Nina Soden was kind enough to feature Angelus Rose on her blog earlier in the year, so I offered to return the favor.

Nina has always been creative, be it art, theatre, film. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Military Science from Eastern Michigan University where she spent most of her time either on stage, rappelling down buildings, or working one of three jobs. After college she moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of her dreams, like so many other actors. Nina started writing short stories in 2008. Her first 3 novels Awaken, Beginnings, and Revenge (the Blood Angel Series) were published in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Her new book is The Chosen (SECTOR C book 1):

Set in a futuristic dystopia where society is governed by a council of vampires and lycanthropes, selection students are sheltered and raised in a deceptively utopian world. Strict rules are imposed to control population growth, education, and even personal interactions with other members of the Sector, all in the name of safety. When ‘A’ comes of age, she is forced to endure the rigorous physical and mental testing of Selection Week before choosing her destiny. Those that make it out alive are announced as sector residents, given a position within the society, and allotted all the privileges of their chosen “culture.” However, when your only choices are vampirism, lycanthropy, breeder, blood donor, or banishment to the Wastelands, what choice do you really have?

Did something in the real world inspire The Chosen?

No. Most of my stories start as a dream. I get a glimpse of a scene and that sends my mind on an adventure to find out the rest of the story. I love the discovery aspect of not knowing where the story will take me.

What is your favorite scene in the book?

In Book One of this series, my favorite scene has to be the beginning of chapter 4. It is where we really get to see, for the first time, what the main character ‘A’ is like.

I had the giggles as I knelt there on the ground. Hand-to-hand had always been my favorite part of training. I was good with the book stuff—memorization and tests—but I was great at the physical stuff. I looked around at the others and saw M126 watching from the back row. He was smiling and even from that distance, I got lost in his eyes—again.

“What the heck A? The barrel of my gun is at the back of your head and you’re laughing?”

“You’re right, I should be more serious. Sorry H, I’ll try harder.” I tried to stifle my laughing, unsuccessfully. H107 was a year younger than the rest of our selection class. The leaders had decided to move him up a year because he was excelling in his academic classes and he was able to hold his own in all the physical challenges. That didn’t mean he won every fight or even most of them, but he wasn’t the worst in the class either.

“You’ve either really gone crazy or you just don’t care about losin—”

It took less than a second to throw my weight onto my hands in front of me as I threw my legs out behind me to scissor kick him. My right leg going high sent the tranquilizer gun twenty yards into the clearing and my left leg going low swept his ankles out from under him. He was on the ground, with me straddling his waist, the blade of my knife under his chin, and a stake at his chest before he finished the word ‘losing.’ “Who said anything about losing?”

He didn’t say anything. He just laid there wide-eyed before shoving me off of him and exiting the mat. I could hear some of my classmates giving him grief, but most of them were just laughing and congratulating me.

What was your writing process like as you wrote the book?

I’m a pantster. I just let my characters lead the story. Sure, I plan a little. I have an outline/planning guide for every book I write (So You Want To Write A Book) which helps me remember the small details that can get lost in the weeds. For the most part, it’s like watching a movie. I write down everything I hear and see in my mind and then clean it up in editing.

What was the best thing that happened during your promotion of the book?

Most of my book promotions are either blog tours, self-promotion on social media, or in-person author events. I think for me, the best thing was the day I had a girl come up to me during an author event to tell me that they came just to see me. That was pretty awesome.

What do you have planned next?

My next novel, The Beast Within (a working title) is currently with the editor. I will be submitting it to agents later this year.

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Check out all her books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2B4X41s

Or pick up a copy of The Chosen (SECTOR C book 1): https://amzn.to/3ht680D