Dies Irae Blog Tour, Book Review & International Giveaway

Giveaway is Closed.

Welcome to the Dies Irae blog tour, book review, giveaway and interview with author Christine Fonseca! Wow! This book had me hooked from the first page to the last. I couldn't put it down and it left me wanting more. I can't wait for the next installment, which happens to be coming out in March! (Do you have to ask if I'm excited? In case you haven't figured it out, I'M EXCITED!!) The characters are unique, distinct and to die for. The story is so tragic it's beautiful. I loved absolutely everything about it. This is definitely one that needs to be on everyone's "Must Read" list.

:):):):):)

Here's the book trailer. 

Mikayel lives by one rule—obey the orders of the angelic Council at all costs. That is, until he and his friends, Azza and Demi, are sent to Earth.  Assigned as Watchers while they await their decision of which angelic order to serve, the three assume the bodies of teenagers and experience life as human.

The sensations are overwhelming as the angels experience a host of human emotions—rage, terror, love—and come ever closer to breaking one of the unbreakable rules—never fall in love.  

But being human isn’t the only problem facing the three angels. Unbeknownst to the Council, demonic activity is on the rise, threatening to break a tenuous peace that has existed for a millennia; a peace Azza seems bent on destroying.

Caught in a struggle for power with unseen demonic forces and Azza, and fighting against his rising emotional attachment to Demi, Mikayel must now decide how much he is willing to sacrifice for his new found love—a decision that could reignite an ancient war and will threaten the only thing that matters to the angels, the survival of humanity. 

Take a look at the other participating blogs on the tour and what they have to say.

TOUR DATES - 2/1 through 2/17

2/1 ~ Michelle McLean (Character Interview) and Heather McCorkle (Author interview)

2/2 ~ Nicole Zoltack (Guest post - Courage to Create) and LK Gardner Griffie (Guest Post - Embracing the Shadow) 

2/3 ~ Gretchen McNeil (Interview) and Jen Merrill (Guest Post - Writing Stories for Gifted Kids)

2/4 ~ Simon C Larter (Interview) and Nata Romeo (Interview) 

2/5 ~ Eric Stallsworth (Guest Post - Writing a Series) and BE Sanderson (Guest Post - Backing Away From the Abyss)

2/6 ~ Supagurl Books (Top 5 movies) and Rebecca Enzor (Guest Post - The Inspiration Behind Dies Irae)

2/7 ~ Melanie McCullough (Top 5 Randomness) and Angela Brown (Guest Post - Write What You Know)

2/8 ~ Stina Lindenblatt (Guest Post - Using Setting to Enhance a Story)

2/9 ~ Bonnie Harris (Interview) 

2/10 ~ C.Michelle Jefferies (Guest Post - Top 5 Book Promotion) and Katrina Lantz (Guest Post - Elements of Thrillers and Gothic Stories) and Matthew Macnish (Guest Post - Writing FOR children instead of about them)

2/11 ~ Laura Diamond (Guest Post - Writing a Novella vs Writing a Novel)

2/12 ~ Book Briefs (Top 10 Facts re Dies Irae)

2/13 ~ Denise Grover Swank (Interview) and  Nisa Swineford (Interview all week)

2/14 ~ Danyelle Leafty (Interview) and Kathleen Doyle (Guest Post - Love in YA)

2/15 ~ Elana Johnson (Crazy Video Interview)

2/16 ~ Kristen Yard (Interview)

2/17 ~ Ali Cross (Character Interview)

Now for the Giveaway. 

One lucky winner will receive TWO downloads of Dies Irae. One for them and one to gift to a friend. That's TWO digital downloads for one lucky winner!

Here's what to do . . .

Mandatory

• Make sure you're a follower of this blog (left sidebar) AND Christine's blog. Leave a comment telling me you've done both with a way to contact you if you win.

Optional

• Follow the other blogs participating in this tour. Leave a SEPERATE COMMENT FOR EACH BLOG YOU FOLLOW, telling me the name of the blog and a way to contact you. That gives you a total of 27 extra entries here. (The list of participating blogs is above.)
• Spread the word! Leave me a comment telling me how you shared the love and a way to contact you for 1 extra entry.

There is a total of 1 mandatory entry and up to 28 optional entries. Please leave a seperate comment for each entry. Enter by midnight on the 23rd of February. Random.org will decide the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Good Luck!

Here's my interview with Christine.

What made you decide to become a writer?   I think a part of me always expected/wanted to be a writer, albeit an unconscious part. I remember fantasizing about living some kind of glamorous life in NYC as a writer when I was in college. Although my life did not follow the paths I thought of back in my twenties, it would seem that I managed to find my way to writing after all. Or, more accurately, writing found me.

Who inspires you? Hands down, my mom. She was incredibly creative and talented in her own right. I grew up hearing her sing, watching her paint, and feeling inspired by her wisdom. Sadly, she passed away just over a year ago, but every time I look at my children, or read some of my stories, I can see her reflected in my life. She continues to inspire my actions, and my work. Daily. 

What would you like your readers to get out of your writing? Everything I write, from nonfiction to fiction, comes from an emotional frame of reference. My hope is that somehow I manage to tap into our universal, shared human experience and resonate on a deeply personal level with my readers, an emotional level—whether I am instructing them about gifted kids, spinning a dark and romantic tale, or attempting something a tad more humorous.

Where did this idea come from? The series actually started with the first novel, LACRIMOSA, launching in March 2012. DIES IRAE is a prequel to that story, taking place roughly 3000 years prior. I wanted to explore the relationship between Mikayel and Azzaziel(Azza)– two characters that are the driving force behind the main characters of LACRIMOSA. So, I took a snippet of a story that is in the novel and wove into this novella; something that has forever changed my point of view on the entire series.

Who was your favorite character to develop? That is a hard one—I really enjoyed developing both Mikayel and Azza. But I was most surprised, I think, by Azza. He is so much more complex, so much deeper and richer than I anticipated. His motivations are different too—something that forced me to relook at the entire series and revamp how he was portrayed in LACRIMOSA.

Any advice for aspiring authors? Focus on your craft, first and foremost. Don’t rush the process. Learn and write. Write and learn. And then have others—not your friends or family—shred your work. Then repeat the process. The rest, the publishing and marketing, will come. But you will have no longevity in the business if you lose track of your primary purpose: Crafting a great story.

What can we expect next from you? The first novel, LACRIMOSA, comes out in March, followed by LIBERA ME in the fall and REQUIEM early next year. After that, who knows! I am currently outlining a companion series, as well as writing a couple of YA psychological thrillers. 

Where can we purchase your book? DIES IRAE is available in digital format only with all major booksellers – Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBookstore, etc. LACRIMOSA will be available in both hardback and digital formats

Thanks for having me Bonnie. I hope you and your readers enjoy DIES IRAE and the series.