Flicker by Courtney Houston @goddessfish @courtneyhouson

INTERVIEW

Welcome!  Thanks for sitting down with me for this short Q&A!

Tell us about a favorite character from a book. 

I love Alexander Barrington from The Bronze Horseman. From the beginning, you can feel his love for Tatiana seep into you from the pages. It’s one of those epic romances and you dream about for weeks and months. He’s flawed and rough and perfect. He’s the type of character I hope to one day be able to write.
Tell us about your current release.

My last release was Shatter, book 2 in the Defying Death Series. It’s a continuation of Flicker, and follows Telor and Lina’s story as well. Where Flicker was for all intents and purposes a love story, Shatter is when shit get real. Telor and Lina face a lot of obstacles in their relationship, it’s a real test of their love.
Tell us about your next release.

My next release will be Conjure, book 2.5 in the Defying Death Series. It is a novella written from Jisley’s point of view. It still follows Telor and Lina’s story, but in a behind the scenes type of way. You get to see what Jils has been up to throughout the other two books. It’s amazing for me as an author to see inside her head. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing your books?

 I had always heard that characters change their mind. I thought that it was ridiculous, you’re the author, you make this up! I was totally wrong. They change their minds all the time… I repeat All.The.Time. I will plan things out and have a nice idea of the novel. Then one of them just won’t get in damn boat and goes off to do their own thing. It’s frustrating because you really have little control over them.
If you could exchange lives with any of your characters for a day which character would you choose and why? 

I think it would be Jilsey. Mostly for the sheer knowledge of basically everything that she has. She’s one of my darker characters, which I didn’t except until I started writing her. I think it would be interesting to simply feel the way one would feel after living since the dawn of time. Would I still love as deeply as I do? More so? Would hot bread straight from the oven with butter still taste as delicious as it does now? It would be an interesting adventure to say the least.

Is there a piece of advice that you have received that has really stuck with you? If so, what was it? 

Before I published by first book, there was a discussion between a few authors about bad reviews. I said that I was questioning publishing my own book because of how harsh some people can be when it comes to reviews. One of the authors in the discussion told me to publish my book because you can’t let the inevitability of bad reviews (because they will come) scare me away from the opportunity to get good ones. There will always be someone who dislikes my book, that’s ok, you’re allowed to dislike it. But there will be people who love it, and that makes it worth it. It’s been my philosophy from that point on to write for the good ones and not for the bad ones. Take those leaps and let myself fall. 

ABOUT THE BOOK
Flickerby Courtney Houston
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
BLURB:
My name is Catalina Franklin. And I should be dead.
When Death called my number, sending one of her Guides to take my soul, she didn't count on one thing. The Guide she sent - He was made for me, and I for him. Pulling me back from the arms of Death, Telor changed my fate - and his. Now we're left with the question of not only how he's still here, but why. Will we get the answers we need? Or will Death find us first? Only time will tell...but ours is quickly running out.
Buy link- http://amzn.to/1K4SHPI
EXCERPT
Telor surveyed my room with a sad resigned smile, stopping to look at my pictures, running his hand over one of the many porcelain dolls on a shelf next to my dresser. I wondered what he was thinking, or if he would tell me the truth if I asked. The urge to comfort him was almost unbearable. Walking quietly over to him, I wrapped my arms around his middle and pulled him to me, resting my head on his back.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he answered, though his voice was far away. He might have heard the question, but he wasn’t listening.
“Liar,” I whispered. “Tell me.”
“Are you and your brother close?” he asked.
“We were. He’s dead,” I answered. I haven’t actually said that out loud for a long time. People were liars—it didn’t get easier. As much as it hurt to talk about Ollie, it hurt to watch Telor yearn for his lost ones more.  Ones he never really got to mourn. “He and my dad died in a car accident when I was eight. Oliver was only seventeen; he was nine years older than me.”
“Your mum?” he asked, his voice had gotten thicker. “She’s still around?”
I let out a short bark of humorless laughter. “She’s still alive. But my mother has been gone for a long time. When they died, she drowned her sorrow at the bottom of any bottle she could find. I remind her of the family she lost, so she can barely stand to look at me.”
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Courtney lives in Kentucky with her husband (Mr. Houston), her two boys (Emmett and Ellis), her two cats (Polly and Jed) and her 3 chickens. Legal Assistant by day and writer by night, Courtney enjoys pancakes, coffee, wine and the number 26. She's a Leo, at least that's what the tattoo on her back says.
www.facebook.com/authorcourtneyhouston
Twitter @courtneyhouson
Buy link- http://amzn.to/1K4SHPI
GIVEAWAY
Courtney will be awarding $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
a Rafflecopter giveaway