Book Giveaway! Win a SIGNED copy of "Born Wicked"

UPDATE: So, I put the names in a hat (extra entries were accounted for) and the winner is....

Lori M. Lee!

Last week I went to another book event, this one was part of the Breathless tour and featured authors Beth Revis, Jessica Spotswood, Andrea Creamer, and Marie Lu. It was a really cool event and I have a signed copy of Jessica Spotswood's debut novel Born Wicked to give away! Here's how you can win:

1. Follow my blog
2. Leave a comment on this post
3. Optional: If you also blog or tweet about this giveaway you earn an extra spot in the drawing (meaning when I gather the numbers to draw from, your number will be there twice instead of once. Remember to leave links)


Giveaway closes on 2/29/12, which is when I will draw and announce the winner.

First Campaingner Challenge

If you'd like to win a signed copy of "Born Wicked" by Jessica Spotswood, comment here

For our first challenge we were supposed to write a piece of flash fiction in any format, 200 words or less, beginning with the line "Shadows crept across the wall." Using the word "orange," ending with "and everything faded," and making it exactly 200 words were extra challenges. Here's my piece:


Night Candy

Shadows creep across the wall,
whisper across my skin,
searching for something
though I have nothing left to give.
So I clave to the darkness
like a bittersweet memory
that's too painful to hold on to
though I refuse to let go.
I can see it in my dreams,
feel it in my bones,
taste it on my lips,
as though I took a bite of the night sky
and now hold it in captivity,
teasing on the edge of release.

And though I know it is not a tangible thing,
it is my closet companion
as I feel this dark candy melt under my tongue,
and find some graceless slumber
in a place it doesn't belong.

Is It Getting Hot In Here?

What a perfect day to read some hot and steamy scenes with the 'Is it getting hot in here' blogfest hosted by Cassie Mae (Cassie's blog has links to everyone else's scenes). I jostled between which scene to choose finally settling on something I figure has enough heat to suffice. This scene is about the same characters from this scene I wrote for the Warm Fuzzies blogfest but happens later in the story from that other scene. It also includes two of the characters I drew for the same Warm Fuzzies blogfest so I thought it'd be fun to continue these guys little love fest. So here it is:


He kissed me, and it did the efficient job of making me forget everything else. The kiss was gentle at first, soft and probing, and the way I could feel him teasing me with the promise of something deeper pushed me to the edge of delicious frustration. His tongue played against mine, almost giving in, but pulling back, and I made small sounds in my throat that in turn made him chuckle, and pull me against him until I was straddling his waist. I bit his lower lip and was rewarded with a moan that sent shivers through me. I pulled away a little so I could take a breath, and Lucen sighed against my skin. His hands were moving up my back on my bare skin, and his touch was feverishly hot. I felt like we were suddenly sitting in the middle of a blazing inferno that burned endlessly but didn’t touch us. He caught my lips again, and this time the kiss was far from gentle, it was wild, explosive, and demanding, and the sheer force of it drove us down onto the bed. Lucen flipped me over until I was underneath him and he was staring at me with so much want and need on his face that it made my bite my lip in anticipation. He started planting soft kisses along my jaw line down to my neck, while the hand he wasn’t using to prop himself up made quick work of getting rid of my tank top. I was suddenly nude from the waist up while his hands sensually splayed all over my body. He caressed my breasts, and the jolt that went through me bowed my back off the bed and made my entire body tighten. Lucen grabbed me until I was pressed tightly against him, then he kissed me again and I was only dimly aware that I was tearing his clothes off.

11 Random Questions about me

I was tagged by Yelena Casale to answer 11 questions, which is part of a Writer Campaign game. So here are my answers:

1. If you could only go visit one place in the world, where would you go? Most definitely Japan. It started when I was a kid and enjoyed watching anime, and as I got older I got more into Japanese culture, music/movies/tv dramas, and literature and a lot of my studies in college revolved around those things, I even learned the language for three years. I'm just very interested in and drawn to Japan's multi-faceted society so I'd definitely want to go one day.
2. Do you think you're more of an introvert or an extrovert? EXTROVERT! I'm loud and crazy.
3. Do you prefer to be cold or hot (if there's no in between). Hot. I HATE the cold weather.
4. If you have to give a lecture on a topic of your choice, what would it be? Hmm good question...there are so many things I can think about so I'll say post modern Japanese literature since I studied it in college and really loved it.
5. Rock climbing or sky diving? Sky diving
6. Would you ever consider writing a memoir? I've thought about it, but I don't think I'd ever really do it, will probably just take the secrets within my wacky life to the grave, ha
7. If you could go back in time and talk to one person from the past, who would it be? A tough question!! I really don't know...I'll say my grandfathers, since I never knew either of them.
8. If you could turn into one animal, what animal would it be? Some sort of bird, so that I could fly of course.
9. What is your dream job? Other than being a published author my dream job would involve me working in the publishing industry in some capacity.
10. What are your two favorite shows on TV right now? Only two?? Let's see....Vampire Diaries and Revenge.
11. What is your favorite mythological creature? I don't know if I have a favorite, I think I like a lot of them equally, I find 'em cool and fascinating for different reasons.

Update: I was also tagged by Samantha Drane and since I find this game quite fun, I'm going to answer her questions too!

1. Chocolate or Whipped Cream? CHOCOLATE!
2. What was your favorite subject in High School and why? Creative Writing, for obvious reasons =)
3. If you could witness any major event in history, what would it be? Oh good one, so many cool historical events have happened. I think I'll be far reaching and say it would be great to see exactly how this world came into existence.
4. You had to pick the next Sexiest Man Alive. Who would be on the cover? Well there are many celebs I find good looking but I'm gonna go with Ian Somerhalder, because IMO he's....yum. lol
5. What's your all time favorite movie? I honestly don't have an ultimate favorite, I just have many that I like a lot.
6. If I asked your best friend about you. what would be the first three words they would pick to describe you? Crazy, funny, giving (I hope. Knowing her she'd probably say more degenerate things first)
7. Who is your biggest supporter in your writing? My best friend
8. Favorite Disney Princess is? Ah, tough one...I'll go with Ariel and Tiana
9. You've just won a free trip to unwind and de-stress. Where would that destination be? My own private island somewhere...blue waters, white sand, seclusion, hammock on the beach, perfect weather...paradise!
10. Who do you call an inspiration in your life? Life itself.
11. IPhone or Android? Android. I have never been into or owned any Apple products.

Alexia's questions:

1. What setting best describes you? I’d say night time

2. What was your favorite childhood book? The Secret Garden

3. Besides reading and writing what are at least two of your favorite pastimes? Drawing and Painting

4. What is the coolest/strangest thing you've ever done? Nothing like a question like this to make you realize you’ve not really done anything cool or strange!

5. If any character from any book could be your best friend, who would it be? Would it be cheating to say my characters?

6. If you could be invisible for one day, what would you do? Stalk my friends and play tricks on them lol

7. What famous person (dead or alive) do you consider a role model for your own aspirations? You know I can’t really name any one person, I’m more of the type to draw inspiration for myself from different places

8. Which Greek or Roman (or other culture's mythological) deity would you be (either who you'd like to be or who you most resemble)? Probably the Trickster, and oddly enough I just finished a book involving this deity, ha!

9. Would you like to marry a Vulcan? Nope

10. Do you believe in any conspiracy theories? Not really. For me to believe it I’d have to experience it or have solid, solid proof of it.

11. If you were to reincarnate, what would you like to be? Something supernatural....I'd like to reincarnate the entire world where fantastical creatures really exist.

Okay now I must come up with 11 questions and tag 11 people.

My questions:

1. What is your biggest fear?
2. What would you wish for if you had three wishes?
3. What's your favorite childhood novel?
4. What's your earliest memory?
5. Would you rather be the hero or the villain of a story?
6. Vampire, Witch, Werewolf, Mermaid -- which would you be?
7. What's your favorite song?
8. Would you rather go back 50 years to the past or 50 years into the future?
9. If someone could tell you how you were going to die would you want to know? (maybe this question is too macabre lol)
10. Are you more spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead?
11. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Tagging:

1. CL Bledsoe
2. Sherri M. Lackey
3. Patricia Marques
4. HR Sinclair
5. Angela Scott
6. R.J. Ropsen
7. Rai29
8. Hope Roberson
9. Nick Hight
10. Leigh Covington
11. Alessandra Hinlo

Sorry if you were already tagged elsewhere!

Poll: Which book would YOU like to recieve an author signed copy of?

So, unless something important or unforeseen comes up, I am planning to attend an author event on Feb 17th. I'd like to give away another author signed book, but this time I thought I'd try something different and survey before hand which book people would like to receive a signed copy of the most. So if you're interested, leave a comment and let me know, and whichever book gets the most votes will be up for grabs after the event. Here are your choices:

1. Legend by Marie Lu
2. A Million Suns by Beth Revis
3. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
4. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

So which will it be?

Platform Building Campaign

Rachel Harrie over at Rach Writes is hosting another Platform Building Campaign. It was a lot of fun last year and was a great way to connect with other writers, so I'm looking forward to more fun with this one. If you don't know what it's all about, check out her blog and sign up!

I wrote with fever and fervor

Well, the end of January has brought me the completion of my first novel for the year, yup the WIP I mentioned just a couple posts ago has already seen a first draft completed (clocked in at about 83k words). It also brought me the personal satisfaction of breaking my record for shortest amount of time I've written a book in, previously it was twelve days, but I wrote this book in ten! I know it's never a race with these things, but when I saw just how quickly the words were flying out of me, I began to wonder if I could actually break my record. Needless to say, I am currently typing this blog post with fingers that are just bone. My record for most words in a day was over 13k words, and my hands never hated me more.

I learned even more things about my writing approach when it comes to pantsing. First of all, this book was A LOT of fun to write. It's interesting because I'd been all set on another idea that I'd thought up and started making notes for since last November to be my next novel, and I was excited about that idea, I was just waiting for it to come together and give me enough to start writing. Then up pops this new idea and it took hold of me and I started writing the book just a few hours after the idea came to me and I'd made a few notes, which I don't typically do. Once I started writing, I never really had any major, hair pulling blocks, or moments where I didn't know where to take the story. I loved seeing how vague ideas about a scene I wanted to include actually worked out when the time came, and I enjoyed being able to use characters I'd introduced even though at the time I didn't know what their purpose would be. I'd say it was one of the easier books I've written, they've all been fun, but my last two were real headache inducers, so it was nice to sort of have this story come along and have it be so fun to write. I wonder if I will ever plot a book again? I can't close the door on it because I think each book is different and will be written in different ways, some will run with you right off the bat, and others may need more prep and planning before you start writing. Can't wait to see how my next project will shape up.

Now I have two books to edit and I'll be taking my time with that, no need to break any records there.