Remains in the Pond: Ann Swann

Please welcome Ann Swann author of Remains in the Pond

Ann Swann author of Remains in the Pond will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

The Remains in the Pond

by Ann Swann

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense

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INTERVIEW:

• What or who inspired you to start writing? I think I started writing simply because I enjoyed reading so much. I always thought of authors as demigods.
• How did you come up with ideas for your books? The Phantom books are based on my childhood; All For Love is based on a real problem facing women every day; Stutter Creek is based on a true incident that happened on the Interstate near my hometown, and Lilac Lane was based on a newspaper article. Copper Lake sprang to life because I couldn’t bear to part with Kendra and Woody, the two detectives in Stutter Creek, and The Remains in the Pond grew out of an image I saw in some movie about a skull found in a pond. My only horror novel, Takers: Apocalypse in Eden, was inspired by a science article about parallel universes.
• What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio? I aspire to make each book better than the one before, and I look forward to hearing from readers!
• As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans? I have a million books and stories in various stages of completion in my computer. I want to write until they put me in the ground (and then I’m planning a series called Tales from the Fourth Grave, watch for it after I’m gone).
• If you could be one of the characters from any of your books, who would it be and why? I would either be Stevie-girl because she knows who she is and she has a best friend she can always depend on; or I would be Beth from Stutter Creek because she was able to go back and find her true love while also growing and finding that she did have a storehouse of courage after all.
• If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your leading roles? In The Remains in the Pond, I would cast Hailee Steinfeld as Gabi, and Liam Hemsworth as Reece.
• Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing? I do belong to a couple of critique groups and I love and adore them all. They are helpful for small passage questions. I need more beta readers!
• When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step? I won a short story contest in college. That gave me the courage to start submitting!
• What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing) The best advice I’ve ever received was a quote that said, “The first draft of your story is for you, the writer. Give yourself permission to be terrible.” The worst advice I ever got was when an editor told me to take out the flashbacks and put my story in chronological order. Ruined my book.

10. Do you outline your books or just start writing? I just start writing and then outline as I go.
11. Do you have any hobbies and does the knowledge you’ve gained from these carry over into your characters or the plot of your books? Yes – I like to draw, sketch, and I used to paint (when I had more time). I recently finished a book in which the main character deals with her problems by painting them.
12. Do you have an all time favorite book? The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart.
13. Have you started your next project? If so, can you share a little bit about your book? I’m currently working on a romance set near the fictional town of Stutter Creek. I can’t say the title yet (superstitious), but I will say it is a lot steamier than my other books.
14. Who is your favorite actor and actress? Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games and Matt Damon as Jason Bourne.
15. Can you tell us a little about the black moment in your book? When Gabi learns that the guy she fell for isn’t the person she thought he was, she reacts by running away rather than facing her problems. Toward the end, I tried to show that she has grown and become more mature as a character.
16. What is your favorite reality show? I like the singing shows. American Idol was a fave until it went off. I kind of like The Voice, but it seems contrived most of the time.
17. Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to write a series. I like the series because I’ve grown fond of so many of the characters.

BLURB:

Senior prom is the happiest night of Gabi’s life. Her crush has just revealed that he is every bit as infatuated with her as she is with him. When he has a car wreck and is transported to the hospital in a coma, Gabi feels as if she’s taken a knife to the heart. But his jealous cousin, Rose, sees her chance to give the knife an even harder twist. She convinces Gabi to meet her at a local parking spot outside town. It’s a night that will change several lives forever. One of the girls will return, and one will become known as the remains in the pond.

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EXCERPT: Remains in the Pond

I pushed my glasses up and took a deep breath. “We were in love. I know that’s what teenagers always think, but in our case, it was true.”

The unsmiling detective simply stared at me and pulled out his little notebook. His burnished head gleamed under the fluorescents.

Why wasn’t he writing in that notebook? He just held it, as if he found nothing I said worth noting.

The room grew cold and I began to shiver. Probably some sort of tactic; turning down the temperature to make me uncomfortable. Just like this little waiting game. Waiting me out to make me talk. I’d seen enough crime TV to recognize these schemes. I took a sip of the Diet Coke he’d brought—to make me feel grateful, I suppose—and immediately regretted it because it made me need to burp.

I let the little bubble of gas explode in my closed mouth and began to talk to cover the sound. “We fell in love at prom. We were both with other people. I went with Asa and he brought Rose.” I sat up straighter in the hard-backed chair and hoped I’d said enough to placate him.

The detective sat chill, one ankle propped on the opposite knee. I got the impression he wanted to be my best friend.

I don’t know why I started talking again. I think it had something to do with the way he looked at me, as if he already knew everything I wanted to tell him, because yes, suddenly I did want to tell him. I’d held onto the truth for too long.

I wanted to tell him everything about that night.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Ann has been a writer since junior high school, but to pay the bills she’s waited tables,

delivered newspapers, cleaned other people’s houses, taught school, and even had a short

stint as a secretary in a rock-n-roll radio station. She also worked as a 911 operator and a

police dispatcher.

Ann’s stories began to win awards in her college days. Since then she’s published novels,

novellas, and short stories. But even if no one ever bought another book, Ann wouldn’t stop

writing. For her it’s the cathartic pause in a sometimes-crazy world. Most of the time, it even

keeps her sane.

Blog: www.annswann.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/annswann.books

Goodreads: http://tinyurl.com/6vuw7vl

Twitter: @ann_swann

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-swann

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Remains-Pond-Ann-Swann/dp/1631122037

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Ann Swann will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2527