Lynn Rush - An Author Interview in the HBS Author's Spotlight

Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Author Lynn Rush. She is the author of the Touch of Frost series and the Bound By Hades series writing as Reese Monroe.

Author Genre: New Adult, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult

Website: Lynn Rush
Author's Blog: Catch The Rush
Blog: Lynn Rush
Twitter: @Rush_Monroe
E-Mail: LynnRush (at) lynnrush (dot) com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Amazon Author Profile


Author Description:
Growing up in the land of 10,000 lakes and cold, snowy winters, Lynn Rush has been known to weave a little of that cool Minnesota climate into her stories, but these days, she much prefers desert living. She resides in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband, and when she's not busy writing her next trilogy, she can be found pounding the pavement, training for her next endurance event.


SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author

First things first. Do you have another book on the horizon? Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?

I do, actually. Though it’s not a “new” book, it’s Frostbite in a BOXED set with fifteen other authors! Dirty Boys of Summer: Alphas, Billionaires, Bikers, and Jocks BOXED Set

But personally, I am working on some new projects in a different category—Middle Grade!! Yep. I’m working on a new series that my agent will shop once it’s nice and shiny! Also, I got the rights back to six of my books from a previous publisher, Crescent Moon Press, so I am considering re-releasing those…but we’ll see what happens.

You have a good following on twitter. Since you started before the social media buzz, what impact has social media relationships had on your current success? How did you build your following in your niche? How much has it changed your book launch process?

I love social media. Twitter is huge and I have fun with that. But most of the time I’m on Instagram. Sure, that feeds to Twitter so you’re seeing me on there quite a bit from that. As for affect on success, etc. I don’t look at it that way. I look at it as making connections, hanging out with people, and getting to know them. I’m kinda known as a super optimistic and positive person online, and that’s my goal. Lots of junk and negativity out there, so I try and stay pretty up beat and get to know as many people as I can. If they happen to buy my books, fine, if not, I still want to hang with them!

You do book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances. When and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?

My most recent conference was last November at the Southwest Valley Writers Conference where I talked about Mind Mapping Your Way to Deeper Characters. That was a BLAST! Then of course there was the Tucson Festival of Books and just recently the Dog-Eared Pages Bookstore Spring 2015 Author Palooza. This May I’ll be at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention! I’ll have a few appearances with Entangled Publishing and my agent’s company, The Seymour Agency. Hope to see some of you there!

You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?

Entangled Publishing did a great job on the Bound by Hades trilogy. Really knocked it out of the park. As for my self-published trilogy, Touch of Frost, I contracted the artist who had done all of my books that were with Crescent Moon Press. She’s amazing. I was definitely blessed by the Cover Gods for sure. Very talented people out there. I trust their instinct more than mine. I’m a writer, so I let the professionals do the designing. They ask great questions about my characters and the story line and then they go to work.

You have a great book trailer. (See link below.) It looks very professional. Do you know how much impact it has had on your book’s success? Tell us about the process that you used to create your trailer?

Yes! Rachel Firasek made that trailer. https://youtu.be/azsucCVtXL4

Isn’t it great?? She’s amazingly talented. I’m not so sure about the impact on the book, but I can tell you I love it and it paints a nice picture of the story, so I’ll go with it. It’s a nice teaser about the book for sure. I just smile when I see it.

I like the idea of Author bundles. You are a part of a novel collection called Dirty Boys of Summer Boxed Set being released in June. What was the main objective of bundling your works with other Young Adult authors? How did you put something like this together?

I’m super excited about this boxed set. For a couple of reasons. I get to work with fifteen amazing authors. It’s also about some networking and marketing, but I’m all about the learning and growing as an author, and what better way than to team up with great authors. We live this author life together, so it’s nice to team up and have some fun getting our stories out to new readers.

What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?

I’ve done each of my Touch of Frost trilogy free for a very limited time. Getting books into people’s hands is key. It exposes yourself to new readers, and if they like the book they picked up, they’ll see what else you have. Ultimately, it’s about writing a good book, though. Free or not, it has to be good for anyone to want to read anything else you’ve written.

Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?

I have a newsletter, you bet. I do giveaways almost every month. I usually ask some type of question to learn more about my readers. By answering the question they earn entry to the giveaway. It’s just fun for me, I love doing it. ? Growing my list…I’ll sometimes do an incentive post to gain new subscribers, but mostly, I want them to want to sign up to learn more about my books and interact with me. I put the link in the back of my books, so they can sign up after reading my books if they want to.

You have a great blog. You do a great job keeping readers informed, marketing your books and providing useful information to other writers. What is your primary goal? And where in the world do you find the time to create great novels, take care of the social media and maintain your blog?

I like blogging just to let people know what’s happening in the Lynn Rush world. I love talking movies and music, too. Not always my books, because there’s so much more to me than my writing and I know I like to know more about the authors I follow so I do the same.

This year’s Tucson Festival of Books was a great event, enjoyed by thousands. A Book festival is a unique selling situation. How did you prepare for the festival? Did it meet your goals? If you had to do something different next year, what would that be?



I had a blast this year at TFOB. I mean, I always do, but this year, the readers were very receptive to Frostbite. We sold out in a matter of hours. That’s a nice problem to have, but also bad, because I felt bad for the people I had to turn away. I had a so much fun meeting new people and talking books. And the authors I got to hang out with were a blast! Big thanks to Kris Tualla for organizing things and Dog-Eared Pages Bookstore for running the sales! So much fun & great people!!



Author's Book List
Claimed By Light - Bound By Hades
Forgiveness softens even the hardest of hearts…

College senior Slade Bennet is so close to his degree he can taste it...until his sister becomes tangled with a coven of demons and he must trade his soul to save her. But first he must kill the assigned target: a sexually charged beauty who ignites his protective instinct.

After the devastating loss of her Companion, the last thing Halena Girard can stomach is the emotional connection to a Mate. She lives for only two things: vanquishing demons, and seeking Artifacts rumored to lead to Lucifer's downfall. That is, until she's attacked by a...frat boy? Worse, a newly-demonic frat boy wearing the mark of her Mate.

Halena would rather kill Slade than give him her heart. Unfortunately, the only way Slade can find his sister and Halena the Artifacts is to work together. As they face the darkest of evil, Slade's ability to crush Halena's carefully erected walls might prove to be the most lethal battle of all.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - KOBO
Marked By Hades - Bound By Hades
One choice away from eternity… For 911 years, Gatekeeper companion Justin Bradford has denied the possibility of being mated to only one woman. He enjoys them all too much to settle down. So when he feels his mate’s Ahavah mark surface, his first instinct is to ignore it. But when he sees the leather-clad beauty in need of his help that’s easier said than done…

Yvonne wakes up naked on a cold park bench in a small town with no memory of who—or what—she is. All she knows is the gentle man who woke her was turned to dust when she touched him. And now the strange mark that appeared on her shoulder throbs in the presence of the raven-haired man now offering to help her…

As Justin and Yvonne navigate the mystery of her past, their bond grows, but the secrets they discover and the sacrifices that must be made could be enough to rip them apart for eternity.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - KOBO
Forged by Fate - Bound By Hades
He’s waited more than 900 years to love her…

Being the Gatekeeper to Hades is no small feat, and waiting almost a millennia to meet your mate is damn near impossible. But Theo Bradford’s mark has finally surfaced on his intended. Now all he has to do is find her and convince her to embrace her supernatural heritage.

Young genius, Sadie Nowland, has got life figured out. Graduating college at the age of eighteen and accepting a six-figure job is just what she needs to prove she’s made something of herself. But when a strange tattoo mysteriously appears on her shoulder and Theo starts talking about Mates, it catapults her neatly laid out life into chaos.

Targeted by a vicious demon escaped from Hades, Sadie is thrust into the volatile world of Shomrei warriors and a connection to Theo her brain can’t comprehend and her body can’t deny. That primal bond proves more imperative to their survival than either could have ever imagined—and just may be the key to the world’s survival.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - KOBO
Cryostorm - Touch of Frost Book 3
They made his body, she’ll awaken his soul…

Three months ago, my twin sister, Georgia, and I had to die so our loved ones would be safe from the scientists hunting us. After months of searching, we’re close to finding the one person who can help us find closure, Georgia’s adoptive mother, Lois.

Snowstorms and an unexpected run-in with GenCorp, the latest entity charged with capturing us, delay our mission and break our spirits. The only light in my supernaturally chaotic life is Nate. He’s given up everything to protect and take care of me, and each minute I’m with him confirms how much I love him. Finally ready to share my heart again, I take the next step, admitting my true feelings.

The mad scientists who want to tear me apart and use my body for a freak show, once again taint my happiness with a disturbing technology that rips Nate from my arms. As I battle GenCorp’s warped technology to save my soulmate, I’m faced with the vivid reality: the Nate I knew and fell in love with may be lost forever.

And if I get him back, will I still be able to say those three precious words?


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - KOBO
Absolute Zero - Touch of Frost Book 2
Death may be the only way I can live…

The Center is destroyed. Mandy and Georgia have their own place near campus and are ready to start their new lives as college students. All that’s missing is Mandy’s steamy relationship with Zach. His sudden distance and irritability has Mandy wondering…and possibly wandering.

Nate Ashcroft, a beautiful, but mysterious, guy literally falls into Mandy’s life, shattering her already unstable relationship with Zach. When an unknown agency sets its targets on Mandy and Georgia, ugly truths of Mandy’s powers, her parents’ deaths and the people she’s chosen to trust send her life into a tailspin.

One only her death can stop.


Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - KOBO
Frostbite - Touch of Frost Book 1
Amanda gives a whole new meaning to cool…

Amanda Smith is sick of getting chased from town-to-town. So when she lands in tiny Trifle, Arizona, she hopes it’s her last move for a long time. Despite hating the smallness of the town, she settles in and finds a best friend, and even a boyfriend. Normality at its finest.

But for a girl who can shoot snow from her hands and lift a two-ton truck over her head like a bag of feathers—normal is not an option.

The scientists who murdered her mother come barreling into Amanda’s quiet life. She must decide if she’ll run again or stay and fight. The price of either choice might be her life or the lives of those she’s come to love…


Book Trailer: Frostbite

Order the Book From: Amazon - Barnes and Noble - KOBO
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