Robyn loves her friends, enjoys her youth group, and looks forward to meeting cute Caleb Montague. But when a caustic news reporter challenges her school’s prayer team, Robyn must choose: defend their right to meet on campus and pray for whomever they wish or back down at the principal’s request.
Now she must learn what God wants her to do. And she had better learn fast, because there’s a supernatural enemy in town whose sole mission is to stop her—no matter the cost.
DRIVEN can be purchased at Amazon!
(Q) Thanks for stopping by my blog! Let’s start with the basics: where are you from?
Used to be Jackson, WI until August 22, now it’s Cincinnati, OH.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#%21/shellie_c
Website: http://shellieneumeier.com/
Booktrailer: http://youtu.be/D0iUtvrC_PU
(Q) I always love hearing about how the idea for a particular book came about. Please fill us in on how you got the idea for Driven.
What inspired me to write this book was the desire to encourage the next generation. They have an amazing access to their world with the ease of travel and the internet. They also have the opportunity to change their world unlike any previous generation has. But they’re also bombarded with harsh realism and even harsher dramatized “realism.” It would be very easy to forget that they have a good and Godly purpose.
(Q) Which authors have most influenced your own writing?
Oooh, easy one. Mark Twain and Frank Perretti are my two favorite authors who influenced the writing of Driven.
(Q) If you could describe your ideal writing spot, where would it be?
On a warm beach by the ocean. I love to hike and hang with family and friends. I also do a fair amount of reading and occasionally quilt.
What music would you listen to (if at all)?
My taste in writer’s music depends on what I’m writing…dark if the scene is dark or energetic if the scene is more upbeat.
What treats would you have on hand?
I’ll take anything chocolate, please…unless there’s cheesecake available, then I’ll take a large cyber-bite of cheesecake, please.
(Q) Plotter or pantser? Both? Neither?
(Q) Plotter or pantser? Both? Neither?
I’m a plotter; worksheet, outline and all.
(Q) Do you have any new projects that you are working on? Care to share? (optional if you don't have a WIP to talk about)
(Q) Do you have any new projects that you are working on? Care to share? (optional if you don't have a WIP to talk about)
I have a novella romance releasing on October 1, A Summer in Oakville (co-authored with Lisa Lickel) and a mid-grade chapter book, The Wishing Ring, releasing in February. I’m currently working on a sequel to The Wising Ring and another young adult novel about a seventeen year-old boy who lands himself in a treatment center and must figure out how to get home.
(Q) What kinds of marketing do you think are the most successful in terms of getting your name/book out there? (Curious minds are taking notes!)
Ok, curious minds, I’ve found blog tours (yay for this one) and social media venues to be the most advantageous in building a platform. But those venues only work if they are targeting folks who the book would appeal to. I look for blogs that teens read and connect with YA readers online through forums and other social sites.
(Q) How about an excerpt to tantalize the readers?
From a comfortable height above the trees, Sebastian circled the abandoned paper mill, drinking in the atmosphere of dereliction and decay surrounding the property. This place has more character than most of the humans I know. Half broken windows winked like the evil eyes of wayward souls, while snow drifts gathered in the corners. The wind toyed with the snow, whipping trails that could chill his feet and ankles. If he had feet and ankles, that is.
Slipping through a second-story window, Sebastian watched a rat scurry across the dusty floor in a dash for the shadows. Like an angry cloud—black as asphalt, thick as cigar smoke—Sebastian floated after the rodent, watching with mild interest as it raced for another shadow and nearly collided with an old tom cat whose eyes glowed bright with hunger. The tom sprang, but Sebastian turned away. He didn’t have time for these cat and mouse games today, no matter how much he enjoyed them. He had bigger game to consider, and as he moved over the room, he thought about the girl he’d come to destroy.
Sebastian peered through the panel of small rectangular windows overlooking the town of Brookfield, fifty in all, though most were broken, and he yawned as he watched the town stretch with morning life. Humans filtered in and out of the corner diner, scampered about in their shiny cars, and huddled against the wind in mindless oblivion. Sebastian’s mouth curled into a sneer.
Shellie Neumeier holds a degree in Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a minor in Psychology, Sociology and Social Studies. A devoted mother of four, Shellie previously worked on staff with Northbrook Church as the King’s Kids ministry assistant (serving children in grades 2nd through 5th). Shellie’s YA novel, Driven, is available from Risen Fiction and her middle grade chapter book The Wishing Ring will release February 2012. She is an active member of SCBWI and ACFW as well as a contributing author for various blogs. Shellie is located in southeastern Wisconsin.
Thanks for stopping by Shellie! I hope you all enjoyed learning more about DRIVEN!
Lisa Lickel was kind enough to host me on her blog. I'd be happy to return the favor for your co-authored book when it comes out.
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