Dark Obsession: Eden West Blog Tour + Interview!

BOOK TWO IN THE EDEN SERIES

BY JANELLE STALDER

SYNOPSIS:
New beginnings, new conflicts, and new adventures arise in the second installment of the Eden Series, Eden-West.

Months after his initial journey to Eden, Aiden is learning to cope with his own transformation. His social status has changed, his friendship with his best friend Ethan is in jeopardy because of it, and worst of all, he has heard absolutely nothing from his new friends in Eden. What has become of the world he fell in love with? Are his friends safe? Is the war over? With no answers, and no hope for contact, Aiden decides to focus on his life in his world.

Just as he makes this decision, he encounters a familiar bright light and thinks he knows exactly what it means. Except the light isn’t at all what he expects and neither is the person behind it. When Aiden returns to Eden, it is to a whole new part of that special world, and a whole new set of adventures.

Weeks after Aiden was returned to his own world, Elisa is sent to Nysa, the revered Southern city, to retrieve the one thing she’d rather avoid – Wolf. Captain Turk instructed her to get in and get out - but that is easier said than done. When she finds her missing friend, she also stumbles upon a great deal of trouble. This trouble goes by one name – Markus, the leader of the Sun People.

Follow all your favourite characters as they ready themselves for battle and fight for a world threatened to be destroyed.

GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy
AGE: 13 and up.
WHERE TO PURCHASE: Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Smashwords, Kobo

EXCERPT:

“We have bigger problems on our hands now.”

“Such as?” Logan asked.

“Well, she’s one,” Wolf pointed at Elisa.

“Now wait just one minute –” she began.

“No you wait!” Wolf interrupted. “We’ve both asked you now: what are you doing here? I expect an answer, and quickly, so we can send you back.” The antagonism in his voice stunned her. She was momentarily speechless. She had known it would be awkward to see them again, but this was something else.

When they had last seen each other it hadn’t turned out well. Wolf was upset over Felix’s death, blaming himself for not being quick enough to save him. He was also bitter about the fact that he had been unaware of the truth behind Aiden’s origin. He felt betrayed, especially by Elisa.

She remembered the night before he left for the south, when he had shown up at her bedroom door. She’d never forget the hate in his voice as he yelled at her: “Where were you? What were you doing in that tree? Watching the birds?!” He had screamed at her. Elisa had been speechless then as well, taken aback by his onslaught. “It was your job to keep an eye on everyone. You should have done something to save him!” He hadn’t been talking about Felix then. He meant the arrow that hit Aiden. Wolf believed she should have seen it heading toward him, and should have knocked it off its path with one of her own. It was true, she could have done that – she had done it many times in practice. But at the time she had been distracted by everything else that had been going on. The truth was, no one had noticed that arrow heading towards him, nor had they been able to figure out where it had come from.

“How can you blame me for something like that? We were in battle! How was I supposed to be watching all of you and still be doing my part?” Normally she had no problem yelling back at Wolf, but her chest felt too tight. Her voice came out quiet and shaky.

“Don’t act like you weren’t watching him the whole time,” he spat back, making her face burn. “You two were the best of friends, the only ones who knew the truth.”

“Wolf, that’s not fair –”

“I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!” His face was scarlet with anger, his eyes bulging. Elisa didn’t know what to say. After a moment, Wolf turned and left, leaving her alone. That was the last time she saw him in half a year. He had left the same night with Logan, travelling south to the City of the Sun.

Now, as they stood on the roof, she could see the same anger in his eyes, but he was more controlled.

“My father sent me,” she said, keeping her voice strong. There was no way he’d get the best of her again. “The King has sent numerous messages, asking for the two of you to return, with no reply. I’m here to make sure you receive the message.”

“Great, message received. Now you can go back home.” Wolf got up and walked to the opposite side of the roof, turning his back to both of them. Logan watched him closely.

“I’m not supposed to leave without you,” she said. “We need to leave tonight.” Unexpectedly, Wolf started to laugh.

“No one is going anywhere tonight,” he said, without turning, his voice betraying a sense of fatigue.

“Why not?” asked Logan.

“Because we still have our other problem.”

“Which is what?”

“Markus.”

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT BOOK ONE IN THE SERIES, EDEN.

BOOK ONE IN THE EDEN SERIES

BY JANELLE STALDER

SYNOPSIS:
Stuck in the cruel world of hormones and high school bullies, Aiden is convinced life has something more to offer. A stranger soon brings him to a world that co-exists alongside our own called Eden. Here he will learn to trust himself and those around him, as all of Eden finds itself on the brink of war. With the handsome rider Wolf, his sidekick Logan, and the beautiful archer Elisa at his side, Aiden will battle to save Eden and learn just what he is capable of.

Being the only girl in the King’s Army, and the Captain’s daughter, Elisa constantly feels the need to prove herself. It doesn’t help that she is betrothed to Wolf, who challenges her at every turn, and who she refuses to marry. With the new stranger, Aiden, now involved, Elisa finds her life even more confusing than ever.

Rose is a prisoner of the war, taken by the army from the North. Her captor, the exiled Prince Callum, intrigues her and terrifies her all at the same time. Now she must choose to either betray her heart, or the memory of her family. Eden is packed full of romance, adventure, humour, and action.
GENRE: Young Adult Fantasy
AGE: 13 and up.
WHERE TO PURCHASE: Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Chapters, Kobo, iUniverse

PRAISE FOR EDEN: A NOVEL – BOOK ONE, EDEN SERIES

“The author pulls us into their world, and by the time the book is over, we want to go back. Go back to Eden and relive the experiences again. This is one of those books where when you’re through reading it, you miss the characters.”

– Emerald Barnes, Author “Piercing Through the Darkness”

“Stalder wrote Eden in a way that it became the perfect blend of Medieval, Magical and Modern. Her characters are so rich in texture and description that you can easily visualize them and the settings around them.”

– Tristen Calnan from Totally Booked Solid (totallybookedsolid.blogspot.com)

“This story has multiple storylines that some authors can’t pull off. Not Janelle Stalder. She takes it and runs away and as a reader you just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

– Terri Thomas from My Book Boyfriend (mybookboyfriend.blogspot.com)

“Wow. Eden was definitely nothing like I expected it to be. The more I read the more I fell in love with this book. There are so many books out there where romances develop way too quickly and the reader is left thinking whoa, how did that happen? So it is nice and refreshing to find a book where you can see the starts of relationships but where it is not rushed.”

– Kayleigh-Marie Gore from K-Books (k-booksxo.blogspot.com)

“The world created by Janelle is absolutely mesmerizing and I just could not get enough. I enjoyed all of the characters.”

– Heather from Nightly Reading (nightlyreading.wordpress.com)

Personally, I give both book 1 (Eden)

and book 2 (Eden West) this rating:

Keep an eye on Dark Obsession Chronicles for a review of both books!

Interview Time!

Grab your britches, because I got some questions for you!

Good thing I’m wearing my good ones!

♦ Not many writers (it seems to me) seem to go with a male POV, especially in YA. I also love the fact that we get 'in the head' of multiple characters both male and female. What made you break that convention? Are you as comfortable writing from a male's perspective as you are a females?

You know, I didn’t really think much of it when I started to write as Aiden. I guess I must be pretty comfortable with both, because I didn’t find it very difficult. I always like to say I think more like a man lol so maybe that’s why?! I didn’t purposely set out to break the convention. Having both male and female is fun for me, especially when I switch during one specific scene. Wolf’s view on what is happening is always a bit different than Elisa’s, and I think it helps to keep things interesting. I’m just glad people think I can pull it off!

♦ Why did you choose YA to write rather than adult? And why did you choose Aiden to begin the Eden series as a 15 year old? Are you planning several books spanning until he reaches adulthood? And do you already have a 'set' number of books planned for Eden?

Since the main character is fifteen I felt like it was more fitting to have it be a YA novel. Didn’t seem right making it adult with such a young main character. I’ve thought about doing adult books though, so maybe I’ll come out with one. Fifteen is right on that cusp of becoming a young adult and starting to gain responsibility and maturity. I wanted him at an age where finding his confidence and courage took a lot of growth in himself, and I think it’s harder for someone who is still quite young when you think about it. It’s much harder for a fifteen year old to take the fate of an entire world on his shoulder than it would an adult, and I wanted that struggle. He is sixteen in the next books, but you won’t really see him grow older than that. There are four books in total. I have another series in mind, and you might see some familiar faces cross over, but this particular storyline will end in book four.

♦ I don't want you to necessarily give spoilers... oh, who am I kidding, yes I'm looking for spoilers... you give hints of romantic interest on Aiden's part toward other females, but it seems the odds are stacked against him 'getting the girl'. Why is that? Similarly, in Eden West (so far at least), the same thing seems to be going on. Aiden seems like such a nice, loyal teenager, and I can't help but wish he could ultimately be happy.

I think his struggle with the opposite sex is just another thing boys his age deal with. That’s why I didn’t want him to necessarily fall in love with Elisa, because that’s just not normal for a boy his age. Fifteen year old boys are full of raging hormones, so I think it’s pretty much expected for them to fall for every pretty girl that comes their way. His confidence is still building, and I think that is why he has a harder time actually getting the girls. Speaking for most girls, I think we tend to gravitate to guys who have that confidence and self-assurance. We don’t necessarily want them cocky, because that can be annoying, but you like them to have a bit of swagger. Aiden certainly doesn’t have that yet, poor guy lol You will see him finally get “a girl” though, and I really like them together. There is a definite pull between them, and hopefully the readers will enjoy the growth of their relationship.

♦ Now, I'm still reading book 2, Eden West right now, but without giving too much away, were you nervous about how you ended the first book?

Not really. The first book was really me setting everything up; the characters, the world, the conflict, etc. Once I had set the stage, sort-to-speak, I was free to really delve into the story. Book two was a bit easier because I didn’t have to re-establish all that. The readers are already familiar with what is happening and who is involved, so I just picked it up and went right into things. The ending of book one just established that Aiden isn’t this untouchable person in Eden. He has weaknesses like everyone else, but he’s also very different. You’ll find out why he’s so different, and why he was picked in the fourth book.

♦ I'm not sure if you can answer this, but WTF is up with Aiden's twitchy friend at home? Book one, he was just a side character with some 'pop' to make him stand out, but book 2 he's downright odd.

Lol are we talking about Ethan? He’s just that quirky best friend. The Robin to Aiden’s Batman. They’re not the “cool guys” in school, so he’s a bit strange. Both need to find out who they really are, and grow into men, and you’ll get to see that from them both as the series continues. Ethan isn’t gone from the story just yet, so you’ll have to wait and see how he evolves.

♦ Why did you give readers the opportunity to get inside Callum's head? Was it a statement about how almost any character can have redeeming qualities, or is there something up your sleeve for Eden?

I just don’t like stories that are black and white. It’s easy to make a bad guy and have everyone hate him. It’s harder to have a bad guy that is actually not so bad, and therefore the readers start to identify with him as well. Suddenly the reader is connecting with both sides of the war, causing them to become more emotionally involved in who wins and how things will eventually turn out. I wanted that with my books, so I’m glad that people love Callum. I don’t think he is a bad guy innately, I think he was let down and the wrong sort of people were there to pick him back up.

♦Do you use multimedia (pictures, music, or other) to assist you with writing? Especially when writing from various character's POV?

No not really. Sometimes I’ll listen to music while I write, but I don’t think that affects my writing in any way. For Eden-West I listened to a lot of Tides of Man and Coldplay for some reason. Don’t really know why, but it does help me from having my thoughts start to wander lol

♦ Do you have any books unrelated to this series that you have written or are planning on writing?

Yes and yes. I have a couple of books that are already written. I don’t know if I’ll publish them, but I have a few people beta reading one series that I could possibly release just as a freebie. If you know of any betas *cough* you *cough* I’m looking for some! ;) I also have quite a few ideas floating around in my head for new stories, but I haven’t started any. One is begging to be put on paper, but I don’t really want to start anything new until I’ve finished the Eden series. I haven’t started the fourth book yet, so once that’s written I can move on to new things.

*OK... enough with the hard and heavy questions.

Now I'm going to really put you on your toes....*

Uh oh…

What's your favorite quote (from any source)?

“You treated me like a red-headed stepchild for months.” Katy from Onyx, the Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Literally had me bursting out laughing. The banter between characters in that series is hilarious. Not really an inspirational quote, mind you, but still makes me laugh when I read it.

How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

Why would anyone want to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop!? The candy part is the best part. I don’t want no damn Tootsie Roll.

You can take a road trip with anyone (living or dead, fictional or real), who would you take and where would you go?

This is hard, and I could answer this in so many ways, like “Jesus” and we’d travel somewhere really inspirational so he could enlighten me on life. But that’s just not fun, so I’m going to go with Kayden from the Alexa Montgomery Saga by H.D. Gordon. I’d make him take me to Scotland. Yup. Sounds like good times.

(On a guy) Long, flowing hair you can grab a fistful of or short, wavy, just rolled-out-of bed look?

Seriously?! How can I pick?! Either is hot. I also like a little shaved head in there with some nice tats once in a while. That’s why reading rocks, because you can have one of each! Each on a different day of the week! lol

What is the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

What the *beep* is an unladen swallow?! Should I know this? Never mind that, what is airspeed velocity LOL did I mention I sucked at science!?

Gandalf or Dumbledore?

Aren’t they the same?! Lol just kidding Potter and Rings fans. I think I’ll go with Dumbledore. Gandalf can act a little cray cray and paranoid for my liking.

Zombie Apocalypse just started, what fictional character do you want by your side to fight the undead hordes?

I’m going to go with Barrons from the Fever Series. That man can fight by my side any day of the week. Bring it on Zombies! This man is a beast! In every way ;) I need to read those books again lol

What's the answer to life, the universe, and everything?

Chocolate. When you’re sad, eat chocolate. When you’re mad or stressed, eat chocolate. When you’re happy, that’s right, eat chocolate. If you need to think about something, sit down…and eat some chocolate. I swear, it makes things so much better and more enjoyable. A day does not go by that I do not eat chocolate. In all seriousness, just be happy! Life is too short to take things too seriously, or hold grudges, or be mad at the world. It takes WAY less energy to just roll with the punches and stay positive, so that is how I live my life….while I eat chocolate ;)

Janelle, thanks so much. I hope my questions didn't scare you! And please say you'll come back so I can continue to pick your brain on your next books! Pretty please? With sugar on top?