Thursday, June 5, 2014

Win the Rings by K.D. Van Brunt (interview, spotlight, and GIVEAWAY)


  

It's my pleasure to present an interview with author K.D. Van Brunt


1. What part of the writing process do you dread?

That’s easy.  I hate editing.  I enjoy getting the first draft of a story down, but cringe at having to go back an edit it.  But, you have to do it.


2. What is your favorite Joke?

I used it in my book—
Q:    What did the elephant say to the naked man?
A:    It’s cute, but can you breathe through that thing?
Yeah, I know.  It’s lame.



3. Where do you get your best ideas?

Usually the best ones are something I dreamed about and then fleshed out in the shower the next morning.


4. What do you do to relax?

I like to take long walks and listen to my playlist/audiobook.  I work in Washington, DC, which is a fabulous city for walking.  Lots to see.  I also like to take long drives out into the Maryland countryside.  Maryland is a very scenic state if you know where to go.


5. Do you write about what turns you on?

Yes.  I try to put myself in a scene and write it the way I would want it to unfold if it were really happening to me.



                                     


Win the Rings

by K.D. Van Brunt

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BLURB:

Jace has been the property of the U.S. Army since they found out about her when she was five, and now she has become one of its most valuable weapons. But Jace is not the only one of her kind. Gray is one too, but with the help of his sister, he has spent most of his sixteen years hiding from the Army.

Now, the Army has found out about Gray and they cannot allow him to roam free. Operating on the theory that it takes one to catch one, Jace is send out with a special ops squad to hunt Gray down. But Jace is not the only one pursuing Gray, and the competition is after her too. What ensues is a desperate chase through city after city as duty and honor collide with love and sacrifice.

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EXCERPT

“I’m Mark,” he says.
           
“Tina,” I blurt out before I know what I’m doing.
           
“Princess Tina from the kingdom of Berwick,” Mark says with a wolfish grin.
           
I can’t help myself.  I shoot him a flirtatious smile.  I’m about to tell him that he looks like Justin Bieber having a bad hair day, in a kind of blended compliment-insult thing, when Nia’s words crash into my head.
           
Gray, I think it’s him.
           
Where?
           
By Au Bon Pain.  He has a dark green trench coat on, but I saw a flash of the hoodie underneath.
         
“Shit,” I say out loud, grabbing the wheel back from Tina.  I toss the paper and bolt for the restaurant.
           
“Hey, wait a sec,” the Biebs shouts to me.
          
As I turn the corner of the newsstand, I hear Nia’s frantic words.
           
He’s pulling something from his coat.
           
I see him now.  He’s standing in front of a plate glass window looking in on a crush of people inside, sitting at tables and queued up behind counters to buy lunch.  He’s pulling back a slide on an automatic assault rifle, preparing to pump the first of a hundred rounds of bullets into the crowded restaurant.  There’s no time to find a policeman.  In seconds loony tunes will be shooting.
           
We have to stop him, I say, and then I see Nia sprinting at him like me.
           
We both slam into him at the same time just as he’s leveling the gun to fire, and all three of us tumble to the hard, icy concrete.  I’m lying on my side facing Peter Eklend and he’s on his side facing me.  I’ve wrenched my shoulder and it’s too painful for me to sit up.  Peter Eklend shoots a glare of such hatred at me that I flinch.  Then I see that he still has the gun in his hands.  Nia is on her feet now, but before she can do anything, Peter pulls the trigger.  The explosion brings a sudden quietness to my ears, as if I’ve just gone deaf, and I feel a stabbing hot pain in my chest, as if I’ve been impaled on a red-hot fireplace poker.  I cough, sending a froth of blood spraying out of my mouth.  I need to breathe, but my lungs aren’t working.
           
Then my ears start working and I hear Nia scream.  Others are now wrestling with Peter.  Another shot goes off.  It doesn’t hit me. 
           
Gray.  Shift.  You have to shift!
           
I’m losing consciousness.  I can’t breathe.  My lungs are filling with blood.  This body is dying.  I can feel it.  I’m seconds away from the last, icy embrace of death.  I have to get out of this body, leave it behind and flee to another body—a healthy, unwounded body.  I need to shift now.  With one last shred of will power, just as awareness winks out, I shift back to me.
           
A crowd has gathered around me by now, and I hear a collective gasp when they see me shimmer and change.  I’m lying on the ground in a sticky, syrupy pool of blood, but I’m back in my own body now—my own bullet-free body.  Nia is immediately at my side pulling me to my feet.   Some of Tina’s blood stains my pants and sweatshirt as I roll away from Peter Eklend.  I’ve shifted away from death in the nick of time.  A strange exhilaration causes my skin to tinkle and a rush of adrenaline floods through me.  I’ve evaded eternity by mere nanoseconds.
           
Run!  Nia says, bringing me back to the moment.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Bio:    K.D. Van Brunt has been writing professionally his entire career and has published an extensive list of nonfiction works. Win the Rings is his first fiction book. When not writing, he reads and listens to audiobooks during his daily drive through the sea of gridlock that is commuting in and out of Washington, DC. A long time resident of Maryland, he can often be found tromping around the many civil war battle sites in the area. To find out more about K.D. Van Brunt, including bonus content relating to Win the Rings, check out his website--www.kdvanbrunt.com--and follow him on twitter--
@KDVanBrunt.

Twitter:  @kdvanbrunt

Website 

Video trailer

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GIVEAWAY





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Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here 


14 comments:

  1. I like that the author gets ideas from dreams. ---Rae

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    1. I am impressed that they can be written down...sometimes I forget my dreams the minute I wake up completely! Thanks for visiting, Rae.

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  2. The joke gave me a chuckle this morning!

    vitajex(At)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it (snicker), thanks for visiting!

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  3. Great excerpt, thank you.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome, thanks for visiting, Rita!

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  4. Replies
    1. Glad it brought a smile to your face, thanks for visiting!

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  5. Replies
    1. Sorry, bn, just found your comment in my spam folder...thank you (belatedly) for visiting!

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  6. A great interview. I don't think I would like editing either.

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    Replies
    1. I actually enjoy editing (fortunately, lol). It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to polish a rough manuscript into a gem of a story and helping an author get his or her story out to be appreciated! Thanks for visiting, Mary!

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