January 8, 2014

The Regent's Gamble Blog Tour



New York City is famous for New Year's Eve—but most people don't celebrate it with a fight to the death... with a wizard who's already dead! Of course, that is only the beginning for Addison Rhydderch, who wakes up to learn that he's the newest Regent—protector of the balance between the mundane and the supernatural across the Eastern United states. Easier said than done, even with the guidance of a dragon and the aid of a sultry dryad. Brave, clever, and politically clueless, Addison seems like the perfect tool of the mysterious Regency Board... but even those Magi could never have foreseen the results of this appointment. With the Faeries threatening war and rumors of a mystical murderer stalking the streets, it is soon up to Addison to try and put out the fires flaring up from centuries old conflicts—Before both worlds are torn apart!




Nick (N.D. Taylor):

Nick is actually short for another name but makes up part of N.D. Taylor’s pen name. Nick enjoys writing as an outlet for her creativity. She is a video gamer by nature and enjoys watching movies and reading novels by Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark and Michael Crichton among others. Her love for reading was founded by her mother when she introduced Nick to books at a young age without filtering for age or content.  Nick developed very mature reading tastes quickly and read far above her reading grade level from early on. If it’s good, she’ll read it, whether its suspense, thriller, fantasy, horror, or illustrated storytelling. She also enjoys the outdoors, jogging with her dog, riding horses, and going to renaissance fairs. Nick is currently working toward her nursing degree and is the mother of two beautiful children


Alisha (A. Payne):

Alisha loves to read and has always had a fondness for creative writing. She started with poetry and moved up to short stories before eventually writing novels and working in conjunction to coauthor with friends. Alisha loves reading a whole range of genres and authors from Tolkien to Stephen King, and blames her love for reading on her mother who introduced her to the worlds of Pern and Xanth. Alisha is also a video gamer and enjoys watching movies and shows ranging from horror to romantic comedy. She is a former Petty Officer of the United States Navy, which is where she met her wonderful husband. Her husband continues to serve while Alisha now stays at home with her 6 yr. old son and 3 yr. old daughter who keep her busy around the house.  As does her cat and dog who, after five years, still do not get along.




 

Authors Interview

What inspired you to write your first book?

Nick - A love for the story.  We originally wrote this story as a way to pass time for our own enjoyment.  As it began to develop and we created more character, we decided to run with it and create a novel.  The problem was that we had so much story and so many characters that an entire series was born.

Alisha - We had all of these ideas, so initially it started off as a fun past time.  Then we realized that we had practically an entire story and the big “What If?” snuck into our heads.  So we decided to give it a shot and now here we are, with our first book and three more outlined out to follow!


Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
There’s no intentional message, no.  We speak on the bonds of family and friendship, and even touch lightly on the importance of taking care of the earth we live on, but there is no specific message we were trying to convey.


Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Nick: A couple of them.  A few of the experiences that I personally wanted to write for the main protagonist, Addison were based on a couple of my recent life choices.  That sometimes it’s necessary to make difficult and painful choices to reach a better outcome later.

Alisha:  I like to pull from things in my own past to give to some of my characters.  Not all families are perfect so I’ve tried to show that


Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members?

Friends and family were our biggest supporters during the whole process, as well as each other.


Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?

Nick: My youngest child was diagnosed with high-functioning autism and I sent her to a therapeutic horse riding stable for several years.  One day we bought our own horse, so we have been riding ever since and our mare is now a part of our family. Although I don’t have as much time to ride as I did before returning to school, it’s one of the most relaxing feelings in the world to go out on a trail for  three or four hours alone with just my horse and good music.

Alisha:  At heart I am a choir girl.  I still love to sing, even if I don’t get to do much of it anymore beyond my own amusement in the shower or when my kids let me sing them to sleep.


What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Nick: Finding a happy balance between detail and moving a plot along.  We both love descriptions and detail, but it became easy to write entirely too much.  Our first draft of the novel was 261,000 words!

Alisha: Deciding what to leave out!  With this first story we had so much written, and trying to trim down and take out scenes that we loved but which weren’t crucial was a difficult process.  Getting the pacing of the story down so that it all flowed and made sense was the trickiest bit for me.



Hardest scene you have ever written?

Alisha: Some of the verbal spat scenes were actually difficult to nail down.  Finding the balance between two people sniping at one another out of frustration and mutual attraction vs. any real anger and dislike is sometimes a fine edge.


Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

Alisha:  Tough one!  I’m not sure I can choose because I love them all and put a little bit of myself in each I create.  If I have to pick one though, I guess I would say Saraia.  She might be half nymph, but she still has the same insecurities and worries as many young women in this day and age.  She’s an idealist with a big heart, but she’s also stubborn and far from perfect.  

Nick: This question is so tough, but if I had to narrow it down to a single character I would say that Noah is my favorite.  He’s just a down to Earth and friendly guy who loves his friends and sees the best in everyone.  No amazing super powers, stellar good looks, or overflowing wealth.


What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?

Readers that love our book can tell other fantasy-loving pals about it.  Encourage them to buy our novel and review it if they love it.  Tell us what you love about it and want to see more of in the upcoming novels.  Visit our site, talk with us.  We’re open, friendly people who want to get to know you too.


Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

THANK YOU!!  We wrote the book, but it is the readers that really make the difference and help our dreams come true.  I hope that everyone enjoys reading the book as much as we did in writing it.


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