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JESSICA SORENSEN-Interview with the Author

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JESSICA SORENSEN-Interview with the Author 

Last week THE READING CAFE featured a couple of reviews from Jessica Sorensen’s DARKNESS FALLS series.  Her new release THE LOST SOUL -a spin off from her Fallen Star series was released June 2012 and this week we would like to present the author JESSICA SORENSEN.


TRC: Hi Jessica and welcome to The Reading Cafe.  Let’s get started.   Many writers start their love of writing as a child. When did your interest in writing start? Was there a catalyst that sparked your interest in writing?

Jessica:  My love for writing began at a very young age. Writing and reading were ways to channel my over active imagination. I would write short stories just for fun and fill up my extra time with reading.

TRC:  What challenges and difficulties have you faced as a writer?

Jessica:  There are many challenges I’ve faced as a writer. One is that I’ve had to learn how to work through writer’s block. Learning how to take criticism was another challenging obstacle.  And as an Indie Author, one of the biggest challenges I faced was finally pressing the publish button.

TRC:  DARKNESS FALLS is one of your many YA series. Would you please tell usabout the premise of the series?

Jessica:  Darkness Falls takes place in a world where a virus has turned most of the human population into vampires. They’re not pretty vampires, though, but fleshless, gross vampires that like to eat humans and their bite is contagious.

LINKS TO PURCHASE:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
KOBO
B&N Nook and Paper Books

Kayla, the heroine, lives underground in The Colony. The Colony is a place of perfection and strict rules that all Colony members must follow.  Some of the rules include:

Rule #1—Never go out after dark.

Rule #2—Always carry a weapon.

Rule #3—No matter what, never EVER get bitten.

But Kayla’s a kind of a rule breaker and ends up being thrown out of The Colony. While Kayla tries to survive the outside world and the vampires, she discovers that The Colony’s strict way of life isn’t the only way to live, and that the Highers, the leaders of The Colony, have been keeping secrets about vampires, the virus, and who Kayla really is.

TRC:  The premise and its’ terminology are very unique. What was your inspiration for this series?

Jessica:  When I decided to write Darkness Falls, it was because I wanted to try and write a dystopian type book where people where obsessed with perfection. I made the vampires hideous instead of beautiful to try a new approach. One of the biggest things I wanted for this series was to make it so the main heroine became a person who could kick some butt.

TRC:   DARKNESS BREAKS (June 2012 release) is the second storyline in the series. Would you please tell us about the premise of this book?

Jessica:  Darkness Breaks starts out with Kayla living in the city with the Day Takers, trying to get her memories back. Eventually, Kayla learns that to get her memories, she may have to return to Aiden.


Throughout the book, she faces a lot of difficult choices and struggles with her humanity.  She also has conflicting feelings between Sylas and Aiden.


ORDER LINKS:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
B&N Nook and Paper Books
The Book Depository

 

TRC:  How many books do you have planned for the series?

Jessica:  There will be four books in the series.

TRC:  DARKNESS FADES (October 2012 release) is the third storyline. Would you please tell us about the premise?

Jessica:  Darkness Fades starts up right where Darkness Breaks left off—Kayla trapped in Cell 7 and Sylas is missing and infected. While Kayla is there, she learns a lot about the Highers and the virus. She’ll begin to get more of her memories back. And she’ll discover what happened to Sylas.

TRC:  What message (if any) are you trying to convey in the Darkness Falls series?

Jessica:  If there is a message, I guess it would be that I wanted to show what happens when perfection is pushed one step too far.

TRC:  THE LOST SOUL is the first novel in your new FALLEN SOULS series. A spin-off from your Fallen Star series–Would you please tell us about the premise?

LINKS TO PURCHASE
The Book Depository
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
B&N Nook and Paper Books

Jessica:  The Lost Soul stars Gemma, Alex, Laylen, Aislin, and Nicholas.  However, there is no fallen star or Stephan in this series.

The book starts out with Gemma looking for a way to free her dad from the Room of Forbidden. But a Lost Soul possesses someone close to her, and she has to change her focus to saving them.

The villain in The Lost Soul is Helena, The Queen of The Afterlife. There are also two other villains that aren’t revealed until halfway through the book, but I don’t want to say who they are or it will ruin the book.

TRC:  Many authors bounce ideas with other authors, or between family and friends. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Jessica:  I bounce a lot of ideas off my husband. But a lot of times he just listens and lets me know if something doesn’t make sense to him.

TRC:  Writer’s Block is a real phenomenon for many authors. How do you handle the stress and anxiety of writer’s block?

Jessica:  It depends. If I have time to take a break, I’ll get up and focus on something else, like reading or going for a walk. However, if I’m nearing a deadline, I force myself to stay at the computer and keep typing.

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

 


 

 

Jessica:  I’m currently working on finishing up Ember, the first book in my new Series, Death Collectors. It will be released at the end of August.

 

 

 

 

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich

Favorite Dessert
Cheesecake

Favorite TV Show
It’s a tie between Modern Family and The Vampire Diaries

Favorite Movie
I don’t have a favorite movie, but I love comedies like The Hangover, Bad Teacher, and Anchorman.

Last Movie you saw
21 Jump Street

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk chocolate filled with caramel

Favorite Flower
Probably a Lilac

Do you have any pets?
Yep. A dog, Bowser

TRC:  Thank you Jessica for taking the time to answer our questions.  Congratulations on all of your success.

 

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DARKNESS FALLS by Jessica Sorensen – a review

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DARKNESS FALLS by Jessica Sorensen -a review

DARKNESS FALLS (YA) Darkness Falls #1 by Jessica Sorensen-released March 2012.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: When the disease spread through the world, people had no choice but to go into hiding. The Colony is hidden deep underground, far away from the vampires—humans that were transformed by the disease. The vampires are hideous, starving, and they will kill any human they come across.

Seventeen-year-old Kayla is a Bellator, a warrior that protects The Colony. In order to survive, there are three rules she must follow:

 

Rule #1—Never go out after dark.
Rule #2—Always carry a weapon.
Rule #3—No matter what, never EVER get bitten.

But what happens when the rules Kayla has always lived by can no longer apply?
The Highers run The Colony and accept nothing less than perfection. One slip up can mean death. Kayla has always worked hard to follow the rules and strive for perfection. But during a moment of weakness, she lets her imperfections show. Her punishment is worse than death. She is chosen for The Gathering and is thrown out into a world full of starving vampires.

No one has ever survived The Gathering, at least that’s what Kayla’s been told. But when she runs into a group who insist they were once part of The Gathering, Kayla discovers the Highers have been keeping secrets. Secrets that could lead to a cure
~~~~~
DARKNESS FALLS is the first release (March 2012) in Jessica Sorensen’s new YA Darkness Falls series. Like many premiere storylines, there is plenty of background information so that is one reason I included the publisher’s blurb. There are Bellators, Watchers, Highers (those in control), Vampires (virus induced), Day Takers (human hybrids) and Day Walkers, all of whom have come into existence through some sort of experimentation, mutation, virus or deliberate manufacturing and medical manipulation. And it is the story heroine-Kayla (aka Juniper)-that has been singled out for greater things.

Found as a young 4year child during the virus outbreak, Kayla was rescued and raised by The Colony doctor and scientist Monarch. But 13 years later, Kayla’s suspicions and memories begin to falter. She is having lapses and black outs with each ‘injection’ and with every absent moment of time, friends and others go missing. Monarch continues to aid Kayla by dosing her with ‘life saving injections’, but all too soon, Monarch himself is caught up in the web of lies and deceit that Kayla is slowing uncovering. It is during one of The Gathering ceremonies, that Kayla will find herself outside of The Colony, with 2 of her fellow Bellators. And life as she once knew it, will take on a whole new meaning when several versions of the truth are finally revealed and what actually happened behind The Red Door.

We are introduced to many different characters and individuals who will either impede Kayla’s progress or add to her confusion about The Colony and what is represents. Tristan is a young man who considers himself mate and protector: Bernard will find himself on the outside, with a new look on life: Maci is a young 7year old with powers to see into the future: Taggart will act as The Colony mortician: and Gabrielle (Higher) who is suddenly interested in Kayla’a refusal to adhere to the rules. But it is the people she meets along the way into the city that will help reveal more about her life than she had ever thought possible.

One of Kayla’s first encounters will be will the vampires. And although she is well aware that the virus has infected these once-human like creatures, it is the vampire’s reactions to Kayla that will place the young Bellator at an even greater risk with the others outside of The Colony. Meeting up and finding a kindred spirit in Aiden, Kayla soon realizes that many of the stories she was once told, have been lies. But there is something about Aiden that will tug at her memories. And the truth is most likely somewhere in between. Hoping to help Kayla retrieve her memories, Aiden explains that the daily injections given by her ‘father’ Monarch have some side-effects that have come in very handy at times and others that could end her life. But it is her meeting with Sylas that will finally force Kayla to make a decision about the direction and risks she is willing to take. With the missing pieces of the puzzle, Kayla knows her next step will either end in misery or finding a cure for something that may not have been an act of nature-after all. And the truth-at this point-everything and everyone is a lie.

DARKNESS FALLS is a terrific start to a new series. Again, there is plenty of background information that must be acknowledged, but the information is necessary to follow the storyline and the characters. Speaking of characters, by the end of the first book, we are not sure whom to believe. Each having their own special ability brought on by medical manipulation and experimentation, it is the lies and the deceit that will have you wondering-just like Kayla-if anything you have read actually occurred or is all a fabricated tale to hide the truth.

LINKS TO PURCHASE:
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
KOBO
B&N Nook and Paper Books

Reviewed by Sandy

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