A signed copy of Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver OR $10 Amazon Gift Code
Winner's Choice!
Pandemonium is available to be shipped to the US only.
The Amazon Gift Code is open to anyone who can legally enter and receive an Amazon Gift Code.
Pandemonium
I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare, pushing aside thoughts of Alex, pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school, push, push, push, like Raven taught me to do.The old life is dead.But the old Lena is dead too.I buried her.I left her beyond a fence,behind a wall of smoke and flame.Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.
This giveaway is a thank you to all my regular blog followers who put up with all the DivergentNation -TeamAbnegation -Insurgent Release craziness this past month.
I've got a $10 Amazon Gift Code for one of you!
Open to anyone who can legally enter and use an amazon gift code.
Ends 5/10/12
Today I'm featuring the faction I was assigned to - Abnegation.
Abnegation:
The act of renouncing or rejecting something.
Self-denial.
Clothing:
Abnegation wears gray.
Initiation:
Abnegation Initiates spend 30 days doing community service.
Manifesto:
I will be my undoing If I become my obsession.
I will forget the ones I love If I do not serve them.
I will war with others If I refuse to see them.
Therefore I choose to turn away From my reflection,
To rely not on myself But on my brothers and sisters,
To project always outward Until I disappear.
Some members add a final line:
“And only God remains.”
That is at the discretion of each member and is not compulsory.
Quotes Abnegation would likely agree with:
We can not live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men. ~Herman Melville
The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. ~Gandhi
No man stands as tall as when he stoops to help a crippled child. ~Unknown
No man has ever risen to the real stature of spiritual manhood until he has found that it is finer to serve somebody else than it is to serve himself. ~Woodrow Wilson
My Giveaway: A copy of The Heavenly Surrender by Marcia Lynn McClure
Genieva Bankmans had willfully agreed to the arrangement. She had given her word and she would not dishonor it. But when she saw, for the first time, the man whose advertisement she had answered…she was desperately intimidated. The handsome and commanding Brevan McLean was not what she had expected. He was not the sort of man she had reconciled herself to marrying. This man, this stranger whose name Genieva now bore, was strong-willed, quick-tempered and expectant of much from his new wife. Brevan McLean did not deny he had married her for very practical reasons only. He merely wanted any woman whose hard work would provide him assistance with the brutal demands of farm life. But Genieva would learn there were far darker things, grave secrets held unspoken by Brevan McLean concerning his family and his land. Genieva Bankmans McLean was to find herself in the midst of treachery, violence and villainy with her estranged husband deeply entangled in it.
Print copy open to US only, Ebook open Internationally
Ends 5/6/12
Nolia McCarty is American by birth but Irish by heritage and heart. Her dream is to live on a small cottage in Ireland where she can watch the sheep outside her window and write all day long. She pens young adult books meant to transport her readers to another place and give them something to think about.
Guest Post
Eternal Co-Writing
Nolia McCarty
How did you co-write with someone on the other side of the
planet?
I get this question a lot from friends and family when I
tell them I’ve written a book with a friend in Dubai. There’s something like 7500 miles between
Julia and me, yet we’ve published a book together.
Twenty years ago, we couldn’t have written “Eternal Youth.” Twenty years ago, it’s unlikely Julia and I
would ever have met or spoken. Back
then, it was more common for someone in the US to have a pen pal by snail mail
in the Middle East than it was for the average American household to have the
internet.
But today’s age is a digital one. Today, we live and breathe on Facebook and
Twitter, and we interact by email sometimes more than we do face-to-face. The world has changed, no matter how many people
try to hold on to the past, and we’ve moved into a digital revolution that has
opened so many doors for people like me and Julia.
I met Julia last May in an author’s group on Facebook when
she posted asking about author bios. I
answered her query with my own “newbie” approach, and we ended up moving the
conversation to Facebook messaging where it has continued ever since. She published her first novel, “Coexist” (the
first book in the Keegan’s Chronicles series), exactly one week before I
published my first novel, “The Temple” (the first book in my Vale Avari novels)
in June. We navigated the first months
of our publishing journeys together, learning and growing as we did so, and I
think between the two of us, we amassed an amazing amount of information on
publishing and writing. We were, quite simply, guiding posts for one another
along the way.
This past fall, Julia and I began to talk about writing a
book together, and we even began tentatively to write one with witches. But one day in October, we changed gears
completely because of a weird coincidence – I dreamed about the fountain of
youth and wrote down the idea, planning to return to it later. Two days later, a passing mention of how
Irish roots make one look young prompted Julia to mention that she’d recently
had the idea of writing a book about the fountain of youth. It was one of those “oh, how strange!”
moments that pushed us to write this book.
We shelved the idea for a short time, intending to return after the
holidays.
Julia ended up doing her first co-write with fellow young
adult author Talia Jager, the result of which is “Mesmerized”, a book about a
teen succubus. When the book became an
overnight success, Julia and I turned our attentions to doing our own book with
a renewed energy to get it done.
It was a process of emailing the Word doc back and forth. That’s it – that’s how simple it was to write
this book together. She would add a few
hundred words, and then I would add a few hundred words. As we worked, we’d discuss things that didn’t
make sense or suggest changes to improve the story. We had many, MANY brainstorming sessions on
Facebook. If one of us got stuck, it
often only took a few minutes of back and forth on messages before we had a
little “ah-ha!” moment and could move forward.
It was an entirely collaborative effort that was not only fun to do, but
quick and (suspiciously) easy! I only
wish every book could be such a breeze.
After three months, a round of beta readers, and the editor, we were
done.
Eternal Youth was meant to be from the start, I
believe. Julia and I love this little
book, and it was an awesome ride from Point A to Point B. We hope to continue co-writing for many years
to come, and I bet they just get better and better from here. :)
Eternal Youth by Julia Crane & Nolia McCarty
The six years following the abrupt death of her father were the worst of Calista Bishoff's life. Frightened by her own mortality, Callie’s mom threw herself into a search for the Fountain of Youth—and dragged Callie along with her.
Callie should have loved traveling, but instead she hated every minute. When one more failed search sends her mother into depression, they finally return home to California. Sixteen-year-old Callie is ready to hang with her friends and be normal for as long as she can.
But, an unplanned trip to Bermuda with her grandmother throws Callie’s plans awry, and there’s more in store for Callie and her mom than just a simple beach vacation. Callie’s life is turned inside out as she finds herself in a very different world than the one she knows—
Where things exist that she never dreamed were real.
Interview: If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose?
My great great grandfather Charles Stuart Moody. He was a country doctor and a prolific writer at the beginning of the twentieth century. Reading his articles in the archives of old magazines has been a fascinating experience. He had a great sense of humor, a deep love of nature and was a fair-minded, charitable man.
Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read Xenofreak Nation.
“It's true that these are the book's concerns and yet the elements of its narrative - action, psychology, politics, investigations, medical research, conflict between warring factions - are so skilfully unified by the writer that, even as we're made to confront the ethical issues and question where our own sympathies lie, we're driven on by a plot whose tension never slackens.” Bill Kirton, author of The Jack Carston Mysteries
Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?
My newest release, SelfSame, is a YA paranormal/historical romance. The book trailer can be found here. Next up is the sequel to Xenofreak Nation!
What inspired you to want to become a writer?
I think a lot of avid readers aspire to write, especially after they read a book and think, “I could have written that!” But I was bitten by the bug in the fourth grade after getting the following poem published in the local newspaper:
Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, what a day,
Before we eat turkey, of course, we pray,
When the pilgrims were here there was joy and good cheer,
It’s the same with us today.
Turkeys are stupid, no one knows why,
They crowd in a corner when scared, and die.
Turkey, cranberry sauce and more,
You can find it all in the local store.
Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
The moment Xenofreak Nation broke through the barrier and (briefly) became a category best-seller on Amazon. Positive feedback from reviews is wonderful, but until I saw the numbers translated into something tangible, I was afraid it would languish in obscurity among a market flooded with ebooks.
What was your favorite book when you were a child/teen?
It’s a tie. I was a huge fan of Anne McCaffrey’s The White Dragon, but I also really loved Emergence by David Palmer.
What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
Develop not a thick skin necessarily, but one that filters criticism so the helpful stuff is absorbed and the garbage bounces off. You cannot please everyone - that’s an impossibility - and you’ll do yourself a huge favor if you take that to heart.
What is your favorite Quote?
“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him... a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create -- so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.”
~ Pearl S. Buck
What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year?
Actually, I’m most looking forward to the third season of my newest addiction, Downton Abbey!
Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is....
A Deepness in the Dark by Vernor Vinge. It’s brilliant, readable science fiction.
What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I’m terrified of public speaking. More so even than flying. And here I thought writing was a solitary profession, but then we have to get out there and hawk our wares!
Xenofreak Nation
Twenty years into the future, bioengineered animals provide organs for human transplantation. Grafts of animal skin, illegally bioengineered, have replaced tattoos in popularity, which gives rise to a unique new demographic: xenofreaks.
Bryn Vega’s father is head of the Pure Human Society. When she’s kidnapped by the Bestia Butcher, the most notorious of the criminal xenosurgeons, she assumes it's payback for her father’s anti-xeno activities.
Scott Harding is her taciturn jailer - called Cougar because of the claws replacing his fingers - but Scott is not who he seems. Deep under cover for the Xenofreak Intelligence Agency, he’s been given unprecedented immunity to find the Bestia Butcher’s lair and do whatever it takes to bring him to justice.
When Bryn is forced to undergo a radical xenoalteration, she discovers a terrible secret: her father is using The Pure Human Society as a front for his own purposes. His willingness to sacrifice his daughter to accomplish them sends her running to Scott for protection, and into the hard-core underground subculture of the very xenofreak society she once despised.
Giveaway Details
3 ebook copies of Xenofreak Nation
Ends 5/13/12
Today's giveaway is for a new finished copy of How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr. This one ends on Monday at midnight so enter soon!
Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too.
As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy--or as difficult--as it seems.
Critically acclaimed author and National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr delivers a heart-wrenching story, told from dual perspectives, about the many roads that can lead us home.
My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.
Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.
Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.
Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.
While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?
This was definitely a 5 Star book!!
The ebook of Die for Me is currently just $1.99. I couldn't resist buying a Kindle copy to gift to someone.
Giveaway Details
1 Kindle copy of Die for Me
Open to anyone who can receive and read a Kindle book through amazon.com
Ends 4/30/12
So honestly I've been a little burned out on the whole #DivergentNation #TeamAbnegation challenge. It's been a LONG 4 weeks. What started off as and could have been a fun challenge turned to a frustrating one as rules were changed, cheating was alleged, bloggers who usually work together were turned against each other and finally for me burn out occurred. For a while I got caught up in the "drama" and really lost sight of the purpose of this challenge which is to promote the release of a great book.
The final 3 days of this click through challenge are finally here and I'm going to be promoting Abnegation's links heavily once again for the next 72 hours until this challenge officially ends.
I've got some great giveaways which will only be up for a short period of time so be sure to check this blog often for the next 3 days so you don't miss out!
Please show your support of Abnegation by clicking these links:
I've got a quick Team Abnegation giveaway for you today. This giveaway is only open for the next 4 days.
Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.
Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.
Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.
Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.
Giveaway Details
1 ARC of Slide by Jill Hathaway
Open to US only
Ends 4/30/12
So I'm going to have to repitch this because I can't believe only 15 people have entered this giveaway to win $100.
Win $100 and a Signed Copy of Avraham Azrieli's Spy Thriller the Jerusalem Assassin!
About the Jerusalem Assassin-
In the wake of the 1995 Oslo Peace Accords, a wave of Palestinian terror hits Jewish targets. Israel responds with a clandestine war in Paris, Zurich, and Tel Aviv. When a beautiful Mossad agent is critically wounded in Amsterdam, master spy Jerusalem Gerster pursues the attackers back to Israel, where he uncovers a sinister conspiracy to perpetrate an unprecedented national catastrophe—the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin.
Check the book out on Amazon today!
I think that the way the PR company originally set up this contest was way too confusing. Thankfully they listened to my feedback and allowed me to change how this contest is run on my blog.
So here it the deal...
We've been assigned to go to Tel Aviv as undercover agents. What would be the best undercover disguise?
Rafflecopter will choose the winner from my blog so even if your disguise is not the most original or creative you can still win! There are 3 other blogs you can enter for 3 other chances to win $100 on each of them as well: http://spycover.pen.io/
That's 4 different $100 winners and hardly anyone has entered!
Share your best covert ID (undercover disguise) as a comment on Avraham Azrieli's facebook pageor as a comment on this blog.
Tweet about this giveaway to get tips from your Twitter friends (tag #spycover) on what the best identity would be to go undiscovered as a spy in Tel Aviv.
Like this blog post on Facebook.
1 randomly chosen person will win $100 dollars + a copy of the book. Last day to enter is May 15th. Winners will be announced May 16th.
My first attempt at a BookBlast has been successful so I will try some other ones. If you are interested in participating be sure you have filled our one of THESE FORMS.
Upcoming Book Blasts -
Elemental 5/1
Dangerous Favor 5/4
Kings & Queens 5/7
Rock of Ivanore 5/15
Colors Like Memories 5/22
Betrayed 5/29
Reunited 6/5
Mrs. Tuesday's Departure 6/7
Ferryman & the Flame 6/10
Greta & the Goblin King 10/30
John A. Heldt is a reference librarian who lives and works in Montana. The former award-winning sportswriter and newspaper editor has loved reading and writing since writing book reports on baseball heroes in grade school. A graduate of both the University of Oregon and University of Iowa, he is an avid fisherman, sports fan, home brewer, and reader of thrillers and historical fiction. THE MINE is his first novel.
Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
Listening to my 80-year-old father tell me how proud he was after reading my first novel. He teared up as he struggled to find the right words.
What is your dream cast for your book?
Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves (Joel), Grace Kelly (Grace), Bill Pullman (Tom), Katharine Hepburn (Ginny), Koyuki (Katie), Kirsten Dunst (Linda), Barry Corbin (Mel), Donna Reed (Sandy), Spencer Tracy (Paul).
Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?
"It's the End of the World as We Know It," by R.E.M. The song is actually cited in "The Mine."
What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
Don't put off your project. Start writing and keep writing. Inspiration doesn't wait.
Who are your favorite authors of all time?
Vince Flynn, Nelson DeMille, Ken Follett, Clive Cussler, and James Patterson
Can you see yourself in any of your characters?
Yes. I can see a little bit of Joel, Tom, and even Adam, Joel's best friend in the present day.
What's the best advice anyone has ever given you?
A friend and author, the romance novelist Maureen Driscoll, encouraged me to market "The Mine," at least partially, as a romance novel. While the book is not a typical romance novel, it has found an audience among fans of the romance genre.
If you could have a signed copy of any novel what would it be and why?
"A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens. It is one of my favorite stories and a signed copy would undoubtedly be priceless.
Which authors have influence you most how?
James Patterson. I love his brisk writing style. He doesn't waste words. He gets right to the point.
Who or what inspired you to become an author?
I have wanted to write a novel for years, but I decided to actually start one last summer after seeing the success of Maureen Driscoll as a self-published author.
How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
I took my wife out for dinner.
PC or Mac?
Mac. I've owned nothing but for 20 years.
The Mine
In 2000, Joel Smith is a cocky, adventurous young man who sees the world as his playground. But when the college senior, days from graduation, enters an abandoned Montana mine, he discovers the price of reckless curiosity. He emerges in May 1941 with a cell phone he can't use, money he can't spend, and little but his wits to guide his way. Stuck in the age of Whirlaway, swing dancing, and a peacetime draft, Joel begins a new life as the nation drifts toward war. With the help of his 21-year-old trailblazing grandmother and her friends, he finds his place in a world he knew only from movies and books. But when an opportunity comes to return to the present, Joel must decide whether to leave his new love in the past or choose a course that will alter their lives forever. THE MINE follows a humbled man through a critical time in history as he adjusts to new surroundings and wrestles with the knowledge of things to come.
Title: Insurgent Author: Veronica Roth Series: Book 2 of 3 in the Divergent Series Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperTeen Released: May 1, 2012 Website: http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/
Book Summary:
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
Insurgent has to be one of the most highly anticipated young adult releases this year. I was super excited to receive an advanced copy of this book last month. If you haven't read Divergent yet don't read this book summary or review. Instead go get a copy of Divergent and read it now! If you have read Divergent Veronica Roth has written a great "summary" of how things ended up at the end of the book to refresh your memory before reading Insurgent. You can find that here: http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/but-i-read-divergent-year-ago-your.html
I am glad I choose to reread Divergent before starting Insurgent. Insurgent picks up right where Divergent left off. No time has past, they are still on the same train they were on at the end of Divergent but obviously much as changed for everyone and a wild ride is about to begin.
In Insurgent we get to learn more about the other factions. We already know about Dauntless and Abnegation but now time is spent among Amity, Candor, Erudite and the Factionless.
Honestly Tris drove me crazy through most of this book. Although the choices she made drove me insane they felt like they were inline with her character and all that she'd been through. Her world has been ripped apart and she's lost almost everyone and everything. Veronica Roth didn't allow her to be immune from the effects of that loss.
The relationship between Tris and Four is not the focus of this book. My only complaint with this book is that their time together is limited. I hope we get to see much more of them together in the final book. The few scenes they did have alone together were just what I was hoping for. I guess I should be frustrated with Four too but I can't seem to find any fault with him.
The book was packed with action, lies, deceit, betrayal... It had a different feel than Divergent did but I'm not complaining because it is a phenomenal story.
The book ends on a cliff hanger setting up what I'm sure will be a page turning storyline for the final book.
This has to be one of the best series I've read in a long time! I highly recommend it to all.
Rating: 5 Stars - I loved it!
Content: Nothing stands out in my memory other than a lot of violence. I'll let me teenagers read it.
Ashley Mackler-Paternostro was born in Naperville, Illinois, where she still lives with her husband Mark and their three dogs. A hairstylist by trade, Ashley will often say that some of the best stories she has ever heard were told to her while working behind the chair. A life long reader with an insatiable appetite for good books, she decided to merge her love of great stories — both told and written — into her own brand of story telling.
Interview: If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you?
Definitely my Kindle, my laptop and a bottle of Maui Browning Lotion.
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
If we’re talking ice cream in a package from the store, strawberry. If we’re talking Coldstone it gets complicated ... chocolate cake batter, raspberries, brownies and sprinkles.
Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?
I am working on my sophomore effort right now, IN THE AFTER. This book is so different than THE MILESTONE TAPES, it’s much darker and in some ways much deeper.
The story revolves around Sidney Ruth in the aftermath of her best friends disappearance. It travels through that first week of hell when someone you love and know better than yourself vanishes into thin air. It begs the question: how far will you go for someone you love?
In the novel, the answer may not be what you’d think. IN THE AFTER should be ready for press in late 2012.
Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
My first review. That was pretty amazing and what the reader said was so sweet and sentimental, it kind of blew my mind that she felt the story like she did.
Reviews can go either way, and sometimes they hang out in the middle. But when one is good ... it’s validation of all the hard work you put into a story; the long hours, the isolation, the emotion. You can sit back and really feel like you’ve done your job.
What is your dream cast for your book?
Jenna- Jennifer Garner would be the perfect Jenna.
Gabe- Huge Jackman would do a great job.
Mia- Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries) would be a great Mia as a teenager, and as a child, I think Mackenzie Foy (Twilight Breaking Dawn 2) would be amazing.
Sophia- Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) would have to go blond, but she’d kill it.
Ginny- Sally Struthers would be perfect for Ginny.
Kris- Connie Britton (American Horror Story) would be a brilliant Kris.
Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?
If there was only one song, hmmm ... I think for the novel as a whole it would be Answer by Sarah McLachlan from her album Afterglow (2003).
It’s hard to bottle a book up into three minutes and a handful of seconds ... but if I had too, I think Answer the one of song of the many I wrote to that speaks to the heart of THE MILESTONE TAPES.
What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
There is so much advice I could give ... but the best piece would be to figure out who you are as a writer and live up to that genuinely.
Right now the literary world is at a crossroads. Things are changing in an industry that has pretty much gone unchallenged for nearly forever. A new writer has so many options and paths that can be explored, and success is totally in their hands.
I’d encourage anyone thinking of writing a book, no matter the genre, to figure out what works for them best and then learn as much as you can about that. Take writing seriously, take yourself seriously.
How did you know you should become an author?
I felt it. I didn’t know it ... and to be honest, I still have a hard time saying “I’m an author” because in my world, authors are pretty important people ... and I don’t know if I see myself that way.
Truthfully, I just had this story ... and it started as just something for me, totally organic, unpretentious, I never dreamt of being published and THE MILESTONE TAPES very well could have died on my computer as nothing more than a personal exercise.
At 30,000 words I had this feeling neither me nor my characters would be happy if we didn’t try to get this story out there. And once I accepted that, it grew.
Can you see yourself in any of your characters?
Little pieces of me hang out in all of my characters. I think that’s universally true for most writers.
THE MILESTONE TAPES was born of something very true, I twisted it for the sake of fiction, but there is a thread of fact woven in.
How do you react to a bad review?
I’ve yet to have a reader say “ugh, this book is disgusting!” ... but I received around 50 rejections of agents ... and that is more or less a bad review.
Bad reviews are hard ... and you eventually get a lot of wear on the tread of your soul. Writing is personal, books are our babies ... to hear they aren’t “good” ... well, that’s painful of course ... and I don’t think you can ever outgrow that.
For me a bad review, no matter where it comes from, is as important as a good review. It’s how a writer learns what they do right and ultimately, what they do wrong. This business of writing books is my job, I have to turn off the tears and just read the reaction for what it is.
How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
I did ... nothing! I’m real wild, I know. Seriously, it was the middle of the week (a Tuesday) and I had about a million things on my plate and I couldn’t get distracted by the sheer joy ... but, believe me, it was a joyful.
The Milestone Tapes
Jenna Chamberland never wanted anything more than to be a wife and mother. That is, until she realized that her life was ending after a three-year battle against breast cancer. Now, all she really wants is more time.
With 4,320 hours left to live, Jenna worries for her loved ones and what she knows awaits them on the other side: Gabe will have to make the slip from husband to widower, left alone to raise their seven-year-old daughter; Mia will be forced to cope with life without her mother. In a moment of reflection, Jenna decides to record a set of audiocassettes — The Milestone Tapes – leaving her voice behind as a legacy for her daughter.
Nine years later, Mia is a precocious sixteen-year-old and her life is changing all around, all she wants is her mother. Through the tapes, Jenna’s voice returns to teach Mia the magic of life, her words showing her daughter how to spread her wings and embrace the coming challenges with humor, grace and hope.
THE MILESTONE TAPES is the journey of love between a parent and child, and of the bond that holds them when life no longer can.
Giveaway Details
1 copy of The Milestone Tapes
Open to US only
Ends 5/14/12
