CODY KENNEDY AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT!!

HI FRIENDS! TODAY WE HAVE CODY KENNEDY IN THE SPOTLIGHT ALL DAY! RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A LOOK AT MY REVIEW OF OMORPHI, AND AN AWESOME AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH CODY, AS WELL AS A SUMMARY OF HIS UPCOMING BOOK, SLAYING ISIDORE'S DRAGONS! BUCKLE UP AND GET READY FRIENDS, IT'S GONNA BE AN AWESOME RIDE!!






HERE IS MY REVIEW OF OMORPHI, I PUBLISHED IT A MONTH OR SO AGO, BUT THIS BOOK IS SO POWERFUL I WANT TO MAKE SURE THOSE THAT HAVEN'T READ IT KNOW HOW MUCH IT MEANT TO ME!







                                      Omorphi by Cody Kennedy
                                                                  reviewed by: Becky


High school senior Michael Sattler leads a charmed life. He’s a star athlete, has great friends, and parents who love him just the way he is. What’s missing from his life is a boyfriend. That’s a problem because he’s out only to his parents and best friend. When Michael accidentally bumps into Christy Castle at school, his life changes in ways he never imagined. Christy is Michael’s dream guy: smart, pretty, and sexy. But nothing could have prepared Michael for what being Christy's boyfriend would entail.

Christy needs to heal after years of abuse and knows he needs help to do it. After the death of his notorious father, he leaves his native Greece and settles in upstate New York. Alone, afraid, and left without a voice, Christy hides the myriad scars of his abuse. He desperately wants to be loved and when he meets Michael, he dares to hope that day has arrived. When one of Michael’s team-mates becomes an enemy and an abuser from Christy’s past seeks to return him to a life of slavery, only Michael and Christy's combined strength and unwavering determination can save them from the violence that threatens to destroy their future together.
 





I used to think of the term moving in relation to reading was how a book made you feel a certain emotion, but that is no longer the case. After reading this book the term moving has a new meaning for me, I now think of it as the way a book makes you feel several different emotions within a short span of time, and this moves you in ways you can't explain. This book did that for me, I felt anger, pain, and fear for Christy, but in the same breadth of time, I felt his joy, love and contentment to be with Michael. This is a beautifully written story of a broken boy who with the love and patience of the one he idolizes, can start to put the pieces of his world together again, and experience things he never thought he would. Cody Kennedy shows us that pain is real, and wounds, both emotional and physical are real, but so is love and redemption. Please get this book and let it move you the way it did me. I have included US and UK links to Cody's Amazon page so you can get it. Thanks Cody, for this beautiful work of art that is a shining example of love and strength,
  *5 Stars*

US Amazon Page Link

UK Amazon Page Link 


HERE ARE A FEW LINKS SO YOU CAN GET TO KNOW CODY, AND HIS WONDERFUL BOOKS:

CODY'S FACEBOOK:

CODY'S FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE

CODY'S BLOG

CODY'S TWITTER



OK FRIENDS, I HOPE YOU JUST ONE CLICKED FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK! NOW HERE IS MY INTERVIEW WITH CODY, YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT! WHAT A GUY!! 



Hello friends! We are thrilled to have amazing author Cody Kennedy with us today! We have a few questions to pick his brain, Let's begin shall we:

First of all, thanks so much for being here Cody. We are very excited to have you!

Thank you for having me as a guest on your blog, Bec! It’s great to be here!

Let's get right to the questions shall we? Here we go:

1. I love the flow of your writing, how it seems so effortless, this is truly a gift. Do you have a certain process when you write, or do the emotions of the plot just guide you?



During a discussion of the writer’s ‘job,’ Joseph Conrad declared, “It is above all to make you see.” Through our words, we must fill readers’ hearts and imaginations with thoughts, feelings, and visual candy for the mind’s eye. We do it by building interesting and relatable plots and characters. Plots and characters are equally important as plot grows out of character. Certainly, sometimes one starts with a good plot, but unless it can be fleshed out with three-dimensional people it is a wasted plot.

With this in mind, I design a story and its main characters in my mind before I begin. Once I set the tone of the story in prologue—even if never published and only used for reference—a movie begins to play in my mind’s eye. From that point forward, the characters drive the plot. As one would watch a film, I watch the story come to fruition in my mind and put pen to paper in a linear fashion. In the end, my goal is to create a seamless story; one that flows like a river and carries the reader along with it.

Bec- Don't you worry Cody, you have accomplished that in spades! That is one of the many things I love about your books! 

2. The books I have read of yours are young adult based. Do you find it harder or easier to write Young Adult characters?

It is much harder to write for young adults in that they are far more discriminating and demanding of characters. The thoughts and feelings of young adults aren’t tempered with age and wisdom and there is a sense of urgency, if you will, to being a teen. That sense of urgency transcends everything they think and do, and they must be able to identify with characters or they won’t continue reading a story. To wit, I make every effort to give each character a distinctly different and wholly apparent personality with all the attendant emotions.

Bec- I can see how that is the case and it would be harder to cater to a teen audience, but you make it looks so easy! You also write your books in a lovely style where readers of any age can fall in love with them, and let me assure you they do!


3. Has there ever been a secondary character that you have written that you just knew you wanted to explore more in depth?

Quite a few. Liam, Caleb’s best friend in Safe, is deserving of his own story. He’s a straight guy with two moms and a best friend who is gay. He’s seen the hatred and bigotry that the LGBT community is subject to through his parents and best friend. It would be interesting to look at things through his eyes and explore his story. You can read a little more about him in this special Halloween bonus scene. [LINK TO EMBED: http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/2013/10/21/cody-kennedy-wants-to-keep-you-safe-and-give-you-chances-to-win/]
Nolan, the dragonfly fairy in Fairy, is also popular. In my upcoming book, Slaying Isidore’s Dragons, there may be a secondary couple that readers might find interesting. There is also a large cast of secondary characters in Omorphi and readers are clamoring for more. Sadly, readers are equally divided as to whom they’d like to read more of first and I’ve been unable to decide how to proceed. Shall we ask readers to vote for what may come after Tharros?

Bec- That is a wonderful idea! I know I and so many of your fans would vote on that one! Can't wait for that, we will add it to the spotlight! Great thinking Cody!


4. Everyone has that magic book that makes them fall in love with reading, and opens their imagination like no other. Mine was The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton at age 9. What was that book for you, and at what age?

I can never choose one book, but agree with you that The Outsiders and its two sequels were very magical. Overall, it would be Tolkien’s LOTR series. Once I hit my teens, I became interested in bodies of work, was reading adult books, and there was no stopping me. The classics weren’t enough and I read any and everything I could get my hands on. Around age twelve, I became bored in a doctor’s office having finished reading my book in the waiting room and began to read a book on the history of neurology. Fascinated, I borrowed the book with a solemn promise to return it on my next visit. Zero plot, very interesting characters, and I learned a ton of new words. A fabulous read.

Bec- Can't say I have read that one, but maybe I need too, it might make me smarter ;) I didn't read LOTR till a few years ago, but it was lovely. C.S. Lewis was big in my home, The Lion The Witch, and the Wardrobe was one I read over and over again!

5. If there were one author or playwright (living or dead) whom you could ask one question of, who would it be, and what would you ask?

Carl Sagan. He was fascinated by the God versus science debate and I would ask him if HE could have one question answered, what would that question be?
Bec- Now that is a clever response! FYI Mine would be John Lennon, and I would ask him if he thinks the world has changed any for the better since he has been gone.

6. What is the one emotion you hope your readers feel strongest while reading your books?

HOPE. Oft times, readers are alone, ostracized, have nowhere to turn, and are searching for themselves, for who they may be, and they can sometimes only find themselves reflected between the pages of a book. I hope my books give readers hope and show them what IS possible for them, no matter their backgrounds or circumstances.

Bec- Well you don't have to worry, hope shines eternal in all your books that I have read!

7. If you could turn one book word for word with nothing left out into a movie, which one would it be?

The Iliad by Homer—in modern prose, of course. Shakespeare said there are only seven stories to be told and the Iliad contains all of them. And a ton of action. I’m all about the action.

Bec- Wow, that is another terrific answer! I know it has already been a movie, but East of Eden by Steinbeck would be a wonderful movie word for word! 

8. This last one may seem odd, but I am dying to know it! If you could bring one character in a book to life to be your forever friend, who would it be?

One? I must choose one? How about two? They would be Christy from Omorphi and Isidore from my upcoming book, Slaying Isidore’s Dragons.
Bec- Christy would be a lovely bestie for anyone, and I can't wait to meet Isidore! 

Thanks Cody, this has been a ton of fun, Mike and I would love to have you back anytime! We hope you and yours have a lovely Christmas, and a very blessed New Year!

Thanks, Bec! It's been great being here and I look forward to returning soon!


THIS IS THE PART I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR PEOPLE! WE HAVE A SUMMARY OF CODY'S UPCOMING BOOK: SLAYING ISIDORE'S DRAGONS:



5 Best friends
4 Vicious brothers
3 STD tests
2 Guys in love
1 Car bombing
&
Nowhere to run

Slaying Isidore’s Dragons follows the burgeoning love of two high school seniors during the worst year of their lives. Irish born Declan David de Quirke II is the son of two Ambassadors, one Irish and one American. He’s come out to his parents but to no one else. French born Jean-Isidore de SauvĂ©terre is the son of two Ambassadors, one Catalan and one Parisian. His four half-brothers have been told to cure him of his homosexuality. Declan and Isidore meet at the beginning of their senior year at a private academy in the United States. Declan is immediately smitten with Isidore and becomes his knight in shining armor. Isidore wants to keep what little is left of his sanity and needs Declan’s love to do it.

5 Weeks of hell
4 Attempts on their lives
3 Law enforcement agencies
2 Dead high school seniors
1 Jealous friend
&
A love that won’t be denied

One is beaten, one is drugged, one is nearly raped, one has been raped, they are harassed by professors and police, and have fights at school, but none of it compares to running for their lives. When the Headmaster’s popular son attempts suicide and someone attempts to assassinate Declan’s mother, they are thrown headlong into chaos, betrayal, conspiracy, allegations of sexual coercion, pornography, even murder. And one of them carries a secret that may get them killed.

5 New family members
4 BFF’s
3 Countries
2 Extraordinary Psychologists
1 Courageous Mother
&
A new beginning for two young men in love


OK, THAT DOES IT, I OFFICIALLY CAN'T WAIT! TUNE BACK IN THIS AFTERNOON FOR A FEW EXCERPTS AND TEASERS FROM THIS BOOK! WHEW ARE THEY AWESOME, CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE THEM WITH YA! THANKS FOR COMING TO CODY'S SPOTLIGHT! DON'T FORGET THE TEASERS, THEN HIS FB EVENT WITH US AT 5 CENTRAL TIME THIS EVENING! 



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