Guest Post and Giveaway with Marie Bilodeau, author of Destiny's Fall

Hi, everyone!

I am pleased to participate in Marie Bilodeau's Destiny's Fall Virtual Book Tour hosted by Goddess Fish.

About Marie:

Marie Bilodeau is an Ottawa-based science-fiction and fantasy author. Her space fantasy novel, Destiny’s Blood, was a finalist in the Aurora Awards and won the Bronze Medal for Science-Fiction in the Foreword Book Awards. She is also the author of the Heirs of a Broken Land, a fantasy trilogy described as “fresh and exciting” by Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo award-winning author of WAKE. Her short stories have appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including the recent When the Hero Comes Home, edited by Ed Greenwood and Gabrielle Harbowy.

Marie is also a professional storyteller who’s told adaptations of fairy tales and myths, as well as original stories, in venues across Canada. 

CONNECT WITH MARIE ONLINE:

Blog |Twitter | Facebook

Welcome to Darlene's Book Nook, Marie! 

Marie has written a guest post, so I will now turn the floor over to her.

10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before

1. Your readers will become a source of inspiration. You’ll love them, not just because they (hopefully) love your books, but because they’re interesting people. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll find quite a few friends amongst them.

2. You’re not special. Seriously. Writers tend to think they bring something special to the world. I’m not saying we don’t. We do! But everybody does. Everybody brings something special to the world, no matter who they are, or what they do. As a writer, it’s our job to learn to see it, and to celebrate it in our writings.

3. It doesn’t get easier. Writing the books and finding the plot might become easier, but once people are paying attention to your writings, it’s hard to block out the constant editor telling you what it thinks people will think about your book. Woa. That’s a mouthful!

4. Give yourself time to grieve. When I finished my first trilogy, the Heirs of a Broken Land, I missed my characters. I still miss them! After the third and potentially final book of the Destiny series comes out, I’m sure I’ll feel the same way. Embrace the grief. It’s okay to find it hard to let go.

5. Your true friends will shine after book 4. Everybody’s excited when book 1 comes out. Everyone likes to come out and support a new author, to say they’re friends with a writer. Book 2 is exciting, too. It’s showing some sort of staying power. By book 3, you’ve become an anomaly. You’re sticking to a crazy hobby, and you don’t seem to be rich yet. By book 4, everyone who offered to help for book 1 or who exclaimed most loudly that they knew you, well, they’ll mostly drop away. They will, however, be replaced by your readers and fans (the people who buy your books and leave reviews) and your true friends will still be there.

6. It requires more of you. No one is waiting for your first book. But after you’ve sold that book, and you have one or two more under contract, then they’re paying attention. The pressure’s on.

7. Master many mediums. Just writing novels or just writing short stories is doable, but having both published means reaching out to more readers. And having more readers is always better.

8. Writing groups are great. A good writing group, one made of writers at your level, who are interested in getting better and in helping you get better, without being self-righteous meanies about it.

9. It will get even more fun. Writing will get to be even more fun, regardless of extra pressure or demands on your time. Discovering a new story is still as thrilling as meeting a new lover, and finishing one still as beautiful and heartbreaking as a well-timed breakup.

10. It all depends on you. Whether or not that next book gets written is, in the end, up to you. That’s empowering and terrifying, all at once!

Thanks so much for joining us today, Marie!

Marie will give away a signed eBook copy of Destiny's Blood (the first book in the series) to one randomly drawn commenter at every stop, and an autographed set of Destiny's Blood and Destiny's Fall in print (US and Canada only) or eBook (International) to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. She'll also give an autographed set of books to the host with the most comments (excluding hers and the host's).

Follow the tour and comment! The more you comment, the better your chances of winning! The tour schedule can be found at the bottom of this post.

 

A broken tradition. A hunted child. A rebellion that threatens to topple the very fabric of the universe.

When Layela Delamores gives birth to her first child, the ether immediately rejects what should be its only heir. A wave of destruction sweeps the ether races and sparks Solaria’s ire and rebellion on Mirial. A new heir rises to take the throne of Mirial, one who wields tainted ether.

Unable to access the flow of ether, Layela is left with little choice but to flee Mirial, seeking answers that may no longer exist, prepared to sacrifice everything to free herself and her daughter from the clutches of the First Star.

Book Excerpt

Ardice coughed and then began to scream and cry, her shrill voice bouncing off the walls of the court, reaching every far corner. White mists assaulted Layela’s thoughts, clinging to her sight, bells tolling in the far reaches of her mind. She looked up, Ardin’s eyes wide and frightened, and the world around her swayed. Ether bounced off the side of the court. The Berganda, more sensitive to it than the Mirialers, screamed and clutched their heads as the ether pounded against their telepathic minds.

Layela took a step forward and grabbed the child from Ardin’s arms. She tried to coddle her with small chants, to bounce her up and down, but the screaming only intensified.

“We have to stop her!” Ardin came near, shouting in Layela’s ear. The whole room echoed Ardice’s screams and many of the assembled had fallen to the ground, clutching their heads. Some of the Berganda were no longer moving.

Layela forced herself to concentrate, to soothe Ardice with ether. It seemed to Layela’s untrained eyes that the ether was at counter- measure to Ardice, like small sparks striking her daughter. And Ardice fought back the only way she knew, by crying. But her cries were twisting that same ether and it lashed out around her.

Layela cooed and concentrated, commanding all of the ether away from her daughter, forming a protective bubble around her. Ardice, not realizing Layela was trying to help, was fighting back and pulling the ether closer like a protective blanket. Layela kissed Ardice’s cheek, the skin-to-skin contact comforting Ardice, and she let go of the ether. Layela quickly closed the protective bubble, her back covered with sweat at the exertion.

Tour Participants

May 21: Welcome to My World of Dreams
May 22: Christine Young
May 23: Books Are Magic
May 24: Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
May 25: Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer
May 28: Writers and Authors
May 29: The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object
May 30: Reader Girls
May 31: Sandra's Blog
June 1: Darlene's Book Nook
June 4: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
June 5: Dawn's Reading Nook
June 6: Hywela Lyn (Romance That's "Out Of This World")
June 7: Books Reviewed by Bunny
June 8: D. Renee Bagby Presents First Chapters