Emerald Barnes Archives - Stacy EatonStacy Eaton

Welcome to Sunday morning Coffee Chat time!

Today’s guest is Emerald Barnes!

SE: I’m so excited to have Emerald Barnes on my blog today for our Sunday Chat! I have known Emerald for a few years now and she is the one of the sweetest women you will ever meet! Welcome Emerald!

EB: Hi Stacy! Thanks so much for allowing me to join you and your readers for Coffee Time Sundays! I?m super thrilled to be here with you again! And, I always love meeting other blogger?s readers.?

SE: And they will love to meet you too! First I have to know, Coffee or Tea?

EB: Oh coffee, no doubt when it comes to hot beverages, but if we?re talking about a Southerner?s tea, then sweet tea! The sweeter the better, I say.

SE: Yes, yes, yes. I forgot to mention to the readers that Emerald is a sweet southern lady too! So,? we know you?re an author, but do you work another job when you are not writing?

EB: I?m a proofreader and line editor, as well. I just started out so business isn?t booming, but it?s not bad either. However, that?s all I do.

SE: Oh no, you are quite a busy young woman!! You have a ton of nieces and nephews running around you!? But I do wish you well on the proofreading business! What is your favorite thing to do when you aren?t writing or working?

EB: I love watching TV shows. I know that?s kind of weird, but I just love letting my mind take a break by diving into something like that. I know this is horrible, but it?s not reading either. I read all day, and sometimes, I just need to look at a screen with real people and not words.

That actually makes a lot of sense. What is your favorite color?

EB: Green. Because of my name! Well, honestly, I?m not sure how it started. I think it?s because I love all things Irish. I?m of Irish descent, so I?ve kind of fallen in love with it. And, well, almost everything Irish is green, so it kind of just happened. But I do really like purple. It?s a bit more girly than green, and I have a pretty girly side to me as well.

SE: Yes you do! And I do not really think purple is that girlie. I know guys who like it too! What is your favorite season?

EB: Fall. The air gets this crisp feel to it, and the leaves begin changing colors. I think my favorite thing to do is drive down the road after the leaves have fallen and just see them flying around the car. The sky looks different, and it?s just so beautiful! I?m so in love that season!

SE: It sounds like you do, it makes me sneeze, but then again so do the rest of the seasons. If you could live anyplace on earth, where would it be?

EB: The thing is, I don?t think I?d be happier anywhere other than Mississippi; however, I would certainly try living in Ireland or England somewhere. I?ve always been fascinated with both places.

SE: Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Besides your family is close to you there. Other than writing, what do you have a passion for?

EB: God and church. (They go hand in hand, I know.) Without God, I wouldn?t have gotten where I am today, and I love the relationship that I have developed with Him. And just like most relationships, you need to spend time getting to know each other. And, although God knows me, I have to get to know Him. So, I spend a lot of time in study and prayer. Admittedly, it?s not as much as I should, but it?s something that I?m working on.

SE: I’m glad to hear that Emerald – I know God does mean a lot to you, and I’m so glad.? Okay, now that readers know some of the personal aspects of you, let’s talk about your writing. How long have your been writing? Was it a dream, a goal or is it just a hobby?

EB: I?ve been writing since high school. I bought a notebook and began writing a silly romance novel. I was obsessed with Moulin Rouge and forbidden loves, at the time, and it had something to do with that. I, also, was working on a ghost story set in a Southern plantation about the Civil War. I still think about finishing that story now. But that was a hobby then. It turned serious when I graduated and went to college in 2005. I thought, I might can do this. I might actually have a chance to pursue what I love. So, I got my English degree with an Emphasis on Creative Writing. Did it help? Nah. (Although it was an invaluable experience! I loved college and want to go back!) ?Life experience has helped with my writing more than anything, but it soon became a reality when I published my first novella. So, it began as a hobby, turned into a dream, and ended with a goal.

SE: You have to love dreams that turn into goals!! Keep it up! How many hours a day do you devote to writing?

EB: As many as I can. Really, it doesn?t turn out like I want it to. I have so many other things going on, so if I feel like I can get in an hour, I?m doing good. I usually shoot for more like three hours, but I have to go with what is happening around me.

SE: Don’t we all! Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?

EB: I write when the mood strikes. I?m not a routine-type of girl. I guess that?s why I?m more of a pantser than plotter. I don?t plot much. *smiles*

SE: lol… Is there some place special you like to be when you write?

EB: I prefer to be in my recliner, but I?m not really picky. If the mood hits me just right, I can be anywhere.

SE: Do you listen to music or do you need a quiet place to write?

EB: It?s never quiet where I live. *laughs* So, I don?t have to have the quiet. Some of my novels require mood music but not all of them. It really just depends on the book ? and my nieces and nephews who demand Auntie Em?s attention!

SE: lol… See I told you that’s not all you do before! Okay, let’s talk about your book! What is the name of it and is it part of a series or a stand alone novel?

EB: My book is Entertaining Angels, and right now, it?s a standalone. Honestly, it will more than likely be the first in a series. I?m already working on book two. *grins eagerly*

SE: That is awesome! I didn’t know that!? Where did the idea come from?

EB: God. I was wondering how to make my novel not so clich?d. At first, it was just going to be a cute little novel where the nerd gets the girl of his dreams, but it turned into so much more. I was praying about where I needed to take it because I was tired of the clich?, and I wasn?t into it at all. The next thing I know, I have this idea. I know it was God because it evolved into a Christian novel where it focused on helping teenage girls, women, and men see the importance of loving themselves.

I love that concept!!! What is it about?

EB: Entertaining Angels focuses on sixteen year old Madison.?

Madison Andrews can?t face her reflection in the mirror.? All she sees is a big, fat nobody.? Yet, deep inside she longs for something more, something that?s not skin deep.

Along comes Zach, the new guy in school.? He?s smoking hot and totally out of her league.? She somehow catches his eye, and he makes her feel beautiful for once.? But just as she gets close to Zach, her nerdy best friend, Chase, won?t let Madison doubt her true beauty, no matter how many meals she skips.

Even as Madison begins to realize that she is more than what she thinks, darker forces are at work, darker than the lies and mocking from her peers, stopping her from amounting to her full potential.? Can Madison find true happiness in her own skin?

SE: Sounds great Emerald!? What about your other work? Do you have any upcoming projects in the works or other books that have been published ? Tell us about them?

EB: Nothing upcoming yet that?s set in stone.? I have books I?m writing; however, they?re not ready for publication just yet or worth mentioning, but I have two other published novels, Piercing Through the Darkness and Read Me Dead. Both are young adult, but they?ve been enjoyed by all ages up to this point!

Piercing Through the Darkness is a suspense/thriller that focuses on a college student who has forgotten an important memory. And suddenly, her Biology teacher wants her dead. She doesn?t know why, but he does. And he cannot learn to forgive.

Read Me Dead is a romantic suspense about a young girl who has witnessed her parents? brutal murder, and she has seen the murderer himself. A newspaper reporter overhears her story and writes about it. The murderer has come back to silence her, and she must learn how to protect her friends and family before the murderer comes after them, too.

Thank you so much Emerald!! I’ve loved having you hear for our chat today!!!

If you would like to know more about Emerald Barnes, please check out these links:

Website: http://www.emeraldbarnes.us

Blog: http//ebarnes23.wordpress.com and http://emeraldbarnes.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fanpageforemeraldbarnes

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/emeraldbarnes

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/emerald_barnes

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/emeraldbarnes/

Video Trailers:

Entertaining Angels

Piercing Through the Darkness

Read Me Dead?

Purchase links:

AMAZON:

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/entertaining-angels-emerald-barnes/1119845179

Read Me Dead:

https://ganxy.com/i/73581/emerald-barnes/read-me-dead

Piercing Through the Darkness:

https://ganxy.com/i/73578/emerald-barnes/piercing-through-the-darkness

Welcome to Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!

Today we have Author Emerald Barnes with us.

From Emerald:

To me, the holidays mean spending time with family.? Now, that I have three nieces and two nephews, my favorite things about Christmas are watching their excitement over making Santa’s Christmas cookies, the candy that we give away to church members and family, and the excitement in their eyes when they wake up to see what Santa has brought them.? My family means the world to me, and I feel like my nieces and nephews are my own kids.

Another thing that I adore about the Christmas season is the fact that we get to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.? As a Christian family, we put our focus on Christ, making sure my nieces and nephews understand that Santa or gifts aren’t what Christmas is about.? Christmas is about giving.? We give because the greatest gift was given to us.? I sometimes think we all lose focus of that, and my family tries to make sure that we give back as much as we can because God sent His Son as our gift.? That is what Christmas means to me.

Books by Emerald Barnes

Piercing Through the Darkness:

It?s on the edge of her memory like a word on the tip of her tongue, but Kandi can?t remember what it is to save her life.

Despite being a cop, Jimmy can?t protect Kandi from the one thing that haunts her. She?s in danger and doesn?t even know it. After it happened, her brain repressed her memories of the accident, and now, she?s taking a Biology class under a man who wants to see her dead. The memories have started coming back, and it feels like she?s miles away from him. How can he protect her when she doesn?t even know she needs protecting?

Can these characters pierce their way through the darkness?

Read Me Dead:

Alexia Wheaton?s problems go far beyond picking a dress and a date for the homecoming dance.

For seven years, Alex has lived with a painful memory – the memory of her parents’ horrific murder. As the sole witness, she has kept quiet about the identity of the murderer to protect herself and her family and friends, but when a journalist over hears her secret and writes about it in the local newspaper, Alex is plagued with fear that her parents’ murderer will soon find her – and silence her forever.

Alex is catapulted into a race against time to save her own life and bring her parents’ murderer to justice. She will face many secrets, lies, and betrayals before the truth about their murder is revealed.