Anton Chekhov had advised to spank children the moment they are born, repeatedly, saying, “Don’t become a writer, don’t become a writer;” and if the child still became one—oh well. I suppose that was his way of saying what all writers know: it’s not an easy road. I don’t think spanking would help, though, since most writers seem to be born with it. Chekhov’s resigned “oh well” indicates the same. It’s one thing to choose a certain profession; you can be talked—or spanked—out of it. Being born with the writing gene is quite different. Many writers will agree that it’s a diagnosis. An incurable one.
You can try quitting, but stories won’t quit coming. The idea for this particular book, My Sparkling Misfortune, had decided to hit me when I just couldn’t afford doing unpaid creative writing, I had to make money—on top of being burned out by the incredible slowness of the traditional publishing industry. Lord Arkus didn’t care; he wanted his story to be written. The story had grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I could feel its weight inside of me, sometimes almost to the point of feeling physical pain. I knew I wouldn’t have peace until I wrote the book.
Writing itself has been aptly compared to eating chocolate-covered glass: it is tasty and painful at the same time. On the one hand, you’re doing what you love, what you were born to do; on the other hand, it is hard, sometimes excruciating. A flash of inspiration will show you a scene, an episode, a bit of dialogue; it’s your job to figure out the rest. If you can’t, you’re stuck and, once again, you won’t have peace until you find the missing link of the story. My family knows what it means when I’m walking around the kitchen table—and knows to leave me alone at those times, too.
All that, however, fades from the writer’s mind when the work is completed and The Story Is Born. Like a mother looking at her baby, a writer looks at the finished book and forgets all the birth pains. It was worth it. They are happy and fulfilled… until the next story sneaks up on them, of course.
Feb 20 Guest Blog
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
Feb 21 Interview and review
Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf
Feb 22 Guest Blog
Fang-tastic Books
Feb 23 Promo/Excerpt
Roxanne’s Realm
February 25 Review
Lisa’s World of Books
March 2 Book Spotlight
BookSpark
March 4 Guest Blog and review
Lissette E. Manning
Interview no set date: Rue View
March 15 Interview
Night Owl Book Lovers Magazine
My Sparkling Misfortune
By Laura Lond
Lord Arkus of Blackriver Castle readily admits that he is a villain and sees no reason why it should stop him from being the protagonist of this book. After all, Prince Kellemar, an aspiring hero, has defeated him in a rather questionable way. Bent on revenge, Arkus attempts to capture a powerful evil spirit who would make him nearly invincible, but a last-minute mistake leaves him with a Sparkling instead—“a goody-goody spirit that helps heroes, watches over little children, and messes up villains’ plans.” Bound to Lord Arkus for five years of service and sworn to act in his best interests, the Sparkling is not easy to get rid of, and of course his understanding of “best interests” is quite different from what Lord Arkus has in mind.
Purchase links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004JXVYR2
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-sparkling-misfortune-laura-lond/1103787180?ean=2940012086907
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/38174
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/my-sparkling-misfortune/id418425922?mt=11
Sony: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/laura-lond/my-sparkling-misfortune/_/R-400000000000000340276
BooksOnBoard: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=1149022
DriveThruFiction: http://www.drivethrufiction.com/product_info.php?products_id=97527
About the Author
Serious version:
Laura Lond is an internationally published author of several novels and a collection of short stories. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. Having worked for 2 years at a literary museum, Laura entered the world of business, working for large international corporations like Xerox Ltd. and Fluor Daniel. After moving from Europe to the United States, she has been self-employed as a freelancer.
Funny version:
Laura Lond is a European-born author now living in the United States who still hasn’t acquired the taste for any kind of sweetened meat (“honey ham” sounds as disturbing to her as “salted chocolate cake”). Laura writes mostly fantasy and is slightly less eccentric than her characters. She loves animals and hates talking on the phone.
http://laura-lond.tripod.com/
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LauraLond
http://www.facebook.com/people/Laura-Lond/1577508005
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/913887.Laura_Lond
2 comments:
Thank you for this opportunity Wenona. Hope your readers enjoy the book. :)
Laura
Very Great writing.
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