Lisez la Fleur Blog Tour

I am delighted to welcome an amazing writer and friend on my blog today, the wonderful Alexandra Lanc. She's in the middle of her Lisez la Fleur Blog Tour. Over to you, Alexandra.

The Joy of Rediscovery

By: Alexandra Lanc

Every author has many tales to tell, and in everyone’s career, there are some books that come back after an amount of time to be rediscovered.

I wrote my first book when I was twelve years old, and I still have it sitting on my bookshelf. It’s in a special binder (black and white and pink, with vinery), and half of its pages are printed on blue paper (the only thing I had at the time). The typeset is off, the font is mildly hard to read, the writing is adequate at best, and the letters are large, but that copy is still very special to me, for all of its flaws; it cannot be replaced.

I highly doubt that I’ll ever publish that original book, though time may tell, but all the same, I enjoy seeing it sit there, and sometimes I like to flip through it and remember – remember what I felt when writing it, the sense of accomplishment when I finished it, the hope that one day, I could share my writing with the world. Just like that first book, my newest release, Lisez la Fleur, sat on the shelf for many years before I decided to revisit it – four years, in fact.

Four years of gathering dust (though I would leaf through it at times, too; I try to keep my bookshelf less than dusty, but sometimes that’s easier said than done). Four years of hopes I would gather the courage to edit it someday (as well as several attempts and subsequent at doing just that). Four years of a story waiting to be rediscovered.

When I was sixteen years old, my older brother was involved in a terrible motorcycle accident that nearly cost his life, and that led to a year of recovery (he’s doing very well now, thank God). From that time, a story was spawned, entitled Shadows of Past Memories. Similarly, shortly after my brother recovered fully, my great-grandmother broke her hip and had to move in with my mother and I; she had a form of schizophrenia, which made caring for her less than easy on either of us. From that time, Lisez la Fleur was spawned. In hardship, I was able to find inspiration.

I remember distinctly getting the idea for the story. Many stories are inspired by dreams, and this one was no different. I had recently read the classic novel Dracula, and I had begun taking a French course in college (sadly…I don’t remember much of it; I didn’t have the best teacher). A lot of feelings – frustration, love, acceptance, and a good deal of tolerance – went into that story, and it reflected my life at the time.

And then it sat on the shelf—

For four years.

Life has an amazing, crazy way of surprising you, because at the least expected moment, something that you thought was lost can appear again. Only a few months ago, inspiration struck, and I decided to open that story back up, and revisit it – and all of those feelings, some good and some bad, came rushing back. And now that the story has been started again, it can continue, and shape into something wholly the same, but also wholly different.

If there’s anything that Lisez la Fleur has taught me so far, it’s that sometimes, revisiting old loves can rekindle our spirits, and even lead us to find new ones. 

Book Synopsis:

Twenty-year-old Lorine Stringfield’s life is about to change forever, and she doesn’t even know it. 

Weighted down by the death of her father, her overbearing mother, and the sadness of her little brother, Lorine has less than high hopes for her family’s trip to France. But all of that changes when she is invited to visit the illustrious Château du Jumeaux – a premiere nightclub that only the most privileged attend. Lorine jumps at the chance to do something for herself, but gets more than she bargained for when she discovers the terrible truth: the chateau isn’t a nightclub at all, but a feeding ground for perhaps the most ruthless of beings, the creatures known as vampires.

Part one in the Fleur Passages, a collection of novellas to later be sewn into one novel The Beautiful Beginning starts the epic tale of Lorine. This novella marks the first in a series of ebooks in which readers can take part with "Reader Participation" -- inside of the ebook there is a question directly linked to the next volume in the Fleur Passages, and readers can vote for their favorite answer, to have a say in what happens next! 

Book Links:

Amazon

AmazonUK

The book can also be borrowed for free by Amazon Prime members as well.

About The Authoress:

Alexandra is a New Adult and Young Adult author who loves writing Fantasy, Science-Fiction, and traditional Horror stories (though she’s known to dabble in Contemporary and Poetry, too). She started writing at a young age, and is inspired by fellow writers (hats off to Eoin Colfer, Ridley Pearson, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, and Jeanne DuPrau), her writing friends, and her dreams.

She is currently working on many series and stand-alones, most notably the Snowflake Triplet, her YA Fantasy/Christmas series, the Phantasmagoria Duet, her NA Fantasy series, and of course the new NA novella series the Fleur Passages, later to be sewn into one book, where readers have a say in what happens next through voting!

Alexandra is also an artist (her art is featured on her book covers), and a screenwriter, a Whovian, superhero fan, and all-around geek who loves old videogames. Alexandra lives in Florida, USA, with her family and calico cat, Sanura.

Twitter: @AuthorLanc

Google+: Alexandra Lanc

My Blog: Words of the Worlds

Goodreads: Alexandra Lanc

Thank you for sharing such a personal story with us, Alexandra. I believe that just as every author has a story to tale, so does every book as well. I greatly regret not keeping the first book I ever wrote. Even though I know I would never have published it - it was about an intergalactic hooverman who cleared space debris - I would love to be able to take it off the shelf and read it from time to time.