When I’m not Writing … by Jeri Smith-Ready & Giveaway

 

 

Hello Everyone! I am really happy to have the fabulous Jeri Smith-Ready by my side today! She was in Toronto this last Saturday with the Smart Chicks Tour and I was so sad to miss it  =( I was really happy (and surprised) to discover that Jeri shares with me an unconditional love with a particular professional sport (mine is hockey though ^^). Without further introduction, please welcome warmly Jeri, author of multiple very successful series!

 

 

Zone Defense – When I’m Not Writing

When Tynga asked me to guest-blog about what I do when I’m not writing, at first I was stumped. Almost everything I do involves writing. The current work-in-progress affects which books I read, which bands I listen to, and which movies I watch. I’m almost always “in the zone.”

Then it hit me. I have one thing in my life that has zero to do with books: football. NFL football, to be exact (although I developed an obsession with soccer this summer during the World Cup).

I grew up near DC, so I’m a lifelong Redskins fan, but I’ve spent the last half of my life in and around Baltimore. So my favorite team is, of course, the Ravens. How could any writer not love a team named after a character from a poem? My favorite player is linebacker Ray Lewis. His drive and energy level are superhuman—I’d love to have him give a pep talk every morning when I sit down at the computer!

Oops, almost talked about writing there. I could go on for pages about how professional sports is a lot like publishing, but this is hobby time.

I hedge my bets by rooting hard for several teams. That way there’s hopefully at least one score each week to make me happy. As I write this, the Ravens have just lost to the Bengals (rats!), but the Redskins are looking pretty good against Houston. (EDITED TO ADD: Nope, they lost, too, but it was a great game.) In addition to my home teams, I’m also partial to the Packers, Patriots, and Saints (one   would have to be a cold-hearted snake not to love the Saints after what they’ve done for New Orleans).

Football appeals to me on all levels. It’s got the strategic/intellectual aspects of chess (I still don’t understand many of the different routes and patterns that the announcers seem to pick up on in an instant), the artistic aspects of ballet (I mean, seriously, some of those catches and end runs they make? Things of beauty.).

And I’ll be honest: I like the hitting. As long as no one gets hurt, of course.

As my family can tell you, football works me into an emotional frenzy. I cheer and cuss and stomp, occasionally getting on my knees during a long field goal for the win (then collapsing and pounding the floor when it goes wide). My cats and dog understand that Mommy is not yelling at them. They just watch me rage, then they blink and go back to sleep.

The important thing is, football takes me out of the writing world. It also takes me out of the real world, where I worry about everything from the electric bill to global warming. It’s a pure, fun, immersive experience, untainted by creativity or politics.

(All that being said…I did once turn a real-life Ravens-Steelers game an important subplot point in my second vampire book, BAD TO THE BONE. It helped ease the pain of the Steelers 38-7 win, knowing it would ratchet up the tension in a potential love triangle via a strategically placed Speedo.)

So that’s what I do when I’m not writing (or sleeping): I watch, read about, and think about professional sports. Because it has nothing to do with anything, and for that, I love it.

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Jeri loves to hear from readers, so visit her at www.jerismithready.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jerismithready, or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jsmithready. Her next release will be the short story “Thief,” in the YA vampire anthology ETERNAL: MORE LOVE STORIES WITH BITE, coming November 1. Her most recent release is BRING ON THE NIGHT, #3 in the WVMP RADIO adult vampire series. Her debut YA novel, SHADE, was released in May 2010, with a sequel, SHIFT, coming May 2011.

About SHADE:

Love ties them together.
Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift.

Read an excerpt of SHADE here

Read my review HERE.

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Now onto the Giveaway!

Jeri very generously offered a signed copy of Bring on the Night to one lucky reader, but she specifically specified that, and I quote, “anyone who disses the Ravens or Redskins is automatically disqualified. ;-)” lol

What's Blood Got to Do With It?

Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin seems to finally have it all. A steady job at WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll. A loving relationship with the idiosyncratic but eternally hot DJ Shane McAllister. A vampire dog who never needs shots or a pooper-scooper. And after nine years, it looks as if she might actually finish her bachelor's degree!

But fate has other plans for Ciara. First she must fulfill her Faustian bargain with the Control, the paranormal paramilitary agency that does its best to keep vampires in line. Turns out the Control wants her for something other than her (nonexistent) ability to kick undead ass. Her anti-holy blood, perhaps?

Ciara's suspicions are confirmed when she's assigned to a special-ops division known as the Immanence Corps, run by the Control's oldest vampire and filled with humans who claim to have special powers. To a confirmed skeptic like Ciara, it sounds like a freak fest. But when a mysterious, fatal virus spreads through Sherwood—and corpses begin to rise from their graves—Ciara will not only get a crash course in zombie-killing, but will be forced to put her faith, and her life itself, in the hands of magic.

Read an excerpt!

Wanna know how to win?

Simple!

This giveaway is open internationally (Thank you Jeri!)

Leave a comment to let us know if you are crazy for any sports, and if so, which team you root for.

and FILL THE FORM.

Ends October 11th, 2010.

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Thank you so much Jeri for taking the time to stop by. You are so awesome! I had a great time with you and those pictures of you totally cracked me up! I can’t wait to read Shift =D

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Authors, you would like to visit and share with us?

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Posted by Tynga at 12:46

 Jeri Smith-Ready, When I'm not writing  75 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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