy is lying. So I started to write to find some balance in my life. I started with children’s books…you know, picture books with no pictures, lol. I wrote them for my children and read to them. They loved them. After several years, I thought why not send them to publishers? They hated them. Rejection after rejection…the bane of a writer’s life. Then I tried my hand at romance, something I’ve read since my teen years (psss, they only had kissing at the end of the stories then, no sex, very tame). That didn’t go well either. Finally I switched to YA fantasy.

I’m still learning to be the best writer I can be. Online classes and seminars on writing helped me a lot. Despite my love for reading and an active imagination, chemists are good at writing technical papers, not elegant prose. I call myself a work-in-progress as a writer.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?
 
Ednah:  I’ve always loved paranormal, especially romance. I’d read a lot of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s books, J.R. Ward and L.A. Banks vampire books. Of course, I loved Tolkien’s work, Harry Potter series. There’s no limit to the world you can create in the paranormal genre. It is exciting to see what your characters can get away with (mwahahaha…).

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?
 
Ednah:  Psi power like the kind Awakened main character Lil has—the power to change people’s perception of things. Imagine the ability to turn negative traits around…make a criminal stop, abuser stop abusing, abused people not get traumatized by the past. Yeah, I know people have free will and I’m a do-gooder, fair-minded, justice-is-blind Libran but hey, the world would be such a better place…lol.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Ednah:   Awakened has a strong female protagonist, romance, action and lots of danger. There’re myriad of characters different readers can identify with too. I tend to think of Awakened as a coming-of-age story. Who doesn’t remember how puberty hit us hard and the changes that came with it. Lil reaches the age the Nephilim consider puberty with a bang. She has powers to deal with, her first love who may or may not be the right person for her, responsibilities that are so overwhelming she must rise to the challenge or get burned. Readers will root for her to succeed.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Ednah:  Hmm, that’s a toughie. The girls must be warriors yet feminine and the guys…ooh the guys must be smoking hot. Here goes;

Lil…I’d go with someone tough, tall, slanted eyes, crazy red hair (wigs might do)…Emmy Rossum (Dragon Ball Evolution), tough chick.

Bran…yummy bod, broody, tough…who else but Jared Padalecki (Sam from Supernatural. I love the Winchester boys)

Kim….Tahyana Tozzi got our Kim down to the gorgeous hair and ice-princess persona (Mutant in X-men original Wolverine, Emma Frost aka The White Queen)

Isadora…tough, no nonsense Zoe Saldana. Izzy’s hair is always in a ponytail, she’s the mediator.

Sykes…ooh, the charming and girl-magnet Sykes…Justine Hartley (Oliver/Green Arrow, Smallville…love him)

Remy…Jesse William, gorgeous eyes, strong silent guy (Young Doctor in Grey’s Anatomy…too bad McDreamy is already taken…those eyes)

Awakened (Guardian Legacy, #1) by Ednah Walters.

Most teens turn sixteen and get the license to drive, Lil Falcon gets the license to kill demons, but no one told her she is not supposed to fall in love with one.

Orphaned as a child and raised by an eccentric grandfather, Lil is concerned with surviving high school and is unaware she's a Guardian—a being with super powers charged with killing demons and protecting humanity. But when she meets Bran, a mysterious boy with amazing abilities, his psi energy unlocks her latent powers.  But Bran has a secret that can destroy their growing relationship. He's part demon. But in her heart, Lil knows Bran is not evil. So when her grandfather is kidnapped by a powerful nature-bender and Bran is the only one who knows where he's being kept, Lil convinces the other Guardians to trust him, not knowing her grandfather is just the bait. And the truth that she discovers in the demonic enclave may just destroy everything she believes in, unless she makes the right choice—love and sacrifice.

Thank you Ednah for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Ednah Walters and her books, please visit her website.

 ** Awakened: Guardian Legacy Giveaway **

We are giving away one signed copy of Awakened by Ednah Walters, two Guardian Legacy notepads, two Guardian Legacy t-shirts (size medium), and two Guardian Legacy pens!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post including your email address (so we may contact you if you win).  You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow!).  US/Canada/Mexico mailing addresses only.  Giveaway ends November 4th midnight EST.

Extra entries:
+1 Join Ednah Walters on Facebook