Building Character with Grace Wells from Unstoppable

It’s Friday! Time for my blog feature, Building Character in which you get to meet characters from a book. Talking to a character outside of their book is fun! Huge. Amounts. Of fun. 

This week Strands of Thought plays host to the shy, but strong main character from Unstoppable by SR Johannes. Unstoppable is book three in the Nature of Grace series. If you like the greater outdoors and/or action and adventure – the Grace series is for you.

Welcome, Grace. Can you tell our readers a little about yourself, please?

I am Grace Wells. I love nature and animals. Probably because they are easier to mingle with than people. I'm not real great with people. I grew up in the North Carolina woods - my whole life - and there aren't many people there.

And when there are, it's not always a good thing.

Tell us about your best friend.

Well, this is kind of easy because I only have 2 friends and one of them I kiss whenever I can. 

Now that’s interesting! Go on.

Wyn is my best friend. Though we don't always agree...actuallly we rarely agree...but he's known me since we were little. We grew up together. Like Tarzan and Jane. Only my Tarzan prefers fancy clothes and cologne over the loin cloth any day. He probably looks better in clothes anyway. (not that I would know.) The problem with me and Wyn is that we dated for sometime so even though we are close, there always seems to be something a little off - and awkward - between us. To be honest (and do not tell him I said this or I will deny it to the ends of Earth) I adore Wyn. He makes me laugh, which I need or I'm afraid I would go legally crazy.

Mo - he is in a whole category all on his own. (am I right girls? :) He's the closest person to me. Which I love and hate at the same time. Mo knows me and he gets me - even my annoying parts don't bother him in the least. This is good and bad. Bad because I can't seem to hide anything from him. Good because I need him to keep me grounded. Around Mo I feel like a normal teen. Not a teen being chased by some madman or who's lost people. Alot of people that I care about.

Mo is everything and more. Gosh that sounds way too sappy. Don't tell him I said that. It will blow my "cool under pressure" image that I often fail to uphold :) I love that guy wholly.

Is there anything about you that people are always giving you a hard time about? How do you feel about it?

I know many people feel I am irratically impulsive. Unfortunately they are right. Sometimes I feel like I can handle anything. But most of the time, when I let my emotions take over (which they do frequently, it's like they have a mind of their own) I don't always choose the smart - or right thing. My dad used to say my heart is bigger than my brain. I guess that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I used to have type A emotions, too. It was hard. Your head tells you to stop crying/laughing/yelling, but your emotions overrule! On the lighter side, what are your three favorite foods?

Finally an easy question. Moon Pies (any flavor), Cheetoes and Birdie's cooking.

If you could change one thing in this world, what would you change?

Not that I want to preach but I feel strongly about nature. I would help people stop and think about how we treat animals. To investigate zoos, circuses, or any animal entertainment and make sure they are doing what they say they are doing for conservation. Some of those places are just money-making machines that will capture animals in the wild and treat them horribly behind the scenes - just to make a buck. I hate that we - as people - choose to look away often and brush it off as entertainment for us and kids.

I'm not against hunting (legally) and I'm not a vegetarian. But I do believe we don't treat animals with respect. To be honest, we don't treat the Earth as a whole with much respect or care either. Whether it's littering, not recycling, or giving our money to animal entertainment without doing the proper research to make sure it is reputable and really does right by the animal population.

Love the Earth. Love animals. Love nature. Without those things, we are dead.

Well said, Grace. Thanks so much for joining us today! It was great to get to know you. Readers, here is more information about Grace’s book Unstoppable:

After everything that has happened, Grace moves to the Everglades to live with her grandmother, Birdee, and hang out with old man Rex, Birdee's "friend with benefits". Grace quickly befriends Dylan, Rex's nephew, and Dylan's girlfriend, Sadie, who is a die-hard teen activist. Sadie spends her time leading protests against the roadside zoos that run rampant in Florida with a total disregard for animals or the flimsy law.

One day while out in the marshes of the Everglades, Grace and her friends rescue an abused—and endangered—Florida panther. She and Birdee spend time rehabilitating the animal. But when the panther runs off, Grace follows it toUncle Bob's, a large roadside zoo they all have been protesting. One that is illegally filled with a variety of endangered and exotic animals. Before she can rescue the panther, she and her friends are kidnapped by the ruthless owner and dragged deep into the Everglades for a hunting challenge.

Only this time, Grace is the prey.

During a sick game of cat and mouse, Grace and her friends are offered one chance at survival, but only if they reach civilization before being caught. With a small head start and very little supplies, only time and skill stand between the hunter and the hunted. But out in the Everglades, there may be more dangers than Grace realizes.

Against all odds, Grace must make it out alive and win, or everything she holds dear could be lost.

Buy it:  http://www.amazon.com/Unstoppable-Nature-Grace-teen-thriller-ebook/dp/B00KNVUG0K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402422828&sr=8-1&keywords=unstoppable+sr+johannes

And here is the 411 on Grace’s author:

S.R. Johannes is the award-winning author of the Amazon bestselling thriller series, the Nature of Grace (Untraceable and Uncontrollable). Unstoppable (book 3) is scheduled for May/June 2014. S.R. Johannes is currently repped by Lara Perkins at ABLA. For foreign rights on the Nature of Grace series, contact Jennifer Custer at AM Heath (London). 

S.R. Johannes is the YA advisor of ALLi and a winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Awards (Young Adult category) as well as a Silver medalist (2nd place) in the IPPY awards for YA Fiction. She was also nominated for 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (Young Adult category), a Finalist in The Kindle Book Review’s Best Young Adult of 2012, and a YA Finalist in the US Book News Best Book of 2012. 

After earning an MBA and working in corporate America doing marketing for over 15 years (Spanx and Good hair Products were my fav because of the perks :), S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her dog, English-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. 

Contact info/Social Media


Comments

  1. Beverly Stowe McClureJune 13, 2014 at 12:22 PM

    So nice to meet you, Grace. Your story sounds wonderful. I'm a lover of nature too. Wild animals. Tame animals. I feed the deer and rabbits and birds, along with my cats. Best of luck to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kai Strand, AuthorJune 13, 2014 at 1:57 PM

      I read Untraceable, Bev and it was a really gripping story. I need to catch up with Grace's adventure! Thanks for stopping in.

      Delete

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