"When I'm not writing" with Marie Treanor + giveaway!

Our guest today is Marie Treanor, author of the Awakened by Blood paranormal romance series. Her latest release is BLOOD GUILT, a sequel to the Awakened by Blood trilogy, and it's available now as an e-book. Stay with us to learn what Marie does when she's not chained to her computer and remember to enter the giveaway at the end of the post.

For years now, writing has taken up so much of my time that when I came to consider a topic for this blog post, I honestly struggled to think what else I actually did with my life. I have a house (albeit a chaotic and untidy one), a husband and three children ranging in age from 17 to 8, so I must do something. Washing, cooking, taking my daughter to school, a bare minimum of cleaning… Dull stuff. Most mornings, especially weekends and holidays, I eject my teenage sons’ friends from whichever room they’re crashed out in – which can be amusing but isn’t much of a discussion topic.

Then, wracking my brains, I remembered that it’s only a few weeks until we leave for our annual family holiday. For the last few years we’ve gone to the same village in Turkey, where life is slow and the sun is hot (something much appreciated by us cold, damp Scots), and we’re going again this year. The scenery is beautiful, the people are friendly and extraordinarily kind, and our kids have made friends with the local young people who take them around with them. We take bus rides into the nearest town to shop or see the sites, and occasionally go on more distant excursions to see places of historical interest or natural beauty – and there are plenty of those. It’s a fascinating region with a long and varied history. And in the village itself there are a few restaurants that serve simple, delicious local food for a very reasonable price, so we never need to worry about cooking – unless we want to.

So, I thought about all this the other day with great anticipation. And that was when I realized what I liked doing when I wasn’t writing.

Nothing.

Seriously. At home, there are always a million and one things that have to be done, just to make life continue. There’s very little time just to relax. Even reading often gets shoved back to ten minutes in bed at night before I fall asleep. I love to have friends round for a meal, to go out visiting or to the cinema or the pub or a restaurant for dinner. These things are fun, but at home they always seem to involve some kind of doing or planning to make them happen.

The beauty of being away on holiday is that once you get there, just about nothing is planned. I don’t have to do anything – either clean the house, facilitate the kids’ social lives or finish that story I’ve been working on. I really can do nothing. I can sit in the sun and read. I can walk in the hills or sit in a café. I can wander round a Roman ruin, go out for breakfast, entertain the local kids in our swimming pool… Or not. It’s like a big time out, where time itself doesn’t really matter. And boy, does it recharge your batteries!

We started going on longer holidays mostly to let my husband relax properly from the pressures of a demanding job, but it’s just come to me that that’s exactly what I need too! Just a little bit of very pleasant “nothing” in a hectic world ☺.

Who’s with me?

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Thanks for visiting the blog, Marie!

For more information about Marie and her books, check out her website or follow her on Facebook.

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Here's the scoop on BLOOD GUILT, the first book in the Blood Hunters series:

Natural enemies, deadly attraction...

The first of a new vampire romance series, a sequel to the Awakened by Blood trilogy.

Mihaela, a fearless vampire hunter secretly haunted by loneliness and childhood tragedy, finds it difficult to adjust to the new world order where vampires are not always the bad guys. She's taking a much needed vacation in Scotland when she sees a little boy being chased through the streets of Edinburgh. Rescuing him brings bigger problems - two vampires from her past: Gavril, who killed her family; and the reclusive and troubled Maximilian, gifted Renaissance artist and one-time overlord of the most powerful undead community in the world. Maximilian once saved her life and now needs that favor returned.

The earth moves for Mihaela in more ways than one. From Scotland to Budapest and Malta, she races against time to prevent a disastrous, vampire-induced earthquake and save an innocent yet powerful child – all while fighting a dreadful attraction to Maximilian, her only ally, whom she can’t afford to trust. For Maximilian, the hunter becomes a symbol of renewed existence, as he struggles to accept his past and rediscovers his appetite for blood and sex - and maybe even happiness.

Purchase: Amazon

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Marie is kindly offering one (1) $5 Amazon gift card to a lucky reader!

To enter the giveaway, obey the Rafflecopter

Open internationally (assuming Amazon will ship to you)

Ends Monday, June 25, 2012

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Do you guys have suggestions for who you’d like to see featured on the blog? If so, you can make your suggestions on this page. No guarantees that your favorite authors will be able to participate but we’ll try!

Authors, would you like to visit and share with us? Please email me at jennblogs (at) gmail (dot) com and we’ll set it up!

Posted by jenn at 06:50

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Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.