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Sunday 30 January 2011

GuestPost: ALLISON PANG & Giveaway

We have the wonderful debut author Allison Pang guest posting with us today! Author of the most awaited book, A Brush Of Darkness... so let's welcome, Allison Pang!!

It started with a poem.

Specifically the poem Thomas the Rhymer, which is the tale of the Scottish poet True Thomas and his adventures with the Queen of Elfland. In the poem, he stands at a crossroads with the Queen, with three paths to choose from. One leads to Heaven, one to Hell and one to Faerie, which is where she takes him.

I used this concept as the foundation for the magic system for A Brush of Darkness, and then branched out from there. I think the key thing to making world building realistic is coming up with believable rules that make sense (and that the author follows). Asking a reader to suspend disbelief is dependent upon this, because once the author starts breaking these rules for the sake of the plot, it’s very easy for the reader to lose faith in the author and the book.

In BoD, I have three realms of magical beings (OtherFolk)– those of Heaven (the Light Path – angels and unicorns, etc.), those of Hell (the Dark Path – vampires and daemons) and those of Faerie (elves, fae and the like). There are some additional layers between that, but that’s the overall core. The OtherFolk can travel between their worlds and ours via a series of silver roads known as the CrossRoads, which are basically ley lines.

However, I didn’t want these OtherFolk to just be able to come and go as they please into our world – there had to be a price. That’s where the idea of TouchStones came in. (And the TouchStone concept came from another legend of a particular vampiric fairy who used to feed on poets. She was their muse…and they lived very short lives. LOL). In my world, the OtherFolk have to form a written Contract with a TouchStone (a human) in order to be able to hang around in the mortal realm for any extended length of time.

The length of the Contract can vary, and since it can be physically demanding, there is usually some sort of reward for the TouchStone at the end of it. A Faery Protectorate oversees these Contracts to make sure there’s at least *some* element of fairness behind it, but there is still a “buyer beware” vibe that mortals need to be aware of before agreeing to it.

There’s a bit more to it than that, but because the world building becomes so complex so quickly, I don’t infodump it onto the reader right off the bat. Which is another key point with suspension of disbelief. If the author overwhelms the reader with too much strangeness all at once, you risk the reader becoming confused and frustrated and much more likely to put the book down. On the other hand, not giving them enough info isn’t very helpful either.

I don’t believe in spoonfeeding the reader everything up front, but my heroine, Abby, is very new to this OtherFolk world. The reader learns with her and even though things may seem a bit mysterious at first, I hope that’s one of the things that will keep people interested.
Links:
Allison Pang at Simon & Schuster
Allison Pang at GoodReads
Blog
A Brush Of Darkness by Allison Pang

About A Brush Of Darkness:
I had a naked incubus in my bedroom. With a frying pan of half-cooked bacon and a hard-on. And a unicorn bite on his ass. Christ, this was turning out to be a weird morning.

Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and as sexy as sin incubus who shows up searching for his sister—and is convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts.. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invading her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As Abby is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, she realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.
Source: Info in the About A Brush Of Darkness was taken from the author's website at http://www.heartofthedreaming.com/books/ on 15/08/2010.

Buy Link(s):

Giveaway:
A lucky commenter will win a copy of this book  :)

Leave a way to contact you in case you win. Giveaway ends on the 6th of February.

Extra Entries:
Spread some love and leave the url where we can verify it.

Amendments (30/01/2011 05:43am GMT):
  • Please make comments relevant to the post.
  • You do not have to be a follower to enter this giveaway but if you are, it is highly appreciated! :)
  • Have questions? Clarifications? Email us at chericenter-allisonpang [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Please read the Disclaimer as it forms part of the giveaway rules.
Acknowledgements:
Thank you to FinePrint Literary Management for hosting this blog tour and giveaway!

42 comments:

Zoë said...

sounds like an interesting book, I'd love to be entered in the giveaway!

strandedhero(at)gmail(dot)com

JenM said...

I'm really looking forward to reading this book. It takes some guts to turn the unicorn legend upside down the way it sounds like the author does. Please enter me in the giveaway.

jen at delux dot com

Meredith said...

I love the first paragraph of the excerpt! I need to get this book!

meredithfl at gmail dot com

Rhianna said...

Please DON'T include me in the giveaway (I have a copy already)... just came by to see what Allison's guespost was about. Great WB discussion. Solid WB's definitely a MUST for me as a reader. What's I've read so far for this one is nicely pulled off, I'm loving it so far.

Jolene and Family said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jolene and Family said...

OMG, a frying pan in his hand, a hard-on and a unicorn bite on his ass. LOL you can't leave me like that, I need more :) I would love nothing more than to win this book. Thanks so much for the chance, it sounds amazing and I'm loving the cover

+1 tweeted
http://twitter.com/#!/joleneallcock/status/31591347580305408


june111(at)att(dot)net

Anonymous said...

Wow, it sounds interesting... and I love the cover =) Thanks for the giveaway and the post.

tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/mikkimano/status/31632031548964864

Thanks again,
mikki-mano@hotmail.com

VickyTinky said...

Is this giveaway international? If so, count me in too! This book sounds interesting and the cover is just beautiful!

vicky.vak8(at)gmail.com

Blodeuedd said...

I like the sound of those three roads, and awwwww unicorns in heaven. That is sweet.

Ok so if open worldwide then I am so in.
blodeuedd1 at gmail dot com

debbie said...

The interview was really good. A mini unicorn in her underwear drawer- now that is creative. I would love to read this book.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

Dren said...

Great Guest post Allison! Would love to win a copy!

Unknown said...

Great post.
Thank you for sharing Allison!
All the best,
RKCharron

Reading said...

Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to win this.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Unknown said...

My friend Ruth finished reading this book yesterday. When I asked her if I should read it her reply was go get it now! Awesome review & giveaway. thanks
truckchick@hotmail.com

tetewa said...

I've been hearing alot about this one, sounds good! tWarner419@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a good book. I'm glad we learn along with Abby.
greenduckie13 at gmail dot com

Bethany C. said...

I love how she realizes that info dumping can be overwhelming, and as much as she may want to immerse readers right away in the world she created, she makes the choice to pull back a little and let it unfold. Definitely enter me, please.

b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail(dot)com

samantha35 said...

great giveaway
follow via gfc
drakebdog@gmail.com

Qandthebooks said...

Cool giveaway! Following!~

blissfulrains(at)yahoo(dot)com

Coley said...

Thanks for the great post, Allison. I think it's fantastic that you used Thomas the Rhymer as the foundation for your magic system. I love that poem! I really cannot wait to read Brush of Darkness.

ntelhiard (at) gmail (dot) com

elaing8 said...

Great post.I can't wait to read this book.I've read some great reviews for it.

tweeted http://twitter.com/elaing8/status/31800410868027392

elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

ArtemisG said...

Thanks for the great post and great giveaway!!!

artgiote@gmail.com

Janet said...

First time I wrote this was long & involved, but when I tried to post the website erased all. So I will leave it at;
Best of luck to you Allison Pang, may your sales be strong!

Jan
jargon47@yahoo.com

Martha Lawson said...

A new to me author, with an amazing sounding book! It sounds like my kind of read, I will be putting it on the to buy list! Good luck.

follow on gfc

mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

Guest post!!! Thank you for sharing! I've been wanting to read this soo much! I love how the author doesn't "Spoonfeed" the readers, I think that is great!

I am a GFC and e-mail subscriber follower.

+1 I have tweeted the giveaway:http://twitter.com/#!/MoonlightGleams/status/31891496630226945

Thank you so much for this opportunity!

moonlightgleam(at)gmail(dot)com

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on worldbuilding and for the giveaway! Would love to immerse in this world! Please count me in on the giveaway!

chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com

ibeeeg said...

Don't enter me because I already have a copy. I wanted to stop by and read Allison's guest post. It was a great post; glad I stopped by.

so true...so true... to suspend disbelief the world needs to be believable and the rules cannot be broken by the author. Allison definitely accomplished a believable world, and the rules where plausible and stayed true. Thinking back on the read, I realize that was a primary reason why my eyes stayed glued to the words; I was able to believe in the world.

Valia Lind said...

This books sounds really interesting!! Would love to get my hands on it!!

Follower

valialind@yahoo.com

donnas said...

Great post. Really looking forward to reading this book. Been reading some great reviews.

tweet - http://twitter.com/#!/DonnaS1/status/31944260651581440

post - http://donnasbloghome.blogspot.com/2011/01/cherry-mischievous-guestpost-allison.html

bacchus76 at myself dot com

justpeachy36 said...

I think the world building in this one sounds very interesting. I'm of Scottish descent and I know the poem that the author refers to. I'm interested to read her take on the magic aspects of the book.

Please enter me in the giveaway.

justpeachy36@yahoo.com

Fashion Addict said...

This books sounds so good! :D So excited! Its sounds so different from other books I've read! :D
msKpopper@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I am a follower and email subscriber. Please enter me in contest. I would love to read this book. Tore923@aol.com

Lillie (AliseOnLife) said...

I like the points that Allison makes about her world-building. My favorite fantasy/urban fantasy/paranormal books are the ones that take an existing idea of lore and tweak it so it's unique. Her world in BoD sounds really well-crafted, and from the praise I've heard, it's catching the attention of many readers.

Can't wait to read it!
PolarisGreen at gmail dot com

BTW: Love the new look of your blog, Cherry. I usually read your posts in my reader, so it might not be as "new" as it is for me seeing it, but it's fantastic either way.

Lisa Richards/alterlisa said...

Just love to find a new author and this book sounds like a winner.

http://twitter.com/#!/alterlisa/status/32184238635749376

I follow on GFC.

(\___/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/

Cheryl said...

I loved this part: "I had a naked incubus in my bedroom. With a frying pan of half-cooked bacon and a hard-on. And a unicorn bite on his ass. Christ, this was turning out to be a weird morning." This sounds like a book I would love. I am a follower and would love to enter this contest! cherylbaryl@hotmail.com

Alexa said...

The cover for this is beautiful and it does sounds like a great book.
Thanks for the giveaway.
apk1princess(at)live(dot)com

Tales of Whimsy said...

Awesome interview!
(not an entry)

Spav said...

I've been dying to read this book. Ir sounds awesome!

+1 Tweet: http://twitter.com/Sparima/status/33284246252552192

spav05(at)gmail(dot)com

Meredith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mysteriousrose said...

Love the guestpost.
This book sounds so awesome and I cannot wait to read it! Thank you so much for this giveaway.

I'm an old follower (Mysteriousrose)

+1 Tweet: http://twitter.com/mette_s_jensen/status/33934165053280256
+1 Facebook: http://on.fb.me/etrg06
+1 Myspace: http://mysp.ac/fZvpKK
+1 Sidebar: http://mysteriousrose.blogspot.com/ (left sidebar under win win win)
+1 Livejournal: http://mysteryredrose.livejournal.com/11658.html
+1 Multiply: http://bit.ly/go1AgZ
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+1 Yahoo: http://bit.ly/dZIp2V
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forceofstars(at)yahoo(dot)dk

lindseye said...

I have looked forward to reading this book for a couple fo months now. Always fun to to get to know a new author.

linze_e at hotmail.com

Texas Book Lover said...

I have seen so many wonderful reviews on numerous blogs recently that this book has already been added to my TBR list!

Hope everyone has a wonderul and safe Superbowl day!

mmafsmith@gmail.com

 
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