I’m so excited to be hosting my first blog tour stop for fellow CMP author Avery Olive’s recently released novel, A Stiff Kiss! Avery was kind enough to answer some fun interview questions and has a book excerpt to share. She is also offering some great prizes:

A Stiff Kiss Coaster and a signed bookmark and collector card

Just leave a comment with your email and I’ll pick one lucky winner ! And this is an international giveaway!

In addition, check out Avery’s blog for the full tour information and a chance to win the grand prize: http://averyolive.blogspot.com/2012/03/stiff-kiss-blog-tour-grand-prize-and.html.

Now, let’s get to know Ms. Olive a bit more, shall we?

Avery Olive’s Top Fives

Q: A Stiff Kiss has a great scene in a morgue. What are your top five creepiest places?

A: Oh wow, I can tell this might just be my hardest interview to date! (heh heh, I try!)

1. My Basement. I don’t know what it is but, it’s always creepy. I worry what will happen to me if I am there all by myself!
2. A Morgue. It was fun to right the morgue scene for A Stiff Kiss, but I’m not going to lie, I’m not sure I’d ever be able to step foot in one.
3. The Woods. Have you ever been camping? The woods a night time are kinda creepy. The sounds, the smells, the animal’s that lurk unseen…
4. A Haunted House. I’ve never been to a real haunted house, but if there really are such things as ghosts… I don’t think I want to come face to face with one.
5. An Old Jail. I remember going to Alcatraz Island as a kid, riding the ferry, and touring the old jail. It wasn’t fun. I was worried there would still be criminal they’d forgotten about, or as mentioned above that there would be psychotic murdering ghosts.

Q: Name five things that inspired you to write the book.

A: You are really throwing out the thinkers aren’t ya?

1. A story I was told while on vacation.
2. The need to help myself understand death, or at least what makes people do what they do.
3. There’s a reverse sleeping beauty tale within the pages of A Stiff Kiss that at first I never noticed… However, it is one of my favourite fairy tales.
4. I tried to right something that wasn’t super trendy but that still would catch the attention of readers. So there are a few creepy factors that inspired me.
5. There are a few quotes and poems that are near and dear to me that found their way into A Stiff Kiss, which really add to the themes present.

Q: Five pieces of advice you’d give to unpublished or soon to be published authors.

A: Ahh yes, I wish back in the day I’d read more interviews with questions like this.

1. Find a support group. I’m a huge advocate of Absolute Write, but anything will do. Writers need support outside family and friends—they need other writers.
2. Use the writers you meet at a support group to your advantage. The best advice, tips and critiques you will get about your work is probably not going to be from your mom, or your best friend, it’s going to be from Critique Partners and Beta’s.
3. Learn how to write a phenomenal query letter. This is your best weapon against unsuspecting agents and publishers. It needs to WOW them.
4. Getting published is sort of like winning the lottery. Your odds are not in your favor, but if you keep trying—you might just win big.
5. Read. A lot. I know it’s been said time and time again, but it’s a huge one. You will learn so much through reading, and it’s always a great way to relax.

Q: You’re Canadian. Sadly, I still haven’t been able to get there, although it’s on my list of places to visit. Share five reasons to visit your lovely country!

A: I’m going to guess that you don’t want me just to say it’s because I live here… right? Okay, in no particular order…

1. Poutine. This is one of my all time favourite, belly bulging treats. Nicely fried French fries, smothered in gravy and topped with cheese.
2. Mountains. I’m lucky enough to live on a few short hours from them, but we have some of the best around. Add that, we have some of the best skiing around!
3. The Northern Lights. You can see them where I live, but if you can manage a trip even further north, they are majestic. One of lives amazing treats.
4. I don’t mean to brag but… we did invent some of the world’s most popular sports. I think just about every province has a great sports hall of fame center.
5. The Calgary Stampede. I’d be a traitor to my province, if I didn’t boast about the fact that we have one of the world’s largest Stampede and Rodeo.

Q: If you could enter the world of some of your favorite characters in your favorite books, which five characters/books would you choose and why?

A: This is probably the hardest one to answer of them all!

1. Princess Bride by William Goldman—Princess Buttercup. I think this is one of those classic love stories. There’s a bit of everything in this novel, and I’d love to be a princess, just for a day.
2. Exiled by MR Merrick—Rayna. This girl has some pretty quick ass powers from being a witch. And from the awesome description she’s pretty hot too J And damn does she have some wit!
3. Blue Blood Series by Melissa De La Cruz—Skylar Van Allen. It’s not your typical vampire saga which I really like. She’s a little lost, but she’s also strong, she’s got a great friend and an awesome boyfriend! She’s also done some traveling which is on my list!
4. Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare—Juliet. I know this is a tragic love story, but it’s a love story all the same.
5.  Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen—Ruby. This is just a fun story, with some real life problems wrapped up in a sweet romantic bow. There are some sad scenes, but this novel is also about overcoming the odds. I think it would just be fun.

Love your answers, Avery! Thanks for playing along with me.

Author Bio:

Avery Olive is proudly Canadian.  She is married and has one child. When she’s not helping raise her very energetic and inquisitive son, she can be found working on her latest novel–where she devilishly adds U’s into every word she can.

When she is looking for a break Avery enjoys cake decorating, losing herself in a good book, or heading out to the lake to go camping.

The release of Avery’s first novel proves to her it won’t be the last. As long as her family continues to be supportive, she can find the time, and people want to read, Avery vows to keep on writing.

Important Links:

Avery Olive’s Blog : www.averyolive.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002656782468

A Stiff Kiss Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Stiff-Kiss/255522414458899

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/averyolive

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13411964-a-stiff-kiss

Crescent Moon Press: http://crescentmoonpress.com/index.html

And now let’s find out some more about A Stiff Kiss! 

The blurb:

Who knew kissing a corpse would change everything?

Death always hits Xylia Morana too close to home, but she likes it that way. She hangs out with the terminally ill, attends random funerals, and every so often, when the weather is right, she sleeps in open graves.

But after Landon Phoenix, the high school hottie, dies in Xylia’s arms, she sneaks into the morgue to say goodbye. How could she know stealing a kiss from his corpse would wake him up?

With Landon returned to the living and suddenly interested in Xylia, life has new meaning. But what Xylia doesn’t realize is that by kissing Landon back to life, she’s thrown Life and Death off balance. The underworld demands a body, and it might just have to be Xylia’s this time.

Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Stiff-Kiss-Avery-Olive/dp/193725433X/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stiff-kiss-avery-olive/1108801919?ean=9781937254339&itm=1&usri=a+stiff+kiss

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Stiff-Kiss-Avery-Olive/9781937254339

A Stiff Kiss Novel Excerpt: 

No way should I be in the morgue. If I’m caught, I’ll lose my job. My dad will probably get fired, too. He’s been warned to keep me out of here.

The walls are lined with thick, square doors, clearly marked with numbers. I stop in front of the one I want. In the middle of that wall, at waist height, is number twelve. Beyond the door, lying on a sliding metal table, is the body of Landon Phoenix.

I’ve always had a crush on Landon, ever since freshman year when his family moved to Silver Springs. I’ve watched him grow into his looks, no longer a gangly boy with braces. And I’ve longed to hear my name roll off his tongue in that deep voice of his. To press my lips against his as he holds me in a tight embrace. To share the same air as him.

Though now, all those things are impossible. Except one. I can pull open the door, slide the table out, and at least for a moment I can share the same air, even if his lungs can no longer pull in that air.

I hesitate, my hand on the handle. Besides my mother, this will be the only other person who’s died that I’ve really known. The others have just been people, random ones at that. The guy from the grocery store who jumped off Whibley Bridge into the icy waters below, the occasional patient of mine who’d succumbed to old age, and many, many others. But this is personal. This is someone I’d known. Or at least, someone I’d held secretly in my heart.

But I need to say goodbye.

Copyright © 2012 Avery Olive
All rights reserved — a Crescent Moon Press publication