[Day Eleven of 31 Days] Giveaway + Guest Post + Author Interview: Heather Adkins, author of Abigail

It's now Day 11 of the 31 Days, and for today, Heather Adkins is visiting The Fairytale Nerd for an interview and to talk about WINGS! Heather is also giving away a THREE eCopies of her book Abigail! Everyone, please welcome Heather Adkins!

Heather Marie Adkins is an independent fiction novelist and avid bibliophile with the library to prove it. She is the author of paranormal mystery The Temple, the fantasy novel Abigail, and chick lit novel Constant State of Disaster. She is currently working on numerous projects, including a collection of paranormal romance short stories and the first in a new witchcraft series. Her free ebook short story,Underneath, has received great reviews at Smashwords. A practicing Witch, Heather lives in North Central Kentucky with a house full of animals and the love of her life—all of whom drive her crazy.

Stalk Heather here: Twitter or Facebook or Blog

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Wings or no Wings: Reinventing the Fairy

I’d say it all started with Tinkerbell. Little-bitty Tink with her perfect fluorescent wings and palm-sized stature. She stole the fairy show in J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” during the first decade of the 20th century. Then, the famous image of the fairy was probably cemented by the pint-sized Cottingley fairies, famous for being fakes around 1917.

Of course, it didn’t actually start there. Ancient Celtic folklore mentions the sidhe—considered to be a separate race of “wee folk” that was driven into hiding from invading humans. This folklore remains even today in the wilds of Ireland where the Irish swear the fae live atop small knolls or within tree-ringed “fairy rings”.

Let’s just call Tinkerbell the modern culprit.

It didn’t remain in that “little folk” world. Oh, no. We writers can’t just leave well enough alone. We have to tweak. Morph. Use magical creatures as a means to our own selfish ends.

My paranormal romance Abigail centers on a half-faery, half-human girl whose father sells her into slavery. A stroke of good luck brings her William, a wealthy (and handsome) titled gentleman looking for a caretaker for his baby sister.

What Abigail doesn’t know is that the island where William and his family live, the island she will soon call home, is overflowing with fae. And Abigail—whose faery mother had renounced all fae to be with her human love—has never seen other faeries.

She has no idea what to expect.

Why do fairies have to be pint-sized and glittery? If the literary world can make vampires sparkly and werewolves sexy, then why shouldn’t we mess with fairies?

The faeries (and notice I even spell “fairy” with an ‘e’ in my work because I just have to be different) I created for Abigail come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. One that befriends Abigail is small with blue skin and sparkling blue wings. Another is tall, muscular, and chestnut brown with gold designs. Abigail herself has pale lavender skin that is etched with ivy-like green swirls…but no wings.

And the fairy prince? He mimics Abigail’s coloring, in a way…but boasts big, fluffy, beautiful swan wings that he likes to wrap around her.

There is no end to what we can do in the literary world, because there’s no limit to what the imagination can give us. As a writer, I can only hope readers enjoy my weird forays into fairy tales :)

So tell me…how do you envision fairies?

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Now for the interview...

Welcome to The Fairytale Nerd! how are you today?
I am fabulous! The weather has finally cooled down here at home. My garden has exploded with more vegetables than I can eat. And the stores are getting their Halloween stock out - love it!

So for the first question, tell me about your book.
“Abigail” is a paranormal romance. When Abigail’s supposedly immortal faery mother is found dead, her human father sells her into slavery. She is bought by a handsome and wealthy landowner named William who whisks her away to Greece to play caretaker for his baby sister. But there is more than just William’s family waiting for Abigail—the island is overrun with fae and the vengeful faery king has his sights on William. Abigail must unite with the faery world she has so long denied to save the humans she has learned to love.

Why fairies?
I wasn’t really sure what Abigail was when I first started writing the novel, so it wasn’t fairies in mind during the beginning stages. Once her character began to develop, I started messing with the idea of the fae as a different kind of race than the general public knows. They could be like humans—both dark and light. They could be different sizes, shapes, colors…I credit a lot of my inspiration to Laurell K Hamilton and the Meredith Gentry series. She’s one of my favorite authors.

What is the message (from your books) that you want to convey to your readers?
I don’t think of underlying messages when I write books—I just want my readers to escape for however long it takes them to read the book, and to enjoy their time spent with my characters. But, I’ve had to give thought to this question before and I’ve come to a conclusion. Almost everything I write has the same gosh darn theme—staying true to yourself.

What is your most treasured possession?
A brown and cream colored bunny rabbit named Brandon. I’ve slept with him almost every single night since I was 5 years old. If he’s not in my arms, I don’t sleep very well. I’m 26 years and live with my boyfriend…Brandon the bunny sleeps with us every night :)

Which talent would you most like to have?
I already have writing, which is all I ever wanted or needed :) I could always be better and I hope to spend the rest of my life perfecting my writing style. To choose another talent…I’d love to be able to sing. As it is, I make my dogs howl.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Books! I spend an unfortunate amount of money on books. I’m much better than I used to be, but I still have my moments. For instance, today I made a visit to my local Half Price Books and spent 50 bucks on Writing tomes. Eeek! And my Nook hasn’t made it any easier for me to abstain, either. One click and I can buy a book? Geesh. I buy 5 new ebooks a week.

I think I can understand what you mean by that! I'm having a hard time controlling my book buying impulses too! haha! Now, who is your hero in real life? What about in books?
My mom and my dad are equally my real-life heroes, but if I have to pick just one, I’ll go with my momma. She has been a police officer for 25 years and she was just recently promoted to Major. She is one of only TWO female majors on the force. Above her position are only assistant chief of police and chief of police. She has a Master’s degree in criminal justice AND she’s still raising my brother, who is 6. My mom is a superhero.

The man who loves you or the man you love?
The man I love. I’m pretty lucky because it works both ways in my relationship :)

Hugs or kisses?
Kisses, always!

Super strength or super intelligence?
Super intelligence, at the risk of being a community pariah.

Viral epidemic or nuclear explosion?
Nuclear explosion, as long as I’ve got a fall-out shelter

Prep or jock?
Oh goodness. I don’t suppose neither can be an answer?? I’ll go with jock. I can’t handle the clothes preps wear.

Blind or deaf?
Deaf. If I was blind I couldn’t read or write and my world would be shallow.

Fantasy or reality?
Depends on the day ;)

What's your next project?
I’m currently polishing up two manuscripts for publication. “Constant State of Disaster” is a chick lit about a girl spiraling into a melt-down after her long-time boyfriend leaves her. “Heaven Below” is a YA paranormal romance with goddesses, vampires, and murder under my YA pen name Nolia McCarty. Both books will be out in October :)



Thank you Heather!

BUY

Abigail
by Heather Adkins

When Abigail’s supposedly immortal faery mother is found murdered, her human father sells her in to slavery. Bought by a young and wealthy landowner named William, she is whisked away to a Grecian island to play caretaker for his baby sister.
However, the island has a deadly secret connected to Abigail’s past. Her budding romance with William is shattered by Abigail’s intimate, unwanted connection with the island’s faery prince. Meanwhile, the Faery King is planning revenge upon the family.
Abigail must join forces with the very race she’s sought to deny, to save the humans she has learned to love.

If you've been enticed, and would want to read a chapter from Abigail, here's chapter one of this fairy book: CHAPTER ONE.

And now... the giveaway! Heather is giving away THREE eBook copies of her book Abigail! Fill out the form for a chance to win!