TBR welcomes Carolyn Brown

TBR: Welcome to TBR, Carolyn Brown. Will you share a little bit about yourself?
Carolyn: I love to read, and I never throw away a book I’ve finished. I still have all my childhood books! I was always better in Mathematics at school and never thought that I would write a book, let alone two! But then I never thought that I would work in education either, but this is what I do every day, supporting high school students with Learning Difficulties.

I live on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia and love the beach lifestyle. I am happily married and have two children, one in university the other in his second last year in High School.

TBR: Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Carolyn: Below is the cover of the second book in the Protector Series which has just been released with SMASHWORDS and I would like to share an excerpt with you and your readers below:

EXCERPT: HE CAME FOR MINE, BOOK TWO IN THE PROTECTOR SERIES

Auron began to lead our party down lower and as we turned to pass a ridge of mountain, The Sanctuary rose before us.  I quickly looked over at Jazz, her face showed her astonishment, as she looked around the scene before her.

The actual building stood near the top of the following summit, but what I wanted Jazz to see was the green grass which spread across a flat plain filled with a variety of trees, majestically reaching their limbs towards the blue moon.

In the distance just before The Sanctuary lay a crystal clear blue lake, which I knew was filled with colourful fish.  The moon was reflecting its deep blue cast upon the surface and the water’s surface shimmered with the movement of the fish.

As our steeds retracted their wings and landed upon the ground, they broke into a gallop, before slowing to a stop near the edge of the lake.

I looked across at Jazz and my heart leapt at the sight of her amazed expression as a flock of winged creatures similar to large butterflies, escaped the long grass beside us to travel to a nearby tree.

This close to the trees, we could view the exotic flowers of Aidensdein blooming from vines which crept their way up to the tree tops.  I moved my mount nearer, “Do you like my favourite place in this world?”  I asked Jazz.

“Yes, oh yes Seb.  It is beautiful. Why have you not shown me this before?”

“The time was not right, before.”  I answered.  “Come, we are heading to the heart of The Sanctuary near the top of the summit, across the other side of the lake.”

“Why can’t we just fly there?”

“There is no room to land the Pegasoi Aithiopes up on the top of the summit.”

“How do we cross the lake?”

“You will see.”

Auron was again the first to head to the edge of the water, at full gallop, crying out loudly as he took off, “Watch this Jazz!”

As soon as the first hoof of his animal landed upon the water a smooth flat rock rose to the surface, another followed soon after to hold the weight of the horse’s next hoof.

Some of the Protectors followed Auron across, others waited while Nicola crossed before them.  The Royal Guardians moved their mounts to position themselves behind Jazz and me, as we approached the water’s edge.

As I felt my steed’s hoof hit the stones surface, fond memories of my childhood swept over me and I was caught up in an emotional moment as I shared this moving experience with Jazz and my children.

It wasn’t long before we reached the outskirts of the Sanctuary building, which was protected by an invisible army of stone like warriors.  They bowed their heads as our party passed by their stations on the path to the entrance.

I noticed Jazz turn back to look down at the plain we had just passed through and I was amused by the look on her shocked face.  “What?  Where did it go?”

I turned to look but knew I would only see a crimson coloured landscape with a lake full of red water.

Jazz turned to me and asked, “Was it an illusion?”

“No, it was real.  What you see now is an illusion.”

“Huh?”

“It is how The Sanctuary is protected from unwanted intruders.  There is only one path in and the secret is one only certain families know.”

I guided Jazz to turn around and continue our path towards The Sanctuary’s majestic structure standing before us.  A sacred place where our religion was strong, and also where my ancestors were laid to rest.

We gathered together before entering through the main gates.  I noticed that two of the Protectors had closed their ranks tighter around Jazz. 

When I looked closely I recognized the pair.  Zane and Grayson had joined our outing.  Since their time as Jazz’s constant guards on Earth, when I was unable to be with her, these two Protectors had taken it upon themselves to be her main body guards and friends.

I felt no jealousy towards Jazz’s obvious affections for both of them.  I only felt a gladness that if my presence was missing at a time when she could be in danger, that thankfully, someone other than myself would stand before her and defend her safety.

I knew that one of the two, the one with white blond dreadlocks, Grayson, his name was, had also played a part in delivering Yolanda safely into the world, when Jazz had gone into premature labour, during the attack on the Palmwoods house.

I met Jazz’s eyes with a smile and she casually moved Brimstone to be at my side.  Grayson and Zane followed her movement, staying close behind her.  “Are you ready to enter?  We are expected and the priests will be gathered to grant us a blessing as part of our wedding ceremony.”

“Sebastian, why did you not tell me this before?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

TBR: What inspired you to write about the theme?
Carolyn: I am drawn to Paranormal and Fantasy stories, but also enjoy si-fi adventures, so it was a natural occurrence for me to write a Paranormal Romance with hints of Fantasy and si-fi entwined in the story.

TBR: How do you develop your characters?
Carolyn: I keep a table and continually add to the character descriptions as I write, so I can refer back to it to recall what colour eyes and hair etc., they have. I also keep a record of their personalities in this table and their likes and dislikes. I develop the character profiles before I write. I like to imagine that I am the particular character I am focusing on, and try to feel what they would feel in the situation or what they would say or do! Every one of my characters is an individual with totally different emotions and beliefs.

TBR: Did any music inspire your book? Do you have a playlist?
Carolyn: I am very inspired by music and would have to say that music is usually how I create my ideas for story lines. Not from the words of songs, but the actual music itself. I love a wide range of different types of Rock music from Alternate and Indie to Punk, Screamo and Hard Metal.

TBR: Which of your characters would you most/least like to invite to dinner, and why?
Carolyn: I would like to invite Bliss to dinner, mainly because I really have not got to know her very well and she has a lot of potential to develop as a character.  I am tossing around ideas to write a break away story with Bliss and her partner Xavier as the main characters and having her to dinner to get inside her head would be advantageous.

TBR: While creating your books, what was one of the most surprising things you learned?
Carolyn: The most surprising thing I learned was that I am able to write a story in sequence very easily. My ideas seem to just flow, once I get started. I have not yet experienced a writer’s block or found it hard to complete a story.

TBR: Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Carolyn: The world of Aidensdein is a rose coloured planet where rivers of blood flow through the land. It exists in another dimension where a fantasy world of mythical creatures exist and a race of vampires rule. These vampires protect Earth from the threat of other evil creatures as they need to keep the balance of the two planets in check to survive.

TBR: What's next for you?
Carolyn: I have ideas for a third book in the Protector Series to start developing and I also have a new story I have been playing with, which I intend to work with more consistently now that I have finished writing He Came For Mine.

TBR: Where can readers find you on the web?
Carolyn: 

Below is a list of where your readers can visit me and I take this opportunity to thank you TBR for having me as a guest on your site and for letting me tell a little about myself and my writing.

Carolyn                                  

c.m.brown.books@gmail.com

http://cmbrown-books.blogspot.com.au/

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

TBR: Readers, Carolyn Brown will give away one ebook copy of her just released second book in the Protector Series, titled: He Came For Mine, to one lucky commenter.  She’ll pick a winner on 5^th October, 2012 and announce the winner here.  Be sure to leave your email address so she can contact you.

Thanks for visiting TBR, Carolyn. All the best to you.