Thursday, May 3, 2012

[Guest Post] Ami Blackwelder on She Speaks To Angels

How Did I Write A YA Angel Thriller?


I have always been fascinated by angels, from stories on television, to the Bible and other books, angels have been around for a long time . I’ve read a few angel stories too. But none of them have been what I wanted. None of them were as good as I thought they’d be. Most angel stories follow the cliche of a so-called ‘fallen angel’ whose storyline rips of scenes from the Bible.

I wanted something different, something mysterious.

I enjoy reading and writing YA and I also enjoy mysteries and thrillers. So, I decided to combine all three elements. YA. Angels. Thrillers. But how?

The Angel Angle:

I didn’t want the typical angel-boy falls for human girl and they live off their undying, forbidden love story. So, that is how my characters Dameon, Kian, Nathaniel, and Krysta were born. I wanted to keep the reader guessing as to who is the angel and who the main character Ali Maney will actually love. A certain level of unpredictability.

The YA Angle:

I wanted to tell a story a YA audience would enjoy and so wrote the story in first person. Ali Maney is the main character and we follow the story with her. A typical teenager at Millennium High School in NY, the reader will be able to relate to her down-to-Earth personality. Her curiosity; however, is what draws her into this world of angels.

The Thriller Angle:

To have a thriller you have to have bad guys. So, naturally I picked the demons. Demons in my book can be various forms of fallen angels. Some demons are just angels that have fallen, but many of the demons are Were demons and fanged demons. Angels and demons have rules to follow and when they don’t they loose their angel wings, their angel gifts and powers...in their place are fangs or Were hair or simply having no power.

To add to this thrill, the main character and the readers do not know who to trust until by the middle of the book. This keeps the reader on their toes.

The Mystery Angle:

There is a suicide very early on, in the first chapter. This is the ongoing mystery through-out the novel until Ali Maney closes in on who the demons really are. This also invites a bit of thrill, and also keeps the intrigue going.

I think this is a story many YA will love, and in fact many adults will enjoy as well.

The novel is live as of April 6th on kindle exclusively.


She Speak To Angels Summary

What if everything you believed was a lie?

A Suicide

Seventeen year old Allison Maney attends Millennium High School in Manhattan. Nothing out of the ordinary, unless you consider the occasional suicides at the school. At least that is what everyone is told, what everyone believes. But Tommy Bachelor was a popular football player; why would he jump off the roof of the school?

Dangerous Liaisons

When Dameon pays attention to Ali, she couldn't be more excited, because for the past three months he was all she could think about. But now that Dameon is finally pining for her affections, she is becoming more and more wrapped up in a clique of three who, as new transfers to the school, are proving to be trouble. But at least Dameon loves her, doesn't he?

Kian- a dangerous love interest she did not ask for.

Powers- belonging to an underworld she never knew existed.

A Clique- that could be friends or foes?

A Soul Purpose

The underworld of angels and demons have one thing on their mind: Earth.

Demons want to do what they want.

Angels want to protect humans from these rogue angels, AKA: Demons

For Allison Maney, everything is not exactly what it seems…

A Suspenseful Romance

Caught between Dameon and Kian, the suicide and the clique of three,

Ali won't know who to trust…or who to love.

Jolene Perry's Bio:

Ami Blackwelder is a romance suspense writer in the paranormal, scifi and historical genres. Growing up in Florida, she graduated UCF and in 1997 received her BA in English and additional teaching credentials. Then she packed her bags and travelled overseas to teach in Thailand, Nepal, Tibet, China and Korea. Thailand is considered her second home now. She has always loved writing and wrote poems and short stores since childhood; however, her novels began when she was in Thailand.

Having won the Best Fiction Award from the University of Central Florida (Yes, The Blair Witch Project University), her short fiction From Joy We Come, Unto Joy We Return was published in the on campus literary magazine: Cypress Dome and remains to this day in University libraries around the USA. Later, she achieved the semi-finals in a Laurel Hemingway contest and published a few poems in the Thailand’s Expat magazine, and an article in the Thailand’s People newspaper. Additionally, she has published poetry in the Korea’s AIM magazine, the American Poetic Monthly magazine and Twisted Dreams Magazine.

Links of Interest:


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/She-Speaks-Angels-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B007PSPT5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334757515&sr=8-1

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11866271-she-speaks-to-angels

Barnes & Noble (Print): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1109853843?ean=9781475116724

Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWorXi8Rxv8

My Personal Giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway Grand Prize Giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway  

1 comment: