A Scavanger Hunt with Arial Burnz

I’m thrilled to have another chance to do a little cross promotion for another wonderful author. Allow me to present the hilarious and loving Vonnie Davis! *round of applause* If you haven’t read any of Vonnie’s books, you’re in for a delightful experience. And you should definitely follow her blog. The woman has me in stitches!!! Vonnie, darling, I’m so glad you accepted my invitation to participate in the hunt! *Big virtual hugs and smoochie kisses!* (I hope Calvin won’t mind.)

What is the Scavenger Hunt?

For those of you just joining the scavenger hunt, I’m Arial Burnz, author of the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles and I’m doing something a little different than your typical cover reveal. We’re on a Scavenger Hunt! In short, I’ve split my new book cover for MIDNIGHT HUNT into fifteen puzzle pieces and scattered them across the Internet. From June 17th through July 1^st, one piece a day will be revealed on a blog, website or one of my internet hangouts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.).

Gather the codes from all the pieces and send them in to me at the end of the hunt and you’ll be entered into the drawing for Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift cards, a signed paperback copy of my new release MIDNIGHT HUNT, as well as some signed Romance Trading Cards and other swag (Total Approximate Retail Value of All Prizes: $65). Please click here for the details and my contact information, and here for Official Rules.

Today’s Puzzle Piece

Vonnie is doing the honor of revealing…yes, you guessed it…the eleventh piece of the puzzle. *drum roll* Tah-dah!

 

Notice the really important part of the puzzle piece above…the CODE! You’ll need that for the final drawing. Be sure to write that code down. You can right-click on the image and save it OR jot down the code somewhere safe. (NOTE: You can always go back to my site where the links to the pieces will be consolidated on one page and updated throughout the Scavenger Hunt.)

Zooming In On the Piece…

Jeez, Von! I’m sorry…this is not a very exciting piece. However, BRODERICK is an exciting piece. *eyebrow waggle* Thank you very much! I’ll be here all week…try the veal and don’t forget to tip your waiters and waitresses. *bah-doom-chee* All right…all right…moving on. :\

Exploring the Paranormal

Switching back to werewolves. In the last post, we discussed what gets in our craw about vampires. Now we’re venting about werewolves. What is your pet peeve? Whether you’ve seen it on television, in the movies, or read about it in a book, vent about it here.

Perhaps you’re one who really doesn’t like the warm and fuzzy creature that’s more wolf than man. Then again, you may hate the monstrous wolfman-like beast Lon Chaney or the more recent Benecio del Toro portrayed in the Wolfman movie.

http://www.cwtv.com/shows/the-vampire-diaries

What about their transformation? (Oooo…get ready to learn a new word.) Do you despise the way the shapeshifter transmogrifies into the beast, which is usually pretty darn painful and gut-wrenching? Maybe you don’t like hybrids? Or is it something else? Do tell! What peeves you about werewolves? OR is there something authors, movies or TV do with werewolves that you wish they wouldn’t? Please share!

I’ll be available if you have questions and I’m looking forward to interacting with everyone.

Added Bonus: Be sure to leave a comment for my characters, who have been known to make appearances and surely already have during this hunt. (Click here if you’d like to learn more about my characters.)

Thanks again, Vonnie, for having me as a guest! Mwah!

MACKENZIE CROWNE -- Romance Author

Lucky me, I've got Mackenzie Crowne, my fellow Rose sistah, visiting today. And folks, she is a dearheart. Truly. You can't spend much time around her, even if it's online, and stay down. She's got a buoyant personality -- like a butterfly floating on the breeze. Give her some love today, because she's a debut author who's been on a whirlwind virtual book tour.

Will the real Mackenzie Crowne please stand up!

Since I first read the words, We think Gift of the Realm would be a perfect addition to our line, I’ve been plunged into chaos.

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together…mass hysteria!

Okay, not quite, but that line from Ghostbusters has crossed my mind a number of times since signing that first contract. Here I was, realizing my dream, floating on a high drug dealers would kill to bottle and sell. The spoiler? Promotion. I was shocked to discover how much there was to learn and do.

 I’m not sure what I thought exactly. Maybe that my story would magically find it’s way into the hands and hearts of readers. In my ignorance of the publishing game, that made perfect sense. I’m a reader, after all, and I pick up books all the time without any conscious thought of what the author or publisher went through to get the book in front of me.

  ~ Now I do. ~

Promotion is the key. Though it’s the most important, writing a good story isn’t going to do the job. The cover must pop, and make the correct first impression. And the blurb, that synopsis on the back of the book? If it sucks, so do your chances of seeing your book in the hands of readers. In my humble opinion, I have both of those issues covered. So, what’s left? Social media hell!

I’ve joined the groups, read the blogs, tweeted my little heart out. I planned the blog tour, answered the interview questions, and tweeted some more. Basically, I’ve run myself ragged for months, getting my name out there in every way I could think of. I’ve given it my best shot. Now my efforts will have to stand on their own, because today I’m letting my promo hair down. Thank you, Vonnie, for suggesting I speak on the joy and excitement of realizing my dream,

So, here you have it. The real Mackenzie Crowne.

Four years ago I was facing a diagnosis of stage three breast cancer. Today, I’m a published author. I find that reality frigging awesome! Like a great big ‘screw you’ to the demon cancer. What’s more, I achieved that reality by doing something I love.

I’m a pantser by nature and thoroughly enjoy letting the characters do most of the heavy lifting. I love learning about their dreams and goals, discovering their weaknesses and fears. Like a voyeur in my own manuscripts, I crouch over my keyboard, gleefully watching my characters meet, struggle to find their footing, and ultimately fall in love. I laugh and cry with them, cringe when they are hurt…and make faces in the mirror in order to describe their reactions to one thing or another.

I’m here to tell you, writing is a pure joy. Okay, sometimes I want to rip my hair out when the characters take me off in a direction I didn’t expect, but for the most part…Wow, what a ride. And writing Gift of the Realm was a blast! Fairies, gorgeous hunks, curses, a mystical ring of stones, magical gifts, and did I mention gorgeous hunks?  Oh, yeah. I’ve got the best job in the world!

To see a story I love succeed, and find it’s way into the hearts of others, I’ll do the promo thing. I’ll answer the interview questions, and race from blog to blog. I’ll host a virtual scavenger hunt (Details @ mackenziecrowne.com ). I’ll tweet until I can’t tweet no more! I’ll run myself ragged, shouting from virtual mountain tops, but at the heart of it all, I really am living my dream. I’ll continue to write, and have a ball doing it.

My friends call me Mac, I hope you will too.   

Buy links: The Wild Rose Press & Amazon

Website: mackenziecrowne.com