Thursday, October 23, 2014

2AMC: Natalie Parker, author of Beware the Wild

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Today is Beware the Wild's release day and I'm happy to tell you that the author is here to tell where she get the idea of her book, and a lot more. Plus a giveaway! 
Let's welcome, Natalie Parker


About Writing:
While you were in the process of writing this book, have you ever doubted yourself or second guessed the reason why you are writing this story? If yes, how did you overcome those obstacles?

I learned an awful lot about writing while working on BEWARE THE WILD. One of the things I learned is that I am both my greatest ally and my greatest obstacle. 

Here’s an example of both. When I signed with my agent, she gave me pages and pages of notes all about how the novel wasn’t quite ready. I took a month to ponder them and at the end of that month, I realized the solution was a deadly one….I needed to start over from scratch. 

Talk about disheartening! It might have been – scratch that, it DEFINITELY would have been easier to make cosmetic changes to the manuscript and call it good. But at the end of the day I knew that rewriting would lead me to a much better place. So, in spite of wanting to wallow on the floor in a puddle of my tears, I opened a blank Word document and typed a new first line. 

Writing is a challenge because successes and improvements happen on such a long timescale. For me, it helps to remember I am ultimately the gate-keeper of my own improvement.

About Getting Published:
As an aspiring author, hearing about how authors got published is always fascinating and inspiring for me. So can you tell us your journey to publication? And what was the first thing you did or said after you got the news about the book deal?

Mine is a story of hurry-up-and-wait. I worked on BEWARE for nearly a solid year before I and my crit partners deemed it worthy of submission. I sent our my queries and had 4 offers within the first week! I signed with Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse Literary Agency and as you know, she encouraged me to rewrite the beast from scratch. After I did, she and I tossed it back and forth for several months before she decided it was ready for submission. 

And overnight, an editor ready it and made her intentions clear. It took another month for the deal to go through and she and I would work on yet another rewrite after that. So, it’s been a very long, very exciting journey. 

When my agent called with the news, I don’t think I said actual words. There were just strings of noises with exclamation points. 

My friends, on the other hand, burned down a shed in their excitement. They’re definitely better with celebrations than I.

About Being an Author
Tell us what it's like to be a published author? What was your most favorite moment in this whole experience, aside from seeing and holding a physical copy of your book?

This is a tough one! I think my favorite moment was signing my agency agreement. That was the first moment everything felt real and possible. 

About the Book
Just like superheroes, I think it's safe to say that books also have an origin story before they became what they are right now. It might have started out as a thought, an experience, a dialogue you heard, a conversation with a friend, or an idea that has been plaguing your brain for quite sometime. So tell us, what's your book's origin story? And what made you decide to write it?

Such a hard question. I imagine inspiration is very like a rain storm. It may seem to arrive all at once, but really it’s been building for a while, traveling great distances, and waiting for all the right conditions to let lose. Which is my way of saying….I really don’t know. I suspect it was something to do with spending much of my childhood in the south, especially during the long, hot summers, and also with a preoccupation with the idea of gatorgirls and boys.

I decided to write it the moment a first line popped into my head. Once that happens, I know the story is ready to explore itself.

About the Author:
Website | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads

Natalie C. Parker grew up in a Navy family where having adventures was as common as reading fairy tales. She received her BA from the University of Southern Mississippi, her MA from the University of Cincinnati, and currently works at the University of Kansas coordinating projects on climate change. Though the roots of her family are buried deep in southern Mississippi, she resides in Kansas with her partner in a house of monsters.

Title: Beware the Wild
Genre/s: YA, Paranormal Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository

Summary:

It’s an oppressively hot and sticky morning in May when Sterling and her brother, Phin, have an argument that compels him to run into the town swamp — the one that strikes fear in all the residents of Sticks, Louisiana. Phin doesn’t return. Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out, and now Sterling is the only person in Sticks who remembers her brother ever existed.

Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp’s done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance — and loner boy Heath Durham might be the only one who can help her.

This debut novel is full of atmosphere, twists and turns, and a swoon-worthy romance.
GIVEAWAY
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