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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

the world will never be the same again - Redemption (Enigma Black Trilogy #3) by Sara Furlong-Burr

Ten years ago, her family was murdered. 
One year ago, she left her life behind for a chance to avenge their deaths. 
Twenty-four hours ago, her defiance sealed her fate. 


Description:

Ten years ago, her family was murdered. 

One year ago, she left her life behind for a chance to avenge their deaths. 

Twenty-four hours ago, her defiance sealed her fate. 

With her suspicions mounting and her loyalty to The Epicenter tested, Celaine Stevens makes the decision to fight for a cause she believes in and aligns herself with the rebellion. Joined by Ian Grant, the pair escape from The Epicenter and travel to the Capitol, where they find Marshall Leitner and his followers. While inside the rebellion, Celaine and Ian learn that the rebels are planning a final uprising against President Brooks, one in which they hope will sway the rest of the country’s opinion in their favor. 

However, loyalties are soon tested. The rebels are finding it hard to trust them, so when a bounty is issued on Celaine and Ian by President Brooks, it may be too good for some of them to resist. 

As the nation goes to war, Celaine finds herself in the fight of her life. Vendettas will become personal, lives will be lost, and the world will never be the same again.

GUEST POST
How I Find Time to Write With a Hectic Schedule

Like a lot of other writers, it's required of me to hold a day job in order to pay those pesky bills of mine, and when I get home, my work still isn’t done. In fact, I find that I have to put on so many hats sometimes that I feel like I'm literally turning into a mad hatter. From mother to wife, to dry cleaner, to housekeeper, to accountant, to plumber, to groundskeeper, to chef, I always feel as though I'm too busy to keep my head on straight, let alone write. So how does one balance such precious little time between their jobs, family and dreams? 
The following ideas include techniques I've actually used myself to feed my creative need in between the chaos and hustle and bustle of life:

1. Take notes: Most of the time – for me anyway – the best ideas arise at the most inopportune of moments (while on the phone, at work, driving home, fighting crime, etc.). In order to accommodate these sudden sparks of genius (or so I like to think) I've made it a habit of carrying around a writing utensil and something said utensil can be used to write upon. For instance, in my proudest moment, I've made use of a tube of lipstick and a utility bill – I wouldn't recommend this.

While I'm at work, I have a year supply of post-it notes at my disposal of which I use to write down sudden ideas that pop into my head to use when I can actually devote time to writing. When at home, I've been known to use the nearest random piece of paper (including my daughter's coloring book pages, napkins, "to do" lists, and, if I'm lucky, a discarded piece of notebook paper). Fortunately, I've been lucky enough not to have to resort to the toilet paper...yet. 

The point is, when you find yourself consumed with absolutely no time to sit down to hammer out an idea, make use of those items available near you to jot down your thought nuggets for further use and exploration later.

2. Carry a recorder: Recorders are convenient if you have a sudden idea that you want to rattle off right away. Doing this saves time as, unless you're the Speedy Gonzales of the keyboard, most of us speak faster than we’re able to write. Use your recorder to record random thoughts, plot epiphanies, dialogue, or even complete pages of material. They're handy, cheap, and can be used darn near anywhere.

3. Use your head: If you absolutely cannot find something to write on, try to find creative ways to remember those ideas you're coming up with. For me, music is a huge inspiration for my writing. A few of the "scenes" in my first manuscript were inspired by various pieces of music. Perhaps there's a poem that has helped inspire a story for you, a location, a memory or a certain person. Equate your ideas with something that is familiar to you. It will help you retain them until you can actually write them down.

4. Utilize every opportunity-I used to cherish nap times for more reasons than just the sudden silence that came with them. I'm big on being productive and capitalizing on opportunities when they arise. Therefore, nap times and Dora times were like Christmas in my house. Now, getting my daughter to take a nap is like trying to fight a lion with dental floss and I have to make use of random five minute blocks of time when she's occupying herself (and I literally mean five minutes as, if she's quiet for longer than that, I know I'm in for a mess to clean up).

5. Become nocturnal: Not surprisingly, I do most of my writing pretty late at night, and I pay for it the next day. Usually, I'm unable to begin writing hardcore until after 9 or 10 at night. Most of the time, I'm writing until around midnight or one in the morning. As writers, we need to adapt even if that means burning the midnight oil or writing at the crack of dawn – if, of course, it doesn't have any negative impacts on your family or employment.

Those are just some of my techniques. What are some of yours?

About the author:
Sara "Furlong" Burr was born and raised in Michigan and currently still lives there with her husband, two daughters, a high-strung Lab, and three judgmental cats. When she's not writing, Sara enjoys reading, camping, spending time with her family, and attempting to paint while consuming more amaretto sours than she cares to admit. 

You can learn more about Sara at:


2 comments:

Sara Furlong-Burr said...

Thank you for hosting me!

CCAM said...

You're welcome - from what I read about it, I'm very curious about your Enigma Black :)

And your "techniques" are good not only for writers