*Expert and Guest Post* Alluring Surrender by Skye Turner
Alluring Surrender
Book
5 Bayou Stix
Copyright
©Skye
Turner 2014
Expert:
I
turn to watch Cruz approach. The fact that heads turn as he passes,
both male and female, is not
lost on me. My stomach does flips. He sees me at the table and stops
for a second. My heart drops, but then he smiles at me and the breath
whooshes out of my chest. Thank God I’m sitting down because I’d
collapse from the power of that smile. Dear
God!
Erik
arrives at the table at the same time with a tray of coffees. He
passes them out and pulls out a chair. Cruz sees my monster-sized
coffee and says, “Do we need a coffee intervention here?”
Taking
a sip I let out a moan as it hits the back of my tongue. That is
seriously like heaven. The coffee with the sweetness of the caramel
and apple and then the creamy whipped cream… It should be illegal.
Cruz
smirks slightly at my reaction, though his eyes are wide and I see
him watch me swallow. I lick my lips and he follows the trail with
his eyes. He asks, “I guess that’s good?”
I
nod and hold my cup out. “It’s divine. Try it.”
I’m
daring him and I’ve forgotten that anyone else is even in the room.
He stares at me and I see his light eyes darken as he covers my hand
with his and guides the cup to his mouth. He takes a sip in the same
spot as I just drank from.
Suddenly
butterflies are dancing in my stomach and I feel like I just went
over the drop on a rollercoaster. I gasp as I watch him swallow. He
has a tiny bit of whipped cream on the side of his mouth and I just
want to lick it off. He pops his lips and wipes the side of his mouth
before sucking the tiny bit of whipped cream off. Staring into my
eyes, he says, “Yes, that is definitely good. Thanks for letting me
sample your treat, Tif.”
My
mouth hangs open and the only thing that wakes me from my trance is
the light coughing behind me. Shaking my head, I turn and see Dade,
Melonie, and Erik all staring at us with wonder on their faces. I
have no idea who even just coughed.
Mel
is looking from me to Cruz in glee and Dade is trying to hide a
smirk. He says, “Well, I’ll be damned…”
Book
links:
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Guest Post:
The
Day I Finally “Felt” Like I Was an Author
By:
Author Skye Turner
About
seventeen months ago, I started on this journey called
self-publishing. One day in the summer of 2013, while my husband was
offshore and my kids were running around my house like crazy little
people, I sat at my laptop and decided to get the ideas that were
living in my head… out.
I
wrote like a person possessed that day. I think I wrote something
like nine thousand words. It was like now that I was finally allowing
the voices in my head to talk, they had so much to say.
My first
book was written in ten days. I worked literally twenty to twenty-two
hours a day. I didn’t sleep, I think I might have showered a time
or two, but ten days later… I was done. My first book, Alluring
Turmoil, the beginning of Bayou Stix, was written.
That
was step one. I used to think that people wrote books and then people
read them. I was so green. I literally had no idea what I was getting
into, but I decided that if I was going to do it, I was going to do
it like everything else in my life and do it big.
I
researched cover designers and editors (though I was an editor). I
thought I was going to format the book myself, but after countless
YouTube videos, tears, and almost throwing my laptop across the room,
I asked some friends for someone to rescue me from formatting hell,
and got the name of my formatter.
I
worked on Alluring Turmoil for months… writing, revising, editing,
revising again, allowing betas to read it, talking to my cover
designer, working with my editor, then formatting…
I
reached out to so many people that I’d followed and admired and I
promoted myself and my work. I did all of this for MONTHS
before I ever published.
Then,
it was time… time to push the button and release my book into the
world. Feedback had been pretty good from people who’d received
ARC’s. Certain blogs told me I stunk and that I shouldn’t release
and they were sorry, but they couldn’t recommend the book. That
stung, but I pushed on. I submitted the book to be published… and
then I waited. I was a nervous wreck and I had this extreme urge to
vomit or curl up into the fetal position in the corner, but I did it…
Alluring
Turmoil went “Live” on September 11, 2013 (two days before it was
supposed to). I didn’t know anything, but I started checking the
sales numbers… holy smoke… people were buying my book. I think I
did vomit at one point from the nerves and stress.
By
September 12, 2013 I was receiving feedback… people for the most
part LIKED
my
book… I couldn’t help but think this was some sort of cosmic
joke. I mean people I’d once looked up to and read everything they
produced, were now reading MY
work. WHAT?! This was crazy. I’m just a wife and mommy with a dream
from Smalltown, Louisiana. I was a tiny blip in the big world of
authors.
The
messages and reviews started coming in and while most were good,
there were some bad, those hurt at first… as time went on, I
realized… wow, I need to write another book.
So,
I did. And then I write four more. The conclusion to the Bayou Stix
series comes out this Friday, November 21. But the truth is… now
seventeen months into this, I think I finally feel like an author.
I
wake up every day and think to myself… I write books. I entertain
people. I involve people in my stories. People travel to events to
meet me and express their joy from my work. I receive messages from
all over the world and every single day, I pinch myself and grin.
That
is surreal. I’ve written six books in seventeen months. I generally
produce new material every ninety days… but until recently I’ve
never thought of myself as an author…
I
do now and trust me… it’s the best feeling.
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