Print Release of The Last Stored!!

Tomorrow's the BIG day. Tomorrow, The Last Stored will be available in print!

To commemorate this momentous moment, I thought it might be fun to answer some questions I've received in the past few months.

1. When is the best time for you to write? I use to say the mornings, until I realized that I actually needed that time to drift into it. I am not one to just pick right up where I left off. My brain needs time to anchor itself into my make believe world. Music helps a great deal to draw me in. So, to answer the question, from, 11am - 2pm is the optimal time for me to write. 
2. How often do you write? I try to write every day... Not going to lie, some days it's easier than others. Sometimes being a mom takes priority over my craft, but I don't feel guilty when that happens. I just remember this time is for memories. I won't ever get it back.
3. What advice would you give aspiring writers? Read lots, write lots, keep a childlike sense of wonder, don't take yourself too seriously, and develop a super thick skin.  
   
4. How do you handle writer's block? I never much thought about writer's block, and I scoffed when people said they did, but, bam, it hit me in the head this past summer. I couldn't get my story to go, I spent a lot of time spinning my wheels. I'd write a paragraph only to erase it because it was bunk. I finally figured it out. For me, writer's block is losing the passion for the story. I ended up shelving that book, and started on, The In-Betweens. Now, I'm almost done with it. Just a few more chapters, and I'll have finished the rough draft. Occasionally, I'll hear the one I shelved call to me. Who knows, I might pick it up again and give it a look. Like life, finding the right passion says so much for our drive and determination. 
5. Was any part of THE LAST STORED based on your own experiences? The idea of THE LAST STORED came to me after the loss of my own father. I wanted to explore a daughter's love for her parents, and the pain of losing a loved one. (How does one get through the day when they are stuck in routine and grief?) My parents gave me a great gift by allowing me to grow up in the woods. My imagination was a dear friend to me, and they cultivated it. Even now if I'm anxious, I'll set myself in that forest, inside my head of course. I can hear the creek bubbling by, smell the moss and black earth, feel the sunlight through the woven canopy. So yeah, when I speak of a forest, it is from my own memories.
6. Do you let family and friends read your draft? A big fat YES! At first I hid my writing away. I guess I wasn't quite ready to share. But one day I allowed my husband and oldest daughter to read my work. Then I got brave and asked a friend if she'd be willing to give it a look.
   
   I still remember the first night I gave it to her. I lay in bed fretting about it. I just knew she would tell me it was rank. She didn't, and her encouragement gave me the strength I needed. BUT, my husband is by far my best cheerleader. Often times I'll bounce stuff off of him while other times I just watch his reaction. Now, I can't imagine him not reading my work.
7. What inspired you to become an author? My dad. He was such a voracious reader. We had a room in our Kentucky home that was supposed to be used for toys, the toy room we called it, instead it housed my father's extensive collection of sci-fi books. That, and I also never stopped pretending. Stories always seem to rattle around in my head.

At its heart THE LAST STORED is a love story which crosses worlds. Love caused her parents to hide her on earth and love makes a boy leave everything behind to bring her home.

For those who have read that book, I say to you:

SWARO! 

After the sudden death of her parents, making it through the day is a struggle for Amber. In the midst of her grief, an exquisite bird perches on her garden fence and shows her visions of a vivid landscape and a dark lord slouching upon a throne. She thinks the visions are tied to her sorrow. But when a boy flies through her kitchen window to tell her she’s the Last Stored, she wonders if she’s just lost her mind.

Cree of Din is tasked with one job: Bring Amber home. For seven years, Cree has trained as her protector and it is the ultimate responsibility. Failure means Amber’s certain death, and that’s not an option for Cree – especially since he’s falling in love with her.