Today I am happy to say I have a guest post from Avery Olive and a giveaway of A Stiff Kiss prize pack!
My review of A Stiff Kiss: http://rowanknight.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/stiff-kiss-by-avery-olive.html
My review of A Stiff Kiss: http://rowanknight.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/stiff-kiss-by-avery-olive.html
GUEST POST
Favourite
things are hard to think about. I find that I really don’t have them,
or I have to think and think just to come up with something. And then I
am a mind changer, indecisive at its best. I’ll take that list of
favourites and find reason to scratch them off. I’m the same with
presents. I’ll make a list of things I want, and the longer I have to
think about it, the more chance I will undoubtedly talk myself out of
wanting it.
But when it comes to favourites, and writing, well things are more easy going.
I
have a nearly full iPod of songs, all of which I love. They inspire me
to write, or at least help with the process. I have my favourite songs
broken down into playlists. Each playlist, when listened to can force my
emotions into a certain direction. If I have a sad scene coming up, to
get myself into the emotional, teary eyed zone I click the “Tears”
playlist and find myself over taken by all the sad songs that remind me
of certain events in my life and bam! I’m where I need to be. The same goes for needing an upbeat set to charge me full of fun. I click the “Dance” list
and find that when I close my eyes I’m taken to a club, my body moving
to the beat, I’ve let go and I can channel that into a fun scene. Of
course, I also have my classics, the go to songs that I listen to just
to have something in the background. A Stiff Kiss had a few sad scenes
that I needed to find that emotion and let it take hold so I could pour
it into the writing. It also had some fun moments, some tense, nail biting scenes where a little instrumental helps. I think music influences and inspires any writer.
I have one favourite brand of spiral bound notebook. It’s all I can buy and all I can write in. If I find I need paper, and I don’t have my notebook (The Hot Chocolate Line from Wal-mart)
it just doesn’t feel right. They have two hard covers, a million pages,
and for easy tearing, they have a perforated line. Many notebooks you
find have soft covers, making for a flimsy pad of paper, and when you are
writer on the go like I am—not always having access to my computer,
flimsy just won’t do. Also, eventually the book get’s thick, or at least
it get’s that thick feeling to it. You know, how after 20 or so pages
of notes, doodles, coffee rings and water splatters, the pages begin to
expand, curling at the edges, maybe the perforated edge has begun to
work its way free... That’s why these notebooks have the handy elastic
that secures the notebook tightly together. Over a dozen drafts of the A
Stiff Kiss query letter was written in one of these notebooks,
character descriptions, notes, and scribbles—If I couldn’t have carried
one of these books around with me, who knows if A Stiff Kiss would have
ever been written.
But
let’s be honest, every writer out there has their favourite music,
books, pens, writing space or even program they use to come up with
their beautiful prose and catchy one-liners. So let’s break things down a
little more, try and find what really inspired me to write A Stiff
Kiss...
Fairytales—they
are the classics, no matter how young, or old, I’m sure everyone can
close their eyes and picture a favourite tale. Maybe it was something
they read as a child, with a mother or father, and each time they hear
it, it sends them into a flurry of memories that warms the heart.
Perhaps it’s something you read as a teenager. Desperately you wished to
find your prince charming, and of course curse the fact that in real
life nothing ever works out like it does in those fables. But you hope,
you cling to the idea because it’s what gets you through the heartbreak,
and upset—knowing the one day, your fairytale might just come true. So
when it came to A Stiff Kiss, I imagined a fairytale that I loved, but
also one that I could give a new spin on. Why is it always
the male coming to the rescue? Well, my fairytales are reversed because
it gives a new element of surprise, a modern day twist on the most
loved stories known to man. But the funny thing about this is... I didn’t even realize I had channeled a famous fairytale until someone pointed it out to me.
It’s true, the inspiration of using a fairytale wasn’t at the
forefront, but of course, it came through anyways because that’s just
how epic these tales are—they stick with you, creeping into your
subconscious even when you don’t think they are.
I
very much have a fear of death. I know, it seems silly, and I’m sure
I’ve got tons of years left before my time is up. But when I think about
it—The End, it causes my heart to race, my palms to grow sweaty—my mind
becomes anxious. A million scenarios flash before my eyes, tightening
my chest, forcing me to gasp for air. So why not write a story that
centers around one of my biggest fears? And not just one story, I have 5
novels under my belt (some I hope to soon be published) and they all
have one main theme—so far—Death. That very word sticks in my throat,
but when I’m writing about it, creating my own versions of the
afterlife, focusing on how to overcome that fear, or allowing my
characters to run right into it, I’m able to see it’s not so bad. Sure
it’s a morbid subject, one that makes others squirm in their seats, but
it gives me the very inspiration I need to create my novels.
I’ve
also just taken bits and pieces of my own life and strewn them through
my novels. I have some fond memories of High School, so I’ve included
the team colours and mascot into A Stiff Kiss. Some of my quirks
have ended up being a part of my characters, something that makes them
closer to me. They look like people I know, or are named after some very
important people in my life, which is something that inspired me as
well. Though one character isn’t necessarily one specific person, but
rather a bunch of my favourite traits rolled all together. I would be here if it wasn’t for those people, their lives and their inspiration.
So
when I look at my life, and try to pick out the perfect, the favourite,
it’s really hard. But what I can do is pick out the things that when I
focus on them, realize they are what helped me create A Stiff Kiss. And
the above are just a few of the inspirations—quite frankly I could go on
and on, but I doubt anyone really wants me to.
Important Links:
A Stiff Kiss Buy Links
KOBO: Keep an eye out! Coming Soon!
Giveaway
Who knew kissing a corpse would change everything?
Death always hits Xylia Morana
too close to home, but she likes it that way. She hangs out with the
terminally ill, attends random funerals, and every so often, when the
weather is right, she sleeps in open graves. But after Landon Phoenix, the high school hottie, dies in Xylia's arms, she sneaks into the morgue to say goodbye. How could she know stealing a kiss from his corpse would wake him up?
With Landon returned to the living and suddenly interested in Xylia, life has new meaning. But what Xylia
doesn't realize is that by kissing Landon back to life, she's thrown
Life and Death off balance. The underworld demands a body, and it might
just have to be Xylia's this time.
Prize pack includes: An e-book copy of A Stiff Kiss
A Stiff Kiss Bookmark
A Stiff Kis Keychain
A Stiff Kiss Collectors Card
Giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.
<script
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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