Have you ever wondered how a typical day in an
author’s life looks like? This is your chance.
Author Adrienne Clarke has agreed to pull back
the curtains of her life, allowing us to take a peek. Not only that, she would
also like to introduce us to her novel, To Dance in Liradon.
Get to know the author and her book, and leave
a comment for a chance to win one of the amazing prizes Adrienne brought along.
She will be awarding winner's choice of a Kindle touch, Nook Simple Touch, or a
$100 Apple gift card, and one crystal Faerie necklace similar to what Brigid
wore to the Faerie ball to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow the tour to increase your chances of winning. The more you comment, the
higher your chances. Good luck to you. You can find the tour dates HERE.
A Typical Day in the Life of Adrienne Clarke, Author
6:00 am
Answer emails and try to decide what writing
project I’m going to tackle: Revisions on work-in-progress? Or start outlining
the new novel I spent all night thinking about? Wait! Is it garbage day?
Whatever happens – do not forget to TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE. MUST GET RID OF
DIAPERS!
7:15 am
Panic because I forgot to go grocery shopping
and my daughter will be having a jam sandwich for lunch – again.
8:00 am
Cajole my nine-year old of bed and try to
convince my two-year old that she really does need to take off her Tinkerbell
pajamas.
8:20 am
Frantically pick raisins out of the raisin
bread because daughter number one has decided raisins are “totally gross.”
Explain yet again why I will not buy chocolate chip Pop Tarts.
8:30 am
Chase my youngest daughter around the house so
I can get her ready for daycare before her sister is late for school – again.
9:00 am
Both girls are gone! I heave a huge sigh of
relief and make an enormous cup of coffee.
9:30 am
Write like a madwoman for as long as I can. On
a good day I can go for about 2.5 – 3 hours. On a bad day I’m distracted by
EVERYTHING. If I’m convinced the muse is gone for the day I fret about all the
other things I should be doing: Social networking, blogging, laundry, grocery
shopping......
12:30 pm
Inhale a bagel and more coffee and worry about
the muse. Where has she gone? And more importantly – when will she be back?
1:00 pm
Revise. Revise. Revise.
2:00 pm
I forgot to take out the garbage. Another week
of smelly diapers in the garage.
3:00 pm
Send out query letters to agents, editors, and
everyone else I’m trying to get to read my work.
4:00 pm
Make a stab at catching up on a flood of
tweets, emails, status updates etc. while feeling faintly resentful that I
could and should be writing.
4:30 pm
Writing day over! Time to silence the
imaginary people inside my head and rejoin the real world.
To Dance in Liradon
by Adrienne
Clarke
BLURB
Seventeen-year-old Brigid
O'Flynn is an outcast. A chance encounter with the Faerie Queen left her
tainted in the eyes of the villagers, who blame the Faerie for the village’s
missing women and children. Desperate to win the village’s acceptance, Brigid
agrees to marry her childhood friend: Serious, hardworking, Connell Mackenna.
But when Connell disappears before their wedding, Brigid's hopes are shattered.
Blamed for her fiancé’s death, Brigid fears she will suffer the same fate as
the other village outcasts, the mysterious Willow Women. Lured into Faerie by
their inhuman lovers, and cast out weak and broken, the Willow Women spend
their lives searching for the way back into Faerie. When Connell suddenly
reappears, Brigid is overjoyed, but everything is not as it seems. Consumed by
his desire for beauty and celebration, Connell abandons his responsibilities,
and Brigid soon finds herself drawn into a passionate, dangerous world of two.
When Brigid discovers the truth behind
Connell's transformation she’s forced to choose between two men and two worlds.
Brigid’s struggle leads her into glittering, ruthless Faerie, where she must
rescue her true love from a terrible sacrifice or lose him forever.
EXCERPT
Brigid allowed herself to be dragged
to the edge of the circle before she raised her right foot and kicked backwards
as hard as she could. Midir released his hold long enough for her to remove the
horseshoe from her bodice. When he tried to seize her again, she shoved him
away, the object gripped firmly in her hand.
Midir stumbled backwards, and the
smell of burning flesh filled the air. A desperate, keening sound rose up from
the circle before it broke apart and every Faerie man and woman rushed towards
her. Long slender arms grabbed hold of each of her limbs, and Brigid felt
certain they intended to tear her to pieces. A violet-eyed woman sat on top of
Brigid’s chest, crushing the air from her lungs. Brigid watched the beauty leak
from her face until it was a hollow masque of rage.
“Release her!” the Faerie Queen
screamed.
Whining like disappointed children,
the Faerie reluctantly retreated, and Brigid rose shakily to her feet.
The Faerie Queen’s eyes flashed
cruelly. “If you want him, come and claim him!”
AUTHOR Bio and Links
I think I became a writer
because the world inside my head was so real and vivid, sometimes more so than
the outside world. In some sense I have lived parallel lives, present in my
real and imaginary lives in different ways. Because much of my childhood was
spent searching for faeries or reading about them, it is natural that my work
encompasses fairy tale themes and other magical elements. In the words of
Tennessee Williams, forget reality, give me magic!
Adrienne has previously
published short stories in The Storyteller, Beginnings Magazine, New Plains
Review, and in the e-zines A Fly in Amber, Grim Graffiti, Les Bonnes Fees, The
Altruist, The Devilfish Review, and Rose Red Review. Her short story, Falling
was awarded second place in the 2008 Alice Munro short fiction contest. To
Dance in Liradon is her first published novel.
An avid reader of fairy
tales and other magical stories, a thread of the mysterious or unexpected runs
through all of her work. When she’s not writing Adrienne can be found searching
for faeries along with her daughters Callista and Juliet.
Author Links:
Website:
http://www.adrienneclarkewriter.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/clarkeadrienne
Purchase Links:
