Saturday, 16 November 2013

PROMOTION & GIVEAWAY - DAYNIGHT SERIES BY MEGAN THOMASON

PROMOTION
daynight Series


daynight bk#1
ISBN: 978-1480226555
ASIN: B00A6NG014
Series: daynight Series
Publisher: Self/Indie
Pages/File Size: 324pages/752KB
Formats Available: Papberback, E-book

BLURB from Goodreads
Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex. Punishment for disobeying SCI edicts? Immediate Exile or death.

Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.

Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.

Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.

Full of competing agendas, romantic entanglements, humor, twists and turns, daynight is Megan Thomason’s debut young adult dystopian novel and first in the daynight series.


clean slate complex bk#1.5
ASIN:  B00CFQY0JY
Series: daynight Series
Publisher: Self/Indie
Pages/File Size: 73pages/253KB
Formats Available: E-Book

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Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Worldwide non-profit and do-gooder organization. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Life(TM). Reality: hidden behind every kind act is a dark agenda designed to gain control and force societal and moral extremes. Currently, the SCI’s pushing Project Liberate, a program to woo the poor and downtrodden into their Clean Slate Complexes—where “everything is provided” from jobs to food, shelter, clothing, and education. Unfortunately, as with all things that sound too good to be true, there’s a catch…

Meet Alexa Knight. Feisty, tough and currently homeless in Los Angeles, Alexa agrees to help the SCI in return for medical care for her sick mother. When she starts to suspect there’s more to the SCI than meets the eye will she believe Adam—the boy who saved her life and the SCI’s biggest champion, or Joshua—the attractive enigma who sings about conspiracy theories and pretends to be someone he’s not?


arbitrate bk#2
ISBN: 978-1492958390
ASIN:  B00G8ULBKY
Series: daynight Series
Publisher: Self/Indie
Pages/File Size: 336pages/700KB
Formats Available: Paperback, E-Book

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It's one year later. Everything has changed.

Remember The Second Chance Institute (SCI). Earth's benevolent non-profit by day, Thera's totalitarian regime by night. They’ve stepped up their game on Earth and on Thera—infiltrating political parties, preying on the downtrodden, and planning offensive maneuvers. And they’re handing out more “second chances” than ever before. The SCI’s abuse of their charter leads to Arbiter oversight and bitter consequences.

Remember Kira Donovan. Broken, burdened, and evading those who wish her harm, Kira enlists the Arbiters’ help when forced to return to the clutches of the SCI and her angry, estranged love.

Remember Blake Sundry. Exiled, determined, and packing an agenda, Blake seeks assistance on Earth and Thera to use his newfound knowledge to bring down the SCI.

Remember Ethan Darcton. Overworked, emotional, and holding a grudge, Ethan hunts down his stolen property, but finds himself in awkward territory, stuck between the Arbiters and the SCI.

PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon.co.uk


Amazon.com


AUTHOR INTERVIEW

What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
I’m Megan Thomason. I was born in Seattle, Washington. My family moved to San Diego, California about 5 years ago to get some sun.

Who is your publisher? or do you self publish?
I chose to self-publish for maximum flexibility. I have five children, and so I like to be able to decide my own timetable. I have received and turned down publishing deals for daynight. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t consider it in the future, but I am happy with the success I’ve been able to have as an Indie author.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
This depends on the book. A complicated book, like those in the daynight series, will take 6-12 months for writing and editing (editing with a professional editor—which is a must—adds 3-6 months to the process). A novella takes me 2-3 months including editing. A straightforward story would take half the time of one of my daynight novels. daynight and arbitrate are both told from three point of views in both the present and past and across two worlds. They have a lot of subplots and those take extra time to develop.

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
My top priority is to get book #3 of the daynight series, generate, finished. I also have two daynight-series novellas thought up and two standalone novels underway that I’d put in a crossover YA/NA category (not dystopias).

What genre would you place your books into?
Young adult dystopian romance.

What made you decide to write that genre of book?
I have always loved dystopian novels—from the classics like 1984, Brave New World, and A Handmaid’s Tale to more modern works such as The Hunger Games and Divergent. The reason I decided to write a dystopian tale, however, was because I had an idea that stuck with me for months until I started writing. When the ideas start to interfere with my sleep—I start typing.

Do you have a favourite out of the books you have written? If so why is it your favourite?
My latest book in the daynight series, arbitrate, is definitely my favorite. It has lots of action, a complex plot, characters who are extremely flawed/broken, humor, romance, fantasy… It all came together in quite a remarkable fashion and I love the result.

How long have you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write?
I have been writing for more than five years. My husband actually wrote a book first—and I helped him plot and edit it. I loved the process so much that when I came up with the idea for a teen romantic comedy and my daughters begged me, I decided to write it. That project turned into a trilogy for my daughters and their friends. After, I came up with the idea for daynight and have been entrenched in that world ever since.

Where do you get your book plot ideas from?What/Who is your inspiration?
I have a very (over)active imagination. I got the idea for daynight while hiking the canyons of San Diego on a particularly hot day. I pondered how hot it would have to get before society would be forced to switch days and nights. From there, I contemplated what kind of government would “rule the night” and concocted The Second Chance Institute. Ideas come to me at the most inopportune times—often in the middle of the night or in the shower—and I have to grab my phone as quickly as possible and type notes into it to remember the ideas.

Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?
I write on my laptop—a MacBook Air. I bring it everywhere with me. I write in the car while waiting to pick my kids up from school, at doctor’s appointments, and at home on the couch. If I’m in the car or need inspiration for a particular mood I need to create, I put music on.

Do you have anybody read your books and give you reviews before you officially release them?ie. Your partner, children, friends, reviewers you know?
I have an active group of “alpha” readers (critical family members and friends) who read my books as I go and give me feedback. When I have a solid draft, I give the book out to “beta” readers (other authors, some bloggers) and ask them to point out issues and holes. And then when I have my editor’s final edits incorporated (but before final proofreading), I give ARCs (advance reading copies) out to bloggers and avid fans in exchange for honest reviews at launch. 

Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?
All the time. Reviews are critical to a book’s success. It never hurts to give away books in exchange for reviews—as long as the reader likes the book’s genre.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?
No. I used to, but I don’t anymore. I read the positive reviews posted on Amazon. I

How do you come up with the Title and Cover Designs for your book/books?Who designed the Cover of your books?
Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?
All my character names are symbolic—they have meanings related to the story. The same with places. For instance, the main characters in the daynight series all have names that are a combination of “light” and “dark” meanings. The Second Chance Institute in the series is a non-profit on Earth but a totalitarian dictator on Earth’s sister planet, Thera. Thera is an anagram of Earth. Heart—where the Arbiters reside on Thera (who have a major role in the second book, arbitrate)—is another anagram.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
I definitely think ahead on character development. I will know the character’s name, physical description, demeanor, a very detailed backstory, and flaws before I ever start writing about them. In addition, I create story arcs for every character. 

Do you basic plot/plan for your book, before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?
The daynight series is plotted. It is way too complicated to just sit down and start writing. For arbitrate, I had to keep a very elaborate timeline (for all three main characters), a map of both Earth and Thera, and detailed story arcs on hand at all times. I knew from the beginning exactly how I wanted it to end and loosely plotted the entire book. That process serves as an excellent starting point and basis of inspiration for me. However, as I get better ideas, I always incorporate them, even if it means rewrites and rethinking.

How do you market/promote your books?
I have several long blog posts on marketing on www.meganthomason.com. When I first started, I had no idea what I was doing. So I tried everything and documented the process. Some of the things that have worked the best for me are:
- Liberally giving out books in exchange for honest reviews—to non-friends and family members
- Book blasts and blog tours. Blog tours are a great way to get unbiased reviews from bloggers with large followings.
- Amazon KDP program with “free days.” In essence, Amazon allows authors to give their book away for free for five days over a ninety day period. This is a great way to get books out there, get reviews, and most importantly—get your book up in the rankings. With Amazon, success is determined by how high the book’s ranking is and its appearance on lists (“Customers also bought,” “Bestseller” lists by category, “Top-rated,” “Most popular,” etc.).

Have you ever suffered from a "writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?
All the time. I edit. Editing keeps my head in the story, allows me continue to make progress, and see things more clearly. When I just can’t get into either, I’ll read while I am pondering my current scene. The inspiration eventually comes.

What do you do to unwind and relax?Do you have a hobby?
I read! In fact, I read an insane number of books per year—on the order of five or six hundred. I write during the day while my kids are at school and read when I should be sleeping. I read fast, so I can often read a couple books a day. If I am having an “off day” with writing or just need a break, I can get in four or five books.

Which format of book do you prefer, ebook,hardback, or paperback?
I read all books on my iPhone using the Kindle app. My “library” has thousands of books in it, so I can always find something to fit my mood. I can download samples and decide whether I like a book/writing style before I purchase. And, I don’t have to buy more bookcases (this used to be a big problem).

Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favourite/worst  book to movie transfer?
Favorite—The Hunger Games. I loved the book and the movie. Least favorite—Twilight, although it makes for an excellent “bad movie night” comedy.

Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
Yes, I do.

What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?
Start by using a program called Scrivener (http://www.literatureandlatte.com). It is cheap and was built for writers. Under no circumstances should a writer try to use Word for writing a book (it doesn’t handle big files or allowing changes well). Scrivener allows you to write a book chapter-by-chapter, scene-by-scene. Then it compiles your book into any format you might need (manuscript, Kindle, .epub, PDF, etc.). I have other thoughts on the subject here: http://meganthomason.com/?p=30.

GIVEAWAY
Would you like to Win an e-copy of one of the daynight series books?
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