Soul Twister ... Left Hand Awesome!

Hey, gang! I'm taking part in the Soul Twister blog tour today. It's the 3rd book in my pal Robyn Jones' Touched Girl series. Robyn is a serious paranormal diehard (reader and writer) and layers tons of snark into some truly wild and imaginative fiction. Hope you'll check out her work!

Welcome to my stop on the Soul Twister (A Touched Girl #3) by Robyn Jones Blog Tour!

Soul Twister (A Touched Girl Novel #3) by Robyn Jones
 Genre: Paranormal Romance

Goodreads Summary: Months into recovering from the bloody events that took place in Soul Bender, Anna Pierce is ready to get back out there and fulfill her self-crafted destiny. Sadly, no one in her life feels the same way. The emergence of buried memories and out-of-the-blue powers send her straight into regular sessions with the school counselor. If only she could talk about her overly protective vampire boyfriend or the real threat posed by former friends turned enemies or her new guide who makes her former guide look like a bowl of sunshine. Anna has a lot going on, but at least she's too busy to think about her first Christmas at Ella's.

For a limited time, the First 2 Touched Girl novels are on sale for $.99 at Amazon!

Purchase Links:     Soul Walker |    Soul Bender

Get to know Betsy from Soul Twister

Name: Elizabeth (Betsy if you know what’s good for you)

Description: Shorter than everyone she knows, long blond curly hair, sharp features, yet she still pulls off the angelic look during school hours, princess pink nails, and blue eyes

Top pet peeves: Anna driving Betsy’s car, Anna playing with Betsy’s hair, Anna standing too close, the list goes on and on

Family: Ella, her cranky great aunt, Sara, her teen mom best friend and cousin, Sam, Sara’s baby boy, Anna, her pain in the ass cousin, and her parents she never talks about and always tries to avoid

Surprising traits: Fiercely protective of Anna despite referring to Anna as “weird girl” on a regular basis, terrified of the movie The Ring, never talks about boyfriends but believes the only way to get over heartache is to move on quickly

Hobbies: Who knows what she does when she’s not hanging out with Sara? The girl does not share details about herself other than the fact that she is awesome. It’s suspected she listens to a lot of indie music and goes to parties. Anna also believes she practices her snark in the mirror.

Shining Betsy moments (according to Anna):

“Anna, space?” I hadn’t noticed, but I was practically sitting on Betsy's lap. “Do you really have to play with my hair?”

“Yes, it's so soft and curly. It tickles my fingers.” Had to give the little cousin credit for how hard she fought the smile that made her look like a completely different girl. A sweet one. (Soul Walker)

“Leave Anna alone,” Betsy said. “She’s my family.” The world shifted by a few inches. I realized I had gone up on my tiptoes. The sun shot diagonal beams of light at us as we stood just outside the front doors to St. Lucy’s, and all I wanted to do was twirl in the warm rays. I was Betsy’s family.

“Moment’s over, Anna,” my newest hero said quietly from a few feet away. We were alone and I had slipped into a twirl.

“Are we late?” I asked.

“No, but you know how to freak out a bunch of spoiled shits.” (Soul Bender)

The screen door barely had time to screech before the front door flew open. “Same damn spot, Anna. Shit. I can’t handle those clothes anymore! Give them to me.” Betsy’s stern expression and outstretched hand proved too much. I cracked up, moaned, held my stomach, and cracked up again. 

“No? Fine. Get your ass up and no crying about your stab wounds.” Peter snickered next to me because Betsy saved irate for very special occasions. Usually, she went with annoyed or amused in a bad way.

“Where are we going? Are you allowed to leave school at lunch?”

“Never mind that. You like salsa. I’m banking on you spilling a shitload on your clothes and Ella deeming them unfit.”

“Ella stopped looking too closely at my clothes, Betsy.”

“Argh! Peter, get your girlfriend in my car. Then go away. You’re not invited.” It was my most favorite hostile date. (Soul Twister)

About Robyn Jones:

I laugh when people fall down. It's a glitch in my programming, but even my mom has suffered this quirk. I have a BA in Studio Art from the University of Puget Sound. My boys make me laugh every day. I steal pens; I try real hard not to. I collect those free bookmarks at the checkout counter at libraries. I've had more stitches than anyone I know. I love stories; writing them, reading them, watching them. You can email me at robgirlbooks@gmail.com. Blog / Twitter / Goodreads

Giveaway: 8 Winners!

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Big Giveaway Event & Lots of News!

Hey, gang! Hope everyone is enjoying the midst of summertime. :) I have lots of announcements today!

- Have you seen Crystal Collier's cover for Soulless, the second book in her Maiden of Time series?  Just gorgeous!

- It's release week for my pal ST Bende and the second book in her Elsker saga, Endre. Stop by and wish her luck. But feast your eyes on her pretty cover before you go. :)

- Another release new release, and also from someone I've featured on this blog before. SJ Pajonas is offering up (for a very limited time) her book, Face Time - A Love in the Digital Age Novel, for .99 cents. SJ introduced the story on a site called Wattpad with lots of success, and has now released the full novel.

- Speaking of, are any of you on Wattpad? I am! I've shared a couple of the Moonsongs stories there already, and I'm finding it to be a really fun community to connect with readers. I would love to connect with you there as well, if I haven't already. Just let me know in the comments and I'll find you! (That came out way more threatening than I'd intended...)

- Fellow author-blogger M.J. Fifield is looking for help with her upcoming book launch. This is her debut novel, and we can all sympathize with how challenging-exciting-awesome-terrifying that can be. :)

--MY NEWS--

I just wrapped up the final edits on my first full-length novel. It's New Adult contemporary (with romantic elements!), with a publication date of September 1 (Labor Day weekend). 

Perfectly Ernest is a coming of age story about a college baseball player who is perfect on the field and anything but off of it. It's a tale about the roller coaster of mental illness, but it's mostly about friendship and falling in love. Here's a short description:

“Not far, but near, I stood and saw it all.” Robert Frost

From a distance, Ernie seems perfect. He’s a star college baseball player, adored by the student body, and coveted by professional teams. Up close, Ernie is a disaster. Since the death of his mother, he has self-destructed at every turn, opposed his coaches, and destroyed most of his relationships. His personal implosion is complete when he gets booted from the team.

Ernie is forced into group counseling in an attempt to salvage his mother's dying wish and revive his baseball dreams. By testing old friendships, forging unlikely new ones, and falling in love, Ernie begins to unravel the jumbled knot his tangled inner-psyche has become. But when things start going wrong again, will Ernie's new direction and friends be his salvation, or confirmation that his imperfections will forever rule his life?

If this sounds like your cup of tea, I'm looking for folks to send ARCs to. Sign up below, and I'll get in touch with the details. :)

Perfectly Ernest eARC signup!

Now for something fun you can take part in tomorrow. It's the summer's 'can't miss' Facebook party for fans of book series! 

This Thursday, July 17th (6 PM Eastern), 12 authors will be giving away the first books in their series along with gift cards and a Kindle Fire HD. I'm one of them!

Here's a little video about the event:

So how do you go about scoring some of those sweet, sweet prizes? Simple!

First, just show up and interact with the authors. Ask us about our books, find out who we cheered for in the World Cup, tell us about your book boyfriends and girlfriends, share LOL cat videos--do whatever it is you do to party. 

Second, check this infographic:

Third, pay attention to see if you've won stuff. It's that easy! 

This is truly going to be a ton of fun, and you're guaranteed to get to hang out with some super fun folks. And who knows? Maybe you'll score the Kindle loaded with all of our books!

Hope to see you there!

IWSG - The Yin-Yang of Writing

Hey, gang! Time for the July Insecure Writer's Support Group. What is the IWSG? Basically, it's a monthly blogging circle of writer folk who sit around the virtual campfire and share our fears, encouragement, and all of the other 'feels' that come with the writing life.

If you'd like to take part, or just learn more, click the button below.

And speaking of encouragement, there are a couple of folks in our community who could really use some this week. If you get a second, please hop over and share some with Shelly and Misha. 

The Yin-Yang of Writing  

Writing is a struggle. But the word struggle doesn't have to be a negative. It's just an active process requiring a lot of effort to attain something we desire.

We struggle with lots of worthwhile things in this world. Being a parent is a struggle at times. A career (both getting there and maintaining it) is a struggle. Falling in love and finding the right partner is often a struggle.

If something is important to you, you'll endure a lot of grief to get it. Writing is no different for those of us who dive into its murky waters. We know it's hard. We know it will be painful. Yet, we still do it anyway.

I love this Goerge Orwell quote, and think it summarizes the desire nicely:

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

I believe there is a certain harmony to it all. Some of the things in writing that are THE most difficult to me are also at the root of my greatest joy and accomplishment. (Sounds a lot like life, doesn't it?)

When things get tough, sometimes it's helpful to look at the flip side of the coin for a little perspective. Here are a few things in writing that are real negatives when I'm struggling with them, but eventually become some of my favorite aspects.

Opening Line/Paragraph

Yin/Negative - Making a good first impression on a reader is HUGE. We know it. They know it. Which is why there is so much pressure to nail the opening of a story. Doesn't seem fair at all when you've written 90k damn good words after it.

Yang/Positive - When you finally get it exactly right, the rest of the story takes on a showroom shine. For me, it's THE moment when I fall in love with my own work--which is something I resist doing throughout the process of drafting. I'm just naturally a self-loather, and it's hard for me to see the positive in my own stuff. So it's a huge deal for my overall confidence.

Feedback

Yin - It really sucks to have your flaws pointed out. Sucks. Hard. And we actually ask people to do it! It doesn't make it any less painful, even when you know it's the only way you're story is going to be as good as you want it to be. 

Yang - After the initial sting has worn off, I really enjoy wading through feedback from critters and editors. Mostly because there's invariably something I did right that I had no idea I'd done right. Plus, it's the beginning of the final plan to make the story great. Once I've identified what's wrong with a story and my writing from several different perspectives, I can get very concrete about how to fix it. Before I get feedback, I have no real idea of a story's potential.

Revisions

Yin - The process of actually fixing it can be torturous. Some projects feel as though you've got more bad than good going on. (Those usually turn into rewrites for me...) Plus, when you're faced with repairing all of the little things you've screwed up for days and weeks at a time, it can take a serious toll on your confidence. Revisions just have a way of turning into a black hole you think you'll never get out of.

Yang - When I finally see the light, and I know I've improved my story exponentially, there's a certain bulletproof feeling that sweeps over me. I know it's maybe not perfect, but I start to believe it'll hold up to just about anything or anyone. What was once a source of major insecurity turns into something close to pride. When I've properly executed a revision plan I'm as high on the mountain as I'll get in the pre-publication phase.

Those are just three yin-yang areas for me, but I have many more. (Reviews! Naming characters! ...) What about you? Do you have any areas in your writing that you struggle with but ultimately lead you to the greatest accomplishment?

~EJW~