GUEST POST + CONTEST = WIN!!!!

Today’s post is special. (Meaning: You should totally pay attention!)

I’ve invited an awesome guest blogger, rounded up some pretty cool prizes (maybe you could pick something comfy for your bed!), and now you will have the chance to win.

Guest blog + Prizes = EPIC WIN!!!

Now that’s my kind of math right there!

First, the guest blogger. When I joined the Debs in early 2009, I joined a group of amazing writers, one of whom was this outspoken, gregarious, warm, and hilarious lady named Aprilynne Pike. You might know her, author of NYT bestsellers WINGS and SPELLS?!?! Yeah, that’s her…

Well, I’ve invited Aprilynne today to introduce a fellow Harper gal, a Tenner debut author whose book comes out THIS MONTH...you might have heard a little something about this book too, it’s called PARANORMALCY by uber-blogger extraordinaire (and, yes, she is just as adorable in real life!) Kiersten White. (And it may or may not be involved in the contest I mentioned!)

Aprilynne actually blurbed PARANORMALCY, saying: “PARANORMALCY seduced me. The two sexy paranormals who vie for Evie’s affections each had their own victory: one won Evie’s heart and the other won mine.”

I’ve read it, and I have to agree, it’s freakin’ great!!!

So, here she is, everyone, my friend Aprilynne Pike with some hilarious (as only Aprilynne would see it!) advice on writing:


Writing is Exhausting!

We often hear among author circles about the need to eat healthy and exercise because well, the acronym BIC (Butt In Chair) means that a lot of us do keep our butts firmly in our chairs for several hours a day and . . . well, those butts tend to expand.:D (Not to mention that yummy snacks seriously help facilitate the writing process! No really! They do!)

No one seems to mention that writing is its own form of exercise. Not the kind of exercise that will give you nicely toned thighs or bulging biceps, but I maintain that writing is its own kind of physical exertion nonetheless. I remember when I was in the process of writing Wings, I had this one day. It was a dream day! A day when the scene was so crystallized in my head and the words were flowing and everything was perfect! I walked out of my office that day (in my pajamas *ahem*) and flung the door open and said, very melodramatically, “I wrote a good scene!” And I was exhausted! I was a little sweaty too. (I know, TMI, but it relates!)

Writing can be a seriously physical experience, especially when you are writing intense scenes. Case in point, I am in the process of writing the fourth Wings book (don’t worry, you aren’t behind the times. The third one isn’t out yet. Writers just have to stay WAY ahead of schedule.) and about ¾ of this book is climax. It is seriously intense. I come out of my office every day rather emotionally wrung out and physically tired!

On top of that, I live in Phoenix where it is currently about 111 degrees. Also, humid since it is monsoon season. (Note to self, I need to buy a fan for my office!)

So all you writers out there, do try to eat well and get exercise, but don’t start thinking you are just turning into a lazy slob if, no matter what you do, you feel terribly exhausted at the end of the day. Tell your friends that they should try killing people and making people fall in love and make-out every day! It’s a tough job, but luckily, I’m the one who gets to do it!


I told you, she’s awesome! And TMI, Aprilynne? Never! (Confession: I don’t really understand TMI…is there really such thing as TMI???)


Okay, moving on, here are the contest deets:

All you have to do is leave a comment, just one, and that’s it. A comment. Preferrably a nice one, because, c’mon, I’m gonna give you stuff.

What am I gonna give you, you ask???

1) A brand new, shiny ARC of PARANORMALCY!!!!!!! (Second confession: it may have been read once, but ever-so-gently…there’s not even a scuff!)

2) CSN has generously donated a $60 gift certificate to any one of their 200+ stores, so you can buy something like one of these snazzy reading lamps (or anything else you want!). How cool is that???

3) And to commemorate this awesome melding of Tenner and Deb love, I am also including a butt-load (yeah, a real measurement according to urbandictionary.com) of Tenner and Deb bookmarks, including Princess for Hire, The Vespertine, Prophecy of Days, Losing Faith, Cinderella Society, Freefall, and a bunch more. Like I said, people, a butt-load…look it up.

You have until midnight on Thursday, August 12th to make your comment count!