1) There are only TWO--count that 2-- days left until you can read Operation Zulu by the lovely and talented Ronie Kendig. Two days people - this is exciting news!!! Hop on over to www.teamzulu.com and join the team there so you'll be ready to download the first episode in this amazing serialization.
2) And my second reason is that today is my BIRTHDAY!!!! That's right, July 2 :D Looking forward to a day spent with friends and having fun! What are you up to on this amazing day?
3) Our winner from last weeks book giveaway (which I forgot to announce on Tuesday) is...
Megan Lee
Congrats, Megan. I'll get you in contact with Connie about receiving your book!
4) We have a guest here on {Writer Wednesday} and I'd like to introduce you to Cynthia Toney and her interview below. So, stick around for a while and enjoy getting to know Cynthia!
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A little bit about Cynthia...
Cynthia writes historical and contemporary teen fiction with a touch of mystery and romance. She holds a BA in art education with a minor in history, and her career began as an advertising designer and marketing copywriter. She has a passion for rescuing dogs from animal shelters and encourages people to adopt and save the life of a shelter dog. In her leisure time, she enjoys cooking Italian and Cajun and studying the history of the South, where she resides with her husband and several dogs.
How to connect with Cynthia...
Website: http://www.cynthiattoney.com
Blog: http://birdfacewendy.wordpress.com/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/birdfacewendy?ref=hl
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7872181.Cynthia_T_Toney
Email: birdfacewendy@gmail.com
Twitter: @CynthiaTToney
Purchase Bird Face
Author Interview | Cynthia Toney
Tell us a little bit about yourself: How did you start writing? What has kept you writing?
...For a long time I wanted to write a story for shy kids who need help making friends and for kids of divorce, to let them know how wonderful and powerful they really are. I hoped to use story to show them that they have the ability to direct their lives and become the people they want to be.
Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written? If so, why? ...My two completed works are very different, but I can’t choose a favorite. Bird Face is published, and I like how it helps parents and kids with those difficult junior high years. But my second work, The Other Side of Freedom, is also near and dear to my heart. It’s historical fiction set in the 1920s about a boy and his immigrant father who are involved in a crime against their will.
What was the hardest thing about publishing? The easiest?
...Both the hardest and the easiest was dealing with the excitement of having a book about to be published and trying to be patient while waiting for all the necessary steps to be taken. I’ve found throughout life that everything always takes longer than I expect.
Tell us a little bit about your book or what you’re working on currently? Why are you/did you write it? ...I’ve started notes for the sequel to Bird Face in hopes that readers will be as responsive to it as to the original. I’m incorporating some of my favorite characters from the first book, and I hope readers also will let me know the ones they’d like to see appear again.
Do you have a favorite character in this work? If so, why?
...Not yet, but I’m pretty sure there’ll be one! If it happens as it did with the original Bird Face, he or she will be a surprise to me.
What is one take-away from your book that you hope readers identify with?
...That it’s never too late to reach out to someone. That person may be too shy or afraid to reach out to you but may hope that you will make the first move if he or she can’t.
Writing
Where do you find inspiration for your story/characters? Are they based on real life or pure imagination or both?
...I take fragments of characteristics, qualities, or features that I’ve seen in real people and combine them into imaginary characters.
When you write, what is your overall intention with your stories? (Examples: To encourage people, to inspire people, to make people laugh, to provide an imaginary place to get lost, to provoke theological insight, or to have people see themselves in your characters and then act upon that introspection?)
...I write realistic fiction, and the only one that doesn’t apply is providing an imaginary place to get lost in.
You
How do you like to celebrate the 4th of July?
...We try to remember to hang our flag on the house! And we grill for a small gathering of friends or family.
How are you making the most of your time this summer for writing and relaxing? Do you do anything different in the summer months?
...This summer there won’t be much new writing, but lots of self-editing on my current manuscript before I query. And I’m still working on marketing opportunities for Bird Face. Having a small publisher means an author must do a lot on her own such as getting the novel into bookstores and libraries and setting up events. One of the relaxing things is travelling a bit to visit with family.
Do you enjoy hot weather or cold better?
...In-between weather, which is rare in the Deep South. Seems like we go straight from winter to summer, then a yucky rainy season to winter again. If we’re lucky, we see a week or two of what you might call spring or fall.
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Thank you so much for joining us at {Writer Wednesday} Cynthia! I've worked with both high school and Jr. high school students and love the fact that it's deal with those tough issues. I also would subscribe to the "pick and choose" method of characterization. I love using little things my friends do and incorporating that in my books (*hehe*). And - good luck on your next book and your rewrites! Being in the middle of that myself, I know that it's a joy but a pain sometimes too.
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