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A Conversation with D.R. Ronsensteel, Author of LIVE AND LET PSI (A Psi Fighter Academy novel–with a giveaway!)

Live and Let Psi Book Blitz

Thanks so much for agreeing to be with us today, D.R.!

My pleasure! Thanks for having me!

 

What 5 things should readers know about you?

  1. I write like a girl.
  2. I’m not a girl.
  3. I hate evil. When I was 8, I was a superhero. I made a mask from my lunch bag and ran around the neighborhood calling myself Snake Man. I never encountered any supervillains, so I assumed that they had heard of me and escaped to Gotham City because the superheroes were less fierce there.
  4. I have a degree in chemistry, but I don’t do chemistry any more. The only knowledge I retained is how to mix the right combination of chemicals to spontaneously combust into a purple flame. That’s pretty cool.
  5. I did kung fu when I was in high school. I still do, but if I did a split now, there would probably be two of me.
  6. I can’t count.

LOL on #s 1 and 2. And I’m pretty sure that must have been the case with #3—clearly, your mere presence was intimidating enough.

 

Tell us all about your main characters—who are they? What makes them tick? Most importantly, what one thing would they need to have with them if stranded on a desert isle? 😉

Rinnie Noelle is a sixteen-year-old high school girl with a secret identity. Vanquishing evil is what makes her tick. If she were stranded on a desert isle, she would have to have a can of Raid, because she is deathly afraid of spiders, and everyone knows that spiders also like desert isles.

Kathryn Hollisburg is Rinnie’s BFF. Watching Rinnie’s back, because Rinnie is lousy at it, is what makes Kathryn tick. The one thing she would need if stranded on a desert isle is Rinnie, because BFFs do everything together.

Mason Draudimon started out as a complete butthead. He bullied Rinnie relentlessly until he finally admitted that he didn’t know how else to get her to notice him. He has been in love with her since fifth grade. Rinnie’s love is what makes him tick. If only he could have it. If Mason were stranded on a desert isle, he would need his dad, because if they were stranded together, his dad would finally have time for him.

Awwww…. (re: Mason’s desert island must-have)

 

Where did the inspiration for this book come from?

All the evil in the world, and the scarcity of female crime fighters to battle it. Oh, and the fact that the first book in the series, Psi Another Day, ended in a cliffhanger.

There IS a scarcity of female crime fighters, thank you for noticing! (I am wearing my Wonder Woman sneakers as I write this, but she can’t do everything herself! Especially when she’s hanging around on my sneakers.)

 

How long have you been writing, and what (or who) inspired you to start?

Mrs. Simmons. She was my high school English teacher. I was a total goofus in high school, but Mrs. Simmons encouraged me in spite of it. She saw something in me that I didn’t. She inspired all of us back then. She still does. That’s why she is one of the main characters in the Psi Fighter series. She’s awesome.

That is the best story I ever heard! I’m totally jealous!

 

What do you like best about being a writer? What is the most challenging part?

My favorite part is hearing from readers. They are the most inspirational people in the galaxy. The next best part is brainstorming the story, followed closely by the final revision. When it’s done and everything comes together, it’s an awesome feeling. I also like the editing process, because I have been blessed with amazing editors. The most challenging part is the first draft. It is agonizing. It’s like pulling my eyes out and rolling them in sand. I hate my first drafts. Always. I write like a million drafts, but the first one is always lousy. So I think my new strategy will be to begin with the third draft. That’s where it seems to come together. Third drafts are definitely a better place to start writing.

Ugh, the first draft IS agonizing. You are right about that! I am intrigued by your “start with the third draft” plan. Let me know how that goes for you.

 

What are you working on right now? What can readers look for from you in the next year?

It’s top secret. I can’t talk about it or they’ll come for me. Okay, maybe a little intel won’t get me killed…the manuscript for the third book in the Psi Fighter series, titled The Psi Who Loved Me, is scheduled to be completed by October 1. The book will be released in early 2017. So here’s what happens: Nicolaitan captures Andy and the Kilodan, the Psi Fighters’ beloved leaders. He gives Rinnie twenty-four hours to give herself up, or he’ll murder them and hang their bodies from the courthouse flagpole. And, oh, by the way, one of them is already dead. It’s a tense moment for our heroine.

I’m also working on a totally new series tentatively titled “Geek Wars.” It’s a modern-day sci-fi thriller romance (when I mix genres, they are shaken, not stirred) series for teens, where the main characters are absolutely brilliant with science, but totally clueless when it comes to boy-girl relationships. A top-secret government agency called ORDER asks three brainiac brothers to team up with three girl geniuses to help fight a war of the minds. A group of equally intelligent teens known as HAVOC has stolen sensitive US government plans to build a machine powerful enough to destroy a city. Plenty of action, romance, and comic relief. Imagine The Big Bang Theory characters with James Bond missions. It will come out in 2017 as well.

Whoa! They both sound amazing!

 

What authors and/or books have inspired you?

C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling…this is why I write as D.R. Rosensteel instead of Doug Rosensteel, because none of the writers I like have first names.

LOL!

 

What are you currently reading? What are your thoughts about it so far?

Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas. LOVE the main character. She’s an assassin, but get this—she loves books! How cool is that?

Well, of course she does! Doesn’t everyone? (Please don’t burst my bubble on that one, ‘kay?)

 

If you had to “sell” your book in a single Tweet, what would you say?
Sixteen-year-old Rinnie Noelle is called into action again when Nicolaitan goes on a murder spree to force her to turn herself over to him.

Awesome! Thanks so much, D.R.!

 

 

Author Bio:D.R. Rosensteel PIC

D, R. Rosensteel writes clean action-adventure fantasy. He grew up devouring Marvel and DC comics. He is a Batman aficionado (1960s television version) and über-fan of the television series Supergirl. He planned to be a comic strip artist but dated a girl in college with a very scientific mind, so he became a chemist instead. Fear of genetic mutation caused him to leave that field and start a consulting business so he could charge obscene fees, giving him plenty of time to write. Rosensteel lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, two daughters, and a cat. Also female. The extreme estrogen levels in his house contribute to his writing voice, and the high-pitched whining that destroyed his hearing has given him an almost supernatural ability to tune out everything and concentrate on his characters.

Author Website: www.drrosensteel.com

Author Twitter: @DRRosensteel

Author Facebook: http://facebook.com/douglas.rosensteel

Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23372782-douglas-rosensteel

Live and Let Psi

Book Title: Live and Let Psi

Author: D.R. Rosensteel

Release Date: July 11, 2016

Genre: Young Adult

 

Live and Let Psi Synopsis:

Rinnie Noelle would rather kick some creepy villain butt than go on a date. As a Psi Fighter trained in the Mental Arts, she can’t be distracted by emotion. Her nemesis, Nicolaitin, is manipulating students from her school, using them as puppets to carry out his new plan to find the infamous Morgan Girl, and he doesn’t care who becomes collateral damage in the process. People’s lives are depending on Rinnie’s ultimate focus.

But Mason Draudimon keeps slicing into her soul sharper than a Thought Saber, and her feelings for him knock her off her game with the strength of a psionic War Hammer. Mason insists on helping Rinnie take down Nicolaitan for his own reasons—to avenge his mother—and the closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous the dance between mind and heart, life and death, logic and love.

Copy of PsiFighters19

Excerpt:

Drake sauntered over to us, out of breath, and stopped right beside me, nodding as if he’d just had a lobotomy. His hair was damp with sweat, and his arms were shaking. He gazed into my eyes, and smiled like an unlit jack-o-lantern.

A sick feeling filled my stomach, and I shook my head. “No. Please. Surely not—”

“I am afraid so,” the Kilodan said.

“Why?” I whined. “I can’t be a Psi Fighter with him. All I can be is annoyed.”

“Which is exactly what we need you to be,” Andy said. “It’s the perfect cover. And you’re so good at it.”

“Let him do it,” I said, pointing to Drake. “He’s better at being annoying.”

“I’m starting to get the impression you don’t like me,” Drake said, frowning.

“Starting? What’s your IQ?”

“This isn’t a request,” the Kilodan said, somewhat sternly.

“Oh.” My first instinct was to stomp the floor and scream and throw the worst temper tantrum I could imagine. But that would give the Kilodan the mistaken impression that I was immature. So, I pinched Drake’s cheeks and pulled his mouth into a wide Cheshire cat grin.

“Okay, then. I assume I will be receiving the standard fee for babysitting this little guy.”

“You underestimate Mr. Reynolds,” the Kilodan said.

“I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“You underestimate how much that hurts,” Drake mumbled.

“No, I don’t.” I let his face snap back to normal.

“You’re beautiful when you don’t get your way. This will be fun.” Drake puckered his lips and blew me a kiss.

I fake-smiled at Drake and said, “Would you please excuse us?”

“No problem,” Drake said. He backed up a few steps to give us some room.

“Let me rephrase.” I took Drake by the shoulders, turned him toward the door, and shoved.

“Oh, right.” Drake stumbled, and disappeared through the door.

I turned to Andy. “Let me get this straight. Nicolaitan plans to hunt me down, pump me full of mind-altering drugs, and turn me into a stupid, mindless beast that hates Psi Fighters and knows all their secrets. Is that what I am to understand?”

“Actually,” Andy said, “you’d be a highly intelligent, fully aware beast that hates the Psi Fighters and knows all their secrets.”

“And how is infiltrating the Proletariat with Drake going to prevent that?”

“It could lead us to Camelot,” Andy said. “I’m beginning to think you have a problem with this plan.”

“He’s annoying. He’s egotistical. He has bad breath.”

“Your point?” Andy asked.

“Whose side are you on? Why can’t you be my partner? Drake Reynolds is more full of himself than a bean burrito. He can’t help me infiltrate anything. He’ll brag about it to the whole school. He needs to learn humility. It’s a foundation of kung fu, right? And I’d be happy to teach him. Let me spar with him. Right now.”

“No,” the Kilodan said. “I need him alive.”

“For what?” I said.

The Kilodan just stared at me.

“Drake is perfect for this mission,” Andy said. “The boy is not what he seems.”

“I certainly hope not, because he seems like a muttonhead.”

 

Goodreads Book Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28597441-live-and-let-psi

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Live-Let-Psi-D-R-Rosensteel-ebook/dp/B01HB7GHB0/

Barnes & Noble Buy Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1123949922?ean=9781633756595

iBooks Buy Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/live-and-let-psi/id1125960292

Kobo Buy Link: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/live-and-let-psi

Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Let-Psi-D-R-Rosensteel-ebook/dp/B01HB7GHB0/

Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/Live-Let-Psi-D-R-Rosensteel-ebook/dp/B01HB7GHB0/

Entangled Publishing: http://www.entangledpublishing.com/live-and-let-psi/

 

PsiAnotherDay_500

Psi Another Day Synopsis:

THERE’S A NEW SUPERHERO IN TOWN.

By day, I’m just another high school girl who likes lip gloss. But by night I’m a Psi Fighter—a secret guardian with a decade of training in the Mental Arts. And I’m about to test those skills in my first battle against evil.

BAD GUYS BEWARE.

When I was six, the Walpurgis Knights, our deadliest enemy, murdered my parents. The Psi Fighters put me into hiding, and all traces of my existence evaporated. Then I went through the most accelerated Psi Fighter training possible. And now I go to your school.

’CAUSE I WILL TAKE YOU OUT.

Unfortunately, so do the bad guys. My parents’ killer has sent his apprentice to infiltrate the school to find me. And everyone is a potential suspect, even irresistible new kid, Egon, and my old nemesis-turned-nice-guy, Mason. Fingers crossed I find the Knight before he finds me…

 

Goodreads Book Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17343420-psi-another-day

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Psi-Another-Day-Fighter-Academy-ebook/dp/B00BRAFRTG

Barnes & Noble Buy Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/psi-another-day-dr-rosensteel/1117390269?ean=9781622660438

iBooks Buy Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/psi-another-day/id702184556

Kobo Buy Link: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/psi-another-day

Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psi-Another-Day-Fighter-Academy-ebook/dp/B00BRAFRTG

Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/Live-Let-Psi-D-R-Rosensteel-ebook/dp/B01HB7GHB0/ref=sr_1_1

Powell’s Books: http://www.powells.com/book/psi-another-day-9781622660421/61-0

Books-A-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Psi-Another-Day/D-R-Rosensteel/9781622660421

The Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Psi-Another-Day-D-R-Rosensteel/9781622660421

Entangled Publishing: http://www.entangledpublishing.com/psi-another-day/

Enter the Live AND LET PSI Gift Basket Giveaway!

 

Giveaway:

Live and Let Psi Gift Basket Giveaway, featuring: a signed copy of Psi Another Day, a Psi Fighter tshirt, a Psi Fighter hoodie, a Psi Fighter backpack, and a Psi Fighter Amplifier, a device that allows Psi Fighters trained in the Mental Arts to create weapons out of their thoughts!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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