Guest Post and Giveaway Ungifted (Supernaturals #2) by Kelly Oram

Expected Publication: March 2014

Description:

Even though her father is running for President of the United States, Grace St. Claire is as normal a girl as they come. She’s clumsy, shy, and an outcast among her peers. She even manages to nearly die in a freak accident in front of the entire school. But when Grace survives a vampire attack she quickly learns that she is anything but ordinary.

There’s something about human Grace that has all the supernaturals around her going crazy. Her best friend’s brother suddenly wants to date her. Her worst enemy has sworn to protect her even against her wishes. Someone with very powerful magic wants her dead, and the vampire that attacked her has developed an obsession with making her his eternal mate.

In order to survive—and not as Count Dracula’s undead bride—Grace dives head first into the terrifying world of the supernatural. She teams up with a charming but mysterious warlock who strolled into town causing trouble and spouting stories of a Prophesy and Chosen One that looks exactly like Grace. Together they must figure out why Grace is different, who wants her dead, how she’s connected to the Chosen One, and who they can really trust.

For small-town rebel Dani Webber magic and monsters are no more real than the Easter Bunny… until the day she accidentally stops time. Dani quickly discovers that not only do supernaturals exist, but she herself is one of them. This is great news for her life-long best friend Russ, who can finally come clean about his own supernatural status and his undying love for her. Before the two can start to enjoy the long overdue relationship, Dani is taken by a powerful council of supernaturals who believe she is the Chosen One destined to save them from extinction. 

As if being kidnapped and expected to save the world isn’t bad enough, an ancient prophecy warns of the Chosen One’s dark nature: “Only the truest love will keep her an agent for good.” The council believes they know who this “true love” is and, unfortunately, that person isn’t Russ. The mysterious, powerful and devastatingly handsome Seer is the last person Dani wants in her life, but when she starts having visions of a horrific future, she has no one else to turn to for help. 

Soon Dani finds herself torn between two very different boys with two very different opinions of whom she can trust. With the visions getting worse and time running out, Dani is forced to put aside her feelings and work with both the Seer and Russ before an ancient evil is unleashed upon the earth.

GUEST POST

Why I Became a Writer

I often get asked, “Why writing”? Why did I become a writer? I think the answer is that I didn’t become one I simply am one. It’s not something I think about necessarily, it’s just something I do. Writing is in my blood, in my genetic make-up. It’s a habit I couldn’t quit if my life depended on it. In fact, it’s such a natural part of me that I never even realized I was a “writer” until after I’d published my first book.

Growing up I wanted to be a lot of things. I remember going through a “farmer” phase and an “engineer” phase. (The train driving kind of engineer.) When I got older I looked a lot into hospitality/hotel management and would have gone to culinary school if I could have afforded it. The “pasty chef” phase lasted a long time. When I finally did go to college I was a voice performance major. (Oh, yeah, I definitely went through a “pop star” phase.) Then I ended up in an outdoor recreation program where I considered being a park ranger, a survival instructor and even working as a camp counselor for troubled teens.

I’ve wanted to be it all; do it all. The one thing I never considered? Becoming a writer. Never once in my life did I say, “Hey, I think I’d like to be a writer.” The thought never even crossed my mind. In fact, if my teachers could see me know they’d probably all die of shock.

First of all, I am slightly dyslexic. When I first learned how to write, I used to start on the right side of my paper and write in complete mirror image. I had to be trained to write correctly, and even after I could do it, I still mixed my letters up a lot. As a result, reading was hard for me. It was a chore. I hated it. When I graduated high school I could count on my fingers the number of books I’d read from start to finish.

I also hated classic literature—still do, in fact—and therefore I hated my English classes in school. I clashed with a lot of my teachers, and slacked off most of the time. Not something I’m really proud or, nor something I would recommend, but true nonetheless.

So how did I end up a writer? Accidentally. Subconsciously.

I’ve always been a dreamer. I have spent my entire life day dreaming, creating characters, and turning every day situations into big elaborate stories of adventure and romance. In school, getting me to write was like pulling teeth. But outside of school I had endless journals and notebooks filled with random ideas and stories. I loved writing and did it constantly though I never realized that’s what I was doing.

My stories were many things for me—an emotional release, an escape, a creative outlet. Writing was my therapy, and in many ways, it was the reason I survived adolescence. I started with jotting down my daydreams, progressed into writing fan fiction, and eventually graduated to writing original fiction.

Looking back now, I can totally see it. I won several school contests for my stories growing up despite my inability spell and my horrid handwriting. (Thank heaven for word processors and spell check!) I wrote my first novel when I was just fifteen years old. I wrote stories all night long, in the car, during class, during church... I plotted them out in the shower, I dreamed about my characters…

I was just shy so I never told anyone about my hobby. Then I discovered online websites and forums where I could post my stories anonymously on the Internet. This discovery changed my life. I found other people like me, who became my friends, and introduced me to “writing”.  I found a love of reading, and became desperate for all the knowledge I could find about the craft of writing.

Over the next few years I watched each of my stories become clearer, stronger, and better. And I loved it. I loved seeing my improvement. I started challenging myself with each new story. I believe I finally decided I was a writer when writing became more to me than just a hobby and a creative outlet. It became a talent, a skill I had. It became a list of goals I wanted to accomplish. (And eventually it started making me money. That was kind of a hint too.)

So, why writing? Because it’s what I do. It’s what I love. It’s who I am.

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About the author:

Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen–a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and loves to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and four children.

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