Midnight Burning
The Norse Chronicles
Book One
Karissa Laurel
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Date of Publication: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1940215501
ASIN: B01055ET1A
Number of pages: 278
Word Count: About 95K
Cover Artist: Streetlight Graphics
Book Description:
Solina Mundy lives a quiet life, running the family bakery in her small North Carolina hometown. But one night she suffers a nightmare of a vicious wolf devouring her twin brother, Mani, who lives in Alaska. When Solina learns her dream was real, she journeys to the Land of the Midnight Sun to search for answers.
Solina soon suspects Mani’s friends are more than they seem, and she’s certain they know more than they’ve admitted to the police. Val and Thorin resist and elude Solina’s efforts, but Skyla, an ex-Marine, joins her crusade for the truth.
As Solina and Skyla delve into the mystery surrounding Mani’s death, Solina learns her own life is tied to Mani’s friends, his murder, and the fate of the entire world. She must learn to control her newfound gifts and keep everyone safe because, if she fails, a long-lost dominion of gods and monsters will rise, and everything she knows will fall into darkness.
Amazon Barnes and Noble Google Play Kobo iTunes
The Norse Chronicles
Book One
Karissa Laurel
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Date of Publication: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1940215501
ASIN: B01055ET1A
Number of pages: 278
Word Count: About 95K
Cover Artist: Streetlight Graphics
Book Description:
Solina Mundy lives a quiet life, running the family bakery in her small North Carolina hometown. But one night she suffers a nightmare of a vicious wolf devouring her twin brother, Mani, who lives in Alaska. When Solina learns her dream was real, she journeys to the Land of the Midnight Sun to search for answers.
Solina soon suspects Mani’s friends are more than they seem, and she’s certain they know more than they’ve admitted to the police. Val and Thorin resist and elude Solina’s efforts, but Skyla, an ex-Marine, joins her crusade for the truth.
As Solina and Skyla delve into the mystery surrounding Mani’s death, Solina learns her own life is tied to Mani’s friends, his murder, and the fate of the entire world. She must learn to control her newfound gifts and keep everyone safe because, if she fails, a long-lost dominion of gods and monsters will rise, and everything she knows will fall into darkness.
Amazon Barnes and Noble Google Play Kobo iTunes
About the Author:
Some of Karissa Laurel’s favorite things are coffee, chocolate, and super heroes. She can quote Princess Bride verbatim. She loves to read and has a sweet tooth for fantasy, sci-fi, and anything in between.
Sometimes her husband convinces her to put down the books and take the motorcycles out for a spin or go hunting for rusty old relics at flea-markets. Karissa lives in North Carolina with her kid, her husband, the occasional in-law, and a very hairy husky named Bonnie.
Website – www.KarissaLaurel.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KarissaLaurel
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/KarissaLaurel
Instagram – https://www.instgram.com/karissalaurel
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/KarissaLaurel
Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/karissalaurel
Publisher Book Page – http://redadeptpublishing.com
Youtube - https://youtu.be/fqYQcpqiItU
Some of Karissa Laurel’s favorite things are coffee, chocolate, and super heroes. She can quote Princess Bride verbatim. She loves to read and has a sweet tooth for fantasy, sci-fi, and anything in between.
Sometimes her husband convinces her to put down the books and take the motorcycles out for a spin or go hunting for rusty old relics at flea-markets. Karissa lives in North Carolina with her kid, her husband, the occasional in-law, and a very hairy husky named Bonnie.
Website – www.KarissaLaurel.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KarissaLaurel
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/KarissaLaurel
Instagram – https://www.instgram.com/karissalaurel
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/KarissaLaurel
Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/karissalaurel
Publisher Book Page – http://redadeptpublishing.com
Youtube - https://youtu.be/fqYQcpqiItU
Interview:
1. Where do you get your ideas?
I get ideas from anywhere and everywhere: Music, people, other books, news, the real world. The important thing is to be aware of what’s going on around me, be open minded, and allow myself to be inspired. It’s tempting retreat inside myself and shut out everyone and everything because the world can be distracting and even hurtful sometimes, but I risk missing out on so many potential experiences—both good and bad. Those experiences are all stories waiting to be told.
2. Do you have a dream cast for your book?
I like how books allow people to make up their own minds about the way a character looks. What may be attractive, or unpleasant to one person won’t be the same for another. But casting books is fun, and I always read with an eye towards Hollywood. So, why wouldn’t I do that with my own book?
For fun, I created a Pinterest page dedicated to casting for Midnight Burning (https://www.pinterest.com/karissalaurel/midnight-burning-character-casting/), but there’s always room for improvement.
For Solina Mundy, I could see Teresa Palmer, Diana Agron, or Britt Robertson.
For Skyla Ramirez, I imagine someone like Seychelle Gabrielle, or, if she were a bit younger, Janina Gavankar
For Val Wotan, I can’t quite get Chris Evans out of my head, although he’s pushing the age limit. I also envision Scott Eastwood, but a little taller and bigger.
For Alexander Thorin, Chris Hemsworth has the right height and bulk, and I’ve had people suggest Alexander Skaarsgard, but neither of them are right, in my mind. I have a couple of pictures of Josh Upshaw on my Pinterest page I like a lot, but I’m open to suggestions.
Victoria Smurfit would make an excellent Helen Locke.
3. How do you handle writer’s block?
I’ve written enough books and stories by now to know that sometimes I just have to grit my teeth and write something, anything, even if it’s gibberish. Write enough gibberish and eventually something usable comes out. But when I’m really, really stuck, I find spending a few days in meditation will usually inspire my subconscious to come up with a solution. And by “meditating” I don’t mean making excuses not to write. I mean actively thinking about whatever problem it is that’s holding me back—usually an issue in the plot or with a character. The best time to do this, I’ve found, is while I’m walking the dog. Something about walking always seems to get the brain juices flowing.
4. What inspired you to write this book?
I had researched Norse mythology for another writing project long ago. That project has been trunked and will never see the light of day, but some of the stories I studied stuck with me, particularly legends about Thor and Odin.
I also love superheroes in comic books, novels, television, or movies—pretty much anyway you can give them to me. So, when Marvel starting releasing their Avengers movies, of course I was there to see them. But when I watched Thor, I found myself thinking: Hey! That’s not how it really happened. In the myths, Thor and Odin were killed in an apocalyptic battle called Ragnarok, and there were only a few survivors. I started imagining what it would be like for those survivors, and what they would be doing, now, in the modern world. Midnight Burning was born from those musings.
I get ideas from anywhere and everywhere: Music, people, other books, news, the real world. The important thing is to be aware of what’s going on around me, be open minded, and allow myself to be inspired. It’s tempting retreat inside myself and shut out everyone and everything because the world can be distracting and even hurtful sometimes, but I risk missing out on so many potential experiences—both good and bad. Those experiences are all stories waiting to be told.
2. Do you have a dream cast for your book?
I like how books allow people to make up their own minds about the way a character looks. What may be attractive, or unpleasant to one person won’t be the same for another. But casting books is fun, and I always read with an eye towards Hollywood. So, why wouldn’t I do that with my own book?
For fun, I created a Pinterest page dedicated to casting for Midnight Burning (https://www.pinterest.com/karissalaurel/midnight-burning-character-casting/), but there’s always room for improvement.
For Solina Mundy, I could see Teresa Palmer, Diana Agron, or Britt Robertson.
For Skyla Ramirez, I imagine someone like Seychelle Gabrielle, or, if she were a bit younger, Janina Gavankar
For Val Wotan, I can’t quite get Chris Evans out of my head, although he’s pushing the age limit. I also envision Scott Eastwood, but a little taller and bigger.
For Alexander Thorin, Chris Hemsworth has the right height and bulk, and I’ve had people suggest Alexander Skaarsgard, but neither of them are right, in my mind. I have a couple of pictures of Josh Upshaw on my Pinterest page I like a lot, but I’m open to suggestions.
Victoria Smurfit would make an excellent Helen Locke.
3. How do you handle writer’s block?
I’ve written enough books and stories by now to know that sometimes I just have to grit my teeth and write something, anything, even if it’s gibberish. Write enough gibberish and eventually something usable comes out. But when I’m really, really stuck, I find spending a few days in meditation will usually inspire my subconscious to come up with a solution. And by “meditating” I don’t mean making excuses not to write. I mean actively thinking about whatever problem it is that’s holding me back—usually an issue in the plot or with a character. The best time to do this, I’ve found, is while I’m walking the dog. Something about walking always seems to get the brain juices flowing.
4. What inspired you to write this book?
I had researched Norse mythology for another writing project long ago. That project has been trunked and will never see the light of day, but some of the stories I studied stuck with me, particularly legends about Thor and Odin.
I also love superheroes in comic books, novels, television, or movies—pretty much anyway you can give them to me. So, when Marvel starting releasing their Avengers movies, of course I was there to see them. But when I watched Thor, I found myself thinking: Hey! That’s not how it really happened. In the myths, Thor and Odin were killed in an apocalyptic battle called Ragnarok, and there were only a few survivors. I started imagining what it would be like for those survivors, and what they would be doing, now, in the modern world. Midnight Burning was born from those musings.