The Mirror of Doom by Bailey Baxter (VBT, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

I have the pleasure of a guest post from author Bailey Baxter, who shares her thoughts on...

Fear.

We all have it, in some form or other. Sometimes, we learn to conquer it. Other times, it holds us back from our dreams.

Yeah, fear can be a real dream-killer. I should know. I let it keep me from pursuing the one thing I was truly passionate about for years.

You see… I’ve loved writing stories since I was a child. And one of my English teachers told me I was quite good at it. I had a gift, he said.

But my brain got in my way. I made the mistake of looking at the statistics – and I discovered that only 20% of published authors can make a living writing books.

Just 20%! I’m not a gambler, but, even if I was… those odds stink.

And that’s when the fear of failure started whispering in my ear. “You’re not good enough,” it said. “If 80% of writers fail, so will you.”

So, I didn’t even try. I got my degree in Business and set out on a safe – and mind-numbingly dull – career path through corporate America.

I was miserable.

But, dreams don’t let go that easily. About 15 years ago, I started writing again. And eventually, I began working on my first book, “The Mirror of Doom.”

Has it been hard? Yes. Writing a book while working a full-time job is an exercise in discipline and perseverance, that’s for sure.

Did “fear” still whisper to me that I would probably fall flat on my face? Absolutely.

But this is what I’ve learned…

If you have a passion to do something, don’t let fear stop you. Yes, there’s a chance you might fail. But, if you never step out and pursue the dream that’s on your heart, failure is 100% guaranteed.

In The Mirror of Doom my characters face challenges that seem unsurmountable. And they find surprising strength within themselves to achieve greater things than they ever thought they could. 

It’s the same for you. Toss fear aside and take a chance on your dreams. You never know what you’re truly capable of until you try.

Bailey Baxter

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The Mirror of Doom

by Bailey Baxter

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GENRE: Middle Grade

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BLURB:

What would you do if you got stuck in another world? 12-year-old Tim Hunter and his two older siblings panicked. Just a little. (Can you blame them?) Unfortunately, the only way they can return home is to steal a magic mirror from an evil queen. Yes, that’s right. Evil! To make matters even worse, enemy soldiers, horrible creatures called galrogs, and even a dragon will do anything to stop them. Do they have what it takes to make it home alive? There’s one way to find out. This fun, fantasy-adventure for middle-grade readers is available on Amazon.com.

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EXCERPT

Then a strange sound startled me out of my thoughts.

Was that thunder?

Kat stopped and looked around. “What was that noise?”

“Everyone, keep going,” Gavril said from behind me. “We need to get off this bridge now.”

“Why?” I asked. “What’s going on?”

“Just move, Tim!”

Before I had a chance to even take one step, something dark and huge flew over us and let out an ear-splitting roar that shook the entire bridge.

Kat screamed, and we all hit the deck, so to speak. As I clung to the trembling bridge, I could hear a shower of stones falling into the cavern below.

Okay, that definitely wasn’t thunder.

“What was that?” Ron yelled.

“Akar!” Beriman yelled back.

“What’s an Akar?” I asked.

There was another roar, and we all ducked our heads as the shadow swooped over us again. A stream of flames burst from its mouth, lighting up the entire cavern and answering my question.

Akar was a dragon.

Amazon (Kindle)

Amazon (paperback)

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:



Bailey Baxter is the pen name of a somewhat successful copywriter who writes online "junk mail” for health supplement companies. She's been writing stories since childhood. In fact, when she was 12, Bailey wrote and illustrated tiny books that she stapled together and passed to her friend during class. (She was never caught.)

Bailey grew up in Ellington, CT – a small town where cows outnumbered people 2 to 1. She currently lives in Asheville, NC with a mischievous Shih-tzu named Lucy. Fortunately, Asheville is weird - and proud of it - so it gives her plenty of inspiration and plot ideas for new books.

Her first book, The Mirror of Doom, was inspired by a certain pesky brother named "Jimmy" and the childhood desire to find a wardrobe to a place like Narnia.


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