Hi Angela. Before we start the interview, tell us a little about you and why you chose to write books.
First thanks for the chance to commandeer your blog for the day. I am really excited to be here! I’ve been married to my perfect man for almost 23 years and we have three kids, and a couple too many cats. We were done collecting at four, and then at a shelter we met our munchkin, Frodo Baggins who won us over with his miniature legs and spunky personality. Here’s a pic.
My first book was published after my 12 year old son claimed "I’d never done anything really hard." He was in a highly advanced gifted class and was struggling. Realizing that he only knew me as Mom I told him I’d write a book to let him see me do something hard. Little did I know it would change my life forever and four books later, I’m a full-blown author. Thanks for the challenge Kyler
Alright, let’s start the interview….
1. Angela, who or What inspired you to write this book?
This book is the second book in The Secret Keeper series so the question is more like what inspired the series. That would have to be to power of human regret. We make mistakes all the time, but truthfully most of us would love to stop and do everything perfectly. A secret keeper allows us that indulgence… but comes with a hefty price. I guess you could say this book is inspired by human weakness
2. What is the name of your new book?
The name is In The Dying Light. My teenage kids think it sounds like a James Bond movie! I’ll take that.
3. Tell us more about it.
Oooh, this could be spoiler central for the first book but I’ll try. Winter’s life is completely different since her deal with the Secret Keeper, particularly since no one but her longtime boyfriend remembers her.(first book explains) . These changes have put her in a very lonely place and her boyfriend is just trying to survive college and pay for her since she can’t work. At a very dark time, a stranger (super-hot Briggs) enters her life and he understands her situation more than anyone else can. The question is will Briggs heal her or bring unthinkable pain into her and Liam’s life? Yeah, it’s intense like the first one!
4.Your second book Shackled won the silver IPGA award in 2012 and has been optioned as a screenplay. Congratulations! Has there been any progress towards a movie production?
The writers of the screenplay are twin brothers and work together on all their projects plus hold day jobs so I know they face heavy challenges time-wise and financially! Last I heard they were still working on funding but as I’ve learned from my fellow authors Hollywood moves at a snail’s pace and is finicky. For now, I’m keeping with my fingers crossed.
5. Finally, what projects are you working on now?
I’m writing like a fiend to finish the Secret Keeper series. I totally get that fans want to know happens next especially when I tease them with a tense ending. I’m also working with one of the teens I mentor in my teen writer’s group on a novella about the enchantress in the Secret Keeper series. It is a prequel and will tell the story of how the curse came to be. Just in case I get bored after that, I have a Rom-com trilogy planned about three friends. The first book has already been started and is called Five Days, Five Kisses. So many fun books are coming so watch for that.
Thanks for taking the time to interview today. It was great to get to know you better. Below, you’ll find links to connect with Angela as well as a giveaway she's running on her blog to celebrate the release of the second book in the Secret Keeper series called IN The Dying Light. You can win both books 1&2 so go enter!!! Enter to win here
If you want to check out all of Angela's books click here
Links to connect with Angela
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePajamWriter/videos?view=0
And last but not least, here's an except from In The Dying Light
Chapter 1
I knew he had a secret. After six months as a secret keeper, I could always tell. Usually their eyes gave them away. This time it was his body language: his shoulders slumped and his hands hung low, barely touching the sides of his pressed business suit. I wasn’t fooled by his expensive clothes. Rich people do stupid things, too, and this was going to bad one—one that would break hearts and destroy lives. It might be infidelity or a business deal gone wrong. Whatever it was, his confession was going to be painful to me. He was the cocky type, bound to do something stupid again. He might even come back to me. I could entice him to make a final deal, and I would be free of the secret keeper curse. I pushed aside my own despicable thoughts. He prodded along, inching ever closer to me. He knew I was his savior. I didn’t know who’d told him, but he was sure I could make his secret go away. I leapt up from the park bench and ran. My bare feet made almost no noise on the long sidewalk that pushed me deeper into the city. “Wait!” he called, his footsteps pounding overly-loud like angry blood coursing through my veins. I ducked behind a one-story building and slid my body against the scratchy stucco wall. My shirt snagged and tore, leaving my tender skin vulnerable. He kept in pursuit. “I have to tell you my secret,” he screamed into the long alley that bridged the distance between us. “You have to fix it!” The word it reverberated off the walls like an odd, taunting echo. I turned, and the man behind me was inexplicably next to me. He grabbed me, pinning me to the wall with his whole body. He smelled of rot, stinky wet forest rot, of life breaking down and disappearing forever. I hated that smell. It was the scent of the secret keeper before me. Now, because I bore her curse, it would become my stench. I thrashed against him, but he held me firm. Every muscle in my body tensed. I closed my eyes and braced myself. “I killed my partner so I could have control of everything,” he confessed. Words sank through my porous skin and into my defenseless soul. I arched my back in pain as I absorbed and erased his unthinkable crime. A scream tore through me and out into my dark apartment.
I sat up, abruptly woken from my nightmare, gasping for air. My hand went to my face to find it sticky with sweat, and my heart raced as if I’d actually been attacked. The dreams were getting worse. The longer I was a secret keeper, the more real they felt. Now I wasn’t just taking on secrets during the day, I was reliving them at night with unforgiving clarity. Is this what my secret keeper experienced? No wonder she hid herself in a forest so no one could find her. No wonder she was willing to let me suffer so she could be released.
I blinked my burning eyes and tried to focus. With fumbling fingers, I reached for my phone. It was a gift from my boyfriend Liam so that I’d never have to feel alone. Once I’d become a secret keeper, no one, not even my parents remembered me. My heart rate was slowing down, but I still struggled to push the right buttons. I hit send, and my eyes darted to the clock. I’d been in such a fog, I hadn’t considered the time. It was 3:00 a.m. Liam would be sleeping, exhausted from his classes and work. I quickly mashed the glowing rectangle with the words End Call. The screen went blank, and then a picture of Liam and I standing in front of a sign that read Welcome to ASU filled the dark space.
I ran my hands down my face as if I could wipe away not just the bad dream but the last six months of my life. I let myself fall back on the bed. On my unclad arms I felt the dampness left by my sweat. I’d have to wash my sheets again tomorrow. I’d do it after I met Liam tomorrow night.
First thanks for the chance to commandeer your blog for the day. I am really excited to be here! I’ve been married to my perfect man for almost 23 years and we have three kids, and a couple too many cats. We were done collecting at four, and then at a shelter we met our munchkin, Frodo Baggins who won us over with his miniature legs and spunky personality. Here’s a pic.
Alright, let’s start the interview….
1. Angela, who or What inspired you to write this book?
This book is the second book in The Secret Keeper series so the question is more like what inspired the series. That would have to be to power of human regret. We make mistakes all the time, but truthfully most of us would love to stop and do everything perfectly. A secret keeper allows us that indulgence… but comes with a hefty price. I guess you could say this book is inspired by human weakness
2. What is the name of your new book?
The name is In The Dying Light. My teenage kids think it sounds like a James Bond movie! I’ll take that.
3. Tell us more about it.
Oooh, this could be spoiler central for the first book but I’ll try. Winter’s life is completely different since her deal with the Secret Keeper, particularly since no one but her longtime boyfriend remembers her.(first book explains) . These changes have put her in a very lonely place and her boyfriend is just trying to survive college and pay for her since she can’t work. At a very dark time, a stranger (super-hot Briggs) enters her life and he understands her situation more than anyone else can. The question is will Briggs heal her or bring unthinkable pain into her and Liam’s life? Yeah, it’s intense like the first one!
4.Your second book Shackled won the silver IPGA award in 2012 and has been optioned as a screenplay. Congratulations! Has there been any progress towards a movie production?
The writers of the screenplay are twin brothers and work together on all their projects plus hold day jobs so I know they face heavy challenges time-wise and financially! Last I heard they were still working on funding but as I’ve learned from my fellow authors Hollywood moves at a snail’s pace and is finicky. For now, I’m keeping with my fingers crossed.
5. Finally, what projects are you working on now?
I’m writing like a fiend to finish the Secret Keeper series. I totally get that fans want to know happens next especially when I tease them with a tense ending. I’m also working with one of the teens I mentor in my teen writer’s group on a novella about the enchantress in the Secret Keeper series. It is a prequel and will tell the story of how the curse came to be. Just in case I get bored after that, I have a Rom-com trilogy planned about three friends. The first book has already been started and is called Five Days, Five Kisses. So many fun books are coming so watch for that.
Thanks for taking the time to interview today. It was great to get to know you better. Below, you’ll find links to connect with Angela as well as a giveaway she's running on her blog to celebrate the release of the second book in the Secret Keeper series called IN The Dying Light. You can win both books 1&2 so go enter!!! Enter to win here
If you want to check out all of Angela's books click here
Website http://www.angelacarling.com/
Facebook https://twitter.com/angelacarling
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePajamWriter/videos?view=0
And last but not least, here's an except from In The Dying Light
Chapter 1
I knew he had a secret. After six months as a secret keeper, I could always tell. Usually their eyes gave them away. This time it was his body language: his shoulders slumped and his hands hung low, barely touching the sides of his pressed business suit. I wasn’t fooled by his expensive clothes. Rich people do stupid things, too, and this was going to bad one—one that would break hearts and destroy lives. It might be infidelity or a business deal gone wrong. Whatever it was, his confession was going to be painful to me. He was the cocky type, bound to do something stupid again. He might even come back to me. I could entice him to make a final deal, and I would be free of the secret keeper curse. I pushed aside my own despicable thoughts. He prodded along, inching ever closer to me. He knew I was his savior. I didn’t know who’d told him, but he was sure I could make his secret go away. I leapt up from the park bench and ran. My bare feet made almost no noise on the long sidewalk that pushed me deeper into the city. “Wait!” he called, his footsteps pounding overly-loud like angry blood coursing through my veins. I ducked behind a one-story building and slid my body against the scratchy stucco wall. My shirt snagged and tore, leaving my tender skin vulnerable. He kept in pursuit. “I have to tell you my secret,” he screamed into the long alley that bridged the distance between us. “You have to fix it!” The word it reverberated off the walls like an odd, taunting echo. I turned, and the man behind me was inexplicably next to me. He grabbed me, pinning me to the wall with his whole body. He smelled of rot, stinky wet forest rot, of life breaking down and disappearing forever. I hated that smell. It was the scent of the secret keeper before me. Now, because I bore her curse, it would become my stench. I thrashed against him, but he held me firm. Every muscle in my body tensed. I closed my eyes and braced myself. “I killed my partner so I could have control of everything,” he confessed. Words sank through my porous skin and into my defenseless soul. I arched my back in pain as I absorbed and erased his unthinkable crime. A scream tore through me and out into my dark apartment.
I sat up, abruptly woken from my nightmare, gasping for air. My hand went to my face to find it sticky with sweat, and my heart raced as if I’d actually been attacked. The dreams were getting worse. The longer I was a secret keeper, the more real they felt. Now I wasn’t just taking on secrets during the day, I was reliving them at night with unforgiving clarity. Is this what my secret keeper experienced? No wonder she hid herself in a forest so no one could find her. No wonder she was willing to let me suffer so she could be released.
I blinked my burning eyes and tried to focus. With fumbling fingers, I reached for my phone. It was a gift from my boyfriend Liam so that I’d never have to feel alone. Once I’d become a secret keeper, no one, not even my parents remembered me. My heart rate was slowing down, but I still struggled to push the right buttons. I hit send, and my eyes darted to the clock. I’d been in such a fog, I hadn’t considered the time. It was 3:00 a.m. Liam would be sleeping, exhausted from his classes and work. I quickly mashed the glowing rectangle with the words End Call. The screen went blank, and then a picture of Liam and I standing in front of a sign that read Welcome to ASU filled the dark space.
I ran my hands down my face as if I could wipe away not just the bad dream but the last six months of my life. I let myself fall back on the bed. On my unclad arms I felt the dampness left by my sweat. I’d have to wash my sheets again tomorrow. I’d do it after I met Liam tomorrow night.
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