Novel Publicity Whirlwind Tour: Interview with David Litwack (courtesy Novel Publicity)

Please enjoy this interview with David Litwack, author of the gripping contemporary novel, Along the Watchtower, and the deep, dark dystopia, There Comes a Prophet. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $650 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book.

  1. Novel Publicity: Along the Watchtower is a powerful blend of contemporary fiction and fantasy that demands the reader's attention from start to finish. What was your inspiration for writing this work, and for combining World of Warcraft with a casualty of war and a dream world?

I’ve always been fascinated by how we perceive reality. Think of the film Rashomon, the classic exploration of multiple realities, where several witnesses to a crime describe events completely differently, each bringing their own life experience and biases into play. But it’s when we’re ripped from our normal life and placed in extreme circumstances that our reality becomes totally fragmented. Such is the case with hospitals and war. At the same time, I’d become engrossed in playing the online fantasy game, World of Warcraft, with my son, an avid player. With me on the east coast and him on the west, he suggested we meet weekly in the fantasy world of Azeroth—an invitation I could hardly resist. For several months, we had a Wednesday evening appointment, where our avatars would meet in this virtual world and go on quests together. I was struck by how totally immersed I could get in the game, how quickly time passed, and the surreal mood of wandering around in castles and crypts, solving riddles and following quests. The fantasy gaming experience has a dream-like quality to it. And I began to wonder: how would this experience affect the dreams of someone whose reality has been fragmented by war, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury. These concepts—war, hospitals, and the fantasy world of online gaming—came together in Along the Watchtower.

  2. Without giving away too much, can you introduce us to the main character Lieutenant Freddie, and tell us how he's similar and different in both worlds he inhabits?

 When Freddie comes out of his medically-induced coma in the VA hospital, he’s nearly given up hope. Everything he had to live for was gone, and he was racked with bad memories and guilt, in addition to his physical injuries. Prince Frederick doesn’t have the luxury of giving up. If he yields to despair, the kingdom that depends on him will fall into darkness. Because of this, he’s more willing to struggle through his trials. It’s through the prince in the fantasy world that Freddie is finally able to confront and overcome his personal demons in the real world.

  3. Your first novel, There Comes a Prophet, explores the roots of the dystopian fiction category while also reinventing it for a younger generation of readers. This genre boasts many great classics including Slaughterhouse V, 1984, and Brave New World to name a few. What are your favorite classic books?

Dystopia literally means dysfunctional utopia, not necessarily an evil, power-hungry regime oppressing its people, but a well-intentioned system that has lost its way, resulting in a world gone awry. My favorite such dystopian is Arthur C. Clarke’s The City and the Stars. In this near perfect world, there’s no disease, hunger or poverty, and people are effectively immortal. But all are afraid to venture outside the walls of their city or even look beyond them. The thought of the open expanse of stars in the night sky terrifies them. All of this had been put in place to protect them from some past too horrible to mention. Yet the unfulfilled aspirations of a single individual drive him to discover the lost truth and let humanity move forward again. Lois Lowry’s The Giver is another great example. In a simple but beautiful writing style, she tells the story of a seemingly perfect world where bad memories have been abolished, except for one person, the keeper of memories. But the people are left unable to feel anything much—good or bad.

  4. People read books for many different reasons. Of all the different reasons you've seen in reviews, can you relate one story that really stood out for you about a reader's experience?

 One reviewer read Along the Watchtower and it brought back memories of being a young college student, witnessing the twin towers fall on 9/11. The book touched him deeply, because it reminded him that, as a result of that tragic event, we’ve been at war his entire adult life. The shock he felt on 9/11 all came back to him in reading the struggles of the recovering Lt. Freddie Williams. Interestingly enough, that same reviewer had a powerful reaction to the dystopian world of There Comes a Prophet. In that book, a ruling power limits learning and growth. This reviewer associated my story with the courageous young Malala Yousafzai, the Pakastani girl who the Taliban tried to kill for advocating education for women.

  5. Along the Watchtower features a veteran's healing process on the physical, emotional, and intellectual levels. What role do you think fantasy role-playing games and dreaming can play in a healing process?

 When we’re confronted with trauma too terrible to comprehend, our mind sometimes shuts the experience out to let us heal. But the memory still lingers in our subconscious. Sometimes it’s easier to confront those feelings through fantasy, like dreams or video games, rather than facing them head on in the cruel light of reality. Then once confronted, we’re better able to move on.

  6. Symbolism and description play a huge role in the opening chapters of Along the Watchtower. As the lines between reality and fantasy become more and more blurry, did you find it difficult to remember which 'character' you were talking as?

 Freddie and Prince Frederick were undergoing the same trials at an emotional level, even though their circumstances differed. The hardest part in writing the two was to maintain a distinct voice for each—for Freddie the gritty language of the VA hospital and for Prince Frederick, more of a high fantasy tone. This difference was important to make each world believable. But since the book was written in a first person point of view, it was also critical to quickly alert the reader whenever there was a switch in worlds.

  7. Ocean imagery features prominently in your book Along the Watchtower. What's your favorite place to visit, and what scenery do you find most inspiring as an author?

I almost hate to mention this because it’s such a well-kept secret. But my favorite spot is a place called The Knob in my home town of Falmouth. It’s a raised spit of land rising up dramatically into the harbor onto a domed rock, reachable only after a half-mile walk through the woods. I’ve actually used it as a setting in my upcoming novel, The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky.

  8. You run a very active blog and website, though the demands of marketing yourself can be overwhelming for many authors. How do you find balance in your life, and time to enjoy your surroundings in a highly technical world? Coming from a software background, I'm sure you might have unique insights on balancing the 'real' world with the technical one.

 I’ve spent most of my adult life in front of a computer, first as a software engineer and now as an author. The key is to take advantage of non-computer time to get out and enjoy yourself. But all writers want to be read, so you have to spend time reaching out to readers. The software equivalent was that I used to enjoy taking a break from developing software to visit customers and see how they were using what I’d developed.

  9. You've published two books, Along the Watchtower and There Comes a Prophet. Is there anything you'd like to share with readers and your future writing plans?

 I’m in late stage edits with an alternate world story called The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky. It’s about a world divided between the Blessed Lands, a place of the spirit, and the Republic, whose people worship at the altar of reason. A mysterious nine-year-old girl from the Blessed Lands sails into the lives of a troubled couple in the Republic and seems to heal everyone she meets. She reveals nothing about herself, other than to say she’s the daughter of the sea and the sky. But she harbors a secret wound she herself cannot heal. I’m also currently planning what will be a sequel to There Comes a Prophet. I’ve always wondered what happened to Orah and Nathaniel after their world changing heroics and what became of the contemporaries of the keepmasters who had crossed the ocean. Stay tuned.

  10. What do you like to do to unwind? You know, in those rare moments when you're not writing!

Since writing and social networking are indoor activities, I try to get outside as often as possible. I go for long walks on the seashore, play some golf, bicycle, and generally try to stay active. I’m fortunate to be able to split my time between Cape Cod and Florida, both beautiful places in their respective nice seasons.

  As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, both Along the Watchtower and There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack are on sale this week. What’s more, by purchasing either or both of these fantastic books at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $650 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of each book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win! To win the prizes:

1. Pick up Along the Watchtower at its discounted price of $2.99 on Amazon
2. Get There Comes a Prophet at its discounted price of 99 cents
3. Enter the Rafflecopter contest below
4. Visit the featured social media events
5. Leave a comment on my blog for a chance at a $100 prize.

Along the Watchtower tells of a tragic warrior lost in two worlds; a woman who may be his only way back from Hell. Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes. There Comes a Prophet A thousand years ago the Darkness came—a time of violence and social collapse. Nathaniel has grown up in their world of limits, longing for something more. For what are we without dreams? Get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes.

David Litwack, the once and future writer, explores the blurry line between reality and the fantastic. Visit David on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Pretty Amy blog tour stop: Interview with Lisa Burstein

from goodreads

Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she’s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands—earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx—Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating “rehabilitation techniques” now filling up her summer. Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing—like she is nothing.

Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it’s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy. Bringing readers along on an often hilarious and heartwarming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over.

8th May, 2012  Entangled Publishing 

Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads

Click on the image to check out the rest of the super awesome Pretty Amy blog tour stops!

I'm thrilled to be a part of the Pretty Amy blog tour! Pretty Amy was out on 8th May and has already been making waves. I am super lucky to have Lisa Burstein, author of Pretty Amy, on my blog today to answer a couple of questions about her book and why she writes Young Adult fiction!

Hello Lisa! It’s so great to have you on my blog, on books! Tell us a bit about yourself and what you like most about writing contemporary Young Adult fiction!

Pretty Amy is my first novel. I like writing contemporary YA fiction because it allows me to get out all the things I couldn't get out when I was in high school. Kind of like a diary time machine.

Can you give us a quote from the book that brings out what it is all about?

I am one of the legions of middle-class white girls who search malls for jeans that make them look thinner, who search drugstores for makeup to wear as a second skin, who are as sexy and exotic as blueberry muffins.

What was high school like for you?

It was not easy for me. I had friends, but I was depressed and tended to feel lonely even when they were around. I think this is another reason I write YA, I am attempting to figure these feelings out.

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? 

Don't be so hard on yourself.

Do you have a favourite moment from writing Pretty Amy? Tell us about it! 

Probably just all the funny, snarky lines she has. She has a lot. :)

Do you have that one book that inspired you to write? Which book was it for you? 

A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

If Pretty Amy could have a theme song, what would it be? 

Criminal by Fiona Apple.

What are you reading at the moment? What’s your favourite summer read of 2012? 

The best book I have read recently is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

What are you working on post-Pretty Amy? How different is it from Pretty Amy?

I am working on a companion novel about her best friend Cassie, titled Dear Cassie. It will be out next March. It is told as diary entries and Cassie has quite a sense of humor, so it has been fun.

Thank you so much for answering my questions, Lisa J Do you have anything else to tell your readers? 

Just that I hope they enjoy reading Pretty Amy as much as I enjoyed writing it.

About the author

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University and is glad to finally have it be worth more than the paper it was printed on. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. Pretty Amy is her first novel. She never went to her senior prom. 

Find Lisa on:

  Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Website

Intangible by J. Meyers: Review, author interview and giveaway!

Hello everybody! I'm happy to be able to, along with posting my review of Intangible by J. Meyers, a book that I loved to bits and hope you will too, also have her here on my blog for an author interview! J has also been generous enough to donate an ecopy of Intangible for a giveaway on my blog! Don't forget to stick with me till the very end of this post to enter the giveaway :-)

 From goodreads

Twins Sera and Luke Raine have a well-kept secret—she heals with a touch of her hand, he sees the future. All their lives they’ve helped those in need on the sly. They’ve always thought of their abilities as being a gift.

Then Luke has a vision that Sera is killed. That gift they’ve always cherished begins to feel an awful lot like a curse. Because the thing about Luke’s ability? He’s always right. And he can’t do anything about it.

review

Intangible cuts right to the chase: it opens with Luke having a vision in which Sera, his twin sister, is killed. Luke's visions have never been false and he's never been able to change them, as much as he has tried to. But since it is Sera, his twin sister, he has to try. There is a prophecy, there are vampires and we are introduced to a boy controlled by The Shadows. There is much more to Luke's vision, much more to his and Sera's lives, than he could ever imagine.

Intangible was the kind of book that slowly crept up on me and before I knew it, I was hooked. It took me a while to get acquainted with Luke and Sera. They kept their powers a secret from the rest of the world and used them responsibly (except for instance when Sera, in a fit of rage, succumbs to pettiness). They shared a strong bond and I liked how well they got along. It was obvious that they depended on each other and they shared a pleasant and easy going relationship that brought a smile to my face.

The other Gifteds also fascinated me. Marc's conflict and situation disturbed me. It was so sad to watch him get caught in the crossfire. I totally understood his anger towards the end of the book. I couldn't help wondering what Quinn was throughout and hope we'll see more of him in the second part of the series. 

But more than anything, I loved the Realm and the creatures of the Realm. I enjoyed meeting the different kinds of vampires, Light Elves and Dark Elves. I loved the sheer variety and how they weren't cardboard cut-out versions from every other paranormal story. They were well crafted and original. Among the vampires, Jonas was such a well developed character. He had carved his own path for himself and was extremely unpredictable. I also liked what I learned about the Light Elves and would love to learn more about them and their lore in the future books.

The story is told through varying perspectives and for once, that didn't really bother me. It was the perfect way to tell this story as so much was going on! The different perspectives made it possible to get a full picture of what was going on as the plot thickened.

At the end of the book, a lot was revealed and yet, it is just the beginning and I'm so glad! I cannot wait to meet these characters again and learn even more about them! The way it ended made me love this book all the more. It has got to be one of my favourite endings! We were introduced to a host of new characters who charmed me right away. 

Intangible is a thoroughly engaging and original novel that I'm sure you will enjoy reading! I cannot wait to see where this series is headed. I will definitely be on the lookout for the release of the next book of the series!

Publication date: 31st January, 2012
Source: A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

THE INTERVIEW

Hello J and welcome to my blog! It’s so great to have you here! Tell us a bit about yourself and what made you start writing.

Hey, Ajoop! Thanks so much for having me—I’m happy to be here. I actually hated writing when I was in high school and college. HATED it. With a passion. Went out of my way to not take a writing class. EVER. I’d always loved words, word play, and reading, but never writing. Then a couple of years out of college I started freelancing at a small educational text production house (we made the text books for the big boys). I think I got the job because I was very familiar with Microsoft Word, in all honesty. I started with simply inputting changes to manuscript. Bit by bit I moved up to proofreading, then copy editing, and then eventually writing. It kinda snuck up on me, the writing did. I got to the point where what I was doing was all writing. And I really enjoyed it. I eventually co-authored a couple of parenting books and then decided to take the leap into fiction. (It was a *really* good leap!)

Could you describe the crux of Intangible in one sentence?
Twins Sera and Luke must figure out how to change the future to save Sera’s life.

How did you come up with the premise of Intangible?
My original idea was for a girl who could heal with a touch of her hand. But as I thought about it, I wanted it to be a book that my boys would enjoy reading when they’re old enough, so I gave her a twin brother who could see the future. The healer premise was inspired by Reiki, an alternative hands-on healing method. And the gifted teens all over the world was inspired by comic book superheroes. :-)

Vampires versus Light Elves versus Dark Elves. Who would you pick?
Light Elves, without a doubt. (But I would hope they’d spare Jonas because he’s helped them. And because I love him.) 

(Aww! ❤)

If you could be one of the Gifteds, what would you want your ability to be?
I’d want to be a healer like Sera. There are people close to me that could use that kind of power to save their lives right now. I wish I could do that.

Which book would you say changed your life? What are you reading at the moment?
The Oxford English Dictionary. My husband gave it to me one Christmas when we were dating, and proposed to me by circling the words will, you, marry, and me. (I’ve always loved the OED. Even more so after that.) ;-) At the moment, I’m reading ReVamped by Ada Adams.

That is such a sweet story! :,) Who is your favourite fictional character of all time?
Calvin from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip by Bill Watterson. I LOVE Calvin!

The ending of Intangible left us with a lot of possibilities as to where the next book of the series was headed. What’s in store for Luke and Sera?
They’re going to spend some more time in the Realm and meet more Gifteds. Luke and Fey get closer. It’s life or death again, of course. Other than that, I can’t tell you. I’m working on it right now and things may change from how I think it’ll be now to how it ends up being in the end. :-)

Thank you so much for answering my questions, J :) Do you have anything else to tell your readers?
Please come visit me online! I’ve really loved meeting people from all over who I’d never have met otherwise. It’s a wonderful thing. Links to find me on Twitter and Facebook are on my site, or you can just chat with me there via my blog or email: www.jmeyersbooks.com.

Thank YOU, Ajoop! It’s been a real pleasure.

THE GIVEAWAY

• International giveaway
• You have 48 hours to respond before I pick another winner
• Giveaway open till 17/05/12

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Whirlwind Tour stop: Interview with Justin Ordonez, author of Sykosa

As a part of the Sykosa Whirlwind Tour, I'm happy to post this pre-written interview (provided by Novel Publicity) with Justin Ordonez, author of Sykosa! I hope you enjoy reading it! Reading about what influenced Justin to write Sykosa certainly enriched my reading experience! I'll be posting my review of the book soon :)



Please enjoy this interview with Justin Ordoñez, author of the YA novel (for 18+ readers), Sykosa. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.



1. Who or What is a Sykosa?

Sykosa is a sixteen year old junior in high school. She’s the main character of a novel I’ve written by the same name. For a quick rundown, she attends a prestigious preparatory academy, is part of the school’s coolest clique, “the Queens,” and she has started dating the boy she’s secretly been crushing on for a year, Tom. It’s taken a year to start dating him because A) there was this SUPER HUGE thing that happened during her sophomore year, and it delayed things and made being intimate with Tom difficult, and B) she kinda starts seeing stars around him and loses the ability to behave in any type of serious manner.

2. Why is Sykosa different from other novels?

It’s different because youth driven literature has become full of metaphors for danger that seem to have split into either science fiction or fantasy. (Before I go any further, I like both genres, so I’m not being a snob!) Sometimes, it feels like instead of dealing with real problems, it’s easier to have kids use magic. And instead of facing real contemporary issues, kids should fight aliens or something. These metaphors are meant to represent real life, but I fear they’ve slightly crossed over into a bit of denial about contemporary Americanism, which is a hard topic to write about since our country is in an identity crisis, and has been for about 11 years. Sykosa is an attempt to counter-act this trend. When I was young, I read books about young people that blew me away like One Fat Summer and The Outsiders. These books felt real, and it felt like I could slip into them at any moment. The writing was gritty, it was unapologetic, it was brilliant. I just don’t see many of those around, and I wanted to write one, and I wanted to write one with a female protagonist.

3. Why did you choose cross-gender writing?

Toward the end of the my high school education, I was allowed to split my school day from my normal, traditional education and a newer style, self-directed educational program. I took an English class where my English teacher, someone who I’m still friends with to this day, gave me only one assignment for an entire semester, and it was, “Perform a deep self-evaluation of yourself and your writing and come up with one goal for what you’re going to improve on.” At the time, I was seriously into writing, and had taken to writing a few books per year, but most of them were in the first person, and they were just me talking about myself. The issue was that I had been in a serious car accident the year prior and I had injured a friend in it. (He fully recovered, but never forgave me). I had tried to write a first person story about myself many times since the accident, but I was constantly failing because I was dealing with some lingering self-loathing and guilt. As a way to get away from it, I decided I wanted to work on a story I had been thinking about for a while, but that I never started writing for one super scary reason.

The main character was a teenage girl.

Odd as it might sound, I was intimidated by the fact that the main character was a woman. So I faced my fear and said my goal would be to write women better, and I proceeded to work with several teachers and several female students to help me craft a female character that was realistic, yet met my vision of her as well. This challenge stuck with me into my adult life, and it eventually found its ultimate form in Sykosa.

4. How will I know I’m a fan of Sykosa?

I’m glad you asked! Sykosa.com has tons of stuff to help you determine if this book is right for you. Below you’ll see some humorous diagrams I’ve made, but at the website you can read an excerpt of the book, watch the book trailer, read character profiles and really get a solid understanding of Sykosa’s world.

5. What kind of stuff influenced you to write Sykosa?

The primary motivators for Sykosa were Buffy The Vampire Slayer and It by Stephen King. It so happened, in 2001, I moved in with a woman I was dating. She was a fan of Buffy, so I had to watch it and became a fan myself. While most people were probably drawn to the vampire killing, it was the last thing I was interested in. I thought Whedon created an interesting cast of personalities and analyzing them was something I enjoyed. At the time, I was reading It. What I liked about It was the small town, insular feel to the novel, and how the inhabitants of this town were able to show a “front” of values, but were secretly hiding and allowing evil to proliferate all around them. From these two things came Sykosa, a girl who does not have any super powers, nor does she kill any vampires, but she did have a traumatic event happen in her life, and she’s struggling to deal with it, and its made no easier by the fact that her small, insular parochial school has decided to ignore the incident.

6. What is your most favorite and least favorite part of Sykosa?

The most favorite part is easy. It’s Sykosa’s best friend Niko, who just gets my blood pumping every time I have to write her. I love Sykosa, she’s definitely the main character and the story would never work without her, but I could sing Niko’s praises all day and all night. She’s such an interesting young woman and to see how she’s developed over the years as I’ve written the story has been a real treat. When someone first reads Sykosa and then decides to talk to me about it, I’m secretly waiting to hear them mention Niko. It’s never the first thing they say, it’s never the last, it’s always sandwiched somewhere in the middle, “By the way, this Niko—I love her!”

My least favorite part… Wow, that’s hard to answer, isn’t it? In the middle of the book, there’s a section called an Interlude, which is a story structure that Stephen King used in It, and that I borrowed as an homage to it. There’s a section where Sykosa, Niko and her mother are driving in a car together. I swear, I rewrote it fifty times—maybe more—and it’s never read right to me. It just never has.

7. What kind of writing schedule do you keep?

Let’s put it this way: I recently heard a story that there are “cat writers” and “ox writers.” I’m an ox writer. I put in the time, every day, whether I’m feeling it or not, whether its terrible or not, even if I know I’ll just end up deleting it, I push through it and I do it anyway, and somewhere along the way, it ends up coming together as a story.

8. What’s the coolest story you have from writing Sykosa?

Sykosa is interesting in the sense that it took me a long time to finish it. The first couple years I was writing it, I was really just writing stories about the characters, feeling everyone out, figuring out how they fit together, but there was no plot holding it together or pushing anything forward. In 2003, I seriously debated quitting, as it had been the hardest piece of writing I had ever taken on, and to be honest, I was somewhat used to overcoming challenges easily and without a lot of adversity. And while I usually worked on the book on my bus ride to and from work, this one beautiful, sunny day, I decided not to. I sat on the bus and kept the binder of writing closed on my lap. When the bus stopped at Pioneer Square, a homeless black woman sat next to me. She noticed the book, then said to me, “So you’re writing a novel?” I couldn’t tell how she knew that, but I said, “Yes, I am.” She asked me what it was about, but I’m terrible at talking about my work, so I gave her the gist, “teenage girl” “high school” “likes her boyfriend” etc, etc. The conversation lasted one stop, when the bus opened its doors, the woman reached out with her hand, put it on my own (which was clinging to the book like I was protecting it or something) and she said, “Justin, I want you to know, God blesses this book. He blesses it, and you can’t quit.”

I had never mentioned to her that I was quitting it.

I started working on it after she left the bus, and I never spoke or saw her again.

True story.

9. Do you have any tips for people who are struggling with writing or want to take it up?

I do. First off, keep struggling. It’s a worthwhile struggle. There’s a lot of be gained from writing. And for those who want to take it up and for those who are already writing, I can’t stress this enough: Draft. And by the I mean, write in drafts, don’t sit in a chair and challenge yourself to make it perfect now, write it perfect now, but instead write in drafts. If something only gets 5% better, that’s fine, cause it’s just one draft of what will be many, and eventually, that 5%, that 3%, that 7%—it adds up and you end up with a really good story. But, if you try to knock it out of the park every time you step up to the plate, you’ll swing the bat a whole lot, and you’ll be tired and exhausted when you’re done, but you won’t have a ton to show for it. That’s when most people quit. They think, “I can’t do this” or, “I don’t have the talent.” They don’t understand they’re doing it wrong, that’s all.

10. When you’re not writing, you’re…

Singing karaoke. I go once a week with some close friends of mine. It’s a fantastic release, also you get feedback from an audience, which you sometimes miss from writing, and you can forget how exciting it is to share your work with others. My favorite song to sing right now is Gaga’s “You and I.” Gaga has got a great voice that she can make raspy if she needs to, and I’ve got a voice that can match the raspier songs, so I think I do her proud. Otherwise I’m singing the Killers, Kings of Leon, Oasis or Lauryn Hill.



As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Sykosa eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Sykosa for just 99 cents
2. Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event
4. BONUS: Leave a comment on this post*

Leave a comment, win $100:

One random tour commenter will win a $100 Amazon gift card. Just leave a comment on this post, and you'll be entered to win. For a full list of participating blogs, check out the official tour page. You can enter on just my blog or on all of them. Get out there and network!

About the book: YA fiction for the 18+ crowd. Sykosa is a sixteen-year-old girl trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the lives of her friends. Set at her best friend’s cottage, for what will be a weekend of unsupervised badness, Sykosa will have to finally confront the major players and issues from this event, as well as decide if she wants to lose her virginity to Tom, her first boyfriend, and the boy who saved her from danger. Get it on Amazon.

About the author: Sykosa is Justin Ordoñez's life's work. He hopes to one day settle down with a nerdy, somewhat introverted woman and own 1 to 4 dogs. Visit Justin on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

A Place in This Life blog tour stop: Author interview and more to come!

from goodreads

For Natalie Miller, it’s just another family vacation. For someone else, it’s the opportunity he’s been waiting for.

With only a single peck from a guy named Frank, Natalie’s anything but experienced with boys. But when Todd pops out of the water, says hi, and tells Natalie he has leukemia, all of that changes.

She’s never had attention like this from a boy, let alone one who’s a real charmer with sex on the brain and the experience to match. Drawn to Todd like a magnet, Natalie gives him her friendship, her love, and her body. Even when she’s tempted by gorgeous, healthy schoolmate Alex, Natalie’s desire to love and care for Todd pushes her to see how far love can go in spite of the potential for death of the relationship — and death of the one she loves.

Add A Place in this Life to your to-read list

First of all, thanks so much to Amanda from Stuck in YA Books, who has put together this tour and Julie Duck for letting me be a part of this tour! I'm nearly done reading A Place in this Life by Julie Duck and I must say, I loved how unflinchingly real it was! That's what really grabbed me. I'll be sharing my review of A Place in this Life very, very soon. I'm also doing an author interview of the very awesome Julie Duck!

Author interview

Hello, Julie. Welcome to my blog, on books! Tell us a bit about yourself and what made you start writing.

I started as an artist - loved to draw. In the third grade, I picked up a copy of Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was hooked after that, devouring her books and those by Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume (woo woo!). I wrote and illustrated my first book at that time, and entered every poetry contest that was around. It was a hunger I couldn't satisfy.

It must've been hard writing a novel as intense and real as A Place in This Life. What were the parts you enjoyed writing and what were the hardest parts?

I enjoyed writing the beginning, where they meet, because it brought back memories of when I actually met the real Todd. I could smell the ocean, feel the dusty path at Two Harbors, and see Todd's face. The hardest parts were writing the chemo section, which also brought back memories, as well as the part at the end where Todd's family gathers at Ortega Highway. By this time, I'd done the research and found that the real Todd had died of leukemia at an Orange County children's hospital about a year after we'd met.

Natalie's experiences felt painfully, wonderfully real. That was what I liked best about A Place in This Life! What was your first relationship like? (if you don't mind me asking)

I was 14 when I met Todd A. on Catalina Island. He scared me because of how forward he was. But that was also the reason I liked him. There is something about a dominant guy! Todd really did extend himself to know me, actually taking that bus trip to my house without my knowing he would do that... and going through a chemo round with him. I saw and heard and felt things that were so real, so deeply emotive that I protected them inside my heart and mind. It was only when I thought I might have a life-changing illness myself, some 25 years later, that I released it all. Glad I did.

In the end, I let fear reign and I broke up with Todd before anything really big happened. It's quite a lot to take on at such a young age - a boyfriend with a ton of "experience" who also happens to be very ill.

What are you working on now? Can we have a small excerpt from it? 

I am wrapping up a male POV novella called The Joy & Torture of Joshua James. It has been fun to write! You can find the first chapter on my blog -www.julieduck.wordpress.com, but here's a snippet of how Josh thinks:

Keeping to myself, I ate at the block wall that surrounded the tables. It was easier this way, because I could watch who was coming and going, and make a clean getaway as soon as the last bite went in my mouth. Or so I thought. 

She appeared in front of me, and that last bite almost went down my windpipe. This was no time to spit out food, but I couldn’t help it when the chewed-up wad of pizza landed at her feet. Her lips broke into a smile. 

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to make you choke. You okay?” She hunched her silky shoulders, her long blonde hair curving beautifully over them with ease. I hopped off the wall and cleared any residual bits out of my throat. My neighbor was looking me right in the eye — something I wasn’t used to. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Not used to people sneaking up on me like that.” 

“I wasn’t trying to sneak. I think you were zoning out.” She hunched again, a signal that she was right and I was wrong. It wasn’t hard to agree with her body. 

“Maybe. This is school. The best place to space.” I tried to give her what I thought was a killer grin, but oregano was surely plastered somewhere on the front of my teeth. 

“You’re the new neighbor, right?” 

“I’ve seen you around,” I said, recalling her car washing skills. The hose. The lather. My tent pole. 

“I’m Jordan.” 

She reached out her hand, and I had to wipe the pizza grease off mine. But I had no napkin and wiping it like usual on my pants wasn’t an option.  

“The pizza – I don’t want to get your hand dirty.” I air-shook her hand and she laughed, which could be a good thing, or not. Girls usually did this when they realized I was a dork, made a polite excuse to exit, and never appeared again.

I definitely want to read more about Josh! As a self published author, do you have any advice for people thinking about getting self published?

Make sure you have the best story possible, formatted properly and with no errors. Nothing looks worse than an e-book with misspelled words - except one with bad transitions and no train of thought. Get at least one person to beta read your work. Opinions count! Then follow the platform formatting and uploading requirements - for Amazon, B&N and Smashwords there are separate, unique ways that your manuscript needs to be formatted. I found Bookiejar a delight - very easy to work with them, whereas Smashwords had a bible of how they wanted things. No matter what, do as they say and you should come out fine.

Also, make sure your cover art is pro. I had an artist friend, Cathy Hebert, create the cover for A Place In This Life. There are several e-book cover artists out there. Please feel free to ask me for a referral!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

A Place In This Life has earned 4 and 5 star ratings across
the board for its intimate portrayal of a teenage girl whose first love is a boy
with leukemia. There are no dry eyes when you join the hundreds of readers

who have been touched by this deeply moving story.

A Place In This Life now available on: 

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and BookieJar

www.julieduck.com * www.julieduck.wordpress.com * www.twitter.com/skodobah

The World Among Us Blog Tour Stop: Interview with Beth Ann Masarik!

I'm still reading The World Among Us: #1 Prince of Darkness and I have to say I reeally like what I've read so far! It's so not how I expected it to be like. My review should be up soon!

Anyway, I have Beth Ann Masarik, author of The World Among Us: #1 Prince of Darkness with me today!! She's going to talk about her book, what's in store for us in The World Among Us #2 and much much more! Don't forget to check out the giveaway and scavenger hunt at the end of this post!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to write! 

Well, my name is Beth Ann Masarik, and I am obsessed with writing lol. No matter what I am doing, I HAVE to find a moment to write, albeit a text message, facebook post, blog post, or even fiction writing. I’ve always had an over active imagination, and when the time came for high school, I took as many creative writing courses as I could, and even wrote an article for the school paper!

Greek mythology meets the modern world meets vampires and werewolves! I’ve never read anything like it! What inspired you to come up with the premise for The World Among Us? 

Really? I would have thought that it would have been done already! LOL. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve always loved writing, and my over active imagination helped me out there. I was never big into reading, until I started college. Kind of ironic, huh? I remember reading Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, when I decided that I was ambitious enough to write an actual book. I was taking a college level creative writing class, and it gave me an excuse to start it. So, I guess you could say that it was a combination of JK Rowling’s great work, and my English professor.

What made you want to write about Hades, Greek god of the underworld? And how do you see Hades? 

Honestly, his character kind of just came to me. I didn’t “decide” to write about any one particular character. Nope, my Muse makes those decisions…I’m just her dictator lol. Sorry, a bit of lawyer humor there. (I work around lawyers when I’m not writing and they dictate words into a recorder for their secretaries to transcribe what they have to say). Hades is really difficult to describe, because he’s my version of Satan, and people view Satan differently. Long story short, I see him as one evil character who needs to be put in his place!

What about Damien? What made you make him a vampire? 

 My muse and I thought that it would be good for the story, and so far, it seems to be that way. It adds more drama and is what makes the story continue to be so interesting.

What is your dream cast for The World Among Us? 

Ahh, I am actually going to be writing a post on that on Cambria’s blog, so, you will have to wait until March 2nd I think it is to find out the answer to that! Her blog is www.cambriahebert.com

Which character in The World Among Us could you relate to the most? 

You know, I always used to think it was Selene, because she started out as being loosely based off of me, but now that I think about it, I’m more like Damien (in some respects.). I guess you could say that Damien is like my alter ego. We both have fallen for the wrong people, and made some really big mistakes in our lives. Granted, I’ve never murdered anyone, but still. I am human, and not perfect.

Which character did you enjoy writing about? 

 It’s a toss-up to be honest. I enjoyed writing them all, but Damien & DuVessa were the ones that I really got into when it came to writing parts.

What was the hardest part of writing the book? What was the part you really enjoyed writing? 

The hardest part was finding the right words to say, and I constantly had to remind myself to show, not tell, which is very difficult for me to do because of my learning disability. The part that I really enjoyed, was watching my characters come to life on the screen in front of me.

Any hints on what is in store for us in The World Among Us #2? 

Book two, which is tentatively titled Stormy Nights, is the heart of the series, it is the calm before the storm, but at the same time, it’s not. There isn’t a whole lot of violence or death (at least, not yet) unlike in Prince of Darkness. BUT, there are enough issues and drama to keep the character on their toes. I don’t want to give too much away to risk any spoilers

Are you working on any other writing projects other than this series? 

 My primary project is The World Among Us, but I have some other side projects going on when I am not bogged down with work.

What advice do you have for aspiring authors? 

JUST WRITE! Write every day…even if it’s just a blog post, or a letter or even a journal entry and not fiction. WRITE. I find that writing can be very soothing and therapeutic. It’s a non-violent way to relieve stress. Don’t let anyone discourage you from writing and living your dream. Being an author is NOT easy. There is so much competition out there, and it can sometimes get ugly, BUT, if you are dead serious about being an author, then don’t let anything or anyone stand in your way. Look at all that I have had to overcome over the last 28 years of my life…learning disabilities, bullies, health problems galore. You name it, I’ve probably been through it If I can make it, so can you!

DON’T GIVE UP! If you hit a wall, or a road block, back up, and try, try again!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

For more information about me, you can visit my blog at www.bahbammymusings.wordpress.com. Thank you for having me on the blog today, Ajoop!

RAPID FIRE

All-time favourite book: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire hands down!
Favourite genre: YA/Fantasy
Song you last listened to: Selena Gomez “Intuition.”
Authors who inspired you to write: JK Rowling
Favourite greek god/goddess: It’s a toss-up between the moon deity’s and Gaia.
Favourite film: The King’s Speech. (What? You thought I was going to say Harry Potter and the…again didn’t you? Nope!). The storyline was very powerful, and the acting was just AMAZING. Granted, yes, a lot of the cast from Harry Potter was in it, but I went mostly because it was something different. I honestly recommend you go see it if you haven’t!

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

I am offering up an ebook AND autographed poster of this cover:

All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter code, and a winner will be selected within 24-48 hours after the contest ends!


NOW, for the fun part: THE SCAVENGER HUNT!

Dress up as your favorite character or have someone dress up as your favorite character, and send the pictures to me at bethmasarik@gmail.com. I will post your pictures on my blog on Friday, February 10th. (You will have until Thursday the 9th to send them to me.)


Awesome, right? Thank you so much, Beth! That was inspirational! Don't forget to check out the other blog tour stops (details can be found here)! The next stop is at http://www.chapter-by-chapter.com/ on the 9th of Feb!

a Rafflecopter giveaway