REVOLUTION

     Hey everyone!   So today's tour stop is so exciting for me, and the reason for that is because I got to  interview Shelly Crane, and do a review for the final book in the Collide Series. I seriously love this author, not only is she a fantastic writer, but she is sooooo nice.  There's this button floating around online that says authors are my rockstars, and I could not begin to describe how trie that is, because Shelly Crane is a rock star!   It's pretty crazy for me to have discovered Shelly's work almost a year ago, and not ever imagine I would get to do something like this for one of her books!  So, enough fan-girling, let's get dow to REVOLUTION!

     Oh. My. Gosh.  Seriously.  I don't even know what to do with my life right now.  The Collide series has come to a close, and I am left breathless.  It was fantastic.  Seriously, it was a fantastic ending to a crazy ride of a series.  I'm going to keep this non-spoilery so forgive me for my overarching non descriptive rave. Ok, first thing is first.  Sherry and Merrick, I could not get enough of them.  They have grown so much as characters throughout the series, together and separately, and I could not be more amazed at what they have gone through/ will go through in this coming book.  Also, while we didn't get to know Riley too terribly much in the last book, I am happy to report that we see a lot of her and a certain Aussie (who I adore and you get to know more about later in this post!).  Let me say, this book is action packed.  Shelly literally keeps us on our toes in the final installment, and puts us through the ringer at certain parts!  It was also nice to meet some more new characters that didn't seem out of place in the already established group dynamic.  Plus, we see some appearances of people who may not be necessarily around any more.
I really liked how we saw pretty much everyone getting in on the action in this book too.  I know it is probably really hard to have all of these characters with their own nuances and personalities, but I think that creating a bunch of multidimensional characters is something that Shelly nails.  I can not say enough wonderful things about the conclusion to this series, and it's always hard saying good bye to characters that you have become emotionally invested in, but this book was a completely fitting end to a fantastic series.  I wholly recommend it and would love to discuss with anyone!

An Interview With the Fabulous Shelly Crane!

Shelly, thanks so much for stopping in at my blog for an interview about your final book in the Collide series: Revolution!

So, after writing all of these books for your Collide series, how do you feel you have changed as an author throughout the progression of these four books?

Oh, boy. Well, I definitely think there's been some…improvements  If a writer can't grow as she progresses with each book, then I think she needs to reevaluate! I can see a difference with my wording and definitely my editing! I've never claimed to be a master of either, but I can tell that my mind seems to pay attention more to the little things as I write. And I always wondered when the ideas would run out. I thought once the series was over, I'd struggle to come up with something else, but the opposite has happened. I have SO many books ideas, I'm struggling with picking which one to write next!

Out of all your characters in the series, who do you admire most and who are you most like?

I most admire Miguel. His story about losing his wife was so hard to write. Poor guy went through a lot before they had a chance to breathe for a minute and he's still so happy go lucky. He's funny and just anything goes with him. Some people can't pull that off, but I love to write scenes for him.

And I'm definitely like Sherry. I think I may have subconsciously written her as me!  I never intended to publish Collide, so I never really thought about it, but I've had a few people tell me that she is me. That's totally fine! I adore her (I hope I can say that without sounding egotistical). She's just so laid back about the small things and all up in arms about the big things! Some of the things she's dealt with, so have I.

While writing Revolution, did you have any “moments” while or after you were writing it?

Absolutely. I'm still finishing up the book so I'm having 'moments' as we speak. It is SO hard to let go! This was my first book! My first series. When I type "The End" on this book, I have no doubt I'll feel a mix of sad and happy. In fact, I'm tearing up just thinking about it. 

What character's perspective was most fun to write from?

Merrick!! I love to be in his head. He was clueless in the beginning and as the series progressed, he's evolved into this yummy, sweet guy that I'm really going to miss. The way he feels about Sherry and his family, he's just all in and I love it when he gets all "Papa bear" on people!

What inspired you to write the Collide Series, and did you always know it would be four books?

Well, I had a Matrix type dream. As you can see the series is nothing like the Matrix! So my dream is kind of moot I guess. And in honesty (Please don't shoot me fans) but when I published, I originally was going to run the series way past four books. I was thinking eight. But while writing the last book, Catalyst, I just got a sense that the series needed to end. I enjoy long series but sometimes it seems like they just do anything they can to keep adding books. I knew roughly where the ending was going and decided I didn't want to take eight books to get there. For me, four is perfect for the series. I'm not sure I could ever go past four books in a series of my own. But, we'll see.

Finally, what can you tell us about this whole Daniel, Cain, and Lillian love triangle action we saw in Catalyst? Will we see anything more of that in Revelation?

Um….yeah. There is some Cain developments that kind of…well, I can't really say, but there's a lot of side drama in that little triangle. A lot of sacrifice that I hope the readers understand. 

__________________________________________________________

Even though Miguel plays a huge part in these books, he doesn't get the spot light on him very often!  That's changing now,  I give you an interview with the dashing Aussie hunk: Miguel

Miguel, what is the thing you miss most about Australia?

Oi! The food! My mates and I used to go to this little joint called "The Croc's Tail". They had the best boomer on the barbie! And the sheilas at the boozer were always the best to crack onto.

What traits are most attractive to you in the opposite sex?

Legs, legs and more legs. You can be a bloody yabber all you like, as long as you've got legs up to your neck.

How did you come to be in the United States before all this mayhem went down?

I moved here to start my business. I thought about becoming a weekend warrior instead, but stateside just had this appeal going for it. I figured once my parents passed that I needed to give the old life the flick and move on out to some greener grass.

When did you first start learning how to fight?

Since I was born and walking like a goog. I've always had an itch to beat on something, *grins* except pretty little sheilas, of course. Sweeter than fairy floss, they are.

Where would you take your dream girl on the perfect first date?

Well…if the world wasn't ending, I'd like to take that little ginger of mine, Rylee, to a real live concert. When the music is pumping and the crowds banging to the music, it's hard to still be a frog in a sock. I'd love to see her cut loose just once.

Describe yourself in 3 words:

Loyal, brick house, cunning as a dunny rat.

*Grins again* Thanks for having me, love.
__________________________________________________________
Revolution Blurb!

In the fourth and final installment, everything is on the line. Merrick's life is in the balance and Lily is their only hope. Ellie and her new powers are miraculous, but also problematic; if she's with the bunker family, they won't be able to sense when the Lighters are there. There are many new members to the bunker and sparks will fly, and with the food shortage, they will all have plenty to deal with. Miguel is intrigued with Rylee, her past and her spunk. Ryan and Elli are barely scratching the surface of their relationship. Cain and Lillian will have to deal with Daniel, who has no qualms about showing his true feelings for her. And Sherry and Merrick…what will happen to this happenstance family who have worked so hard to come together? Can they all survive? Can they all withstand the new enemy that is right outside their door? Can they beat the Lighters, once and for all… 

Contact Shelly Crane!
Her blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Google+ | Goodreads

About Shelly!
Shelly is a YA author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read.
Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.