Interview and Giveaway: Authors J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel

I'm so excited to have J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel, authors of the awesome The Tracks Series, stopping by today for a fun interview! Plus, there's a fabby fabby giveaway...

Shadow Train

(The Tracks #3)

By J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel

6/4/13

HCI Teens

Middleburg's teen martial artists scramble to reunite the broken shards of the powerful and mysterious Shen ring, in an effort to locate their missing friend Raphael and avert worldwide disaster but it won't be easy. 

A pack of government agents, a secret order of Chinese kung fu masters, and a family of vengeful fallen angels stand in their way. Amid the struggle, tensions between the two teen gangs flare once again when one of the Flats kids gets jumped and put in the hospital. Zhai and Ignacio, the leaders of the rival factions, struggle to maintain peace and continue their quest for the ring shards amid the rising tide of confrontation. 

Meanwhile, Middleburg's leading ladies Maggie and Dalton put their differences aside in an effort to wrest their friend Aimee from the clutches of the sultry and seductive Nephilim, Orias. But when a powerful fallen angel learns that Orias has imprisoned his father Oberon, a new supernatural menace is unleashed on Middleburg, one that threatens to bring all the conflicting factions together in one final, deadly conflagration. 

The only hope is that Middleburg's missing teen hero will somehow reappear and find a way to set things right but he's been gone for over two months, without leaving a single clue as to his whereabouts. As the situation grows more dire, all of Middleburg wonders: where is Raphael Kain? With mighty doses of kung fu, eastern mysticism, and star-crossed love, "Shadow Train" is the most poignant, romantic and explosive book in The Tracks series thus far!

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All the books in The Tracks Series

(click covers to read my reviews)

Interview with Charlene Keel and J. Gabriel Gates-

Authors of The Tracks Series:

Dark Territory, Ghost Crown and Shadow Train

1.     What three words best describe your series, THE TRACKS?

Char: Haunting, romantic, compelling.

J. Gabriel: Epic, actionful, fun. (Yes, I made up one of the words. If Shakespeare did it, why can’t I?)

2.    Can you give us your best one-sentence pitch to convince new readers to give your series a try?

Char: Star-crossed love, supernatural evil, and martial arts meet in the deceptively quaint village of Middleburg, a little town populated with fallen angels, demons, teen gangs and time travelers.

J. Gabriel: You will never find a better time travel / teen drama / fallen angel / romance / class war / kung fu story—I guarantee it.

3.  Grab a copy of Shadow Train (or book 1 or 2) and answer the following:

Favorite chapter?

Char: Almost impossible to pick, but I do love the last chapter in Shadow Train, where we come full circle with all the characters (the good, the bad and the ugly), and all the mysteries are resolved (well, all but one—could this mean more books in the future?).

J.Gabriel: Chapter 30.  It’s the culmination of everything that the series has been building toward and, from an author’s perspective, it was almost three years in the making.

           

Favorite page?

Char: It’s in the last chapter, but I can’t tell you what it is because it would be a spoiler. Do Raphael and Aimee get back together? Does Zhai go back in time with Kate or keep her in the present with him? Where did the gold coins Kate found in Dark Territory come from? Does Jack, Aimee’s cruel father, finally get his just deserts in the most perfect way possible? Does Aimee help Orias find redemption for his half-soul (the human half)?

J. Gabriel: Page 414

Your favorite line from your favorite chapter or favorite page?

Char: Ditto. If I tell you, it will totally give away the answer to one of the questions I posed regarding favorite page.

J. Gabriel: “She’s my friend,” Aimee said. “You want her, you’ve gotta shoot me first.” That’s my favorite line, but you have to read the entire series to really understand the significance of it.

4.  There are a lot of awesome characters in THE TRACKS books, but do you have an absolute favorite one? Is there a character that you enjoyed writing the most or connected with the most?

Char: My absolute favorite is probably Orias, the Nephilim (half angel-half human), because he’s the ultimate bad boy—gorgeous, sexy and cursed through no fault of his own. Doomed for all eternity, he’s living without hope until he meets Aimee. There are two other characters I really connect with: Maggie, who starts out as the stuck-up, cruel cheerleader but evolves (in Ghost Crown) into a decent human being, and a warrior of the light, and Lily Rose whose character is modeled on my own Lily Rose, who took care of me when I was a child.

J. Gabriel: I really loved all the characters, and I believe that as an author, every character is a facet of yourself. That said, I probably relate the most to Raphael.  No matter what circumstance he’s in—and he faces a lot of adversity in this series—he stubbornly tries to be a good person and do his best. Those are values that I respect and try to embody.

5.    Which book in the series is your favorite, both as an author and as a reader?

Char: It’s a toss-up between Ghost Crown and Shadow Train. Dark Territory was the toughest because we were laying the groundwork for the series and establishing the characters and the magic and paranormal arena in which the story is told. Also, because J. and I were still getting used to the give-and-take required when co-authoring a book.

J. Gabriel: They all have their good qualities; book 1 is exciting because you get introduced into a whole new world of characters and action. Book 2 is great because you meet even more characters and everything gets dialed up a notch. I’d have to say that book 3 is probably my favorite though, because all the various storylines reach their climax and all is revealed. Who doesn’t love that cathartic feeling?

6.    What’s it been like creating this series as a writing duo? What are the advantages and disadvantages to co-authoring a series?

Char: It has been enthralling, fascinating, frustrating and inspiring. The built-in advantage is having someone to bounce ideas off, someone with whom to work out all the plot points and character development. The only disadvantage—and one we got pretty good at working around—is having two talented, strong-willed people trying to go in the same direction with very different ideas on how to get there.

J. Gabriel: Working with Char on this series was a wonderful experience. Sure, we had our creative battles, but overall I think the series came out better because we both put our all into it. One of the advantages of writing as a team is that you can work faster, because you always have a fresh set of eyes to look at something and say, “I don’t think this is working,” or “I think if we tweak that the story will work better.”  

You also get an influx of ideas that you might not have thought of on your own.  The disadvantage is that if you don’t see eye-to-eye on something, sometimes you have to compromise. Not in a bad way, but in a cooperative way. You have to pick your battles. Sometimes a passage you might have liked gets rewritten in a way that doesn’t thrill you as much as the original version. But the process really helped me learn to trust another person with the “treasures” of my mind, and that was a great gift.

When I first realized that things can be slightly different from how I originally imagined them but still be equally good, it was a great revelation, and a relief. It’s very freeing to know that there are different roads to the same destination, creatively speaking.  

7.  Fill in the blanks:

Char: I’m really awesome at rewriting. Sometimes delivering that first draft is painful, but rewriting, for me, is a labor of love. That’s when I can pull out all the stops and let my imagination and emotions run with the moon.

J.Gabriel: I’m really awesome at writing books, of course! And eating hummus. Hummus is delicious. But mostly the book thing.

Char: I’m really embarrassed to admit that I stall more than I should—I think, because writing is a solitary occupation (even when writing as a team). There comes a time when you have to shut out the world and live in that alternate reality. But often, when I get there, I don’t want to come back.

J. Gabriel: I’m really embarrassed to admit that I know all the words to the old school rap song “Humpty Dance.” Alright stop what you’re doin’…

Char: The last great book I read was The Firebrand by Susan Wiggs. I found a copy in my laundry room and when I was a couple of chapters away from the end I misplaced it and had to order it from Amazon.com. When I found out it was part of a trilogy I bought all three. And then, of course, I found the one I lost.

J. Gabriel: The last great book I read was The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. What a beautiful book!

8.    What would a cupcake inspired by THE TRACKS series look and taste like, and what would it be called?

Char: I would do a mix—Rocky Road for Orias with a Twinkie center for Aimee, and it would be called Rocky Road to Love. In our first draft of Dark Territory, Aimee was kind of Twinkie-like. As soon as we realized we were writing her too sweet (even for the goody-good girl), we gave her a lot more depth. Or, we could do Devil’s Food Cake with chocolate frosting for Oberon and Azaziel. We could call it Decadent Fallen Angel Cake.

J. Gabriel: It would be chocolate, with crossed railroad tracks drawn on the top of the frosting. The inside would be filled with yummy strawberry filling that would get all over your mouth when you bit into it, and it would be called the Bloody Nose. ’Cause the series is full of kung fu, y’all!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

J. Gabriel Gates: website goodreads twitter facebook

 His first two novels are The Tracks: Dark Territory, in stores July 1, 2011, and The Sleepwalkers, due out October 3, 2011. The second book in The Tracks series, Ghost Crown, is set for release in January 2012. 

Charlene Keel: website goodreads twitter facebook

Author, screenwriter, editor, ghostwriter and more with over a dozen published novels to her credit. She has also written for such major TV shows as Fantasy Island and Days of Our Lives, and the first made-for-syndication soap opera was based on her Dell novel, Rituals.

Win a set of all the books in The Tracks Series!

Charlene and J. Gabriel are giving away 4 sets of all three books in their series 

(2 print sets for US only and 2 ebook sets open internationally):

WIN ALL 3 BOOKS IN THE TRACKS TRILOGY!

We are thrilled that The Tracks has been optioned for a possible TV series or epic film franchise (like Twilight or The Hunger Games). Of course, it’s a long way from option to actually getting a production deal so in the meantime we’d like to know what readers want. For your chance to win the complete trilogy, tell us which you prefer and then, based on the descriptions below, which actors you’d like to see as the characters.

Big Feature Film or TV Series or Web Series or Straight to DVD?

Who should play:

RAPHAEL KAIN – sixteen, handsome and charismatic with a fiery personality. A loyal friend but a relentless enemy, he is the leader of the Flatliners and a master of martial arts.

AIMEE BANFIELD – fifteen, a Topper (sworn enemies of the Flatliners). Troubled and insecure, she is grieving for her missing mother while trying to live up to her father’s impossible standards.

ORIAS, the Nephilim (half human, half angel) – nineteen, smoldering, sexy, brooding and doomed for all eternity through no fault of his own. He intends to take Aimee away from Raphael and use her to take over Middleburg—and maybe the world.

The four lucky winners will get all three books (Dark Territory,Ghost Crown and Shadow Train).

To enter to win, simply answer the questions above regarding the casting and format in the comments below. Then in the Rafflecopter just tell me what name you used in the comments. Commenting is the only required entry you need to do, but there are several ways to earn extra entries (found in the Rafflecopter). Please only fill out one Rafflecopter form (US or INT)

Other Details

-open US and INT

-there will be 4 winners: 2 US, 2 INT

-will end 9/22

-must be 13+, winners will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

-Word Spelunking is NOT responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes 

Fill out the proper Rafflecopter form:

US ONLY

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INT ONLY

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Review and Giveaway: Ghost Crown by J. Gabriel Gates & Charlene Keel

Be sure to check out my review of Dark Territory (The Tracks #1)

TITLE: Ghost Crown                      SERIES: The Tracks #2 AUTHOR: J. Gabriel Gates & Charleen Keel PUB DATE: 6/5/12                         PUB: HCI Teens FORMAT: ARC, 480 pgs SOURCE: from pub for review

After their harrowing adventures, Middleburg's teens are hoping life will return to normal. Despite a tentative alliance between the goth Flatliners and the rich, preppie Toppers, any hope of peace is dashed when Topper girl Aimee arrives at the homecoming dance with Raphael, a Flatliner. A fight erupts between the two gangs and, in the midst of the rumble, a bizarre catastrophe occurs when Middleburg's homecoming queen discovers she has supernatural powers. To make matters worse, Middleburg real-estate moguls who have bought up most of the land in the Flats have started evicting their tenants. They are searching for a priceless treasure prophesied in ancient Chinese writings and will stop at nothing to find it. But Raphael and his impoverished Flatliners vow to get it first and use it buy back their homes. Meanwhile, a handsome, charismatic half-angel, half-human comes to Middleburg with plans to steal Aimee from Raphael. As Raphael and his Flatliners and Zhai and his Toppers work to perfect their supernatural abilities and find the treasure, Aimee begins kung fu training, intent on becoming strong enough to locate and rescue her missing mother. When she discovers that the mysterious treasure may be the key to finding her mom, the race to find it intensifies. But there are others who seek the treasure, too, forces powerful enough to reduce all of Middleburg, and perhaps the world, to ashes…

THREEish WORDS: Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fightinnnng

MY REVIEW: I really enjoyed Dark Territory (The Tracks #1) and was very excited to delve into book two. And I’m happy to report that Ghost Crown is even better than the first book…

After their battle with the powerful Oberon, the gangs of Middleburg hope life can get back to normal…but it doesn’t. When Topper Aimee shows up at the homecoming dance with Flatliner Raphael all hell breaks loose between the gangs. But before the fight can get out of hand, newly crowned homecoming queen, Maggie unleashes her own new powers. As tensions escalate between the Toppers and Flatliners, Topper real-estate moguls begin to buy up Flatliner residential buildings, evicting their tenants, in search of a priceless treasure. But they aren’t the only ones after this treasure: the dangerous and deadly Order of the Black Snake and Orias, a half-angel, half-human being, are also after the treasure. Raphael, Aimee, Nass, Zhai, Maggie and the rest of the Flatliners and Toppers find themselves battling against each other and each against dark forces.

Authors J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel have crafted an intensely thrilling and suspenseful sequel full of exciting supernatural elements, kick-butt martial arts, romantic entanglements and engaging characters.  

Ghost Crown is a longer read at almost 500 pages and it is filled to the brim with action and thrills, and the story moves quickly. There’s a lot going on in this book, a lot of individual character stories, but they all really flow together nicely and cohesively. Gates and Keel continue to lay out a very layered, dimensional story with really great world-building. The social awareness surrounding the intense rivalry between the rich Toppers and working class Flatliners that I liked so much in the first book is deftly developed even further in book two.

The addition of powerful supernatural elements to this already tense rivalry creates an atmosphere that is, at times, deliciously dark and explosive. And the supernatural elements continue to be original and electric. From the mysterious Shen to the dark forces of the Order of the Snake, to time traveling and jumping to Aimee and Maggie’s individual growing abilities, these elements are captivating and unpredictable. I know nothing about kung-fu or martial arts, but the authors clearly do and this adds even more layers to the story and makes the fight scenes breathtaking and realistic.

The story itself feels very hip and refreshing; especially the way the authors capture the essence of their teenage characters. I love how natural and authentic the dialogue sounds, never cheesy or contrived. And the characters themselves continue to be awesome: from brave and swoon-worthy Raphael to sweet, determined Aimee to funny, loyal Nass and sassy Dalton to thoughtful Zhai and delightful Kate…all my favorite characters from the first book are even more likable in book two. And there are new characters to get excited about as well! Orias, with his charm and internal struggle, is kind of hard to resist (for both Aimee and readers), even when his darkside shines. Maggie is one character that really surprised me in book two with how much I actually began to like her. Kudos to the authors for Maggie’s unexpected and enthralling character development!

And of course every great story has to have a bit of romance! Well, this story has a lot of romance: first love, old love, enchanted love, convenient love, unrequited love…it’s all there and it’s all enticing. Raphael and Aimee’s sweet, true love is rudely interrupted by the charming and powerful Orias, and Nass and Dalton’s blossoming romance is halted by the appearance of Clarisse, Nass’ first love. But don’t worry, none of the romantic elements dominate the story or take away from the bigger picture.

Like in book one, the last quarter of book two is breathlessly exciting and had me anxiously turning pages. There’s big showdown involving all the important Middleburg groups and the outcome is definitely unexpected. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Action, the supernatural, romance, mystery, thrills and chills...Ghost Crown has it all! A superb and a captivating sequel, this is one read (and series) that won't disappoint.

MY RATING

Find J. Gabriel Gates: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Find Charlene Keel: Website / Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository

J. Gabriel Gates:    His first two novels are The Tracks: Dark Territory, in stores July 1, 2011, and The Sleepwalkers, due out October 3, 2011. The second book in The Tracks series, Ghost Crown, is set for release in January 2012. Charlene Keel     author, screenwriter, editor, ghostwriter and more with over a dozen published novels to her credit. She has also written for such major TV shows as Fantasy Island and Days of Our Lives, and the first made-for-syndication soap opera was based on her Dell novel, Rituals.

Win a set of books one and two in The Tracks Series

Thanks to authors J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel, I have two sets of Dark Territory and Ghost Crown to giveaway to two lucky winners!!!

DETAILS

-There will be two winners: 1 US, 1 INT

-Each winner will receive a copy of Dark Territory and Ghost Crown

-Open Internationally

-Will run from 6/20 - 6/29

-Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter

• Must be 13+ to enter
• One main entry per person
• Winners will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours
• Word Spelunking is NOT responsible for lost, damaged or stolen prizes

**The authors have a question you can answer for 10 extra points (answer in comments):

Based on the review above and the descriptions below, what young hot star(s) could you see portraying Raphael, Aimee and/or Nass in a movie?

Basic Descriptions

Raphael: hot, swoon-worthy leader of the Flatliners

Aimee: beautiful, feisty Topper with shorter dark hair

Nass: cute, funny Latino Flatliner 

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