Rochelle Weber--Author

Hi! I’m Rochelle Weber, and I write the Moon Rock series. ROCK BOUND—Jake saved Annie’s life. Now slaves on that God-forsaken rock, the Moon, how will they survive? ROCK CRAZY—Katie McGowan's abandoned, pregnant, bi-polar, and going crazy on that God-forsaken rock, the Moon! THE THIN PERSON INSIDE—when Kristen got help for her obesity, she never expected to fall in love—let alone with a rock star. Buy ROCK BOUND at Amazon. ROCK CRAZY and THE THIN PERSON INSIDE are at MuseItUp Publishing.

Sunday, August 05, 2018

Kim Baccellia, @ ixtumea, #crossedfire, #crossedout, #lachesispublishing

Hi!, I’m Kim Baccellia, a YA author. I’m from Sacramento (yes, the same city where Stephanie does her crossings). Currently I live in Southern California with my husband, son, and Damon, my birdy cockatiel.

RW: How many hours a day do you spend writing?

KB: I usually write Monday-Friday and give myself the weekend off. If I have a deadline though, I will work during the weekend.

I schedule time for writing. During this time, I don’t answer the phone or do errands for others. This is my time. I feel it’s very important to give yourself permission to say ‘no’ to others.

RW: Why did you decide to write? When did you submit your first manuscript and what genre was it?

KB: I’ve always wanted to be an author. I’ve written short stories since the fifth grade. I didn’t really start submitting stories/poetry out until much later. My first novel, Earrings of Ixtumea, was a multi-diverse YA fantasy.

RW: Who influenced your writing?

KB: I’d have to say Terry Brooks influenced my writing at the beginning. I first got into fantasies when I read his Sword of Shannara series in high school. My biggest thrill was when I actually met him at the Maui Writing Conference back in 2004. When I told him how much he influenced me with my own writing, he asked about it. He’s so supportive of the writing community!

RW: Who are your favorite characters among the books

you’ve written?

KB: I really have to say that Jordan Lake of my Myth & Mayhem series is one of my favorites. I love her enthusiasm and she’s the one that lead me to find out more about Audrey Hepburn.

Stephanie in the Crossed series is someone close to my heart. She reflects the conflicts and struggles I had with my faith as a teenager and how the church dealt with the paranormal.

RW: How do you come up with story ideas? What kind of research do you do for a book?

KB: Each book is different. For the Crossed series I came up with the idea after seeing numerous crosses off the side of the road. My husband asked, ‘What if it’s the job of someone to make those crosses?’ I took it a step further and had Stephanie be a ‘Rescuer’, someone who made talismans for the dead in order to guide them to the Other Side.

In Myth & Mayhem series, I was frustrated with the number of rejections I had been getting. At that time I was a reader for a YA romance imprint. So while on a run, I brainstormed an idea that would include a ‘cute’ light romance.

Earrings of Ixtumea came about after an experience I had as a bilingual teacher. I used to have this one bulletin board where I’d have the students draw themselves. Almost all of my girls drew themselves as white, blonde, and with blue eyes. That really bothered me. I was taking Chicano Studies classes where my professor explained why this might be happening. I also saw this with my half-Mexican grandfather who denied his roots and tried to make himself “white.” So Lupe came to be. I had her thrust into a parallel world where she had to confront her heritage.

RW: Would you like to write a different genre or sub-genre than you do now?

KB: I’m currently writing a romance set in Tuscany, Italy. It’s more New Adult. It’s been fun to write. I even took an Italian class at the local junior college which was a lot of fun! I feel that it’s good to write outside your comfort zone!

I also plan on finishing a memoir based on growing up with a bipolar father.

RW: How many books have you written, how many have been published?

KB: I currently have five published books out. Earrings of Ixtumea; Crossed Out; Crossed Fire; No More Goddesses; and Goddesses Can Wait.

I’m doing yet another round of revisions on a diverse post-apocalyptic YA. I also am writing a romance. I have the outline of a memoir that I plan to get back to soon.

I also have a poem published in a poetry anthology, an essay on the adoption of my son in a national adoption magazine, and other poetry published.

RW: If I were a first-time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?

KB: I’d recommend first reading Crossed Out to find out more about Stephanie. Though Crossed Fire could be a standalone novel.

Younger readers I’d recommend reading No More Goddesses to find out how Jordan ends up getting on the wrong side of the Goddess of Love.

RW: What book for you has been the easiest to write? The hardest? The most fun?

KB: I’d have to say Myth & Mayhem series was the most fun to write. I totally got into reading about Audrey Hepburn and fell in love with her.

The hardest scene to write has to be when Lupe finds out why her mother became so hardcore. I sobbed throughout writing that scene.

RW: Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?

KB: I have to laugh on this question. I’m not a fan of country music, but my one character, Phoenix, loves it. Let’s just say I ended up listening to it in order to get into the head of my character! You never know where they’ll lead you.

CROSSED FIRE

The Plot

Stephanie Stewart is a typical sixteen-year-old girl—she loves hanging out with her friends, going to concerts, and sipping mocha lattes. Yup. Just your average teenager… Except for one difference—she can see and talk to the dead. In fact, Stephanie helps dead girls who who’ve been murdered or killed, cross over. Just as Stephanie is getting used to her unique “gift,” her mom stumbles into some dangerous witchcraft that backfires and triggers similar abilities in Stephanie’s best friend Cura, and nemesis Hillary.

Stephanie already has enough trouble trying to maintain a “normal” life between school and her cute boyfriend Dylan, who happens to have a supernatural talent all his own. But now she has to help her friend Cura and her “frenemy” Hillary cope with their new-found powers as well as cross over two murdered cheerleaders and battle an evil demon who wants to use Stephanie’s supernatural strengths as a free pass to The Other Side. And she needs to do it all while still getting her term papers in on time. She’s definitely going to need an extra-large mocha latte for this.

An Excerpt:

Life hasn’t been “normal” for me in a very long time. Not since I figured out that I could see and talk to dead people. Well, dead girls mostly. My name is Stephanie Stewart and I help dead teenage girls cross over into the light. I’m not sure why I’ve been singled out for this. I don’t think I’m anyone special, but for some reason I’ve been given this “gift” and it has really thrown my life upside down.

Kim Baccellia

Bio

Kim Baccellia has always been a sucker for the paranormal. She blames it on her family’s love for such things—such as having picnics at cemeteries, visiting psychics, and reading her mother’s copies of the daily horoscope. She even had her own horoscope column in middle school, which was a big hit! She lives in Southern California with her husband and son.

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