Guest Post and GiveawayS: 100 Proof Stud (The Darcy Walker Series #3) by A.J. Lape

Published: May 13th, 2014

Description:

Sometimes life smacks you right in the kisser with a whole lot of ohhhh craaaaap.

Just ask Darcy Walker.

100 Proof Stud picks up four months after No Brainer’s cliffhanger ending, and Darcy discovers the aftermath pales in comparison to the crisis her heart is in. All of a sudden it’s raining men, and this teenage heroine’s personal life turns her inside out.

Before she can sort out her feelings, she chases a spray-painting vandal and stumbles upon a case of identity theft right in her own backyard. Darcy jumps into the fray headfirst to prove she can hang with the big boys.

But it’s not just to hang…nope, she’s chasing reward money.

Tapping her band of misfit brothers for help, she turns Valley upside down trying to unearth the criminals. Problem is, the cloak and dagger goes high-octane, and she raises the bar on “crazy” in the process.

Bullets ring out…dead bodies appear…and Darcy rubs shoulders with the ultimate sociopath. In the midst of murder and mayhem, will she finally follow her heart or build a fortress of lies around it? Will she even get the chance?

It was Friday, the 13th, 2008. It was a particularly crappy day, and I fired up my computer and Darcy Walker took over. She came to me as the quintessential teenager. She came with flaws, she came troubled, she came to me hilarious, but mostly, she came to me ‘real.’ If I read of a character that isn’t…I can’t relate. The thing with Darcy, though, she finds humor in every situation, and she’s fearless.

I have a passion for people that are put together a little bit differently than everyone else—whose square-peg mind doesn’t fit through society’s round hole. Darcy is the benchmark. She’s been blessed with this super high IQ but carries some baggage that makes life a little harder for her than most. What she has going for her though is an exorbitant amount of moxie, enthusiasm, and a competitive spirit that never quits. My hope is that readers embrace their dreams, own their flaws, and take a big bite out of life’s apple pie regardless of what people may say or how they may try to remold you. And by all means…laugh. Laughter can cure so many things :D

GUEST POST

Keeping Young Adult fiction clean, but exciting 

Writing YA fiction can be a tricky business. First off, the most exciting characters (if we’re to be real) are the ones that curse like sailors that have a trail of dead bodies, broken hearts, and crappy grades behind them. Are they the best examples for young minds? Um, no, but they are real. And who the heck wants to read perfection anyway? First off, it doesn’t exist, and secondly, it’s hard to relate to perfection. So the trick is, How do you write something that people want to read that doesn’t make mom and dad flip out when they buy it for you? A second thing to consider when writing YA fiction is, How can I pen a book that will appeal to all age groups, ergo, growing my audience? 

When I started writing the Darcy Walker Series, I had absolutely zero idea that my books would be published, let alone be a bestseller in its categories. I wrote for me; it was cathartic; and I didn’t have a bloody clue how to get published anyway. That being said, when I wrote, I wrote with abandon. I didn’t try to appeal to a certain crowd. I just wrote about what I knew (insert the “real” comment of earlier). I like people with baggage—so much baggage an elephant could sit on it and still wouldn’t be able to snap that sucker shut. But, I have two daughters—two daughters that I drill into their heads what it means to be a good kid, with good morals, and high standards. I made the conscious decision to not let the profanity fly on every page in my books and coined what I call Darcyspeak. Darcy might have a lot of other quote/unquote sin and mischievous behavior in her life, but her motives are always pure. So hopefully, Mom and Dad, if you are reading this, the Darcy Walker Series will make your kid a go-getter. Someone who doesn’t give up until they make the things that are wrong in the world…right. 

The overall theme in the Darcy Walker books is to embrace who you are, own your flaws, and never, ever give up. Life is hard; being a teenager is even harder. And I’ve always cringed when authorities try to put someone’s square-peg mind, through society’s round hole anyway. Be an individualist. And when you can pen a character that lives with abandon, I think that is what helps your series span the age gaps.

Author's Giveaway (INT as long as Amazon ships to you)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GUEST POST

To Plot or Not To Plot…that is the question

When I started writing, I didn’t even know someone along the great literary way had divided us into groups. Wouldn’t you know I’d fall into the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants one? For those that are into the label thing, there are two types of writers: plotters and pansters. A plotter is like a general. They like structure and plan things out before they even open a notebook or fire up their laptops. In fact, the lack of organization is kind of like trying to get to California from Podunk, Kentucky without a road map. They’d feel more prepared if they had an outline in their heads of what would get them from Point A to Point B. A panster, however, may have an overall plot in mind, but mostly they’re flying blind, letting the story develop as they peck on their keyboards. In fact, pesky rules tend to disrupt the creative juices. 

Oh, God help me, I’m sooooooo a panster. I spent two weeks making an outline once, only to throw all that hard work out when I got to chapter three. In fact, I often write chapters out of sequence because that scene is so strong in my head that the characters won’t leave me alone until I immortalize their little rants and ravings. I’m actually like one of those little pilot fish, just sucking on the back of a character and hanging on for the ride. That being said, a panster often doesn’t know the end of their stories until they get to the last chapter. And even then, rewrites might change pertinent details on what they think is a finished product before it is uploaded for sale. 

Here’s an example. I’m revising DEFCON Darcy right now, book four in the Darcy Walker Series, and it was actually the first book I wrote. So for me, I haven’t even written the books in my series in order. What happened with DEFCON Darcy was once I wrote the book I realized I needed to go back in Darcy’s past to explain how she became the person up to that point. It took three books for me to feel comfortable rolling out DEFCON Darcy and tackling the albatross around her neck that made her the Darcy the reader knows her to be: that catalyst being the mysteries surrounding the absence of her mother. That being said, I wrote the majority of DEFCON Darcy in 2008. Now that I have revisited it again, I’ve written in a character from book one, Grade A Stupid, because without him, there would be a huge gap in the story. Did I know this character needed to be there in 2008? Um, no, he was barely a blip on the proverbial radar, but the evolution of the series made this character a glue that will tie all four books together nicely.

And for a little peek into my personal psyche, that is totally unlike who I am as an individual! As a person, I like to have Plan A, and then if Plan A goes down the sewer, I will make a Plan B and C. When I write, it was only logical to think I’d operate in the same fashion, but my creative process doesn’t cooperate. I can’t force things by an outline, I wish I could—things might go faster—but I will let characters lead me where they want to go and when I feel that wash of peace drizzle over me, I know a scene is what it should be. So in essence, there is no right or wrong way to create—whether a plotter or a panster. It’s what works best for the author and gets those creative juices flowing.

Author's US/Can Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodreads ** Amazon ** Barnes&Noble

About the author:

A. J. lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two feministic daughters, an ADD dog, a spoiled hamster, and an unapologetic and unrepentant addiction to Coca-Cola. She studied English, Journalism, and Political Science at Morehead State University and left the business world when her daughters were born. Her love for suspense and a good story was born from watching Mystery Science Theater with her sister during childhood. That and any B-movie with comedic undertones they could get their hands on.

From a small town in Kentucky, her sister and she lived in their imaginations on a regular basis, and A.J.'s love for the bizarre and paranormal still holds true to this day. She loves roller coasters, scary movies, and haunted houses and the weird sense of accomplishment it gives her when she can make it through without keeling over.

If Life has taught her anything, it's the need to acquire a wicked sense of humor, come up swinging, and to never, ever give up...no matter what obstacle is in front of you.

When she's not riding that razor-thin line between creativity and insanity, she likes to read, watch too much cable TV, or cheer like a banshee at her daughters' sporting events. 

A. J. loves to connect with fans! You can find her via Twitter and Facebook or send an email.

Website ** Goodreads ** Darcy Walker's Twitter ** Twitter ** Facebook ** Pinterest

Author's Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway