Our first "When I'm not writing..." guest post for the month of March comes from Sarah Tranter! Sarah's debut novel, NO SUCH THING AS IMMORTALITY, was recently released by Choc Lit (great pub name!) and it should definitely appeal to all of the paranormal romance lovers out there. Sarah's put together a lovely post for us today and I hope you'll enjoy it!
I count myself very lucky to be a writer. I am doing something I love and the flexibility writing generally offers means I can be there for my family. I am a mummy to two boys (nine and six). I write when the boys are in school or in bed, knowing that when they are at home and conscious there’s not a hope. It’s safe to say my boys occupy the vast majority of my non-writing time. Much of the rest is occupied with all those endless housey things like washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, toilet scrubbing etc etc etc. And the boys are behind most of that, too. Particularly the last one. It may just be my boys. I’m not sure I want to know the answer. But far far too much time is spent on that particular task in my house.
There is also the running of the menagerie. There are other animals within the family (nope ― not my husband. Not very often anyway). There is a giant black dog that is pretty much half horse (he grew and hasn’t stopped), two cats and nine rescue chicken. No doubt there are also several other creatures within the house that shouldn’t be in the house and which I thankfully know nothing about. My youngest has a fondness for the creepie-crawlie kind.
The family-writing balance generally works well. Although I still question how we all survived the last six-week long school summer holidays. I found myself juggling edits for No Such Thing as Immortality (at that stage you realise writing may not be as flexible as you first thought), the boys at home (and conscious for much of the time) ― with the minor complication of two broken arms. One on each boy. Add to that a sick dog, two poorly chicken ― and constant refereeing (plaster casts swung very hard make excellent weapons) ― and you get the idea.
But I wouldn’t have my life any other way. If you remove the last summer holidays from the equation as I never want to go there again. And add another twelve hours to each day so I can spend quality one to one time with my husband and I can do justice to my reading passion. Those two I would love to spend more of my non-writing life with.
Writing is my entertainment ― as is my family. My boys can, sometimes, be very entertaining. To give you an idea, my eldest wants to be the funniest man in the world when he grows up (which goes down even better at school than it does at home). He will be busy because he also wants to play professional football for Chelsea and be a millionaire food critic (he has started young with the food-critiquing). My youngest wants to be an artist ― whilst moonlighting as a lollypop man for nocturnal animals such as badgers, deer and foxes. Far too often as I drive the boys to school along our country lanes, we find animals who have been hit by cars the night before. He, very touchingly, wants to spend his nights helping them cross the road safely.
As you can probably guess by the description of the wildlife and the drive to school, we live in the countryside. In rural Wiltshire, England ― renowned for Stonehenge and its White Horses. We live very close to one of those White Horses and the walks and views are stunning. A little further away are the standing stones of Avebury. Visiting Avebury is a favourite pastime for us all. Whilst not as well known as Stonehenge, the walks around the stones are stunning and the ancient burial sites, particularly popular with the boys.
So there you go. A taster of my non-writing existence. It is not very exciting I’m afraid. No officially recognised dangerous sports to fascinate you with. But I’m happy with it. Very happy in fact ― and I count my blessings.
Thank you so very much for inviting me to post. It’s such a great site and a real privilege.
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Thank you kindly for stopping by, Sarah, and writing such a wonderful post! Your menagerie sounds quite overwhelming! ;)
For more information about Angie and her books, check out her website or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
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Here's the scoop on NO SUCH THING AS IMMORTALITY:
There’s a fine line between bloodlust and lust…
Nate knows he should run in the opposite direction. But something about Rowan makes him feel alive, quite a feat considering he’s been dead for over 200 years!
What he doesn’t know is that Rowan has been lied to all her life. When the truth begins to emerge, is Nate the only one who can protect her, or is he the thing she should fear above all else?
No Such Thing as Immortality is Choc Lit's version of Twilight told solely from the hero's perspective - the vampire.
Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository
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Sarah is generously providing two (2) copies of NO SUCH THING AS IMMORTALITY to two lucky readers
(print or e-copy -- winner's choice)!
To enter the giveaway, obey the Rafflecopter!
a Rafflecopter giveaway---------------------------------
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