Author Guest Post With Keri Lake

Keri Lake has kindly agreed to guest post here about her work, and share her inspiration for becoming a writer in honor of her debut release, Somnium.

 About The Author:

Keri Lake is a married mother of two living in Michigan. She writes fiction in the genres of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and recently finished book 1 of a paranormal YA series. A graduate of Michigan State University (go green!), Keri holds 2 degrees in science but would gladly trade them both to pursue her true passion for writing. Though novels tend to be her focus, she has also written countless short stories and flash fiction whenever the distraction arises. She completed her very first novel in 2008 and has written two more since then with a few in the works.

When she isn’t toiling away on plots and protagonists, she enjoys reading, music and travel. If she could create mystical powers for herself, she’d have the ability to flash to anywhere in the world. And if she could flash to anywhere in the world at this very moment, she’d be staring at the ocean from her adirondack chair on the shores of North Carolina.

Find Keri Lake on the Web:

Official Website | Goodreads | Twitter  Facebook

 Guest Post:

It’s probably safe to say that those who love to write know it from the time of birth.  We grow up being the odd kids with the overactive imagination; the ones that force you to go home and ask your parents if magical flying unicorns really do exist.  We start out as storytellers until we learn to write.  The writing evolves over time, molding into whatever preferences we begin to develop as teenagers and adults.  In my case, I think it’s always been a bit dark.

I blame the house I grew up in.  It was built in the 1920’s, I believe.  My parents bought it off of two older women; sisters.  Unless I’m getting the story confused with one of many swirling in my head, one of the sisters died.  I remember my mother telling me this and the very first thought that popped in my head was, in the house?  It wouldn’t have surprised me.  Between the strange sounds I’d hear at night and the cold caress of fear that brushed the back of my neck every time I had to venture down to the basement, I was convinced the house was haunted. 

We lived there for about 20 years.  It was the kind of layout that had the best hiding places.  Those little nooks tucked away in the walls, hidden by storage and darkness.  My favorite was a tiny cupboard under the staircase.  Here is where my imagination broke free from the confines of my head.  I would gather up my siblings and we’d cram inside the small cubby space.  There was no light, so I’d bring a flashlight and shine it on my face.  My siblings sat cross-legged and wide-eyed listening to me spin a creepy tale.  And just like that, I’d turn their bedrooms into a portal for monsters, minutes before bedtime. 

Over time my stories diverged into poetry, starting out the ‘roses are red…’ until they eventually became dark and poignant.  I loved giving readers something to think about by the end of it.  In high school, I took a creative writing class and learned about metaphors in writing.  Oh so fun.  This is when my poetry expanded into little flash stories.  And so began my flash addiction. 

My writing sat on the backburner for many years while I went through college, started a career in science of all things, got married and began having children.  Then in 2008, I sat down to write and didn’t stop until I finished a ridiculously long YA novel.  The very first novel I’d ever written – completed.  The next year, I wrote another novel.  And the year after, I started Somnium.  The story was based on my little sister, an aspiring engineer, who’d taken a job out of state.  It scared the crap out of me to think of her so far away from her family.  The idea of an angel, strong and fierce, looking out for her was so comforting, I decided to make him real in my head.  Halos came to life.  I wanted more than the pure and celestial beings we’ve come to know.  So I created a new class of angels; the gruntmen, hardened and dark, looking for redemption. 

At this moment, Requiem, book two of the Halos trilogy, is in the works.  It will pick up where Somnium left off and begin to unravel some of the mysteries introduced in book one.  I’ve also begun writing some short stories, written from the POV’s of different Halos characters.  I’ll be posting these to my website as fun little extras.  A novella will also follow that introduces the Halos world.

 Somnium:

Title:  Somnium (Halos trilogy, #1) 

Author: Keri Lake

Publication Date: December 16, 2011

A work assignment in Kittery, Maine should be routine for Allie Lynch; nothing more than to prove herself as a brilliant engineer. Instead she finds herself torn between two men: a gorgeous military guard, Colton Briggs, and her devilishly handsome colleague, Drew Costa. To resist temptation, Allie does the only thing she can: she throws herself into her work.
But fate has other plans for Allie. Women are going missing all around her, Allie is struck with a series of life-threatening mishaps, and she becomes the obsession of a local deranged psychopath.
Thrust into a dark world that she can hardly fathom, Allie must fight for her very survival, open her mind to new realities – and open her heart to the possibility of love. Because both of these men are trouble – but one is a greater danger than she could ever imagine …

Find Somnium Online:  

Goodreads | Official Website | Smashwords | Kindle | Nook

 Book Trailer:

 GIVEAWAY (CLOSED): 

Thanks to the wonderful Keri Lake, I have 1 ebook of this novel to giveaway here on my blog!

***Open To Everyone!***

Giveaway policies:

• To Enter: Please leave a comment indicating why you want to read this novel and leave your e-mail address.

• This giveaway ends on February 29 , 2012
• This giveaway is open to those 13 years of age or older. 
• All giveaway winners will be announced on the blog.
• I can disqualify any entry as I see fit. 
• I will use Random.org to select the winners.
• Once the winners have been notified, they will have 24 hours to confirm their interest otherwise new winners will be selected.

WINNER: BARBARA

Happy reading until next time!