Almost Dead Blog Tour Starring Children's Author Kaz Delaney

Tour Dates:  

Wednesday January 22nd  
Karen Tyrrell
http://www.karentyrrell.com/write-ya-books-kaz-delaney-book-giveaway/ 

Saturday January 25th 
Ebony McKenna 
http://ejmckennablog.blogspot.com.au/ 

Sunday January 26th 
The Never Ending Bookshelf 
http://theneverendingbookshelf.blog.com/ 

Monday January 27th 
Aussie Book Reviews 
http://aussiereviews.com 

Thursday January 30th
Spinning Pearls
http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com/

Thursday January 30th
Aussie Owned and Read
http://www.aussieownedandread.com

Friday February 7th
Dale Harcombe
http://orangedale.livejournal.com/

Tuesday February 11th 
Dee White
http://www.deescribe.com.au/blog.html  

Thursday February 13th
Robyn Opie Parnell
http://www.robynopie.blogspot.com/

Amanda Ashby
http://amandaashby.blogspot.com/

Dream Big - Read Often
http://www.melissawray.blogspot.com.au/ 


About Almost Dead

A glitzy whodunit set amongst the Gold Coast elite and a hilarious romance between Macey Pentecost, the privileged teenager with a social conscience who just happens to see ghosts, and the good-looking surf champion Finn. 

Description 

Macey was normally immune to cute, but this guy had it down. It was that killer-watt smile. He knew how to work it. Pity he was also dead.

Macey's life has been turned upside down. Her mother has left, her father is absent and her two best friends are MIA. On top of that Macey is being visited by ghosts who need her help to 'move on'. But as wild as all that sounds, she has it all under control until a cheeky, good-looking spirit called Nick turns up ... in her bedroom!

Nick's a spirit with spirit, who insists he's not dead, he's astral travelling and has a message for Macey: someone is out to get her. Macey's biting wit has got her in trouble before, so she's not surprised but when the threatening notes start turning up, she's seriously shaken. Does someone want her dead?

It's all pretty disturbing but she's finding it hard to focus on who could mean her harm with the annoyingly handsome surf god Finn turning up at the most inopportune times and a father with a major surprise of his own.

Is it a case of bad timing? Or are these things somehow connected? And if they are, what on earth should she wear when she's solving the mystery?

---

Kaz Delaney is the author of the award-winning young adult novel Dead, Actually and the pseudonym of author Kerri Lane. Under both names she has written and published over 60 books incorporating readers, chapter books, novels, a romantic novella and young adult novels, My Life as a Snow Bunny and Princesses Don't Sweat.

For many years Kaz has tutored creative writing students at a local university and has written courses for the Australian College of Journalism. She lives at beautiful Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, is a self-confessed bling tragic and believes a smile will take you way further than a frown. And save you a fortune in cosmetic interventions later on. 

ISBN:	9781743313268
Pub Date:	January 2014
Publisher:	Allen & Unwin
Imprint:	A & U Children
Subject:	Young adult fiction
Edition Number:
Suitable for ages:	14-18

http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=655&book=9781743313268

The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing is a game of tag for authors.

The wonderful and prolific author Sally Odgers wrote about her exciting new book Clovie Trefoil - book one of the series The Fairies of Farholt at http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com. Then she tagged me!

 I'm answering ten questions today about my own Next Big Thing.

What is the working title of your next book?
Maya and the Daring Heist - book two of the Maya series.

Where did the idea come from for the project?
Maya and the Crystal Skull was officially released in January 2012. I always planned to write a series of books based around the main character Maya and the crystal skulls. The idea for Maya and the Daring Heist came from reading about the black market trade in ancient artifacts, as well as my own purchase of a crystal skull over the internet.  

What genre does your project fall under?
This is a paranormal action/adventure for confident readers aged 8 and over.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Maya could be played by Willow Shields from The Hunger Games. Ethan could be played by Callan McAuliffe from I Am Number Four. Now for Maya's dad? Johnny Depp? Brad Pitt? I'm not sure. Maybe Kiefer Sutherland. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your project?
A birthday present for Maya's dad sets in motion unexpected events - smugglers, the black market - and Maya’s life is in jeopardy again!

Will your project be self-funded or is the risk shared by others?
I'm not sure yet. I have a few irons in the fire, so we'll have to wait and see.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Before I started writing I had a goal to write 1,000 words a day, which meant I'd write this 40,000 word manuscript in 40 days. In reality, I finished the first draft in around 45 days.

What other projects would you compare this story to within your genre?
I don't know of any others quite like Maya and the Crystal Skull or Maya and the Daring Heist.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I was inspired to write Maya and the Daring Heist because it's a sequel to Maya and the Crystal Skull. I was inspired to write this series because it involves many of my favorite interests, such as psychic mediums, the ancient Maya, the legend of the crystal skulls, and quantum physics. I love these subjects and enjoy threading them throughout my stories.    

What else about the project might pique the reader's interest?
When I wrote Maya and the Crystal Skull I had to do a lot of research about psychic mediums and spirituality. By the time I wrote Maya and the Daring Heist I was writing from my own experience. In November 2010, I had my first experience as a medium. I saw the spirit of a friend's deceased husband. Trust me, no one was more surprised than me! Since November 2010, I've had many fantastic experiences as a psychic medium. I wonder if readers will notice this difference between Maya and the Crystal Skull and Maya and the Daring Heist.

I tagged Wendy Orr for next week and so did Corinne Fenton. Wendy opened Corinne's email first and accepted her offer, then apologized to me. Alas! 

Please visit the following blogs to follow the game around the world… Where will it end? 

Corinne Fenton's blog - http://corinnefenton.com/blog

Wendy Orr's blog - http://wendyorrjournal.blogspot.com.au/

Chris Bell's blog - http://christinemareebell.wordpress.com/

Please check back here to see if anyone else has been tagged for 16/1/2013. 

Fingers crossed for the Next Big Thing!

Love and Light,
Robyn Opie Parnell
http://www.robynopie.com
robyn.opie.parnell@gmail.com