Guest Post by Kate Fuentes: Through the Eyes...

I am so happy to have Kate Fuentes on My Tower of Books today! She is the author of the Elements Trilogy, a YA Fantasy series. Her debut novel, Elements:The Beginning, was released April 2011. She has followed with Elements:Veil of Darkness, book two, and will release Elements:Kingdom of Aqueous in the spring of 2012.

Her post will offer you a glimpse, a small slice, of what life can be like for a woman that plays many different roles in her own life. Enjoy!



Through the Eyes…

Dawn sends her refreshing beams of light soaring blindingly through the window pane to seek its vengeance on those who defy the morning call. Your body repels the movement and ventures a last stand against the daily ritual by sending spasms of pain jolting through your limbs and popping your joints. You pull the warmth of the covers away from you only to expose the chill waiting anxiously to pounce its victim before you can wash the night away in the comfort of the shower. Sheets of alluring water trickle down your skin to rid you of the hours spent tossing away in a dreadfully dreamless state. A twinge of relief pulls its way out of the chasms of darkness and surfaces for a moment before the shrill of small voices shatter the blissful atmosphere. Children bellow loudly, asking where their shoes are and what the plan shall be for breakfast. A small eruption of emotions commandeer the kids and a tiny fight breaks out over who shall get the last applesauce for afternoon lunches.

Time has played a cruel trick and you no longer have but five minutes to ready yourself for the day. The world will have to see you as intended, a haphazard shell of a woman reporting for duty. After the family taxi and chauffer, a.k.a. mom, has delivered the children safely to school, she drives calmly and quietly to work only taking a moment in the parking lot to appreciate the quietness of the car. AAAAHHHHH…

Clock in for work, sit down in front of the computer and hope the two of you are on pleasant terms. Pray the electronic device has pity on you and doesn’t crash. Answer the clanging phone, scour the list of ‘things to get done’, watch the clock slowly tick down the minutes until lunch, quickly fill your body with nourishment, count down remaining hours until 5pm.

Jump in the car and dread the onslaught of traffic waiting to swallow you into the abysmal lines of smog and lights. You clench your jaw and create a massive headache with a slight ringing in your ear and hope you remembered to take out a meat product of some sort for your famished brood awaiting your arrival. Open the door to the clicking of eight legs of excited canines rushing to greet you and snag your leggings with no hope of repair. Another five dollar investment down the tubes. Note to self: go to store, buy more leggings! You hear the rush of wind coming toward your face and duck at the last moment. The blur of a football and the grunt of the receiver standing inches away alerts your mind you are indeed home. The sight of your body passing through the game of toss-back now attracts the attention of the two starving boys and they can no longer hold back their cries of hunger. Dinner is the number one item on the agenda. Slip off your gorgeous platform heels and place them out of danger from the slobbering teething puppy.

Halfway through food preparation, kiss your spouse wandering in from work and continue the dinner service. Eat, talk about our day, clean up dinner, assist with homework, bellow out orders for showers and bedtime. Prayers, kiss the kids and turn off all the lingering lights left on inside the house…everywhere. An hour or two of adult time passes then the whisper begins to tickle your ear and call you like a tempting siren. Words fill your tired mind and beckon to be released in a fury. Your fingers twitch in anticipation, your stomach convulses in excitement. The story is captive inside your head and must be unshackled or risk being lost forever. Time is again your enemy, but now it passes by quickly only to reveal the blaring clock saying 2:30am. It felt like sheer moments had passed by instead of four hours. Adrenaline has been tapped out and your body gives in. The cycle must begin again and you must relinquish your control to the sanctum of sleep. Goodnight sweet story, until we can meet again.

The remnants of a wife, mother, worker, writer….

By Kate Fuentes, author of Elements, a young adult fantasy series
http://www.katefuentes.com/
http://twitter.com/fuentes_kate1
http://www.facebook.com/elements.series

Author Interview with Kate Fuentes

I had originally planned on having this interview up yesterday...but my teething baby had other plans for me the last few days! Better late than never, right? Enjoy!

1. At what point did you realize that this story you were writing was something you wanted to pursue more seriously?
By the time I had passed the 10,000 word mark, I realized this may be more than just a "bedtime story" and quickly grew into a "project". I had always felt at ease and rejuvenated after writing short stories or the occasional poem, but I only dreamed about writing a novel and did not pursue the dream until my children inspired me to do so. I owe my husband and children endless gratitude for starting the flame once again and encouraging me to continue.

2. As a mother, what challenges did you face while writing this book?
I work a full time 8-5 job during the week and as most moms know the work doesn't stop at 5:00 p.m. I found that most of my writing took place after the kids went to bed and before I could no longer keep my eyes open. My family was quite supportive of my late night scribblings and keyboard clicking throughout the entire process, thank goodness we have a downstairs office! I began to carry a notebook everywhere I went to write down any ideas or paragraphs I brewed up at the most inopportune times (soccer practice, church, baseball games, etc), so that I would be able to transfer those ideas to my computer once I got home. I also kept the writing a secret from our extended family until I knew this was something concrete and wasn't just a phase I was going through. My husband and kids were sworn to secrecy until the day before the book was released. What a relief to finally tell everyone! In the end, I am grateful I began this journey and look forward to where the road might take me.

3. Are any of the characters in Elements fashioned after people in your own life?
The two main characters are almost identical to my children with the exception that they are not twins. The way I described their features, their character, likes, dislikes, down to their favorite foods. I did so because originally this was supposed to be "their" bedtime story, not a novel. My youngest gets a kick out of seeing his name in a book, but the oldest is mad I didn't use his given name. I have vowed to rectify that situation in one of the other series! I did dedicate the book to them and used their given names, at least that eased some of the tension! Whew!

4. What would you tell others that are wanting to pursue a writing career?
I have come across a couple of people that have expressed their desire to become a writer and/or author. I wholeheartedly support their willingness to put themselves on the line and out in the open. It is a wonderful thing to be able to curl up on a couch and get lost inside a good book. If you are the writer it doubles as therepy! For me personally, I love to broaden the scope of imagination and see how far my mind can stretch the realm of fantasy. The unfortunate, but small side effect of writing is making yourself so vulnerable to criticism and negative responses. My advise to aspiring authors would be to take the negative comments with a grain of salt and pat themselves on the back for the courage to write what is in their heart and stand behind your work proudly. Think about all the great authors we can benefit from and who inspire future authors to continue the legacy. What if they decided against pursuing their dreams? What a tragedy! Behind every critic is two die hard fans who will no doubt be looking forward to your next book, even if those fans are family or friends, you can hold your head high and proclaim yourself an author!

5. Writing aside, what are some of your other interests or hobbies?
I enjoy spending any spare time I can with my family doing the things we love to do such as taking a road trip, playing sports, going camping or taking in a movie. I also like to bake and dabble a bit with photography from time to time.

Thanks again to Kate for doing this interview! I love to see how moms, dads and really anyone can fit writing into their lives. If you love doing it you will make time for it!

Review: Elements - The Beginning by Kate Fuentes

Synopsis:
Destiny brought them into this world to save mankind and malevolent forces will stop at nothing in order to annihilate them. Born with extraordinary powers, fraternal twins Gage and Talon Thorn learn how to control their mystical abilities. Tragedy strikes the family and their ordinary father Gable is forced to raise them on his own. Pain and loss encompass the Thorns as they persevere to live a normal life in a place determined to destroy their happiness.

Soon their incredible gifts need proper nurturing and Gable recruits a special group of people to help in their upbringing. A sassy, tenacious nanny named Leia and an eccentric unorthodox warrior named Maui complete the dream team of mentors to aid in the complexity of their lives. The brothers are determined to protect the family that has sacrificed so much for their sake.

Evil, wicked forces lurk in the shadows and the boys are in danger if they don't learn how to control their unique talents. Humanity rests in the hands of the young brothers as they embark on an epic adventure to save mankind from the dark Emperor.

This is the first installment of the Elements series and the first book for author Kate Fuentes. It follows a family's journey through loss and heartache, and how they can ultimately overcome it with love.

I think this would be a good introduction to fantasy for young readers. It has light-hearted and fantastical elements without glossing over the hardships we all face sometimes. The classic 'good versus evil' theme is plainly seen throughout the book. It could easily be read together as a family and it presents opportunities to talk about some of those 'what would you do' or 'how would you react' situations.

At the end of the book, the reader is left guessing what will happen in the next one. I look forward to seeing how Kate's characters evolve as this series progresses.

Stay tuned for my next post, in which I'll be featuring an interview with the author of 'Elements: The Beginning', Kate Fuentes.

Source: Thank you to Kate for furnishing me with a review copy of her book. You can visit her at her website: http://katefuentes.com/