Book Blitz & #Giveaway: The Retreat by @KellyStClare
Happy Labor Day everyone!
I hope you are spending time with loved ones and taking a breather đ
Here’s another YA Sci-Fi I wanted to bring attention to. Like When Planets Fall, there’s aliens and betrayal. *giddy giggles* Also, look at that cover. I’d kill for eyelashes for that. There’s a Blitz-wide giveaway for a $50 Amazon giftcard and book swag. You can enter here. Don’t forget you can win another giftcard by signing up for my monthly newsletter!
Earth is ruined. Humankind destroyed. And itâs old news.
Romyâs life is simpleâfor a genetically enhanced space soldier; pick up space junk with her four friends, and stave off the invaders fixated on stealing Planet Earth.
It isnât much. But itâs temporaryâonly another 850 years to go, give or take.
When her crew tangles with a gulp-worthy alien mothership, Romyâs return to Earth is brought forwards at hurtling pace.
Strength comes from the unlikeliest of quarters.
As does leadership.
âŠAs does betrayal.
Annnnnnd here’s some Q&A with Kelly!
1. Whatâs the weirdest thing youâve googled?
OhâŠso many things. Once I googled, âdo lips turn blue before or after people dieâ. At the moment the top in my history is, âchicken with a ponytailâ and just under it is âAlexander Skaarsgardâ.
2. What book are you reading now?
What is the whole world reading right now? Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I just finished The Mortal Song by Megan Crewe.
3. How do you work with an editor without the pride thing getting in the way?
Firstly, for those who donât fall under the category of artist, you have to realise that when you show people your craft â be it music, art, or a story â you are sharing a bit of your soul. To show it to an Editor, who will pick it apart is the ultimate friction against your natural instincts. For me it comes down to two things; Do you want your work to be the best it can be? (If you do, then pride gets knocked down the ladder). And how good is your relationship with your editor? I think a good editor knows how to deliver criticism concisely and constructively ⊠M&Ms also help.
4. How do you balance the craft of writing with the business of writing?
I love marketing! My craft:business balance depends on where I am in the writing process. I am like a rabid dog during the first draft. During this time, I tend to only spend an hour marketing each day. On follow up drafts it is more like 5 hours writing to 3 hours marketing. When Iâm gearing up for release it is more 2 hours writing and endless marketing. I try to operate via the mantra that releasing more books is the best marketing.
5. Do you write every single day?
Yes! Not necessarily fiction, however. If Iâm not working on my latest manuscript, then it is normally on blogs. Sometimes it is on things like my blurb, a synopsis, a fun unrelated thing, and I also write reviews for YA Books Central.
6. Ballpoint, uniball, or fountain tip pen?
Is fountain tip like a quill? That one.
7. Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
Sure! The Retreat is the first novel in my new series, The After Trilogy. The story follows an
early twenties genetically enhanced space soldier named Romy â donât call her Rosemary,
youâll make her mad. The story is set in a future where Earth has been desolated by Global
Warming. Now the last slice of humankind exists in space, protecting Earthâturns out some unfriendly visitors rather like the look of this new Earthâand waiting until they can return to solid ground.
During a battle Romyâs ship is shot down and she crash-lands on this supposedly unliveable Earth … letâs just say she doesnât find what she expects.
8. Do you write more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two? Summarize your writing process.
I do a massive brainstorm where all my initial ideas explode. This usually spans several
pages and builds and develops as I go. From there I do a chapter by chapter outline. I
know, when I do this, that there is no way Iâll stick to it, in terms of storyline. But it helps me to see the overall story, and make sure the structure is sound. For The Retreat I did heaps of research, contacted astrophysicists and environmentalists and other clued uppeople. I donât have a logical bone in my body, but I would say my novels are 25% planner, and 75% intuition.
9. What do you like to read in your free time?
I review 3-4 books a month for YA Books Centralâand find some great new Authors via that. Like every reader, I search for that magical story that sweeps me off my feet. #bestfeelingever. I read in any genre (but mostly fantasy and science fiction).
10. Picture your favourite writing space. What are five objects you would find there?
Ooo, okay! UhmâŠa steaming and rather large cup of tea, a vanilla candle, printed cards with reviews from my readers to motivate me, inspiration pictures for whatever story Iâm
writing hung up behind my computer, and of course Alfie the Writerâs Rabbit (probably
chewing on an essential cord, or three).
11. If you could ask one author one question, what would the question be and who would you ask?
I would ask JK Rowling who made her angry enough to kill Dobby.
12. What brought you to write this book?
Excitement to pull the piece of string and see what itâs attached to.
13. Whatâs next for you?
Soooo many stories. The fourth novel in The Tainted Accords releases October 10th. Then Iâm writing a couple of Tainted Accords novellasâŠand then the sequel to The Retreat. I
aim to have some semblance of a life in there, too.
14. Do you have any strange writing habits (like standing on your head or writing in the
shower)?
Haha, maaaaybe. When I first plan out a story I need, like, the most majestic notebook I can find, and a life-changing pen. And during first draft I lose roughly 98% of my marbles. This month I have put mixed berries in my tea instead of a smoothie, and I got into the shower with my underwear and socks still on. Itâs hard to be in two or three worlds at once. . .
15. Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Writing isnât something where you reach a certain level and know youâre a good Author. You know youâre an author when you keep going no matter what.
Blog Tour and GIVEAWAY: An Absence of Light by Meradeth Houston @MeradethHouston
An Absence of Light is a YA Sci-fi/Horror novel that was recently released. You can win a FREE EBOOK COPY by pasting a comment below! I'll use a random number generator in next Sunday to select the winner. Congrats to…
Over the River and through the Woods: Blog Tour GUEST POST for Supervision by Alison Stine
Supervision is a YA Paranormal that just released a couple days ago. I wanted to do a guest post with Alison as part of this tour because her book centers around a creepy house. Growing up, my sister and I convinced ourselves this house on our street was haunted. Granted, it didn’t even look like a haunted house, but we would sprint past it in our asphalt stained feet just the same.
In high school, a couple of my friends visited the local haunted house and came back with some pretty wild stories of chairs moving across the room on their own. Doors closing, lights flickering–the whole thing.
Needless to say, I have a soft spot for house-stories đ
Also, the artistic part of me admires the watercolor nature of the banner and cover. I totally want to hang this above my bed. Or on my inspiration board next to my desk and easel. Despite the creepy nature of the book.
They are giving away three ebook copies of Supervision and 2x original graffiti art prints based on the book (which ends April 30th). How cool is that? I want book graffiti.
If you want to follow the rest of the tour, you can find the schedule here.Something is wrong with Esmé.
Kicked out of school in New York, sheâs sent to live with her grandmother in a small Appalachian town. But something is wrong with the grandmother Ez hasnât seen for years; she leaves at midnight, carrying a big black bag. Something is wrong with her grandmotherâs house, a decrepit mansion full of stray cats, stairs that lead to nowhere, beds that unmake themselves. Something is wrong in the town where a kid disappears every year, where a whistle sounds at night but no train arrives.
And something is wrong with the cute and friendly neighbor Ezâs age with black curls and ice-blue eyes: Heâs dead.
And here’s Alison!:
SUPERVISION was inspired by a very old, very strange houseâbut not one in my family.
Several years ago I answered an ad for a free piano. The people who were giving the instrument away lived in a huge, ruined mansion down a back road in a very small townnear my home. The house looked completely out of place: three stories tall (with a ballroom and marble fireplaces inside) on top of a hill in nowhere Ohio.
Later I learned it had probably been the home of one of the nearby coal mine owners orlocal iron âindustrialistsâ but the house had fallen into disrepair over the years. The people who rented it were movingâand getting rid of that piano, which, yes, I did take and still play todayâbecause their utility bills were so high, trying to heat that behemoth of a house.
I would find excuses to drive past the house, an hour out of my way. I even looked into renting or buying it, but I could never find a listing. There was no way I could have afforded the heating bills, either, anyway. I just couldnât figure out why the house was calling to me.
And then I started writing a book called SUPERVISION…
Blog Tour and Amazon Giftcard GIVEAWAY: One Wish Away by Kelley Lynn @kelleylynn1 @bloomsburykids
One Wish Away releases next Monday from Bloomsbury Spark! And you can celebrate by entering in a rafflecopter AMAZON GIVEAWAY for two $10 giftcards. Isn’t the cover stunning? I wish I could have a massive poster of it. Seriously though, if I could design my own book cover for RBRP it would be in the vein of this, Salvage by Alexandra Duncan, and the original cover for Across the Universe by Beth Revis.
Be careful what you wish for…
Lyra has always been ahead of the curve. Top of her class in school, a budding astronomer, and with a best friend like Darren she barely has time to miss the mother who abandoned her family years ago. She’s too busy planning to follow in her father’s footsteps, and to become the youngest astronomer at Space Exploration and Discovery.
When a star goes missing Lyra is determined to get to the bottom of it only to discover her braniac dad is the mastermind of a top-secret government experiment. They promise to build a perfect world, one galaxy at a time, but with every tweak of the present, a bit more of the future starts to crumble.
Lyra has to go undercover to reveal the truth and let humanity decide if the consequences are worth more than wishing on a star.
Book Blitz and GIVEAWAY: Ice Massacre by Tiana Warner @tianawarner
Not only can you enter a rafflecopter giveaway for a signed copy here, but during this week Ice Massacre is FREE on Amazon. Major cheering over here.
(Instead of giving the official synopsis, I thought I’d give this instead đ )
Give us the tweet-sized version of what Ice Massacre is about.
A teenage girl is sent to battle the hostile mermaids that are driving her people into poverty. A story of love, secrets, and ass-kicking.
What makes Ice Massacre unique?
First, I havenât seen a lot out there that portrays mermaids for what they really are: flesh-eating sea demons. But I think what also sets it apart is its almost entirely female cast. This island decides to send female warriors to kill the mermaids that plague them, because women donât fall victim to a mermaidâs supernatural allure. We end up with an all-female war on a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Meela, an aboriginal girl whoâs never been away from the tiny island she calls home, also has a pretty unique journey of self-discovery. I donât want to reveal too much. But I think a lot of aspects make this story unconventional.
Whatâs your favorite thing about the book?
I love Meelaâs antagonists. Meelaâs a tough chick and she has a lot coming at her from all directions. Writing those opposing forces was so much fun.
 Whatâs next for you as a writer?
The sequel! This is the first in a trilogy, and Iâm hard at work on book two: Ice Crypt.
Doesn’t this sound awesome? I love fantastic mermaid books, but I love how it’s not-your-average beauty with a tail. Warner also gave us some creativity-boosting tips:
Have you ever sat up in the middle of the night to write down a sudden stroke of inspiration? Or made a quick voice memo to yourself? Maybe jotted down a plot twist idea while youâre supposed to be working or studying?
For a lot of writers, creativity comes in waves. This is great if those waves are thrashing around like stormy seas, but at some point a writer is bound to hit a flat spot. And not the kind of flat spot thatâs great for water skiing. This is the kind that leaves you stuck in the middle of the lake wondering how the heck youâre ever going to get back to shore.
Here are three tips to keep those creativity waves coming: