Monday, November 23, 2015

The Bloody City by Megan Morgan (VBT, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT





It is my pleasure to have a guest post by author Megan Morgan, as she shares her answer to my question...


ELF: What was the most difficult thing to overcome on your path to becoming a published author and how did you conquer it?


OVERCOMING MY GREATEST OBSTACLE

by Megan Morgan


Hello! I’m happy to be here on The Reading Addict today and sharing my work with you. I want to talk about the biggest obstacle I overcame to get to this point, and I feel like a lot of authors out there will know exactly what I’m talking about. If you don’t yet, you probably will someday.

The most difficult thing I had to overcome on my path to publication was—me!

It’s no secret writers often suffer from self-doubt. Whether still trying to get published or with fifty books in print, every time a writer puts their fingers to the keyboard and pounds out a story, they worry—that it’s not good enough, that it won’t resonate, that it’s not worth being read. I guarantee even bestselling authors are plagued by this doubt. No matter how much I love the story I’m trying to tell, I still fret over if I just churned out a big steaming pile of garbage that no one will want to read, or if they do read it, they’ll point and laugh at me.

For many years, I let self-doubt and unrealistic expectations get the best of me. I slowly built my skills and ability to tell stories, but I always jumped before I was ready, too anxious and overeager to wait until I had polished my tale to perfection. Instead of rewriting and figuring out what did and didn’t work, I just wanted something to hand to a publisher and pray they would accept it. Of course, they never did. And so, the self-loathing and worry that I would never be ‘good enough’ started again, which kept me on the cycle of churning out mediocre (and sometimes downright terrible) work in a desperate rush to get noticed and validated. I wanted to chase the storm clouds of doubt away and be a real writer. But being a real writer takes time, and getting good at it takes even longer.

I finally found the patience, not only to learn my craft correctly, but to understand everything involved in both the creative and business sides of it. I don’t know how this happened—maybe I got older, or maybe it finally all sank in. Somehow, I worked through the tangle in my head. I got serious and focused. I learned to take a deep breath, look at things again, and try to do better before I sent something out into the world. I had to overcome myself and all my negative thoughts and emotions before I could find a clear path. I had to be open to what that path might bring and not impose my own ideals on it or try to force the direction it went. The path eventually led me to the right place, and to my surprise—there was still more to learn.

The most important thing I discovered is that publication isn’t so much a destination as another step on a long, ever-evolving journey. Publication isn’t a trophy to set on the mantle. It’s another turn of a wheel that you want to keep in motion for as long as you can.

I was definitely the biggest obstacle to myself on the path to publication. I had to grow and change, and so did my work. Sometimes I look back on myself in those days and shake my head, but fondly. I never gave up, no matter how much I painted myself into a corner, and that was the important part. That’s why I get to be here today, showing off my second book in my very first published series. This is the dream sad, anxious, self-loathing me wanted so bad, I just didn’t have a clear picture of it back then.

Remember: just because you’ve been hacking away at the foliage for ages doesn’t mean you won’t eventually find a path—keep on hacking!



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The Bloody City
by Megan Morgan



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GENRE: Urban Fantasy



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BLURB:


On the run…

It’s been four months since the head of the Institute of Supernatural Research was murdered. But that doesn’t mean June Coffin is out of hiding yet. In a world where being different can get you killed, it’s best to keep a low profile. Especially for a Siren who can control other people with the call of her voice. That goes double if your powers might be inexplicably growing…

On the hunt…

But June isn’t the only one trying to clear her name. There’s Sam, the charismatic paranormal rights leader, and Micha, the first human on record to go paranormal. All of them must bargain with a mysterious vampire named Occam Reed if they want to stay alive.

Out of time…

As tensions increase between humans and paranormals, June must decide who to trust. If only she could hear the song inside her heart…


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EXCERPT

The whole thing was like attending one’s own funeral, only slightly less creepy.

Midway through the next speech, movement behind the stage caught June’s attention. A group of people were gathering back there. Her spirits lifted. Maybe the FBI was about to throw down.

“What’s going on back there?” Sam stood on his tiptoes.

“Probably more people who want to talk.” June sighed.

She skimmed the crowd, seeing if anyone looked as bored as she felt. A familiar face popped out for a split second, and she quickly looked back at the spot. She had to be imagining things.

She wasn’t.

Roughly thirty yards away in the tight-packed crowd, a man stood, staring at them. He wore a hoodie despite the heat, the hood pulled up and shielding his face. His eyes were bloodshot and watery.

“Sam.” She scrabbled at his hand. “Someone’s watching us.”

The man moved toward them. The speaker on stage had finished and other people were coming out. Sam was focused there, but he looked at June, and then around.

“Occam,” she whispered. “To the left.”

Occam pushed up next to them and stopped. His eyes were rimmed with red, his skin flushed.

“I know you’re in there,” he taunted.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sam whispered.

Dread welled in June’s chest. The intensity of Occam’s gaze chilled her to the bone beneath the blazing sun.

The blazing sun. A vampire was out in broad daylight. He didn’t even have the benefit of shade, like at the clinic. Why?

“Get out of here,” Occam said. “Or you are going to die.”



BUY LINKS


Amazon US
AmazonUK
B&N
Kobo
iTunes

GooglePlay

AllRomance Ebooks


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Megan Morgan is an urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and erotica author from Cleveland, Ohio. Bartender in an airport lounge by day and purveyor of things that go bump in the night, she’s trying to turn writing into her day job so she can be on the other side of the bar for a change. She’s a member of the RWA and author of the Siren Song urban fantasy series from Kensington Books, as well as numerous other shorter, sexy works. She resides on the shores of Lake Erie with her adult son and not-so-adult cat, the latter of which ‘helps’ her write her works by stuffing herself between writer and laptop on a regular basis.



Website
Blog
Twitter
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Goodreads
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GIVEAWAY




a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here


33 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for having me here today!

    It's my last day of work before my holiday vacation (yay!) but I'll be popping in and out all day to answer any questions/comments from readers. Apologies if I'm a little slow!

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    1. Hey Morgan! I'll see you later on the tour, but I just wanted to stop in and say HI!

      Where are you headed for the holidays??

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    2. Hi! I'm glad you stopped in (it's Megan actually, but lots of people make that mistake because of my twitter handle, it's okay)!

      I'm not going anywhere, but I get the rest of the week off work, so whooo!

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    3. Hi Megan! Apologies for taking so long to greet you, have been dealing with a nasty cold. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday and that the tour is going well for you. Thank you so much for coming by and interacting with my visitors, it is greatly appreciated!

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  2. What is your all-time favorite movie?

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    1. Gosh, even though they're COMPLETELY different movies, it's a toss up between The Boondock Saints and The Bodyguard (yes, the cheesy movie with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston). If I catch either of those at any part, I have to watch the whole thing!

      Thanks for the question, Mai!

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    2. I love The Bodyguard but I think that Ladyhawke is still my all-time favorite (of course there are the original Star Wars, Star Trek IV,...). Great question as always, Mai, thanks for visiting!

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  3. I enjoyed the guest post, thank you!

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  4. Congrats on the new release! I think this series sounds awesome :) thanks for sharing!

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  5. Enjoyed the post and the excerpt, sounds like a great book, thanks for sharing and Good Luck with the tour!

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    1. Thank you Eva, glad you could stop by!

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    2. Good to hear, Eva. Thanks for taking the time to visit!

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  6. I love the cover and enjoyed reading the excerpt! Can't wait to check it out, thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Victoria! Fiona Jayde does my covers, she's the best!

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    2. Hope you get a chance to read it soon, Victoria. Great to see you!

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  7. Thanks for the giveaway! I like the excerpt. :)

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  8. I really enjoyed your answer. I've been following your work off and on for awhile now; used to be I didn't have a credit card to check out your books, but I was really into what you did share. Heck, I remember being really disappointed when Famous In Chicago didn't work out. I don't have much to go on on how your writing has improved, but I know I really enjoy it. Your worlds are very realistic, even when they have supernatural elements. Sometimes people focus to much on the supernatural stuff and forget to make it function. I've really been enjoying The Siren Song series and appreciate the years of work that has gone into it.

    Hope you have a great vacation!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I really appreciate all your support and the way you follow my work. You're my first real 'fan' who consistently follows what I do and I really, REALLY appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!

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  9. Really enjoyed reading the entire post today. You are a new author for me but I would love to know more! Thank you for the reveal!

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  10. Loved the excerpt, a huge congrats!

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