Hello everyone! I have decided to do something a little different this year for the blog's second blogoversary! This year, each day I will have a post or two from authors and bloggers that I ADORE! Many of them will have giveaways specific to the post, as well as the overall giveaway! The big giveaway has tons of prizes, from swag to signed copies of books!
Please welcome the godly Jen McConnel!
Interview:
Please welcome the godly Jen McConnel!
Interview:
1. What's your daily writing schedule like?
Kind of a mess, actually! It depends on my teaching schedule; if I’m on campus all day, I tend to sneak in some brainstorming while my students are writing, but if I’m home for the day, I’ve got a bit more of a rhythm. I like to write in sprints, and I work best between 10 am and 3 pm, so depending on where I am in a project, I’ll probably spend an hour or two sprinting, and then maybe two hours revising something else. I also play on the Internet A LOT, and I’m trying to break that habit. It’s so hard, though!
2. What's your favorite writing snack?
Chocolate, disguised by nuts as trail mix. :) Oh, and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee!
3. Describe Daughter of Chaos in five words.
Dark, witchy, headstrong, chaotic, and myth-y!
4. If you weren't a writer, what would you be doing?
I’m lucky enough to be able to work at both my passions; I’m a teacher, and I love it. I used to teach middle school (so awesome), and now I teach community college (equally awesome)! Someday, I’d like to teach literature or creative writing classes, either for the community, or maybe at a university level.
5. What fall releases are you looking forward to?
I can’t wait for Kristen Lippert-Martin's TABULA RASA , Sara Raasch's SNOW LIKE ASHES, and, even though it’s a December book, so not really fall, my amazing CP Jaye Robin Brown’s debut NO PLACE TO FALL will be out soon, too! There are SO many awesome books coming out, and my TBR is HUGE!
6. What helped to inspire Daughter of Chaos, as well as the merging of mythology and witches?
I’ve always loved mythology and magic, but the idea for DAUGHTER actually came at me from nowhere. I was still teaching middle school when I started the book, and I would occasionally schedule creative writing days. My students and I were using prompts, and the prompt that popped Hecate and Darlena onto the page was “she was a funny looking old woman, but...”When I looked up, I’d written pages and pages of this story about a snarky witch confronting a goddess, and the ideas just kept coming from there!
7. Will there be a sequel to Daughter of Chaos, and if so, do you have any release info?
Yes! DAUGHTER is the first in a trilogy, and GODS OF CHAOS, the second book, is scheduled for release in March 2015 from Month9Books. (I’m actually editing this one as we speak, and I can’t wait for you to meet some of the new characters!)
8. What do you do when you're not writing?
This summer, I went back to school for my MFA in Children’s Literature, so I’ve been re-learning how to be a student. It’s tough! :) I also love to be outside (unless it’s raining), and I practice and teach yoga, too. It’s a busy, blissful life!
9. What's your biggest goal in life?
To be happy. So far, so good!
10. Any advice to aspiring authors?
I’ve said it before, but I still believe it: drop the aspiring, and write. You’re the only one who can tell your stories, and if that’s what you’re burning to do, do it! Take classes, make friends, share your work, but above all, WRITE!
Happy blogoversary, lady! Thanks so much for inviting me to celebrate with you!
Author Bio:
Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).
She is also a former reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.
A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. A graduate of Western Michigan University, she also holds a MS in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches college writing composition and yoga.
Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.
You Can Find Her At:
Synopsis:
There comes a time in every witch's life when she must choose her path. Darlena's friends have already chosen, so why is it so hard for her to make up her mind? Now, Darlena is out of time. Under pressure from Hecate, the Queen of all witches, Darlena makes a rash decision to choose Red magic, a path no witch in her right mind would dare take. As a Red witch, she will be responsible for chaos and mayhem, drawing her deep into darkness. Will the power of Red magic prove too much for Darlena, or will she learn to control it before it's too late?
You Can Find it At:
Month9Books
Happy Blogoversary Isabel!! That is so exciting. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for the giveaway question, I like witches. I love the different types of magic that is in different books. I've never heard of red magic, so I'm curious about this book!
Thank you for the interview and giveaways. :)