Please welcome Megan Gaudino !!
How I
Balance Writing and Life: That Fine Line
Balancing
my personal life with writing time is not something I’m good at. It seems a bit
odd to sit down and write about this topic but I’ve decided even a bad example
can be a good example of what not to do.
Right
before I sent out Always Kiss Me Goodnight to Evernight for
consideration to be published I fell off the face of the earth. I received
multiple texts from multiple friends asking me if I was still alive then when
I’d respond with a yes the next text would read “are you mad at me?”
That’s how
horrible I am at balancing writing time with everything else in life. I’m not
exactly sure where my imbalance stems from but I guess it’s this sense of
urgency I always seem to be carrying around with me. It’s a hurry up and type
this out while I’m thinking of it or I’ll feel better about my progress after
five thousand more words kind of feeling that I’m working on calming.
For
the most part, I just want to be locked away in a tower in the middle of the
forest with nothing more than my laptop, ideas, and an incredibly strong Wi-Fi
signal, but that’s no way to be a writer. I’m a firm believer in using
real life experiences and observations to form a story and you need to be living
life for that to happen.
I
can remember back when I very first started writing Always Kiss Me Goodnight.
I used everything I did for inspiration and carried a notebook with me at all
times so I wouldn’t forget all my ideas. Reading my story really is like a trip
down Memory Lane because there are certain parts where I know exactly where I
was and what I was doing when I thought of them, but that was back when I had a
life.
When
it came time for editing I hardly saw the light of day and that was really sad
because this was during summer! But, things are changing. There are two more
books after Always Kiss Me Goodnight that follow Sophia and Leo so
I know I have plenty more editing to do but this time around I’m going to live
my life. I have a few works in progress that I am so excited about and I want
to be able to look back one day and remember a fond evening spent with friends
that was inspiration for a scene in my next book.
Writing
should always be viewed as part of your life but not your whole life. Go
out, meet people, get your face out there, network, learn, study, and have fun.
Finding that balance is something I know I struggle with but it is the
most important thing you can do. If not you’ll find yourself with a mean case
of writer’s block. Bottom line I think you have to look at taking time for
friends, family, and fun as research so then really you’re always working
anyway.
* * * * *
Always Kiss Me Goodnight
MEGAN GAUDINO
Evernight Teen Publishing
YA Paranormal Romance, 67k words
Released: August 28
All seventeen-year-old Sophia wants is to coast through her junior year. But with her parents obsessed with her Olympic-swimming-hopeful brother, a psychic best friend with a penchant for reading tarot cards, and prophetic dreams that predict her death—that won’t be easy. As her nightmares begin to come true, Sophia finds herself dodging death and longing for the time when getting over her ex-boyfriend was her biggest problem. Until she meets Leo Knight. The mysterious stranger seems determined to keep her alive—and steal her heart. But Leo has a secret that is about to change everything and Sophia is about to learn that sometimes…your number is up.
14+ due to adult
situations
Excerpt:
What a waste last night was. I would’ve laughed out loud
about how tragically ironic it all was if I could have. My lungs started to
twinge at the thought of laughing. They wanted to be filled with fresh air.
The finale of my life was playing out before me. I recalled
the peaceful feeling from my dream. I was just waiting for it to happen. My
lungs were screaming at me to breathe. This was it. Time was almost up and I
was waiting for my life to flash before my eyes when movement out of the water
caught my attention. Leo was standing on the edge of the pool. He was shirtless
and surrounded by the light, making me question if I’d died and gone to heaven.
He dove into the pool an instant later and scooped me up in
his arms, obelisk and all, just as he had the night before, then pushed up to
the surface of the water in no time flat.
The extra couple hundred pounds of weight I and the
obelisk—mostly the obelisk…I think—added did nothing to slow him down. We shot
out of the water as if we had the help of a cannon, not just Leo’s legs.
I gasped for air as soon as my face was free of the water.
The breath felt so good my lungs craved more and more. I kept inhaling the air
as if it were being funneled down my throat.
Leo swam to the side of the pool, using only his legs to
keep us afloat. With one hand, he threw the obelisk all the way in the bed of
wildflowers and pulled us up out of the water.
We sat on the edge of the pool with his feet in the water
and me on his lap, vowing to never again take air for granted and wondering
what happened that made my dreams start coming true.
Using his thumbs to push the water out of my eyes, he laced
his hands through my soaking wet hair and rested his palms on my cheeks.
“Sophia?” I coughed up some water and he turned my head to
the side. “Sophia, are you okay?”
The air was flowing easily in and out of my lungs. They felt
calmed; they knew they would be getting air on a regular basis.
“I’m okay.” I coughed one more time, then took another deep
breath to clear my reeling mind and tried to speak again. “I’m fine.”
Physically I was fine but mentally I wasn’t. The world I
lived in up until this point didn’t consist of anything supernatural or
unexplainable happening except the occasional perfect hair day and the beauty
of an aquamarine crystal.
Leo stood easily from his seated position with me still in
his arms and crushed my chest to his. Of course I couldn’t help but wrap my
arms around his bare torso but his skin felt so hot to the touch. Between the
freezing cold of my body and the warm temperature of his I felt overwhelmed.
Everywhere our bodies came in contact with each other little puffs of visible
steam arose.
When we made it to the living room Hercules began lapping up
the puddles of water we left behind us. Leo yanked the gray blanket off of the
armchair and wrapped it around me because I was suddenly shaking.
He moved a salt stone lamp out of his way and sat on top of
the coffee table, motionlessly taking in my expression. Before he even spoke I
just knew he was reading me all wrong. I felt like I could read him already
too.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Sophia,” he groaned.
“For what? My idiotic carelessness or that you saved
my life once again? You shouldn’t be sorry about either of those
things.”
“I shouldn’t have let that happen. I shouldn’t have been sleeping
still. I promised you I’d protect you and look what happened. Do you have any
idea how close you were to dying? Even closer than you were last night. If I
was just one second later I would’ve been too late.”
“I know. I was there. But you weren’t too late. It’s all
over now—I’m fine.” He put his head in his hands and scrunched his hair in his
palms. “Leo.” I reached forward and placed my hand on his arm. He was still so
hot to the touch. “Why’s your skin so hot again?”
He flinched away from my hand, stood up, folded his arms
across his chest and turned his back to me. His reaction made me question my
gesture.
“It’ll go away.”
“Yeah but why does it happen at all?”
He hesitated for just a moment before he answered. “Because
I keep saving your life.”
“I thought angels are supposed to save lives.”
“I already told you. I’m not an angel. I’m not supposed to
save lives.”
* *
* * *
About the Author:
Megan Gaudino works in a high school library by day and
on her own books by night. Always Kiss Me Goodnight his her debut novel and was
first posted on Wattpad where it gained over two million reads. Megan lives in
Pittsburgh where you can find her reading, writing, and Instagramming.
Tumblr- http://mkgaud.tumblr.com/
WeHearIt- http://weheartit.com/Mkgaud
Twitter- https://twitter.com/mkgaud
Wattpad- http://www.wattpad.com/user/mkgaud
Giveaway: $10
Evernight Teen GC
Thanks so much for hosting me!
ReplyDeleteit's a pleasure having you !!
DeleteI really enjoyed this book! :) It was interested to read about how Megan balances her life.
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