Guest Post BY Jillian Boehme, Author of STormrise – A typical writing day + GIVEAWAY – FFBC Tours

Stormrise, written by Jillian Boehme, will hit the shelves on September 24, 2019. This fantastic young adult Fantasy novel is published by Tor Teen. I’m excited to be part of this blog tour hosted by FFBC Tours and also, to offer the opportunity to win your own copy of this book.

Check it out below the guest post. I’m seriously impressed with her organization and commitment to writing. Kudos to her for being an author, a mom and a wife. This is no easy task. What do you think?

Find more information about the book and the giveaway as well after the guest post.

GUEST POST – A TYPICAL WRITING DAY BY JILLIAN BOEHME

For many years, this question would’ve been easy to answer: “I write from 1:00 to 3:00 every day, with the possible exception of Sundays.”

Things tend to look a little different these days, though, for a variety of reasons. Also, my writing days differ vastly, depending on whether I’m drafting or revising. So I’ll talk a little about each!

First of all, I’m a mother of five, one of whom is still home in the nest. I’ve homeschooled them all, so my original 1-to-3 writing schedule was born from a combination of doing lessons in the morning and having little ones who napped in the afternoon from—you guessed it—1:00 to 3:00. My youngest is twelve now and does much of her schooling independently, so I have more flexibility with my work schedule.

When I’m drafting, I stick to a firm 1000-words-a-day, 6-days-a-week schedule. While the 1:00-3:00 window is still my prime work time, I have more opportunities now to get some of my words done in the morning, while my daughter is busy with lessons. Being a morning person, I’m happiest when I can sit down early with a cup of coffee and dive into my writing. On a good day, I get the words done and can move on to other things. On a not-so-good day, I’m scrambling at 5:00 to throw some supper together and get back to my manuscript to scribble out those last few paragraphs.

Because, yes. I am utterly devoted to those 1000 words. I won’t let the sun set until they’ve been written!

Revisions are a different sort of monster, because there’s no way to quantify what I’ve accomplished in a given day, other than counting how many scenes or chapters I’ve gotten through. When I’m writing to deadline, I start early and work constantly, stopping only when I have something else that needs to be attended to (like, oh, I don’t know, throwing in a load of underwear or buying food for my family). I’m adamant about saying “no” to anything that will demand time that I can’t afford to give, whether it’s a social occasion, an appointment, or anything else that would steal time from my day.

My daughter has ballet class four evenings a week, so during my last revision round, I just packed up my laptop, drove her to ballet, and worked while she danced. (I do the same thing when I’m drafting, unless I’ve reached my 1000 words prior to having to leave for ballet.)

No, I don’t pull all-nighters or forget to put pants on. But I do prioritize my writing over almost everything else, because it’s the only way I can stay productive and meet my deadlines. I’m fiercely committed to never procrastinating, as I don’t want to be that author who is living on stale popcorn and two hours of sleep for five days straight.

A fair portion of my time is spent on book marketing now, as well, so that has to factor in. Lately, I’ve been setting Sundays aside to catch up on non-writing work. All told, I’m probably in front of my computer, either writing or doing other book-related (or sometimes non-book-related) work, for 4 to 6 hours a day, plus another hour and a half on my laptop on ballet days.

One thing I couldn’t do without? My electric mug warmer. It’s so nice to have coffee that never grows cold! I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a hot drink while working or reading.

In the end, for as much as I love my writing-infused life, I’m thankful for the times when I’ve typed “The End” and can come up for air. Someone once said, “I don’t love writing; I love having written.” While it’s not exactly true that I don’t love writing (because how horrible would that be?), I do admit that having finished something is immeasurably satisfying. Oh, and the end of any day? I spend that with my husband, usually with a glass of wine. Because he’s a priority, too. J

Synopsis

A combat warrior will risk everything to awaken the dragons and save her kingdom in Jillian Boehme’s epic YA Fantasy debut, Stormrise, inspired by Twelfth Night and perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce.

If Rain weren’t a girl, she would be respected as a Neshu combat master. Instead, her gender dooms her to a colorless future. When an army of nomads invades her kingdom, and a draft forces every household to send one man to fight, Rain takes her chance to seize the life she wants.

Knowing she’ll be killed if she’s discovered, Rain purchases powder made from dragon magic that enables her to disguise herself as a boy. Then she hurries to the war camps, where she excels in her training—and wrestles with the voice that has taken shape inside her head. The voice of a dragon she never truly believed existed.

As war looms and Rain is enlisted into an elite, secret unit tasked with rescuing the High King, she begins to realize this dragon tincture may hold the key to her kingdom’s victory. For the dragons that once guarded her land have slumbered for centuries . . . and someone must awaken them to fight once more.

Add this book to your Goodreads

Author: Jillian Boehme
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: September 24, 2019
Book Length: 320 pages
Genre: YA Fantasy

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About the Author: Jillian Boehme

JILLIAN BOEHME is known to the online writing community as Authoress, hostess of Miss Snark’s First Victim, a blog for aspiring authors.

In real life, she holds a degree in Music Education, sings with the Nashville Symphony Chorus, and homeschools her remaining youngster-at-home. She’s still crazy in love with her husband of more than thirty years and is happy to be surrounded by family and friends amid the rolling knolls of Middle Tennessee.

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