Today the spotlight is on International Best Selling author Stacy Eaton, the creator of the popular My Blood Runs Blue series.
Author Genre:
Crime, Thriller and Mystery
Website:
Stacy Eaton
Author's Blog:
Stacy Eaton, Author
Twitter:
@StacySEaton
E-Mail:
Mybloodrunsblue@aol.com
Goodreads:
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Facebook:
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Pinterest:
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Author Description:
Stacy is a full-time Police Officer who enjoys crime scene investigation above all else. She also owns a business that deals with helping people get the awareness out for the causes they care most about. She is a mother of two and her husband is also in law enforcement. She is very much into photography and carries her Nikon Digital SLR with her almost everywhere, just in case. She also has two Shiloh Shepherd dogs and loves to play catch with them.
Stacy uses her experience at work to make the stories more believable. Weaving bits of crime solving knowledge into her stories of fiction to make them more lifelike. She writes using a unique style that keeps you in the minds of all the important characters.
Switching back and forth from mind to mind to keep the readers aware of what each character is feeling and why they do the things they do.
Her first book, My Blood Runs Blue was the start of her writing career. It brings the world of law enforcement into the paranormal world of vampires. It is a suspenseful adult series that will keep you guessing from chapter to chapter.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
First things first. The word is out. Garda – Welcome to The Realm is on the horizon. Can you give us an idea when we will have it in our hands? Give us a little teaser on the plot?
Whooo Hooo!!! I’m excited about releasing this new novel! I have my fingers crossed that things go smooth with my editor and I can get it released by February 2013. This is a whole new type of book for me. I’ve written the paranormal world of vampires and cops working together, but this is the first time I bring on the guardian angels.
Garda is an Irish word – many times associated with police. Here I use it as a guardian, it is only fitting that the lead female who will become a Garda is in fact a police officer. Corey Hamilton will be killed in the line of duty, a very hard scene for me to write I might add.
Before she dies, she falls in love with a man named Mitch. Mitch is also a police officer and while their relationship might seem wonderful, he’s married. When Corey dies, Mitch feels responsible, and has a very hard time dealing with her death. This gives the Os Malos, or evil ones, a tempting point to try and bring Mitch to their side. Corey must find a way to protect Mitch, while not stepping over the boundaries of what she is allowed to do. Her own Garda, Brock makes things even more difficult by keeping secrets from her.
I’m hoping people will enjoy it, the few that have had sneak peeks love it and can’t wait for me to finish it! Once I get that done, I will move on to the third book in the
My Blood Runs Blue series,
Blue Blood Mixes which I am about half way done with and hoping to release next summer.
Time management. With all the hats you’re wearing: mother, law enforcement, successful writer, multiple writing projects and blogger, do you have any tricks that you can share with us on how you keep up? Do you have an ideas book (maybe software) to keep track where you are going with your novels?
I have a sign in my kitchen that hangs over a clock where the battery is dead. I leave it that way because it goes well with the sign that reads, “Once upon a time, there was time”. Yeah…. Time management is a tough thing!
I don’t know that I have any tricks to keep up the massive juggling schedule, I think it just fits with the type of person I am. I’m a very intense person, the perfect Type A personality. I have a hard time sitting still and I go from the time I wake up until the time I can’t keep my eyes open, and then I do it again.
As for keeping track of stuff, well huh… No, I don’t use anything right now. I use to, but I just got away from it. When a new plot line comes to mind, I think it through, sometimes they are quick and fast, like Whether I’ll Live or Die. I had that entire plotline done and even the title to it in less than an hour. When I got that idea, I came home and started writing it. Each time I get an idea, I come home and start putting it on paper. I get the thoughts I have been having down so I don’t forget them, and then I put the story aside to finish what I am really trying to focus on.
Some days it’s not up to me as to what I work on though, some days I have to write what the characters in my mind want me to write about. Most of them are Type A’s too, so we sometimes have to battle it out a bit. I will let you know that I have 6 other plotlines on the back burner waiting their turn.
With all the noise in social media, how do you keep up with your followers? Are they a major part of your marketing? Do you do any traditional marketing like book signings, personal appearances, etc.?
I don’t make any special appearances or do book signings. I had thought about it, but I try to keep what little privacy I have. With my full time job as a police officer, I have to be careful about what the public sees about me. It is one of the reason I use the pen name of Stacy Eaton, yes that is not my real name.
I do however try to stay in touch with fans. I communicate with them when I can on twitter and get on Facebook as often as my schedule allows, but some weeks that if hard, especially now that I have moved from patrol to full time investigations. I like to work with other authors and help them by doing interviews and posting them on my blog when I have time. I wish I had more time to spend with my fans and with other readers, but right now my minutes are very limited.
You have put together great book trailers. After watching them I want to go see the movie. Can you share with us how you put them together? You gave credit to Dreamstime for the images. Where did you get the music? What software did you use to put the video together?
I love making video trailers!!! They are so much fun! I use Windows Live Movie Maker and it is really easy. Yes I do give credit to Dreamstime because I have purchased the photos that I use. I believe in giving credit where credit is due and they have some great pics and good prices.
As for music, I again purchase the rights to my music and I get it from StockMusic.net. I know that many people use music they have in their own libraries, but you have to be careful about copyright infringements. Being a police officer, it wouldn’t look so good if I got caught doing that, now would it? Lol…
Some people thing video trailers are good, some don’t. It’s a personal taste, just like how one reader will like one book, but not another. To each his own, but I’m really glad you enjoyed them! I love to share them!
As I watched your trailers, my own experiences flashed through my mind. I have a good vision of what my characters look like. You have gone one step farther. When you picked images, did you write to the image? Has it ever painted you into a corner, like a flaw you want to add to the character that you couldn’t?
No, actually it hasn’t. In many ways, it helps me. When I start writing, I have a good idea of what my character looks like. When I get a bit into the book and start really digging deep, I start searching for photos that could represent the characters I am writing about. I’ve been lucky and have always found models that portray not only my characters, but the feelings and mood of the story.
I know some people don’t want to see the characters face because they want to use their own imagination, well that’s just like the book trailers, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Personally, I like it and I hang the pictures of my characters on my bulletin board in front of me and use them as reference to picture how they would move or act during a scene.
I was very impressed with your book tour. How did you set it up? Can you guide new authors in the right direction on this? Did you have help coordinating it and where in the world did you find the time to do it?
Wow… The book tour. Let me start off by saying that book tours, especially extensive ones like I did are hard to coordinate and hard to pull off. They are really time consuming and I was lucky that when I was setting most of that up, I had the time to spend on it.
Of course I have a lot of author friends, so I started out by reaching out to them and asking them to host me. I set it up so that the week Whether I’ll Live or Die was released I was in a whole bunch of places. Since I work with the WLC, I was lucky to have a lot of resources at my fingertips. Those resources are available for all authors, they just have to reach out and sign up.
Once the first week had passed, I made sure that I was on a new blog every four days. Again this is time consuming, but worth it. I had to work with each blogger to make sure I had questions for the interviews or knew what they wanted me to write about. I would spend a few hours each week getting these all done. I made one master document with all the important information, my social media links, the book blurb, an excerpt, my bio and such and sent it to each one of the hosts. It is important to keep all that information in one place and label it as a marketing packet, that way you don’t forget anything.
Once that is done, you need to stay in touch with your hosts. Make sure the posts go live when they are supposed to and then do one of the most important things; thank each and every one of them publicly on their blog for allowing you to visit. Taking the time to stop by through those four days you are promoting it to comment on any comments that have been left. Thank people for stopping by and taking the time to read it and comment is very important.
Then the last step; promote, promote and promote some more.
I am all in on the World Literary Café. What a great group of writers. We had the founder, Melissa Foster
in the HBS Author's Spotlight earlier this month. What do you feel is the biggest benefit you get from belonging to the WLC? What other groups do you belong too that add support?
They are a great group! I love the WLC and Melissa is amazing. I loved her spotlight interview here. She is a wonderful person who works so hard to help others. I met her last year around September when she was getting ready to launch her book Come Back to Me, and I worked on her launch party. From there, our friendship flourished and I started helping her with the WLC.
Those of us that work with the WLC do it because we love it. We are all of the same mind, we want to help others to succeed. We work amazingly well together and when one person doesn’t have the time to do something, one of the others jump right in to help, whether it’s a website issue or just reaching out to a someone who needs assistance.
I would have to say the biggest benefit that I get from the WLC, is the network I have built and the friendships I have formed with so many authors and readers who visit and use the site on a daily basis.
Right now, I honestly don’t have time to be involved in other big groups. My work schedule is to demanding and with my family and my business, plus my writing and my marketing; I don’t have much time or mental energy for anything else right now, maybe someday.
Author's Book List
Garda – Welcome to The Realm
Coming SOON
Garda is an Irish word – many times associated with police. Here I use it as a guardian, it is only fitting that the lead female who will become a Garda is in fact a police officer….
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Whether I'll Live or Die
It sounded so simple in theory; ready... aim... fire... but what actually transpired was so much more.?
Officer Nicole Nolan holds the gun steady in her hands, knowing that life will be forever altered once she pulls the trigger. Her position as a small town police officer is to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It is her career, and her life. Amanda stands where protection does not exist. With several failed relationships behind her, Amanda turns a blind eye to the possessiveness Josh displays in order to sooth her desperate need to be loved.
As the mental abuse turns violent, Amanda must deal with the denial and embarrassment of being a victim once again. With her emotional and physical health siting on the edge, she must fight to regain control of her life. A gripping story with one final destination, but will it be life or death?
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Book Trailer:
Whether I'll Live or Die
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Amazon Buy Page
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My Blood Runs Blue
Officer Kristin Greene has always felt that something was missing from her life. Although her job with the Fawn Hollow Township Police Department keeps her busy, she still feels like there is something else out there for her.
She soon finds herself investigating a homicide where a young woman has had her throat ripped out. When she has to give the death notification to the family, her investigative nature comes out fast and strong when the parents seem too accepting of their daughter's death and make comments that just don't fit.
When the family requests the assistance of the VMF Securities, Kristin is confused that they would think a security company could assist with the murder investigation. When Julian and Alexander arrive she quickly finds herself being pulled into a love triangle that has been going on longer then she has been alive. Why do they look at here as if they know her? And why do they keep talking about Calista?
Join Kirstin as she fights to learn the truth about the recent murder, the seductive and blood drinking men that have entered into her life and the rear truth about herself.
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Book Trailer:
My Blood Runs Blue
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Amazon Buy Page
-- Barnes and Noble Buy Page
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Blue Blood For Life
Book Two of the My Blood Runs Blue Series
“You belong to me… for life…”
After a month off, Kristin comes back to work happier then she’s been in a long time. Her new status in life has her solving crimes faster and better than she ever could before. When Alex goes missing, Kristin finds she finally has to reveal the secrets of her life to her friends. Will they be able to stand beside her after they learn all that she has hidden from them?
Julian and Gabe stand beside her faithfully as they try to locate Alex. They are surprised to find Trent already in Fawn Hollow, but know that Trent may be the only one to do what Alex has asked them to do. As one more choice is taken away from Kristin, she attempts to make the best of it, but finds herself drawn to Trent in a way Julian and Alexander could never compare to. Trent goes to work with Kristin to keep her safe but will he be able to handle all that her police world entails?
Can he handle the side of her that she reveals, the one that Alex and Julian know nothing about? When Kristin and Trent uncover the connection between her job and the kidnapping, they are finally able to put the pieces together, but can they get to Alex fast enough? Will Kristin be able to handle rescuing Alex and all that she learns in the process? Join Kristin, Julian, Trent and Alexander as they dive into a new mystery that will have you turning the pages quickly to find out who is responsible and how Kristin’s life is forever changed once again.
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Book Trailer:
Blue Blood For Life
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Amazon Buy Page
-- Barnes and Noble Buy Page
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Author Recommended by:
HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the HBS Author's Spotlight plus the blog:
eBook Author’s Corner. Check out the index of other Spotlight authors.
Spotlight Index.
Self Talk
-- Barnes and Noble Buy Page
Contrast: A Biracial Man's Journey To Desegregate His Past
-- Barnes and Noble Buy Page
Through the Woods
Critical Incident
Deadly Rites
Alaska Dutchman
Stalker
Silent Killer
Lost Legion
Dark Shaman
Dark Soul
Dark Project
Dark Gold
