Blog Tour: Guest Post from Orren Merton author of Stringer and Bow w/ Giveaway!

Welcome to my tour stop for Stinger and Bow by Orren Merton! This is a young adult urban fantasy and is the first book in a spin off series of The Sedumen Chronicles. The tour runs Feb. 15-26 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts.  Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

About the Book:

Stinger needs a new crossbow. 

Thirteen year-old Rachel Silver—or as she's known to the world, Stinger—needs a new crossbow. Her last bow failed her when she needed it most. Besides, Firebird Alex, her aunt and fellow Seduman—half-human, half-spirit being—wields a Sedu blade, made with spirit magic.
So Stinger designs herself a magic crossbow, then convinces her best friends to accompany her around the world and into the universe of Sediin to find the right craftsmen to have it made. Trouble is, warriors attract people who want to challenge them, whether they're ready or not. Stinger is still tormented by her last battle—she's suffering night-terrors, shakes, and cold sweats. When the situation turns deadly, will she be able to come to grips with her trauma and become the warrior she needs to be to save her friends?

Goodreads | Amazon

MESSAGE TO YOUNG WRITERS: DOS AND DON’T by Orren Merton

My basic advice is the advice that any honest writer will give you: the most important thing to do if you want to be a writer is to write. Start writing something, finish what you started, let people read it. It’s simple, but it’s also right. All the other advice is just dressing.

But as dressing goes, here’s some tasty bits:

DO create an environment conducive to being creative. That’s going to be different for everyone. Do you need an empty room, so nothing distracts you? Or a cluttered room with your favorite things? Or maybe lots of images and artwork related to your story? Do you need music in the background to help create a mood? Or total silence so you can concentrate? There’s no right or wrong, so go ahead and experiment to find what works best for you.

DON’T go online unless you have to. I’m not one of these people who believes that you must turn off the Internet completely to write; I’ll often find myself looking up a word or place or translation in the middle of my writing. But it’s too easy to say that you’re just going to check out your social network timelines for a little while, and pretty soon, you’re sucked in.

DO give yourself an achievable goal for each writing session. Generally, that means setting a word count (“I’m going to write 1000 words today”) or a time count (“I’m going to write for two hours today”). Make sure it’s something that pushes you and keeps you focused, but also is achievable. So if your mind starts turning to jelly at 2500 words in a sitting, or if after 2 hours you start getting ansty, set your writing session goals accordingly. You can always raise them later.

DON’T obsess over every word to make it perfect. The most important thing is just to get the words out. You hear a lot about “writer’s block.” I think that the majority of it is simply people being too hung up on every word being perfect. Give yourself permission to suck—you can always go back and change it later. Again, remember the rules above—the most important thing is to write.

DO choose topics and stories that interest you. If you do, you’re going to write better, because you’re engaged, your enjoying yourself, and what you’re doing is making you happy. Remember, there are a million things that you can do with your time. If you’re going to spend that time writing, make sure that you’re excited to be doing it, and not wishing you were doing something else.

But more than anything: write, write, write!

About the Author

Orren Merton started writing fantasy and science fiction at an embarrassingly young age. In high school, he picked up guitar and start playing up and down California in a few loud and moody bands, culminating in his current project  Ember After.  During that time, magazines, developers, and corporations began to pay him to write and edit music software related articles, manuals, and  books. Since then he has written the urban fantasy novel The Deviant and the science fiction novel Skye Entity before working on The Sedumen Chronicles, his current series of urban fantasy YA novels. He lives in Southern California with his family, pets, collection of sci-fi/fantasy memorabilia, and curiously large stuffed animal collection.

 

Find the Author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads 

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One winner gets a Kindle and digital copy of Stinger and Bow (US)

One winner gets a $25 gift card & digital copy of Stinger and Bow (INT)

Ends March 2nd

Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible in any way. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 17. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to enter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.