"When I'm not writing..." with Jes Young + giveaway!

Welcome to the last "When I'm not writing" post of 2012! We're giving ourselves a little break since the next two Tuesdays are Christmas and New Year's Day but we hope you'll join us again on January 8 for the first post of the new year.

Our guest today is Jes Young, author of the Princess of Twilight & Dawn trilogy. The books are about Tab Bennett, a woman who thought she was just a bank clerk but then learns she's so much more. Jes is currently on a blog tour celebrating the release of the second book in the series, UNDERNEATH. I'm delighted she was able to include us in her virtual tour and hope you enjoy getting to know her!

Make sure to enter the giveaway to win a set of the first two Tab Bennett books!

I try to write some every day. Getting to the desk and making the time even when there is no time or even when I don’t especially feel like it is an important part of what makes me feel like a writer. The ritual of it is important to me. I’m a creature of habit.

But there are some nights, after I put my kids to bed, after homework and dinner and baths, that I just can’t write. Some nights when my brain has been turned into a gooey liquid by the endless Pokemon games and tea parties. Some nights when the countless slings and arrows of modern single motherhood leave me clinging to the edge of sanity by my fingertips. On those nights, all I want to do is veg out.

I wish I could say I do yoga or scrapbooking or some other useful, healthy thing, but the truth is, I curl up on my couch, TIVO remote in hand, and lose myself in the soft blue glow of my television set.

What do I watch? Any show that takes me out of the real world and plunks me down in an imaginary one—that I don’t have to be in charge of—will do. Take me on an adventure, show me pretty young people fighting demons, give me volatile shifters and brooding vampires.

My Top 5 Shows (All of Which I Can Conveniently Claim as Genre “Research”)

Supernatural: I truly believe both the Winchester brothers would benefit tremendously from a good, tight hug. I would like to give it to them.

Vampire Diaries: I don’t like Elena, Stefan, Caroline, or Tyler, but for some reason, this is appointment television for me. The reason is Damon Salvatore as played by the crazy-eyed Ian Somerhalder. I’m a sucker for the tough on the outside, wounded puppy on the inside type.

Once Upon a Time: If you’ve read my books, you know I’m a sucker for a fairy tale. This show is all the good fairy tales.

True Blood: I wish I didn’t like this show, but I do. I mean I must or I wouldn’t be watching it anymore. I got started on the urban fantasy genre with the Sookie Stackhouse books so I have a real soft spot for them. I’m not sure if I like this show or if I just watch so I can be outraged by changed storylines.

Pushing Daisies: I know this show was cancelled (TOO SOON) but it was delicious, sweet, perfect candy. It made me happy in a way that few other things can. I will never get over my bitterness about it being cancelled. Never.

Oh, I have lots of other hobbies—I like to read, do all kinds of crafts, play Mah Jong, tend a flower garden in the spring—but some nights only vegging out in front of the TV will do.

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Thanks for visiting us, Jes! I totally agree about Pushing Daisies. Such a great program!

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

Follow the rest of Jes' tour by clicking on the button below:

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Here's the scoop on UNDERNEATH:

Six months ago, when her long-hidden heritage came to light, Tab Bennett reluctantly let go of her past and embraced her future as an Elvish princess on the cusp of her gifts and the edge of her destiny. She never wanted a fairy tale life, but as the daughter of the Dark King and the Light Queen, that’s exactly what she got.

Raised in exile away from the kingdom of the Inbetween, Tab has never even met the parents who ruined her life. Her mother is dead, but Tab’s father, Daniel, is alive and well, the mad ruler of the kingdom of the Underneath. He’s made it clear he wants to meet her and now that she knows all the sadness and heartache in her life can be traced directly to the Dark king’s door, Tab wants to meet him too. After all, it's because of him that the first twenty-five years of her life were a lie. It’s his fault she gave her heart to Robbin when she should have been saving it for Alex, the prince who is destined to be her Homecoming. But, most importantly, King Daniel is the one responsible for her mother’s suicide and her sisters’ murders.

Now Tab wants justice – but she’ll settle for revenge and Finnegan Blackthorn, an Elvish warrior with secrets of his own, is going to help her get it. Together, they’ll embark on the dangerous journey to her father’s stronghold in the kingdom Underneath. Once she's there, far away from the Light in which she was raised, Tab will be forced to confront the seductive nature of Darkness and her own potential to truly become her father’s daughter.

Read an excerpt

Purchase: Amazon

You can also check out the first book in the series:

Yesterday Tab Bennett was a bank teller. Today she’s at the center of a centuries old war between Light and Dark. Tomorrow – well let’s just say she’ll be lucky if she lives to see it.

Engaged to her childhood sweetheart, employed at the local bank, and finally living on her own for the first time at twenty-four years-old, Tab Bennett has no interest in a fairy tale life. She’s perfectly happy with the normal one she already has. But when her sister is murdered on a moon-dark night, revealing a world of power and magic she never dreamed existed, a fairy tale is exactly what her life becomes. Figures it would have to be the Grimm kind.

Just like that, the life she had planned is over. Instead of cashing checks and handing out lollipops, Tab is unraveling clandestine assassination plots and learning to wield the magic that is her birthright. And as if fulfilling her destiny isn’t hard enough, she’ll also have to choose between Robbin, a man who’s turned out to be a lot more complicated than the proverbial boy next door, and Alexander, the handsome prince whose smile leaves her weak-kneed and weak-willed.

Now, while Tab struggles to hold on to the human world she’s always known and understand her place in the magical one she’s just discovered, dangerous forces are gathering close to home. If she wants to live to see happily ever after, she’ll have to figure out who she can trust, who wants her dead, and why. The answers will change everything she believes about herself, the people she loves, and the place she calls home.

Jenn's thoughts

Read an excerpt

Purchase: Amazon

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Jes is generously giving away one e-book set of TAB BENNETT AND THE INBETWEEN and UNDERNEATH to one (1) lucky reader!

To enter the giveaway, obey the Rafflecopter!

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 06:44

 giveaway, Jes Young, When I'm not writing  17 People left their mark

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.