500 Follower / Blogiversary Giveaway #2 + Author Interview

Today we are hosting giveaway number two! 

To keep track of all giveaways see here

Below we have a wonderful interview done by our lovely, Destiny with the wonderful author Shawn Kristen Maravel. And as well as the interview Shawn has kindly donated 3 ebook to giveaway. How awesome is she? 

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Interview

Destiny: First off, have you always wanted to be a writer or was there a particular time in your life where you were bitten by the writing bug?

Shawn: I’ve always enjoyed writing but I didn’t always want to be a writer. I’ve gone from wanting to be an architect, to an autobody technician, to a masseuse or work in marketing. I enjoy jobs that are creative and artistic in some way. Three years ago I wasn’t even a he reader but I had always liked writing stories as a kid. But when my husband—we were still dating at the time--joined the Army I read to fill in the gaps when he was gone for long amounts of time and pretty soon I was writing my own stories again.

Destiny: Is there a particular type of story you like to write?

Shawn: Love stories for sure! They don’t have to be sappy or even too involved in the mooshy aspect but I like to capture those first few moments in a romantic relationship when two people fall in love. My husband and I started dating about 8 years ago and got married 3 years ago so writing about love and romance in that beginning stage brings me back to or high school days when it was all fresh and new.

Destiny: And likewise, is there a story you'd eventually like to veer off from your "norm" and write? You know, you always hear about romance writers who want to write about crazed werewolves...that sort of thing :)

Shawn: I want to be open to writing different genres. I have a few different story ideas I could write next but I’ll never know which ones will actually make the cut until I write the last page. I have written a paranormal book series and a realistic book but I definitely don’t want to be predictable so trying new things is a definite must, sadly I can’t think of specifics yet to give as an example but I look forward to keeping my writing fresh.

Destiny: What is your typical day like as a writer? Do you have any quirks or routines you follow?

Shawn: These past few months have been hectic since we’ve been preparing to move (I’m in a hotel as we speak waiting to leave our home of 3 years in Germany to settle in Fort Drum, NY next) so it’s hard to get any serious writing done but when I do write I don’t have much of a routine. I can’t really force myself to write so when I’m on a roll then generally I just sit down be it at the table or in bed and just write. Ideas and inspiration come randomly and I try and not control it too much I just let the story guide me. If I make too much of a thing of it then I end up feeling constricted. So I try and keep a loose regiment and just do my best to avoid distraction.

Destiny: When you have downtime between writing and editing your own books, what genres of books do you most like to read?

Shawn: Since I didn’t read as a kid or really at all until recently I do intend to catch up on a few classics, I also willingly take book recommendations from friends and family but as for books I pick for myself and for enjoyment I like YA (both paranormal and realistic) as well as Literary Fiction like Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult books. I write what I enjoy reading and I read what I enjoy writing. Right now for example I’m reading Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles.

Destiny: Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself? We'd love to hear!!

Shawn: In general I don’t think I’m all too interesting but I think I have an old soul. I value my nights in and an early bedtime when I can get it. I love walks with my husband and our Rottweiler Nahla and curling up for a good movie. Books weren’t always a part of my life but without them I wouldn’t be who I am today. When my twin sister and I would go over to friends houses when we were little our favorite things to do was talk to our friend’s parents and clean our friend’s rooms. I’ve always been a bit odd in that way but I accepted and embrace my strange ways early in life and I think that I’m all the better for doing so and I hope to see more people do the same and stay true to the weird kid they were growing up.

What a fantastic interview. Thank you Destiny and Shawn.

Stay tuned this week for an awesome Guest post from Shawn about her Book Boyfriend!!

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Giveaway

Shawn has kindly offer one reader a chance to win all 3 of her ebooks.

Volition (Volition #1)by Shawn Kirsten Maravel

Charlotte Rush would be the first to admit that her life is no rollercoaster ride. Her days are laced with ordinary and at times boring monotony. But with a heart that finds itself frequently broken she's happy to say that she's content.

When her friends convince her to spend the night out at a club to let loose and maybe even find a guy, she finally admits that her life might be missing something.

No sooner does she let go of her inhibitions does she find herself waking up in a dark hotel room in the presence of Joel, a man who carries mystery in his eyes and familiarity in his smile. Against reason Charlotte decides to trust him based solely on one thing. Somehow, she is sure that she knows him.

In a race against time to find answers and to solve the crime committed against her Charlotte finds herself falling for him. However, with nothing but mystery surrounding him she can't even be sure that he's the hero at all. While knowing all of the right things to say he still manages to tell her nothing. As a battle is waged over the innocence of her cryptic stranger, Charlotte discovers that much greater danger awaits her. And the mysteries behind who and what Joel is will lead Charlotte to discover that heaven and earth are not so far apart

To win books 1-3 all you have to do is FILL OUT FORM

You can gain extra entries by:

Following the blog (+5)

Leaving a comment (+2)

Sharing the Giveaway (+1)

FILL OUT FORM

Closes 6th Dec 

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Newsletter Update!!!

Just to inform you that I sent out a new newsletter about the giveaway to everyone who has subscribed.

However its come to our attention that it may be going to your spam folders of your email. So please check. Don't want anyone missing out. Especially over the next 2 weeks when we have lots of fun giveaways for you :)

Thanks

Siobhán & Destiny

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Patti Larsen: Guest Post + Giveaway

To kick of the Giveaways we have a fab guest post from Patti about NaNo and a fantastic giveaway.

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The NaNo Plan By Patti Larsen

This is a very exciting time of year when writers gather round the old keyboard and neglect friends and family for the written word. Seeing as I do the above for a living, I thought I’d share with you my plan that keeps me writing on track and on time as best as circumstances allow. Because there are always circumstances. The key is to set up for them and have backups for all the excuses that arise.

Let’s start with the plan I've developed over the years to help me not only develop ideas into working outlines, but to keep me moving forward and motivated to write on a deadline. It can be tough--those circumstances I mentioned show up in the form of partners/spouses, kids (if you've got 'em), pets (my cats are relentless), phone calls, TV shows and out and out procrastination. There are many more reasons NOT to write than there are TO write (and yes, I've been through the entire list myself, so I know all the excuses intimately). Fear is a powerful motivator to simply step away from the keyboard or pen and paper and go do something unproductive. 

Here's the solution I use: before I start writing, I make a calendar of the month. On it, I schedule in the time I can spend on writing (please be honest with yourself here--don't say you're plan is to write for eight hours if you have a full time job and three kids with your in laws coming for dinner!) The idea is to make your goals attainable. For NaNo, they recommend a very reachable 1,667 words a day. If you think you can handle that (say a half hour before work and an hour after supper), that's great. If not, schedule what you CAN handle. If you make yourself afraid of the amount you have to do, you won't do it. That's why it's a good idea to write every day for this month if you can. The last thing you want to do is get behind (also a motivation killer). In fact, if you can get ahead by a hundred words a day or so, you'll be laughing. And set up for those times when you CAN’T write despite your best intentions.

What happens if you sit down to write and can’t? You want to be doing anything BUT writing at that moment? I suggest the Ten Minute Rule. Set a timer for ten minutes. Tell yourself you’ll only write for that long and stop. It’s a great way to trick your ego, the source of all writer angst, into letting you access your creativity and just write.

Sometimes the ten minutes is up and you still don’t feel like it. Fair enough. Log your words and go do something that brings you joy. This is supposed to be fun, remember? Stressing over it will only make it worse. The thing is, though, the opposite usually happens. That ten minute doorway turns into two or three hours and a nicely rounded word count. Why? Because you’ve taken the pressure away by giving yourself permission to stop.


Amazing how the mind works, isn’t it?

Okay, here's the best part--as I go, I do a second calendar and track my actual writing time. The cool thing is, I then create a sort of competition with myself. I see how much I have scheduled and when I hit that mark, I usually decide to see if I can go one better. It doesn't always end up that way, but it usually does.

So what if you don't hit your mark? No problem. Use your actual calendar to bump what you didn't get done to the next day and keep going. By breaking the project into manageable chunks over the course of the 30 days, it becomes much less intimidating than looking at the big picture and not knowing where to start.

Have a plan. Be flexible. Give it ten minutes. Do these three things and no matter the word count you end up with at the end of November, you’re already a winner.



About the Author: Patti Larsen is a middle grade, young adult and adult author with a passion for the paranormal. Her YA thriller series, The Hunted, is available now. Book one of The Hayle Coven series, Family Magic, is also out now, with the sequel, Witch Hunt, due November 20th. She is a full time writer and a part time teacher of her Get Your Book Done program. Patti lives on the East Coast of Canada with her very patient husband and four massive cats.

You can find her:

On her website www.pattilarsen.com  

On Facebook www.facebook.com/pattilarsenauthor  

Her writing blog www.pattilarsen.blogspot.com 

Her book blog www.pattilarsenbooks.blogspot.com 

On Twitter www.twitter.com/PattiLarsen 

On Amazon.com and Goodreads

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GIVEAWAY

Patti has kindly donated 3 ebook copies of her novel Run and 3 copies of her novel Family Magic.

The Books:

Run by Patti Larsen

Kidnapped

Alone, Reid gasps in one deep breath, another. It hurts his ribs, his lungs. He manages to roll over on his right side and regrets it. His shoulder screams in protest. Still, he is finally able to wriggle his numb hands loose from what holds him and claws at the cloth around his eyes.

Darkness. But not complete. The moon is up. Trees loom over him, the smell of spruce and fresh air so sharp it almost hurts. He jerks at the plastic ties around his ankles while. his vision swims through a veil of pain-laden tears. He manages somehow to force his screaming hands to work the ties loose and he is free.

Sixteen-year-old Reid thinks life is back to normal. His sister Lucy pulls herself together and cuts him free from a year of foster care. She promises to take care of him, that her new boss and her new life are what they both needed to start again. Until Reid is taken in the middle of the night, dumped in a wild stretch of forest far from home with no idea why he is there. Lost and afraid, he learns to run from the hunters who prowl the darkness, their only pleasure chasing down kids like him. And killing them.

Family Magic (The Hayle Coven Novels, #1)

by Patti Larsen 

Sixteen-year-old Sydlynn Hayle is the daughter of a powerful witch and a demon lord of the seventh plane. The trouble is, she just wants to be ordinary. Syd struggles to survive the minefield of her new high school while being torn between her attraction to football hero Brad Peters and the darkly mysterious Quaid Moromond. When her coven comes under attack, Syd is forced to face the fact only her power can save her family’s magic

There will be 3 winners, each receive one of each book.

All you have to do is fill out form

You can gain extra entries by:

Following the blog (+5)
Leaving a comment (+2)
Sharing the Giveaway (+1)

fill out form

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