Bio: She's the daughter of a professor and a film historian, and she grew up seeing a lot of movies. Currently, she's taking her first ever college English literary criticism course, which is opening her mind in all sorts of exciting ways.
Check her out on Goodreads!
Dreamfire (Dreamfire #1) and Dreamfever (Dreamfire #2)
Giveaway of Dreamfever by Kit Alloway!
Enter bellow for a chance to win a physical copy of Dreamfever by Kit Alloway and some stickers! Canadian residents only.
Blurb of Dreamfever:
Finding out that she is the True Dream Walker hasn't gone at all the Joshlyn Weaver would have expected it to. The only special gift she seems to have is an ability to create archways, which really isn't that special. In addition to her inability to connect with the Dream, she has also started having nightmares that are so terrible she can't tell anyone about them. Not even Will.
With the clock running down, Josh must rely on not only her friends, but also her enemies, to stop the radicals from taking power and controlling the Dream. But how can she expect to save everyone else when she's struggling to pick up the pieces of her own shattered life?
1) How old were you when you started writing, in your opinion?
I was thirteen. I remember it quite clearly. I had just quit competitive gymnastics, which was my whole life up until then, and suddenly I had fifteen hours a week when I didn’t know what to do with myself. I decided to write a novel, and to do it by siting down every day single day and not getting up until I’d written 250 words. Which doesn’t sound like much, but it turned out to be really hard. By the end of the summer, I’d written my first novella.
2) What do you want a reader to gain from reading your works?
I’d like them to find compassion in their hearts for others. I write about characters who are odd, imperfect, and struggling with their demons, and I hope that by helping readers connect with them, they realize that the kid at school nobody understands is probably pretty awesome if you get to know her. Or, at the least, worthy of kindness and consideration.
3) What are your three top suggestions on becoming an author, or being a pleasure writer?
1. Write for love. Writing for publication is a very different job, and I’m not always sure I would have picked it if I’d realized what it entails. But even though the hard parts of publishing, love of the writing keeps me going. So always keep that at the center of your writing life, and you’ll be happy whether you publish or not.2. Learn to edit. About 20% of my writing effort goes toward a first draft. The other 80% goes into editing. Your first draft shouldn’t look anything like your last draft, and unless you learn to embrace and love editing, your writing will never be what it could be.
3. Practice. I’ve taken a million workshops, I got my master’s, I meet with an editing partner and a critique group, and there’s nothing I learned anywhere that replaces practice. There’s no substitute. Sit down and down it. Make the time.
4) What is your favourite novel, why? Who is your favourite author, why?
I don’t know that I have a favorite novel, or a favorite author. There are a million writers and book I admire, but it’s impossible to compare them. Recently, I really loved Playground by 50 Cent. I’m also loving 1941by Charles C. Mann, which is non-fiction.
5) What are your favorite pass times besides writing?
I’m obsessed with quilting. I do it every day. I’ve only been doing it for five years, so I’m not terribly good, but I’m getting better all the time.
6) Who in your life do you credit your imagination to the most?
My parents, 100%. They forbid video games in our home, read to me and my sister for an hour every day, and never used the word “weird” to describe us or what we did. My father encouraged us to make home movies (and gave us a camera to do it with), my mother was constantly sending us outside to play, and they just provided this atmosphere were we felt safe to create. They were amazing.
7) What are the top five things on your bucket list?
1. My first was Publish a novel, so I can cross that off.2. Visit the pyramids.
3. Visit the Mayan ruins (not all of them, but a good percentage).
4. Learn to SCUBA dive.
5. Have a dog in my house that has puppies. I’ve always wanted to watch the early life cycle of dogs—sort of journeying with them from the moment they’re born to the moment they go to their families. But I’m reluctant to add to the dog population (I have four rescues), so I might have to work something out with a pregnant foster.
8) What is your funniest childhood memory?
I have so many. But here’s one that sticks out. When I was about ten, my mother let me rent crutches to play with for a couple of weeks. I convinced a boy in my neighborhood that I had an identical twin cousin named Shelly who had to use crutches and spoke with an English accent. But then we had to return the crutches to the drug store. I didn’t know how I was going to continue this ruse, so I went to my father and confessed what I had done. Rather than telling me to come clean, he said, “Sweetie, there’s only one thing you can do. You have to kill Shelly off.” Then he helped me make a fake headstone, dressed me and my sister up in our Sunday best, and took us to the grave yard to take photos with the fake headstone. We showed the pictures to the neighborhood boy and said that Shelly had died in a terrible accident. I never figured out if he believed us or not.
9) To the youth of today, if you could tell them one thing, what would it be?
I hope I would be wise enough to listen instead of being another voice telling them what to think. With that in mind, I’ll relate a brief story. I teach summer writing camp with kids every year, and one year I told the kids they could ask me anything. A boy about thirteen raised his hand and said, “Are these really the best years of our lives?” I was blown away by what a smart, deep question that was. So I’ll tell you what I told him. If what matters to you is social popularity, lack of responsibility, and the latest trends, then yes, these will be the best years of your life. After college, you’re in a major disappointment, because the number of people who care if you’re cool is going to drop by about 98%. But if what matters to you is true friendship and kindness, passion for your work or your craft, and spiritual/personal growth, you can look forward to every day up and to including the day you die.
No comments:
Post a Comment