Author Interview/Giveaway: Daniele Lanzarotte

Daniele Lanzarotta: Author of Academy of The Fallen & Imprinted Soul Series
Find Daniele on: Daniele Lanzarotta
Find Daniele on: Facebook - Goodreads 
Donna's Review for Wide Awake (Academy of The Fallen #1): HERE

Wide Awake (Academy of The Fallen) 


Kayla is a 16-year-old girl who was adopted when she was little. She lives a normal life, with great friends, loving adoptive parents, and well....a not-so-great boyfriend. But the reason why she was given up for adoption was far from any usual reason. She was meant to be kept away from the Academy and anything else released to the supernatural beings that could hurt her. 
Unfortunately for Kayla, it was only a matter of time before she encountered the creatures from the Otherworld, and there is just no running away from the beings that she can now see. 
In trying to protect Kayla by keeping her away from the Academy, she may have just been put in even more danger. 

We've got a special treat for you guys today. An interview and giveaway with Daniele Lanzarotta. So please show her a big warm welcome. Welcome Daniele, thank you for joining us today.

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself?

Thanks for having me at Book Passion for Life!  I write young adult paranormal fiction, including the Imprinted Souls Series and Academy of the Fallen.  I also read a lot of YA novels.  Oh, and I have a social media addiction, and LOVE talking to readers on Facebook and Twitter.

2) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? 

After reading so many YA books and even writing a fan-fiction, I started to feel like I needed my own characters… my own stories.  That was when I started working on Imprinted Soul and I just couldn’t stop writing.

3) How long does it take you to write a book? 

I could honestly sit here and write a book in one or two weeks, but I like to enjoy the characters, so I take my time.  On average it takes 3-4 months.

4) What is your work schedule like when you're writing? 

I write every single day, well… every single night.  No matter what goes on during the day, I’m usually writing from 11pm to 3am.

5) Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

I get my ideas from the most random places.  I will wake up in the middle of the night with an idea, grab my phone and write it down.  I also seem to get a lot of ideas while listening to music…. Music is by far my greatest inspiration.

6) How did you come up with your main character names?

Well, it started out with names I would like to name my kids, but hubby didn’t like, but now I mostly use websites that give popular names for a certain year. From time to time, I also do contests to have characters named after the contest winner.  Those are so much fun!

 
7) Whose your favourite character out of your book?

From Academy of the Fallen series, Kayla.  She has a difficult personality, with her trust issues and her past.  She is a very complex character.  I love the challenge!
From Imprinted Souls… Nicholas.  He is a fun character to write, with his sarcasm and ability to speak his mind.  I also love how unpredictable he can be.  There are times when he literally takes over the story.

8) What do you like to do when you're not writing? 

Reading and going to the movies.

9) Could you tell us what your next project is?

I take turns writing books from each series.  Blood Bound, the fourth in the Imprinted Souls series is coming out this October, so right now I’m working on Nephilim.  Nephilim is the second book in the Academy of the Fallen series. The setting in this book is mostly the Academy itself.  Among many things, you will find out the reason why the fallen are getting a second chance.  I’m really enjoying writing Nephilim and I cannot wait until everyone can read it!

Three Random:

1) As a child, what job did you want to do when you grew up?

Doctor

 
2) What's your favourite food?

Changes from time to time… mostly Italian food though.

 
3) What's your favourite animal?

Dogs! They are awesome!


Thanks Daniele. So many awesome answers and again, thanks for joining us today.

So who wants to win an e-copy of Wide Awake? We have the following to give away.
1st Winner: 1 x E-Book of Wide Awake and two bookmarks 
2nd Winner: Two bookmarks 
3rd Winner: One bookmark
(Photo of the bookmark is to your left) 


GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!


Giveaway end October 22nd. And yes...It's International. 
Good Luck! 

A Review for Wide Awake (Academy of The Fallen #1) by Daniele Lanzarotta

Posted by Donna
Published Date: June 13th, 2011
Finished Date: August 7th, 2011
Source: For Review from Author
Format: Kindle
Pages: 280
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The Blurb from Goodreads: Kayla is a 16-year-old girl who was adopted when she was little. She lives a normal life, with great friends, loving adoptive parents, and well... a not-so-great boyfriend. But the reason why she was given up for adoption was far from any usual reason. She was meant to be kept away from the Academy and anything else related to the supernatural beings that could hurt her. Unfortunately for Kayla, it was only a matter of time before she encountered the creatures from the Otherworld, and there is just no running away from the beings that she can now see. In trying to protect Kayla by keeping her away from the Academy, she may have just been put in even more danger.
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The Review: When I finally did stop crying, he slowly pulled me away, and I’m not even sure what led us to this but he got even closer, his lips had barely touched mine. “I shouldn’t,” he said under his breath. I didn’t care. He made no effort to move… our lips still barely touching; I leaned closer and kissed him.

Before I start this review, I just want to say WOW, isn’t that cover lovely? This is what initially attracted me to the book. I love the cover! And as you all know, a great cover doesn’t make a great book but this is the case, Wide Awake……is a GREAT book!

Kayla is a normal 16 year old girl who was adopted at a young age. She goes to school, has a crappy boyfriend and has a group of close friends. When Kayla starts seeing a teenage girl called Carolyn, she doesn’t understand what’s going on at first, well, not until she realises she can see ghosts and can command them at will. When Hunter, a handsome outcast at school reveals he can also see the ghosts, he and Kayla team up to try and help Carolyn but trouble suddenly arises when a dangerous threat gets in there way……revealing that the supernatural world is very much real and leaving Kayla in more danger than ever.

Wow! This book surprised the hell out of me. I’d actually spent three quarters of the book thinking that this was a ghost story. Of course, I’ve seen the title of the book but there was just no real indication of ‘The Fallen’ but then WHAM! And suddenly I was thrown into The Fallen world and now I need to know more. From the first page, I was sucked into the deadly supernatural world that Daniele has created and then next minute, I’d finished the book. Honestly, it was that good. It’s quiet a short book being around 280 pages but within them 280 pages, you’re thrown in a number of situations leaving you feeling every single emotion. I think this is the first book to actually give me the chills while reading it. The dangerous threats that come Kayla’s way are definitely very creepy and will leave you wanting to know more.

The characters were also absolutely brilliant. I loved both Kayla and Hunter. Their relationship felt a lot more real than the last few books I’ve read recently because it wasn’t an instant thing and because of that it was full of suspense, just what I like. You can clearly see and feel the chemistry between the two characters but the story only touches the surface off their romance and it definitely leaves you wanting to know more. And that ending wow, come on, that’s just a horrible way to end it the story but it was so good at the same time. It’s left me dying to read the next book and I’m eager to find out what happens next.

Overall, Daniele has created an exciting, thrilling and captivating book that is fast past and left readers wanting to know more. An excellent job in my opinion and I can’t wait to read ‘Nephilim’ the next book in her series.

Thank you to Daniele for giving me the opportunity to review her work.