Blog Tour:Awakening by Scarlett Valentine Guest Post and $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Hey my adorable readers! I am here for another blog tour! Today we have the author of the book 'Awakening', she's no other than Ms. Scarlett Valentine. She's here to tell us more about herself and her journey to becoming a great author. So let's give her the space to say what she wants to share with us..

Krishna from Journey with Books

Meeting Scarlett Valentine

Thanks for having me here today. I’ve really been looking forward to this. And thanks for letting me talk about my favorite subject— me!

I’m just kidding! I *really* don’t like talking about myself, but as an author, it’s part of introducing ourselves and our books to potential readers.

I’m Scarlett Valentine and I’m originally from Northern California. I don’t know at what point Ireland entered my mind. I just remember talking to my grandfather one day, telling him I wanted to learn Irish because I was going to Ireland one day and wanted to speak the language. I was heartbroken when he told me Irish was an extinct language, but something in the back of my mind said I was going to marry an Irishman and the only way that was going to happen was to go to Ireland.

So here I am, living in Ireland for nearly fifteen years, married to an Irishman, and while I discovered that the Irish language is not extinct, I still have only learned a cupla focal . . . a few words. I think I know naughty words in about five languages now!

I’ve been asked at what point did I knew I wanted to be a writer. Honestly, I don’t know. I think being a writer is as much part of a person as wanting to be a fireman, painter or stock car driver. Yes, there are skills one must learn for all those jobs, but the desire is inside us. It’s in our blood.

One of my earliest writing memories was getting picture books from the library. I’d bring them home and write stories to go with the pictures. By the fifth grade, I was writing little stories for extra credit. And sometime in junior high school I heard the Beatles song Paperback Writer and thought, ‘Yeah, that’s what I’m going to do.’ I remember writing a high school romance not long after. Years later I reread it and wondered just what the heck I’d been thinking LOL

I’ve read romance novels since I was about twelve. I thought they were adventure stories! And who wouldn’t with swashbuckling tales of the high sea and swarthy heroes? But it wasn’t until I was in my early twenties that I finally said, ‘Right! I’m going to try it.’ I bought a yellow legal pad, a box of pencils and a sharpener, and wrote the bones of my first book in longhand. I borrowed mom’s electric typewriter about midway through, typed up what I’d handwritten, and continued to finish the story. I was quite proud of myself. I still have that book, though it’s been retyped and saved on disc to follow me from one computer to the next. It was a great story, one I’d like to break out again someday and rewrite with all of the knowledge and skill I’ve learned over the years.

Once I’d typed THE END on my first book, I couldn’t wait to start the next, and so it went for a few years until I got up the nerve to share some of my writing. Encouraged, I started submitting.

Meanwhile, my ‘day jobs’ have been varied over my life. I’ve done a little of everything, or so it seems: I pumped gasoline in my family’s service station and rebuilt a car motor or two; I received a diploma in pet nutrition, worked in the pet business and ran a canine obedience business; I worked in specialty hotels; and I even worked for Clint Eastwood (true story!). While I loved all the jobs I’ve had in my life, none of them led to a writing career until I moved to Ireland.

I’m a bit trigger happy with a camera and I’m an avid castle huntress, and I love research. Put those things together and I started publishing articles for a travel site. I’ve learned so much about Irish history since I moved here, but writing those articles taught me even more. There’s something satisfying about being on a historical site, knowing what happened there, knowing about the people and walking in the same places they did, or being in the same rooms where they lived, or died. And one of the best things that came out of writing those articles, aside from honing my writing skills, was seeing a story develop in my head with every new fact I gleaned from the internet and text books. Fun stuff.

I also started reviewing books around 1995. It, too, helped me develop as a writer. Writing the dreaded synopsis is a lot like writing a review. A review includes a very succinct breakdown of the book—the hero and heroine, their conflict and hint of the resolution. That’s basically what a synopsis is, and when I get frustrated trying to write one, I always make myself sit back and remember what I learned reviewing. I don’t review as much as I used to, but occasionally if I find an exceptional read, I’ll write up a review and put it on my blog. It helps me stay in practice for both reviewing and the dreaded synopsis.

My personal path to publishing seems to have been fraught with inexperience, timing and, Okay, I’ll admit it . . . laziness. (I really dislike the submission process—I just want to write!) Even though I was publishing travel articles, I was still unsuccessful in fiction.

Then a friend asked me to contribute a couple romantic short stories to a new publisher who was compiling an anthology for charity. I’d never written short stories before and gave it a go. The publisher loved them. I ended up writing a handful of short stories for a few romance anthologies, and because they were so well received with readers, my publisher then asked to submit a novel length romance, which I did. It was published the following year. It also received great feedback.

I’ve attempted writing erotica before, but the story always got in the way. But as I read more erotica I realized the story didn’t have to suffer just because there was more sex than in a romance novel. So I did some research and wrote Awakening. To my surprise, when it was completed, I was invited to submit to another publisher who accepted it right away. Normally, a book goes from acceptance to publication in twelve to eighteen months so I was very surprised when Awakening was slated for publication within three months! I shouldn’t have been surprised though. Tirgearr Publishing published one of my romance short stories last year and they turned it around quickly. I just didn’t expect this soon.

I’m very grateful to have had so many great writing experiences in my life. My ‘voice’ has grown with each new lesson I’ve learned along the way. I’ve met some wonderful people on my writing journey and made some lifelong friends. And I’m hoping I’ve met a few more of them here today.

Thanks for letting me prattle along!

~ Scarlett

“What’s a little bondage between friends?”

www.scarlett-valentine.com

Available now – Awakening, book one of The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter series

Krishna says:

Thanks Ms. Scarlett for being here today. Thank you for sharing your journey to being the author that you are right now. I don't know about the readers of my blog, but I really enjoyed reading your post. It's fascinating and amazing how your hard work and love for writing paid off in the end. And now, you're full fledged author! And not just an author but a great one! I hope your post inspired a lot of writers/authors who wants their books to be published.

BOOK BLURB:

Ysbail of Ellesmere is a pawn in her guardian's war. For decades there has been unrest between the marcher lords and Owain Gwynedd ap Gruffydd, King of Gwynedd. The most recent war had been the bloodiest she could remember in her eighteen years. Madog ap Maredudd, Prince of Powys, and his allies lost untold numbers of men at the hands of Owain's soldiers. When a settlement of truce is presented to Madog, it's at Ysbail's expense. She is to marry Bedwyr ap Owain, one of King Owain’s bastard sons, and his most notorious henchman. If all the rumors and stories she's heard are true, she knows her marriage will be rife with horror and fear.

Since proving himself worthy with his sword, Bedwyr fights at his king's side. He's shed oceans of blood and sent untold numbers of men to their graves. He's become what his name foretold—the grave-knower. He's afraid of nothing, least of all death. All men fear him, including those who fight at his side, and sometimes even his own king. Terror of him lives within women's hearts; only the bravest of whores accept him into their beds. And children weave their own tales of the monster they hear him to be, embellishing the details to their own gruesome degrees.

When King Owain informs Bedwyr that he's to marry Ysbail of Ellesmere as part of a peace settlement with Madog, Bedwyr is furious. A man such as Bedwyr can only survive on the battlefield. For without love, hatred will send a man like him to the edge of insanity. Then push him over. But when Bedwyr sees Ysbail for the first time, blood-thirst turns to blood-lust, and he vows to show her that she should have no fear of him.

More About the Author:

Scarlett Valentine is the alter ego of award-winning romance author, Kemberlee Shortland. Together they write Erotomance -- Erotic Romance.

Originally from Northern California, Scarlett has spent the last fourteen years living in Ireland. She's traveled extensively through Ireland and Wales. When she's not writing, she can often be found castle hunting.

Scarlett's stories cross subgenres to explore hetero, gay and bisexual relationships in a series of stories that include time periods from historicals and contemporaries, futuristics and science fiction, paranormal and suspense, and more.

Awakening is the first book in The ABCs of S-E-X: Love by the Letter series and is available 2 November 2011 though Highland Press.

www.scarlett-valentine.com

www.theabcsofsex.com

www.facebook.com/ScarlettValentine

www.twitter.com/theabcsofsex

GIVEAWAY:

Good News my loves.. Ms. Scarlett Valentine is giving away $25 Amazon Gift Card and plus she will occasionally give surprise prizes to other lucky commenters on the tour! For more chances of winning just follow this tour. The more you comment, the more chances you'll have. You can check out more about this in here.

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