Guest Post & Giveaway with Dakota Banks

 

Today Dakota Banks, author of Dark Time and it’s soon-to-be-released sequel Sacrifice (August 31st,  2010) stopped by to let us know what a day in her life is like! She’s saying her schedule is weird, but it’s actually a lot like mine, minus the nap at 8PM lol. Read on to learn more and don’t miss the giveaway!

 

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Writing is like a box of chocolates.You never know what you're gonna get.

That nails a writing career in general, and my writing day specifically. Hello, I'm Dakota Banks and I have a weird working day. Sounds a bit like an introduction at a rehab group, doesn't it? Trust me, it's just life as usual for me.

My day starts at noon. Yes, noon. But don't bother with the "I knew it! Writers goof off all day." So there I am at noon, in my t-shirt and comfy shorts, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper or magazine. What appears to be goofing off is actually research. Between bites of bagel, I scan for story ideas. Research includes watching the birds at the bird feeders outside my window. On some days I am thrilled to see a Pileated Woodpecker, an uncommon sight where I live. Almost twenty inches long, with a red crest, black body, and white underneath the wings, pileateds make a spectacular appearance. I'm still trying to fit one into a book, but the right time hasn't come up yet. Not all research is of immediate use. Sometimes it has to ferment in the brain for a time.

After breakfast, I walk down the hall to my office. Sounds good to those with jobs outside the home, I'm sure--no commute, no cubicles, no office gossip. The downside is my work is always steps away. A-l-w-a-y-s. Weekends off? Forget it. Vacations? Nope. Sick days? Only if I'm in the hospital. I have limped, dragged, sniffled, and throbbed my way to my desk. I have fallen asleep at my computer and awakened with an imprint of the keyboard on my face. But it's all good, because I'm doing what I love--writing.

In the afternoon, I deal with the business of writing. That means answering email, communicating  with my agent and editor, and the big assortment of tasks under the umbrella of promotion. I have a book release in two months, so I've been busy with plastering my book cover on anything that doesn't move, setting up book signings, and so on. At the same time, I'm working on a synopsis of the next book with my editor, getting a general direction for the book established. I changed agents recently and have some issues left to resolve with my former agent. These things don't all come naturally to me. They've been learned over time and sometimes at cost. I think a lot of new writers are starry-eyed about long days listening to their muse, when in fact writing has a business side as well as a creative one. In my case, and it's common with other writers I have talked to, time is generally split about forty percent on business and sixty percent on writing.

It's now about five p.m., and I take a break for dinner with my family. After that I might watch an hour or so of TV (recorded or DVDs) or might not have time for that. TV time has no place in a busy schedule, along with lots of time with friends, either in person or on the phone, and aimless Internet use. An interesting thing about friends. My long-term friends had no problem adjusting to the new demands in my life. Casual friends dropped away because I couldn't be there for them often enough. I find that I don't mind. Writing has taught me to take quality of relationship over quantity.

It's eight p.m. and time for a nap. What! A nap! I said I had a weird working day, and this is what works for me. I take a two hour nap, get up about ten p.m., and make some coffee. I head for the office, where I write during the quiet hours of the night. I use a synopsis of the entire book, developed in advance and submitted to my editor for comments. For me it's much better to let the editor know where I'm going with the book, and get her input up front on a fifteen page synopsis, than to submit a finished manuscript and get hit with revisions. At night, the house belongs to me and my two cats, Peanut and Marble. Sometimes I write a lot of pages, sometimes struggle to complete one page. Night Writer is my nickname, and I've earned it. When I take a break, I step outside and look at the stars. Or my frozen breath on a winter night or the full moon making a patch of white daisies glow like little ghost faces.I generally write until four or five a.m., sometimes longer. I take a long, hot shower (The hot water's all mine! Bliss.), meditate to clear my head of the frantic rush of words, and go to bed.

Up at noon--repeat.

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Thank you Dakota! It’s great to get to know you I little better!  Best of luck with Sacrifice’s release =D

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Now onto some Giveaway love!

Dakota and Harper Collins Canada are offering a total of 3 copies of Sacrifice!

2 copies available worldwide and 1 copy to Canada Only.

Books will be shipped around release date (so end of August)

A Sumerian demon's enslaved executioner--a ravager of lives and souls--Maliha Crayne has been reborn, willing to sacrifice her immortality for a chance at freedom ... and salvation.
Now she has an opportunity to prevent the death of thousands to help balance the countless lives she has obliterated over the centuries. To do so, she must locate and destroy an evil cabal of madmen in possession of a weapon of unspeakable power--and survive the immortal assassins who are now after her blood.
But it means reverting to the old ways and surrendering once more to the darkness. And if Maliha dies before the mission is accomplished, the hell she once knew will seem like a picnic compared to the eternal torments awaiting her.

to enter, Please FILL THE FORM

Ends July 4th, 2010.

 

Don’t forget to leave a comment and show some love to Dakota <3

Posted by Tynga at 00:05

 Dakota Banks, giveaway, Guest Post, Harper Collins, Paranormal Summer Fest  19 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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