Blog Tour and Interview with Author D.L. Richardson + Giveaway!

Title: Little Red Gem

Author: D.L. Richardson

Age Range: Young adult

Paperback: 250 pages

Publisher: D.L. Richardson (October 12, 2013)

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Cover Artist: D.L. Richardson

About the Book:

Love can make you do crazy things as Ruby Parker discovers when she dies and returns from the grave to unearth how much Leo Culver loved her. With the aid of bad advice from a ghost who is trapped by a curse, a little bit of magic courtesy of her unsuspecting half-sister, and a televised music talent show coming to town to hold auditions, Ruby Parker makes more of a mess in death than she ever did in life. Can she fix everything before it’s too late? Or will she spend eternity as a ghost, haunted by the unknown depths of love? Either way, one thing Ruby learns is that while love can make you do crazy things, it can make you do amazing things too. But at what cost?

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About the Author:

Music first captured the creative interest of young adult author D L Richardson. From choir, to her first acoustic guitar at age ten, to singing with the school band and performed in main roles in two school musicals. When she left school she helped form her own rock band where she sang lead vocals, played bass guitar, and wrote all the lyrics. At age 26 she sold her equipment and focused on writing instead. She lives in Australia on the NSW South Coast with her husband and dog. When she's not writing or reading she can be found playing her piano or guitars, renovating the house, or walking the dog.

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Interview with D.L. Richardson:

If you could visit any time or place, when and where would you go?
I would like to travel back in time in order to follow the steps of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, who we know as the Brothers Grimm, as they collected folklore and turned them into fairy tales. I simply adore fairy tales, and following this pair around as they rewrote folklore into the fairy tales I grew up on would be amazing. The Brothers Grimm were revolutionary for their time, the culture was mostly poetry or theatre and they were adamant that folklore would become stories loved by children. And they were right.

Do you have a favorite TV show?
I have a few. These TV shows are the only ones that will stop me writing. Otherwise I can give up TV and read a book instead. In no particular order my favorite TV shows are: Supernatural, DR Who, Star Trek, and of course Once Upon A Time.

What is your favorite season and why?
I thought this was going to be an easy question to answer because I don’t like too hot or too cold so my answer was going to be autumn or spring. But then the spring winds blew and did not stop, and I realized I don’t particularly like fringe seasons because the weather is unpredictable and one minute you can be in shorts and a t-shirt and the next in jeans and a sweater. I like winter best because you get to snuggle up under a pile of blankets, you get to out the wood fire on, and you get to see snow. My aim one year is to live in a place where it snows.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Inspiration for my stories comes from many places. Sometimes I get an idea from watching or reading something, the idea will just explode in my head and I have to repeat it over and over so I don’t forget. This often happens when I am out walking the dog, so of course no pen.

Why did you decide to write young adult fiction?
There are a few reasons why I write YA fiction.

I read a comment from a writer who was disheartened by the change in YA fiction, saying that YA novels today are little more than adult books and teenager characters. When I started to analyze why this might be the case, I could see that this is possibly due to the fact that teens are under a lot more pressure these days. It’s understandable that they reach for books that are easy to read, the same way that adults reach for romance novels because they’re easy to read. Still, this doesn’t mean a writer can’t write a novel that is both easy to read and has substance - like morals and values. One of the things I love about all the Grimm Brothers fairy tales is that they have morals woven within the story, sometimes so carefully woven that the readers can hardly see the threads.

Writing YA fiction is also a very satisfying way of imparting some of my life’s learning on to the next generation. I know young adults need to learn these things for themselves, it’s a part of growing up, but if a moral or lesson is carefully woven into a story then it should imprint itself into their subconscious and that little nugget of wisdom just might come to the surface when it’s needed.

And sometimes I write books purely to undo some of the damage I see happening from this new wave of YA literature that is nothing more than adult book with teenage characters. Too often, writers send characters off on lone ranger missions to face insurmountable odds, and this just isn’t a healthy lesson to teach kids. They need to know that they aren’t alone. For example, in Feedback, I purposely have the three teen characters who have to work together to save the planet. In The Bird With The Broken Wing, the characters have to talk about their issues to unlock the secret to why they are trapped where they are. And In Little Red Gem, my current project, the main character keeps her problem to herself. It takes messing things up even more for her to realize that maybe she shouldn’t bottle it all in.

Is there anything about writing that you find particularly challenging?
Starting all over after I have finished final edits. It is very disheartening to go from 67,000 polished words to a blank page. I always think I will never be able to achieve that number of words again, and then I start writing. One day its 500 words on the page, the next its 1,000 words and so on. Every book is written one word at a time. It’s a matter of disciplining myself to write a minimum number of words per day, in my case it’s between 1,000 and 2,000, because editing can only be done when there is something to edit.

When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?
I used to play bass guitar and sing in a band. I was 26 when I realized that I didn’t want to pursue a music career, so I took some time to think about what it was that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The answer was that I wanted to write novels. So I sold everything and bought a typewriter. I haven’t stopped writing since.

What is the one book that everyone should read?
I’m not sure if I can pick just one book. I like so many different styles of books. I read a variety of genres. I read children’s books, young adult books, books for adults, contemporary and speculative fiction. I guess the book that everyone should read is the one that they pick up. There are so many great books available, and sometimes a writer will take a reader on a journey unlike any other, only you don’t know what’s coming until you get to the end.

What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to read books, practice the piano, walk the dog, play the guitar, go shopping though mostly its window shopping. I’m always busy, busy, busy so I like to find relaxing things to do in my spare time. And of course, I like to read.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Mint with choc chips.


Wow! What an awesome interview.  Thanks for all your answers!

Book Trailer:

Giveaway Details:

1 ebook of Little Red Gem

Open internationally

Must be 13 or older to enter

Ends 11/22/2013

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